Fallout 3 Tweak Guide

[Page 12] Console Commands (Pt.2)

Useful Console Commands

As you can see from the previous page, there are plenty of console commands, and indeed a whole bunch more script commands, which you can use to alter Fallout 3 at any time during the game. While you can experiment with any of them if you wish, this page will help you sort out which commands are the most useful for common requirements. Note that these commands are not case sensitive, and furthermore, as some of them are essentially cheats, or may have unintended consequences on the game world or your character, I strongly recommend backing up your saved games before messing around with some of the more complex commands.

Get Unstuck: If you become stuck inside or behind a piece of scenery or between objects, you can use the TCL command, which will toggle collision. This will allow you to walk through any object, or even fly by walking straight upwards while collision is disabled. Be careful not to re-enable collision while high in the air or inside another object for obvious reasons.

Clear Screen Blood: If you have blood splatters all over your screen during combat and you're finding it hard to see through them, you can use the CSB command to instantly clear the screen of all existing blood splatters. This won't prevent new ones from appearing though.

Remove the HUD: There are times you may want to take a nice screenshot, but don't want the HUD visible. Use the TM command to toggle the HUD off and remove all menus without pausing the game, take the shot, then TM again to reenable the HUD. Be aware that TM actually toggles off all menus, not just the HUD. Note that if you're taking a screenshot of a creature or person and want it not to move and/or attack you, then use the TAI command or TCAI command(s) below as relevant.

Turn off AI: If you want to turn off the enemy Artificial Intelligence, for example to take a close-up screenshot of a creature, use the TAI command to toggle off the AI. All characters/creatures in the game world will remain motionless, but will continue breathing and sometimes repeating the last action they were doing before being frozen. If you just want to disable the Combat AI, but leave the creature/character otherwise functioning normally, then use the TCAI command instead.

Fallout: New Vegas Update: If you experience slowdowns in areas where there are one or more NPCs, you can use the ToggleEmotions console command to disable facial emotions which appears to be the source of these performance issues. Use the TEMO command to toggle these facial emotions off or on at any time during each session.

Change Field of View: Some people don't like the default 75 degree field of vision in the game, and prefer something like 90 degrees which is normal for many first person games. Use the FOV command to set a new field of vision, e.g. fov 90. Note that this is reset every time you start Fallout 3, and on most transition loads, so you must manually set it each and every time. Update: You can now permanently set the FOV in the game by adding the fDefaultWorldFOV variable to Fallout.ini as detailed in an update on page 8.

Fly Cam: If you want to take a scenic tour of the environment, you can use the TFC command to toggle the Fly Cam mode, allowing you to fly around the game world. Use the SHIFT key to speed up the fly rate.

God Mode: Enabling God Mode means that your character can't take any damage, and you won't run out of ammo - use the TGM command to toggle this option.

Remove Grass: If you're outdoors and you're in a heavily grassy area which is causing slowdowns or obscuring your view, you can quickly use the TG command to toggle all grass off temporarily, and toggle it back on later as necessary.

Wireframe Mode: To see just how complex the Fallout 3 game world is, and to also see what objects and characters have been loaded up in your immediate area (regardless of whether they're in direct line of sight or not), use the TWF command to toggle Wireframe Mode. As you will see, the game uses a huge amount of polygons to display the detailed objects and characters in the game world.

Rapid Quit: If you want to exit the game quickly without having to click through menus and answer any prompts, open the console and use the QQQ command - the game will instantly exit to desktop.

Speed Up/Slow Down Time: You can alter the rate at which time passes in the game world by using the SET TIMESCALE TO [Minutes] command. The [Minutes] parameter refers to the number of minutes which pass in the game world for each real minute. For example try SET TIMESCALE TO 3600 to see a rapid sunrise/sunset sequence, or SET TIMESCALE TO 15 to slow down the game day and make it longer.

Unlock Objects: If you want to unlock any object such as a door or a computer terminal regardless of your skill level, open the console, left-click on the object in question and use the UNLOCK command.

Modify Your Character Stats & Skills: You can modify any of your seven S.P.E.C.I.A.L character stats by using the ModPCAttribute (MODPCA) script command - see the link to all script commands on the previous page. For example MODPCA Strength 10 will raise your strength up to the maximum of 10. Similarly, you can use the ModPCSkill (MODPCS) command to increase any of your skills, e.g. MODPCS Sneak 10. If instead you just want to increase your experience points and allocate them to your skills yourself, use the REWARDXP [amount] command to give yourself additional XP by the amount you specify.

Modify Your Gender: If at any time you want to go from being a male to a female character or vice versa, open the console and use the SEXCHANGE command.

Add or Remove Objects and NPCs: If you want to instantly remove an object or character which is bothering/blocking you, make sure the Object/NPC is in your view, then open the console, left-click once on the object/NPC with your mouse - make sure to note down the object/NPC ID number at the top of the screen as you'll need this if you ever want to re-enable them again. Now use the DISABLE command to instantly remove that object or NPC from the game world. If you want to add it/them back, use the ENABLE [ID Number] command. If you just want to kill an NPC but leave their corpse, highlight the NPC and use the KILL command instead; to resurrect them, highlight them and use the RESURRECT command. If an NPC or object is missing altogether, you can summon a copy of it/them in front of you by using the PLAYER.PLACEATME [ID Number] console command - see this List of ID Numbers.

Executing Batch Console Commands

If you want to execute a number of console commands in one go without having to retype them every time you run Fallout 3, you can use a Batch file. Create a new text file (right click in an empty area and select New>Text Document). Give this text file a simple name, like mycom.txt. Now edit the document with Notepad and enter all your desired console commands, one per line. For example the contents of mycom.txt might look like this:

fov 90

set timescale to 180

tgm

Now close and save this text document, and move it to your \Program Files\Bethesda Softworks\Fallout 3 directory. Open Fallout 3 and to execute this batch file at any time, open the console and type Bat [batchfilename] then press ENTER. For example, to execute the contents of mycom.txt, open the console and type:

Bat mycom

All the commands in the batch file will be implemented at once - as long as they're correct working commands. Create as many separate batch files as you like to do particular things, and execute them whenever you want within the game.

The next page brings the guide to a conclusion with some handy tips.

Go to Page... Page 1: Introduction Page 2: Essential Optimization Page 3: Troubleshooting Tips Page 4: Patches & Mods Page 5: In-Game Settings Page 6: In-Game Settings (Pt.2) Page 7: In-Game Settings (Pt.3) Page 8: Advanced Tweaking Page 9: Adv. Tweaking (Pt.2) Page 10: Adv. Tweaking (Pt.3) Page 11: Console Commands Page 12: Cons. Commands (Pt.2) Page 13: Neat Stuff & Concl.