Guest Posted February 13, 2014 Posted February 13, 2014 Hi guys, I've just reinstalled Fallout: New Vegas (FNV) and thought it might be a good idea to share with you how to set it up to get the most out of it. If you already have a bunch of mods installed and know how stuff works, this guide is not for you. On the other hand, if this is all news for you or you want to quickly setup a new installation of FNV this handy guide can help you. This guide assumes that you have just installed FNV without doing anything else, except maybe starting and playing it. Also make sure the information presented here is not yet outdated, keep an eye on the version numbers and upload dates and see if newer versions fix workarounds. Please, drop a comment if you find outdated information, any mistakes or have problems following this guide. Any suggestions on how to improve it are well appreciated. Some files have to be installed in the order they are presented or they might refuse to work. For example, you have to install the Script Extender before you can install any plug-ins for it, like the Stutter Remover.. you get the idea. First, get these tools, you will need them at some point or another when fiddling with mods. G.E.C.K. Just download it from the main page, make sure you grab the Garden Eden Creation Kit for Fallout New Vegas, not the one for Fallout 3. Move the content of the archive into your FNV root folder (not the Data folder) and leave it alone for now. Fallout Mod Manager (FOMM) This tool is essential for keeping your mod folder in a consistent state. I recommend using FOMM instead of the Nexus Mod Manager (NMM), at least for FNV, mainly because it has a bunch of tools integrated that are unknown to the NMM. Download it, put it somewhere. Installing a mod with FOMM Since this process is basically always the same procedure, I will describe it here once and later just mention stumbling blocks. Launch FOMM Select 'Package Manager' Select 'Add FOMod' (in case you can't see this option, click the little down arrow next to the first button) Navigate to the file you want to add and open it Select its entry on the left side of the package manager and double-click it or select it and hit 'Active' (in some cases you also have to activate the ESM and/or ESP files in the plug-in view before running the game) Done! FOMM can also deal with archives, if they are prepared to be used with a mod manager, simply because a fomod file is just a 7zip archive with a different extension. FNVEdit The Swiss army knife when it comes to mod conflicts and a great tool for cleaning up mods. When installing lots of mods there are going to be conflicts at some point and this tool will save you from a lot of headaches. Download it and move it somewhere where you can find it again. I also recommend downloading the FNVEdit Training Manual with it, if you want to know more about FNVEdits functionality. Next are extensions that will make FNV run much, much smoother, even with lots of active mods. New Vegas Script Extender (NVSE) This is needed by so many mods that you simply have to have it. Download the newest version from the developers website, which is currently version 4.2b2 as I am writing this, and move the content of the archive into your FNV root folder (again, that's not the Data folder). The source code folder is not needed and can be omitted/deleted. Now that the NVSE is installed, we'll set up G.E.C.K. to actually make use of the script extensions. Create a shortcut to the G.E.C.K. executable or to nvse_loader.exe and open up the properties for that shortcut. Change target to this '"..\Fallout New Vegas\nvse_loader.exe" -editor' to use NVSE with G.E.C.K. and substitute the path to the file with the path to the file on your machine. Put both path and filename in quotation marks, but not '-editor'. With that done, let's create the NVSE plug-in folder. Go to your FNV Data folder and create a new folder called 'NVSE' and inside that folder create a another folder called ‘Plugins’. Now, let's put something in there. New Vegas Stutter Remover (NVSR) Get the latest version of this NVSE plug-in from the Nexus page and move the DLL file into the NVSE plug-in folder you just created ('..\Data\NVSE\Plugins'). Optionally you could make this into a fomod, but you probably will never want to uninstall this again.. ever! New Vegas Anti Crash (NVAC) This NVSE plug-in catches unhandled exception that without it would lead to CTDs (Crash To Desktop). Download the latest version and install it with FOMM, see the instructions under FOMM for help on that. The archive is fomod-ready, which means FOMM can handle the archive file, no need to repack it. Currently NVAC does not fully support the German "no gore" version of FNV. FNV4GB This solves Bethesdas chronic 2GB RAM limitation and helps FNV to run much smoother even with lots of mods activated. Currently, version 1.6 does not work with version 2.2 of Fake Fullscreen, which we are going to install right after this one, Fake Fullscreen will not find the running instance of FNV. This might already be fixed as you read this, so please do a check here and on the Fake Fullscreen page (link below) or just go ahead and download the version provided by the NVSE developers.. because it works (that's the link I provide above). Move the executable and the DLL file from the archive into your FNV root folder, again, the source code can be omitted. Fake Fullscreen Mode Windowed This is the last one for the basic setup, after this one you are ready to play a much better running version of the game and install some "real" mods. Download it, unzip it into your FNV root folder and use its executable file and only this file to start your game. It will automatically detect NVSE and FNV4GB and use them. Before you start the game, make sure you have set Windowed mode in the graphics setting of the game. To change the graphics settings click on Options in the original Launcher or use FOMM ('Game Settings -> Graphics Settings'). Again, make sure you start the game with the executable that comes with Fake Fullscreen. If you use FOMM to start the game, set the Fake Fullscreen executable as custom command in the Settings dialog. I am not entirely sure, if FOMM detects it automatically, so just to be safe, add it as a custom launch option. You can then simply hit the standard launch button and it will run the Fake Fullscreen executable. So, go ahead and do that, start the game and see if everything works well for you. And that’s the basic setup, the must have stuff. FNV will run much better with this and as mentioned before, you are now set up to actually install more in-game changing mods. See the second post below this one, where I will continue to post mods that you will definitely need (e.g. MCM) and other mods that you might want to use. Have fun playing, xXSoSoXx
Guest Posted February 13, 2014 Posted February 13, 2014 Now, let’s actually put some stuff into the game. The Mod Configuration Menu (MCM) MCM gives modders the ability to add in-game configuration menus for their mods into the game, you are probably going to need it. Download the latest version and install it with FOMM. CASM with MCM CASM:NV replaces Fallout: New Vegas' saving system so that you no longer have to rely on only a single autosave or quicksave to fall back on. It also solves a reported problem where you could get incomplete savegames. Download and install it with FOMM. You do not have to unpack the archive as it is fomod-ready, FOMM can handle it. Yukichigai's Unofficial Patch (YUP) This will fix many annoying bugs in the game with just one bug fix package. Download the main file and install with FOMM, nothing special to look for here. Next, I am going to install the SexoutNG framework and replace the character meshes and textures with more detailed versions later on. The main reason why I am installing SexoutNG is simply because I will definitely use some Sexout mods in my game. If you don't plan on using Sexout (shame on you!) you could omit this step and just install the detailed skins and meshes for new avatar looks, but I am doing it like this and I suggest you do that, too. Please notice that I am not installing the Sexout Common Resources (SCR) at this point which is definitely needed to play any Sexout mod. Since there are already good explanations on how to install all of this on the forum, I'll just go over it really quick and tell you how I set everything up. Feel free to make use of any available options. NVSE Extender Hit 'Download' and download the FOMOD file, install like any other FOMOD. SexoutNG Download the Core and Data FOMOD files and install them. When asked about the 'Male Body' choose 'None - I will install my own' and click 'Install'. I will be using Breezes New Vegas Males, but I want all the convenient options in a nice dialog, that's why I am not going to use the one provided with SexoutNG. But before I move on with character related mods, I'll add high resolution textures and UI changes. NMCs Texture Pack for Fallout New Vegas This mod replaces most vanilla texture with high resolution textures. You can choose from three different texture sizes (large, medium and small), pick the one you prefer and install it with FOMM. I've added small and medium to FOMM, so I can switch between the two later, if I want to, the large ones are a bit over the top in my opinion, but that should not stop you from using them, if you want to. I also repacked the archives, so the texture and mesh folders are in the root folder of the archive. Generally speaking, you can overwrite pretty much everything in case FOMM tells you a file already exists. DarNified UI NV DarNified UI changes the chunky vanilla user interface into a more PC monitor friendly one. Download 'DUINV Test version 4' and install with FOMM. You'll also have to change three configuration files to make the fonts fit to the new user interface. Go to your main game folder and open Fallout_default.ini in a text editor Find the Fonts section and replace the whole section with this (also found in the post from where you downloaded DUI): [Fonts] ;sFontFile_1=Textures\Fonts\Glow_Monofonto_Large.fnt sFontFile_1=Textures\Fonts\DarN_FranKleinBold_14.fnt ;sFontFile_2=Textures\Fonts\Monofonto_Large.fnt sFontFile_2=Textures\Fonts\DarN_FranKleinBold_16.fnt sFontFile_3=Textures\Fonts\Glow_Monofonto_Medium.fnt ;sFontFile_4=Textures\Fonts\Monofonto_VeryLarge02_Dialogs2.fnt sFontFile_4=Textures\Fonts\DarN_Sui_Generis_Otl_10.fnt sFontFile_5=Textures\Fonts\Fixedsys_Comp_uniform_width.fnt ;sFontFile_6=Textures\Fonts\Glow_Monofonto_VL_dialogs.fnt sFontFile_6=Textures\Fonts\DarN_Sui_Generis_Otl_13.fnt ;sFontFile_7=Textures\Fonts\Baked-in_Monofonto_Large.fnt sFontFile_7=Textures\Fonts\DarN_Libel_Suit_Otl_24.fnt sFontFile_8=Textures\Fonts\Glow_Futura_Caps_Large.fnt sFontFile_9=Textures\Fonts\NVFont_Test.fnt Next, go to the FNV folder inside your Documents folder ('..\Users\<username>\My Documents\My Games\FalloutNV') and repeat the step above with Fallout.ini and FalloutPref.ini Save and close everything and enjoy your new user interface The Weapon Mod Menu The Weapon Mod Menu replaces the existing menu when choosing "Mod Weapon" in the PipBoy. Download and install with FOMM, if you're asked to overwrite files from DarNified UI then do so. There are many more good game fixing mods not mentioned here and I might add more, so please feel free to make suggestions. Right now, these are the ones I'd really recommend you to have, because they fix stuff, like not being able to remove a scope from your weapon again and funny things like that. You can omit the texture pack and DarNified UI in case you don't want to use it, but I recommend that you use them, they make things look much better. Let's move on to something equally important: the look of game avatars/characters. As mentioned above, I did not use the male character package that comes with SexoutNG, because I want to install it in a separate package. Let's get started with an overall fix mod. Fallout New Vegas Redesigned 2 This mod fixes many of the face texture problems the vanilla game is suffering from and anatomical misproportions that won't even fit into a post-nuclear world.. I guess. A little more attention is required to install this mod as it does not come fomod-ready, but we're going to prepare it for the mod manager. Don't worry, if you disagree with some of the plug-ins I tell you to copy and don't want to use them, you can still deactivated them after the mod is installed. Download the latest version and the Dracomies Improved Textures from Nexus und unpack both files Create a new folder and call it 'Fallout New Vegas Redesigned 2' (this is going to be the working folder where you put the things from the mod in that you want to have in your game) Go to the unpacked FNV Redesigned 2 folder and 'Fallout New Vegas\Data' within that folder (please read the directions file, if you want to get more information) Copy everything (meshes, textures, plug-ins) from that folder into your working folder Go to the 'Voice Dissonance Project' folder and copy the single plug-in file into your working folder as well (this matches NPCs with their voices) That's all I use from the FNV Redesigned 2 folder, now, switch to the Dracomies Improved Textures folder Choose the textures you like and copy the respective folders into the 'Textures' folder of your working folder (I took all of them except for Mr. Handy) Go to the FOMM Package Manager and choose 'Create from folder' from the drop-down list of the first button Navigate to your working folder ('Fallout New Vegas Redesigned 2') and hit 'Ok' (this will create the fomod file with all the things in it that you copied into the folder previously) Activate the mod and in the FOMM plug-in view, select the plug-ins you want to use (don't forget to activate the ESM as well and select the 'NVR - Lore Version' or the 'NVR - Recommended Version', not both - I use the recommended version) Finally, edit FNVs configuration files or there won't be any visible changeOpen Fallout_default.ini in FNVs main folder ('..\Steam\steamapps\common\Fallout New Vegas'), find bLoadFaceGenHeadEGTFiles and make it equal to 1 Go to the FNV folder within your Documents folder ('..\Users\<username>\My Documents\My Games\FalloutNV') and repeat the previous step with Fallout.ini and FalloutPrefs.ini Save and close everything Done! If you don't find the bLoadFaceGenHeadEGTFiles entry in any or all of the configuration files, simply create it under the General section. (to be continued..)
LaEspada Posted February 13, 2014 Posted February 13, 2014 I'd recommend Mod Organizer over FOMM. Only use FOMM for interface/UI mods ( any fomods FOMOD's) really.
Guest Posted February 13, 2014 Posted February 13, 2014 I'd recommend Mod Organizer over FOMM. Only use FOMM for interface/UI mods ( any fomods FOMOD's) really. Thanks for that tip, but I recommend FOMM.. it's all you need..
Swyke Posted February 14, 2014 Posted February 14, 2014 I'd recommend Mod Organizer over FOMM. Only use FOMM for interface/UI mods ( any fomods FOMOD's) really. Thanks for that tip, but I recommend FOMM.. it's all you need.. I would recommend FOMM, too. But I would recommend this one: http://www.loverslab.com/topic/17895-fomm-custom-build-0148/
Guest Posted February 14, 2014 Posted February 14, 2014 I'd recommend Mod Organizer over FOMM. Only use FOMM for interface/UI mods ( any fomods FOMOD's) really.Thanks for that tip, but I recommend FOMM.. it's all you need.. I would recommend FOMM, too. But I would recommend this one: http://www.loverslab.com/topic/17895-fomm-custom-build-0148/ Indeed, thank you! I've corrected the link..
Guest Posted February 14, 2014 Posted February 14, 2014 NVAC Added it to the list, thank you, Arkady!
JLF65 Posted February 14, 2014 Posted February 14, 2014 Two things I want to mention. First, 4GB won't help ATI users with 32-bit Windows. For quite some time now, ATI has not supported a version of Catalyst that works in 4GB mode in 32-bit mode. You need 64-bit Windows for 4GB. I ran into that real quick - I'm still using Windows XP, believe it or not, but I'm looking for a cheap copy of 64-bit Windows 7. Second, turn all loose files into BSAs if you can. You can use the Archive app that comes with Skyrim's CreationKit to make compatible BSA files easily. However, there are rules to using BSA files in FO3 or FONV. 1 - Assuming the proper use of archive invalidation, all loose files have absolute priority. A BSA will never override a loose file. 2 - You need an ESP file that references the files in the BSA for the files in the BSA to be loaded. Some mods are merely nothing but loose files - you need some way of making references to those files for a BSA to work. Most custom outfit or weapon mods already come with an ESP that references the files, so that's not an issue for those mods. It's a BIG problem for outfit/armor or weapon replacers - these rarely come with an ESP... just loose files that override the files in the main BSA. Those need an ESP made that references the files or they won't load. Which leads to the last rule... 3 - Only the FIRST instance of a file in a BSA is loaded. So no file in a BSA can override a file in a higher BSA. Since the main BSA is loaded first (and must ALWAYS be first in load order), no files in the main BSA can be overridden. So how do you do an outfit/armor/weapon/whatever replacer as a BSA, then? Take this example: I wanted a Type 3 body replacer, but that requires overriding the main files for the female bodies. The races make reference to the body associated with that race, so I made an ESP that overrides the race entries I want to have using the Type 3 body. But since no BSA can override the main BSA, I changed the path of the Type 3 meshes and textures before making a BSA of them, then changed the race entries in the ESP to use the new paths. I also had to use nifskope before making the BSA to make the meshes use the new path. Following those rules, I don't have a single loose file for my FO3 install... except for DarnUI. I'm working on a generic armor replacer... rule #3 makes them a pain to work on since you have to do all new pathes and references to every piece replaced. I feel it's worth it - having nothing but BSAs makes it easy to turn on and off mods with little to no complications. No worries about restoring overwritten files since NO files are EVER overwritten! All you need to worry about is the load order. One big plus of using the race override method of the body replacer - no "sexy" Grandmas! When you use the loose files for a body replacer, it replaces ANYTHING using those files... which includes Granny. It's hilarious reading comments from people who encounter an old lady with a body of a hot 24 year-old in sexy clothing. It's wrong on any level! Anywho, overriding a race avoids that since old folks are actually a different race than normal adults. So my FO3 is full of hot women, and NO sexy grannies!
LaEspada Posted February 14, 2014 Posted February 14, 2014 Two things I want to mention. First, 4GB won't help ATI users with 32-bit Windows. For quite some time now, ATI has not supported a version of Catalyst that works in 4GB mode in 32-bit mode. You need 64-bit Windows for 4GB. I ran into that real quick - I'm still using Windows XP, believe it or not, but I'm looking for a cheap copy of 64-bit Windows 7. Second, turn all loose files into BSAs if you can. You can use the Archive app that comes with Skyrim's CreationKit to make compatible BSA files easily. However, there are rules to using BSA files in FO3 or FONV. 1 - Assuming the proper use of archive invalidation, all loose files have absolute priority. A BSA will never override a loose file. 2 - You need an ESP file that references the files in the BSA for the files in the BSA to be loaded. Some mods are merely nothing but loose files - you need some way of making references to those files for a BSA to work. Most custom outfit or weapon mods already come with an ESP that references the files, so that's not an issue for those mods. It's a BIG problem for outfit/armor or weapon replacers - these rarely come with an ESP... just loose files that override the files in the main BSA. Those need an ESP made that references the files or they won't load. Which leads to the last rule... 3 - Only the FIRST instance of a file in a BSA is loaded. So no file in a BSA can override a file in a higher BSA. Since the main BSA is loaded first (and must ALWAYS be first in load order), no files in the main BSA can be overridden. So how do you do an outfit/armor/weapon/whatever replacer as a BSA, then? Take this example: I wanted a Type 3 body replacer, but that requires overriding the main files for the female bodies. The races make reference to the body associated with that race, so I made an ESP that overrides the race entries I want to have using the Type 3 body. But since no BSA can override the main BSA, I changed the path of the Type 3 meshes and textures before making a BSA of them, then changed the race entries in the ESP to use the new paths. I also had to use nifskope before making the BSA to make the meshes use the new path. Following those rules, I don't have a single loose file for my FO3 install... except for DarnUI. I'm working on a generic armor replacer... rule #3 makes them a pain to work on since you have to do all new pathes and references to every piece replaced. I feel it's worth it - having nothing but BSAs makes it easy to turn on and off mods with little to no complications. No worries about restoring overwritten files since NO files are EVER overwritten! All you need to worry about is the load order. One big plus of using the race override method of the body replacer - no "sexy" Grandmas! When you use the loose files for a body replacer, it replaces ANYTHING using those files... which includes Granny. It's hilarious reading comments from people who encounter an old lady with a body of a hot 24 year-old in sexy clothing. It's wrong on any level! Anywho, overriding a race avoids that since old folks are actually a different race than normal adults. So my FO3 is full of hot women, and NO sexy grannies! I was thinking about doing that and releasing it on Nexus. Just simply redirect a vanilla body and textures to a new directory and change the race's attributes to reflect that so you don't get any grandmas with 24-year old bodies. I'm not sure how to work with armors though.. But hairs, eyes, would remain unaffected per say.
Shonen Bato Posted February 16, 2014 Posted February 16, 2014 I'd recommend Mod Organizer over FOMM. Only use FOMM for interface/UI mods ( any fomods FOMOD's) really. Same here... Mod Organizer is a god sent tool ! If you haven't already, you should really give it a try ! I was using FOMM for several years: it is a simple and great tool. But... since i use MO, my modded New Vegas/Skyrim is much more "consistent" and stable because, thanks to MO, i know what i do ! There is too much to say about it. If you're interested go check this page or this S.T.E.P. Wiki.
JLF65 Posted February 16, 2014 Posted February 16, 2014 Wow, MO looks great. I'm going to have to try it out since it's hard to convert certain mods from loose files to BSAs, namely armor replacers. EDIT: Uhg... looks can be deceiving. MO works great! For half a dozen mods or so. Once I add more than that, it explodes spectacularly. Worse, even turning off the mods back to what worked no longer works. I have to delete the MO folder ENTIRELY and start from scratch before it works again. And then after several mods, it explodes again. Maybe it just doesn't like Windows XP. Don't know... that's all I got.
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