Fallout: London

I hadn't played Fallout 4 since 2017 (two playthroughs on console and that vanilla storyline was not calling me back LOL). News about this project immediately had me interested. Now that its finally out, I've been having a great time in post-apocalyptic London. The Dev team has successfully captured the feeling of Fallout while using their own distinct iconography, music, weapons, and items. Using a pure GOG install is the easiest option (Purchase Fallout 4 GOTY through GOG too). I read about the complexities involved in using a Steam Fallout 4 install, but I am getting too old to be tinkering and messing with all that. A full GOG install is the easiest method. Also, following the instructions is MANDATORY. Don't go thinking you've got mod experience and you know better than everyone else - just trust the Dev team and fully follow their instructions. I'm hoping that future updates to the mod will make this a 5-star experience. At this time, it's a solid 4.5 stars. Yes, there are some crashes but I don't blame the mod. There are too many variables in PC gaming setup and the wellknown Bethesda engine jank, so your mileage will vary in regard to PC performance with this mod. My experience has been great and I've significantly reduced the crashes and errors by following their instructions. The Fallout London Discord server has been amazing in providing support. I'm only docking points because the lore is not as fleshed out yet as I like, but that is understandable considering the amount of work the Dev team has put into this project. A free mod on this level is just stunning.

It seems you are back to 1998, because you will need more than an hour to install this mod.

It feels like playing a new Fallout game from Bethesda, bugs and all, and that's part of the fun. I've been playing since it came out. It took 3 clean installs before it just worked, and even then, I was getting several CTDs. A Nexus mod has fixed the majority of those crashes, which were being caused by oversized textures. I managed to play for 5 days straight before I got another crash. It has issues other than the crashing, but those are being addressed. Issues like F4 items bleeding into Folon. There was even one report on Discord of Trashcan Carla showing up at one guy's settlement. Team Folon is working on a hotfix, which is due soon (no eta), to address the crashing and the issues with starting the game, with a larger update to come. All updates will be posted here on GOG, not Discord, so quit asking where to find them. I've been active in their Discord since release. There's been over 20,000 people there at one time, and most are playing it, so any claims that people aren't playing it are grossly exaggerated. At the time of this writing, there's just over 17,000 there right now. The vast majority of problems with crashing or the game not running are caused by the players themselves. So many are jumping into it without reading instructions first, and then complain about their problems on Discord or Reddit. There's even been many who have installed a ton of mods all willy-nilly without even seeing if the vanilla game would run first. Or they will install Folon on top of an already modded and in-progress game. Some are incapable of figuring out MO2 or Vortex. Not all mods are compatible with Folon. People need to realize that Team Folon is not getting paid for this, they all have lives and jobs away from the project, and fixing it will take time. Cut them some slack. They've built the largest total conversion mod ever released. That in itself is a major achievement.

I downloaded it and thought it would be a fun time in London but it was the opposite. First I had to do a lot of fixing to get it running, then I had to fix the ultra wide because I got motion sick, then I was able to play. Gun sights are completely broken. The bullets come out from beneath, meaning if you're taking cover the bullets hit the railing or sandbags. Meaning you have to shoot high above, almost like you're aiming an artillery piece. It's unplayable with weapons that have iron sights or similar. Melee is just meh. Constant animations where they have to show off the blade. Incredibly frustrating seeing an 4-5 second un-skippable animation as I get hacked on by enemies. Why? It's also one of the better starting weapons you get because it is fast and does decent damage. Bleh. I didn't get that far, about an hour or so into the game and I stumbled upon a dude who wanted me to drag a bag up a tower or whatever and threatened me. So, I stabbed the dude from behind with a crouch stealth attack. Got a new armor that barely stopped any damage anyway. Everything feels very disjointed when you're starting out. Why instantly run away and leave the player having to trek through instant kill zones, ambushes and more? It'd be fun to follow the starting gang as they helped me with both water and weapons. That'd be fun but instead they just teleport away, leaving you alone. Lots of crashes, lots of bugs. Really, really unstable and not fun at all right now.

PROS Great atmosphere and overall design. There's 3 radio stations, two have custom radio hosts with music from FO4 and the other has all original music which IMO are all certified bops. There's tons of places to explore crammed with environmental storytelling and lots of interesting collectibles. I really like how the developers have used the environment to conceal really good loot/unique items rather than just sticking them in a big box at the end of the tunnel. You've gotta keep both eyes peeled everywhere you go. Despite the issues I mention below, I am always very impressed when people can gets mods this large and complex running as (relatively) well as it has been for me. There's a running freaking train... like actually on the tracks you can just hop on and ride. I've gone through the loop quite a few times lol. CONS There's quite a bit of hassle to get the game up and running, especially if you own FO4 on Steam. After about an hour of setup my game is mostly stable but I do get infinite loading screens every now and then as well as random CTDs. Credit where it's due, the devs provide step by step instructions that worked for me. By far my biggest complaint is the writing. A lot of quests feel very shallow, you're expected to make decisions that have major ramifications on the world and you're given short expositions dumps about each faction last minute which don't feel any more complex than "we're the good guys because we're good/we're the bad guys because we're bad." Lots of dungeons are confusing to navigate to the point the devs had to put giant arrows all over the place showing you where to go. Also, Valuzon. Seeing Valuzon logos everywhere kills all immersion for me. CONCLUSION Just get it. Put the work in, take a couple hours to get it running stable and play it, it's worth it. Have fun running around the irradiated fever dream of post apocalypse London that these developers have clearly baked with lots of passion and love.