DISCLAIMER: To prevent any misunderstandings, I am not associated with the Buffout 4 author / dev Fudgyduff in any way. I don't know them and they don't know me. Almost all information presented here stems from my own research and it is solely my responsibility. Don't bother the Buffout dev about this article if you don't have to.

If you intend to post your crash logs, please use the Buffout 4 Nexus page or join Collective Modding Discord Server and post them in fo4-crash-logs channel.
MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE LATEST VERSION OF BUFFOUT 4 ( 1.26.2 / 1.31.1 ), USE Crash Log Auto-Scanner AND READ THE INCLUDED DOCUMENTATION.

Hello!
If you've ever taken a stroll through your modded, plutonium scorched wasteland, only to find that at some point your game instantly and unexpectedly died while you're left wondering what the hell just happened... worry no more! You've just experienced a crash, but luckily, there are now quick and easy ways to figure out what caused it.

All of this is possible with Buffout 4, a mod that includes multiple game engine improvements, expands specific types of game memory, prevents several types of crashes and even provides proper crash logging if (when) the game eventually crashes. It also combines the functionality and replaces a couple of existing mods available on Nexus:

- Achievements | Enables achievements in a modded game. (Already integrated into Buffout 4.)
- Auto Gamepad Switch | Fast input switching between KB/M and Gamepad. (Already integrated into Buffout 4.)
- Faster Workshop | Much faster settlement workshop loading times. (Already integrated into Buffout 4.)
- Private Profile Redirector | Stores ini config files in memory. (Already integrated into Buffout 4.)
There are two additional mods whose usefulness alongside Buffout 4 is currently debated:
- xSE Plugin Preloader | Preloads F4SE plugins before the game starts. (Even though it's noted as required, Buffout 4 functions perfectly fine without it.)
- Baka Scrapheap | Game memory expansion and management. (When used, disable Buffout 4's Memory Manager and set Baka's memory multiplier to 4.)

Therefore, you're not required to use any of the mods above with Buffout 4 installed / their use is completely optional.

BUFFOUT 4 INSTALLATION - PART 1 | YOU NEED TO DOWNLOAD AND INSTALL THE FOLLOWING

I. Fallout 4 Script Extender | Modder's resource that expands the scripting capabilities of Fallout 4. This is also a hard requirement for the vast amount of other mods.
Installation: Download the latest build (0.6.23 or newer) and extract all contents inside f4se_0_06_XX folder into Fallout 4's Installation Folder, where Fallout4.exe is located.

II. Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables AIO  | All-In-One package that contains program libraries required for any and all PC games.
Installation: Download the latest release and run VisualCppRedist_AIO_x86_x64.exe, restart your PC after installation.

III. DirectX End-User Runtimes June 2010 | Old DirectX libraries that can help prevent audio related crashes.
Installation: Download the main package and run it, then select any location to have it extracted. After it's extracted, run DXSETUP.exe.

IV. Address Library for F4SE Plugins | Provides version independent resources required to run several important mods, including Buffout 4.
Installation: Manually download the main file and place its version-1-10-163-0.bin file into the Fallout 4\Data\F4SE\Plugins folder (create it if there isn't one).

OR: VR Address Library for F4SEVR Plugins | Required only for the Virtual Reality version of the game. Installation steps are the same.

BUFFOUT 4 INSTALLATION - PART 2 | INSTALL THESE FILES MANUALLY (WITHOUT A MOD MANAGER)

1. Download the Buffout4 NG Main File and extract the archive somehwere on your PC.

2. Place / move the extracted F4SE folder inside your Fallout 4 / Data folder (& overwrite if asked).

3. Open the Buffout4.toml file with a text editor, then change the following parameters if needed:

- If you'd like faster switching between your Controller and KB/M, set the InputSwitch line to true.
(This can rarely cause weird behavior. Not needed if you are not using a Controller / Gamepad.)

- If you have mods that already enable achievements, set the Achievements line to false.
(If you still have problems getting Achievements, remove those mods and only let Buffout do it.)

- If you have Baka ScrapHeap mod installed, set the MemoryManager line to false.
(Then go to Fallout 4\Data\F4SE\Plugins, open BakaScrapHeap.toml and set ScrapHeapMult to 4)

- If you have Looks Menu mod (latest version) installed, set the F4EE line to true.
(If you have both AAF and Looks Menu 1.6.18 installed, this setting is probably not needed.)

BUFFOUT 4 INSTALLATION - PART 3 | ENABLE ARCHIVE INVALIDATION / LOOSE FILES SETTINGS
This setting allows the game to load files outside of official BA2 archives.
Without this, many mods won't work or will outright crash the game.

Vortex - Archive Invalidation should be automatically enabled in latest versions, otherwise enable it manually or through BethINI.
MO2 - The integrated setting usually doesn't work properly, so you should always enable it manually or through BethINI.
- MO2 by default uses separate custom ini files, I strongly recommend that you disable this functionality.
- Simply navigate to Profiles [Ctrl + P] in MO2 and uncheck Use Profile Specific INI Files
- Now the game will use ini configuration files from the Documents folder.

Enable With BethINI (Recommended)
1.) Download the latest standalone version here.
2.) Extract it somewhere on your disk, but NEVER directly inside your game installation folder.
3.) Run BethINI.exe, check both Load Loose Files and Enable File Selection, then Save and Exit.

Or Enable Manually
Navigate to Documents\My Games\Fallout 4 folder and add these lines to Fallout4Custom.ini (and yes, sResourceDataDirsFinal needs to remain blank).
[Archive]
bInvalidateOlderFiles=1
sResourceDataDirsFinal=

AFTER INSTALLATION

If the game fails to launch / start, open xSE Plugin Preloader.xml, go to line 14 and you should see <LoadMethod Name= " ... ">
Change whatever is between quotation marks in this line to one of the following options (check game after each change):
<LoadMethod Name="OnThreadAttach">
<LoadMethod Name="OnProcessAttach">
<LoadMethod Name="ImportAddressHook">

(xSE Plugin Preloader.xml is only available if you manually installed this mod. Otherwise, delete this xml file and IpHlpAPI.dll if you still can't get the game to start.)

If the game fails to launch / start AND there's no crash log, remove all Buffout 4 files and check if the game starts.
If that's the case, manually install Buffout 4 again by removing existing files and reinstalling the latest version.

To check if Buffout 4 is actually working, you can inspect xSE Plugin Preloader.log inside your Fallout 4 install folder or f4se.log inside Documents\My Games\Fallout4\F4SE folder after running the game at least once. You should see a message that Buffout 4 and other DLL mods loaded correctly. Look for any reported errors or missing dependencies. (Ignore all Unknown QueryInterface 00000007 messages, these are normal). Rarely, some crashes won't produce any valid crash logs.

WHERE TO FIND CRASH LOGS

After your game crashes, crash logs can be found inside Documents\My Games\Fallout4\F4SE folder, with names such as crash-date-and-time.log
(example: crash-2077-08-23-09-13-00.log) Please, post complete crash logs to previously linked Buffout 4 Nexus page or the fo4-crash-logs channel.

You can also test if Buffout 4 actually generates a crash log. Simply start a new game or load an existing save (make sure to save afterwards), and after gaining control of your character, open ingame console with the ~ (tilde) key, type in aop and press enter. This should immediately crash / close the game and create a crash log in the F4SE folder.

Buffout 4 won't generate crash logs if your game freezes or remains stuck in a way that forces you to manually kill the game process.
If you experience such freezing in any game, I recommend using Super F4, a free program that can easily shutdown any stuck process.
(Super F4 sadly cannot force Buffout 4 to generate a crash log, this program simply makes closing a frozen game much easier.)

HOW TO READ CRASH LOGS

Once you find the crash log, I strongly suggest you use the Crash Log Auto Scanner to make reading these logs much easier.
You can find additional instructions in the included Readme and PDF, or the Buffout 4 Dictionary online doc located here!

LIST OF KNOWN MODS THAT FREQUENTLY CAUSE CRASHES

The following mods have a much higher chance to crash your game. This list obviously isn't complete, but will be updated regularly.
NOTE: This is NOT a "do not use" list. Consider these mods the ones you should disable first in case you're unable to resolve your crash.

Removing mods from existing saves generally leads to even more problems. For best results, you must start a new game. You have been warned.

- Damage Threshold Framework | Can crash in combat on some occasions due to how damage calculations are done.
- Extreme Particles Overhaul (EPO) | Can cause particle crashes, highly advised to edit its INI file and reduce the particle count.
- Fallout Sakhalin | Breaks the precombine system all across Far Harbor DLC which is bound to randomly crash your game.
- Fatigues Extended | Seems to conflict with Looks Menu in some way, potentially breaks BoS NPCs and causes crashes.
- NCR Renegade Armor | Outfit has broken mesh that crashes the game in 3rd person or when NPCs wearing it are hit.
- Scrap Everything | Weird crashes and issues due to multiple unknown problems. This mod must be always last in your load order.
- Shade Girl Leather Outfits | Can crash the game while browsing the armor workbench or upon loading or starting a new game.
- Spring Cleaning | Abandoned and severely outdated mod that breaks precombines and could potentially even break your save file.
- S.T.A.L.K.E.R Texture Overhaul | Mod doesn't work due to incorrect folder structure. Has a corrupted dds file that causes Create2DTexture crashes.
- True Nights | Has an invalid Image Space Adapter (IMAD) Record that will corrupt your save memory and has to be manually fixed.
- War Of The Commonwealth | Seems to cause consistent crashes with specific spawn points or randomly during settlement attacks.

Mods Currently Under Investigation:
These mods are known to also cause crashes, but there's currently not enough data to confirm the exact problem(s).

- Armor And Weapon Keywords (AWKCR) | Possibly causing some "Player Character" crashes, investigation is ongoing.
- Armorsmith Extended | Might crash the game on startup or when accessing workbenches as described by older reports.
- Combat Rifle Overhaul | Apparently a few custom magazines or ammo types from this mod can causes crashes for some.
- Endless Warfare | Some enemy spawn points could be bugged or crash the game, either due to scripts of pathfinding.
- Give Me That Bottle | Seems to be responsible for some Pip-Boy inventory crashes. Consider switching to Fill'em Up Again.
- Immersive Hunting Overhaul (IHO) | Might be responsible for a couple of recent crashes during the game startup.
- NPC Level Scaling | Seems to cause crashes while fast traveling or approaching certain locations due to unknown reasons.
- Respawnable Legendary Bosses | Sometimes causes Deathclaw/Behmoth boulder projectile crashes for unknown reasons.
- Quick Modification Weapon (& other Tooun mods) | Note that these can be script heavy, resulting in varied bad game behavior.
- Tactical Tablet | Can cause flickering with certain scopes, early reports mention occasional crashes while browsing workbenches.

Other Mods With Lesser Problems
These won't necessarily crash your game, but can cause a variety of other problems in some situations.

- Fallout 4 High Resolution DLC | Yes, the official DLC. Linked to several weird problems and crashes. Always keep it disabled.
- Clean My Settlement | Edits pretty much every cell in the game, so unintended or random conflicts can be a problem.
- Fallout 3 Holotape | Known to conflict with and break mods with custom Pip Boy models, such as the Pip Boy 2000.
- Fallout4.exe Auto-Backup | Only use this tool if Bethesda announces a game update after 10 years (like they did with Skyrim).
- HUD Caps | Often breaks the Save / Quicksave function, which could be due to mod conflicts or just poor script implementation.
- Lootable Stoves | Breaks precombined data in several different cells which might result in major framerate drops at certain places.
- Locky Bastard | Can very rarely cause the game to freeze while melee attacking doors or when NPCs try to get through locked doors.
- Phase 4 Institute Expansion | Its plugin must be cleaned as it contains 1300 UDRs and 30 ITMs. See Additional Troubleshooting below.
- Player Comments & Head Tracking | Known problems are tracked in its own forum thread, mostly minor animation and dialogue issues.
- XM2010 Enhanced Sniper Rifle | There have been reports that this weapon causes many random issues and heavy script lag (>30%).
- T6M's Perks Pack (& other perk mods) | Keep these mods last / at the end of your load order to avoid conflicts and ensure full functionality.

USEFUL LINKS





If you find additional solutions to any known and new crash messages or find problematic mods that cause severe bugs or crashes, I would appreciate the feedback so this can be confirmed and added into the article to help out everyone. You'll be given credit for the find. Any corrections and suggestions are definitely welcome. Thank you.