Fallout 4

• Windows 11✓ with 4 fixes
• Steam Deck✓ Verified
• Mac✓ no Mac version, runs through CrossOver
• Linux✓ Proton Gold

Watch the trailer

Does Fallout 4 run on Windows 11, Apple Silicon Macs, Linux and Steam Deck?

Windows 11	✓Runs with a fix. See the steps below. SourceWorks for meDoesn’t work
Mac (Apple Silicon)	✓No Mac version is sold. Plays on a Mac through CrossOver or Parallels (AppleGamingWiki).Works for meDoesn’t work
Linux	✓Through Proton. ProtonDB: Gold, runs perfectly after tweaks. SourceWorks for meDoesn’t work
Steam Deck	✓Verified by Valve. SourceWorks for meDoesn’t work

Played it lately? Press Works for me or Doesn’t work on your platform, so the next player knows. One click, no account. How we check where it runs

How to get Fallout 4 running today

What you need

• Optional Graphics driver control panel (NVIDIA Control Panel or AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition)Caps the frame rate at 59 or 60 FPS, the simplest way to keep physics and dialogue at normal speed.
• Optional Fallout 4 Script Extender (F4SE)Lets plugin mods such as High FPS Physics Fix load; only needed for the mod route. Works with the Steam and GOG versions only.
• Optional High FPS Physics FixLets the game run above 60 FPS with normal animation speed and physics, and speeds up loading screens. Nexus Mods needs a free account to download.
• Optional 7-ZipOpens the .7z archives that F4SE and many Nexus mods use.

Steps

Open a step for the full walkthrough.

1. On high-refresh monitors, cap the frame rate at 59 or 60 so physics and dialogue do not speed up or skip (PCGamingWiki).

   1. This is the simplest route and needs no mods. Use the next step instead if you want to play above 60 FPS.
   2. On NVIDIA: right-click the desktop, open NVIDIA Control Panel > Manage 3D settings > Program Settings. Select Fallout 4 (or click Add and pick Fallout4.exe), set Max Frame Rate to On at 59 or 60, and click Apply.
   3. On AMD: click Start, type AMD Software and open it. Search for Game, open Gaming, click the Fallout 4 profile, open Advanced, enable Frame Rate Target Control and set it to 59 or 60.
   4. PCGamingWiki notes that dialogue can still skip at exactly 60 on some PCs; use 59 if that happens.
   5. Start the game and talk to a character to check that lines no longer skip.
2. To play above 60 FPS instead, install F4SE and the High FPS Physics Fix mod.

   1. A mod manager is not required: both can be copied by hand. The F4SE readme gives the manual steps.
   2. Open the F4SE page and download the build for the newest Fallout 4 runtime listed there (the Steam version updates automatically to that runtime). Open the archive with 7-Zip.
   3. In Steam, right-click the game > Manage > Browse local files. Copy the f4se .dll file, f4se_loader.exe and the Data folder from the archive into this folder, next to Fallout4.exe. Ignore the src folder.
   4. On the High FPS Physics Fix page, read the Requirements list and install anything else it names. Then open Files and download the main file that matches your game version.
   5. Copy the archive's Data folder into the game folder and allow Windows to merge it. The settings file ends up at Data\F4SE\Plugins\HighFPSPhysicsFix.ini.
   6. From now on, start the game with f4se_loader.exe in the game folder, not with Fallout4.exe or the launcher.
   7. Optional: open HighFPSPhysicsFix.ini in Notepad and, under [Limiter], set InGameFPS to your refresh rate minus 1 (or minus 3 with G-Sync or FreeSync), as suggested by the STEP guide.
3. On NVIDIA RTX or GTX 16-series cards, set Weapon Debris to Off in the launcher's advanced settings to avoid crashes (PCGamingWiki).

   1. Start Fallout 4 from Steam so that the launcher window opens.
   2. Click Options, then Advanced.
   3. Open the Weapon Debris drop-down list and choose Off.
   4. Click OK and start the game.
   5. If you want to keep the effect, PCGamingWiki lists the Weapon Debris Crash Fix mod as an alternative; it turns off debris collision.
4. On displays above 240 Hz the game can start to a black screen; set the monitor to a lower refresh rate before launching (PCGamingWiki).

   1. The cause: the game limits itself with a sync setting that breaks above 240 Hz.
   2. In Windows 11, open Settings > System > Display > Advanced display.
   3. Under Choose a refresh rate, pick 240 Hz or lower.
   4. Start the game and check that the main menu appears.
   5. Set the refresh rate back after playing if you like. PCGamingWiki also describes a hex edit of Fallout4.exe for advanced users who want to keep the high refresh rate.

Synopsis

An open-world role-playing shooter set in the ruins of Boston two centuries after a nuclear war. You leave a fallout shelter to search for your missing son, roaming the Commonwealth, siding with factions, scavenging junk and building up settlements along the way.

What people say

Critics at release praised the huge, detailed world, the satisfying exploration and gunplay that was a clear step up from Fallout 3. The common complaints were bugs, uneven performance and thinner role-playing, with dialogue choices and stats that matter less than in earlier entries. Players today still pour hundreds of hours into it and lean heavily on mods, while many find the settlement chores and repeating side quests tiresome. It remains a popular, forgiving sandbox rather than a deep RPG.

Playability today

The average of two parts, each from 1 to 5. Tap a check to see why. How it works

Sources

1. Steam store page (requirements, platforms)
2. SteamSpy (Steam review counts)
3. Steam Deck compatibility, Valve
4. ProtonDB reports
5. Metacritic
6. OpenCritic
7. PCGamingWiki: Fallout 4
8. Insider Gaming: Is Fallout 4 worth playing
9. Steam Community: settlement building discussion
10. PCGamingWiki: Fallout 4

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