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Increasing The Chances of a Smooth Game Play

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NPTPfaD.jpg

WIP Content may change

Thanks go to @RayBo and @snarkywriter for their very valuable input. Not forgotton are also all those who take time to help on our forum.
The problem with any game like Fallout 4 is the ease in which it can go wrong. In this mini guide we will be looking at ways, tips and tricks to keeping the game running the best it can. Although there is no guarantee or 100% solution, this will increase the odds more in your favour.

Although each segment of this guide has been looked into, we will not be talking about the how's or why's, otherwise this will become to long and less effective, but please feel free to research if you choose.

Each Section will have its own post - Hopefully making location easier.
1) Backup.
2) Save Overload.
3) Saving the Game Safely.
4) Save Game Monitoring.
5) Memory (DDR and Graphic Cards).
6) Game files.
7) Mods.
(a) Choosing
(b) Installing
(c) Dangers of some mods
 
1) Backup

So simple yet often forgotton


In "MY Documents" or C:\Users\(PC Name)\Documents\My Games\Fallout4 you will find this
Backup 1.JPG

Simply RIGHT CLICK and select COPY, then RIGHT CLICK again in an empty space and select PASTE
Backup 3.JPG

Just rename the folder to whatever you like in this case "Backup Saves"
Backup 4.JPG

From now on you never have to delete a save, you just CUT from the "Saves" Folder and PASTE into the "Backup Saves" Folder.

The reason why this is such an important suggestion will be explained in the next section.
 
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2) Save Overload

Strange as it may seem, too many saves in the folder can cause issues, although this is directed mainly towards the low performance PC's, it can still present you will issues. This can cause Main Screen Lag and often this is noticable by:

(a) Main screen becoming jumpy/slow/lagging
(b) Menu hang
(c) Slow response from the input of your mouse or keybaord.

However it has been noted that this can cause lag when loading inside the game, so it's it better to be SAFE then SORRY?

The solution becomes simple when using the 1) Backup method above.


Although we can dig deep into all the reasons why this causes such issues, for this guide, we just aim to give you the best possible idea's based on user input.

If you face any of the issues above (and you didn't before) check the size of your saves Folder, but then if you use the backup method, I do not think this section will be relevant.
 
3) Saving the Game Safely

Thankyou to @Whisper for his help


This is a hard one as there is no real rule of thumb, more of a risk reducing idea, however it is safe to note that quite a few people swear by this and although no real hard evidence, something I tend to go with.

Auto Saving

Many have said they avoid it and i tend to as well. Under SETTINGS >GAME PLAY you will find these options:
20190117231154_1 (Large).jpg

Thank you@Whisper as I stole your picture lol

Make sure (as shown in the picture) all options are set to OFF including "Save in Pipboy".



Another little trick is to use the pipboy to stop the EXIT save.

By bringing up your Pipboy just before exit you can force it to not Exit Save
20190114210042_1.jpg

PIPBOY>ESC>DESKTOP>YES (REF: window you see above)
What does this mean then? Well for one, you choose when you save, 100%. It does mean you have to think about saving more but you can choose where and when and with a little thought, pick moments that maybe less demanding on the save game informations. However always remember (or try) to save just before you do something major.

Although this is not a must and like I said, far from proven, 9 full play throughs and I have had less issues playing this way then previous ways. For me, I follow all these rules and as you will see below, run a clean game.
 
4) Save Game Monitoring

Your Game Saves are the be all and end all of any game, considering that they store everything vital to the game you are playing, would it be wrong to think, maybe I should look after them?

Often or not a Save can give you valuable insight into how your game is running, especially if there are some serious issues under the hood.

Ok lets put it another way, 1/2 way through a play, would you
(a) Not care and restart again - How many hours lost?
(b) Look after the game by spending a few minutes now and then?

We don't need to be programmers or have some high level of understanding to do this, in some respects it is very easy.

Fallrim is a tool that helps you look into your game saves and while it is in some apsects complex, in others, very easy.

A guide here, helps you understand the basics.

PC Help Page _ Basic Guide and Links
1)
Links Page - Tools, Utilities & Resource Pages (Link is here for the program)
5) Fallrim Tools (ReSaver) (Basic Use)

I can hear you saying, so why is Fallrim important? well think of it like Diagnostic Machine for you game.

Example of a not so healthy save
Resaver Bad.JPG

169 Unattached instances
55 Active Scripts
1 Suspended Stack​



Now lets take the report from my lastest game, taking into account I have around 146 mods, maybe half way through the main game and I have all DLC's

Capture.JPG

My badly drawn (1) would be where any Unattached Instances would show. I have 6 Scripts running and no Suspended Stacks.​

So as you can see, my save looks to be in good shape. The link to the guide above will take you through the basics and how to remove certain aspects, but be warned, this cannot fix everything, although we will be addressing other things to help as we go on, its worth noting that any one of these sections can have an impact on game stability.

Now looking at @RayBo save, over 400 mods
233: esps/esm
136: esl. many-many he converted
50: F4SE and no plug textures and such

This is @RayBo Fallrim Report
Raybo 1.png

Raybo 2.png

Although 13 Active Scripts compared to my 6, well within the safe zone and a nice example of a save.

@RayBo is more advanced then many of us, so look at his "136: esl. many-many he converted" as just 136 more mods, the grand total is 419

This is more at the extreme end of modding, unlike mine, but even more proof that by careful selection and game maintenance, you too can run a game like ours (Quick find me some wood to touch, going to have to run to Fallout in case I jinxed it).
 
5) Memory (DDR and Graphic Cards)

If you are struggling to run the game (Low End PC's) then this guide is worth a good read. I understand that High End PC's users may never worry but it might be worth a read, you will be surprised at how Mircosoft Windows can ruin your day.


Reclaiming Memory

Thanks to @woodfuzzy for his invaluable help when making this guide.
 
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6) Game files

Again I don't want to over talk this, as, by the time you finished reading the long why, what, how, blah blah, you could have completed this task.


Validating Game Files - an important part of game stability.

RIGHT Click on your game and select PROPERTIES
ST1.JPG

Select the tab LOCAL FILES and press VERIFY
ST2.JPG


When verification is complete the results will show here
ST3.JPG

This is actually my game at the time I wrote this guide and funny enough, even I didn't know there was an issue. I had run this previously, around a week ago before carrying out this one you see above with no problems being reported. I have not changed the game in any way since, including no new mods, so I was kind of surporised myself. In a sense I am glad though, as this proves how easily the game can corrupt itself and is an easy fix, as steam downloaded the corrupted or missing file.

Problem Solved
ST4.JPG

So there you have it, real proof that the game can go wrong without any outside interference.
 
7) Mods.
(a) Choosing

TY goes to @snarkywriter for helping with information in this section

WARNING

In the section I will aim to speak honestly, my intent is NOT to offend anyone but to put you on the right track, fast. All of us at Sim Settlements are not just here to help you solve problems, we want you to enjoy your game, be able to play it and love playing it like we do, so these pointers below are drawn from a very large pool of knowledge.


Mod's are often the main reason why a game can go so wrong, after you remove all the issues from the game engine, bad coding etc. Sometimes its down to errors within the mods but most of the time it's down to us, users or players and our poor selection and I promise you, that's me included too.


(Q) How can I choose a mod safely.
(A) You can't 100% but you can choose wisely and reduce the risks

There are so many Mods out there and still growing day by day, so much to choose from and so many mistakes to be made. There are many catergories, too many to discuss, however all either add or replace.

Still whatever they do, there are some simple steps to take.


Creation and Updates

Very Important, very very important. Some rely on others to work which makes it even more important that you pay attention to these details.

All mods referenced are fictional and do not exist. However if a simular one does, no direct reference is intended

This is what we need to look at first:
Mod Name: Dog Moose - Mod that not only makes Dogmeat sound like a moose, but increases his size and makes him act like one
First Uploaded: 21st Oct 2017

Last updated: 25th Oct 2017
About: Look for any install/uninstall Info (Noted, Have to create Chem to uninstall)
Bug Report: - 13 unanswered (Two with game breaking uninstall issues)
Mod Dependency: AASFW

Mod Name: AASFW - Animal Animated Silly FrameWork - allows custom skin and animation to be applied to Fallout 4 animals
First Uploaded: 14th Jan 2017

Last updated: Two days ago
About: Look for any install/uninstall Info (Uninstall via Mod Manager or Direct method)
Bug Report: - 1 unanswered - New In (Excluding the new report, Author has responded to all, either via an update or addressed with info)
Mod Dependency: MSSF - Modding Silly Sound Framework

Mod Name: MSSF - Modding Silly Sound Framework - Improved on the old MSF
First Uploaded: 16th July 2017

Last updated: One day ago
About: Look for any install/uninstall Info (Uninstall via Mod Manager or Direct method)
Bug Report: - 0 unanswered - New In (Author has responded to all, via an update)
Mod Dependency: AASFW, SSFC (Silly Sound File Creator)

Looking at the above, DogMoose is a bad mod to install, not just because of the "Last Updated" and "Bug Reports" but also because of AASFW and SSFC constant updates and changes. If both have been constantly improving, they is a very high chance that they may have changed the coding in some way to make it work better, however DogMoose would have been coded to work on possibily both or just one of the original AASFW and SSFC old frameworks. This could lead to serious side effects. Let's say DogMoose may still work, but may be causing scripting errors in the background of your game and of course in your saves which may not show up till later on.

You may hear the term "Baked In", this will refer to things like the script issues now being present in all your saves, possibilly since you installed said mod. In some cases, Fallrim can help, but in most cases, it requires you to uninstall a mod and role back to a save prior to when DogMoose was installed. However If you have deleted those saves, which is often the case, then it will require you to start a new game.


In short, follow these steps to reduce the risk of installing a potential game breaking mod by:


1) Look at Last updated
2) Look at the Bug Section
3) Reading the first few pages of the Posts or the Comments Page of the mod.

(As Pointed out, some mods may remove the bug section and post issues in these areas)
4) Read the Main page of the mod
(Again as Pointed out, some mods may remove the bug section and post issues in these areas)

5) Look at the Mod Dependancies (Use this method to check on the dependant mods too)
6) Take note of the install/uninstall methods and note, some can never be uninstalled.
7) Last but not least - Use google - yep not a typing error, people love to complain everywhere these days.

Think about this, you rush installing 200 mods and the game breaks 20 hours into play (maybe pushing it for 20 hours lol), you now have to go through mod by mod, talking to people, trying to find out which is the issue, finally after minutes if your bless by God or normally hours of frustration, you find the mod. Then you find you can't uninstall because it will break the game, can't role back the save, you deleted them or for other reasons now have to start the game fresh. Some people even give the game up for these issues, so wouldn't it be worth taking just a little more time and care when choosing your mods?

It's worth noting that choosing your mods are as important as installing them, it goes hand to hand, but once you get used to it, mods like DogMoose, you will just breeze on past on your way to the new and improved

DogWifeHubby Mod - He/She nags the hell out of you but he/she keeps you alive with her twin bazooka's or his twin large (well sure you can guess). Now with custom recording, allowing you to use his/her real voice - makes any settlement feel like home.
 
7) Mods.
(b) Installing

Ty to @Drokmar68 for using their post as an example to install issues

Post can be found here: Constant CTD and Infinite Loading Screens
Installing a mod is just as relevant as choosing a mod, often or not we just throw it to our Mod manager and forget about it, but unlike me, Mod Managers are not perfect. There are many reasons why they get it wrong and more often it happens with larger mods, resulting in things like CTD's, scripting errors and ulimately a fresh game. In here we will look at How To, more then Why and this is because of the time it would take to explain the latter.

I would read @Drokmar68 post to get a better undestanding of the why's, but here I am going to talk about the HOW TO AVOID

With a large mod like Sim Settlements it is always wise to install using the direct method (Yes I always do) and updating is just as simple as installing:

PC Help Page _ Basic Guide and Links GA_Darkerside
4)
Mod Installation and Removal
4(b) Updating a Manually Installed Mod
4(d) How to Remove a Manually Installed Mod

However with the case of @Drokmar68 his issues where with Vortex and the Virtual folders
So, for folks following this thread. It looks like its Vortex and their stupid virtual folders and installs. I uninstalled all the mods from Vortex and then went back and manually installed all the mods and so far crashing would be normal for a Bethesda game... so far.
The simple solution as you can read above was to manually install the mods - problem solved.

In other cases, Nexus Mod manager can cause issues, unpacking files incorrectly, amoungst others.

So why is it better to install manually then?
Well because, they WILL get placed in the correct areas, unless they are packed incorrectly or you point them to the wrong place, well then nothing will help you, only maybe a sign from :giver:.

So following the simple steps in the guide above, you have you mod installed, later on you use the same process to update, obviosuly to select yes to overwriting any files when updating, but of course we all know that :dance2

So what happens when you don't want that mod anymore, honestly?, just a bit of time really.
Look under the guide :4(d) How to Remove a Manually Installed Mod
 
7) Mods.
(c) Dangers of some mods
This falls down to many reasons, most listed in this guide but some mods are not game breaking because of the mod itself, but because of what the mod does.

In this guide:

Scrapping Mods and Performance Issues

@damanding talks and explains about the dangers of scrapping mods and their effect on the game as a whole. I would suggest as good read for a better understanding.

In some cases, one mod can conflict with another, although is may not be obvious from the outset or even stated on the Authors main page, but it might have been reported. Two Minute Men mods that deal with totally seperate areas of the Minute Men may seem fine, but deep within the scripting, a small portion overlaps or contradicts each other. The error may then be random and unforeseen and very hard to track but will break the game, so my only advice it:

Think carefully or look for a version that may do both or at least 3/4 of the two put together.

A finally thought - You may like a mod or even love it so much you really want it, but wants the point if you end up unable to play the game?
 
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