Any decent Fallout 3 UI mods? Other essential mods?

[GodlessAstronomer]

Yes I've done a Google search and even read a previous (old) thread on this forum. The fact is that the mod community is a mess and there are no decent websites (don't suggest that horrible Nexus site, please), and most threads on the net are old as hell so I'm making a new one. Mods can lock it if they think it's not justified.

So I've played most of FO3 previously but never finished it and never played the DLC. I saw the GOTY edition for a great price and picked it up. My question is, are there any UI mods that make the pipboy screen less.... retarded? It's kind of annoying that it only uses less than one third of the screen. I've seen a couple of UI mods floating around but mostly they are very minor tweaks.

Also, any other "essential" mods for this game? Back in the Oblivion days no one would ever suggest playing the vanilla version. Is this the case in FO3?

Thanks.

 

[Raduque]

Am I the only one that actually plays Fallout3 straight out of the box?

 

[thujone]

mostly the only mods i use are lighting tweaks (Fellout and streetlight mods, greener grass, etc.) and run speed mods. enhanced weather is kinda cool... adds rain and snow. the thunderstorms are pretty nice.


also i use a mod called scavenger speed stash... that essentially gives you a portable stash you can put stuff in for carrying back to town. feels like a nice compromise between having virtually no inventory space in vanilla and having unlimited carrying capacity you can get with other mods.

 

[Schadenfroh]

Am I the only one that actually plays Fallout3 straight out of the box?

I am sure console gamers play it that way...

 

[thujone]

O snap

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

Am I the only one that actually plays Fallout3 straight out of the box?

So far I have and it's fine. But there's no denying the UI sucks, and the great thing about PC gaming is that we have options.

 

[Rhezuss]

Am I the only one that actually plays Fallout3 straight out of the box?

I play my games virgin style (if I may use that expression...pwahaha)!

I've installed some mods in Dragon Age but removed them a couple minutes later.

I dunno why but I like my games the way they were meant to play...

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

I dunno why but I like my games the way they were meant to play...

Bethesda puts in a lot of effort to ensure their games are moddable. For PC players, the way it's meant to be played is whatever makes the game more fun for the player

 

[sandorski]

Am I the only one that actually plays Fallout3 straight out of the box?

Nope. I've played the DLC, but haven't used a Mod yet.

 

[Bman123]

i just got fo3 goty new for $29.99 at walmart im about to install it tonight. i will play the wholething expansions and all without any mods, i like to play it normal first then decide if I want any mods for the next play thru. I played about 20 hours of it on ps3 and loved it so I doubt if I will use any mods on pc

 

[UberNeuman]

This in the only mod I've used for Fallout 3 and all the DLC....

 

[Zenoth]

DarNified UI F3 (best GUI mod, in my opinion)
Unofficial Fallout 3 Patch (absolutely essential)
Fallout 3 Mod Manager (essential, because the default mod interface sucks)
Fallout 3 Script Extender (essential to make some mods work)
Weapon Mod Kits (superb simple mod, requires Script Extender)
D.C. Interiors Project Combo (adds interactive "enterable" buildings in the D.C. area)
Repair Rethought Reborn (adds a wide range of variety of materials to repair items)

Those are the mods I've always had activated for all my Fallout 3 games and are the ones I highly recommend. There are others of course, hundreds upon hundreds of them, some of them big in terms of changes, but sadly such mods make my game very unstable, not to mention that Fallout 3 under complete vanilla status (no mods at all, not even official DLCs) is prone to crash every single games, and I know I'm not alone in that boat, but those mods I mentioned make the game better nonetheless.

 

[shortylickens]

I am pretty sure theres a lolicon mod out there.

 

[Dorkenstein]

I'm sure there is, most of the top rated mods for FO3 are barbie-doll and other shallow, unrealistic ventures.

I have questions on two of the ones I used to use though, are the Unofficial Patch and Repair Reborn mods still worth using? I last used them over a year ago and don't know if they're still useful or if they (especially the unofficial patch) just cause more problems.

 

[shortylickens]

But really my favorite mods are the ones that fix all the tiny little things wrong with the game (same as Oblivion). Better UI's, more encumberance, stretch out the leveling system, eliminate 101 minor annoyances, stuff like that.
Both games were actually damn good but it was a handful of little things ticking me off that kept them from being perfect experiences. And in the case of both games, I didnt even progress very far until a buttload of useful mods came out.

I love Nexus. LOVE IT!

 

[shortylickens]

i just got fo3 goty new for $29.99 at walmart im about to install it tonight. i will play the wholething expansions and all without any mods, i like to play it normal first then decide if I want any mods for the next play thru. I played about 20 hours of it on ps3 and loved it so I doubt if I will use any mods on pc

You say that now, but I bet if you had scrolled through the F3Nexus and looked at some stuff, you'd find a couple of things you'll realize you cant live without.
Higher encumbrance limit is the best. No more running back and forth like an errand boy to sell off your crap. And when you see how well you can tweak your UI to make gameplay faster and more efficient, you'll realize the PC platform is far superior.

 

[CP5670]

You say that now, but I bet if you had scrolled through the F3Nexus and looked at some stuff, you'd find a couple of things you'll realize you cant live without.
Higher encumbrance limit is the best. No more running back and forth like an errand boy to sell off your crap. And when you see how well you can tweak your UI to make gameplay faster and more efficient, you'll realize the PC platform is far superior.

This is very useful and one of the first things I did, but it doesn't really need a mod. You can adjust things like this with console commands.

 

[thedosbox]

DarNified UI is an absolute "must have", closely followed by Fellout.

 

[coloumb]

Am I the only one that actually plays Fallout3 straight out of the box?

Vanilla flavor FTW.

 

[Mike Gayner]

I don't get why some people install mods to increase your encumbrance. The point of having so little inventory space is that you have to make hard decisions about what to carry. Eliminating that removes a large part of the strategic element of the game IMO.

edit: And for my $0.02, I have only played FO3 vanilla except for a UI mod (couldn't find any good UI mods though). I modified Oblivion heavily, but didn't feel it was necessary with FO3. Mind you I also got many more hours of enjoyment from Oblivion than FO3 - I just found the world more engaging.

 

[Raduque]

This in the only mod I've used for Fallout 3 and all the DLC....

The two screenshots look the same as the default game, to me.

Am I also the only person who never had a problem with the UI?

Edit: I have tried a few mods once(mods to change the look of armor and guns, one of my favorite mods replaced the 10mm pistol with an ultra-realistic looking Colt 1911), but nothing that screws with the actual gameplay, but I ended up not installing them on subsequent re-installs of FO3.

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

Am I also the only person who never had a problem with the UI?

For the most part it's not bad, it's just the Pipboy that annoys me. I'm a stickler for usability (did some HCI stuff at university) and it's just absurd how little of my screen real estate it uses.

 

[TheKub]

Its been a while since Ive played but there was a mod that extended the radio station to 100 songs. All the songs that were included fit the time period and felt like they were out of the box (liked the tracks so much I put them on my MP3 player).

Also there was one that added more spawns and other things like only head shots kill zombies and it added night ghouls. Typically when you saw a night ghoul there was like 20 of them, at early levels it was dangerous to go out at night, it gave the game an interesting feel. First time you went into a building and spent too long there and the sun set and had to sneak your way back to town.

Also is the $30 a YMMV? I bought the original for $50 and have been waiting for the GOTY to drop <$30 before I jumped and besides for a very brief price error on steam during the holiday sale I havnt seen it for much less than $45.

 

[Dorkenstein]

Sounds like "Galaxy News Radio - More Where That Came From" and "Mart's Mutant Mod". Both really good mods.

 

[shortylickens]

I don't get why some people install mods to increase your encumbrance. The point of having so little inventory space is that you have to make hard decisions about what to carry. Eliminating that removes a large part of the strategic element of the game IMO.

edit: And for my $0.02, I have only played FO3 vanilla except for a UI mod (couldn't find any good UI mods though). I modified Oblivion heavily, but didn't feel it was necessary with FO3. Mind you I also got many more hours of enjoyment from Oblivion than FO3 - I just found the world more engaging.

No it doesnt. What really happens is you end up making assloads of trips back to town, to sell off all the shit so you can get some cash. Its just tedious.
Though I agree there is a certain amount of strategy in having a limited inventory. Deus Ex played that tactic perfectly, cuz you cant sell anything in the game, and truthfully there wasnt much you could purchase either.