Fallout 4 as Shooter—Muddling thru

Fallout 4

Game + 7 DLCs currently on sale for $10. Someone here tempted me with it last week, so I must go watch some gameplay.
I love FO4, and while it's technically an RPG, the RPG elements are very light and it can definitely be played as more of a shooter-type game if you want. There are a lot of quests and conversations, but very few cut scenes, most everything is done in game. The best part of the game for me is the expansive settlement building system and crafting system, but it does require a lot of resource gathering, which I also enjoy, but it may not be everyone's cup of tea.

The modding community is huge, and there are literally 10s of thousands of mods over on the Nexus. If you do go for it, I'd recommend playing it unmodded for at least a few hours just to get a feel for the game and what things you like to see changed (although you might want to install the Unofficial Fallout 4 Patch (UFO4P) as it fixes hundreds of issues).
 
FO4 … RPG elements are very light and it can definitely be played as more of a shooter-type game
Thanks. I checked a few videos and picked it up. I like the lite RPG elements in more recent Far Crys—New Dawn being the most pronounced with base building and leveling, plus leveling for the player, weapons and opponents. You def don't want to take on a Level 3 enemy or predator while you or your weapons are still Level 1.

The main draw for me is the open world, its random encounters and exploration—doesn't hurt that it's Massachusetts where I spent a few weeks once, maybe I'll meet a merchant in a remnant of Faneuil Market :)

it does require a lot of resource gathering, which I also enjoy, but it may not be everyone's cup of tea
Oh that's my cuppa, as we discussed before here. I've always preferred RTS games with good base building play, Royal Envoy I keep on about is basically a town build every level, and of course Civ is the macro version, ie empire building. From what I saw, FO4's is very in-depth but optional to a degree—but I will very probably at least setup a defensible home base to begin with.

a lot of quests and conversations
The more quests, the better—always nice to have an objective to complete when going for an exploratory jog.

I'd recommend playing it unmodded for at least a few hours … you might want to install the Unofficial Fallout 4 Patch (UFO4P) as it fixes hundreds of issues
Hundreds, huh—yeah, I could do without hundreds of issues welcoming me :) I'll likely look for mods to reduce the complexity, which I'm not a fan of.

Expansions etc—now or later?

GOTY includes 7 items, which seem to include 2 main DLCs—Far Harbor and Nuka-World. I assume these will be separate, ie I need to choose to play or add them. Should I ignore to begin with, or not?
 
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Expansions etc—now or later?

GOTY includes 7 items, which seem to include 2 main DLCs—Far Harbor and Nuka-World. I assume these will be separate, ie I need to choose to play or add them. Should I ignore to begin with, or not?
With the GOTY all DLCs will be installed, but the 3 story based expansions (Far Harbor, Nuka World, & Automatron) won't unlock until you're at certain levels (I don't remember what levels you need to be). Automatron takes place within the main Commonwealth map, while the other 2 have new areas to explore, with Far Harbor being the largest. They are all higher level quests that would be too much for a beginning character.

The other DLCs are mostly workshop items added to the things you can make during settlement building or building you home when entering "workshop mode" in one of the buildable areas. Time doesn't stop either, and you can easily be attacked while trying to build (though it doesn't happen often).
 
install the Unofficial Fallout 4 Patch (UFO4P)
You prob know this, but fyi:
Author of UFO4P recommends also installing the Bullet Counted Reload System (BCR) mod—only one on his recommend page… um, which URL I can't find now! :D

there are literally 10s of thousands of mods over on the Nexus
It's remarkable, 19 'New Today' when I visited yesterday, 21 new just now for today—for a 7yo game!

I went with Vortex and got it working after a few missteps—impressive app at first glance—and installed above 2 and the script extender F4SE.
A first browse thru the All-time list, these caught my eye:
BodySlide & Outfit Studio
Improved Map w Visible Roads
Sim Settlements

Collections

You/anyone try any of these? I'm not a fan of installing a bunch at a time, but if you think it's a good idea…

I want to like this game cos clearly there's huge value in it, so I'm trying to give myself an easy intro and fairly low learning curve :)
 
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Fallout 4


You prob know this, but fyi:
Author of UFO4P recommends also installing the Bullet Counted Reload System (BCR) mod—only one on his recommend page… um, which URL I can't find now! :D


It's remarkable, 19 'New Today' when I visited yesterday, 21 new just now for today—for a 7yo game!

I went with Vortex and got it working after a few missteps—impressive app at first glance—and installed above 2 and the script extender F4SE.
A first browse thru the All-time list, these caught my eye:
BodySlide & Outfit Studio
Improved Map w Visible Roads
Sim Settlements

Collections

You/anyone try any of these? I'm not a fan of installing a bunch at a time, but if you think it's a good idea…

I want to like this game cos clearly there's huge value in it, so I'm trying to give myself an easy intro and fairly low learning curve :)
Just keep an eye out for this guy (this is actually Fallout 76).

View: https://youtu.be/BwelJNlyaiA
 
You prob know this, but fyi:
Author of UFO4P recommends also installing the Bullet Counted Reload System (BCR) mod—only one on his recommend page… um, which URL I can't find now! :D
Weird. I've never heard of that mod. Arthmoor is listed as the mod author of UFO4P, but it's actually made & maintained by a group of modders, so it's continually maintained. However, Arthmoor removed the majority of his individual mods from the Nexus after they implemented that new "collections" feature which didn't allow for modders to have a say where there mods were used. His official statement on that issue:
yw3c45G.png


You might try Arthmoor's own mod hosting site: Downloads - AFK Mods

It's remarkable, 19 'New Today' when I visited yesterday, 21 new just now for today—for a 7yo game!
Welcome to Bethesda open world RPGs, the most modded games on the Nexus! The top 5 being Skyrim, Skyrim SE, Fallout 4, Fallout New Vegas, and Oblivion (FONV was technically from Obsidian, but still a Bethesda IP).


I went with Vortex and got it working after a few missteps—impressive app at first glance—and installed above 2 and the script extender F4SE.
A first browse thru the All-time list, these caught my eye:
BodySlide & Outfit Studio
Improved Map w Visible Roads
Sim Settlements
I love Vortex as a mod manager, especially for Bethesda games, it get's constant updates, has a good tutorial section, and gives you access to all the available modding tools from a single interface. Glad you got F4SE, as it's required for many of the better mods. Of those mods you listed:

Body Slide & Outfit Studio: It's a separate utility, accessible from the Vortex Tools Menu, that allows you to change female bodies and outfits. It has no effect on the game, unless you use it to alter bodies & outfits before you actually play the game. It's generally used in conjunction with a female body mod, like CBBE: Caliente's Beautiful Bodies Enhancer -CBBE- at Fallout 4 Nexus - Mods and community (nexusmods.com) . I always use both mods, as it gives my gameplay a bit more sensuality, for lack of a better word.
obUK2Qu.jpg


Improved Map & Visible Roads: This is an excellent mod that I've used for years, but last playthrough I switched to FallUI-Map: FallUI - Map at Fallout 4 Nexus - Mods and community (nexusmods.com) which I found to be superior. The mod author has a series of "FallUI" mods that are really great, work together well, and are frequently updated.

Sim Settlements: Never used it or the newer Sim Settlements 2, or any of the various addons. Very highly rated, but the primary reason I don't use it is because it completely automates the settlement building system and takes the actual construction out of the players hands. It also (to my knowledge) only uses the base game construction elements, and I like more variety and a "hands-on" approach.

There are hundreds of mods just for settlement/home building, and it's the main reason I play FO4 so much, things that just aren't possible if you use Sim Settlements. But that's just my perspective, many players don't want to be bothered with making settlements themselves.
ZDJB4NB.jpg


Concerning Nexus Collections:
You/anyone try any of these? I'm not a fan of installing a bunch at a time, but if you think it's a good idea…

I want to like this game cos clearly there's huge value in it, so I'm trying to give myself an easy intro and fairly low learning curve :)
I've looked at a bunch of them for various games, but never actually used any of them. The primary reason being that while many contain mods that I want, or consider essential, they also contain mods that I don't care about or don't want in my game. Modding any game is a personal thing, you want certain features, but don't want others.

Also, the Nexus "Collections" feature, as it stands today, is not a "one-click" solution to modding a game, there can be many steps involved, including additional downloads, as well as some collections not being maintained by the uploader (who may or may not have much knowledge about the mods in the collection). In my opinion, it's a failed experiment by the Nexus and the whole project should just be abandoned. And the biggest negative affect of all that is that many of the best modders have abandoned the Nexus because of this policy, making it more difficult to locate and install some great mods.
 
keep an eye out for this guy
Er… what did I just watch o_O

I find these sorts of lists handy sometimes
Thanks, I like those too. Only one I've noted so far is this video from 2017, haven't looked at his recs yet.

Oh just skimmed your PCG rec, it's a fine list divided into useful categories. A few notables:
♣ DEF_UI—UI is the one thing which could make me drop a game quickly, I'm just not big into devs disrespecting my time or patience. Even when that's not the case… eg in Civ4 I'd have dropped it after a year or so once the tedium outweighed the fun, if it wasn't for the BUG-BAT-BULL mods.
♦ Subway Runner—sounds like a good early strategic choice to clear a safe traversal route.

Do I need to visit bethesda.net or will Nexus do?

"Now when holding up a weapon with a scope you can see through it"
What? Seriously, I need a mod to see thru my scopes????? :unsure:

♥ Crossbows—oh yeah, of course. Amazed it didn't exist in game, hope there are bows.

"watching slowly-appearing text crawl across the hundreds of different terminals"
Dev school needs to have a compulsory Get Spanked module, where players who've been disrespected are invited in to return the favor :rolleyes:

"consume something right off the table, shelf, or floor"
Having to search inventory for the cashew you just picked up is just… well, nuts.

"fully shows your options in conversations"
The vague suggestion of what you'll say seems a very poor design choice—I have to assume dumb, rather than deliberate 'Let's mess 'em up'.

try Arthmoor's own mod hosting site
Noted. Found the BCR on Nexus.

sensuality, for lack of a better word
Good word, adds to the experience for me too :)

FallUI-Map
Yes, looks better—series noted.

things that just aren't possible if you use Sim Settlements
Noted, I'll try without first to see if the mechanic appeals or frustrates.

they also contain mods that I don't care about or don't want in my game
Yeah, that's why I generally avoid Collections too. I installed Spud's '~30 essential mods pack' when starting Civ6, but found after a while I only wanted a few of 'em.

many of the best modders have abandoned the Nexus
That's a real shame. Mods were getting easier recently, to the extend that non-techies mightn't be intimidated, so this fracturing is a real backward step. I applaud the intent, but the downsides you mention are too big a price to pay, and actively work against the main intent. Let's hope they change, cos Nexus is/has been a great resource and service.

I think I'll spin the FO4 posts off into another 'Muddling Thru' thread like I did for Far Cry 6, it would be a shame to lose and scatter the good info as time goes by. Shooter or RPG forum? :)
 
I think I'll spin the FO4 posts off into another 'Muddling Thru' thread like I did for Far Cry 6, it would be a shame to lose and scatter the good info as time goes by. Shooter or RPG forum? :)
Excellent idea! A lot of topics seem to start in our weekly thread, then eventually get lost or fragmented, and there seems like enough interest here to warrant it's own thread. @ZedClampet recommends the Shooter category, but I still think it should probably go into RPG. Both categories are fitting, as FO4 is almost a hybrid game that encompasses several established genres (RPG, shooter, immersive sim, and maybe one of the construction-type games (?).

♣ DEF_UI—UI is the one thing which could make me drop a game quickly, I'm just not big into devs disrespecting my time or patience. Even when that's not the case
A good UI, as well as inventory management, is huge in a game like FO4, and unfortunately Bethesda's base systems are really bad. DEF-UI is great and I've used it for years, but recently switched to Fall-UI Hud: FallUI - HUD at Fallout 4 Nexus - Mods and community (nexusmods.com) , the same modder who made the FallUI-Map mod. He's got a series of UI and inventory management mods that all work together (there are links to most of his mods at the bottom of the mod page).

Most of his mods require the Mod Configuration Menu (MCM): Mod Configuration Menu at Fallout 4 Nexus - Mods and community (nexusmods.com) which allows you to tweak and set the parameters of mods within the game. Many major mods require it, or at least make use of it, and it is a huge time saver as it eliminates the need to make INI file edits outside the game.

Do I need to visit bethesda.net or will Nexus do?
Kind of depends on what mods you want and how in-depth you want to get into modding FO4. As I stated earlier, there are many mod authors who left the Nexus, and most of them post their mods on Bethesda.net, which I don't find to be user friendly, has much less information on the mods, and a pain when trying to use a mod manager like Vortex.

But when there's a problem, a modder will eventually fix it. This mod: Import from Bethesda.net at Modding Tools - Nexus Mods will allow you to get mods from Bethesda.net, and import them into Vortex so you can manage the installation and load order. I haven't personally used it yet, but will be soon as I'm slowly going through my mods for another FO4 run, and there are several mods there that I have to use.

"Now when holding up a weapon with a scope you can see through it"
What? Seriously, I need a mod to see thru my scopes????? :unsure:
Can't remember what the base game was like as it's been so long since I've played FO4 unmodded, but if I remember correctly, you can "click & hold" the right mouse button to zoom in with a scope (though that could have been with a mod), it could also be dependent upon what perks you take at level up. Also, don't forget to hit "V" for VATs mode which allows you to target individual body parts.

♥ Crossbows—oh yeah, of course. Amazed it didn't exist in game, hope there are bows.
There is at least one mod for crossbows, but none for bows that I know of. While I loved the bows & crossbows of Skyrim, I found them to be irrelevant in FO4, mainly because if I focused on certain skills and upgraded my ranged weapons to have silencers so I could stealthily attack from a distance.

"watching slowly-appearing text crawl across the hundreds of different terminals"
Dev school needs to have a compulsory Get Spanked module, where players who've been disrespected are invited in to return the favor :rolleyes:
Not sure exactly what you're referring too; the hacking mini-game?

"consume something right off the table, shelf, or floor"
Having to search inventory for the cashew you just picked up is just… well, nuts.
Yeah, if you want to "consume" food or beverages you need to do it from the inventory screens, which make s it even more important to have a good inventory UI. If you're using Bethesda's "survival mode" (which I don't recommend because of the stupid "save on sleep" requirement) food & beverage consumption will be critical for survival. I'd suggest: Hardcore Mode ON at Fallout 4 Nexus - Mods and community (nexusmods.com) which allows you to tweak all those survival elements to the level of your enjoyment.

"fully shows your options in conversations"
The vague suggestion of what you'll say seems a very poor design choice—I have to assume dumb, rather than deliberate 'Let's mess 'em up'.
That part bites hard, as you don't really know what your character is going to say. One of those "RPG-lite" elements without much depth. In part, I think it was a result of using a voiced protagonist as opposed to a silent one.
 

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