Fallout Troubleshooting Options

[Renee]

That's so weird. Why would the GrandOldGames version be any different from the disc or even Steam? I can see maybe there's some differences in the way the game loads from desktop, or the way it installs. But this is something which Beth wrote and it should be the same in all versions?

See, now I am glad I got my disc drive swapped instead of trying the GOG version of Oblivion. Anyway at this point I would also be asking that same question: do I want to start over from scratch? For me, this leads to a second question. "How much do I love this game?"

Back when I was newer to PC gaming (2015 or so) I had some problems in Oblivion which required me to go to a much earlier save. Like, hundreds of saves in the past. I thought it over for awhile and then decided to just go for it. Because that's how much I love OB. And I think others with ginormous games (Decrepit, Acadian, etc.) have had to go back to earlier game saves.

[Kane]

I appreciate this thread. Renee helped me with modding my FO3 game on my first go, and it made it pretty dang easy.

[SubRosa]

That's so weird. Why would the GrandOldGames version be any different from the disc or even Steam? I can see maybe there's some differences in the way the game loads from desktop, or the way it installs. But this is something which Beth wrote and it should be the same in all versions?

See, now I am glad I got my disc drive swapped instead of trying the GOG version of Oblivion. Anyway at this point I would also be asking that same question: do I want to start over from scratch? For me, this leads to a second question. "How much do I love this game?"

Back when I was newer to PC gaming (2015 or so) I had some problems in Oblivion which required me to go to a much earlier save. Like, hundreds of saves in the past. I thought it over for awhile and then decided to just go for it. Because that's how much I love OB. And I think others with ginormous games (Decrepit, Acadian, etc.) have had to go back to earlier game saves.

I don't think there is any issue with the Gog version of the game after all. As I said, I went back to one of Hecate's saves from years before I bought the Gog version, and she could get into Vault 112 and spawn Daddy just fine. It is just something in my original saves for January.

[TheCheshireKhajiit]

So as many of you know, I was having issues with the GOG version of Fallout3. This morning while having my morning coffee, I reinstalled it, took Subbies advice and ran it in compatibility mode. It still gave me an error message, but then it launched just fine (with some noticeable awkwardness with the controller, but not unplayable). I’ll try adding a few mods later.

[Renee]

What did the error message say?

[TheCheshireKhajiit]

What did the error message say?

Something about not being able to run Fallout3 on that version of windows and to check if there is another version of Fallout3 available from the distributor that would work (my version was/is up to date). Running it in compatibility mode seems to work though.

[Renee]

Something about not being able to run Fallout3 on that version of windows and to check if there is another version of Fallout3 available from the distributor that would work (my version was/is up to date). Running it in compatibility mode seems to work though.

Shoot, I've never seen that message, not that I remember anyway. I remember getting Fallout 3 on PC 5 years ago, and the entire game wouldn't even start (something like this) until I did a bunch of research, and then I learned about the Games for Windows Live nonsense. I think I had to disable GFWL somehow. It was a big, frustrating mess which made no sense at the time. I got my game on Steam though, not GoG.

It sounds like you did not have this problem though, this GFWL stuff. And compatibility mode seems to work for you. Hopefully this is a non-issue, then.

What controller issues do you have?

Only issue I've ever had is I cannot use my keyboard while also using the controller. So in other words, the tilde key does nothing, and neither does PrintScreen. Which means I can't use the console, nor can I take screenshots.

My fix: I made an Xpadder layout just to take screenshots and use the console. Every time I need to take pictures, I go into the Settings menu > Controls (I think) and then I disable the controller, meaning, the Xpadder layout is now in effect. The game thinks I'm using pure mouse + keys, in other words. I can actually play the game through Xpadder, but the main prob is I lose that variable walking / running movement.

So I basically switch back and forth, mostly for screenshots. It's annoying, but hey.



This post has been edited by Renee: Aug 26 2021, 11:25 PM

[SubRosa]

I wonder if this is your problem Khajiit? It looks like an old .ini file was to blame with this person's issue, and deleting it solved the issue. Other people are chiming in that the NV No Crash Fix solved it for them, and another that it was save files from a previous version of the game.

[TheCheshireKhajiit]

I wonder if this is your problem Khajiit? It looks like an old .ini file was to blame with this person's issue, and deleting it solved the issue. Other people are chiming in that the NV No Crash Fix solved it for them, and another that it was save files from a previous version of the game.

Hmmm, I’ll look into that. Much appreciated!

What controller issues do you have?

The issue was that when using the third person vanity mode by holding down the change POV button, the camera rotation was slow and janky. Very minor, but still, I’d rather it worked right.

This post has been edited by TheCheshireKhajiit: Aug 27 2021, 01:22 AM

[TheCheshireKhajiit]

I ought to just leave well enough alone, but deleting the .ini files in the my games folder didn’t stop the error message, but the game seems to launch ok.

For your information, the error message reads as follows:

Fallout3
Bethesda

This app can’t run because it causes security or performance issues on Windows. A new version may be available. Check with your software provider for an updated version that runs on this version of Windows.

But it does run. I played through the entire intro just yesterday morning.

This post has been edited by TheCheshireKhajiit: Aug 27 2021, 12:04 PM

[Renee]

Cool, well if the game runs, I guess don't worry about it for now. I understand about error messages though. They make me nervous, too.

[TheCheshireKhajiit]

Cool, well if the game runs, I guess don't worry about it for now. I understand about error messages though. They make me nervous, too.

Yeah I checked the box to not show the message again. It does bother me a little, but I’m not going to worry about it. Fallout3 needs a remaster just to make it play nice on modern systems!

Added in mods and they seem to be running fine, so I guess that’s all for now! Thanks for the suggestions y’all!

This post has been edited by TheCheshireKhajiit: Aug 27 2021, 02:24 PM

[RaderOfTheLostArk]

For your information, the error message reads as follows:
[i]
Fallout3
Bethesda

Lmao, for a moment I read only this and thought that was what it said or that you were making a joke. As if the message was saying "It's a Bethesda game. Of course there's an error. What did you expect?"

[Lopov]

Lmao, for a moment I read only this and thought that was what it said...

Same here.

[TheCheshireKhajiit]

For your information, the error message reads as follows:
[i]
Fallout3
Bethesda

Lmao, for a moment I read only this and thought that was what it said or that you were making a joke. As if the message was saying "It's a Bethesda game. Of course there's an error. What did you expect?"

Lol

[SubRosa]

It is my turn to have Fallout 3 issues again. I started up a new playthrough as Blood Raven today. But I have been getting CTDs like crazy. Sometimes it is when I try to load a save. Sometimes it is just at random points in the game. I never seems get more than 5-10 minutes without a CTD.

I have gone through a ton of fix attempts. I tried that Windows 10 fix I linked to last page. That did nothing. I think because it is for the Steam version of the game, and I have the Gog version. I made sure I was using a fixed refresh, had v-sync on. I put in compatability mode for Windows XP, ran it as administrator, etc... No joy.

My last gasp has been to install New Vegas Anti Crash, and run it in borderless windowed mode thanks to the mod One Tweak.

So far this seems to be working. I started it up and let it sit running for about 40 minutes without a crash. So fingers crossed that one of those two things fixed it.

Edit: And it just did it again. Sigh.

[Renee]

I was about to ask Windows 10? But you've already thought of that.

Last time you played (as Jan, as I recall) were you using the Steam version but now it's Grand Old Games version. Have you ever used GoG before (not that it should matter, but maybe it does)?

Also, is this a Brand new game, as in, starting over from scratch with everything? Hmm, I guess a better question: Are you using the same mod-set from last season? Is there anything new?

Actually, 40 minutes of play might be about what you can expect. Vicious and Cho's game... with both of their games I'll save & reload (assuming I remember to) after a half-hour or so, due to Fallout 3's memory issues, and solely to avoid the dreaded crash which I know is going to come. That's as good as it gets.

[TheCheshireKhajiit]

I feel it’s past time for Fallout3 to receive the remaster treatment. BGS has paid so much attention to Skyrim, but meanwhile the games that saved and elevated their company (Morrowind, Oblivion, Fallout3) barely run on modern machines. I’m not even advocating for graphics improvements or any extra stuff. Just fixes that will let them run more smoothly on current PCs. I really don’t understand why this hasn’t happened yet.

[SubRosa]

I reinstalled Fallout 3 (using the Gog version), I think I had the Gog version the last time I played. But I am not sure if I installed it before I went to Windows 10 or after. So maybe that had something to do with it.

In any case, I just did a test while I took a bath. I started a new character, ran through the opening childhood bits up until Amata tells you that your father left and Jonas is dead. I left her standing there in the bedroom while I took a bath and puttered around. I came back over an hour later, and it was still running. So it looks like that did the trick.

Now I will just have to start adding back mods, and see if one of them is what is causing the crash.

[SubRosa]

I have spent all day fighting with Fallout 3. As soon as I started adding mods, it started crashing again. I went through all the 'standard' tweaks: updated my video drivers, reinstalled the game, set it to run as administrator and in compatability mode for Windows XP, ran it in a window, used New Vegas Anti Crash, etc... I even tried a couple of the Windows 10 fix mods, that have you put a d3d.dll file in your base Fallout folder.

What finally seems to have worked is the Fallout Anniversary Patcher mod. It does a lot of things, the main one being downgrading the game to the previous version (which worked better with mods). It also removes the Games for Windows Lives stuff, makes the executable large address aware, fixes a mod limit bug, and more. It works with both the Gog and Steam versions of the game.

If you are using FOSE, don't start the game with the fose launcher file after installing this (It won't let you if you try). Instead start it with Fallout3.exe, and it will automatically use FOSE if you have it.

So far so good with this. I hope I am not jinxing it by talking about it.