The fascinating world of Fallout

(I will list mods further down)- see updates also!
While I’m fairly sure I watched somebody play Fallout (3?) back in the day and I was vaguely amused by Vault Boy memes, I didn’t play it myself. But recently, a couple of my dear friends have bought me a bunch of the games! So I’ve been playing 3 and 4, and started on 76 recently.

I think a lot of people are also getting into it at this time because of the TV series, which I still haven’t seen and, knowing myself, I probably won’t see until about 10 years after everyone else. I’m not generally very good at RPGs as I can’t remember things like perk stats very well and struggle with being given so much free reign vs an existing character with a defined purpose.

But I’ve been really getting into it. I played Fallout 3, accidentally finished it, started a 2nd playthrough, have been playing (and modding) 4 a lot, and am now on 76 with someone, but it’s an MMO so I’m feeling quite out of my depth.

I find Fallout aesthetically-pleasing as I quite enjoy retrofuturism. And I love soda so much that I’ve developed a fondness for Nuka Cola despite the fact it’s not a real drink. I’m not sure I totally get the timescale of 200 years after the war. Stuff still looks totally desolate and nature hasn’t figured out a way at all? But the picket fence next to my house didn’t rot away in all that time. Terminals and robots didn’t degrade (on another note, I love Protectrons). I could believe that it had been 20 years, maybe. Which it actually has been in F76, and everything is looking much better. How did human society not progress back up at all in 200 years, man? Nobody figured out indoor plumbing again in all that time? But somehow there are also doctors. I’m probably overthinking it.

Anyway, I’ve been enjoying a lot of building and decorating, so as always I have an abundance of ugly screenshots.

House

Sanctuary Hills (main settlement)

Vault 88

Mods used (Fallout 4)

These mods are from Nexus, and are installed and managed using their Vortex Mod Manager.

Everyone’s Best Friend – lets you have both Dogmeat and another companion with you at the same time (which it seems was originally intended, based on some voice lines).
F4SE – Fallout 4 Script Extender, required to make various mods work.
Millennium Clutter – Adds the occasional interesting colour or pattern to random items around the world.

QMan’s Craftable Lanterns – I just wanted to be able to place lanterns around settlements, and I wasn’t able to pick any up from the world.
OCDecorator – I think this is my favourite one; lets you place a variety of items down as immovable decorations that can’t be knocked over by bumbling settlers. Provides the static Nuka Cola bottles, keys, typewriter, toys, etc.
USO – Unlocked Settlement Objects, gives you so many things that I didn’t even realise were a possibility. Let me put a gorilla in Sanctuary! Let me put out random robots! Different colours for metal walls. Numerous things you otherwise wouldn’t be able to add.
Capital Wasteland Workshop & CWW 2 – Beloved objects from Fallout 3! I couldn’t resist using a few shop counters from this, as well as the gorgeous purple double bed! And let’s not forget the ceiling lamp.
cVc Dead Wasteland – I got this mod for the alternative dog kennels, but it has a lot of other interesting item groupings, stocked shelves, prefabs, and provided the beanbag in the corner of my house.
Settlement Menu Manager & SMM Patches – Helps organise these different decoration mods into menus that don’t conflict with each other. Takes some getting used to so you can remember where everything is, but impossible to live without.
Dog Bed for Dogmeat – The blue one reminded me of my dog’s bed.

K-9 Harness – Tactical Body Armour and Backpack for Dogmeat – I found out the default dog armour didn’t actually do anything, plus it looked uncomfy as hell. This vest actually does add some defence, you can craft patches for your allegiances (mine are Minutemen), and I’ve loved blue camo since the Tomb Raider 3 Nevada trousers, so I enjoy that colour option. I’ve also just discovered this patch to prevent bandana clipping.

Codsworth Pre-War Version – Makes Codsworth nice and shiny.
mdkd’s Minutemen Flag Retexture – The original texture in game looks like ass in my opinion, this makes everything look much better.
Helmetless NukaGirl Outfit – I was so excited to find this outfit but I found running around with a globe on my head very distracting (and I tend to play in 3rd-person due to motion sickness). My friend did recommend a different mod for this but I found the description a bit overwhelming; this one has worked fine for me.
Nuka World – Skip raiding your own settlements – I’m a sensitive baby so I used this to finish a quest and skip unpleasant things that didn’t really match my character.
Achievement Mods Enabler & dll loader – Does what it says on the tin.
Mr Handy Make-a-Bot Reinvented – Allows you to use other robot torsos with the Mr Handy arms; it’s odd that you need a mod for this when models of these combinations are present in the game.
Nuka World Market Vendors Sell NW Clothing – This let me buy the Nuka World jumpsuit that I didn’t get because of choices I made in the game.

☞ Not mods per se, but from the official Creation Club I also have the 12 rescue dogs, the TransDOGrifier to make Dogmeat white (I project my deceased pets onto videogame animals, we know this), and the Nuka-Cola Quantum Pip-Boy skin.
Update: Got some more things from the store (some of which are currently free), the Graphic T-Shirt Pack, Customisable Vault Suits, Nuka-Cola Collector Workshop, and Home Decor Workshop Pack.

Mods that didn’t work out for me include:

Place Everywhere – Everyone recommends it but I just couldn’t get it to work no matter what I did with the ini file. UPDATE: Turns out I had to use the F4SE launcher to open the game when I wanted to use this! So finally managed to fix some things that annoyed me.
Rename Codsworth to Cogsworth – In my head I already call him Cogsworth, so this was a no-brainer, sadly I couldn’t actually get it to work for the on-screen text when I was hovering over him, but it did work in the Pip-Boy.

Rebuild Sanctuary & Rebuild Collection Shared Resources – I’ve wanted to make the walls/roofs of the remaining Sanctuary houses look pre-war. This mod looked ideal for that because it hasn’t been taken down, and you have to interact with something inside houses to repair them, so I think that would’ve let me keep the replacement structures I’ve built where the collapsed houses were. Unfortunately, this mod just fucked all my shit up no matter what I did with the load order. UPDATE: Finally got these to work, now Sanctuary is beautiful (see 2nd video), also got some of the creator’s other mods for The Castle, Croup Manor, Jamaica Plain, Oberland Station, Starlight Drive-In, Sunshine Tidings, and Taffington Boathouse.

I am the height of fashion

Updates

Further further further update!

I since got this mod for adding chickens/rabbits/alternative ungulates as farm animals, and this one for Nuka Cola lanterns. Just assume I’m always updating and decorating little things otherwise I’ll be updating this post forever.

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Letti

Yo, I’m Letti, an all-around entertainer and content creator balancing livestreaming, video editing, and acting. I specialise in horror, though almost always viewed through a humorous lens, and I like to get cosy with a fake farm or zoo, too. My head lives in Y2K but I love plenty of new games as well. Sagittarius sun, moon, and rising, INFJ, millennial age bracket. I live in the south of England with my husband. I’m really just here to vibe and have fun. Stay spooky y’all.