Hey everyone,

I started this topic because, I think "lore-frienliness" is one of the main reasons a person will, or will not download, use, and like a mod.

But what is lore-friendly and what is not? I guess it's all a matter of personal judgement.
In Fallout games, most people freak out over mods adding modern, hi-tech military weapons and/or armor. On the other hand, many people love these kind of mods, just take a look at Fallout videos on YouTube.

Personally, I have no problem with them, I use quite a few myself. I don't feel like it's breaking the game's world at all. I'm always considering one thing. The Fallout universe has that unique '50s vibe, that's true, but don't forget, it's still very futuristic! The Great War started in 2077, that's way over our time, maybe (probably) they had even more modern weapons than we have right now. Fallout also has laser/plasma weapons, aliens (with alien technology), power armors, and such. So why wouldn't I use a gun which was made after the '50s or '60s?

How about you? What do you consider as lore-friendly, and what is game breaking (out of place) for you?

Lore friendly for me would mean something that would exist in the time or style of fallout. Something that would break it would be something like having Master Chief as a companion for instance

Easy example would be if you got a cowboy themed weapons pack, it could be considered lore friendly since a lot of those weapons existed in history like Smith Carbines, Colt Navy/Army revolvers, Marlin lever action rifles, etc. Or fit the theme of old fashioned. Or a WWII weapons themed pack. Anything that existed before the timeline divergence.

Some newer modern weapons like the M4, M16, or any other AR-15 derivative platform weapon would fit in well, especially in games like New Vegas where the M16A1 exists as the Service Rifle and the CAR-15 (carbine variant of the M16 used in Vietnam up until the Gulf War before the M4 was introduced and almost the same in a lot of ways) since the weapon platform was designed in the late 50s, early 60s.

Look at the first two fallout games, they had actual firearm manufacturers by name, like Glock for instance, was the manufacturer of all the Plasma weapons in the game, the 12.7mm pistol in NV is based off the 14mm pistol made by Sig Sauer and the P220 was in the original fallouts. The P90c was in Fallout Tactics (though not considered canon anymore), along with the FN FAL (would make sense since it was designed shortly after WWII and served many world militaries from the 50s up until the 90s), The HK G11 appeared in the first two games as a shotgun (it was an experimental caseless ammunition rifle that started development in 1968).

Other tidbits to look at is that in Fallout 2, you could see posters for a softcore porn movie made in 1992 and many pornos produced in New Reno in a Fallout 2 side quest where puns on many popular movies of the 80s and the 90s.

I don't really care too much about horribly lore breaking mods, but I don't aim to find the most lore breaking mods out there.

For me lore friendly is just something that looks like it belongs in the world. If it doesn't you know look super pristine without reason for it to be so, then I can see it existing in the world. If it's a quest mod I consider weather or not the mod steps on the toes of any of the lore.

I like to see things that you would find naturally after a nuclear apocalypse for example, clothing and outfits that are dirty or imperfect. A mod that let's you find clothing that was worn before and its tattered and dirty, maybe it's got some holes in it or something. Full tactical gear is very hard to come by unless it's genuine and made for law enforcement and military.

A set of gear that seems like it was put together by various different parts like a cylinder harness for a revolver, a jacket and jeans with a bandana that patches a hole in a pant leg and maybe a molle vest with a couple of mixed pouches for stanag and pistol magazines.

A mod where you're able to find a rusted Glock in a police station or a broken assault rifle in an armory that's missing parts that could probably be fixed with the right parts, a recoil spring, a gas block, or a bolt carrier group. Most of the civilian variants of rifles are semi-automatic and most games and movies expect you to find a perfectly working gun that has a couple of scratches on it that fires fully automatically.

Maybe abraxo cleaner could make that rusty Glock shine again?

Sure pre-war items like M16s and AK-47s could have been preserved in vaults or shelters and things like that and that's understandable. And since bombs never hit New Vegas all of the those things are basically cancelled out and anything could really be found hidden away.

For me lore friendly mods are those which doesnt destroy immersion and fits in the theme of game.
Like you would expect these mods to be in base game or would understand why they are there.

I'm very nonchalant when it comes to lore-friendliness in my game especially when it comes to things like modern weapons they don't bother me as i just use the excuse that it was a pre-war prototype or Enclave equipment.
i'm very flexible with lore

Many people critize high-tech weapons but they don't know that Fallout 2 had a Desert Eagle and a Pancor Jackhammer, although in my opinion too much high-tech can be very unfriendly to lore.

One of the weapons that I'm using as an example is the FN Fal, as you can see here, the FAL has wooden stocks and I like it because it uses a modern weapon (well, not that modern since FAL is around since late 50s) and make it look like others weapons from that period.

But I'm not really fond of something like a "Out-of factory" SOPMOD M4A1 or EOtech dots on my weapons.

Personally, I know I can be quite strict when it comes to what I consider "lore friendly."

This generally comes from TES games, freaking lore nut on that stuff!

But for Fallout, I like to pick mods that look at home in the nuclear fallout while still remaining realistic.. weapons that look brand new better have a backstory, otherwise I'm just not that into them.

But the killers for me are quest mods, I love when authors take little lore and create an entire mod with it. Many NCR related quest mods are like that, such as Boulder City and Denver.

I guess if the author can make me believe that whatever I find or whatever quest I'm doing belongs there, then it can appease my lore friendly craziness!

For fallout my ideal mods are something that fit either the retro-futuristic style or weapons that are quite close to weapons already in the fallout series thematically.

I avoid things that break my immersion. Certain textures just don't fit the aesthetic of the game, even if they represent plausible ideas. I feel some weapons just don't have good textures, others just don't fit the way the game looks. What's a SCAR H or an AN 94 doing in Boston? Who knows, but they look good so I use them.

I would have to be honest and say I am not a lore buff, I enjoy the lore but I don't live for it that is for sure. I find some of the stuff that came with the game about as lore friendly as size 54 DDDD boobs are. For example, one kind of cereal, one kind of cigs, one kind of wine, beer, gin, really so Boston or any other city in the USA only sold one kind of eggs, or sugar. And every other one got blown up all at once so nothing was ever seen of the countless other kinds of all products. One kind oh yea really lore friendly. lol ok I am sorry rant on things that peeve me off ...... I guess what I mean is I find the things that make me forget I am playing a game and more like the times when i get lost in the game that it pulls me in and makes me believe that I am in that subway or vault or ghoul ridden building. May it be the sounds around me or the way the npc talk to each other about things going on with them or it be the way the weather changes from clean to a rad storm in 4 mins, those are the things I find Lore friendly the little things that pull you in and make you want more!!

Tales from the Commonwealth has to be the most lore friendly mod of all time.

Couldn't care about immersion because this is not skyrim.

Drutar wrote:

I think "lore-frienliness" is one of the main reasons a person will, or will not download, use, and like a mod.

That most definitely depends on the person. I don't install (or uninstall) mods because they're lore-friendly or not - I install mods because I think or know that they can be (or are) good. I've got 4 AlChestBreaches running around in a New Vegas that I turned into my personal empire - that could be explained away as lore-friendly, but many people would disagree.

Drutar wrote:

But what is lore-friendly and what is not?

I consider everything that doesn't contradict the lore lore-friendly. Dr. Who and Star Trek mods are (or at least can be) lore-friendly, for example - both of those are encounters in Fallout 1/2. Aliens and their technology are lore-friendly, since aliens have been in Fallout's lore since the very first game. Many modern weapons, many sci-fi weapons and so on are lore-friendly as well. However, nothing is game-breaking for me because it's not lore-friendly. Only if it's badly made, and even then it's often more hilarious than anything.

mixtape69 wrote:

Something that would break it would be something like having Master Chief as a companion for instance

Well, the Chief has been to at least one game's dimension. He's a legendary hero in the Fable series (specifically in Fable 2).

LukaTheJawa wrote:

Couldn't care about immersion because this is not skyrim.

This I don't understand. If you care about immersion in Skyrim, why not in other games?

For me, It depends on what the art style is on something or what game it's ported from. For example, I don't use the Tracer or D.Va armors because their art style is cartoon-y compared to Fallout or Skyrim. Porting something from Mad Max into Fallout would work but porting it to Skyrim wouldn't if that makes any sense.

I will use guns that have clean textures; I don't usually decide not to use a mod because of that, but I appreciate guns that have worn textures, something I haven't really seen much of. Guns like AKs I will go for because they have a certain feel to them; they're almost expected to last very long without any issues, and most of the attachments made for them aren't as refined as say, an ACOG sight on an M16. Attachments on AKs in mods usually have a more rugged look, something I like to use.

As for armor and clothing, I try to use things that look somewhat in place. Full military kit I don't really go for anymore like I used to when I first started modding Fallout 3 in 2010. I go for things that have maybe holsters (nothing too crazy) or belts or pockets for magazines. I don't get too crazy with Power Armor, either. In fact, I stopped using Power Armor a while ago.

So basically, anything that just looks "period correct" I use, but guns that look like they were manufactured yesterday I don't really mind using.

personally i like to go for the more rugged looking armor or weapons but sometimes i dont mind something a little techy looking as i do always side with the brotherhood of steel so some armors fit well with them and i always play myself in the game so its also down to wether i would wear that armor in that situation
usually if i can make something up in my head as to how it can fit in the game then i am fine using it

Since i have but a rudimentary grasp of the lore for fallout in general...for me, it's when I see a screenshot or video and I see an armor or weapon I don't recognize and I say to myself "where in the hell did they find THAT" It's simply cosmetic for me; so when I see the mini gun that shoots nukes...or the "shaun launcher" or a poorly textured/simple textured item/armor is jarring and "immersion breaking"

and what's the saying "immersive as fuck" ?

That's how I define lore friendly...does it or does it not break my immersive experience

OSOK wrote:

...or the "shaun launcher"

Which Shaun? Shaun the Sheep? Shaun of the Dead?

@zoro4661
There is a mod that changes the payload for the nuke launcher to look like baby shaun