Do I need "Anti Crash" mod like previous Fallout game for Fallout 4?

[Magi]

I'm planning to buy FO4 but I was wondering if the game will keep crashing every minute/hour of gameplay, just like previous Fallout (3 & NV) game where the only way to fix it is to install some "Anti Crash" mod.

Do I need mod or I can just play straight from Steam without worrying getting crash?
Thank you.

[Zekiran]

That depends 100% on your computer's specs.

Since the game was created quite some years ago, and shortly BEFORE the explosion of modern video cards, those new cards are incapable of using certain features - Weapon Debris for instance, is the main culprit for the "the game runs and then I go outside and it crashes!" The game must be run at 60 fps for *best* results. There are ways to get the game to run smoothly on higher gHz monitors but those often require a mod because it doesn't detect very wide or high resolution screens very well either.

The game has its plentiful bugs. But overall when you pay attention to troubleshooting if you start and have issues, it can often be solved very quickly. But again this is 100% dependent on your computer specs.

[Twelvefield]

As mentioned, Weapon Debris and 60fps are the two biggest issues this game has with modern (after 2010) computer equipment. There are many other bugs as well, but if you don't encounter them in the first few minutes (and you've kept the game below 60fps and turned off God Rays and Weapon Debris) you likely won't need a mod.

That being said: need is one thing, want is another. I won't play this game without a frame rate mod as loading times are related to frame rates. Without a mod, it's possible to wait 10+ minutes for loading. With the mod, it's more like 10+ seconds. It's not a crash, but an improvement on the quality of life.

[Augoeides]

Definitely one of the better games to dive into, mod-wise. If your looking for a "regular" playthrough, I at least suggest you download the "Unofficial Patch":
https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/4598

That should fix most basic problem you'd have with the game. Also, I suggest locking the Framerate to 60 FPS (people have reported issues going above that), and turning on Vsync. Also, I absolutely hate Motion Blur, but this is probably the only game I would ever suggest you leaving it on for. No matter what you do (I literally spent like 6 hours trying all kind of different suggestions), your going to get weird camera jitters, where no matter how slow you turn, your view won't be a "screen tear", but it will be choppy, and Motion Blur seems to be the only thing that smooths this over.

TL;DR:
Get the Unofficial Patch installed, turn on Vsync, turn on Motion Blur, and lock to game to 60 FPS.

[Magi]

so basically the game will run bad if I go above 60fps and turn on Debris feature whatever that is? does Fallout 4 have setting to turn the fps to 60 only or do I need to do it manually with mod to get 60 fps, because my Laptop screen have 165hz that will make any game I play always on 165fps...

[Charon]

High FPS Physics fix https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/44798
also improves loading times by unlocking the framerate

Weapon Debris Fix https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/48078 and you can use weapon debris with NVIDIA cards.

Or you wait for the Fallout 4 update that is supposed to be released some time this year (maybe - who knows).

[Twelvefield]

Originally posted by Van:

so basically the game will run bad if I go above 60fps and turn on Debris feature whatever that is? does Fallout 4 have setting to turn the fps to 60 only or do I need to do it manually with mod to get 60 fps, because my Laptop screen have 165hz that will make any game I play always on 165fps...

This is correct, except for being able to set 60fps in the game itself. You can use mods or you can do it through your video card software by setting up an exception. It's an old game, so it has a hard time dealing with modern computers.

Compared to games like New Vegas or Fallout 3, Fallout 4 is generally easier to mod for fixing bugs. If you can get those games to run, you can get F4 to run with a minimum of extra work.

[Magi]

Originally posted by Augoeides:

Definitely one of the better games to dive into, mod-wise. If your looking for a "regular" playthrough, I at least suggest you download the "Unofficial Patch":
https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/4598

That should fix most basic problem you'd have with the game. Also, I suggest locking the Framerate to 60 FPS (people have reported issues going above that), and turning on Vsync. Also, I absolutely hate Motion Blur, but this is probably the only game I would ever suggest you leaving it on for. No matter what you do (I literally spent like 6 hours trying all kind of different suggestions), your going to get weird camera jitters, where no matter how slow you turn, your view won't be a "screen tear", but it will be choppy, and Motion Blur seems to be the only thing that smooths this over.

TL;DR:
Get the Unofficial Patch installed, turn on Vsync, turn on Motion Blur, and lock to game to 60 FPS.

but isn't that if I turn on V-sync the game will lock to 165fps since my monitor (Laptop) have 165Hz? so I guess I'll turn it off & set 60fps only from Nvidia Control Panel

[worm_master]

I haven't done anything to my copy, I'm pretty sure I don't even have the "unofficial" patch, in my case the game works fine as is, i did have to make sure I locked my FPS though.... Tried playing NV at 130 FPS............. nvr again!!! thought the game was going to explode

[Augoeides]

Originally posted by Van:

but isn't that if I turn on V-sync the game will lock to 165fps since my monitor (Laptop) have 165Hz? so I guess I'll turn it off & set 60fps only from Nvidia Control Panel

Vsync generally locks your FPS to 60, yeah. As far as I know, the "165Hz" is your screen refreshed rate, which is independent of your FPS, although you can't really run a game faster than what your refresh rate can handle? Something like that. Fallout 4 is so old, that I doubt it matters. My monitor is forever old, and it works just fine here.

If you want to lock FPS lower (or a specific number), you can change it in a text file called either Fallout.ini or FalloutPrefs.ini (i forget which), but they are located in:
C:/Documents/MyGames/Fallout4

Originally posted by worm_master:

I haven't done anything to my copy, I'm pretty sure I don't even have the "unofficial" patch, in my case the game works fine as is, i did have to make sure I locked my FPS though.... Tried playing NV at 130 FPS............. nvr again!!! thought the game was going to explode

They've probably fixed the major issues over the years, but the Unofficial Patch covers a very broad amount of minor and major problems, that were finely combed over by the fanbase. As a general rule of thumb, when playing "Bethesda games", you'll generally want to use the Unofficial Patch, because sooner or later, your going to encounter something Bethesda didn't catch, and maybe damage your save or lose major progress.

Modding can be really fun though, especially if your familiar with the game your playing, and want to improve it to your personal needs slightly. For instance, one mod I always install, just adds a Holotape to the game that you can edit. It's intended for you to keep a personal journal (which keeps you immersed in the world), but you could also use it to make a To Do list, or whatever else, etc.

The Settlement system can be kind of restrictive on how you place things or scrap things, so I usually install 2 mods to deal with that ("Place Anywhere" and "Scrap Everything"). Vanilla Fallout 4 can be fun too, and that's how I originally played. Skyrim and Fallout 4 were the first games where I started experimenting with mods (and also the best, because of how massive the modding fanbase is).

[Magi]

Originally posted by Augoeides:

Originally posted by Van:

but isn't that if I turn on V-sync the game will lock to 165fps since my monitor (Laptop) have 165Hz? so I guess I'll turn it off & set 60fps only from Nvidia Control Panel

Vsync generally locks your FPS to 60, yeah. As far as I know, the "165Hz" is your screen refreshed rate, which is independent of your FPS, although you can't really run a game faster than what your refresh rate can handle? Something like that. Fallout 4 is so old, that I doubt it matters. My monitor is forever old, and it works just fine here.

If you want to lock FPS lower (or a specific number), you can change it in a text file called either Fallout.ini or FalloutPrefs.ini (i forget which), but they are located in:
C:/Documents/MyGames/Fallout4

Originally posted by worm_master:

I haven't done anything to my copy, I'm pretty sure I don't even have the "unofficial" patch, in my case the game works fine as is, i did have to make sure I locked my FPS though.... Tried playing NV at 130 FPS............. nvr again!!! thought the game was going to explode

They've probably fixed the major issues over the years, but the Unofficial Patch covers a very broad amount of minor and major problems, that were finely combed over by the fanbase. As a general rule of thumb, when playing "Bethesda games", you'll generally want to use the Unofficial Patch, because sooner or later, your going to encounter something Bethesda didn't catch, and maybe damage your save or lose major progress.

Modding can be really fun though, especially if your familiar with the game your playing, and want to improve it to your personal needs slightly. For instance, one mod I always install, just adds a Holotape to the game that you can edit. It's intended for you to keep a personal journal (which keeps you immersed in the world), but you could also use it to make a To Do list, or whatever else, etc.

The Settlement system can be kind of restrictive on how you place things or scrap things, so I usually install 2 mods to deal with that ("Place Anywhere" and "Scrap Everything"). Vanilla Fallout 4 can be fun too, and that's how I originally played. Skyrim and Fallout 4 were the first games where I started experimenting with mods (and also the best, because of how massive the modding fanbase is).

I guess there's only one way to find out, I'll try this method for now. Wish me luck, because I really enjoy playing previous Fallout game.

[-={LG}=-]

Originally posted by Van:

but isn't that if I turn on V-sync the game will lock to 165fps since my monitor (Laptop) have 165Hz?

Vsync is controlled in the Fallout ini file by the line iPresentInterval=

iPresentInterval=0 disables vsync
iPresentInterval=1 enables vsync at your monitor's refresh rate
iPresentInterval=2 enables vsync at half your monitor's refresh rate

So your two choices are 165fps or 82.5fps which are both too big.

What I do is put iPresentInterval=0 in my Fallout ini. Then I install this mod which is super easy to do since it only has two files:

https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/44798

Then I edit the ini file for it, and set "InGameFPS=75.0" which is the refresh rate of my monitor. It seems to work really well so far, and also speeds up the loading times when I'm zoning.

The mod purports to let you run higher than 60fps without any physics problems, but if I were you I'd probably set "InGameFPS=85.0" and see how it works out. Anything funny happens start lowering it a bit until it stops.

If everything seems great then start increasing it if you want.

P.S.

I forgot to mention that this mod does require the Fallout 4 Script Extender.

https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/42147