What is the so called G.E.C.K.?

I know that there is a tool in steam called the G.E.C.K. or something like that, but I have no Idea what it is.

Yes I have played fallout 3 before, I beat the main story line, but never did anything extra really and now i'm going back to complete all quests and do everything.

Is G.E.C.K. a fallout 3 editor of some kind?

How do I use the G.E.C.K.?

Well, it's techincally two things. The in-game item that's part of lore: http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Garden_of_Eden_Creation_Kit

And it's also the name for the program used to create Fallout 3 with by Bethesda. They released this (as they do with all Bethesda Game Studios games) to allow users to create modifications for the game.

http://geck.gamesas.com/index.php/Main_Page for more information. It's a steep learning curve however so don't expect a "map editor" kind of application.

It's not too bad. While there are a lot of aspects where you need to understand quite a bit, there are other areas that are fairly easy to grasp. The main thing with it is that there is a constant learning process, there's always going to be something new to figure out.

Yes ive been using it for quite a while now and still wouldnt say i know even half of its functions, variables relating to scripts etc. I recommend to have a play though, you never know what you might end up creating

But that is the whole point with the geck ... it has so many possibillities , so dont bring your pre concieved notions.

In the end ... you have to have a story , an Idea of what you want to do. Then you start using what you know about the geck to get your Idea done.

It is so open ended that you cant really use it like other game editors you might be familiar with. And I have no Idea about Oblivion and other games that use this engine or similar.

Fallout 3 is the end all be all in my book.

That is very true, and remember the key point when using the geck, enjoy it! Ive easily spent more time using/creating in the geck than I have playing the game because it is enjoyable and you will get a great sense of achievement even when getting a script to compile the way you want, although can be a pain at times to but I do

Each game's editor is essentially just an upgraded version of the previous one. There are some major changes between releases of course, but once you get to grips with the interface and workflow of one you've pretty much mastered those aspects in the others.

Unfortunately, quite often your ideas change quite drastically half way through because of new things you've learned and you have to start all over again.


They're all pretty much the same in that regard, just different possibilities available depending on the game, e.g you can do things with the New Vegas editor that you can't do with the one for Fallout 3. In fact, they're all originally based on the Oblivion editor. I'm not sure of it goes back to Morrowind at all as I haven't played that game. If you look inside the game using the editor, you'll see all sorts of references to things that were used in Oblivion, which still exist in the engine but aren't used anymore.

It's all based on Morrowind's, and every editor is just a heavily modified version of the previous one. Before loading the Skyrim master file, the Creation Kit refers to VATS, coins as Bottle Caps and lockpicks as Bobby Pins for example. Whereas the icon for ammo in F3/NV are arrows from Morrowind and Oblivion.

Yes Idea's do change when we get a bigger understanding of the tools to create the initial Idea. But the process still has to start with an Idea of what to try and render. This process is better served by being open minded on how to bring about the illusion you want to create. Hence my comment about not bringing preconcieved notions.

But I will defer to the notion of having previous experience with these type of tools can also help. There is just a fine line in getting stuck in a particular way of thinking how it needs to happen , and being open to other possibilities on the means to an end. imho

That can be an advantage in that it makes it possible to use some of that leftover info to do something that wasn't intended in the game.

But... But... They said it was a new engine!