5382

Another mod that sounds kinda cool.

5383

Was in the mood for some immersive gaming and booted up Fallout 76. Realised I don’t really like that particular entry in the series so turned to Fallout 4 instead. Two of the main reasons being: I like to be able to fully pause a game and secondly, I prefer not dealing with enemies that are bullet sponges. Fallout 4 has a more lethal combat loop.

My first pleasant discovery was that Fallout 4 on Xbox supports mods. Completely forgot about that. Next I discovered that the game had been updated with FPS boost. This makes it feel like a new game, very smooth. However i was a annoyed to see that the resolution is lowered to achieve the higher FPS. Boo. Only to then discover that a mod exists that maintains the 4K resolution and meets the 60FPS target. Fantastic.

Lastly it was time to switch on Survival mode. If the FPS boost makes it look like a new game then the survival mode makes it play like one. The added tension almost reminds me of Stalker. There’s no more running in one direction and carelessly exploring, death is awaiting around every corner. I now have a dilemma though. The lack of saving in survival mode is a bit frustrating. I like that I can’t save scum but it would be good to have a little more flexibility. I’m thinking of either craftable beds mod or the mod that enables fast travelling between settlements.

5384

Just now saw that story about River. As a dog owner (somewhat, er, obsessive I’d say) I loved the way Dogmeat moved and acted in the game. It was very clear that the animator(s) understood canines and their ways. I also had for many years a German Shepherd (named Beowulf) who reminded me of Dogmeat.

Nothing quite like dogs, really.

5385

Name? And it didn’t adversely affect performance on the XSX?

5386

It says downscales to 720 but it doesn’t.

https://bethesda.net/en/mods/fallout4/mod-detail/4061333

And no, it doesn’t affect performance from what I can see, other than disabling God Rays which you can see in that video.

5387

Thanks for that. I can’t believe how washed out the FPS Boost looks in places as compared to the mod! Definitely gonna play with it a bit.

5388

Cool, I’ll give that a go too. And definitely add the Journey mod to your survival playthrough - it’s still really immersive without being unnecessarily punishing.

5389

Strange, I turned the native FPS Boost off, installed the mod, and it looked…OK, I guess, walking into Concord. Then i quit, disabled the mod and turned back on the FPS Boost and thought it looked a lot smoother, overall.

5390

How odd, I had the opposite experience. Were you able to compare the resolution differences? That’s what bugged me, 1080 vs 4K.

5391

I’ll putz around a little more. I never honestly noticed a resolution drop before. You don’t have the boost and the mod running, do you?

5392

It kills me to ask such a basic question, but I just don’t understand it.

I’ve been asked to build beds, which requires cloth and wood. Guides online say “look around Sanctuary and you can scrap old furniture and rugs”… but I don’t have that action available on any old chair or flooring I find in/out of the houses on this street. What am I doing wrong?

5393

You have to enter build mode to scrap if I remember correctly.

5394

Oh yeah that’s it. Thanks!

5395

Gaah, I remember running around scrapping everything in Sanctuary. I got anal about it and would hunt down every single twig or tire.

5396

I’m the same way here in the beginning. That neighborhood annoys my OCD and I want to clean the whole place up too.

5397

Okay, prompted by the recent Watch Out For Fireballs episodes, I reinstalled Fallout 4, and between a different perspective on the game and about 20 or so mods, I’m actually really enjoying it this time!

Added a bunch of graphical/environmental improvements (textures, lighting, weather), reduced the weight of junk, returned VATS to a pause rather than slo-mo, added tons new weapon and armor mods, changed the dialogue prompts from generic Yes/No/Sarcastic/More Info prompts to the full line, drastically cut down the power armor energy drain, added roads to the map, and so on, and so on.

I still have issues with the writing and story, but now it looks great and plays really well too.

5398

Yeah, that is sort of what I did for my umpteenth playthrough some time ago. I love that game.

5399

I’ve been deep in FO4, although I stuck to mods from Bethesda. I do like the game a lot, but (mild spoilers ahead): I’ve hit the point in the story where I find my son and realize the game is no longer linear. I’m not sure I feel like playing all 4 main faction quest lines, so where do I go?

5400

All the factions are pretty much horrible, so, eh, flip a coin.

I mean, I always nuke the damn Brotherhood fascists, and usually wipe out the Institute, because they suck.

5401

Yep, me too. Also, on my last incomplete playthrough, I shot Father in the face when I got certain news and walked out untouched. I don’t know how that plays out since I stopped shortly after.