Fallout 4 mod nexus

Sarah:

v1.7.x – New settlement addons, new combat pet management, new weapons, dynamic encounter tweaks, and much more
v1.6.x – Large overhaul to all NPCs and scaling, kill tracker, dynamic encounters, many new weapons, settlement changes, and more
v1.5.x – Skill System, Companion Leveling, Workshop additions… too many things to write here!  See the patch notes!
v1.4.8 – New large Architect structures, Cargo Bot supply lines, New custom workshop lighting, Workshop Ration system
v1.4.x – New Architect structures, Settler Outfitter overhaul, new laser and plasma weapons, new personal toolkit and scrapping, and more
v1.4.2 – Architect additions and fixes, misc fixes, new nuclear fragments from scrapping junk
v1.4.0 – Architect v1.0, New death revival system, New explosives, New scrapping tool, Settlement changes, New crops, New vendors, New buildings
v1.3.0 – Production overhaul, Cargo Bot additions, new Katana, Doctor access in GN, detailed mod descriptions, HC mode, and a lot more
v1.2.1 – Adjustments for 1.2, Economy tweaks, new versions of the tavern/townhouse, new purifier pump, black color theme for institute guns
v1.2.0 – Settler Jobs, Ammo Switching, Armor/clothing overhaul, Settler Outfitter, Backpacks, new outfits, and many other things (read the patch notes)
v1.1.4 – Fixes to heatlh problems with Triggermen, and a few other minor fixes
v1.1.2 – Alpha Wrist Device system overhauled, additions/tweaks to damaged weapons, new clothing variations, weapon addon system, and more
v1.1.0 – A brand new crafting system called the “Experimentation Lab”, many weapon/NPC/loot changes, Raider additions/changes
v1.0.7 – Triggermen overhaul, partial Nuka World NPC balancing, DLC weapon upgrades/changes, Cooking categories, Legendary names, etc.
v1.0.6 – Incinerator weapon, Townhouse prefab, a new type of ballistic weave, ammo/weapon changes, misc fixes
v1.0.5 – Bug fixes
v1.0.4 – New settlement building prefabs, 29 new mail events, super mutant/deathclaw changes, settings holoetape, misc changes
v1.0.3 – New turrets for Robotics Expert, and new dogs for Attack Dog. Feral ghoul balancing, misc DLC fixes, and other adjustments
v1.0.2 – Sim Settlement balance patch, re-enabled 1 of the DLC factory machines
v1.0 – Focused specializations, weapon perk overhaul, dogmeat/attack dog updates, mailbox, crop overhaul, hacking devices, and more
v0.999e – Pre-patch for 1.0: New methods of breaking into locks, new companion weapons, Raider Overhaul compatibility patch, and more
v0.999d – Pre-patch for 1.0: Update to medical items, Weapons Lab crafting station, Cargo Bot updates, new Timescale addon, fixes, misc changes
v0.999c – Pre-patch for 1.0: New Save Game consumable item, Large overhaul of the Caravan Travel, misc fixes/tweaks
v0.999b – Pre-patch for 1.0: New system to catalog magazines into Recipe Perks.  Fixes for ammo crafting and ammo loot.
v0.999 – Large Update:  Doctor overhaul, poison overhaul, ammo crafting, vendor overhaul, NPC changes, many more things..
v0.91 to v0.998 – Initial Beta versions
Check the forum tab for full patch notes.

   
v1.6 is most likely going to be focused on end-game activities and settlement progression.
Architect will be soon released as a stand-alone mod for everyone, but it will be included with Horizon as well.
I’m currently looking for more beta testers for Architect, even if you don’t play Horizon.

News for v1.6.x
v1.6 is here!  Read the patch notes in the posts tab!
News for v1.5.x
A brand new Skill System, which allows multiple sources of learning and knowledge to improve your overall skills.
Companions can now level up and gain stats.
Many new workshop additions, including automatic upgradeable guard towers.
See the patch notes for full details!

News for v1.4.8
This update contains number of new Architect structures.  The Gallows is a very large colossal structure designed for Hangman’s Alley.  The Marina and Atomic Cat’s Garage adds more warehouse style buildings.
A brand new system was added to compensate you with “Workshop Rations” to give you food/water based on how much time you’ve spent inside of settlements (while building, etc.)
A new Cargo Bot Station was added, which allows you to add supply lines without requiring settlers.
A full set of new workshop lights were added to completely replace vanilla lighting.  My new Architect lights do not require power from workshops.  This has multiple benefits, the biggest is avoiding all of that “power radiation” functionality from workshops, which can have potential problems.  This helps you avoid needing power pylons as well.  Reducing the amount of “power radiation” can make your settlements much more stable.  It also makes placing lights much easier too, which is an excellent added bonus.
On top of this, I have 55+ lights, many of which are either new, or DLC-style lights that were recreated and use 100% vanilla assets.
Many other changes and additions are included with this update.

News for v1.4.x
v1.4.5+ adds new energy weapons and a bunch of new Architect structures.  It also expands the scrapping toolkit into a “Personal Toolkit” which has more uses in the field.
The Settler Outfitter was greatly overhauled, and moved into Architect.   It now equips settlers MUCH faster, and with a LOT more outfits!  It also has a new refund system, that allows you to swap outfits and weapons and be refunded the cost of your last outfit or weapon.

News for v1.4
Horizon 1.4 is a very large release, which contains Architect v1.0.
Architect is a brand new tool which allows you to easily place and manage large structures of any size.
Horizon 1.4 also includes a new revival system.  Upon death, you will be revived at the closest settlement available.  This mode can be disabled if you wish.  This mode is still considered a BETA, and will continue to be expanded.

News for v1.3
Horizon 1.3 is a large release, which contains new additions and some polishing for many systems.
Production resource devices are changes to no longer require work orders
Mod descriptions are much more detailed now
The official weapon pack is completely overhauled
Many weapon tweaks
A new katana weapon is added, which was extracted from the Shishkebab
A new box magazine is added for the SMG
New textures are added to replace the dirty vanilla reflex sights
The ammo swapping system is more polished, and performs a reload animation now to make it more immersive
Much more..
Check the patch notes for full details.
News for v1.2
Horizon 1.2 is a VERY large release, which contains many new additions to Horizon.  Clothing/armor has received a very large overhaul which cleans up the vanilla/DLC armor system.   You should read the full patch notes for 1.2, because there are way too many things to even list in the news!
Setter Jobs, Missions, and Tasks

One of the main features in 1.2, is a brand new system for settlers in which you can assign them jobs.  Settlers can then be sent on missions/tasks in order to gather materials and items for you.

Settler Outfitter
There’s also a new equipment system for settlers, in which you can walk up to a settler and assign them a new weapon or outfit, which is selectable from a menu.
Weapons are much cheaper and easier to equip on settlers than using real weapons, and simply require a few weapon parts.  This allows you to outfit your settlers without the huge hassle of individually giving them weapons and ammo.  There is also a feature which will give you BACK any existing weapons/ammo on them when you equip a new weapon.  This way, you can scrap/sell their old weapon.
Powerful weapons gain +75% damage, and require your Settlers to have a certain amount of Smithing skill, as well as higher ranks of Local Leader.
Clothing/Armor has many different sets to choose from, and I will most likely add more in the future.  Clothing sets simply require a few cloth/leather/steel for each.  The old clothes are optionally and automatically transferred to your inventory (or scrap storage), so you can scrap/sell them.


Field Ammo Switching
New functionality has been created for weapons which allows them to switch ammo and firing modes in the field depending on the weapon.  You can’t just switch any ammo on any weapon.  The ammo selection is very appropriate and reasonable for each weapon, to help keep weapons distinct, and have different purposes.
Powerful specialty ammo can also be used, but is generally more difficult to craft or find.  API rounds are used for armor penetration against targets with heavy armor.  Cryo rounds can slow targets, and potentially freeze smaller targets.  Pulse rounds are excellent against Robots and Synths.  Venom rounds release a burst of toxins to add poison damage to the target.  HE Rounds are High-Explosive rounds that deal area damage when they impact.
The image below shows the Combat Rifle.  It has one of the wider selections of ammo.  As you can see anything other than the default .45 ammo, requires a “Conversion Kit”, which helps keep ammo switching balanced and immersive.  Conversion kits require ranks for Gun Nut, which matches similar to the way the old conversion receivers were setup.

Armor and Clothing Overhaul
Clothing and armor has received a MASSIVE overhaul.  All vanilla/DLC armor now uses custom mod attachment slots for Horizon.  These pieces of gear can still work with Armorsmith Extended, but no longer use Armorsmith mod slots.
All armor is balanced so that things like ballistic weaves are fairly allowed for all of the same slot type.  All body slot clothing can use 1 ballistic weave.  All headgear slots can use 1 ballistic weave.
All armor values are more normalized, so you don’t feel pressured to use a specific piece of clothing just because the armor value is so drastically overpowered.  There are still differences between clothing, but there’s no longer overly bloated pieces.  Most clothing also no longer has SPECIALs added to them.  If you want stats, they should be rightly gained/earned through mod attachment upgrades.  This allows you to use whatever clothing you want, but still have great upgrade options to improve them.
Armor pieces have also been overhauled, and the different armor types have a similar total armor amount, but the amounts of DR and ER give them different characteristics.   Each armor piece can also be hidden (or changed to other sizes) to allow you to still wear pieces but not have them look ugly on top of certain pieces of clothing.
News for v1.1
I’m proud to present a new system for legendaries, which completely replaces the vanilla legendary system entirely.
The Experimentation Lab is a brand new and unique style of crafting station with a fully CUSTOM-MADE crafting interface.  It does not use the standard crafting system at all.
The Lab allows you to construct your own weapons, with special properties and customizations, based on rare materials (many which are new) you find in the world.  Some materials have different levels of quality, which can effect your total crafting results. Most of these materials drop from “legendary” enemies (even though most are not called “legendary” anymore) through special “prototype” devices or mutated creature parts.  Some of the lower grade materials can also be acquired through other methods as well, such as certain junk items.
Weapons can be unlocked by reverse engineering them.. but each may require a perk in order to craft it.  Special modifications also may require specific perks and materials, and have a variety of upgrades to choose from.
While this system LOOKS complex, it’s really rather simple to use, and is designed to be used casually WHILE you level and play the game normally.  Don’t overthink the system too much.  Just use it whenever you get enough materials and wish to construct a particular weapon.
(More details are located in the patch notes.)
The Official Horizon Weapon Pack is out now.
It contains 14 lore-friendly weapons that are fully balanced and customized for Horizon. It will be updated in a future patch to support the new ZX-1 Lab, as well as adding some weapons to NPC loot.
Thank you to all the authors who contributed their weapons to this pack!
NOTE:  The full documentation for Horizon is now contained inside multiple articles in the article tab.

Horizon completely overhauls Fallout 4 in order to rebalance and expand the entire game.
It contains thousands of detailed changes and a large assortment of brand new additions.  The goal is to make Fallout’s gameplay more challenging, balanced, and interesting throughout your entire playthrough.
Exploration, crafting, and survival, are key aspects of the Fallout games.  Unfortunately they sometimes quickly fall to the wayside and become boring, uneventful, and lose their purpose after a few levels.  Horizon reclaims these aspects, by making your entire playthrough more challenging and interesting.
Horizon is created for and balanced around Survival Mode, but it can technically be played without it.  I have included 4 optional difficulty modes so that Fallout players of all skill levels can enjoy survival mode and the changes Horizon introduces.

First, be aware that Horizon is meant to be an entire Fallout 4 replacement overhaul, and not a “drop in” mod.
Horizon is designed to be played over an entire playthrough from start to finish, and not intended to be removed in the middle (or added to an existing save game.)
The mod covers almost every aspect of gameplay, with a large assortment of features:
Skills – A REAL skill system that allows you to improve skills based on perks, magazines, and even performing activities.
Architect – A very large settlement system that allows you to place entire buildings, as well as many utilities
Dynamic Encounters – Enemies will hunt you down based on your kill counts and your current threat level
Kill Tracker – Kills for many enemies are now tracked in more detail, and rewards are granted based on counts
Companions – Companions can level up with you and gain stats.
Medical – Healing in Horizon requires actual medical treatment, and you can no longer be healed otherwise.
Aid – Many brand new healing/buff/utility items have been added to expand survival and quality of life.
Combat – Combat is more challenging, while removing the “bloated” health pools many enemies have.
Weapons – All FO4 weapons and attachments are completely overhauled and rebalanced.
Custom Weapons – Many newly assembled ranged and melee weapons for you and NPCs to use
Armor – All FO4 armor is completely overhauled, and includes updated and new mod slots for clothing and armor
Armor Pieces – All armor pieces can be worn over clothing, and optionally hidden or changed cosmetically
NPCs – Many NPCs have a custom scaling system to allow them to properly scale with your level.
Loot – A VERY large amount of changes were made to loot in order to balance and add immersive detail to the game.
Containers – Many new items and loot changes make looting containers and NPC’s more immersive.
Lock Breaching – Horizon has it’s own system of breaking into locks and terminals, aside from the standard methods.
Ammo – Ammo is much more difficult to acquire, can be crafted, and contains many new ammo types
Ammo Swapping – Many weapons can swap ammo types in the field, using a special toolkit item
Perks – Many perks have been completely redesigned to provide new bonuses and have new purposes.
Specializations – Based on the perks you have, you can choose 2 combat-based specialization at specific levels.
Survival – Many changes have been made to rescale and rebalance how survival mode works.
Items – Junk items have been expanded to provide more purpose for crafting (including MANY new items.)
Magazines – Collecting magazines actually has an extra purpose, which grants skill and unlocks certain recipes.
Crafting – The crafting system is greatly expanded, and has recipes that can be unlocked through various methods.
Settlements – New settlement objects: defenses, vendors, decorations, and new types of crafting stations.
Progression – A new settlement progression system, that has goals/rewards for settlement builders (still in development.)
Travel – A new fast travel system to immersively allow you to travel between settlements.
Mail – A new mailbox system is created, to allow you to receive messages and items from various NPCs.
Levels – All levels are rescaled in Horizon, to provide a more classically controlled environment.
Scrap – Weapons and ammo can be scraped into useful parts, made to craft other weapons/ammo or devices.
Storage – Cargo Bots that can be summoned to carry junk back to your settlements.
Sorting – Horizon has it’s own inventory sorting fully intended to be used with DEF_UI’s icons.
DLC – All DLC’s are optional, but contain full support to rebalance DLC elements as well.
Misc – Many various minor tweaks and bug fixes.
Addons – Multiple difficulty modes, optional gameplay addons, optional screen effect tweaks.

One of the biggest features of Horizon is all of the healing and survival changes.  Eliminating all the free/easy healing makes the game much more immersive and strategic.  You can no longer be healed for free from sleeping, eating, and level-ups.
In Horizon, the player’s health pool is somewhat larger than normal, but enemies will wear you (and your supplies) down.  The fact that it’s much harder to regain that health back in Horizon, means you need to make better choices.  All healing (except doctors) is now fixed-values, which means that the larger health pool won’t be directly effecting heals themselves.  This is what allows the healing system in Horizon to work so well.
I believe this creates a much more intense survival experience.  Instead of just getting “1-shot from full health and reloading your save game”, you gain more time to re-evaluate your situation immediately, and respond to it.
Food/Water/Sleep/Perks/Level-ups no longer restore health
Bandages and First Aid Kits can be used out of combat to heal wounds
Limb damage can only be cured by “Trauma Kits” (and doctors) now (crafted only; at the chem station.)
Stimpaks are the only thing that heals in combat (and no longer heals limb damage)
Adrenaline Injectors are used as a crafting ingredient, or to heal your downed companions
New crafting ingredients are added to some recipes (some require salvaging, some crafting)
Pharmaceuticals are crafted under the “Utility” category of the chem station, and are used to craft medical supplies
Your health pool (and enemies too) does NOT increase when you gain levels
Doctors are completely overhauled in Horizon.  They offer a brand new menu-driven system, where you are now charged for exactly the amount of curing you need.  The menu system also allows you to cure EVERTHING at once, or specific conditions if you wish.  A full report of your Doctor’s Bill is given beforehand, so you can see the prices of everything.
The full list of all documented changes are contained in the Health Management article.

Although it can be used in any difficulty, Horizon is built for Survival Mode.   It makes many adjustments to smooth out your survival experience, as well as makes some things more challenging.
New methods of curing individual illnesses are added to the game, giving you more flexibility.
Advanced Antibiotics – Cures all illnesses (this is the old standard antibiotics)
Basic Antibiotics – Cures only infection
Poison Antidote – Cures poisons
Jet Coffee – Cures Lethargy
Atomic Scotch – Cures Parasites
And many other items also provide new bonuses and cures
Radiation is also more difficult to remove, so avoiding it is best.  Doctors will be a primary source of curing large amounts of radiation, but you can still use items such as RadAway for curing smaller amounts when you’re out in the field.
Poison damage is overhauled in Horizon.  The duration of poisons are greatly extended, but it will no longer kill you quickly.  Antidotes can be purchased or crafted, and doctors can also cure poisons.  Poison resist is much smaller now, but these smaller amounts can be very effective.
Fire and Cryo damage is also changed.  Fire-based weapons usually do real “Fire” damage now, with separate Fire resistances.  These resists are also in very small amounts, but can be very effective.
Horizon also reduces some annoyances, like making you eat and drink so frequently.  Instead, eating 1-3 cooked meals for the day (like a big dinner), and you’ll be good to go until tomorrow.  However, gaining nourishing food and water takes much more effort now.  Most pre-war food and crops will have high radiation and little nutritional value.  Ideally you want to aim for real cooked meals.  If you lack the skills to hunt and cook your own food, you can always try buying some, or relying on what you find from exploring.
Because healing and radiation are more difficulty now, I also remove some needless annoyances such as chems/stims making you thirsty or hungry.  These types of things are just unnecessary when the rest of the game is balanced better.
As you can see from the banner, all icons are also color coded specifically to help you identify buffs and debuffs better.  Horizon’s UI colors are best viewed if you use a pale colored UI theme (or something close to white.)
Horizon has a optional (and popular) game mode called “Desolation Mode“, which makes the game feel much more like a survival game.  It greatly reduces the loot, and rebalances a few other settings to make the game more challenging.  This mode is highly recommended if you want a more challenging survival feel.  You can select this option from the installer.

The leveling progression is much different in Horizon.   Reaching level 30 is roughly like reaching level 60 in vanilla FO4.  However, everything is rescaled around this.  Try not to compare it directly to vanilla FO4, because the entire system works differently.
Even though you are getting half the levels for your time spent, you will get bonus perk points every 5 levels to help customize your character just as much as before.  Every 5 levels you can invest in a new rank of the VANS perk to receive 5 bonus points for training.
Almost every perk is tweaked, balanced, or overhauled in one way or another.  My goal is to make so many perks actually feel useful, that you almost have trouble deciding what to take.  Which is exactly the type of thing you want in a perk system for any game.
Some perks are completely redesigned to offer a new purpose:
Hunter – Allows you to harvest meat and other parts from animals and creatures
Survivalist – Each rank grants you new types of survival-based items you can craft
Technologist – Allows you to salvage robots, synths, and certain appliance/machinery containers
Iron Defender – Grants you defensive benefits with each rank
VANS – Now grants you bonus perk points every 5 levels (this offsets the slower leveling progression)
Medic – Each rank grants you new types of medical supplies you can craft
Weapons perks are overhauled to provide a better system of customizing your combat training.  While each perk is focused on specific weapons, many of these perks have benefits that can be used for a wider range of weaponry.  Rank 3 of each of these weapon perks, unlocks the corresponding Focused Specialization.
Marksman – Improves range and accuracy for ballistic weapons, and armor penetration for ballistic rifles.
Future Soldier – Improves different aspects of energy weapons.
Gunslinger – Improves reload speed, hip accuracy, and other benefits.  Bonuses are focused on pistols and shotguns.
Commando – Improves hip fire accuracy and other bonuses focused around assault weapons and combat knives.
Big Leagues – Improves melee armor penetration and other bonuses.
Demolition Expert – Improves explosives and fire-based weapons. Grants ability to craft explosives.
Attack Dog – Improves the damage of your canines, and allows you to call in a Guard Dog for assistance.
Robotics Expert – Allows you to place Mini-Turrets, and hack robots.
Focused Specializations are a new system that allows you to focus on one particular area of combat.  Once you choose a specialization, you can untrain it, but it has a high cost.
Sharpshooter – Improves damage with specific rifles
Cyborg – Improves damage with energy weapons
Duelist – Improves damage with Pistols and Double-Barrel Shotguns
Master Commando – Improves damage with assault weapons, Combat Knives, and Throwing Knives
Maurader – Improves damage with melee weapons, and adds benefits to power attacks
Demolitionist – Improves damage with explosives and fire-based weaponry
Animal Handler – Improves your canines’ damage and damage reduction
Combat Engineer – Improves your Mini-turret damage

Horizon’s loot system is VERY detailed, and covers a large array of containers and NPCs.  Many new items are added to the game to increase the feel that you’re in a living world.  Many new components are also added to expand the crafting system.
Containers often contain more appropriate loot.  Locked containers also give more appropriate bonus loot based on the type of container (safes, ammo boxes, etc.)
Horizon also gives purpose to some crafting ingredients that weren’t widely used before, adding more diversity to hunting down materials.  Certain junk items are even converted into real crafting ingredients (such as tools), instead of just being scrap.
The economy of the Commonwealth actually feels more like a real thing now.  Caps are much more valuable than they were in vanilla Fallout 4.  Many items and services (such as doctors) are more expensive, and you will often find yourself actually needing to use them occasionally now.  You may even need to buy cooked food and water, something that probably was rarely ever done before.
Ammo is very expensive, and more difficult to find.  You will most likely find yourself buying ammo (or gunpowder) wherever and whenever you can.  You may want to consider a wider range of weaponry to make use of different ammo.  Ammo crafting is available in Horizon too.

The first thing you need to understand with Horizon is that combat is rebuilt from the ground up.  I started with player damage at a standard 1.0x multiplier, and rebalanced the entire game around it to create smoother and more fluid gameplay from level 1 to 40+.  One of the main goals with Horizon is to reduce (or eliminate) any bloated scaling from leveling and buffs/perks (for both NPC and player.)
In Horizon, many NPCs scale with your level, and should be more challenging throughout your entire playthrough.  The problem is, simply changing NPCs to match your level is not a real method to scale NPCs (this is a common misconception by novice mod developers.)  Horizon has a custom scaling system that actually adjusts the resistances and damage of NPCs dynamically based on your level. Humans and humanoids are the primary users of this scaling system, and as of v1.6 all NPCs will have scaling.
In v1.6, many enemies in the game are now MUCH more varied, so you will see different sub-types of enemies more often.
The reason Horizon does this, is to attempt to eliminate the problem of having low level NPCs in zones lingering around and becoming WAY too easy later on.  On the flip side, it also eliminates the problem of high level NPCs being way too bloated.  My custom scaling system will allow these NPCs to at least attempt to put up a fight regardless of how many levels you have on them.
Because of the fact that health is more difficult to regain, NPCs should sometimes be dealt with cautiously.
Running away and regrouping might be a valid option now.
Sneaking by enemies instead of engaging them might be a valid option now.
Using tactics you normal don’t use (like explosives and traps) might be a valid option now.
NPC vulnerabilities are more drastic and varied in some cases now (i.e. Headshots on humans deal more damage, etc.) Some enemies also have brand new vulnerabilities.  For example, a Protectron has a heavily armored torso that absorbs a high amount of damage, but it’s flimsy legs and combat inhibitor are it’s weak points.  A mirelurk’s shell absorbs a lot of damage (much more than vanilla FO4), but their front is vulnerable.  Some enemies are more vulnerable to certain damage types, such as fire or explosive damage. This puts more emphasis on either aiming well or using specific tactics.
Critical damage is completely overhauled.  Critical damage is much lower, but can still be built up with perks and bonuses.  Critical hits can also occur outside of VATS now, depending on the perks you invest in.  Sneak attacks are also greatly reduced, mainly because of targeted vulnerabilities adding more damage.  Overall, they are much more reasonable, without completely unbalancing combat.  In vanilla FO4, ridiculously high sneak attacks were possible, but part of the problem was that NPCs also had bloated health (and the DLCs kept adding even MORE to that.)  Horizon fixes both of these problems.
Many NPCs are also given more variety in their loot drops.  For example, Raiders (and raider-based loot containers) drop more appropriate loot that raiders might have.  Raiders and synths have a chance to drop a damaged weapon instead of a functional weapon.  Weapons that are completely “Destroyed” are basically junk that can only be scrapped for useful “weapon parts.”  Some creatures now drop new parts that can be scrapped into rare materials (ex: Deathclaws.)  Aside from adding more immersive flavor to looting, these items also fill in gaps for giving rewards for creatures that normally felt like they weren’t even worth the ammo.
Keep in mind that while Horizon tries to add a lot of realistic elements to the Fallout world, it’s not an “ultra realism” mod.  I try to balance a good sense of realism with challenging (and balanced) gameplay.  There’s just some things that I believe don’t work well if you try to make them too realistic.

Many weapons and weapon mods are rebalanced in Horizon.   Weapon damage in Horizon is based on a slightly more realistic “damage per hit” rather than “damage per second”, because of the fact that ammo is much harder to acquire now.
Automatic firing modes are now equal in damage to semi-auto.  Some weapons that felt underpowered (like Submachine Guns) were brought up to a usable status.  Weapons like the .38 pipe gun, remain low damage at low levels, but higher level receivers will allow it to be upgraded much better now.
Many weapons can have their ammo swapped in the field (as well as firing mode), using a Weapon Toolkit.  Horizon also expands the ammo types, to include many new calibers and specialty rounds such as API (armor piercing), Cryo rounds, Pulse rounds, Venom rounds, and more.
I’ve specifically hand selected weapons to have specific “ammo sets”, to create variety and specific purposes for each weapon. Having too many ammo conversions on every weapons would make everything feel too stale and lack variety in weapons.

The Tech Lab (formerly the “Robotics Lab”) is a new crafting station, used to craft tools, parts, electronics, and settlement ingredients.  Ideally, you will want one of these very early on in your main settlement.
A few useful items are:

Cargo Bot 1-X – A device used to call a robot that can send junk back to your settlements
Lock Breaching Tools – Used to break locks and hack computers
Turret Deployment Parts – these parts can be carried with you, to make setting up simply pipe turrets at new settlements easier
Supply Kits – these are used to supply Caravan Travel Hubs and Settler Missions
Cargo Bots – These are crafting ingredients used to build new settlement devices and wrist device upgrades
Filters – Used to either craft gas mask upgrades or directly craft purified water bottles
Portable Memory Device – Allows you to save your game
Tools, parts, bottles, etc.
Contracted Work
There’s a special category in the Robotics Lab (and Weapons Lab) called “CONTRACTED WORK.”  This category allows you to bypass the perk requirement for crafting certain objects.  But it comes at a cost.. normally requiring caps and extra ingredients.   The concept is that a skilled artisan makes the item for you (i.e. could be a settler, etc.) if you lack the skill to make it yourself.

The Weapons Lab is a new crafting station, used to construct/disassemble ammo and explosives, and build weapons.
Horizon has it’s own carefully balanced ammo crafting system. Everything is based on the average damage per shot of each round. Ultimately it should feel fair for any ammo type crafted, including explosives.
The special ingredients required to make ammo can come from loot drops, vendors, scrapping junk, or scrapping other ammo.
All grenade, mine, and trap recipes, are moved to the Weapons Lab
Ammunition: Contains recipes to load your own ammunition
Imported Ammunition: Specifically for ammo used by external mod-created weapons
Weapons: Companion weapons, and external mod-created weapons
Disassembly: Contains recipes to scrap ammo/explosives into parts
Contracted Work: Some recipes can be used without specific skill-based perks, but at a cost

Cargo Bots are a system I created to deal with transporting junk (or anything) back to your settlements remotely.
You can call a Cargo Bot using a consumable device from any location. Simply interact with the Cargo Bot, and you can open it’s inventory and have it send items back to your “Scrap Storage” container (which can be accessed from any settlement.)
The Cargo Bot theme also extends to a new carry weight system.  Each slot you upgrade in the Cargo Bot Station, will add a stealthed Cargo Bot that increases your carry weight. Different slots require different perks and factions.  This can be a great system for those who wish to extend their total carry weight, but want an immersive reason for doing so.

The Caravan Travel system offers an immersive way to travel to other settlements.
It consists of a “Supply” system, that needs to be restocked in order to travel. The system is very easy to use.  The amount of supplies that are consumed, is based on the distance you travel.  There are 2 objects you can craft for this:  an outdoor hub, and an indoor radio console.

Horizon has an array of new settlement objects to expand your options.
Resource Management Table
This crafted object can be interacted with to control resource production
Some resources require Fuel to find/process materials (purified water, wood, concrete, steel)
Fuel can be found from existing junk containing “Liquid Fuel” or can be crafted as a more expensive last resort
Resource utilities will give a very small amount of happiness (this is mainly just to flag it as a workshop object)
Water Purification Units
Purification Units are the only way to produce purified water bottles now, through the Resource Manager console
The generic “Water” settlement resource now gives Dirty Water to the workbench instead of purified water
Each purifier grants a significant amount of happiness for the settlement
Command Mailbox
This mailbox allows you to receive messages and items from NPCs, based on different events
It can be accessed from any settlement
New defenses were added
Watchman’s Tower – A new guard tower that can automatically upgrade itself based on your Workshop Tech Level
Command Tower – A new guard tower that can automatically upgrade itself based on your Workshop Tech Level
Sentry Post – A simple rubber mat with a decal (so you can see which way it’s facing) for a guard
Custom Pipe Turret – A simple turret that is easy to deploy into new settlements
And More..
I’ve created a few new decorated vendor meshes that I’ve always wanted to see
Full Bar (Tier 3 Food Vendor)
Diner Counter (Tier 3 Food Vendor)
Weapon Warehouse (Tier 3 Weapons Vendor)
Medical Center (Tier 3 Medical Vendor)
General Store (Tier 3 General Vendor)
Armor Outlet (Tier 3 Armor Vendor)
Tailor Shop (Tier 3 Clothing Vendor)
More settlement objects and information can be found in the Settlements and Crafting article.

Horizon/Architect greatly expand settlements by adding new devices and gameplay mechanics.
Settler Missions allow you to assign settlers to job stations, and then send them on missions.  Mission reward you with Settler Skills, as well as different materials and loot.
There are many different production stations, which allow you to produce things such as wood, steel, concrete, oil, and even new materials such as Brahmin Milk.
Resource Stations provide many utilities to help with resource management.  Each station allows you to create 1 supply line to any other settlement, which works just like settler supply lines do, except they don’t require a settler (or the extra lag and collision from brahmins, etc.)
You can also setup a Master Workbench, which allows ALL of your linked supply lines to synchronize all items to 1 workbench.  Setting up a Master Workbench will greatly speed up certain item checks in Architect, including the ZX-1 Experimentation Lab.
And v1.8 will be greatly expanding settlement progression even further!

Horizon is aimed at players who enjoy the survival aspects of Fallout, however it can be enjoyed by players of all skill levels. I have included varying difficulty levels so that any player can enjoy Survival Mode and all the changes Horizon brings.
There are 5 difficulty levels to choose from during installation:
Novice – NPC damage is reduced to 1.0x, player damage increased to 1.5x and medical crafting is easier (only recommended for casual or newer players)
Wanderer – NPC damage is reduced to 1.0x, this difficulty is similar to the default, but gives a even 1:1 damage ratio
Survivor – NPC damage is 1.5x. This is the default mode.  (RECOMMENDED – This is what I personally play on, so the mod is tuned for it.)
Veteran – NPC damage is increased to 2.5x, and doctor costs are increased
Outcast – NPC damage is increased to 3.5x, and doctor costs are increased
Please note that this is NOT a “customize your own difficulty” mod.  Everything is hardcoded to be balanced for a reason.  The main customization of this mod will come from the difficulty settings, and a few addons.
If you’re looking for a more challenging survival feel.. this mod is for you.
If you enjoy crafting, exploring for supplies, and using tactics in combat.. this mod is for you.
If you’re a veteran Fallout player looking to start a new playthrough and want to try something different.. this mod is for you.
If you enjoy survival gameplay, but find Fallout’s survival mode too hard.. this mod can still be for you!
If you’re not a hardcore player or heavily experienced with FO4, don’t feel embarrassed to use “Novice” or “Wanderer” difficulty.  It’s still very challenging and provides you with ALL of Horizon’s features.  I want to have difficulty settings that allow everyone to enjoy all the changes I added with Horizon.  If you’re finding “Novice” difficulty to still be too hard, feel free to send me a message, and I’ll try making adjustments to this difficulty mode.


REQUIRED:
Fallout 4 version 1.10.64+
Starting a fresh new game (after the mod is installed)*
Placing Horizon’s ESP files LAST in your mod load order
DEF_UI (A custom modified version of DEF_UI is included with Horizon)
WARNINGS:

NEVER merge Horizon’s ESP files into new ESP files**
NEVER use “LOOT” to sort Horizon’s files in the load order
NEVER use another mod’s loose “HC_Manager.pex” file (or your survival mode will be broken)
NEVER use a sorting mod (Horizon uses it’s own sorting system for the entire game)
RECOMMENDED:
Playing the game on “Survival Mode” difficulty setting
Fallout 4 DLCs ****
NOTE: If you don’t load Horizon after all other mods, you’re potentially breaking the mod at your own risk.
* New games – Using an existing non-Horizon save game is NEVER recommended, as it does not use the proper allocated stats or spawns or experience/levels, and defeats the intended purpose of this mod.
** Merging – NEVER merge Horizon into a new ESP file.. especially “Z_Horizon.esp”, or you will cause problems and possibly ruin your save game data with future updates.
*** HC_Manager – mods such as “Everyone’s Best Friend” will break the survival changes if they are loaded after Horizon.  I suggest using v1.0 of EBF to completely avoid problems (this is what I run.)  If you want to make sure Horizon is using the hc_manager properly, you can even delete “hc_manager.pex” from “scripts/hardcore” folder, AFTER you install all your mods.
**** DLC – The mod functions perfectly fine without the DLC’s, but keep in mind it was created and balanced with an entire playthrough of all Fallout content in mind.
Recommended Mods that go well with Horizon/Architect:
Everyone’s Best Friend (patch not needed – load this BEFORE Horizon)
Optional Mods that can potentially fit well with Horizon/Architect:
Sim Settlements (patch included with Horizon)
Crossbows of the Commonwealth (patch included with Horizon)
Survival Stats Widgets (Horizon is automatically compatible – do NOT use the HC_manager.pex that comes with widgets)
Homemaker (patch included with Horizon)

Mods that are completely INCOMPATIBLE:
VIS or any sorting mods
Armorsmith Extended is NOT compatible with Horizon anymore*
Settlement scrapping mods (such as Scrap Everything) are NOT compatible with Architect’s Enhanced Settlements addon
Any mod that edits any FO4 misc items, armor, weapons, ammo, etc.
Any mod that edits any FO4 perks
Any mod that changes Survival Mode
Many mods that edit NPCs or loot directly
Many mods that edit Power Armor
*Armor Keywords (AWKCR) should be perfectly fine though, as it shouldn’t conflict with Horizon.  Also note (to avoid confusion) Armor Keywords was never required for Horizon, it was only required for Armorsmith.  You only need Armor Keywords if you have other mods that require it.

PLEASE READ THE REQUIREMENTS ABOVE BEFORE INSTALLING!
This is a very large mod.  Understand that there are limitations to compatibility with some mods.  And in some cases, mixing certain mods would either not make any sense or could break Horizon.  It’s not my intention to block out mods, but it’s simply due to the nature of creating a massive full-game overhaul, that some mods will just never work with it.  In some cases, a compatibility patch might solve this problem.
Nexus’s Mod Manager is HIGHLY recommended.  It allows you to easily choose the options you want when you install the mod, and makes sure ESP files are loaded in a proper working order.  Manually installing is done so at your own risk!
First, make sure your Fallout 4 is setup properly for modding.  It must be able to load loose files and archives.
(Taken from: http://wiki.tesnexus.com/index.php/Fallout_4_Mod_Installation)
How to enable modding
Navigate to your Fallout 4 Folder at the following location “Documents/My Games/Fallout 4”
Within this folder you’ll find a number of .ini files.
Open (or create, if missing) Fallout4Custom.ini with your favourite text editor
Add the following lines to your Fallout4Custom.ini
[Archive]
bInvalidateOlderFiles=1
sResourceDataDirsFinal=

Steps to prevent breaking the mod or having issues:
1.  It is REQUIRED to make sure Horizon is loaded LAST in your mod “load order” after all other mods. Just make sure the Horizon_DLC addons are after the main file, and make sure the “AllCaravan” DLC is loaded dead last if you use individual DLC addons.  Horizon difficulty addons/patches are loaded after these files.
2.  NEVER merge Horizon’s ESP files (especially Z_Horizon.esp) into a new ESP file.  This can ruin your save game data when you go to upgrade to a new version of Horizon.  There’s no reason to ever merge the main Horizon ESP file.  Ever.  Horizon is your main priority, since it is completely overhauling all of Fallout 4… everything else is secondary.
3.  Don’t install mods that are redundant with Horizon.  Sorting mods will not work, and will break Horizon.  Horizon has it’s own sorting, and all of the sorting is setup specifically for the hundreds of item changes from vanilla.  Horizon comes with custom DEF_UI modifications and configs to use this sorting with icons.  Horizon has many many features, find out if your other gameplay mods are even needed first.
4.  Mods that change similar gameplay data to Horizon are most likely either not necessary or not wise.  The best way to prevent major problems, is make sure these mods are loaded before Horizon.  Learn what your mods do, before installing them.  You may not even need them.
5.  If you use “Everyone’s Best Friend” make sure it’s in the load list before Horizon.  Any mod that edits the “HC_Manager” will break most of the survival changes in Horizon if it’s loaded after Horizon.
6.  If you manually install, make sure all of the files are properly installed.  Make sure any DLC addons or patches are installed.  Only choose 1 difficulty addon if you actually want one, otherwise don’t install any of those ESPs.  Some instructions are located in the readme file inside the ZIP file.  I strongly recommend just using the NMM installer though.
7.  Make sure your FO4 install is setup properly for modding.  Horizon (like many mods) requires Fallout 4 to load “loose” files (meshes and scripts.)
8.  Make sure the mod is fully installed and working before you start to venture too far into your new playthrough.  You can tell if it’s working when you choose your SPECIAL stats in the beginning, in that it will allow you to choose 29 points, instead of 21 (more on this below.)
9.  Did I mention Horizon should be loaded last in your mod load order?  Only load something after Horizon if you know for sure what it does.
If you wish to test out some of my new recipes and perks before starting a new game, you can use an existing save game to scope out the mod first.   But just realize that many of the mod’s changes absolutely require a new game, and that using an existing save to play the actual game is not recommended (or supported) at all.
Optional Modules you can also install that are included with Horizon:
Timescale Addon – changes the timescale to 10, which feels a lot better
Extras – Includes an overhauled Home Plate, and some minor tweaks that I like to use myself
Blur Removal – Removes the blurring effects from being at low health and other situations
Strict Carry Weight – Reduces carry weight perks/bonuses for those who enjoy that type of gameplay
Several Patches created by Horizon fans have been created.  Just keep in mind, I can’t guarantee these patches are updated with every Horizon version.
Example of load order:
*Z_Architect.esm
*Z_Horizon.esp   (must be loaded first – also requires Z_Architect.esm)
*Z_Horizon_DLC_All.esp  (all-in-one DLC module – only use this if you actually own every DLC)
*Z_Horizon_DLC_Automatron.esp (these individual DLC modules can be used if you only own some DLCs)
*Z_Horizon_DLC_Nuka.esp
*Z_Horizon_DLC_Workshop01.esp
*Z_Horizon_DLC_Workshop02.esp
*Z_Horizon_DLC_Workshop03.esp
*Z_Horizon_DLC_FarHarbor.esp
(Don’t use the DLC_All and the individual ones at the same time.)
*Z_Horizon_Patch_Architect.esp (required for Architect, but will eventually be obsolete in the future)
*Z_Horizon_Diff_#######.esp  (optional difficulty addon – don’t use any if you want the default difficulty)
*Z_Horizon_Patch_#######.esp  (optional mod compatibility patches)
*Z_Horizon_DEFUI.esp (optional mod – adds icons to crafting menus and component tags to ground items)
*Z_BlurRemoval.esp (optioanl mod to remove screen blurring)
*Z_Extras.esp (optional mod)
*Z_Architect_Extras.esp (optional mod)
Absolutely NEVER do something like this:
*Z_Horizon.esp
*Crossbow.esp   < --  WRONG ORDER – NEVER DO THIS!
*Z_Horizon_Patch_Crossbow.esp
ALWAYS load other mods BEFORE Horizon, and patches AFTER.  There are reasons why this must be done.  The patches patch Horizon to support those mods.. NOT the other way around.
Uninstalling:
The mod can be uninstalled, but some of the character data will permanently be part of your save game file (see more on uninstalling further down.)

GAMEPLAY FAQ – (PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE ASKING QUESTIONS)

Q: Raiders are taking 4 or more headshots just to die, is something wrong?
A: You either:  1> Have mod conflicts, or mods increasing raider armor.  2> Are fighting enemies way above your level.  3> You’re trying to hit enemies well outside of the range of the weapon you’re firing. which can drastically reduce weapon damage.
Unfortunately, I can’t recommend using Raider Overhaul anymore.  As much as I like the artwork in that mod, trying to support the gameplay in that mod just has too many ongoing problems.  Unless the author decides to make a cosmetic-only version, or allow us to make a cosmetic-only replacement ESP, it just conflicts too much with my own raider overhauling I do myself.
Also keep in mind, higher level humans (like Gunners, etc.) may take more shots because of their armor and defenses.
Q: Food/water is healing me -or- [insert junk item] isn’t showing the right scrap.
A: You have some mod conflicting and overwriting my changes.  Make sure Horizon is loaded LAST to minimize problems.  Using ESP merges with Horizon is NEVER recommended or supported.
Q: Level-ups still heal me -or- the resource manager/etc doesn’t work.
A: After you level up for the first time, you should see a message saying “Next level you’ll no longer be healed.”  The next level you gain should begin applying the no-heal mechanic.  If you don’t see this, your Fallout 4 is most likely not setup properly for modding.  See the instructions above to fix it.

Q: Food doesn’t seem to be satisfying my hunger very well.  What’s wrong?
A: In Horizon, the first hunger stage is extended to 24 hours and requires 96 food points (item value.)  The amount of food points that is required per hour is the same as it was in vanilla.  However, by extending this window, it allows you to consume larger meals without them being wasted.. as well as not being pestered so often to eat food.  Cooked meals are the goal in Horizon, in which they only require 1-3 meals per day.  Eating garbage food, gets poor results, which at a minimum would be 6 foods per day.  Water is roughly 3 bottles of purified water, or 9 dirty waters per day.
If this doesn’t match your in-game experience, you may have mods conflicting with items or the HC_manager script.

Q: I can’t get enough purified water.
A: In Horizon, survival isn’t supposed to be easy.  There’s plenty of sources of purified water out there, you just need to find them.  If you can’t find enough, drinking dirty water may just be what you need to do to survive, it just has risks/penalties.  You can buy water from certain vendors, you can find a lot of it by exploring, you can craft it using water filters, and you can produce it with water purifiers in settlements.

Q: It shows I can craft an item, but it says I lack the requirements.
A: It’s highly likely you lack some of the required ingredients, which are listed further below (scroll down the list.)  Make sure you’re using the newest version of DEF_UI, as the older versions do not show a scrollbar if there’s more than 5 ingredients. This makes it not apparent that there may be some ingredients further down the list that are still needed.

Horizon has it’s own item sorting built-in, and is fully compatible with DEF_UI.
I highly recommend using DEF_UI with Horizon, as it makes the inventory sorting look great. DEF_UI is very easy to install.  Horizon comes with a custom DEF_UI config you can choose with the installer, that will display all the icons properly.
When installing DEF_UI, you can choose option 2 (“already have an xml config”) when asked which config to select.  Just make sure you either already installed Horizon’s config, or reinstall Horizon after and select a DEF_UI config.  If you want to see icons in all areas possible, be sure to select both DEF_HUD and DEF_INV.
There are 2 preset configs to choose from when installing Horizon:
Vanilla – A simple layout with only 1 sub-menu for the keyring
Config #2 – Contains sub-menus for:  keys, passwords, holotapes, notes, and magazines
I may add more config presets in the future.  If you’d like to share your custom Horizon DEF_UI config, let me know.
The “component tags” can be used by installing my DEF_UI Components addon.  You do NOT need the ESP file that comes with DEF_UI (and you should just disable it if you have loaded.)
ONCE AGAIN: Other sorting mods are NOT compatible with Horizon.  I use my own method of sorting because of the fact that I edit/balance so many items, that it would be impossible to constantly maintain patches for other sorting mods.  The way items are used and tagged is VERY different from vanilla FO4 in many ways.
Adding custom icons when renaming weapons and armor:

Weapons and armor have icons by default, but you can still add/replace your own if you wish to sort them to the top.  This is good for weapons that you want to rename/customize and be able to find easier.
I added a few custom tags you can use inside of your weapon/armor renaming.  This will allow them to automatically sort at the top.
How to add your own tags in-game to weapons/armor: