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panjandrum

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Sep 22, 2009
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New DLC for F4 in the works: Fallout London.


Yeah, that does look really great and I've been looking forward to playing it. I've been holding off on another FO4 playthrough until it works 100% properly with vorpX. Currently it's not quite there (Z3D only, as G3D has focal-plane issues with light sources) and now that TriDef is gone the only valid solution is going all the way back to flat-screen gaming or use vorpX in current Z3D state or I guess I could go with FO4 VR, like I did Skyrim VR, but FO4 VR requires actual VR controllers, which I don't have (I play 'VR' with an XBox controller because about 75% of my VR is actually for seated racing SIMS where I have dedicated wheels and pedals. It's a lot of money for me to invest in all the equipment needed for the VR motion controllers.)

Anyway, I digress. I'm looking forward to trying that. Someday.

If anyone here has a 3D TV or Projector (or VR HMD) and wants to play FO4 stereoscopically here is some info, mostly a bit outdated but still of use, that I put together:

 
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Huntn

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Wow. Looks great. Any suggestion of how far away it is ?
No clue.

Yeah, that does look really great and I've been looking forward to playing it. I've been holding off on another FO4 playthrough until it works 100% properly with vorpX. Currently it's not quite there (Z3D only, as G3D has focal-plane issues with light sources) and now that TriDef is gone the only valid solution is going all the way back to flat-screen gaming or use vorpX in current Z3D state or I guess I could go with FO4 VR, like I did Skyrim VR, but FO4 VR requires actual VR controllers, which I don't have (I play 'VR' with an XBox controller because about 75% of my VR is actually for seated racing SIMS where I have dedicated wheels and pedals. It's a lot of money for me to invest in all the equipment needed for the VR motion controllers.)

Anyway, I digress. I'm looking forward to trying that. Someday.

If anyone here has a 3D TV or Projector (or VR HMD) and wants to play FO4 stereoscopically here is some info, mostly a bit outdated but still of use, that I put together:

I wonder how many F4 devotees continue to play this although all the quests are memorized? ;) I’m a huge fan of Project Valkyrie, and Outcasts and Remnants content mods, fixing the complaints I had with the vanilla story. They are brilliant and show the power of mods when a developer decides to allow them.

As you probably know based on my whining ;), I ran into an issue with F4 recently on my setup which includes which includes a 4k monitor after an GeForce update. Was getting crashes on fast travel which seem to go away when I set the game resolution to 2k, which makes me believe it’s the driver update, but it could also be a mod issue. It’s aggravating playing in a window 1/2 the size of your monitor.


My most favorite F4 mod in the game is Sanctuary Hot Springs, a bunker on the lake next to Santuary Which includes a hot spring. It functions as a settlement, with an indoor and outdoor component. You can bring your companion home for privacy or set up a small settlement with people to guard it, it is unique and 100x better than Home Plate. :)
 
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panjandrum

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Sep 22, 2009
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I wonder how many F4 devotees continue to play this although all the quests are memorized? ;)

I like the atmosphere of FO3 and FO4 enough that I've basically remade them as extremely difficult survival sims (well, as difficult as I can make them, it's pretty much impossible to make them all that hard, no matter what you do.) Then you can go with various alternative-start mods if you want and just go do whatever you want in the wasteland. Personally my favorite remains FO3; the atmosphere in that one just worked for me best. I do like FNV also of course, but in the end I prefer the other two for the bleaker atmosphere. I just like to keep the worlds around and functioning to wander and adventure in, I don't necessarily continue to do the main quests unless I get to a point where I really feel like the game deserves a play through again (OTOH I've played the entire Dragon Age series several times, most often Dragon Age Origins of course since it's the best of them, but I even managed to grind through the boredom of DAI twice now, just because the plot and characters are so good.) I'm currently playing FO3 as a VR title using vorpX and wow, that's really freaking cool. Actually my favorite VR RPG type game.
 
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panjandrum

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Sep 22, 2009
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As you probably know based on my whining ;), I ran into an issue with F4 recently on my setup which includes which includes a 4k monitor after an GeForce update. Was getting crashes on fast travel which seem to go away when I set the game resolution to 2k, which makes me believe it’s the driver update, but it could also be a mod issue. It’s aggravating playing in a window 1/2 the size of your monitor.

If you don't have it, be sure to download the Fallout 4 Configurator by Bilbao (something like that, it's on the Nexus you'll find it.) Backup your .ini files first of course, but then try playing around with that to see if you can get things working again. FO4 has a lot of loading issues between cells or on fast travel. But you should be able to play at, say, 2560x1440 full screen on your 4K screen and assuming your screen has good upscaling it's still going to look fantastic (especially if you play around with ReShade a bit). That's exactly how my daughter runs it and it's so good there just isn't any point going to 4K; visually there is almost zero difference in quality and it's a huge performance hit. Running under 60fps is known to cause issues with loading (including excessive load times.) If you absolutely *must* run below 60fps try turning off VSync and then using another method for capping the performance at 60fps instead, if you can stand it that way. For ReShade I'm running Film Grain, Desaturation, and Sharpening to make FO4 look like what I think it should, but that's personal taste of course. Sharpening can help you overcome the blurry mess that is TAA if you use it. Alternatively you can use ReShade AA methods and turn TAA off. If you use boat loads of MSAA or FXAA (or both) plus sharpening using ReShade you can get something reasonably smooth without having to use TAA and thus avoid the TAA sharpness 'throbbing' that plagues FO4 (TAA in FO4 sharpens up the moment you STOP (oops, fixed that) moving and then begins to blur again the moment you move or rotate; something that is extremely jarring to many players, including me, although I've basically resolved that to my satisfaction by sharpening with ReShade and adding enough Film Grain that I don't notice it.)
 
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Huntn

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If you don't have it, be sure to download the Fallout 4 Configurator by Bilbao (something like that, it's on the Nexus you'll find it.) Backup your .ini files first of course, but then try playing around with that to see if you can get things working again. FO4 has a lot of loading issues between cells or on fast travel. But you should be able to play at, say, 2560x1440 full screen on your 4K screen and assuming your screen has good upscaling it's still going to look fantastic (especially if you play around with ReShade a bit). That's exactly how my daughter runs it and it's so good there just isn't any point going to 4K; visually there is almost zero difference in quality and it's a huge performance hit. Running under 60fps is known to cause issues with loading (including excessive load times.) If you absolutely *must* run below 60fps try turning off VSync and then using another method for capping the performance at 60fps instead, if you can stand it that way. For ReShade I'm running Film Grain, Desaturation, and Sharpening to make FO4 look like what I think it should, but that's personal taste of course. Sharpening can help you overcome the blurry mess that is TAA if you use it. Alternatively you can use ReShade AA methods and turn TAA off. If you use boat loads of MSAA or FXAA (or both) plus sharpening using ReShade you can get something reasonably smooth without having to use TAA and thus avoid the TAA sharpness 'throbbing' that plagues FO4 (TAA in FO4 sharpens up the moment you start moving and then begins to blur again the moment you move or rotate; something that is extremely jarring to many players, including me, although I've basically resolved that to my satisfaction by sharpening with ReShade and adding enough Film Grain that I don't notice it.)

Thanks for this tip! Hopefully it has some decent instructions.

When the issue appeared after a GeForce update, at 4k, the game would crash on loading any saved game, although I did get it to run at one point at 4k, but it would still crash on fast travel. Then when I scaled it down to 2560x 1440 or 1920x1080, it would still crash on fast travel if I unchecked ”windowed”. So I have been playing 2560x1440 windowed without issue.

I’d be perfectly happy if I could get it to run at 1920x1080 if I can get it to upscale to full screen.
 

panjandrum

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Sep 22, 2009
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When the issue appeared after a GeForce update, at 4k, the game would crash on loading any saved game, although I did get it to run at one point at 4k, but it would still crash on fast travel. Then when I scaled it down to 2560x 1440 or 1920x1080, it would still crash on fast travel if I unchecked ”windowed”. So I have been playing 2560x1440 windowed without issue.

I’d be perfectly happy if I could get it to run at 1920x1080 if I can get it to upscale to full screen.

I don't know. Having had a lot of experience with Bethesda games over the years, that sounds an awful lot like a mod conflict rather than anything else. If you are using Vortex to manage your mods you go through the troubleshooting steps to try and figure it out without worrying that you'll ruin your install or playthrough (usually). Just blanket disable every mod; see if your latest save will load without them (hopefully yes), and then see if fast travel works again. Then turn on the first half of the mods, try it again. Then turn on only the second half of the mods and try it again. Repeat until you find out which mod or which combination of mods is causing the issue. Then go back and hope you can disable that mod or mods and continue your playthough. Usually you can, but not always. Thank goodness it's not the hot mess that Skyrim was at first, when disabling any mod that wasn't a basic texture or mesh would almost certainly guarantee that you would eventually have to start the game over.

Look specifically for Mods that add areas BTW. I've definitely had problems with FO4 crashing on load with mods that add areas, even just interiors. Some work great, but I've installed some that led to exactly the type of crash you are describing.
 
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Huntn

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I don't know. Having had a lot of experience with Bethesda games over the years, that sounds an awful lot like a mod conflict rather than anything else. If you are using Vortex to manage your mods you go through the troubleshooting steps to try and figure it out without worrying that you'll ruin your install or playthrough (usually). Just blanket disable every mod; see if your latest save will load without them (hopefully yes), and then see if fast travel works again. Then turn on the first half of the mods, try it again. Then turn on only the second half of the mods and try it again. Repeat until you find out which mod or which combination of mods is causing the issue. Then go back and hope you can disable that mod or mods and continue your playthough. Usually you can, but not always. Thank goodness it's not the hot mess that Skyrim was at first, when disabling any mod that wasn't a basic texture or mesh would almost certainly guarantee that you would eventually have to start the game over.

Look specifically for Mods that add areas BTW. I've definitely had problems with FO4 crashing on load with mods that add areas, even just interiors. Some work great, but I've installed some that led to exactly the type of crash you are describing.
Thanks!
I have 3 mods that add new areas, 2 of them additionally add new companions and quests. What I would do is to make a new save for the purpose of experimenting, but these mods I don’t want to give up, so I can accept running the game in a windowed mode if needed.

I know the mods were not a problem before, so I’m assuming it has to do with a graphic card update…
 

maflynn

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May 3, 2009
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I’m assuming it has to do with a graphic card update
Quasi-related.

I ran into issues on my Razer last year when I updated to the latest nvidia drivers. I would look for an older version and see if that fixes things
 
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maflynn

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I’ll keep my Nvidia drivers up to date and if that breaks the game, que sera.
Unless it offers better performance, or something, I usually avoid updating drivers - especially if my system is stable
 
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panjandrum

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Sep 22, 2009
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@Huntn, since you have an Oculus you can try playing FO4 on that using vorpX if you wish (with full VR capabilities). I will say that FO4's engine is not great for this. The game engine for FO4 performs extremely poorly at higher resolutions even on good hardware. For example, through vorpX I can play The Outer Worlds, a much newer and sharper game at 3000x2000 in Z3d mode, but I can barely push FO4 past 1080p. It's something particular about FO4. FO3, on the other hand I can run at 4K in G3D mode, this means FO3 is far crisper and more clear than FO4.

But, you can also try this donationware solution: https://reshade.me/depth3d - this provides you with a virtual screen in your HMD and a stereoscopic solution as well. It's works pretty darn well. It's not full VR, but it's still very cool. Performance is a bit better than the vorpX method since it's doing less.
 

Huntn

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The Misty Mountains
@Huntn, since you have an Oculus you can try playing FO4 on that using vorpX if you wish (with full VR capabilities). I will say that FO4's engine is not great for this. The game engine for FO4 performs extremely poorly at higher resolutions even on good hardware. For example, through vorpX I can play The Outer Worlds, a much newer and sharper game at 3000x2000 in Z3d mode, but I can barely push FO4 past 1080p. It's something particular about FO4. FO3, on the other hand I can run at 4K in G3D mode, this means FO3 is far crisper and more clear than FO4.

But, you can also try this donationware solution: https://reshade.me/depth3d - this provides you with a virtual screen in your HMD and a stereoscopic solution as well. It's works pretty darn well. It's not full VR, but it's still very cool. Performance is a bit better than the vorpX method since it's doing less.
Thanks for the suggestion. I think that any open world game would be extraordinary in VR as long as the movement nausea issue is addressed (which it’s not as far as I know) and system/hud/console controls are made accessible/manageable. I’m currently playing Horizon Zero Dawn (third person) and before that Cyberpunk 2077 (in first person) with dynamic, frantic dashing, whirling, leaping melee combat. Based on today’s VR tech, I just don’t see this as viable without me puking my guts up. :)

Now with F4, I’m a stealth pistol/sniper rifle infiltrator, hardly never hit anything in melee, but when building, I access the console often, need to reference material ID codes, and this is an old game, that I’m already having some issues with, so I won’t be introducing possibly new issues by exploring VR with it, plus Bethesda wants some ridiculous price for the VR version.
 

Huntn

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The Misty Mountains
If you don't have it, be sure to download the Fallout 4 Configurator by Bilbao (something like that, it's on the Nexus you'll find it.) Backup your .ini files first of course, but then try playing around with that to see if you can get things working again. FO4 has a lot of loading issues between cells or on fast travel. But you should be able to play at, say, 2560x1440 full screen on your 4K screen and assuming your screen has good upscaling it's still going to look fantastic (especially if you play around with ReShade a bit). That's exactly how my daughter runs it and it's so good there just isn't any point going to 4K; visually there is almost zero difference in quality and it's a huge performance hit. Running under 60fps is known to cause issues with loading (including excessive load times.) If you absolutely *must* run below 60fps try turning off VSync and then using another method for capping the performance at 60fps instead, if you can stand it that way. For ReShade I'm running Film Grain, Desaturation, and Sharpening to make FO4 look like what I think it should, but that's personal taste of course. Sharpening can help you overcome the blurry mess that is TAA if you use it. Alternatively you can use ReShade AA methods and turn TAA off. If you use boat loads of MSAA or FXAA (or both) plus sharpening using ReShade you can get something reasonably smooth without having to use TAA and thus avoid the TAA sharpness 'throbbing' that plagues FO4 (TAA in FO4 sharpens up the moment you STOP (oops, fixed that) moving and then begins to blur again the moment you move or rotate; something that is extremely jarring to many players, including me, although I've basically resolved that to my satisfaction by sharpening with ReShade and adding enough Film Grain that I don't notice it.)
Does the F4 Configuration mod install like a mod? I downloaded it and when I ran it, it wanted to know the directory of the game. If this does not work out, I'm wondering how hard is it to uninstall?
Thanks!
 

Huntn

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As part of the Depravity Mod, I was putting up a flyer outside of Diamond City advertising the new Hotel Rexford, which I now manage and met Tori and Amber, two gals from Providence. They were looking for Club Snuggle, a location associated with this mod and I loved the conversation I had with them. It was subtle, but it's the kind of thing you get when you have a creative mod team, that you don't tend to find in the vanilla game. :D
 

Huntn

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Fallout 4 noob here. I just picked up GOTY in the Steam Summer Sale for my iMac
Companions-
The games has a long list of companions who all want to adventure with you. :) You get a skill from each one when they reach their highest admiration of you, which is not difficult, just spend time with them, however they have moral leanings. If you romance them, you will get a buff from sleeping with them.

Regarding moral leanings, for example Piper does not like it if you mistreat humans, while Cait does not like Synths or if you help them. And depending on the companion you can lose points with them, but overall it’s nothing to worry about, the upward trend of affection points by traveling and fighting together will outweigh any downward blips based on moral choices, however I do keep these prejudices in mind and sometimes choose companions for specific tasks, but it’s not something to be concerned about.



In addition all companions have ID codes and instead going to fetch them, via the console (PC) you can summon them to you. And if you are worried about possible hard feelings when you dismiss a companion, or romance multiple companions, it’s not an issue, they are most understanding and are happy with the time they get to spend with you. :)

The mechanics of companion exchange is if you have a companion with you, you ask the new companion to travel with you, a screen pops up and asks which settlement you’d like to send the old companion to.

Of note for someone like Nick Valentine who lives in Diamond City, Diamond City will not be listed as a choosable settlement. For both him and Piper, if you want them to return to DC, do not choose a settlement, just close that window and by default they will return to the last place they were based, which for both of them is Diamond City. The only caveat for both of these companions, is that if you do send them to a settlement, after that, there will be no way to send them back to DC without the help of a mod.
 

Huntn

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Game SPOILERS

Forth Playthrough in 5 years, into the exciting part.
  • Finally find your son who was stolen as a baby.
  • Infiltrating the Institute.
  • Deciding which Factions you'll side with, who lives and dies.*
  • Deciding to be with the Institute, blow up the greatest treasure trove of tech info in the Commonwealth via a nuke in downtown Boston, or go with a mod that opens up new possibilities.
* For me, decisions were made a long time ago. It's like Groundhog Day. :D

Happy Couple Prior.jpg
Happy Couple Start of a Fateful Day

Prewar Neighborhood.jpg
Good Ole Pre-Armaggedon Days

New SS Old Neighborhood.jpg
Sole Survivor fresh from the vault and old neighborhood

Experienced Survivor in Nukaworld.jpg
Experienced Sole Survivor and Curie in Nuka World

Nuka World Transit Center2.jpg
Sole Survivor and Cait (Valkyrie Suits), Nuka World Transit Center​
 

panjandrum

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Sep 22, 2009
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Does the F4 Configuration mod install like a mod? I downloaded it and when I ran it, it wanted to know the directory of the game. If this does not work out, I'm wondering how hard is it to uninstall?
Thanks!

It's not a mod, it just allows you to tweak quite a few settings very easily that otherwise you have to fiddle with by manually editing .ini files. As always, backup your .ini files first.

I recently snagged FO4VR for use with my Pimax HMD. It's a straight-up fustercluck right out of the box (doesn't even support Index controllers without community support), but as usual the modding community has gotten together to fix yet another Bethesda title and it can be made to run adequately well. Looking forward to enjoying FO4 again once I tweak the beejeezus out of it (and finish a number of other titles first most likely).
 
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Huntn

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It's not a mod, it just allows you to tweak quite a few settings very easily that otherwise you have to fiddle with by manually editing .ini files. As always, backup your .ini files first.

I recently snagged FO4VR for use with my Pimax HMD. It's a straight-up fustercluck right out of the box (doesn't even support Index controllers without community support), but as usual the modding community has gotten together to fix yet another Bethesda title and it can be made to run adequately well. Looking forward to enjoying FO4 again once I tweak the beejeezus out of it (and finish a number of other titles first most likely).
As I approach the end of this play through I've had issues at times getting F4 to run full screen without crashing. Lately it's been behaving, but my suspect is one of the mods I use.
 

Suture

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Feb 22, 2007
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I'm about 2 days of playtime into FO4 on Xbox Series S, and as old as the game is, I'm surprised with all of the bugs and crashes. Then again, maybe I shouldn't be (typical for the series). I'm playing the plain vanilla FO4 off Game Pass but am enjoying it nonetheless.
 

madeirabhoy

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Oct 26, 2012
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i know its not technically fallout 4, but nearly finished the Frontier mod for Fallout New Vegas and wow, this is cracking. honestly if it came out as a standalone game this year it would be game of the year. its massive, about the size of FNV vanilla, with a huge mix of traditional Fallout missions with an entire COD style single player campaign.
 
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Huntn

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The Misty Mountains
I'm about 2 days of playtime into FO4 on Xbox Series S, and as old as the game is, I'm surprised with all of the bugs and crashes. Then again, maybe I shouldn't be (typical for the series). I'm playing the plain vanilla FO4 off Game Pass but am enjoying it nonetheless.
I have been playing PC, no real issues other than what I believe are mod related...
 

maflynn

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May 3, 2009
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I'm about 2 days of playtime into FO4 on Xbox Series S, and as old as the game is, I'm surprised with all of the bugs and crashes. Then again, maybe I shouldn't be (typical for the series). I'm playing the plain vanilla FO4 off Game Pass but am enjoying it nonetheless.
The game was buggy to be sure, but I've really not run into too many issues on console or PC. I have it on my PS4 and on the PC and its been largely problem free - not sure what issues you've run into.
 
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