This mod is the Fallout 3 equivalent to ExRB - Extended Roombounds, though far bigger in scope, as I've optimized more than 200 interior cells (217, to be exact, the list of which can be found at the bottom) across both the main game and its expansions, many of which hadn't been optimized at all. And I'm not just talking about tiny insignificant buildings, but factories, offices, metro tunnels, and multiple vaults. How did I achieve that? By placing a ton of roombounds and portals, and in some cases occlusion planes. And while most of these are entirely new, I've also modified some cells that had actually been optimized before, but could have been optimized further, in my opinion. And I did actually cover some tiny building here and there. Not because they needed it, but because their layout was so simple that each of them took like 30 seconds, so I thought "Why the hell not?"

However, due to the number of cells covered, I cannot guarantee that I didn't miss any occlusion bugs (objects flickering in and out of existence, holes in the world, the entire cell vanishing for a second). But I did test every single cell and used the JIP MiniMap to try and cover every nook and cranny, though it wasn't very helpful on vertically designed maps. So if you notice any of the afforementioned issues, and have made sure that my mod wins every conflict in regards to room markers and portals, please open the console, click on a nearby object and give me the FormID so I can quickly check on it.

But keep in mind that this mod is NOT compatible with any mod that makes major changes to the layout of the affected cells, or adds new sections to those cells. So if you notice giant gaping holes where part of the map should be, or areas that are never rendered at all, then you've most likely found a conflict (unless I was too blind to notice such glaring issues). Fixing it should be easy in most cases, but only if you tell me which mod is responsible. Don't just drop your modlist in the comments and expect me to figure it out myself! And if you don't want to wait for a patch, just delete the affected cell from my mod.


Questions:


Q: Does this mean a fully modded game runs smooth as butter now?

A: I wish. But some cells are so open in their design (like the Citadel lab or the Rivet City Market), or so tightly packed together and chaotic in their layout that fully optimizing them is nigh impossible without making changes to their layout, which goes beyond the scope of this mod.


Q: So how much of a difference will this mod make?

A: No idea. Depends entirely on what mods you have installed. And since I don't have the space to install lots of texture and mesh replacers right now, I can't test how much of a difference a heavily modded game would make. But I can give you examples from the mods I've patched:

GNR Building Redux has some drops to 40 FPS (down from 144, at 1440p) in its newly added rooms, but with my patch, it's more around 70 to 100.

Meanwhile, some of the bedrooms in Reilly's Rangers Compound Redux cause drops down to 50 FPS when you turn around, but with my patch, you lose maybe 1 or 2 FPS.

I've also started working on the same kind of mod for A World of Pain (the Fallout 3 one), where the Capital Research Operations cell can drop as low as 30 FPS. But my optimized version only drops to around 70. Don't ask me when the mod is going to be released, though. I've only done that one cell so far.

You can also find some comparison shots in the screenshot gallery (check the top left corner for the FPS). Though keep in mind that they were made with a GTX 1070 and an i5-6500, and without Heap Replacer or DXVK. So if you have a more recent system, your FPS should hopefully be better.


Q: Will this affect cells added by other mods?

No, each cell needs to be optimized manually.


Q: Can I add this mod in the middle of a playthrough?

Should be fine in regards to the roombounds, as I tested it myself with GNR and Reilly's compound. But doing that with the patched mods will most likely result in misplaced doors and the like, which I also experienced during that test.


Q: I've optimized a cell better than you did!

Not a question, but cool! Can you send me the plugin so I can incorporate those changes into the mod, assuming they're truly better?


Q: Will you port this to Fallout 3?

A: No. But if someone else wants to do it, be my guest!


Known Issues:

Throughout the whole game, there are pieces of clutter (mostly rubble, I think) that are placed in a way that causes them to be present on two sides of a wall. Doesn't matter in a vanilla game, but with roombounds added to the mix, some of them flicker in and out of existence, which is why you'll find some disabled or moved pieces of rubble in the plugin. Didn't notice much of them, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were more.

If you have too much time on your hand and want to check for more issues yourself, I can only give you the following advice: run into every wall (or rather walk, otherwise you may run right through a bugged portal without realizing it) and hug every corner, especially around doorways.


How to report bugs:

If you find a bugged area, please click on a nearby object with the console open and take a screenshot of it, so that I can see where exactly the issue is. Then post it in the bugs sections. If clicking on an object does nothing, back away from the bugged area and try again.


Compatibility:

Fallout 3 3DNPC Bundle for TTW: Fully Compatible if you load my mod after it, as there's a dirty edit to a room marker that would cause issues otherwise.

A Trail of Crumbs: Fully Compatible.

Big Town Extensions: Fully Compatible.

Blood Ties Redesign/Meresti Metro Redesign: Accounted for by an additional roombound in MerestiMetro02 that vanilla players will never encounter.

Citadel Overhaul: Would generally be compatible, but tries to add its own optimization, which could clash with mine, so I've provided a patch that disables its occlusion planes. But since the mod has deleted navmeshes, I wouldn't recommened it in its current state unless you know how to fix them yourself.

ExRB - Extended Roombounds: Fully Compatible, since that mod only covers the Mojave.

Fort Independence Overhaul: Same issue as with Citadel Overhaul, but this one doesn't have deleted navmeshes. Just superfluous navmeshes floating in the void.

Fort Independence Reforged: Incompatible due to layout changes and added roombounds, so I made a patch that keeps my own optimization and extends a portal to cover a newly added room.

GNR Building Redux: Incompatible due to major layout changes that cannot be accounted for in the main plugin. So I've provided a patch for it.

Megaton Open: Fully Compatible.

Museum Halls of Today: Fully Compatible.

Mothership Zeta Rehaul: Would have mostly been compatible, but has some minor conflicts that may cause issues no matter in which order you load the mods, so I've included a patch.

Point Lookout Reborn: Fully Compatible.

Rebuild the Capital: Should be fully compatible, since it mostly disables trash and stays within the confines of the original maps when it doesn't. But I did extend some roombounds for its new doors, just in case.

Raiders of the Capital Wastelands: I've accounted for its change to zWheatonArmory, and the rest should be compatible, as the only Evergreen Mills cell I touch is EverGreenMillsBazaar, where the roombounds still line up despite the layout changes. Just make sure Evergreen.esm loads after my mod to keep its cell settings intact.

Reilly's Rangers Compound Redux: Absolutely not compatible, as it might as well be a completely different building. One that actually looks nice and is nowhere near as cramped as the orignal, so I made a patch in which I optimized the place from scratch.

The TTW Interiors Project: Makes major changes to Reilly's Rangers Compound and therefore requires a patch.

Vault 101 Revisited: Fully Compatible, as it uses completely different cells for its version of Vault 101. Which also means that it won't benefit from my optimizations.


Covered Cells: