Modding Hardware and Software Requirements/Recommendations.

[Koeran83]

Hi folks,

Apologies if this is the incorrect place to post this, but this seems to be 'the most correct' as they recommend on multiple choice tests.

TL:DR; What programs (preferably free) and hardware are required and/or recommended for the full spectrum of modding Fallout 4?

As some of you may know I'm hoping to build a new PC soon (from scratch, not an upgrade), so I can join the members of this community and start producing some content (and catch up on my embarrassingly large pile of shame).

Finding benchmarks for games is relatively easy. Even for an older game like Fallout 4. So knowing what hardware I need to hit particular resolutions and frame rates for playing is pretty straight forward. Though I admit I don't know what effect adding mods will have compared to the vanilla benchmarks.

However I'm not sure of what programs I should be expecting to use for modding.

I'd like to stick to free options, so I'm assuming something like Gimp for textures, and Blender for meshes. I'm open to other suggestions. I think there may even be a free procedural texture generation program that creates all the information layers as well as the visible layer. And I know that the Creation Kit, Nifscope, and FO4Edit, will also be used (though I don't know what they actually do). But I'm not sure if I'll need a program for scripting, or if there are other modding avenues beyond textures, meshes, and scripts that I should be considering also. Audio, Animation, anything else?

To be honest, I've only watched a little bit of Kinggath's modding tutorials, I'm planning to get stuck in once I can actually work on things as I'm watching, as I'll learn better from the additional context, and actually doing the work.

I would also like to be in a position to create some videos to support/supplement any text based descriptions for any mods I create. So I assume then some audio and video editing software will also be needed. Which then in turn might require some audio/video hardware also?

I have two specific hardware questions. The first is regarding NVME SSD drives. I know that the extra speed has very little (if any) impact on running games. However I don't know if it might have an impact on modding. I know that loading the library of assets in the Creation Kit can take a long time. Would an NVME improve upon that? Or other aspects of modding?
The second is regarding Capture Cards. I know they're required/recommended for streaming. Which at this stage I have no interest in doing. But are they required/recommended for creating regular videos? It'd be nice to record at 1080p 60fps, but I really don't know how important that is, or what hardware is required to do so.

I'm not in a hurry. My partner and I have just signed the mortgage and contract for a new house, so I won't be building my new PC until after we've moved, which won't be for at least 8 weeks at this point.

Any advice/input would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

 

[Tyeeozalee]

Concerning your NVME question, I'll be honest and tell you that I cannot correlate for sure what is responsible for the CK's stability on my build. But it is definitely more stable than the reputation it has and what I expected it to be. It is still relatively slow but I've had only 2 crashes due to really excessive input on my part in 3/4 months of regular modding.

My OS is on an NVME and F4 is on a standard SSD (meaning that as far as drives are concerned, the standard SSD already does a pretty good job). The build is completed by an I7-8700K, 16GB of ram, an overclocked 970 that is still kicking great (I use WQHD resolution) and that's pretty much it. I don't think you even need as much to fire up what is, in the end, a grandpa engine that was already too old when the game came out. The main part of the CK's instability is the CK and just that.

When it comes to areas of modding, you have the broad picture right but I would add Photoshop and the associated DDS plugin as an option - if needed - for textures in addition to GIMP and its associated DDS plugin (GIMP is way enough if you want to modify the main game assests but you might need photoshop if trying to modify already modded high-resolution assests that GIMP somehow can't open [I've had that problem with Niero's textures files but it's a minor issue and you probably won't even face it, I'm just mentioning it in passing]). What you will need for sure are the DDS plugins that aren't included in the conventional builds of the two programs so that they can open F4 textures correctly. Googling "DDS GIMP" should be enough to find it.

Meshes: Blender, Nifscope (the program that allows you to observe and modify meshes/models and see their associated textures, their various nods, special effects...)
Materials: Material editor (to create material files used by the CK to define which texture paths to use on appropriate models - also heavily used to make material swaps that simply swap the conventional texture of a mesh for the one you want)
Audio (this area can be loads of fun - I've recently created Killer Refrigerators screaming "EXTERMINATE!") : Audacity (to edit audio files and convert them to wam) and MultiXwm (to convert audio files from and into all the audio formats that are "edible" to the CK - wam xwm fuz...).
Animations: 3ds max 2014 or older (the newer versions won't do cause they don't support the tools required to work on F4 anymore)
All of the above: BA2 archive (comes with the CK), the archive program that allows you to 1) extract all files in the above categories for you to be able to modify them or 2) archive them so you can get the onto Nexus compressed
All of the above: the Creation Kit (the main game engine to which all previous programs are merely subcontractors - It's basically your mods assembly line using components made with the former pieces of software).
Video recording: OBS studio is good and free

Then you also have an array of programs suited to very specific tasks such as MatorMerge, for instance (to merge several mods you'd want to work on...). Their use is very unusual but you should know that if you ever wish you had a program to do sth specific, chances are someone has created it to deal with the particular issue you're facing, so always check online or ask around.

I can only urge you to start your modding adventure with the creation of either an SS add-on or an SS faction pack (if you're on this forum, I doubt you actually wanted to do anything else in the first place... but it's worth mentioning anyway) considering that KG's toolkits are very well made and step by step (they teach you how to use most of the core programs previously mentioned and prevent you from getting too lost).

 

[VersusXV]

@Koeran83
I will paste in my WIP hardware guide. It's mostly done but doesn't account for AMD though, since I've never owned them in a very long time. Doesn't fully account for all of RTX 2000 series but I've tried to make educated guess for which RTX 20 Super can be substituted in vs previous Pascal. Another factor is RTX 3000 series is an unknown. It may arrive in 2020 or 2021 or potentially later. However, PS5 should be based on 5700XT and likely an 8 core customized variant of Ryzen 3000 so I don't think it's crucial to wait for the next gen stuff.

Apparently, on the budget side of things the 5700 & 5700 XT beats the comparable tier of Nvidia in generalized comparison. I'm not super up on the new AMDs, here is one comparison article: https://www.pcmag.com/compare/369808/amd-radeon-rx-5700-xt-vs-nvidia-geforce-rtx-2070-super-whi

It's very close with RTX 2070 Super 8GB.

WIP Specs guide:​

The constants:

• RAM: 16GB, if DDR4 any speed will generally work. 8GB System = A bad experience! For DDR3 I am not sure what the baseline would be, probably about 1500mhz?
• SSD very highly recommended! You will want 128GB at the absolute minimum, though that will likely limit your game install even if only Windows & Fallout 4 use the SSD. To avoid constraints you will want 250GB or 500GB. If you want to heavily mod the game as much as possible and especially if you also want to do the same with Skyrim you might want 1TB SSD. SSD always needs to have free space for caching, I believe the general recommendation is to have 15-25% left free for best performance.
• Adequate cooling for the PC since I find Fallout 4 to run hotter than other games, even compared to 2018/2019 games.

First thing from there if considering an upgrade is to set a goal for resolution, which for a reasonable budget will be 1080p.

1080p

• Recommended GPU(For a lightly modded game): GTX 1660 Ti 6GB or better. Fallout 4 is a VRAM hog so I would suggest 6GB card or 4GB at the very least.
• Recommended GPU(Heavily modded game): RTX 2060 Super 8GB, GTX 1070 8GB, RX Vega 56 8GB/AMD 5700 8GB/AMD 5700XT 8GB or better. When you get to min-maxing your game's textures, trying to replace with best looking variants across the entire game VRAM usage can go up to 8GB. RX Vega 56 8GB has come down in price considerably so is probably the ideal option if you prefer AMD.
  
• Minimum GPU: RTX 2060 6GB / GTX 1060 6GB / AMD RX 590 8GB
• CPU: Ryzen 3500/3600/i5-8600/i5-9600

I haven't used AMD but it seems that they are far better at the budget level. You could choose the 4GB models but you would have to be really careful of texture mods, outfit mods would have to be kept to a minimum and the low option selected. GTX 1060 3GB could work but the mods would have to be very reigned in, therefore I can't give it any kind a vote of confidence. In such cases I would strongly recommend using Phy-OP Potato.

For Higher Resolutions, the cost can increase significantly. Probably not recommended unless you are a PC Gaming & Fallout enthusiast.

Spoiler

1440p

• Recommended GPU(1440p @60fps): RTX 2070 8GB/RTX 2070 Super 8GB/ AMD 5700XT

I haven't played at 1440p but anecdotal evidence has suggested GTX 1070 8GB or better should be very well suited for 1440p @ 60fps. Since we have newer GPUs since that time, I suggest RTX 2070 Super 8GB or perhaps 2060 Super 8GB.

4K

• Recommended GPU: GTX 1080 Ti 11GB, RTX 2080 Super 8GB or RTX 2080 Ti 11GB(if desiring 4K maxed with heavily modded setup plus ENB like PhotoRealistic Commonwealth). 4K reliable 60fps with ENB on is only doable with RTX 2080 Ti, with some high/mixed settings.
• Minimum: GTX 1080 8GB / RTX 2070 Super: GTX 1080 is generally suitable for 4K gameplay with mixed settings, without ENB and on a minimally modded game. Requires some care. For texture overhaul you will need to repack.
• CPUs: i7-8700k/Ryzen 3700X, i7-7700 locked worked for me but not for everything on Ultra so definitely want something better than i7-7700. I have personally considered gone with either Ryzen 3000 series or i9-9900k in seeking improvement over 7700.
• At this point I would say 32GB RAM would be a benefit. RAM caching might be a useful option.

My own testing with my PC has suggested for me that 1080 Ti would be the recommended GPU for a fairly easy setup at 4K, from what I've seen an RTX 2080 would be fairly comparable and for maxing it at 4K 60fps with no limits you would need RTX 2080 Ti.

Beyond 4K
Beyond 4K(ie. 5K, 4K Ultrawide or 1440p super ultra wide) you're pretty much looking at RTX 2080 Ti with i9-9900k overclocked or Ryzen 9 3950X. The monitor itself will cost from above $1000 up to about $2500(5K/4K Ultrawide + G Sync 144hz. Likely even still, performance won't be ideal. Not recommended unless willing to spend pretty huge amount($5000-$10000) and willing to accept some compromises on performance. It's not yet possible to get optimal performance above 4K on a reasonable budget, 4K itself remains difficult.

Software:
@Tyeeozalee pretty much has it covered but for texturing I would add an optional suggestion of considering a program with smart materials support. Something like Substance Painter. Smart Materials are just a way to assist and more easily create believable textures. If you're a good artist you could instead opt for an Art Tablet like a Wacom for I believe several hundred US(there's models ranging way into the thousands but not needed for modding, only for high level professional)

Animations: 3ds max 2014 or older (the newer versions won't do cause they don't support the tools required to work on F4 anymore)

Need to find HavokContentTools as well. I can't remember for sure but this might also be what allows exporting collision.

My OS is on an NVME and F4 is on a standard SSD (meaning that as far as drives are concerned, the standard SSD already does a pretty good job). The build is completed by an I7-8700K, 16GB of ram, an overclocked 970 that is still kicking great (I use WQHD resolution) and that's pretty much it. I don't think you even need as much to fire up what is, in the end, a grandpa engine that was already too old when the game came out. The main part of the CK's instability is the CK and just that.

Quite interesting to hear that this build does well! More RAM can help reduce crashing when doing cell editing in worldspace, though you can also uncheck stuff in Render Window Properties as well as check in "Selected Only" on Cell View Window to prevent it constantly updating every time the camera goes over cell boundaries. My estimations might be a bit highball but they're geared for just being able to grab whatever you want on Fallout 4 Nexus. For instance I use everything that Luxor, SavrenX and a number of other texture authors create. I repack all of my Fallout4 - Textures BA2s using batch program on BRB Modlist, result is triple the file size for most of them and mix of 2K/4K textures across the game. I use everything made by Niero and a few other outfit/weapon makers and with 4K option.[/spoiler]

 

[Koeran83]

Sorry for the delayed reply. Both work and home have been redlining until today.

Thank you both for such detailed answers.

I'll be honest, I haven't had the time to properly process the information you've both provided, despite reading over your responses several times each. That said, my initial hopes of building at the end of this month have been dashed. The move to the new house is going to involve a bunch of additional costs that weren't anticipated that are likely to consume my PC budget.

 

[Whisper]

Very unfortunate man. Hope that things can calm down for you soon.

 

[Koeran83]

Cheers. Work is starting to calm down. Though home will only calm down once we've settled into the new house. So probably another two months.

 

[Kytampe]

I'm going to mark this thread as solved for the time being. If you still need help, and want to discuss. Start a new thread.