Installing FOSE, and getting the G.E.C.K. working under 1.7.0.4 tutorial - Fallout 3

Introduction

On October 13th 2021, Bethesda updated Fallout 3 to 1.7.0.4. According to Bethesda this update did two things.

• Games for Windows Live dependency was removed.
• Improvements to stability and performance.

The biggest thing this update did was break FOSE. Which a very large number of modifications for Fallout 3 rely on. Crucially though it also broke the GECK Extender which relies on FOSE.

In this guide I'll go over

1. How to properly install FOSE under 1.7.0.4 by downgrading it to 1.7.0.3.
2. How to install the GECK
3. How to update the GECK to 1.5
4. How to install the GECK extender
5. How to fix the BSShader error.

What you will need

1. Fallout 3 (you can get the game from Steam/GOG)

2. Fallout Script Extender

3. Fallout's Anniversary Patcher

4. Fallout 3's G.E.C.K - The setup for this is usually in the game folder but you can also find it here.

5. Fallout 3's GECK Extender

6. NVAC - This is optional but recommended.

Installing FOSE

Once you've downloaded FOSE 1.2, you'll see this

Copy all of this into your game folder. Where Fallout3.exe is located.

Downgrading Fallout 3 to 1.7.0.3

Once you've downloaded the Anniversary patcher you should see this.

Copy all of this into your game folder. Where Fallout3.exe is located.

If you're using the Steam version there's one more step you need to do. In your game folder there's a file called FalloutLauncherSteam.exe

Copy FalloutLauncherSteam.exe and change the name to FalloutLauncher.exe

Now run Patcher.exe. It should now patch the game to 1.7.0.3. To test if it's working, launch Fallout 3 from Steam or by just double clicking Fallout3.exe. Fose_Loader.exe does not need to be used. Then press the ` or ~ key on your keyboard to open the console. Now type in getfoseversion

If it tells you that it's FOSE version 1 you have successfully installed Fallout Script Extender.

Installing the GECK

The rest of this tutorial will go over how to install the Garden of Eden Creation Kit properly with a fanmade fix called GECK Extender. This is ideal as GECK Extender fixes many bugs with the GECK and makes it perform much smoother. If you're only interested in installing FOSE to play mods you don't need to follow the rest of the tutorial.

First, install the GECK by double clicking its setup file. You can either install the 1.5 version of the GECK, or install the 1.0 version of the GECK and apply the 1.5 update from Nexus. Make sure to copy the 1.5 update to the game folder and run it afterwards. The GECK must be version 1.5 to install GECK Extender.

Installing GECK Extender

When downloading GECK Extender download both the recommended and optional files.

GECK Extender comes with 2 zip files. The first zip file contains a folder called FOSE.

Copy this into your Data folder within your game folder.

Next open up the other zip file called FOSE Patcher

Copy this into your game folder where Fallout3.exe is located. Now run it. If you're correctly running the 1.5 version of the GECK it should now patch the file successfully.

Now run the GECK. You can check to see if you're running GECK Extender by seeing the time of day slider and FO3 GECK Extender Rev. 012 at the top.

Congratulations you have successfully installed GECK Extender.

Fixing crashes

As a bonus I'll throw in another tutorial. One issue the GECK has that GECK Extender unfortunately does not fix is it's tendency to crash at random. Typically it will crash when loading in interior cells. In my experience it routinely crashes when loading AgathasHouseInterior.

The exact error I see is as follows.

Assert
File:
c:\_Fallout3\Platforms\Common\Code\BSShader\BSShaderManager.cpp

Line: 1996

Abort-Retry-Ignore

This makes the GECK borderline unusable. However there is a very convenient fix for it.

Download NVAC. This is a utility that fixes crashes for Fallout New Vegas. It also conveniently works in Fallout 3. Once you've downloaded it you should see this.

Open NVSE and then open Plugins. You should see this.

Copy and paste this into your Data\FOSE\Plugins folder. If you've followed this tutorial exactly it should look like this.

Now start up the GECK. If you go to Agatha's Interior it should now load without an error. You should now be able to make mods using the GECK.

Conclusion

That about does it. If you've done everything correctly you should now be able to make mods for Fallout 3 without resorting to installing A Tale of Two Wastelands and using the Fallout New Vegas GECK instead. For more information on how to make mods using the GECK I recommend checking out the GECK wiki.