out of the modding loop

[Corruptbacon]

hello
i recently had my interest in fallout renewed, remembering the last mod i tried was TTW, great to see this project still going and being being squashed by cooperate ass-hats.
i have a series of simple questions that i haven't found answers to , and yes i have used the search function and the forum topics, surfed the forum on and off for a week.
i have small experience with the geck, im planing on making small changes NPC/enemies, armors/weapons placing/relocation, level lists(need help with that)
1 what is the general rule when making changes to TTW, or downloading mods. what places,objects,lists are best avoided, for me just under 2 hours for a fresh reinstall.
2 making a back up of TTW folder on initial install for quicker rest, in case of game breaking problems. good idea yes/no
3i didnt see this in the FAQ, how many items from FONV made it to FO3 and vis versa specifically weapons and outfits and animals, on a quick test to see if the game would start, i did run into a raider with the single shot gun and double, good to see
4 i cant skip opening credits or video, did i do something wrong?
5 the 3.2.1 and 3.2.2 updates necessary or skip able?
final thank you for this amazing project i always wondered what NV features would be like in FO3, thanks and don't stop

[jlf65]

0 - Use FNVEdit rather than GECK. GECK should only be used to compile scripts, and maybe place items. GECK WILL add crap to your mod that isn't needed, meaning after using GECK, you WILL need to run FNVEdit anyway to clean the mod.
2 - Always make a backup of Bethesda games when you've got the base game installed and working. That way WHEN you kill it modding, you'll be able to reinstall quicker to a known good state. MO2 helps reduce this, but it's still a good idea to make back ups.
4 - Stewie Tweaks let's you skip the intro. The Base FO3/NV engine requires you sit through at least some of the opening credits before allowing you to start the game. The point is just after Vaultboy appears in the bottom left corner when using Darn.
5 - You MUST install the 3.2.1 update, then the 3.2.2 update. Period.

1 and 3 will be easier to see by just running FNVEdit and looking at the lists you're interested in and seeing how TTW overrides them.

[FiftyTifty]

2 - Always make a backup of Bethesda games when you've got the base game installed and working. That way WHEN you kill it modding, you'll be able to reinstall quicker to a known good state. MO2 helps reduce this, but it's still a good idea to make back ups.

Or just use Wrye bash. It keeps track of all the mod files it's installed, including which mod files are overridden by other mods.

[Lyndi]

Or just use MO2 like is recommended. If you use it correctly it won't touch the game folder and it can have profile specific ini files. Backing up the game files is pretty pointless if you're using MO2.

[jlf65]

Unless you wind up killing the base folder somehow... like a bad Windows update, or a harddrive failure, or a roommate/relative/friend/kid does something nasty to the computer. With MO2, you won't need it because of modding, but you may still need it due to other situations, so it's still a good idea.

[Lyndi]

I could see doing it if you had a bandwidth limit or slow connection I guess. The only Bethesda game I still backup is Skyrim SE because of crappy CC updates.

At least we don't have to worry about that nonsense with FNV.

[Corruptbacon]

thanks for the responses
to bad the geck falls shot of FNVedit i have some experience with the geck
what about adding recipes i remember NVgeck making it really easy compared to FO3

[Corruptbacon]

am i suppose to have 3.2.1 active in MO2 along with 3.2.2 or do the combining steps form 3.2.2 make 3.2.1 cause problems?

[jlf65]

Yes, you need to have both 3.2.1 and 3.2.2 active in MO2. And its super-easy to add recipes in FNVEdit. I'd definitely advise using it over GECK to make recipes. As I've said before, I'd recommend only using GECK for compiling scripts, adding objects to the world (and I often don't use geck for that, either, just place them in FNVEdit and adjust the coords in FNVEdit as needed), or to make new buildings/places. FNVEdit is better at everything else. If you use geck, load the mod into FNVEdit and clean all the extra entries added under worldspace (and there will be a bunch of them, even if your mod never had a worldspace entry at all).

[Corruptbacon]

thanks jlf65