Mission statement: Make Fallout 4 Settlements closer to a full sandbox experience than an afterthought add-on.
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Have you ever found yourself excited to get a new settlement, and get started building, only to discover there are literal piles of trash everywhere you cannot scrap and broken objects getting in the way that are also not removable? So what is a player to do? A popular option for many is Scrap Everything, but that mod does not play well with many other mods as it breaks what is known as Precombines/Previs(PnP). Another option is for those with beefy systems to disable all Precombines in the game ini file. Both these solutions can often times lead to visual glitches and/or extreme game crashes, especially using complex mod series' like SS1/SS2 and Horizon. Another interesting solution is the Commonwealth and DLC Cleanup which uses textures to avoid the PnP issues but doesn't address the permanent object issue.
Goals of my DC & R series:
Spoiler:
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Make the settlements cleaner while not taking away players ability to clean what they already could in base game.
Use rebuilt Precombines and Previs(PnP), to increase stability, improve performance and reduce CTDs.
Cross mod compatibility, by creating a foundational settlement mod series that can be used for Transfer Plans and SS1/2.
Keep the original visual style and gameplay experience and NOT modify any lore & quest content.
Avoid using any texture changes as there are already a ton of top notch texture mods out there.
Repair the damaged structural/building sections using lore friendly or close to original parts.
Whenever possible make repaired settlements scrap down in a way to allow for custom rebuilds, especially using sets like Snappys or SS2's Wasteland Reconstruction Kit.
Another reason I decided to do repairs to settlement structures, was unfortunately many settlement repair mods don't have Previs/Precombines or they deviate too much from the visual aesthetic of the original game.
Convert thematic objects from settlements into workshop buildable options, to round out the settlement experience. Examples - making the Sanc Halloween decorations buildable, special furniture, playground equipment, rails, so on.
To support the requests of the user base ensuring stability AND adding new features as players give feedback to make the series more engaging. For example, now most settlements have light effects that can be completely scrapped, or doorway snap points for WS doors.
Update the navmesh in the places where objects are now scrapable. Not sure about Roof navmesh of scrapable ones like in Sanctuary.
If as a player you have a cool idea to make the series better please post below, I don't always add everything, but I am open to new ideas! If you see something that you think should be removed that I missed, like trash, plants etc., please let me know. Given the massive scope of having Deep cleaned all the vanilla settlements but 1 I am sure to have missed some stuff.
I am unsure how tis works for TFB since the assets will be resident in a requirement downloaded from Nexus. But I am a noob and am about to publish a TFB that includes the Oberland switching station from here (or alternatively your large collection). Do I need permission and if so may I have it?
PS: Enjoyed your mods a lot over many thosuands of playtime
I have a question about these switching stations... There are three that I know of in the Commonwealth and they all lack something... the other rail line.
They aren't normally called switching stations anyway, they're actually "signal stations" or "signal boxes". I hid an explainer here:
Spoiler:
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Fallout wiki calls them "Check Stations" which may be an Americanism but I've elsewhere read they're called "Interlocking Towers" in the US (no, doesn't make that much sense). The Brits invented the railways and British engineers built most of the early trains and many of the early lines used around the world including the US - and/or early engineers from those countries came to Britain to learn the art. Hence almost all the concepts, lexicon & phraseology used worldwide originates from British trains & railways.
While associated with line junction switches they're also on single lines - an early one is near my home in olde England which once controlled a road-rail crossing. Other reasons on a single line is to check trains aren't steaming headlong towards each other, or the line isn't being worked on (eg, bogie at the north end of the bridge to Greygarden could've been a maintenance handtruck).
Signal boxes may also be at customs borders, load inspections for seasonally weight-restricted sections of line, or just to indicate passengers, cargo or refuelling to an approaching train, etc... Whatever the purpose (and thus varying equipments therein), there's one common action always involved - signalling - to trains and any rail workers about. Hence the tall building (well, taller than platforms and trains), and their proper name - Signal Station. However, as many were wooden and a standard box shape (just like in FO4) they more informally came to be called Signal Boxes (and only larger ones called Signal Stations). They'd use either lights or wooden semaphore flaps (either directly or house controls/switchboards for remote ones), or even just wave a flag out the window to signal a train. A lot of region-wide control used telegraphing (before telephones of course), thus why telegraph lines were alongisde railways, and so many rail signal stations would've had a telegraph signal station inside/attached too.
The name predates trains - when rail first began similar small 2 or 3 storey places were already used for naval signalling (hence origin of the name Signal Station) at coastal forts and ports. And so they were adopted for railways too, including the semaphore.
Anyways, thanks for the mod - and thanks for showing a "before" pic too as I'd just like to use your improved remodelled settlement as-is without further scrapping.
Okay, given the civil unrest and curfews, I can imagine permanent checkpoints (and additionally to ensure the fusion engines for the trains are not about to blow accidentally either!)
Extended should work, but my mods don't clean up the outer area. If the extended makes any Previs or precombine changes then there will be issues. Most extensions mods usually do not though.
Transfers should work 100% as long as the plan is designed for a vanilla base settlement.
Any repairs or changes mods my series makes are scrapable or movable.
I noticed you have this part like in all your DCnR mods
Scrap Dead Things: Still researching this, but it it's really popular! Clean My Settlement Redux - Most of my mods now hide/Disable the vines, bushes etc etc etc...
Two things: "Scrap Dead Things" you can do this just by enabling the "extra scrapping function" in Place Everywhere mod (Which you already recommend and most likely use) by pressing the insert -key, but the thing about this is that you will not receive anything about the scrapped skeleton/body (Unless some scrapping data for it exists), I am not sure 100% sure yet does the inventory of that scrapped body go to workshop storage requires further testing, but just wanted to let you know that you kinda have this function at your disposal already.
"Clean My Settlement Redux" Nothing much about this except its a very nice mod but on thing to maybe you could mention to these hints of yours for newcomers is that the Redux version requires a New game. It is better to use the Redux version but it should be in your game at the start of your playthrough if that's not the case player should just use the non-redux version even though the Redux version is better.
NOW OMG I REALLY NEED TO SAY THIS TO HERE!!!! NEXUS FIX YOUR act !!!
IT was damn painful to write this message up top and took me like like half hour of my day (if not more!) All I wanted to do is use the "quote" function and some basic writing to make the message more easier to read and Nexus site totally s#*! itself and always gave me "error" "error" "error"
PLEASE NOTE: YOU CANNOT SWITCH FROM THE ORIGINAL VERSION TO THE REDUX VERSION
The two versions are completely incompatible. If you are running the original version in an existing game, complete your existing game. Do not try to swap the original with the REDUX version.
You will break your game irreparably if you do.
***USERS WANTING TO ADD TO AN EXISTING GAME***
If you have a current game which does not have the original version, I still suggest that you do not add the REDUX version. Save it for a new game. The reason is that adding a new ESM / Master file to your game mid-playthrough can have some unfortunate side-effects: I wouldn't do it, neither should you.
(The game might become unstable/crash a lot/have ingame weirdness occur. I found that through several painful experiences. Please learn from my experiences: don't do it.)
Oh i thought you meant you had to start a new game if you started using redux, you are pointing out that if you start using Clean My Settlement regular you cannot switch to redux.
If you have a current game which does not have the original version, I still suggest that you do not add the REDUX version. Save it for a new game. The reason is that adding a new ESM / Master file to your game mid-playthrough can have some unfortunate side-effects: I wouldn't do it, neither should you.
V1.1a Updated navmesh for the switching station for the buildable model and for when the station is scrapped beneath it. Also when elm tree is scrapped navmesh changes appropriately.
Hi! Thanks for your mods! it's a great alternative for scrap everything. i already decide to use your mods in next playthrough. as i understand such mods as sim settlements when you start city plan execute something like "scrap all" command to clean territory (i am not sure, but looks like that). And if i use your mod with sim settlements it will scrap everything scrappable including buildings, right?
Interesting question. Since my mods don't move vanilla objects original locations (much), most plans that work on a vanilla settlement should work 100% on any DCnR. I have had to add in some options like in Kingsport and TBH making the roof scrapable so the plans add ons there didn't clash too much.
Any kind of automagical removal of objects will still affect everything the same.
If you do use a Transfer Plan or SS1/2 plan designed for vanilla, using this mod will give you the extra options for removing the station, the plowed crop area and the large elm giving more settlement customization options.
im used ss2 with author pack and work nice in most settlement (use city plans)(big pack 170 plans) but if you just build with ss2 there no problem at all .
So the switching station is buildable on this mod, I am working with some custom navmeshing object options to see if I can't get station navmesh to work better. In the mean time if you build a station make sure to put rugs on the first floor to improve NPC pathing.
28 comments
Make Fallout 4 Settlements closer to a full sandbox experience than an afterthought add-on.
Goals of my DC & R series:
If as a player you have a cool idea to make the series better please post below, I don't always add everything, but I am open to new ideas!
If you see something that you think should be removed that I missed, like trash, plants etc., please let me know. Given the massive scope of having Deep cleaned all the vanilla settlements but 1 I am sure to have missed some stuff.
Happy building!
Not sure what could cause that - maybe an LOD mesh with bad normals?
Possibly due to ASE? (which is above DCnR in load order)
But I am a noob and am about to publish a TFB that includes the Oberland switching station from here (or alternatively your large collection).
Do I need permission and if so may I have it?
PS: Enjoyed your mods a lot over many thosuands of playtime
...there's nothing to switch to.
While associated with line junction switches they're also on single lines - an early one is near my home in olde England which once controlled a road-rail crossing. Other reasons on a single line is to check trains aren't steaming headlong towards each other, or the line isn't being worked on (eg, bogie at the north end of the bridge to Greygarden could've been a maintenance handtruck).
Signal boxes may also be at customs borders, load inspections for seasonally weight-restricted sections of line, or just to indicate passengers, cargo or refuelling to an approaching train, etc... Whatever the purpose (and thus varying equipments therein), there's one common action always involved - signalling - to trains and any rail workers about. Hence the tall building (well, taller than platforms and trains), and their proper name - Signal Station. However, as many were wooden and a standard box shape (just like in FO4) they more informally came to be called Signal Boxes (and only larger ones called Signal Stations). They'd use either lights or wooden semaphore flaps (either directly or house controls/switchboards for remote ones), or even just wave a flag out the window to signal a train. A lot of region-wide control used telegraphing (before telephones of course), thus why telegraph lines were alongisde railways, and so many rail signal stations would've had a telegraph signal station inside/attached too.
The name predates trains - when rail first began similar small 2 or 3 storey places were already used for naval signalling (hence origin of the name Signal Station) at coastal forts and ports. And so they were adopted for railways too, including the semaphore.
planing a new play-through and your Clean and Remodel mods might just what I need! :D
Quick question. Do you think they will work with Settlements Extended and any Transfered Settlement?
Thanks in advance!
If the extended makes any Previs or precombine changes then there will be issues. Most extensions mods usually do not though.
Transfers should work 100% as long as the plan is designed for a vanilla base settlement.
Any repairs or changes mods my series makes are scrapable or movable.
Scrap Dead Things: Still researching this, but it it's really popular!
Clean My Settlement Redux - Most of my mods now hide/Disable the vines, bushes etc etc etc...
Two things:
"Scrap Dead Things" you can do this just by enabling the "extra scrapping function" in Place Everywhere mod (Which you already recommend and most likely use) by pressing the insert -key, but the thing about this is that you will not receive anything about the scrapped skeleton/body (Unless some scrapping data for it exists), I am not sure 100% sure yet does the inventory of that scrapped body go to workshop storage requires further testing, but just wanted to let you know that you kinda have this function at your disposal already.
"Clean My Settlement Redux" Nothing much about this except its a very nice mod but on thing to maybe you could mention to these hints of yours for newcomers is that the Redux version requires a New game. It is better to use the Redux version but it should be in your game at the start of your playthrough if that's not the case player should just use the non-redux version even though the Redux version is better.
Cheers
NEXUS FIX YOUR act !!!
IT was damn painful to write this message up top and took me like like half hour of my day (if not more!) All I wanted to do is use the "quote" function and some basic writing to make the message more easier to read and Nexus site totally s#*! itself and always gave me "error" "error" "error"
DAmn that was annoying..
I do mention Place Everywhere using insert, I can mention it does corpses too.
I did not now CMS redux requires a new game, last version i used was regular not redux.
as i understand such mods as sim settlements when you start city plan execute something like "scrap all" command to clean territory (i am not sure, but looks like that). And if i use your mod with sim settlements it will scrap everything scrappable including buildings, right?
Any kind of automagical removal of objects will still affect everything the same.
If you do use a Transfer Plan or SS1/2 plan designed for vanilla, using this mod will give you the extra options for removing the station, the plowed crop area and the large elm giving more settlement customization options.
In the mean time if you build a station make sure to put rugs on the first floor to improve NPC pathing.