Fallout 4 Beautification Project
by Tore Andersen

The Fallout 4 Beautification Project is an extensive modification & optimization guide for Bethesda's award-winning open-world action RPG from 2015. Step-by-step modding tutorial including a new unique graphical render, errors fixes, world enhancements, and optionally some new lore-friendly content. See screenshots below.

1: Brief info about the project
2: Before getting started      <-- PLEASE READ
3: Screenshots

1 - Brief info about the project

The Fallout 4 Beautification Project (F4BP) is a unique graphics and visuals overhaul of Fallout 4. It comes with complete step-by-step installation instructions, no modding experience needed. All you need is patience, some free HDD-space and preferably a good internet connection.

Fallout 4 is one of Bethesda's most demanding games, which makes modding a challenge with regards to uphold/improve performance and stability, but not impossible. The Fallout 4 community has a made a vast number of mods & enhancements. It can however be a very time consuming process to figure out which mods to use. Which mods work together, which mods are lore-friendly, and which mods are 100% stable. This guide is the result of several months worth of researching and testing.

Visual improvements: New ENB render settings for better lighting and effects, HD textures (4k-2k), high-poly 3D models, better weather system.

Performance: Better memory handling, texture optimizations (Details: LINK), recommendations for different system specs.

Added content: New lands, bunkers, buildings, crafting items, collectables, weapons, armors, characters and quests. Strictly *lore-friendly and true to the style and vision of the game.
*Lore-friendliness is of course an individual assessment, but I have put notes throughout the guide wherever it may be questionable.

Stability: Error fixes and extensive testing has been a major part of the creation process. Every single mod has been thoroughly tested for stability, fps-impact, script errors and conflicts with other mods. Stability and compatibility has the highest priority in every part of this project, without exception.

The new graphical render, the ENB, has been fine-tuned to give the game more vibrant colors and effects. This, combined with some optional new flora and a better weather system will give the game a more appealing look. Less depressing. You might argue that this takes away from the atmosphere of a post apocalyptic wasteland, at least as intended by the creators of the game. However, you might also argue, that without any vegetation, there would be no breathable air. The green flora is of course optional, but the screenshots are taken WITH the greens. In real life, looking at Hiroshima 70 years after the atomic bomb, the area has growing vegetation. (LINK) Also, Chernobyl only 40 years after the reactor meltdown, which was actually more damaging than an nuclear bomb due to the size of the plant, also has growing green flora today. (LINK) Fallout 4 takes place 200 years after a nuclear war, which is of course more devastating than one bomb or a reactor meltdown, but I'm still pretty sure that vegetation would have found a way back after so may years. This is of course all theory, so as earlier stated, the added vegetation is optional.
Either way, this guide will give Fallout 4 a huge make-over with better visuals (With/without greens), new content and optimized textures. For steady frame-rate, I strongly recommend having the game installed on an SSD, and having a graphics-card with 6GB+ video memory.

     

     

 

2 - Before getting started

If you are only interested in the ENB, download it here: (LINK)
NOTE: The F4BP ENB is based on the using "True Storms - Wasteland Edition" and "Remove Interior Fog". Also, uninstall any other lighting overhaul mods.

If you plan to use the entire guide and get the complete F4BP setup, start here instead:

1 - Make sure that Fallout 4 is updated to the latest version and that you have all DLCs installed as well. (The Steam version comes pre-updated)

2 - Make sure that you have about 200GB of free HDD/SSD space. *If you want to install all the recommended mods.

3 - Sign up at the Nexus. (LINK) - It's free and it takes 2 minutes. The Nexus site is the main source of mods used in this guide.

4 - Please follow ALL 4 sections of the guide!
The F4BP guide has 4 sections. Mod installation, ENB settings, Tweaking and File cleaning. If you just install the mods, and don't apply proper settings to the ini files or set the right load-order, the game WILL NOT WORK. The tweak section contains mod-specific settings that are absolutely necessary in order for everything to work.

 

Let's get started! - Proceed to Mods

 

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For more game modification projects and guides, please visit the main page. New and old games are added regularly

 

 

3 - F4BP ENB 3.99 Screenshots

     

    

    

    

     

    

     

     

     

 

 

Brief info about Fallout 4

Fallout 4 is the 5th game in the popular post-apocalyptic 1950's American retro-futuristic game series, and Bethesda's 3rd Fallout game. As the previous Bethesda releases (Fallout 3 & Fallout: New Vegas), Fallout 4 is a 1st person action RPG (Role Playing Game) set in the near future of Boston, Massachusetts, USA, approximately 210 years after a nuclear war. The story starts in 2287, about 10 years after the events of Fallout 3, and revolves around a sole survivor from Vault 111.

Fallout 4 is an open-world game where the character is free to roam as he/she pleases. The game has a main story-line and several side quests that can lead to multiple endings, depending on the players choices. The game experience is pretty much up to the player. The character will evolve skills based on the playing style, which can be used to handle situations in different ways. This system is called "S.P.E.C.I.A.L.", and has several in-game memes. The name is made up by the seven skills: Strength, perception, endurance, charisma, intelligence, agility, and luck. There are 275 abilities/strengths to gain and the game has no level cap. Besides skills, the player can also craft items for various uses. Things like shelter, robots, supply generators, weapon customization, armor, medics and much much much more. This opens a whole new level of freedom and creativity to deal with problems and progress in the world. What's very unique to the Fallout games is the Power Armor. A heavily armored mechanical exoskeleton with jet-packs that come in many forms and paints. This power Armor can only be modified with very high levels of engineering, and it's not cheap on resources.

Fallout 4 has a unique targeting system called: V.A.T.S. (Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System) which scans enemies and gives the player info about their condition and weaknesses. This is kind of a left-over from Fallout 1 & 2, which were turn-based strategy games. In difficult situation this system can be very helpful and convenient. However, to me personally, it feels a bit like cheating to use it, as the time slows down when activated. Acting fast and sometimes panicking is part of real-time action combat. In my opinion, the V.A.T.S. system was more fitting in the strategy games.

Throughout the game, the player meets many different people, and is ably to team up with some of them. Most noticeable a dog, Codsworth, Preston Garvey, Piper Wright, Nick Valentine, John Hancock, Cait, Curie, MacCready, Paladin Danse, and Deacon. Those have plenty of personality, and the player interaction with them can lead to lasting relations. They player can use companions for different tasks, like hacking a terminal if their skill is higher, or assist in combat and even lock-picking. The player will also be able to have adult relations to some of the companions, regardless of gender. Not in the same meaningful way as in the Witcher games, but still in an immersive and very toned-down fashion.

The most noticeable new feature in Fallout 4, is the crafting and deconstructing of buildings, machines and items. It opens a lot of opportunity, especially with added mods, which literally makes any imaginable object possible. The player can build and completely customize settlements, and help fellow survivors find a home where they can protect themselves against the many dangers of the wasteland. The post-apocalyptic world has vicious zombie-like ghouls, mutated wild animals & insects, super mutants and raiders who will kill and steal whatever they can. The player can join several different factions, which will lead to very different quests and end-game outcome..