Essential Mods

Make sure the The Best of Times profile is active before proceeding.

Creating a Separator in MO2.

1. Right-click the empty space in the left pane of MO2 and select Create separator.
2. Name the separator Essential Mods.

xNVSE (Script Extender)

Installation instructions:

1. Main Files - New Vegas Script Extender (NVSE) (Manual download).
2. From the downloaded archive, extract everything to the game's Root folder.

If you do not know what the Root folder is, read the Key Terminology section from the Setup page.

Despite its name, nvse_steam_loader.dll is still needed with the GOG version of the game.

An updated version of the original NVSE, which extends the scripting capabilities of the game.

After proper install, your Root Folder should look like this:

4GB Patcher

This is required for both Steam & GOG users! The 4GB Patch included with the GOG release is obsolete as it lacks NVSE integration.

Installation instructions:

1. Download the Main Files - 4GB Patcher.
2. From the downloaded archive, extract the .exe file to the game's Root folder.
3. Right-click on FNVpatch.exe and select Run as administrator.
4. A command prompt window will open and should say FalloutNV.exe patched!
5. Close the command prompt and a file named FalloutNV_backup.exe should appear in the game's Root folder.

Makes the game large address aware, meaning it can use 4GB of RAM instead of 2GB.

From now on, you should run the game through the Tale of Two Wastelands option in MO2, rather than the NVSE option. This mod makes the game auto-load NVSE when you run the game through the default executable, which is generally the safer option.

New Vegas Heap Replacer

Installation instructions:

1. Download the Main Files - NVHR using the Manual Download button.
2. From the downloaded archive, extract everything to the game's Root folder.

Replaces the game's heap management system with a much faster version, which can lead to large performance gains.

ROOGNVSE Plugin

Installation instructions:

• Main Files - ROOGNVSE

xNVSE plugin fixing bugs & adding new functions; hard requirement for TTW.

This is the first mod in the guide that is installed with the Mod Manager Download button, you will need to click that button then head to the Downloads section of Mod Organizer 2 to install it. Once installed, make sure you check the box next to it in the left pane of MO2 to enable it.

JIP LN NVSE Plugin

Installation instructions:

• Main Files - JIP LN NVSE Plugin
• Main Files - JIP LN Settings INI

NVSE extension with new functions and many engine bug fixes.

JohnnyGuitar NVSE

Installation instructions:

• Main Files - JohnnyGuitar NVSE

Another NVSE extension similar to JIP LN.

Crash Logger

Installation instructions:

• Main Files - Crash Logger

A DLL that logs raw crash data.

New Vegas Tick Fix

Installation instructions:

• Main Files - NVTF
• Viva Default Preset

IMPORTANT: If you are running the game at higher than 1080p, install the Texture Modding and High Res Preset instead!

Fixes micro-stuttering, performance and allows playing at higher framerates (up to a safe maximum of 120).

lStewieAl's Tweaks and Engine Fixes

Installation instructions:

• Main Files - Stewie Tweaks

Collection of many configurable quality of life improvements and bug fixes. Settings can be further enabled/disabled/tweaked in the new Tweaks section added to the main menu.

Stewie Tweaks Essentials INI

Installation instructions:

• Main Files - Stewie Tweaks Essentials INI

Preconfigured collection of tweaks, enabling basic quality of life feature, bugfixes and performance patches.

lStewieAl's Engine Optimizations

Installation instructions:

• Main Files - Engine Optimizations

Rewrites various slow functions in the game to decrease loading/saving time and improve general performance.

Combat Lag Fix (NVSE)

Installation instructions:

• Main Files - Fast Weapon Lag Fix

Improves framerate in combat by fixing an engine bug that lowered framerate while attacking an enemy with a health-bar visible.

ActorCause Save Bloat Fix

Installation instructions:

• Main Files - ActorCause Save Bloat Fix

Fixes a save bloating issue related to actors detecting the player, improving save/load speed and decreasing save size 15-30% depending on playthrough length.

Mod Limit Fix

Installation instructions:

• Main Files - MLF

Raises the game's file handles limit and improves performance/loading times, even if you are far below it.

kNVSE Animation Plugin

Installation instructions:

• Main Files - kNVSE

Resource for expanding and improving the game's limited animation system.

Improved Console (NVSE)

Installation instructions:

• Main Files - Improved Console

Enhances the console's abilities to be able to execute and print results from all available script commands. Full scripting support inside console, including creating variables and evaluating NVSE expressions (arrays, strings) for easy mod development and prototyping. Mouse wheel scrolling included too.

Console Paste Support

Installation instructions:

• Main Files - Console Paste

Adds Ctrl+V as a hotkey to paste into the in-game console, along with a few other helpful shortcuts.

Basic Console Autocomplete

Installation instructions:

• Main Files - Basic Console Autocomplete

Adds autocomplete and reverse searching to the game console.

ShowOff NVSE

Installation instructions:

• Main Files - ShowOff NVSE

NVSE plugin adding new functions and engine-level tweaks & bugfixes.

User Interface Organizer

Installation instructions:

• Main Files - UIO - User Interface Organizer

Automatically ensures that multiple HUD extensions work together, as well as fixing many bugs and improving performance.

Custom INI

In this step we will take advantage of JIP LN NVSE's FalloutCustom.ini feature to improve performance and stability without affecting the main INIs.

1. Make sure the The Best of Times profile is active.
2. Click the button at the top of MO2 and select INI Editor.
3. Select the FalloutCustom.ini tab, which should be blank.
• Make sure you are in the FalloutCustom.ini tab and NOT the Custom.ini tab.
4. Paste in the following:
[Audio] ; Enables additional worker thread for minor performance improvement. Disable if you encounter audio stutter. bMultiThreadAudio=1 ; Disables debug logging to save memory and CPU time bUseAudioDebugInformation=0 ; Increases memory buffers to reduce audio issues iAudioCacheSize=8192 iMaxSizeForCachedSound=1024 [BackgroundLoad] ; Forces cell unload on fast travel to lessen memory usage bSelectivePurgeUnusedOnFastTravel=1 ; Reduces stutter when loading multiple NPCs bBackgroundLoadLipFiles=1 [Controls] ; Disables mouse acceleration fForegroundMouseAccelBase=0 fForegroundMouseAccelTop=0 fForegroundMouseBase=0 fForegroundMouseMult=0 [Display] ; Enables Fullscreen mode bFull Screen=1 ; Forces highest texture quality so the game won't crash if you had it set to anything lower iTexMipMapSkip=0 ; World FOV fDefaultWorldFOV=75.0000 ; 1st person FOV fDefault1stPersonFOV=55.0000 ; Pip-Boy and terminal FOV fPipboy1stPersonFOV=47.0 [General] ; Forces faster cell unload to lessen memory usage bPreemptivelyUnloadCells=1 ; Enables multithreaded AI iNumHWThreads=3 ; Sets TTW's starting quest SCharGenQuest=001FFFF8 ; Disables FNV intro movie SIntroMovie= [Grass] ; Increases grass draw distance to Fallout 3's amount fGrassStartFadeDistance=7000 [PipBoy] ; Fixes flicker when opening Pip-Boy when its light is on fLightEffectFadeDuration=400

It is highly recommended to avoid changing any other INI settings not in the guide, and to avoid using tools like BethINI. You will realistically not need any other tweaks than the ones already in the guide.

Performance and Stability Guide

In-depth guide about how to fix the game's lackluster performance, display issues and alt-tabbing. Covers topics such as DXVK, framerate limiting, display modes, lag and HDR.

Testing Essential Mods

1. Restart your PC (otherwise some plugins will print out 0).
2. Launch the game using the Tale of Two Wastelands option in MO2 (not the NVSE option).

3. If you see a black console window appear, it means NVHR is working.
• If not, NVHR is installed incorrectly.
4. Once the game has reached the main menu, hit the ~ key (above the tab key) to open the console.
• You will need to unplug/disconnect any controllers to be able to use the keyboard.
5. Enter GetNVSEVersion and the console should print NVSE version: 6
• If not, xNVSE is installed incorrectly.
6. Next, enter GetIsLAA and the console should print GetIsLAA >> 2
• If it prints >> 0, then the 4GB Patch was applied incorrectly.
• If it prints an error message, then JIP LN NVSE is installed incorrectly.
7. Next, enter GetINISetting "iNumHWThreads:General" and the console should print INISetting iNumHWThreads:General >> 3
• If not, then the Tweaking FalloutCustom.ini step was done incorrectly.
8. Next, enter IsDLLLoaded CrashLogger and the console should print IsDLLLoaded "CrashLogger.dll" >> 1
• If not, then Crash Logger is installed incorrectly.
9. Next, enter IsDLLLoaded NVTF and the console should print IsDLLLoaded "nvtf.dll" >> 1
• If not, then NVTF is installed incorrectly.
10. Lastly, enter IsDLLLoaded mlf and the console should print IsDLLLoaded "mlf.dll" >> 1
• If not, then Mod Limit Fix is installed incorrectly.