Fallout 3

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Shiholude

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shiholude

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About this mod

Welcome to the Bad Ass Wasteland Restoration Mod! WHOOOOO!!!! This changes the landscape of the wasteland (and DLCs) to a recovering state. However, this mod goes well beyond simple object replacement: 5 tree models, new groundcover, distant land colors, distant tree visuals, plant overgrowth, and it cleans up illogical tree placement.

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Changelogs
Name: BA_WastelandRestoration
Author: Shiholude
Contributors: Jeoshua (models), Whoden (tester), Bumbum (tester)
Cateogry: Models and Textures




I want to thank EVERYONE that has downloaded and continues to enjoy this mod! I really love this community and I am extremely happy and humbled by the reaction to it! THANKS!




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Description:
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Welcome to the Bad Ass Wasteland Restoration Mod! WHOOOOO!!!! This changes the landscape of the wasteland (and DLCs) to a recovering state. However, this mod goes well beyond simple object replacement: 5 tree models, new groundcover, distant land colors, distant tree visuals, plant overgrowth, and it cleans up illogical tree placement.




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Latest Updates:
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(12/24/2011)
- Optional addons by Jeoshua:
1) "BA_WastelandRestoration-LowerTimescales" changes the wind effects for all trees and bushes by a factor of 3X, making the wind seem more harsh and unforgiving. It is suggested to run this version at a timescale of 10 (global value changed, but you will need to use "SET TIMESCALE TO 10" for saved games to full feel the change).

2) "BA_WastelandRestoration-MoreSickConifers" repalces the Evergreens of the wasteland (and beyond AKA-Anchorage), with sickly conifer trees.

LOAD BOTH OF THESE AFTER "BA_WastelandRestoration", and all other BA_DLC's to ensure proper effects.


(11/21/2011)
- Optional updates / user requests. I have added three new optional files. 1) "DefaultGrass" - removes the references to my unique meshes, therefore returning the grass size back to its original, short version while maintaining the new colors. 2) "NoOasis" - an update to the first optional file, bringing it current with the latest file verion. 3) "NoOak" - removes all oak trees, reverting them back to their original file, the Wasteland Shrub. (Optional Files R_100)


(11/8/2011)
- Update. I moved two possible offending trees in the Broken Steel addon, at the relay station. (Part of Update vR103)
- Fixed 450+ hovering Oaks. There are surely a lot more out there. I focused up and down the riverbed from the north west point to as far south as Super Duper Mart. I went inland at several points for obvious hilled areas (where most of these hovering trees occur). I will continue to attack various areas around the wasteland. Please continue to let me know where you see some and I will focus my efforts there as well. (Part of Update vR103)


(10/30/2011)
- HUGE UPDATE!! RELEASE STATE ACHIEVED!! This new version has multiple fixes and jumbling of all file references to clean things up once and for all. PLEASE REMOVE ALL PREVIOUS FILES BEFORE INSTALLING THIS RELEASE VERSION! (see below)

- Completed full "de-cluster" of all trees in the capitol wasteland (over 150 hours of work and direct interaction with over 18,000 trees). Any fused trees, or massively clumped trees should now be spread out some to give the wasteland a more "forested" feeling. I realize that statement is an oxymoron.

- Created custom files for all tree, ground, and bush meshes and textures. This means that when you turn my mod off, all the new textures will also turn off (well, almost all of them). I was unable to get rid of the grass coloration and the LOD distant trees - there is no work around for these. THIS REQUIRES A FRESH INSTALLATION OF ALL REFERENCES TO WORK CORRECTLY (see below).

- Removed all trees from around wasteland toxic "pools", most notably up at the waste disposal site near Old Onley. In most cases I increased the "non-growth" area around the pools. In the case of the dump site, I played around up here and had a bit of fun.

- Lowered all oak trees that were half-hovering on hillsides (Thanks to Jeoshua & Raygereio). I am positive that I've missed some of these. Please report any new ones found and I will correct them. Working in GECK to detect these is very difficult. When reporting an offending tree, please be specific - something as simple as using the tilde '~' key, selecting the tree with your cursor, and reporting the FormID would be great and really help narrow the area down. EXAMPLE: "I found 4 trees half-hovering near '000b3d2a'."

- Corrected various reported issues: Removed trees protuding through bridges and into buildings (many people - Wasteland). Moved trees that conflicted with gameplay (Me - Wasteland, Raygereio - PointLookout at Detention Camp). Modified trees that obstructed gameplay (Raygereio - PointLookout in wrecked cave).

- Changed the TreeDeadLOD.dds file to better reflect distant trees. I attempted to replace each tree with a larger distant LOD size (upwards of 256x256), but I was unsuccessful at this and had to revert back to the single TreeDeadLOD.dds file. The reference data must be hard coded, as any attempt to modify the linked tree dimensions within the dds file or change the path for what file to call from was met with disaster. Trees will no longer pop-up from a smaller version - rather they will change from one type to another. I know this is not what anyone wants (including myself), but I did it this way to best represent the tree size as best as possible, making oaks and oasis trees larger than pulp or evergreens in the distance. I am still working on/looking for an alternative for this specific part of the mod, but this is the best I can offer at this time.


- TO CREATE A FRESH INSTALL (This does not require a new game save since this previously refers to original game files, but it never hurts to do so to be safe):
1a) Goto FOMM and uninstall my mod.
2b) Extract and install my mod with FOMM's installation manager.

-OR-

1b) Goto your Fallout3/Data folder.
2b) Remove "BA_WastelandRestoration.esp" & "BA_WastelandRestoration_DLCs.esp".
3b) Go into the following folders and remove all my file items (note that you may have additional files from other mods in these folders, so be careful):
Data/Meshes/Trees
Data/Meshes/Landscape/Grass
Data/Meshes/Landscape/Trees
Data/Textures/DLC04/Trees
Data/Textures/Landscape
Data/Textures/Landscape/DLC04/Trees
Data/Textures/Landscape/DLCAnch/Trees
Data/Textures/Landscape/Grass
Data/Textures/Landscape/LOD/Wasteland/Diffuse
Data/Textures/Landscape/Trees
Data/Textures/Trees/Billboards
Data/Textures/Trees/Branches
Data/Textures/Trees/Trees
4b) Remove the above folders and pathing (IF EMPTY).
5b) Extract all new files and install them into your Fallout3/Data directory.




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File Information:
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Get a cup a coffee, this one is long-winded....


(A) INTRO
I have for the longest time wanted to use so many of these "Green" mods. On occasion, I would download them and try them out, only to remove them shortly down the line, because they didn't seem realistic, the trees didn't have proper collision with either themselves or buildings, the quality was poor, or it was simply too busy (too much overgrowth/ too big of trees).

This project is a combination of several mods into one, taking bits and pieces from each that I felt were the best features, and then tweaking them as much as I could with my skills, and mashing them into a single cohesive mod.


(B) DEVELOPMENT PROCESS - CAPITOL WASTELAND
So here was my process (see the pictures with the associated # to follow along):


1) DEFAULT / DEFUNCT
I felt the absolute need to address the dismal and dreary life of the wasteland. Say what you like: "It's been 200 years; life would start to revive." or "Look at the re-growth around Chernobyl, and that's only been 25 years!" But please don't say to me "It's called 'The Wasteland' for a reason." or "Now it looks just like Oblivion!", because I've never played Oblivion and the DC area is not a lifeless desert, it was a thriving metropolis prior to the war. In the end, everyone is entitled to their opinion of course, but if you're not into the idea of revival, then MOVE on... otherwise, READ on...


2) A TOUCH OF GREEN
The first real step I took was to give the groundcover some life. There are a few mods out there that have attempted this, but only one made my cut. The majority of the groundcover changes come directly from The Green Wastes - 8836. If you want to customize further, find other files that work together well with this one. I highly suggest the broken asphalt and rubble textures from KDS Recovering Wasteland Reborn - 16566. His work here is really good as well.

Giving the ground a base cover by itself doesn't look complete, but it provides a serious change from the pure brown and grey landscape in the default game. As you'll see, combined with everything else, it looks damn good!


3) THE GREAT BEYOND
Next up I addressed the distant ground effects. Even after changing the groundcover, it only renders out a limited distance. I feel that it does no good to change the ground up close, only to have it dissipate back into a dead brown mush 100 yards out.

For this feature, I originally used the LOD diffuse maps provided by the mod "Recovering Wasteland - 14340" (this is no longer available on the Nexus). I was unhappy with the coloration and size of the files though, and later went through 1360 files and recolored, retectured, and polished up the diffuse maps. The result of my efforts gets the landscape much closer in color to the local areas, and I actually REDUCED the overall file size by over 14 MB, providing an INCREASE in performance - albeit very small.


4) WATER THE LAWN
Now that I have some groundcover colors, I moved to address the existing bushes / grass clumps in the game. I viewed several variations of changes to the grasses, and settled upon the changes made by Green Green Grass of Home - 1214. This mod has some of the best shading of green that I've seen! What Duns_Inc did here is not only use darker green colors but he also retained some of the brown in the core of the plants, both which truly make this look like the wasteland is in a recovery state, struggling to survive and slowly taking root. There are two versions of this mod, and I (oddly) went with the greener of the two. Both are excellent and give proper feeling to the wastes as stated above, but I felt that the greener one fit my layout best.


5) FERTILIZE THE LAWN
As much as I liked the changes made by GGGoH, I couldn't appreciate the plants in their "vertically challenged" state. This is where the tremendous work of castellcorp comes into play with his Taller Grass - 16561 mod. I loved the massive changes that this mod brought to the game! After playing around with various settings, I found what I feel to be a perfect balance of plants with vanilla heights, TallerGrass_v1 heights, and TallerGrass_v1d1 heights. This should bring grass to about mid torso level. See the recommendations section for more information on how the grass can be manipulated to aide the look of the landscape.


6) TREES HO!
With the ground all set, it was time to turn my attention to the trees that will really liven up this mod. The first thing in my mind was the trees in the far distance. Typically these would either not show up, or were dead trees - neither which help my goals here. To counter this, I took the existing treedeadlod.dds file that displays the dead trees in the far distance and made changes to it as best I could. I gave all the trees that load some sort of resemblance to the trees I planned to use. The best one was the evergreen trees, but the others help fill in the distance some. I originally got the idea for this from the Evergreen - 7806 (no longer on nexus) and Their World - 13523 mods. I incorporated some of their modifications to the treedeadlod.dds file along with my own handiwork. See the recommendations section for more information on how the distant LOD tree can be manipulated to aide the look of the landscape.


7) SPRUCE THINGS UP (9,151 trees)
My first set of trees that I added were evergreens. I had originally planned to try and use the Pine01 speedtree file to replace all the evergreens around the wasteland, but I never quite liked that tree's appearance - it wasn't very, well, "piney".

Lucky for me, KDS had created an optional addon for his KDS Restoreout - 16191 mod that added branches to the evergreens! His mod replaced all "treedead01" and "treedead04". So what I did is take that idea and apply it instead to the existing dead evergreens models "treewastelandevergreen01", "treewastelandevergreen03", "treewastelandevergreenlog01", and the "treewastelandevergreenstump01". Sure, these are static models, but you'll never know that until directly under them. This was really well done! Thanks KDS!


8) JUICE, WITH EXTRA PULP (9,578 trees)
The next tree that I added was a pulp-like tree from the Evergreen mod (the one no longer available). Since I had this one on my local system still, I played around with the same idea used for the evergreens above, and replaced the "treedead03" and all dead hardwoods "treewastelandhardwood01" with this rounded tree with elm leaves. Lemme' tell ya, I really had to play with this one to keep it green. In the original mod, it used purple, brown, and PINK (yes, pink) trees to populate the wastes! I'm all about color, but not COLOR!!!!!!, ya know?


9) STRONG AS OAK (14,818 trees)
Finally, the speed tree files! The first of two trees that were injected into the game was the massive Oak. However, in base form, this tree annoyed me. Sure it was called a White Oak, but I preferred the darker type of Oaks, as the white trunk looks very out-of-place in the wastes. So I used the (now eliminated) Pine tree trunk color for the Oak's trunk color. Next I darkened the leaves by 30%, and sent them on their way into the wasteland!


10) A NATURAL OASIS (24,521 trees)
The last tree added was the Oasis02 tree. When choosing trees, this model was always at the top of my list, not just because it was just a perfectly simple tree, but that it was a WIDE tree as well - providing a good horizon cover. But there is one thing that I always hated about this tree - NO COLLISION!!

But fear not, my friends, for I finally figured out how to give this tree collision!!!WTFBBQDAIRYQUEEN!!1!!1!

I fixed the collision by simply inserting a NIF file into the meshes folder (read about this process HERE). I chose the "treewastelandevergreen03" file to use. By placing this file into the "Data\Meshes\Trees" folder and renaming it "OasisElm02.nif", it provided the SPT file with an object of collision. All other SPT files didn't need this fix, but the Oasis tree was never given collision during development it seems. In looking at that folder, you will notice that there are two file names in there. Even though I only use the Oasis02 model, I saw no reason not to give the Oasis01 trees collision as well while I was at it!

Now, no matter what object you hide behind, you will have some sort of protection!


HONORABLE MENTION(S)
For these last two trees, I have to give credit to the many green mods out there that have done the same thing as I did above:

Greenworld - 2456: What can I say about this mod other than it gives a awesome basis for everything I started here.
GreenerWorld: This mod gave me the idea of using more than just the Oasis trees for replacement. It also sent me in the direction of changing the shrub and plant colors.
Dalls_Wasteland: Dall gave the inspiration to look beyond what is available and develop something myself. Changing the groundcover to better maps, changing the plant types, combining mods.



(C) DEVELOPMENT PROCESS - DLCs (requires Operation Anchorage, Broken Steel, and Point Lookout)
Not too long after relase, I started to get inquiries about the expansions. Clearly these needed to be addressed as well, as trees are unbias and unforgiving, and will grow thorugh anything in the virtual world without control.


1) OPERATION ANCHORAGE
So I did a search in FO3 Edit out of shear curiosity, and wouldn't you know it - a single WastelandShrub existed in Bailey's Crossing. And as it would turn out, the damn thing was clipping into another object! So I removed it. The only friggin' speedtree in the entire expansion!

I ventured into OA to check things out and discovered that the evergreen tree was used quite prominently there. To help with a slight change of scenery, I lightened the texture of the evergreen branch and increased the hue some to keep it green, but with a white look as if snow had been on it (much like the bark of the trees in OA).


2) THE PITT
No changes were required for this expansion. (0 changes)


3) BROKEN STEEL
I didn't change any models for this expansion, but I did find multiple clipping problems and illogical placements for the trees - and fixed them. (58 changes)


4) POINT LOOKOUT
Lots of changes here. For Point Lookout, I wanted to give it a different appearance all together. Special thanks to Jeoshua who kindly donated his work on some sickly Conifer trees, which look awesome in this atmosphere!

a) Added leaves to all swamp tree branches. This gave a slightly better look to these trees. The leaves are flat on the branches, and the branches are "wrapped" around the tree, so this doesn't look great by itself - hence "b". (2113 changes)

b) Added canopy tops to all regular swamp trees. This broke up the odd looking swamp trees. Its not the best, but a good compromise. (997 changes) This has since been altered back to normal to avoid conflicts with interior caves as well as offer a variety.

c) Added additional leaves to the "DLC04Tree01" - the large hardwood tree. These trees had only a few leaves on them, and looked like they were still dying. Now they look like they are fighting for life. (248 changes)

d) Added life (leaves) to the "DLC04TreeH01" hardwood trees. This is the same hardwood tree from the wastes, however that tree was replaced by the pulp tree. These have deep green leaves on them, unlike the above hardwood's dark brown leaves. (41 changes)

e) Replaced all "DLC04TreeDead02" dead trees with Jeoshua's "SickConiferSmall01.nif" tree. These conifer trees add a great element to the area. The evergreen family of trees is a hardy bunch, and these have found a way to take root again and keep fighting for life. Many of them are sickly looking, with mossy torn bark - and perfect compliment to the area! (153 changes)

f) Replaced all "DLC04TreeDead03" dead trees with Jeoshua's "SickConifer.nif" tree. (40 changes)

g) Replaced all "DLC04TreeE03" evergreen trees with Jeoshua's "SickConiferMed.nif" tree. (48 changes)

h) Replaced all "DLC04TreeE04" evergreen trees with Jeoshua's "SickConiferSmall02.nif" tree. (12 changes)

i) Removed all speedtrees from the Sacred Bog and interior locations. Reverted these to their former "WastelandShrub02" and "WastelandUndergrowth02" objects. The bog was just too busy with additional trees, and of course trees don't belong inside caves and buildings. (401 changes)

j) Replaced all "WastelandUndergrowth01" Oasis trees with a combination of "WastelandShrub02" and "WastelandUndergrowth02" objects. I wanted to reduce the vast number of trees this expansion, and since I had already modified thousands of existing static trees already I felt that these didn't add to the landscape as well as they should have. However, the coloration of the Oasis02 tree did blend in much better than the Oak tree - hence "k". (2950 changes)

k) Replaced all "WastelandShrub01" Oak trees with "WastelandUndergrowth01" Oasis trees. (1043 changes)

l) Cleaned up all offending trees. I had to do this last, as the Oasis tree has a much wider object size than the Oak, but not as tall. (96 changes)


5) MOTHERSHIP ZETA
No changes were required for this expansion. (0 changes)



(D) ADDITIONAL FEATURES
But that's not all folks! That's right, also with this limited lifetime offer, you get much more craftsmanship!!

First, let me say that simply replacing trees alone is an awesome improvement; I think everyone would agree that it does living things up. But as much as it adds to the game, it also takes just as much away. Some of the overgrowth may seem realistic for 200 years without a set of hedge-trimmers, but some things started to stick out and really bother me after a short while. So I set out to fix this... and as far as I can tell, I have!


1) DEFORESTATION
I went through EVERY SINGLE OCCURANCE of the 'WastelandShrub01' and 'WastelandUndergrowth01' in the GECK, and examined its placement and its validity to be growing where it is. THIS IS OVER 39,000 OBJECTS! It took me a few weeks, but I'm happy I did it because no one else has and it desperately needed to be done! The 2000+ objects removed were replaced by replicas of the original Shrub or Undergrowth object - adding these formerly extinct items back to the game.


2) SAY NO TO POT!
Next, I visited all the steel plant pots located around the wasteland. I removed the massive trees that were somehow growing out of these objects (but somehow not breaking the pots open or having their roots grow beyond the limitations of the pot), and replaced them with either the Wasteland Shrub or the Euonymus Bush (the ones normally found in Tenpenny Towers). Also, I changed the scaling of every potted plant that didn't already have one already to give a truly realistic feel of wild bushes growing. You will notice this mostly when in an area with multiple pots in close proximity - like the Statesman Hotel rooftop or Tenpenny Tower exterior.


3) DO YOU HAVE AN INNY OR AN OUTY?
I didn't just look around outside, but inside as well. When authors simply replace trees, they cause freakish things to happen - like trees growing inside caves and buildings! I fixed all this as well - switching these items back to Undergrowth Bushes when able.


4) NOT SO TRANQUIL
Many authors don't realize the impact of simple object replacement. One location that this effects greatly is Tranquility Lane. By replacing all the shrubs and undergrowth, this pre-war simulated town is turned into a vegetation nightmare (pun fully intended). All the objects were reverted back to their original replicated counterpart, so this scene is restored properly to its intended function.


5) PURLY A PROJECT
I also cleaned up the Project Purity bridge area, another section overlooked by so many. This perhaps wasn't a problem when the trees didn't have collision, but now that they do the existing object caused movement issues. Also, not being able to see or lock onto those Super Muties with Miniguns was annoying to say the least.


6) MISCELLANEOUS
Aside from the above tedious jobs, I occasionally came across some oddball items, like that bush outside of BigTown that was growing on a phone wire. This became a huge Oasis tree... growing out of nothing... on a wire... 30 feet in the air! Or the lineup of trees outside of Rosevelt Acaemy, that looked far too uniform for the area. Files like these were either deleted or changed back to their former glory of Shrubs or Undergrowth to save what little sanity I have left. Oh, Bethesda...


7) OPERATION: DE-CLUSTER
Also, as I ran across sets of trees with 10 trees growing out of each other, or situations where trees were "fused" together, I either eliminated a few of them, or moved them apart to create a more "forested" feel.


8) HOLY HOVERING BARK BATMAN!!
Lately, I've been doing a lot of cleanup in regards to the oak trees, that seem to have a rather high center point at the tree base, casuing it to hover above the ground at the slightest change in terrain. To fix these, I've had to physically alter each and every offending tree. There are many "light-in-their-roots" culprits out there to clean up still.




(E) RECOMMENDATIONS
I have played around with multiple settings, seeing how they work with my overall changes. Here is my feedback.


bForceFullLOD (Fallout.ini):
TWEAKGUIDES: ""bForceFullLOD=0 - If set to 1, this variable increases the visible number of bushes, especially in the distance. The performance impact is minor, so if you want a bit of additional foliage in the game world, enable this setting (Fallout.ini)."

This setting will aide you with having the leaves on trees constantly updating (called "popping"). This setting pushes the rendering of bushes (which are now trees for the most part) out to the maximum. You will still see some popping as your start moving through multiple areas, but this will cut down on this issue a lot.

This is also a valuable setting for helping with full trees popping up nearby. Mind you, it doesn't go beyond the limitations imposed by "uGridsToLoad", which we discuss next.


uGridsToLoad (Fallout.ini):
TWEAKGUIDES: "uGridsToLoad=5 - Increasing the uGridsToLoad value (always in odd steps of 5,7,9,11 etc.) will increase the number of grids around the character in which full texture and object data will be loaded up and visible as they wander around. This improves overall visual quality by increasing graphical detail on more distant game world elements. Indeed certain objects and structures which were otherwise not visible before will now be visible. The higher the value, the more you will see of the game world in return for a sharp drop in framerate, and noticeably longer loading times. There may even be more prominent stuttering as well, not to mention the possibility of visual glitches and the greater likelihood of crashes due to the extra memory usage. Unlike Oblivion, in my testing using a value of =11 I didn't see any visual glitches in Fallout 3 at all, however my performance fell by more than half, and I eventually experienced a crash to desktop. As you increase the uGridsToLoad value, you may want to also increase the uExterior Cell Buffer value to accommodate the greater cell data and prevent crashes and stuttering. Note: It appears that if you save a game with a higher value for this variable, you cannot then lower the value again as your saved game will no longer load properly. So on balance the default value of 5 for uGridstoLoad is a good compromise between visual detail, performance and loading pauses, though high-end machines can try higher values, but make sure your system can handle it in a range of areas before committing to it by saving your game (Fallout.ini)."

So, by increasing your grids, you will render the actual trees further out. I suggest setting this to 7 (or 9 for high-end systems). These higher settings will more properly "fill" the distance... at the cost of performance. Using my GTS250 card (I got a GTX480 in my gaming system), I was able to boost this from 5 to 9 and see trees really far out without serious impact (see pictures for examples of 5, 7, 9, and 11). Remember: IF YOU CHANGE THIS SETTING AND SAVE YOUR GAME, YOU CANNOT RELOAD ANY FUTURE SAVES AT A LOWER SETTING. This means that if you change this from 5 to 7, all future saves will render 7 grids around you. Changing this back to 5 and attempting to load that former game will crash the game. So be sure to play around with this setting some to figure out what your system can handle.

Jeoshua offers the following work-around for getting a game with a lower setting to work (THANKS JEOSHUA!):

1) Load a game with the higher value set.
2) Hit ESC to pause the game. This will help with the Windows memory issues that lock you out of tabbing back (sometimes).
3) Alt-Tab and change the Fallout.ini file to a lower "uGridsToLoad" value.
4) Then go back to Fallout and type "REFINI" into the console.
5) Save the game.

I understand people's resistance to changing the uGridsToLoad value. That is why I strongly state that "IF YOU CHANGE THIS SETTING AND SAVE YOUR GAME, YOU CANNOT RELOAD ANY FUTURE SAVES AT A LOWER SETTING." Hopefully if people are reading this far into the article, they will mind that warning. 'Hopefully' being the key word.


Grass Fade (Game Settings, FOMM, or "fGrassStartFadeDistance" in FalloutPref.ini):
This renders the grass clumps / plants / weeds out further. The impact of this by itself isn't that big in my experience. At it's vanilla max setting of 7, this will provide you with a vast amount of overgrowth. Combined with trees surrounding you, there should be plenty of visual increase. You can override this setting in the Fallout.INI file or within your FOMM settings. I bumped this to 21 and had grass as far as I could see. A setting of 7 though gives plenty of grass though IMHO.


iMinGrassSize (Fallout.ini):
The counterpart to this setting is "iMinGrassSize". This setting works opposite of others, in that lowering the setting creates more. This value controls how dense the grass clumps are. At the default 80 setting, you get what you see in my pictures. Raising this value will thin out the density, whereas lowering it will increase both width and how closely they appear to one another. Know that this setting, although tempting, has a serioius impact on performance. The denser the grass, the more drawing your VCard will have to do. Here are some pictures:
iMinGrassSize=120 (SCARCE)
iMinGrassSize=100 (THIN)
iMinGrassSize=80 (DEFAULT)
iMinGrassSize=60 (NOT BAD)
iMinGrassSize=40 (LAGGY)
iMinGrassSize=20 (VERY LAGGY)
iMinGrassSize=5 (SUPER HIGH LAG)


Tree LOD Fade (Game Settings, FOMM, or "fTreeLoadDistance" in FalloutPref.ini):
One of the absolute biggest improvements that everyone can make, at the cost a very very little performance impact is the Tree LOD Fade settings. At the minimum (1), you will see none of the billboard trees in the distance. At any normal setting between (10) and (40), there is virtually no difference in what is rendered. However, if you override this setting, either via FOMM or FalloutPrefs.INI setting, you can dramatically increase the visual appeal of far off trees. Each level it is increased (60), you can see further (80), and further (100), and even into the far mountians trees are shown (120). Obviously this only has benefit outside, but... umm... that is what this mod is all about!! :)


Object LOD Fade (Game Settings or FOMM):
Also, I highly recommend setting your Object LOD Fade setting to the max vanilla setting as well. This has very little impact like the Tree LOD Fade, and it provides you with landscape objects like bridges and building far into the distance. Here are some shots of the differences:
MINIMUM (25) Nothing is noticable
MIDRANGE (37) Some bridges are visible
MAXIMUM (50) Additional bridges are visible


Lastly, the game setting Land Quality is the most pointless setting ever. I ran this from its minimum setting of 75, to default max of 150, to an override of 300, and then to 600 (x8 the minimum!) and there was only VERY slight far far off ground and mountianside variances that I could detect. I'm sure the impact is minor at best, but there was literally no noticeable difference that anyone playing the game would be able to detect.



(F) CONCLUSION
Finally, THERE IS NO ONE FIX FOR ALL. It is your responsibility as a mod user to tweak with settings yourself that will make your system more stable and running the cleanest possible game. While I will try to support other popular mods that this mods interacts or conflicts with, it will not be for all other mods. I am happy to give advice on how to help improve other mods though to make everything work together nicely. :)

That is pretty much it. Check it out. Enjoy using it as much as I enjoyed tweaking and designing it!




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Requirements:
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Fallout 3




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Install:
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1. Download the files to a secure location. (do not unzipping directly to your Data folder!).

2. Extract the files from the archive to a new folder under it's name.

3. Inspect the meshes, textures, sounds, etc folder contents to understand what you are about to replace.

4. Read the included ReadMe file for installation instructions or additional information. I understand the irony of including this install step in a ReadMe file for installation that would only be read if someone opened the ReadMe file in the first place. JUST SHADDUP AND DO AS I COMMAND!! :)

5a. If satisfied, copy the associated file(s) and folders to your "[DRIVE]:[INSTALL PATH]\Fallout 3\Data\" folder.

5b. If unsure of the contents, or to learn more about the mod, transfer ONLY the .esp file to the Data folder, and use FO3 Edit to inspect the contents.

5c. If there were any conflicts to resolve, you might benefit from running a Master Update via Fo3Edit.

6. When ready to play with the mod, open your Fallout 3 Launcher (or mod manager - I suggest Timeslip's FOMM), place a checkmark beside the .esp file, and run the game.

7. Enjoy this fine product from Shiholude!




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Un-Install:
==============

1. Open your Fallout 3 Launcher (or mod manager), and uncheck the .esp file.

2. Delete the files/folders associated with the mod. All my files are found in the following folders:
Data/Meshes/Trees
Data/Meshes/Landscape/Grass
Data/Meshes/Landscape/Trees
Data/Textures/DLC04/Trees
Data/Textures/Landscape
Data/Textures/Landscape/DLC04/Trees
Data/Textures/Landscape/DLCAnch/Trees
Data/Textures/Landscape/Grass
Data/Textures/Landscape/LOD/Wasteland/Diffuse
Data/Textures/Landscape/Trees
Data/Textures/Trees/Billboards
Data/Textures/Trees/Branches
Data/Textures/Trees/Trees

3. Run your "Master Update" again if you're using FO3edit.




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Compatibility:
==============

This will conflict with any other mod that changes the WastelandShrub01, WastelandUndergrowth01, various static dead trees, grasses, and evergreens.

As this makes wide-ranged changes, I suggest to load this higher in your order. For instance, I typically load all my ESM's, and then load my landscape mods (like this after the Unoffical or Fake Patch).




==============
Bugs/Issues:
==============

No known issues at this point, please let me know if you find any.

I believe that I got all the offensive collisions out there. Let me know if I missed any. If providing feedback, please give me as much information as possible. Providing the following is BAD: "I saw a tree poking trough a bridge out west." The following is GOOD: "Out west by the Dunwich Building, there is a bridge on the north side with a tree poking through."




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To Do:
==============

1) Clean up the excessive cluttering of trees in the wilderness.
2) Add more trees to logical locations manually.
3) An autumn version?
4) Darken the LOD landscape from RW (done 9-3-11)




==============
Contact:
==============

Private Message - Shiholude




==============
Credits:
==============

Thank you to Bethesda for creating Fallout 3!

Thank you to all the above linked mods that provided me with both the inspiration and starting knowledge to complete this labor of love:
The Green Wastes - 8836
Recovering Wasteland - 14340 (no longer available on the Nexus)
Green Green Grass of Home - 1214
Taller Grass - 16561
Evergreen – 7806 (no longer on nexus)
Their World – 13523
KDS Restoreout - 16191

Thank you to all the other modders that continue to make this game playable, over and over again!

Thank you to everyone that continues to support and download my mods! I love this community!

Check out my other stuff on MY MEMBER PAGE.




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Tools Used:
==============

FOMM
FO3 Edit
GECK with GECK 1.5 Update
Paint.NET
NifScope




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License/Legal:
==============

Use it as you wish, just give credit to the areas where I used other peoples work, and to my additional creations and efforts here.