Run Fallout 3 GOTY with Steam's overlay/game time features when using FOSE--WIP

Many mods require you to use FOSE (FallOut Script Extender). When using FOSE Steam's overlay & game time logging and other features are not available unless you do the steps in this guide. Also in this guide is how to setup Nexus Mod Manager (NMM), FOMM & Mod Organizer to launch FO3 via Steam to be able to use Steam's functions.

First things first

Sorry to those who have had issues or questions, I have been busy but plan to address those as well as updating some things. Thanks to all who have rated and offered additional info.

Current instuctions are based on what I did in Win7. I don't have Win8 so things may be different. Please let me know about any issues you have with Win8 or in general.

First you need to rename the fose launcher to match Steam's launcher. This assumes you have installed FOSE already.

If your Steam install is in the default location and you don't have an additional "Steam Library" then the path to Fallout 3 GOTY is the following:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Fallout 3 goty

If you use an external Steam library and it uses the default name and you have it installed to the root of the drive then the path should be:

<Library drive letter>:\SteamLibrary\SteamApps\common\Fallout 3 goty

Your path might be different depending on what naming & path options you chose when you installed Steam or setup an external library.

Once you have found the Fallout 3 location, locate the file named FalloutLauncher.exe right click & select properties then copy the file name, then rename it by adding .bak after the "exe" and clicking ok.

It should look like this: FalloutLauncher.exe.bak

After you have done that, right click on the fose_launcher.exe select properties and paste the Falloutlauncher.exe name then click ok.

Now go into Steam and launch the game, it should launch without error and FOSE should be running and the overlay should be working rather than the original launcher. You should see the Steam pop-up in the lower right corner, Shift+Tab to be sure.

If so, you're good to go. You now have use of the overlay and Steam will show you in game & log your game time. If not make sure you renamed it correctly.

Note: If you get an error message "Couldn't read arguments" you need to right click on FO3 in steam and select "properties", then in the "General" tab click "set launch options" and delete any text that's there then click "ok" The game should now launch without error.

Misc problems & possible solutions

This section is a place holder for any issues and solutions:

I had a report of FO3 continuously trying to load, I just recently reinstalled my OS and had a similar thing occur to the point where I had to reboot. I found the solution to my problem was to copy the steam.exe from the Steam install folder and paste it in the FO3 install folder. It appears that under certain conditions FO3 can get confused about where the steam.exe is located.


If FOSE gives you a "Couldn't read arguments" error you can fix this by going into your Steam library, right click on Fallout 3 GOTY and click "Properties" Under the "General" tab you will see a "Set Launch Option" button, click that and then delete any text and click "Ok"
Now FOSE Should not throw an error message.

Setting up NMM to Launch FOSE via Steam

You need to do a bit of "hacking" to get NMM to launch the game and have the Steam features available. To do this you need to create a batch file which is just a text file that is saved as .bat

First, open notepad and on the first line type " @echo off " without quotes, then on a second line type " start steam://rungameid/22370 " without quotes then save it to a convenient location as Fallout3.bat (I saved it to Fallout 3's install folder.)

Now run NMM in Fallout 3 mode and click the gears at the top left, select the "Fallout 3" tab in the window that pops up.

You should see towards the bottom a section labelled "Custom Launch command" in the box labelled "Command" add the path and file name of the batch file you created. Click "ok"

My custom launch command example:
D:\SteamLibrary\SteamApps\common\Fallout 3 goty\Fallout3.bat

Then at the far left where you launch the game you will see a small arrow that displays a drop down menu, select "Launch Custom Fallout 3"

This will launch the game through Steam allowing for the use of the overlay. You should see a pop-up in the lower right corner and shift+tab should bring up the overlay.

Setting up FOMM to launch FOSE via Steam

You need to do a bit of "hacking" to get FOMM to launch the game and have the Steam features available. To do this you need to create a batch file which is just a text file that is saved as .bat

First, open notepad and on the first line type " @echo off " without quotes, then on a second line type " start steam://rungameid/22370 " without quotes then save it to a convenient location as Fallout3.bat (I saved it to Fallout 3's install folder.)

Now launch FOMM and select Fallout 3, then click the " Settings " button on the right. Then click on the "Fallout 3" tab.

You should see towards the bottom a section labelled "Custom Launch command" in the box labelled "Command" add the path and file name of the batch file you created. Click "ok"

My custom launch command example:
D:\SteamLibrary\SteamApps\common\Fallout 3 goty\Fallout3.bat

Then at the top left click File-->Launch Game-->Launch Custom Fallout 3

This will launch the game through Steam allowing for the use of the overlay. You should see a pop-up in the lower right corner and shift+tab should bring up the overlay.

Setting up Mod Organizer to launch FOSE via Steam

You need to do a bit of "hacking" to get Mod Organizer to launch the game and have the Steam features available. To do this you need to create a batch file which is just a text file that is saved as .bat

First, open notepad and on the first line type " @echo off " without quotes, then on a second line type " start steam://rungameid/22370 " without quotes then save it to a convenient location as Fallout3.bat (I saved it to Fallout 3's install folder.)

Now, open Mod Organizer for Fallout 3. Then click the drop down menu to the left of the "Run" button and select <Edit...>

This will open a "Modify Executables" window, click the "Modify" button. Then add the following:

Title: FOSE via Steam (You can name it whatever.)

Binary: Add the path & file name of the batch file you created or you can click the "..." box and navigate to the file's location. (Example: G:\SteamLibrary\SteamApps\common\Fallout 3 goty\Fallout3.bat )

Start in & Arguments should be blank.

Then click the "Add"

Now, click the drop down list again and, select "FOSE via Steam" (or whatever you named it) and click "Run"

[PruneFace]

my game keeps freezing randomly any fix?

[tunish]

Why does steam sell the game if you can't play it?

[Grigio Chiaro]

I don't know if the same can work for someone else, but I personally managed to solve the problem only by using this:
https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/21364?tab=description

[apolu]

Worked using MO2 on Windows 7. Thank you, Sir.

[asd]

Thanks