GECK-Tec

R.I.P. GECK-Tec, New Blog Launched, Shameless Promotion

noreply@blogger.com (Galahaut) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:22:00 +0000

As you can tell, GECK-Tec is essentially dead, with no posts since November 2009. For a variety of reasons, I stopped posting in November: Busy with classes, then busy with finals, then busy with the holidays, a slow decrease in stuff to post about Fallout 3, Apocalyptic Loading Screens suffering too many problems, no mods being worked on anymore (by me), etc.

Sometime in late November/early December I began brainstorming (with Sanguine Assassin/LePropugnator) for a new blog not limited to a single game or series or anything like that. Figuring out the name probably took the longest, and the next weeks and months were spent setting up the blog's format and layout, writing a few posts to launch with, dealing with technical issues, and being lazy and procrastinating. But...it's finally ready...

The new blog, Keybards "covers a variety of topics, focused mostly on and around PC gaming. Discussion will sometimes delve into more general technology or internet topics as well. There will be a few main series of posts with some more free-form posts thrown in occasionally." Hopefully I will remain interested and involved with it for a much longer period than GECK-Tec (R.I.P.). There may occasionally be some posts about Fallout 3 (or New Vegas), too. Check it out if you have the time and enjoyed GECK-Tec.

(Note: If anyone is interested in taking over GECK-Tec (whether to continue it or repurpose it or take the posts and put them somewhere else or...whatever, really) you can contact me at danielxcel[at]gmail[dot]com)

Modding FAQs Part 6 - How do I load multiple master files (in the G.E.C.K.)?

noreply@blogger.com (Galahaut) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:46:00 +0000

In order to load multiple master files in the G.E.C.K. (to allow your mod to make use of multiple DLCs, for example), a simple change must be made to the GECKCustom.ini. That file is found in /(My) Documents/My Games/Fallout3. Simply open it up and change bAllowMultipleMasterLoads=0 to bAllowMultipleMasterLoads=1, then save.

Modding Discussion Part 28 - Destruction Wins File of the Month

noreply@blogger.com (Galahaut) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 23:10:00 +0000

Destruction ("A Destroyable Environments Mod") by SP has won Fallout3Nexus's File of the Month for October, beating the 2nd place mod (Firefly Ranch - Scary Quest Edition) by only one vote. The mod allows objects to be damaged and/or destroyed. Some objects can explode and damage nearby enemies, lights can be shot out, etc. As of version 6.1, the mod supports 735 different destructible objects

Useful Links Part 17 - How to Merge ESPs

noreply@blogger.com (Galahaut) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 21:58:00 +0000

Another useful forum thread, this one started by Lyrondor, asking how to merge changes from one .ESP to another. JustinOther provides a quick step-by-step process using FO3Edit, and Tarrant points out that FO3Plugin might be better for smaller merging jobs.

Modding Discussion Part 27 - Fallout3Nexus Modding Contest Winners Announced

noreply@blogger.com (Galahaut) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:46:00 +0000

Dark0ne has (finally) chosen the winners for the Fallout3Nexus Millionth Member Modding Competition. Barrenzye's Banished was the winning mod, followed by JaySus's Commonwealth of Modders, and then The Magnetic War 2 by FrankSlimski. There was also an honorable mention for Ralf1234's "The League of the Nexus."

GECK-Tec Podcast #2

noreply@blogger.com (Galahaut) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 04:01:00 +0000

Sanguine Assassin/LePropugnator has just finished recording the second GECK-Tec podcast. In the first podcast, Sanguine Assassin gave an overview of the post series, and then delved into more detail about the Recommended Mods series.

For this podcast, he first talks about the overall planning for the podcasts, then goes through the latest posts, especially focusing on the newly recommended mods. He follows that with a discussion of the various ways to help/support/contribute to the blog, and ends with some more news and information about FOOK (and the FOOKIPEDIA).

Check out the podcast below. Thanks to PodBean for the hosting and embeddable player. You can also download the podcast. Thanks to OCRemix and Hy Bound for the "Mark of the Beatsmith" remix used, and Funtastic Power! / (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) for n00born and Green Greens.

Blog Discussion Part 26 - Boo! Halloween Banners Arrive

noreply@blogger.com (Galahaut) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:26:00 +0000

Over the past few weeks, I've been working on a set of Halloween banners for the blog. I've been saving them up to post close to Halloween, and now that I have a decent amount, here we are. I'll go through the credits here, since there are a lot of them.

The first banner was made using the Tango Macabre and Lunacy More fonts, found on Dafont. The background is made up of two different textures from CGTextures, and the moon is from there as well.

The second banner is made using the Halloween Spider font (again from Dafont). The background is made by using an amazing plugin/filter named Fractalius (by Redfield Plugins) on a texture from CGTextures.

The third banner is made using the Double Feature and Lunacy More fonts (yes, again, Dafont). Both the spider(web) and bat are from a set of free Halloween vector icons/images from Smashing Magazine. The background is, again, made by using an amazing plugin/filter named Fractalius (by Redfield Plugins) on a texture from CGTextures.

The fourth banner is made using two basic fonts (Monotype Corsiva and Felix Titling). Both the skeletons and eye are from a set of Halloween PSD freebies from PsDeluxe. The background is, again, made by using an amazing plugin/filter named Fractalius (by Redfield Plugins) on a texture from CGTextures.

Useful Links Part 16 - Mod Packaging Advice

noreply@blogger.com (Galahaut) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:57:00 +0000

A thread started by pkleiss asking about creating a 7-Zip archive for his mod is now a nice overview of "best practices" for packaging mods. Two different organizational methods/formats/structures are brought up by Miaximus and WillieSea: mod name folders and mod name folders in mod author folders. If you were wondering how to effectively package your mod (or literally how to package your mod with 7-Zip), check the thread out.

Edit: Oh, Tubal just linked back here from the thread. Now we can have an infinite link loop.

Recommended Mods Part 59 - Vault Dweller's Survival Perk Pack

noreply@blogger.com (Galahaut) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:06:00 +0000

Vault Dweller's Survival Perk Pack by Phillip Spence
Phillip Spence's (aka piratephil's) Vault Dweller's Survival Perk Pack (VDSP) adds 10 new perks, all with new icons. The perks are designed with balance and the original perks in mind, and range from level requirements of 2 to 20. Most of the new perks (and icons, see below) are much more interesting than many original Fallout 3 perks, so check the VDSP out.

Blog Discussion Part 25 - Assorted Random Blog Stuff

noreply@blogger.com (Galahaut) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:31:00 +0000

Yay, a post. Just going to go through some more assorted information about the blog. First some post updates: I just updated the Acronyms list, adding 9 more and bringing the total to 145 acronyms, and I also updated the mod folder list after forgetting about it for over a month.

As you may have noticed, the posting schedule has gotten a bit sporadic, and this is mostly because not much is "happening" with Fallout 3 outside of new mods being released. Due to this, I will likely just be working through the backlog of potential recommended mods, and there will probably be even more Recommended Mods posts in a row. I'll still try to find some other topics to post about, though. Feel free to make suggestions.

Next, some information about the blog format. I recently added a few icons (from Komodo Media) to the sidebar. Hopefully, in the next few days/weeks, the menu bar at the top of the blog will be replaced with some newly designed buttons, and a few of the lesser used series (Works in Progress, Works in Progress Watch, Mods in Testing) will be no longer be represented there. They will still exist (and will still be in the series label cloud), but I don't think they're important or active enough to have buttons anymore.

Finally, the podcast by Sanguine Asssasin/LePropugnator will probably be done on a bi-weekly basis due to the lower blog activity and amount of Fallout 3 "news." Also, some new banners will be coming soon to celebrate Halloween, and some additional ones for Winter.

Recommended Mods Part 58 - FPS Style Grenade Hotkey

noreply@blogger.com (Galahaut) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 01:38:00 +0000

FPS Style Grenade Hotkey by Kai Hohiro
This helpful mod by Kai Hohiro allows you to throw grenades without having to equip them, via a new hotkey. An additional hotkey allows you to cycle through the different grenade types without having to open your inventory. The cycle goes Frag > Pulse > Plasma > Cryo (only with MZ version) > Nuka Cola Grenade > Frag. The hotkeys can be changed using the "Grenade Hotkey Menu" item that is added to your inventory's Aid tab.

Note that the hotkey will not work in the Anchorage simulation or when you have no weapon equipped (including no unarmed weapons).

Recommended Mods Part 57 - Arwen_VisionFX

noreply@blogger.com (Galahaut) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 23:15:00 +0000

Arwen_VisionFX by Arwen
This newly released mod by Arwen adds new visual effects to sunglasses and reading glasses using ImageSpace Modifiers. Additionally, the mod allows glasses be worn with most hats and other headwear.

The effect for sunglasses reduces the "harshness" of light, as stays in effect as long as you wear sunglasses. The sunglasses will also affect indoor lighting, reducing glare, but not overall light. This effect will only work completely as intended if you have HDR enabled. The following eyewear items have this effect added: Lucky Shades, Sunglasses, Three Dog's Glasses, Tinted Reading Glasses, Tortoiseshell Glasses, Biker Goggles. This part of the mod is similar to Sunglasses FX by CrazyAce, and indeed, Arwen credits that mod as inspiration.

Equipping a set of reading glasses will also provide a new visual effect, including blurriness and double vision, but the effect only lasts 20 seconds. The following eyewear items have this effect added: Eyeglasses, Doctor Li's Glasses, Reading Glasses.

Recommended Mods Part 56 - CONELRAD 640-1240

noreply@blogger.com (Galahaut) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:57:00 +0000

CONELRAD 640-1240 by Macabre Productions
This is another new radio station created by the group that made Existence 2.0 (which I recommended earlier). The new station plays 55 new tracks from the "era of the Atomic Threat," as well as 29 authentic PSAs from Civil Defense Washington, and is hosted by Katrina. Here is some background about the mod provided by the authors.

"CONELRAD (Control of Electromagnetic [or Electronic] Radiation) was a method
of emergency broadcasting to the public of the United States in the event of
enemy attack. It was intended to serve two purposes; to prevent Soviet
bombers from homing in on American cities by using radio or TV stations as
beacons, and to provide essential civil defense information on 640-1240."

CONELRAD includes 2 hours and 20 minutes of music, 22 minutes of PSAs, custom dialog for the station's host, Katrina, and a fully scripted radio station similar to the official stations. You can view the full track list below (or on the mod's page).

"Uranium Fever" Elton Britt
"Old Man Atom" Sam Hinton
"Advice to Joe" Roy Acuff
"Atomic Energy" Sir Lancelot
"Bert the Turtle (Duck & Cover Song)" Two-Ton Baker
"Bikini" Dexter Gordon
"Crawl Out Through the Fallout" Sheldon Allman
"Fallout Shelter" Dore Alpert
"Atomic Cocktail" Slim Quartette
"Great Atomic Power" Louvin Brothers
"Hydrogen Bomb" Al Rex
"Jesus Hits Like an Atom Bomb" Valley Trio
"Atom Bomb" Glenn Barber
"A Bomb Bop" Mike Fernandez
"Krushchev and The Devil" Jay Chevalier
"Mr Stalin" Smith, Arthur
"My Radiation Baby (My Teenage Fallout Queen)" George McKelvey
"Old Man Atom" Sons of The Pioneers
"Atom Bomb Baby" Five Stars
"Radioactive Mama" Sheldon Allman
"Aint I Right" Marty Robbins
"Satellite" Teresa Brewer
"Sputniks and Mutniks" Ray Anderson
"Stalin Kicked the Bucket" Ray Anderson
"The Hydrogen Bomb" Rogers, Al
"Atomic Sermon" Billy Hughes
"Trial of Francis Powers" Red River Dave
"Uranium" Commodores
"Russia Russia (Lay That Missile Down)" Prescott Reed
"Atomic Bomb Blues" Homer Harris, Muddy Waters
"Uranium Fever" Rudy Gaddis
"Watch World War 3 (On Pay TV)" Crown City Four
"Atomic Baby" Amos Milburn
"West of the Wall" Fisher, Miss Toni, Shanklin
"The Bear Flew Over the Ocean" Jimmie Driftwood
"When That Hell Bomb Falls" Fred Kirby
"H Bomb" V.A.
"When They Found the Atomic power" Hawkshaw Hawkins
"You Hit Me Like an Atomic Bomb" Fay Simmons
"Tic Tic Tic" Doris Day
"No No Joe" Hank Williams
"When They Drop the Atomic Bomb" Doll, Jackie & His Pickled Peppers
"Thirteen Women" Haley, Bill & Comets
"Fujiyama Mama" Wanda Jackson
"Get That Communist Joe" Kavaliers
"Satellite Baby" Skip Stanley
"Theres a Power Greater Than Atomic" Buchanan Brothers
"Sputnik Satellite Girl" Four Ekkos
"Atom Bomb Baby" Five Stars
"I'm Gonna Dig Myself a Hole" Arthur Crudup
"I'm No Communist" Carson Robison
"Atomic Nightmare" Talbot Bros of Bermuda
"Uranium Rock" Warren Smith
"Atomic Power" Buchanan Brothers

Podcasts Part 1 - GECK-Tec Podcast #1 Released

noreply@blogger.com (Galahaut) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 21:52:00 +0000

Sanguine Assassin/LePropugnator has just finished recording the first GECK-Tec podcast. This is the "upcoming project/feature" I've mentioned a few times before, and now it's ready. In this first podcast, Sanguine Assassin gives an overview of the post series, and then delves into more detail about the Recommended Mods series. He also covers some of the recent posts (mostly the last week or two), talks about the random blog banners, and talks about what will be in future podcasts.

Check out the podcast below. Thanks to PodBean for the hosting and embeddable player. You can also download the podcast.

Recommended Mods Part 40 - Existence 2.0 (Update 1.3)

noreply@blogger.com (Galahaut) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 23:34:00 +0000

Existence 2.0 by Macabre Productions
Existence 2.0 has received a rather large update since I first recommended it, bringing the mod to version 1.3. The list of changes can be viewed below. With a new location to explore, additional dialog, new interaction with JunK'et, and new things to discover, this update is definitely one you should go check out.

You may also want to look at the other radio mod by Macabre Productions, CONELRAD 640-1240.

Players can now visit the Existence 2.0 studio. Explore the utility basement of the W.K.M.L. building, to learn more information on the host's past.
You now have a method to have a chat with JunK'et.
Some quest journal's text tweaked
Dream recordings now play less frequently on the station.
Ten minutes of new dialogue with JunK'et.
Dozens of files and journals to discover.

Blog Discussion Part 24 - Potential Recommandations List

noreply@blogger.com (Galahaut) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 01:25:00 +0000

Since I don't have anything else to post about right now besides additional recommendations, I thought that I'd post...the list of potential recommendations. The mods listed below are all the mods I have considered or will consider for recommendation. There are some on the list I will probably not recommend, for various reasons (the mod has bugs or other issues, is replaced by a similar mod that I feel is better, is taken down, is rendered irrelevant, etc.), but I won't include those reasons on the list.

For many mods, I am waiting for "something" to happen before I recommend them. The most common "something" would be waiting for mods to come out of alpha/beta, as I'd prefer to recommend mods that are less likely to change drastically and more likely to work correctly. In other cases, I might be waiting for bugs/conflicts to be fixed, an upcoming major update to be released, etc. For others, I just haven't gotten around to writing up their recommendation posts yet.

The list is mostly chronological (in terms of when I added the mod to the list, not when the mod was created). With some exceptions for organizational purposes, mods near the top have been on the list longer. I'll try to keep the list in this post updated, but it may lag behind my internal list slightly (due to laziness or forgetfulness on my part).

Recommended Mods Part 55 - To Sleep, Perchance to Dream

noreply@blogger.com (Galahaut) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 22:31:00 +0000

To Sleep, Perchance to Dream by Puce Moose
To Sleep, Perchance to Dream is the 3rd quest mod in a series by Puce Moose (the first two have already been recommended). This one is a "unique adventure," and Puce Moose recommends that you save your game in a different slot before starting it, in case you decide not to finish. Additionally, you should not take companions with you into the professor's house. Like the previous two mods, this quest involves the use of notes, hints, quizzes, puzzles, and exploration, with combat kept to a minimum.

To Sleep, Perchance to Dream includes 4 new interiors, puzzles (including establishing proper soil for a garden, analyzing an X-ray, and assessing a snowman's army for lacking accessories), new textures and posters, a new weapon (with new model, texture, sounds, and effects) that generates items on enemies killed by it (which can then be used to create new items), an adventure that takes you to new areas (including a professor's study, a decayed cityscape, and a brand new worldspace), and new notes with voice acting and images.

Don't forget about the previous mods in the series: A Note Easily Missed and An Evening with Mister Manchester.

Modding Discussion Part 26 - FOOK2 RC 1.0 Released

noreply@blogger.com (Galahaut) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 22:48:00 +0000

FOOK2 is now out of beta, as the team has just released FOOK2 RC (Release Candidate) 1.0. For now, there is only a full download available. As always, make sure you read the readme/documentation and follow the instructions. You can also find more information on the recently launched FOOKIPEDIA.

Recommended Mods Part 54 - An Evening With Mister Manchester

noreply@blogger.com (Galahaut) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 14:14:00 +0000

An Evening With Mister Manchester by Puce Moose
An Evening with Mister Manchester is the second in a series of three quest/adventure mods by Puce Moose (the first, A Note Easily Missed, was already recommended). The mod is designed to expand upon the events of A Note Easily Missed, so Puce Moose recommends that you play that mod first (but it is not required).

An Evening with Mister Manchester is, like its predecessor, focused on exploration and problem solving. You will be reading notes, taking terminal quizzes, solving puzzles, and exploring areas; while combat is kept to a minimum (though there is some combat involved). Also, once again, the mod was not designed or tested with companions in mind, so you may want to leave them somewhere before going though the mod.

An Evening with Mister Manchester includes two new interiors, new challenges and puzzles (including activating a power grid, solving a painting-based puzzle, and deciphering an autobiography for clues), new textures and posters, three new craftable items (from schematics), a new weapon (a retexture with new sounds, stats, and effects), dozens of new notes (including new voice acting, songs, and images), and an adventure that brings the player through several different areas.

If you'd like to check out the other two mods in the series, they are named A Note Easily Missed and To Sleep, Perchance to Dream. Puce Moose has also created another quest mod unrelated to this series named In the Shadow of the Swamp.

Modding Discussion Part 25 - DCInteriors Project Wins File of the Month

noreply@blogger.com (Galahaut) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:02:00 +0000

The DCInteriors Project by ChuckSteel has won Fallout3Nexus's File of the Month for September, with 59 votes (over double the number of votes for the second place mod). The project aims to open up many of the previously boarded up buildings and houses in D.C. ChuckSteel has already created over 25 new business buildings and over 20 townhouses/apartments. I think ChuckSteel's description is worth repeating:

"Have you ever thought about scavving the DC wastes, even though, the super mutants may horrifically and violently rip your heart out? Have you said to yourself "D*** the torpedoes, I am going Downtown anyway", only to find once you arrive that 99% of the shops and houses are all boarded up? Have you ever seen a building on the horizon, thinking you'll head there, just to find nothing of interest, nothing worth investigating? If so, this mod is for you!"

Like September's File of the Month, Energy Visuals Enhanced, the DCInteriors Project will probably be recommended at some point. I want to check out more of the new buildings myself first, and I'd also like to wait until the mod is a bit further along or closer to "finished" (since ChuckSteel is still actively working on it).

Modding Discussion Part 24 - FOOKIPEDIA (FOOK Wiki) Launches

noreply@blogger.com (Galahaut) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 05:01:00 +0000

The FOOKIPEDIA (FOOK's Wiki) was recently opened to the public by HugePinball. It already has some useful information (including a full credits list), but there is still a lot of work to do. I've been helping mostly with infrastructure-related things like templates, categories, and organizations. I'm mostly working on the Weapon and Armor templates right now. You can check out what else I'm doing on my user page there. Feel free to help out with the FOOKIPEDIA if you can.

Recommended Mods Part Fourteen - Weapon Mod Kits (Mothership Zeta)

noreply@blogger.com (Galahaut) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:05:00 +0000

Weapon Mod Kits by Antistar
Antistar just released WMK-MothershipZeta, with support for Alien Atomizers and Disintegrators. Now Weapon Mod Kits has fully taken over the DLC, thankfully. I would've never imagined that Bethesda could come up with so many boring new weapon ideas.

My Released Mods Part Four - Reduced Skill Bobblehead Effects Fixed (Hopefully)

noreply@blogger.com (Galahaut) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 23:59:00 +0000

As described in the previous post, Jonasace recently discovered that Reduced Skill Bobblehead Effects was actually broken, and Cipscis reported that discovery to me. The message change worked, but the Bobbleheads were still adding the full 10 point bonuses. I've (hopefully) fixed this in version 1.2, which I just uploaded.

Now I just get to wonder how no one who downloaded the mod managed to notice that it wasn't even working correctly. My excuse? I assumed it was such a simple request that I didn't even bother to test it out myself.

Thanks again to Judasace and Cipcsis.

My Released Mods Part Four - Reduced Skill Bobblehead Effects Broken

noreply@blogger.com (Galahaut) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 21:03:00 +0000

Cipscis emailed me earlier today to report that Reduced Skill Bobblehead Effects does not work correctly. The messages are changed, but the Bobbleheads still grant the original +10 boost.

"I was pointed recently to your Reduced Skill Bobblehead Effects mod from a thread on The Nexus Forums asking about creating new bobbleheads, and when I had a look at it I saw that the effects that you've edited seem to be left over from a previous (probably failed) attempt by Bethesda to apply effects to Bobbleheads - these effects aren't actually used anywhere as far as I could tell. The messages that you've changed work fine, but the actual effects are instead applied via the scripts attached to the Bobblehead misc. items (see the thread that I mentioned before for more details - Making new Bobbleheads)."

It figures that the only mod I didn't even bother to test because I assumed it was so simple would fail so spectacularly. It's also somewhat strange that no one else noticed that the mod wasn't functioning as intended until now, including the person who requested the mod in the first place. At least, no one reported it.

Anyway, I'll upload a fixed version later. I actually have to reinstall Fallout 3 first, as a week or two ago I had a computer crisis that resulted in having to reformat the drive where I had FO3 installed. I should have that done and the fixed version uploaded in the next few days. For now, I've added notes to the FO3Nexus page about the non-functioning version.

Thanks again to Judasace for noticing the problem and Cipscis for reporting it to me.

Recommended Mods Part 53 - A Note Easily Missed

noreply@blogger.com (Galahaut) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 22:53:00 +0000

A Note Easily Missed by Puce Moose
A Note Easily Missed is the first in a series of three quest/adventure mods by Puce Moose (the other two may be recommended later). The mod is designed to offer insight about the lives of some people before the war, and is heavily focused on exploration and thought. There are notes to read, terminal quizzes to take, "puzzles" to solve, etc.

A Note Easily Missed includes one new underground area, new craftable items (from schematics), a new weapon, new food, new posters, and over 20 new notes (some with voice acting or images). Puce Moose recommends against taking companions into the new area, as the area was not tested with them or designed for them, and the companions shouldn't be needed anyway.

If you'd like to check out the next two mods in the series, they are named An Evening with Mr. Manchester and To Sleep, Perchance to Dream. Puce Moose has also created another quest mod unrelated to this series named In the Shadow of the Swamp.