I've had the Fallout trio sitting undownloaded in my account for a long, long time. I'd never played the originals before and have always wanted to, but to be honest I've just been daunted by what mods I should/need to get, what versions, etc; when I look at the sticky threads at the top I find a lot that I simply do not understand, and the majority of links are broken (either entirely or when you try and download). This has put me off until now.

However, I've taken the plunge and have finally downloaded all three, but I do need help in files, and where to locate them. I have this page bookmarked: http://atomicgamer.com/directory.php?id=2075 but it's kind of gibberish to me. What I'm really interested in, in all three games, is higher resolution (/better options), killable children (that is to say, any censorship removed), and restored content wherever it may be.

Can any kind soul link me to the up-to-date essentials for the three games? Again, I know there's a sticky with much discussion but it's out of date and I find a lot of the rest has gone over my head.

I wouldn't suggest Restoration Project for a first time, since it unlocks A LOT of new content, or content that developers didnt implement. Anyway I think he should feel the original game first.

Why do you think I mentioned Unofficial Patch too? Let him decide what's better to himself. I don't mean to be rude, but have you read this part:

Thanks for the replies and help! I've downloaded the linked patches/mods and will look at installing them over the next week or so (a little busy right now). Is there anything else missing that would be helpful for any of the games? Editors and the like too?

And yes, I don't mind restored content; I'd rather have it than not, and decide afterwards.

Edit: I notice both the unofficial 1.2 patch and the child patch for the first Fallout have Falloutw.exe files. Do I do what the instructions say in the linked post, and overwrite the exe with the 1.2 patch and then subsequently the children one?

I use Vad's save game editor*:
F1se
F2se
Bosche
*= There's Falche, too, but it's more limited (you can't edit inventory items, global variables, etc).
If that isn't what you meant, well, there's Mapper, if you'd like to customize the cities :P
It's exclusive for Fo2, but you can try this converter to see if works.Yes, just follow the order and you'll have no issues (It's what I did and had no problems).

Great stuff! I've downloaded all the recommended mods/patches in this thread and backed them up, so I feel pretty confident. I've had a go at installing them and after a little fiddling with graphic settings I seem to have the games updated and working (don't yet know if the child patch was successful or not. Any easy way to tell?).

I've had a little play with the third game, Tactics, but I'm really not so keen on it.

Anyway, thanks again!

You're welcome. ^^ Move your character to Vault 15. In your path you'll find a unknown city. If you can see kids playing, the patch worked.