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Guideline how to set up and finish chapter 2

Tarkkh

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Alright so after 7 lost playthroughs I have finally got to the point I understand most of the system with ss2 chapter 1/2 new additions!
Let me be clear, first!
Load order and mods you use can get you into several issues!
-My advice:
Stay away from mods that change Workshops or overhaul fallout 4 gameplay/ even quest mods are at this point not recommended if you are mostly going for an ss2 based gameplay.
Unless you know how to fix conflicts and manage them!

-That said I m currently playing with 401 active mods
And by no means I m an expert at fixing or finding conflicts! Using mostly mods that either enhance or do small changes to the base gameplay

SS2 Gamemode
I m playing with the automated mode active » Settlers Build and upgrade by themselves anything (city plans)(plots I place down)
No, I m not using Rise of the Commonwealth (It was causing me some issues on a previous save)

Tinkering with ss2
Make sure you have Resource Complexity as here
These are my choices! You aren't forced to do the same especially if you are going for the realistic option, The issue I had is the Disease system seems to be a bit buggy and I had settlers getting sick / death within the 1st hrs of gameplay! And they didn't get cured in the HQ. At a point, I had the entire HQ Sick and incapacitated!

Skipping to Chapter 2
Just starting a new playthrough? Your prev save broke?
Don't wanna do Chapter 1 all over again?

Np I got you covered with some easy steps

You can use:
Start me up(even tho it might cause issues)
Or use https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/57101

-The method I use:
1st grab https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/13285
2nd Start the game and get to the vault door sequence
3rd Use the cheat terminal to level up to 30 or 40 (You will need the SPECIAL and Perks if you want to progress properly)
4th Use the Cheat terminal to give you the starter gear you will need
5th Exit the vault!
From here it's up to you! My advice is to do the originally intended route!
Use a Sanctuary blueprint to set your base! (a simple one) So after you can build a sanctuary city using the plot types!

Starting SS2
Build the antenna and initiate SS2 chapter 1
Chapter 1 obligatory quests
1. Laying Foundations
2. Plotting the Future
3. If I Had a Hammer
You will have to complete those or Lilly might not appear ever (experienced myself)
How to skip quests? Pipboy» Holotapes» City manager 2078 Holotape» Tools» Cheats» Quest Skipping» Skip ahead to a specific main quest
13. Who can? ASAM!
Read the ******
14. Picking Up the Pieces
Those are recommended to be also manually done!
Saw people who tried to skip directly to chapter 2 and it would break and never start or like me when I tried and somehow Old Paul was killing Hubbert group!
This way it should avoid these issues and give you full control to start Chapter 2!

*******At this point i advise getting some of the free to take settlements
Sunshine, Hangmans, Zimonja, Coastal cottage, Jamaica, Murkwater
-After taking them use the cheat terminal to add Crafting materials to the workshop! (how much is up to you! i usually add 200 of each crafting material to all workshops, you can select how much its added on the configuration option)

-Recruit some settlers either by the console or by the cheat terminal! (player.placeatme 00020593 5 and them assign them to that settlement in workshop mode)

-Make sure you grabbed all the ASAM BOxes out of the hardware store. Or craft them on a city planners desk

-Build a city planner's desk and assign one of your new settlers to it!

IMPORTANT Build a SS2 Resource STORAGE after the city plan is built (Same goes for Hubbert group settlement)
Make sure they have at least one plot of each »
Machine parts Gathering
Building Materials Gathering
Rare Materials Gathering
Organic
This way you can start chapter 2 fully prepared!
Also while at it you might want to do find or do any SS2 special settlers quests that appeared
And move your F4 main quest at least towards mid-game!(after joining the brotherhood/or not)

Chapter 2
Enjoy the storyline! Also, make sure you do the minutemen the brotherhood or the railroad quest lines! You will need them!
Make sure you do the CPD quest as soon they are available! Don't delay them!
The quest to progress and retake the new CPD HQ requires you to join the CPD after the initial quests!
Jarred will tell you to talk with Simon in order to do so after you got the police robots for him!
Explore all Simon dialog options, It's a bit messy and sometimes you skip his options without thinking.
»I need your help»I m looking for work » CONGRATULATIONS YOU ARE NOW A CPD DETECTIVE
Talk with Lena and travel to BADTFL (don't fast travel directly or it might bug-out)(If fast travel is done go instead to bunker hill)

Time to take the GNN
Once you get the quest to escort Lupe to DC
-1st make a detour and talk with all the factions you befriended /Joined (Misc quest for that under the Misc quests)
After recruiting them you can go to DC with Lupe!

GNN Takeover
Straight forward! Do whatever you want!
(I must say I didn't experience any od issue doing the front door route) Get inside let Lupe do her thing! Blast your way to the elevator talk with the Bastard who killed our old Friend and kill him!) take his card and go back up! Talk with the commander and end them all!

How to HQ
If you did all the steps I recommended you should be in a better position to complete the following quests!
Once you establish your Supply agreement with Hubbert group Theresa does mention you should build Caravan services on all your settlements!
Get to it then! What are you waiting for?
Also, don't forget the Resource STORAGEs while at it! And the power plants!

-Recruiting settlers to the HQ
My advice get all the SS2 settlers you have recruited there 1st! All of them have extra good stats that make for good HQ staff!
If you don't have many then you can just go around your settlements with the vitomatic scanning everyone and choosing that way!

But we are getting ourselves ahead of what we should do!
So just follow the steps in How to HQ! Don't assign staff yet to anywhere! Clear up all rooms or as many as you can! It will take time unless you use the option to Override Timmers
While cleaning there are rooms that give you options on what they will be for(Make sure you don't choose the same option multiple times expt for living quarters)
After clearing all rooms / as many as you could, them built up the living quarters and get to recruit more settlers!

You can ignore Commonwealth Rising at this point! Keep doing How to HQ
Build living quarters and recruit Settlers!
Once you have between 8 to 10 people in facilities then you can assign one or 2 to logistics so you can add some extra Supply agreements!
This way you will get more resources. You can also donate the content or workshops directly to the city desk!

-Build common areas and keep recruiting! Once you recruit 15 settlers How to HQ will be done and the next quest start!

- After this, it's just a matter of following the quest lines! The next quests shouldn't be an issue!

Commonwealth Rising
So you have recruited your science head and you have 30+HQ staff?
Time to advance » Make sure all staff is properly assigned and you have Supply agreements with your managed settlements (settlements where you built extra plots to feed the HQ as I recommended above)
Build the Power distribution room
.
and
Network installation
.
Upgrade the Power distribution room to Level 4 or so!
That should bump the quest to the next phase!

-Remember when I said to Build Power plants at your settlements?
Now that's when that came in handy!
Travel to your settlements that have Supply agreements with the HQ and Build-up a municipal plot » Choose the plan Power Relay Station by Ruineworld

Link it to your grid! Do the same in all settlements. If you want Build up extra Generators! (As long as as you are sure to have 1k energy it should be fine)

Wait a few days

The quest should advance (if it doesn't upgrade the Power distribution room), then it's just a couple more steps for the ending of Chapter 2!

Still, having issues? Read more on the Wikia https://wiki.simsettlements2.com/gameplay/basics/hq

Or post here! But again I must enforce! Many of the current issues players are facing are caused by either load orders/mod conflicts or F4 engine itself
 
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I've gotten the quest to recruit my allies and have already recruited the RR, the Minutemen, and the Nightingales. But I made the mistake of not becoming a detective until after that miscellaneous quest had popped. So it was a few more IRL days of CPD quests before I got the quest line done. Meanwhile, my other allies are just handing out waiting for me to get there.

To be clear, I haven't met my allies yet prior to the battle starting. I went and checked to make sure they were there, then reloaded so I didn't screw with everything. The CPD is the only one that I'm missing and can't even get the dialogue to ask. Do I need to do their fetch quests as well (the skull, etc)?
no you don't need those quests!
And ya if you took the main quest b4 you got detective them there's no option to recruit them
 
no you don't need those quests!
And ya if you took the main quest b4 you got detective them there's no option to recruit them
Alright, thanks. That seems like a strange requirement, but I'll just continue on without them, then. I guess that's one of the downsides of not restarting with a fresh save. Kind of doing things out of order...
 
Just a heads up!
As I m sure a lot will see Crime And Punishment and Gun For Hire from FlashyJoer have been re-released onto Nexus!
Gun For Hire If used with the door patch found on Nexus shouldn't have that many if any issues!
On the other hand Crime And Punishment is a super heavy scripted mod. very similar to ss2! That said it will cause script bottlenecks even in the smaller load orders at some point! You can use Buffout and Baka Scrapheap to try to help the F4 engine a bit but my advice is not to have them installed together if you want to have a lengthy playthrough!
Advanced Needs 76 accordingly to Joe this mod is way less impactful than Crime and Punishment so it should run just fine along with SS2!
That said once again it all depends on your current load order!


[Good mods to run along with SS2]

With it, you can recruit settlers, guards, squads that you can command in order to defend or do settlements quests for you!

My Mod list as per request
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xB9Lt44EVb7ZUNFaOA5PtUzMQzenws99JWfgOhl0xHM/edit?usp=sharing

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Looking on Nexus, I see the Minutemen mod you mention is no longer supported by the author and has a ton of bugs reported that obviously now won't be fixed. Shame.
 
In my last playthrough I had game-breaking problems with the attack on the HQ, in part because I didn't bother recruiting allies (details in a previous post).

On the current playthrough, I hadn't even started "Picking up the Pieces" when, during another mission, some Gunners started sniping at me, so I took them down. Then I cleared the building they were guarding. Like Codsworth says, I never leave a task unfinished. Then I realized, this must be the GNN building because among the enemy KIAs were Captain Wes and Corporal Berman. Later when I did "Picking up the Pieces," Berman was alive again. So hopefully when I get to the SS2 mission to attack the GNN building, I'll get to take down Captain Wes again?
 
Looking on Nexus, I see the Minutemen mod you mention is no longer supported by the author and has a ton of bugs reported that obviously now won't be fixed. Shame.
Just did a whole ss2 chapter 2 with gun for hire and a few other mods including the mm mod with 0 issues from the mod. A lot of the bugs listed are not bugs but issues with people’s load orders. The mod works as intended as long as you start it right. You have to do the first step quest then the become the general quest. Then leave the settlement and you get a quest update saying comeback and talk to hart field just do the quest from there and it’s all good.

do not install the mod mid game it won’t work unless it’s a fresh game.
 
Just did a whole ss2 chapter 2 with gun for hire and a few other mods including the mm mod with 0 issues from the mod. A lot of the bugs listed are not bugs but issues with people’s load orders. The mod works as intended as long as you start it right. You have to do the first step quest then the become the general quest. Then leave the settlement and you get a quest update saying comeback and talk to hart field just do the quest from there and it’s all good.

do not install the mod mid game it won’t work unless it’s a fresh game.
I had the same experience, which is to say I get random CTDs on playthroughs with or without GFH, and no issues with the "I am the General" mod by following the quest objectives.
 
Just did a whole ss2 chapter 2 with gun for hire and a few other mods including the mm mod with 0 issues from the mod. A lot of the bugs listed are not bugs but issues with people’s load orders. The mod works as intended as long as you start it right. You have to do the first step quest then the become the general quest. Then leave the settlement and you get a quest update saying comeback and talk to hart field just do the quest from there and it’s all good.

do not install the mod mid game it won’t work unless it’s a fresh game.
Thanks, that's helpful to know.
 
I don't have the power relay station in my building plans. Is that a separate download?
No, the plot "Power Relay Station" is a Municipal Plot included with SS2.
It unlocks during "Commonwealth Rising", or when you get one Level 3 Advanced Power Plant.
 
So, how much does SS2 chapter 2 tie into the main story exactly, and do ya know if kinggath is intending to tie the mod into it further as SS2 gets more story content, spesificly the ending of the vannila game? ive been considering this mood to use alongside ss2 https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/50975?tab=description

it doesnt allow you to bypass the vannila storyline like say thuggy's mods, it just fundamentaly alters the ending in a way that doesnt touch settlements.
 
So, how much does SS2 chapter 2 tie into the main story exactly, and do ya know if kinggath is intending to tie the mod into it further as SS2 gets more story content, spesificly the ending of the vannila game? ive been considering this mood to use alongside ss2 https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/50975?tab=description

it doesnt allow you to bypass the vannila storyline like say thuggy's mods, it just fundamentaly alters the ending in a way that doesnt touch settlements.
Anything that modifies vanilla quests like that MIGHT be a problem; what SS2 does is check if certain specific 'quest stages' were completed to determine what you did or didnt do.
However, at present all it does is check where in each factions own questline you are at to see if they "trust" you enough to spare some troops for a big battle, plus Jake having some optional dialog based on if you met Father (and maybe a couple other points in the Main Story too)
Something changing Institute and Railroad like that MIGHT cause problems.
 
Anything that modifies vanilla quests like that MIGHT be a problem; what SS2 does is check if certain specific 'quest stages' were completed to determine what you did or didnt do.
However, at present all it does is check where in each factions own questline you are at to see if they "trust" you enough to spare some troops for a big battle, plus Jake having some optional dialog based on if you met Father (and maybe a couple other points in the Main Story too)
Something changing Institute and Railroad like that MIGHT cause problems.
ah, would likley need to ask kinggath then.
 
Make sure you do the CPD quest as soon they are available! Don't delay them!

Well, as usual in this Todd blessed alternate world I call home - along with No Man's Sky - the CPD quest popped up before I'd even started Picking Up The Pieces. I made the mistake of talking to the kid who was following me around Red Rocket where I'd set up Hubert's quaint bunch. Shhad or whatever, and he told me with some surprisingly colorful language to get my butt down to Boston PD and talk to someone to join the CPD. If I do delay this quest further, are there any issues? God knows that if I'm playing SS2, I need more issues to deal with...
 
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is the 31 employees optimum for all stuffs in hq?
i'm trying this, but found only 4 logistic staffs can't do much once assign them to get supply from settlements
same as the admin, only 3, can they finish up the decorate tasks?
 
is the 31 employees optimum for all stuffs in hq?
i'm trying this, but found only 4 logistic staffs can't do much once assign them to get supply from settlements
same as the admin, only 3, can they finish up the decorate tasks?
no you can as long as you have rooms. already had once 50 in there
 
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