Preface
I'm adding a log of things I'm working on (both professional and fun), as a way to both document experiences and remember what the hell I did. Otherwise, it's lost to the ages just like the very early web cam sessions I did with both of my sons, which were lost to a hard drive failure.
For the last 10 years or so, I had shifted my attention to family & work. I avoided large game titles. Now, it's time to play again.
Fallout 3 : Post Install from Steam in 2021
Just finished Fallout 4, at least to the point of finishing every main quest and last DLC with Nuka-World Open Season. Prior to that Fallout: New Vegas. Wasn't sure if I wanted to try 76 or 3 next. Opted for the latter.
In retrospect, I should have both consulted Reddit, Steam Community and/or Nexus Mods before trying to run the 13 year-old game.
- https://steamcommunity.com/app/22370/discussions/0/828937546147175081/
- GFWL Fix: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/22591
- Intel Fix: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/17209
Important File Paths
- C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Fallout 3 goty\
- Fallout_default.ini
- C:\Users\[USER NAME HERE]\Documents\My Games\Fallout3\
- Fallout.ini
- FalloutPrefs.ini
Problem 1: "Ordinal Not found" "Missing C:\Windows\System32\xlive.dll"
Fallout 3 (2008) closely coupled with Windows Live (Gaming for Windows), before Steam. The Fallout 3 installer is indeed bundled with GFWL, but poorly installed.
Solution
- Install [Path to Fallout 3 goty]\GFWLive both .msi files
Problem 2: Video crashing to desktop
I'm using a Dell Laptop with both Intel and NVidia chips with a port extender. The loader did not correctly detect the Intel chip and even when adding the game .exe to the NVidia Utility, crashed when trying to play the intro video.
Solution
- Nexus Mods: Intel HD graphics Bypass package
- Edit FalloutPrefs.ini to change the "iSize W" and "iSize H" values to match the monitor's resolution.
UPDATE
Had the same problem AGAIN. Full Screen would not display. Ultimately this mod did the trick:
https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/21337/?
Thanks!
