Warnings
- For Games for Windows - LIVE on Windows 8 or later, install the latest Games for Windows - LIVE software.
Key points
- Runs better on Windows 7 and later with the multiple core CPU fix.
- Shares many similarities with Fallout: New Vegas in terms of its engine and performance.
- Extensive modding community.
General information
- Steam Community Discussions (Game of the Year Edition)
- Steam Community Discussions
- Steam Users' Forums for game series
- No Humans Allowed Forums for game
- Fallout 3 Nexus - the most popular host for almost all Fallout 3 mods.
Availability
- All versions require Games for Windows - LIVE.
- GFWL profile, local or otherwise, is not required for play (and by extension, a product key is not required for play). Local GFWL profile can be created and doesn't require a product key. Connecting to a Microsoft account requires a product key, each allowing 10 or so online activations.
Version differences
- The Game of the Year Edition includes all DLC, and is the best choice for price and modding capability.
- The German version only includes the German language and has content differences (e.g. no blood/gore).
DLC and expansion packs
| Name |
Notes |
|
| Operation: Anchorage |
|
|
| The Pitt |
|
|
| Broken Steel |
|
|
| Point Lookout |
|
|
| Mothership Zeta |
|
|
Essential improvements
Patches
- The v 1.7 patch updates the game to the latest version. The Steam version is already patched. The Retail Game of the Year Edition will apply the patch during the DLC disc installation.
Skip intro videos
Mods
- Nexus Mod Manager - the best mod manager for Fallout 3, making the process of installing mods much easier.
- Fixes many of the bugs which official Bethesda patches never solved
- If any of the 5 DLCs aren't present, an older bugged version is installed.
- Disables Games for Windows - LIVE (GFWL) when run.
- Used by many Fallout 3 mods to extend the scripting capabilities of Fallout 3's game engine.
- Russian and Polish DVD retail copies, Direct2Drive copies, and the unpatched game (1.0.0.12) are all unsupported.
- Requires Fallout 3 Script Extender.
- Fixes stuttering.
- The section "bHookLightCriticalSections = 1" under
<path-to-game>\Data\fose\plugins has been a cause for stutter for some, and it is therefore advised to set it to "0" if you experience such issues.
Tale of Two Wastelands
- Tale of Two Wastelands combines Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas into a single game. It uses the New Vegas engine. It also requires you to have all of the DLC.
- Games for Windows Live can be disabled as an alternative to using a local profile.
Game data
Configuration file(s) location
Save game data location
Save games missing
If logged into Games for Windows LIVE, the game will save the save files under the currently logged-in username. If logged out of the service, the game will be unable to locate the saves.
If you restart the game, your saves should be detected.
Video settings
Template:Video settings
- Most graphics options are accessible on the main launcher screen.
- Adds support for multi-monitor displays.
- Displays HUD on the middle display.
- Relevant multi-monitor resolutions:
| 3840x1024 |
5040x1050
|
| iSafeZoneXWide=610 |
iSafeZoneXWide=770
|
| iSafeZoneYWide=15 |
iSafeZoneYWide=15
|
| iSafeZoneX=610 |
iSafeZoneX=770
|
These values use the 5:4 aspect ratio as a baseline FOV:
| Aspect Ratio |
FOV Value
|
| 4:3 |
79.9000
|
| 16:9 |
105.3000
|
| 15:9 |
99.0000
|
| 16:10 |
95.2000
|
| 21:9 |
80.0000
|
Input settings
Template:Input settings
Audio settings
Template:Audio settings
- May require DirectSound3D restoration software to restore proper audio functionality on Vista and later.
Localizations
- The German version only includes the German language.
| Language |
UI |
Audio |
Sub |
Notes |
| English |
|
|
|
|
| French |
|
|
|
|
| German |
|
|
|
|
| Italian |
|
|
|
|
| Russian |
|
|
|
|
| Spanish |
|
|
|
|
VR support
Issues fixed
- TweakGuides has created a comprehensive guide for fixing issues in this game. It can be found here.
Game crashes randomly
Game crashes on start-up
Crash when starting new game or loading save
Game keeps minimizing
- Caused by the cursor being active in the background (and clicking Icons, Links, Buttons etc.)
Certain non-conversation voices, such as museum exhibits and random speech, are too quiet
Pip-Boy radio skipping or stuttering
- Commonly caused by an issue with current MP3 codec, the format used exclusively by songs played through Pip-Boy radio.
- The music may not be stuttering when the game is minimized, with the song played normally.
Crash when leaving Rivet City marketplace
Game hangs on closing
Other information
API
| Technical specs |
Supported |
Notes |
| Direct3D |
9 |
|
| Shader Model support |
3 |
|
| Executable |
32-bit |
64-bit |
Notes |
| Windows |
|
|
|
Middleware
|
Middleware |
Notes |
| Physics |
Havok |
|
| Audio |
DirectSound |
|
| Cutscenes |
Bink Video |
1.7d |
- This patch may remove GFWL!
- Improves stability on systems with at least 3GB RAM, when using many heavily scripted mods
System requirements
- Fallout 3 is not optimized for Windows 7 and later.
| Windows |
|
Minimum |
Recommended |
| Operating system (OS) |
XP, Vista |
XP, Vista |
| Processor (CPU) |
2.4 Ghz Intel Pentium 4
| Intel Core 2 Duo |
| System memory (RAM) |
1 GB (XP)
2 GB (Vista) |
2 GB |
| Hard disk drive (HDD) |
7 GB |
7 GB |
| Video card (GPU) |
ATI Radeon X850
Nvidia GeForce 6800
256 MB of VRAM
DirectX 9.0c compatible
| ATI Radeon HD 3800
Nvidia GeForce 8800
512 MB of VRAM
DirectX 9.0c compatible |
| Sound (audio device) |
DirectX 9.0c |
DirectX 9.0c |
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data (use Wine regedit to access Windows registry paths). Games with Steam Cloud support may store data in
~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/22300/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (22300) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.
References
