Guide to Installing Atomic Warfare

A guide to installing and configuring Atomic Warfare, a Fallout 4 modlist.

1. Preparing Game Installation

Thanks to the method that is used within this Modlist, there’s not much you need to do to prepare your game other than having a clean game installation.

The way this Modlist manages direct root game files and mod files is by implementing a plugin for Mod Organizer called Root Builder, which directly injects any files that are meant to be inside of the Root folder such as ENBSeries. Further instructions can be found down below.

Cleaning Game Files

  1. Begin by (re)installing Fallout 4, with all of the DLC.
  2. After that, locate your MyGames Fallout 4 folder and delete all of the provided INIs inside of there.
    • You can ignore this if you have other Modlists and instead make the INIs profile-specific
  3. Launch the game via the Steam launcher to generate new INI files.

Concerns for Default Game Files

As many of you may be aware, many Wabbajack Modlists utilize a feature called Stock Game that prevents Modlists from overwriting the main directory of your game installation so you can simultaneously install multiple Modlists at once. This Modlist does not do that, instead it uses a plugin called Root Builder.

What Root Builder is, is it’s a plugin that allows root directed files such as NVSE, ENBSeries, etc. to be directly or virtually implemented into the game folder without actually having to install it directly.

The benefits of this are as follows:

  • Seamlessly integrate root files, such as NVSE, ENBseries and Presets directly into the game directory
  • Installation of root mods like any other normal mod installation through Mod Organizer
  • Simple enabling/disabling of root mods for further compatibility amongst other Modlists

The only downside to this is that you will have to Clear each Root Builder build every time you wish to switch to another Modlist. However if you’re jumping Modlist to Modlist every day, you may as well settle down and build your own.

If you would like to prevent this and go another step up, you can change the way Root Builder actually handles these files so you do not have to do this every time. This is not recommended, but will suffice if you wish to do so.

To simply make this change, go to the Root Builder plugin at the top of your Mod Organizer. Click Root Builder > Root Builder, then under Mode choose the USVFS + Links mode.

2. Modlist Installation

Download and install the Modlist via the Nexus Mods main file through the Wabbajack installer program or through the Wabbajack gallery.

It is recommended to use a folder structure similar to this:

Wabbajack (Make This)
┗ Downloads (Make This)
┗ Modlists (Make This)
  ┗ Atomic Warfare (Make This and Specify to This Folder) 
    ┗ (Wabbajack Files Will Download Here)

Note that the installation of the Wabbajack Modlist REQUIRES to be installed on the same drive as your Fallout 4 installation, otherwise things will fail.

It is also highly recommended to ensure that your Fallout 4 installation is outside of any Windows Protected folders, I.E. Program Files (x86) and Program Files. Ideally, just simply install your games outside of your Windows installation drive.

Optionally, once you’ve got the Modlist installed, you can add a shortcut to the executable file inside of the Mod Organizer installation to directly launch the Modlist every time.

Changing INI Core Count Variable

There is a core count variable called iNumHWThreads=6 set within the Fallout4Custom.ini file under the [General] section. Change this value to the amount of PHYSICAL cores your have, I.E. if it’s a 6 Core 12 Thread CPU, you set the value to 6 and not 12.

This can help accelerate script loading as well as rendering assets needed rendered from the GPU, allowing for more optimal performance.

Updating The Modlist

If and when an update is released for the Modlist, you can simply overwrite the same directory to where you first installed the Modlist. Simply download the latest version, install through Wabbajack and set the installation location to the current directory for the Modlist.

Note that doing this will overwrite any changes you have made to mods, any additional mods you’ve added, and any files generally made by you. If you would like to save these files, simply create a folder elsewhere and save all of the mods, configs, and files you wish to keep in that folder and re-add them every time.

If you wish to prevent this, simply add [NoDelete] to the beginning of any mod you personally installed into Mod Organizer and Wabbajack will know to avoid removing this. Courtesy of Screaming Lake for this

Requirements

Below are the listed requirements in order to run this modlist. You must meet the software requirements and at least the minimum hardware requirements for pleasant experience.

  • Clean Fallout 4 Install
  • All Fallout 4 DLC

Minimum Requirements

  • GeForce RTX 2070
  • AMD Ryzen 5 2600X
  • 16GB DDR4
  • 150GB SSD

Recommended Requirements

  • GeForce RTX 3070Ti
  • AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
  • 32GB DDR4
  • 300GB SSD