So I got Fallout 3 on GOG in hopes that it would fix the problems with the steam version. The game actually launches which is a good sign, but it constantly crashes. Completely randomly. I'm running it on a 1050ti. I've tried with and without mods. I've set compatibility modes, disabled fullscreen optimization, messed around with the ini but every 5 minutes or so the game freezes up and crashes me to desktop. Oh and if it doesn't hard crash then there is a 50% chance that the game gets stuck in loading screen whenever I enter a new area.

I'm going crazy. I really want to play the game but it is unbearable in this state

Did you look here: https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Fallout_3?

Yes. I've gone through everything in this guide and I'm still crashing 15 seconds after I load my save

I wonder if there is a small problem with your system. A big problem is easy to spot but those tiny ones are hard to hunt down.

I posted a bunch of links in one of my recent threads (Bethesda Support forum/Reddit Tech issues etc etc), so you could have a look through that?

Keep in mind When Fallout 3 was made even Windows 7 was not out, and it has always had issue with multi-core cpu's. My GOG version runs perfectly on my Windows 7 installation (but it still does crash from time to time), but i could see Windows 10 being a problem for many systems and such an old (unstable) game.

I have both FO3 and FNV running smooth as silk in Windows 7, both with many mods, and the TTW conversion, and having used a radeon r7-250, gtx750 and now gtx1050ti. I have read there can be issues using intel integrated graphics - no personal experience of that. But what I can say is two things:

1) The GOG version is rather different from steam or dvd and comes preconfigured with various fixes and tweaks. You absolutely must remove all and any previous FO3/FNV files (note some are hard to find in your user apps folder area normally hidden by Windows).

2) Search the web for "fallout 3 gamerpoets" and follow his fantastic series of instruction videos. He does tend to push "Mod Organizer" but also gives very detailed instructions for both manual tweaks and manual modding and assumes the viewer is a total newbie. Invaluable videos. Required viewing for both getting the game to run smoothly (in both Windows 7 and 10), and modding it.

I mod manually and only "use" one manager, FOMM, merely to activate or deactivate each mod because the original game launcher's mod/file options window was only ever big enough for half a dozen mods/addons and I have 50 or 60.

Sorry to necro but this is a good resource for anyone that needs help.

https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/24358

what stop the crashes for me was

Change bUseThreadedAI=0 to bUseThreadedAI=1
Make a new line after it and add iNumHWThreads=2
If the game still crashes, try iNumHWThreads=1

when I changed iNumHWThreads= to 1 in the fallout .ini the game did not crash once again. 20h hours of gameplay since I did it and I had a game session of 7 hours straight.

Other than that I have FOSE, One tweak, Casm, NVAC, tick fix .

My FO3 is really stable that way hopes it help some people on Windows 10.

What is FOSE, One tweak, Casm, NVAC, and tick fix?

I'm getting a warning when I boot up the game saying that the app may not run properly and may cause issues in windows. I'll try several compatibility mods and see if that fixes it.

Nevermind, it works perfectly out of the box. Even with no fan patches or QoL mods it works pretty well. GOG did a good job adapting it.

I would still advise some various mods though because the gameplay itself is rather clunky and, well, it is a Bethesda game so it is still rough. As is though it is working fine on Windows 10.