Bugs and Glitches

When Fallout 4 first introduced in 2015, the game was rather stable for me. However, since introduction of DLCs and texture packs, it started to deteriorate fast. Now it crashes several times in one sitting, especially when you going outside world, the game would randomly crash. And together with a lot of mods, ENB, and such, now it is a serious issue for me to find a solution.

Later, I found a solution that ACTUALLY works for me, and there is also an explanation to the problem I met. This is because the memory management of Fallout 4 engine is limited by the default setting from Bethesda. You can check to see for yourself by running Resource Monitor alongside with Fallout 4. I found that Fallout 4 would not use more than 8 GB of main memory. It start with around 4-6GB then it gets more and more memory until reaching around 8GB or CTD.

This is unfortunate for those who has a PC with 16GB of memory or more. Fallout 4 won't take more memory that your computer has and CTD because it can not load more game asset into memory.

The following setting (I got from the Internet, so I do not take any credit for this!!) will allow the game to take more than 8 GB of main memory. (It will take around 8GB of game textures/assets) and purge unused textures/assets if needs be. Now, with some mods like The fusion city, it would take around 9-14GB without crashes.

You inserts these settings in fallout4.ini in your My Documents/My Games/Fallout4 folder. (if some of the settings already exist, you might change the value to the one I use instead. (all are in [General] section)

Please note that, this is for a computer with RAM of 16GB or more only!!!

Credit: https://simsettlements.com/site/index.php?threads/umbrechts-performance-manifest-das-kapital-performance.9337/

[General]

uGridsToLoad=7

uExterior Cell Buffer=64

bPreemptivelyUnloadCells=0

iPreloadSizeLimit=8388608000

bUseHardDriveCache=0

bUseBackgroundFileLoader=1

bSelectivePurgeUnusedOnFastTravel=1

uStaticNeverFade=1

iPostProcessMillisecondsLoadingQueuedPriority=5

bForceFullLOD=1

When you ally with the Railroad and bring Deacon as your companion, be sure to go back at the Railroad HQ and dismiss Deacon there. If you dismiss Deacon outside Railroad HQ, Deacon will walk back to Railroad HQ and doing so, may result in him falling off some places and die. (Especially when you dismiss him on a rooftop. I learn the hard way when I dismissed him at the roof of Back Street Apparel, and some time later, I found out that I was attacked by anyone in the Railroad HQ.)

Sometimes, your companions or NPCs may keep standing with hands behind or smoking every time when standing. This is a bug caused by NPC stops and performs an animation at a pre-set marker within the game world. (There are mods such as [Invisible Furniture] and [Settlement Activity Markers] which allow you to add similar custom markers in your settlements. These mods are safe to use and never cause any problems.) A glitch might occur when NPC stops the current pose and the game engine fail to unregister custom animation from default animation. So NPC will use the same animation/pose as default animation after NPC walks out from that marker and stops at a new location.

• Click on the NPC, open console and type:

caf

or the full command name:

changeAnimFlavor

You can now see the NPC performs animation ending the current pose. (For instance, NPC will throw away the cigarette to stop the animation for smoking.)

//NOTE//This console command does not correct t-pose or floating animation. If you find that your follower/companion stuck in floating or swimming animation on the ground. You may go into deep water and move the follower/companion to your location using [AFT] or console command: (click at NPC and: moveTo player) You follower/companion will swim along side you, then you can swim back to the land.

This is likely caused by the high radiation effect that NPC has acquired beforehand.

• Usually caused by NPC unintentionally walks through a high radiated pond, being shot by some legendary weapons, or walk near a highly radiated reactor.

  • • Some places are prone to trigger this glitch, for instance, the reactor in [Secure beverageer lab] in [Nuka bottling plant] in Nuka World DLC.

• Click on NPC and use the console command:

getDisease

If the result is 1, then:

• Confirm if this is from radiation sickness your NPC got, by typing:

getav rads

If result is not zero, it confirms the case.

• To remove high radiation spell (As Fallout 4 is a modified Skyrim engine inside, so the effect is a type of spell.) , use the console command:

removeSpell <spellRef>

• There are several radiation spells that may effect NPC, the most notably culprits are:

  • 1fe6a3 High water radiation

  • 23f1b Water radiation

  • 19a672 Water radiation

• You can try all of them, if NPC does not have the effect, you will be notified. But if it is so, console will return nothing. In this case, you can confirm if the NPC is healed by using getDisease again. If it returns 0 then NPC is healed.

• //NOTE// There are similar glitches in the game, in which raiders/gunners you found in an area laying on the ground, paralyzing, and trying to shoot back at you, or already limping before you shoot them. From my own experience, this caused by legendary weapons, notable one is the [Cryolator]. After repeatedly visiting raiders in the same area and shoot them with it, there will be a slight chance that they will lay down on the ground when you meet them next time. Red dots will show on the screen notifying that they try to attack you but can't. At this moment I don't know how to correct this, so you have to avoid using the weapon if you would like to play the same character for a very long time.

When talking to Procter Ingram and accept the quest to build electronic actuators, the conversation stops midway.

• If you already have high power magnet from <target location>, it causes the game not to progress.

Remedies:

• Walk away from Ingram until you hear something like <walk away from me...> then open console and type in:

setStage Bos301 95

to skip the conversation.

• Later, when you come back from the glowing sea and talk to Ingram, she will not respond to you, open console and type:

setStage Bos301 255

to complete the quest.

There are several radio towers in the commonwealth, where you can turn on the towers and search for radio signals. (Then you will track the sources and turn-off the signals, which may be radio transmitters or circuit breakers.) However, you might find that even you already turned off the radio source, the signal still broadcasts.

• This is likely because you turned on the radio tower, then save and quit the game or reload the game save while the radio tower is still on.

• To correct this, go back to the radio tower, turn it off and turn on again. Then, seek out the source and turn off the transmitter as usual.

When the quest [Show No Mercy] starts, you are requested to report on the flight deck. At this moment you likely have Paladin Danse as your companion. However, once you approach to the location where you board a vertibird. A glitch may occurred so that the vertibird will not park at the location, or simply move up from the ground below to the location but you could not quickly click on the vertibird to board it.

• This results in you having to walk all the way to Fort Strong alone. You might use console command to bring in Danse, but later you may find out that Danse will not be seen ever!. This is because Danse has successfully boarded the vertibird while you did not. Once you reach Fort Strong by foot, the game has no idea how to de-board Danse from vertibird (Danse normally gets off the vertibird with you at Fort Strong), which is used only once for this quest. So Danse is stuck in the vertibird forever!

• To avoid this bug, if the vertibird does not appear at the designated boarding location on Prydwen, do not approach where the vertibird should be, but simply fast-travel to someplace else, (Boston airport, for instance) and walk all the way to Fort Strong. (You will miss a scene that you shoot down a behemoth from vertibird, but you have to shoot him and other super mutants from the ground instead.) Once you get inside Fort Strong, Danse will reappear inside with you, or using console command(or AFT mod) to bring Danse to you.

  • • If later, with Danse as current companion, you fast-travel or open a door to load a new location, and Danse is not with you. You have to reload the old save before reporting to Maxson and redo the quest.

You might find out that you can not place some items, e.g. a trader caravan post, within the place-able area of a settlement.

• Some settlements were incorrectly configured for the area that you can place a certain type of items, to be smaller than the area of a settlement itself. Some notable settlements with this problem are, for instance, Abernathy farm (the south side), and Taffington Boathouse (area close to the water on the southeast.)

• If you stand in the problematic area and long-press [V] to open workshop mode, some items like <brahmin feeder>, or <trader caravan post> will not appear in the item list. But if you long-press [V] to open workshop mode near the workshop bench, you can see and select <brahmin feeder> or <trader caravan post> as usual. However, if you open workshop mode near the workbench, then walk to the problematic spot and navigate the menu out from sub-list to the main list and get back in again, you will find out that you can see but can not select both items.

• The workaround for this problem is to open workshop mode near the workshop bench, then navigate to the item you want to pre-select it but do not place the item yet. Now walk to the location you want and place it there.

If you play Fallout 4 long enough, you will notice some noise emitting from a few NPCs in the game. I usually find a resident in Diamond City emits machine noise when I walk close by. In some of my playthroughs I also found some of my companions also emit similar sound as well. This is probably from a glitch in game engine, in which NPC was using a workbench and you walked/ran out from the location too quickly or fast-travel from the location. Somehow game engine fails to remove NPC from using workbench and disable sound emitting from said workbench before storing the game stage and unload the area. If you go back to the location, you can still see the workbench running but no one is using it. (If someone else uses the workbench afterwards, the workbench will stop but sound will still emit from the NPC.)

• You can reduce the chance of this bug occurring to your companion/NPC by looking for your companion before fast-travel. If your companion is working on a workbench, you crouch and wait until your companion move away from the workbench and crouch with you, then you can fast-travel safely.

• If somehow your companion or NPC already emits the sound. You may have to find the source of the sound, which is very likely a workbench. (You may listen to the sound and guess which type of workbench NPC worked on.) Then you bring NPC to the workbench that is the source of the sound. (In the case of general NPC, use [AFT] to recruit NPC first) Then command NPC to use the workbench and command again to move away (to stop using the workbench). NPC will stop emit sound after this.

  • • You should verify that the problem was completely resolved by dismiss NPC/companion and move far away from him/her (or move to other places, for instance, when I resolve the problem at Diamond City market, I will go into Home Plate then come out and search for the NPC/companion.) If the problem persists, try again with another suspected workbench, (You may have to repeat with other workbenches near by) until no more sound coming out from NPC/companion.