Ok, it's official (at least for me), Fallout 3 is a buggy mess.

Golgatha

Lifer
Jul 18, 2003
12,393
1,061
126
I installed Fallout 3, got everything configured, and then went to playing. Game crashed to the desktop at my 10 year old birthday party every time Dad tried to say something. I was only 5 min into the game for crying out loud!

Rebooted my computer at this point and started up a new game. Everything went smooth for nearly an hour, but when I exited the game I got another crash to the desktop (CTD). I get the CTD whether or not I'm running the cracked game executable, so I don't think the copy protection is at fault here. I honestly think the game is just buggy. Hopefully it will get officially and unofficially patched like Oblivion did, but it sucks to have to wait such a long time to play such a great game.

Update (11/03/2008):

The game will play fairly reliably with no AA or 2x AA enabled. I also reduced the AF setting to 8 samples (down from 15) and this seemed to help as well. I've been able to play about 8 hours worth of the game with only a random crash thrown in here and there. The key to success is to have 3-4 gamesave files to revert to after a crash. I swear I'm saving the game like every 10-15 minutes to make sure I don't lose precious progress in the game.

I still stand behind my stance that the current state of this game is absolutely unacceptable. I have around 50 other games on my system, which all seem to run with near perfect stability. I sincerely hope Bethesda gets on a real patch before the first dog armor DLC comes out or I'm going to be one pissed off gamer.

Update (11/05/2008):

I'm playing with 2xAA, 8xAF, and HDR. Running the game from the fallout3.exe file instead of the launcher seems to keep the game from CTD when first running it. I was running a couple of Folding@Home processes while playing before (I have a quad core) and closing out those processes seems to help in-game crashing too. The CTD is weird though, if it's going to crash, it normally does so within 10 minutes. If it doesn't crash then you can potentially be good for hours.

My best advice, save save save and save (not a quicksave, but an actual from the menu save) some more. If your game crashes load the last save point, save the game at that spot, and load the new save you just created. This seems to get me prolonged periods of stability.

I'm now around 16 hours into the game and I'm savoring every last drop of atmosphere in the game. I love how many ways you can play this game.
 

Beev

Diamond Member
Apr 20, 2006
7,775
0
0
I never crash while playing. Ever. Put in about 7 hours now. I do get an error as I try to quit sometimes though. It's the same crash error I get with Oblivion.
 

CVSiN

Diamond Member
Jul 19, 2004
9,289
1
0
same here you got machine issues... over 25 hours in already (was sick last 2 days)

Not one crash.. however there does seem to be a mem leak.

 

CrystalBay

Platinum Member
Apr 2, 2002
2,175
1
0
It is buggy at the beginning , but crashes a lot less later. A lot of folks are having problems at the Bethesda forums, crashes, sound problems .
 

Golgatha

Lifer
Jul 18, 2003
12,393
1,061
126
Originally posted by: CVSiN
same here you got machine issues... over 25 hours in already (was sick last 2 days)

Not one crash.. however there does seem to be a mem leak.

"sick" right....

Anyway, I'll play some more tonight. Maybe it's just going to crash when I exit the game now that I've rebooted my computer after installing it. We'll see and I'll report back.
 

Wheezer

Diamond Member
Nov 2, 1999
6,731
1
81
I have a problem with Dead Space not loading when I have Zone Alarm and AVG running.....when I shut them off it loads fine....perhaps shutting off your running programs and working backwards could help solve the issue?
 

CVSiN

Diamond Member
Jul 19, 2004
9,289
1
0
Originally posted by: Golgatha
Originally posted by: CVSiN
same here you got machine issues... over 25 hours in already (was sick last 2 days)

Not one crash.. however there does seem to be a mem leak.

"sick" right....

Anyway, I'll play some more tonight. Maybe it's just going to crash when I exit the game now that I've rebooted my computer after installing it. We'll see and I'll report back.

Hehe.. actually the crappy part is I really was sick so couldn't enjoy it as much.

But its fun.. some of it like the subways and some of the building interiors are a tad frustrating but pretty decent game.
 

imported_Imp

Diamond Member
Dec 20, 2005
9,148
0
0
I'm stable. Only crashed once upon exiting so I didn't care. Might have something to do with my couple year old computer that hasn't once been defragged. Oh, and I don't overclock or use mod-drivers or any other 'nerdier' programs.
 

ZzZGuy

Golden Member
Nov 15, 2006
1,855
0
0
While playing I have no problems, but it crashes to desktop a lot when I go to exit the game. Could be worse.
 

AdamK47

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
15,678
3,531
136
The game also crashes for me when I exit, but only when I exit. I didn't have the problem you described. Gameplay is normal. I googled Fallout 3 Crash on Exit and it returned a result to a thread with other users complaining about the issue.

Edit: Now I remember... I had the same problem with Oblivion (before patches) and it would crash exiting the game. This post helped me remember the solution I had for it. You have to exit to menu before you exit out of the game.
 

waggy

No Lifer
Dec 14, 2000
68,143
10
81
i so want the game. but the wife said i can't buy anything until after Christmas LOL damn.
 

AdamK47

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
15,678
3,531
136
Originally posted by: waggy
i so want the game. but the wife said i can't buy anything until after Christmas LOL damn.

That's why I have a "secret" bank account where I have $125 from my paycheck direct deposited. I get $250 a month to spend on computer games.
 

Hugh H

Senior member
Jul 11, 2008
315
0
0
Originally posted by: AdamK47
Originally posted by: waggy
i so want the game. but the wife said i can't buy anything until after Christmas LOL damn.

That's why I have a "secret" bank account where I have $125 from my paycheck direct deposited. I get $250 a month to spend on computer games.

lol good trick.

Anyways it would be interesting to see the hardware specs of the people that are having issues with this game. I've played about 5 hours or so without a single CTD.

 

Canai

Diamond Member
Oct 4, 2006
8,016
1
0
I've been having random CTD with no errors. Seem to happen every couple hours, and then it'll be fine for a while. I put in ~10 hours last night after work :laugh: and had three CTDs during the first half, but it was fine after that.
 

DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
40,730
670
126
I got the program crash on exit once, but no crashes while playing, ~6 hours so far, megaton and the "Those!" quest S of the shopping center.

I run everything at stock speed, are those of you crashing running anything overclocked?

My system: Gigabyte P43 chipset mobo, intel E8400, 4 GB Crucial DDR2-800 stock timing, ATI 4870, WD 640 GB HD, NEC DVD, motherboard sound.
 

Canai

Diamond Member
Oct 4, 2006
8,016
1
0
Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
I got the program crash on exit once, but no crashes while playing, ~6 hours so far, megaton and the "Those!" quest S of the shopping center.

I run everything at stock speed, are those of you crashing running anything overclocked?

My system: Gigabyte P43 chipset mobo, intel E8400, 4 GB Crucial DDR2-800 stock timing, ATI 4870, WD 640 GB HD, NEC DVD, motherboard sound.

Yep, running OC on everything, except for RAM, which is actually underclocked by quite a bit but running tighter timings.

In all honesty, my computer shouldn't be running :laugh: but it's stable in pretty much every game, and is Orthos / Furmark stable.
 

Golgatha

Lifer
Jul 18, 2003
12,393
1,061
126
Originally posted by: AdamK47
Originally posted by: waggy
i so want the game. but the wife said i can't buy anything until after Christmas LOL damn.

That's why I have a "secret" bank account where I have $125 from my paycheck direct deposited. I get $250 a month to spend on computer games.

Lol! I deposit $100 each paycheck as mad money for stuff like video games, eating/going out with my friends, etc too. Although I wouldn't call it a secret account, as my wife knows I have it. She just never knows or cares how much money is in there.
 

Golgatha

Lifer
Jul 18, 2003
12,393
1,061
126
Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
I got the program crash on exit once, but no crashes while playing, ~6 hours so far, megaton and the "Those!" quest S of the shopping center.

I run everything at stock speed, are those of you crashing running anything overclocked?

My system: Gigabyte P43 chipset mobo, intel E8400, 4 GB Crucial DDR2-800 stock timing, ATI 4870, WD 640 GB HD, NEC DVD, motherboard sound.

I'll try exiting to the menu and then quitting the game once I've gone to the menu. I figure I should've done more testing before blurting out on the forums. I also recommend a reboot after installing the game. This seemed to help stability for me a lot (now I only seem to CTD when exiting the game).

My system: Gigabyte P45 mobo, Intel Q9550@3.0Ghz (only OCed from 2.83Ghz), 8GB (4x2GB) ADATA DDR2 800 RAM, ATI 4850 512MB, Velociraptor 300GB for OS/apps, 500GB Seagate 7200.11 for games, Samsung DVD burner, X-Fi Gamer sound card, and Vista 64bit Ultimate OS.
 

Golgatha

Lifer
Jul 18, 2003
12,393
1,061
126
I still get the crash at my 10 year old Birthday party when I start a new game and the game seems to crash randomly while I'm in Vault 101. When I finally do manage to get outside Vault 101, it runs pretty reliably.

Something tells me I should've gotten the PS3 version. Sigh...
 

pontifex

Lifer
Dec 5, 2000
43,804
46
91
Originally posted by: Golgatha
Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
I got the program crash on exit once, but no crashes while playing, ~6 hours so far, megaton and the "Those!" quest S of the shopping center.

I run everything at stock speed, are those of you crashing running anything overclocked?

My system: Gigabyte P43 chipset mobo, intel E8400, 4 GB Crucial DDR2-800 stock timing, ATI 4870, WD 640 GB HD, NEC DVD, motherboard sound.

I'll try exiting to the menu and then quitting the game once I've gone to the menu. I figure I should've done more testing before blurting out on the forums. I also recommend a reboot after installing the game. This seemed to help stability for me a lot (now I only seem to CTD when exiting the game).

My system: Gigabyte P45 mobo, Intel Q9550@3.0Ghz (only OCed from 2.83Ghz), 8GB (4x2GB) ADATA DDR2 800 RAM, ATI 4850 512MB, Velociraptor 300GB for OS/apps, 500GB Seagate 7200.11 for games, Samsung DVD burner, X-Fi Gamer sound card, and Vista 64bit Ultimate OS.

i got the lock up crash when exiting so i did try this last night and it worked for me.
 

stumben32

Member
Mar 5, 2008
85
0
0
Originally posted by: Golgatha
I installed Fallout 3, got everything configured, and then went to playing. Game crashed to the desktop at my 10 year old birthday party every time Dad tried to say something. I was only 5 min into the game for crying out loud!

Rebooted my computer at this point and started up a new game. Everything went smooth for nearly an hour, but when I exited the game I got another crash to the desktop (CTD). I get the CTD whether or not I'm running the cracked game executable, so I don't think the copy protection is at fault here. I honestly think the game is just buggy. Hopefully it will get officially and unofficially patched like Oblivion did, but it sucks to have to wait such a long time to play such a great game.

I am really happy with the stability of this game, WAY better than Oblivion was at launch.

I have had a couple crashes and there does seem to be a slow memory leak. After 3 hours of playing and using the Pip Boy a ton... I notice a gradual slowdown.

Every game has bugs and benefits from patches/mods but....generally speaking I am really happy with F3.
 

imported_Imp

Diamond Member
Dec 20, 2005
9,148
0
0
Two bugs to report on...

One was when going to the 'mine' town. A lot of the textures for the exterior of houses were not showing up properly/loading. Later on, the lighting effect or whatever is suppose to show on the exterior of buildings (infront of beams/frames) wasn't loading and became opaque. Probably could have restarted the game to fix.

Number 2 was a weird shooting bug. I died going down shooting and when I reloaded, my key mappings for weapons was screwy. Reload brought up the gun, which proceeded to auto-fire continuously. Got it 'fixed' by reloading an older save.
 

RedBeard

Diamond Member
Sep 29, 2000
3,403
0
76
I just wanted to chime in here.

I have the Steam version and it has been working great for me. I am running it on a Gateway 6860fx (8800gts). I can run 1680*1050 (exteral monitor) with high details.
My brother runs the normal retail version. No lockups or crashes, except for the exit progam not respoinding.

Honestly this has been one of the more stable new releases that I have played. I hasn't been a buggy mess for me. Since you purchased the game call tech support.