Description:

I've been using Dogmeat's Backpack for some time now, I love that mod and I recently installed Backpacks of the Commonwealth as well. Both mods work fairly well together but I saw some room for improvement here and there. For example, while Backpacks of the Commonwealth adds different types of character backpacks and integrates them into the world, Dogmeat's Backpack mod goes a bit beyond its original scope in my opinion and adds one character backpack that costs too little to craft, is accessible from the start (it doesn't motivate you to explore as much) and adds way more carrying capacity than anything Backpacks of the Commonwealth has to offer for the player character, which makes the character backpack from Dogmeat's Backpack feel kind of imbalanced.

So long story short, I decided to tweak and rebalance Dogmeat's Backpack features to suit my playstyle and to also play a little bit better with Backpacks of the Commonwealth. Since my version was tweaked around using those two mods this is what you should know:

• Dogmeat's Backpack original mod IS required, mostly because I only uploaded my edited plugin but you still need the textures and meshes from the original mod for things to work correctly (Dogmeat's Backpack - Main.BA2, and Dogmeat's Backpack - Textures.BA2 files). So download that mod, then download mine and let it overwrite the plugin. If you are using my optional 4K upscaled textures, let it replace the Textures.BA2 file from the original mod as well.
  

• Backpacks of the Commonwealth is not required, but highly recommended. It is fully compatible with my version and in a way they are inteded to be used to complement each other. My mod will add backpacks for Dogmeat, and the other mod will add backpacks for characters.
  

Features that remain from the original Dogmeat's Backpack mod:

• 3 types of backpacks for Dogmeat (small, medium and large) focused on improving his carrying capacity.
• Each type of backpack has 7 different colors to choose from (see screenshots), switchable at the Armor Workbench (no perks required for this).
• 4 types of dog collars for Dogmeat (barrel, bell, bottlecap and lunch box), each gives Dogmeat a different bonus to suit different playstyles.
  

Tweaks and rebalances that are added (on top of the previous features) with my version:

Character Backpack:

• The character backpack is no longer available for crafting, the mod scope is now limited to Dogmeat-related equipment. (if you want to restore this, read the spoiler below or just use Backpacks of the Commonwealth).
  Spoiler:  

  Show

  I didn't actually remove the character backpack from the mod, I just disabled its crafting recipe. Everything is still there if you want to re-enable it, perhaps you don't want to use Backpacks of the Commonwealth and are fine with just the basic craftable character backpack this mod used to have (which gives +150 carry weight to the player). If you want to restore it, open my version of Dogmeat's Backpack.esp in FO4Edit and under 'Constructible Object' you should find CO_mod_Backpack_Material_Default, one of its records is greyed out and you need to re-enable it: BNAM - Workbench Keyword (right-click on the empty field next to it and select 'Add', you should see its value change to NULL - Null Reference [00000000]), then right-click on the NULL value and select 'Edit' and then paste the following record: WorkbenchChemlab [KYWD:00102158] and save the plugin in FO4Edit as you exit. That's it, now the crafting recipe for the character backpack is once again accesible from the Chemistry station under 'Miscellaneous' along with the rest of the craftable items from this mod, and you'll even be able to access its switchable materials in the Armor Workbench same as with Dogmeat's backpacks. :)
  
  

Dog Backpacks:

• Dog Backpacks bonuses were reduced from +50, +100, +150, to +30, +60, +90. I felt the original bonuses were a bit too high, and this is also more in line with the type of bonuses you will eventually find if using Backpacks of the Commonwealth as well.
  

• Dog Backpacks were renamed to:
  

                - Dog Backpack - Small
                - Dog Backpack - Medium
                - Dog Backpack - Large

• Dog Backpacks tier system:
  

                - Dog Backpack - Small: is available for crafting right from the start, you don't need any perks to craft it.
                - Dog Backpack - Medium: you will need Armorer perk rank 1 to craft it.
                - Dog Backpack - Large: you will need Armorer perk rank 2 to craft it.

• Dog Backpacks are still craftable at the Chemitry station but not under 'Miscellaneous' anymore, I've given them their own 'DOG BACKPACKS' category so now it won't look odd anymore on the crafting list.
  

• Dog Backpacks equip slot changed to slot 54, this means you now have the option to equip the backpacks along with dog armor (there might still be some clipping though, see screenshots).
  

 

• Optional 4K textures for the backpacks, upscaled from the original (2K) textures, see the screenshots. * 
  Spoiler:  

  Show

  The original textures were 2K and I don't have much experience with upscaling methods so these aren't proper AI-upscaled textures like the ones you would get with ESRGAN models for example, these are basic upscalings I put together with Photoshop and I saved them with BC7 compression. They mostly add a bit of sharpness on top so you could say they are a 'cheap' upscaling but still, they look better than the original ones so I decided to upload them in case anyone wants to use them as well, they are in .BA2 format so the file is meant to overwrite the original mod Textures.BA2 file.
  
  

Dog Collars:

• Dog Collars were renamed to:
  

                - Dog Collar - Barrel
                - Dog Collar - Bell
                - Dog Collar - Bottlecap
                - Dog Collar - Lunch Box

• The old Dog Collars bonuses were changed, after some testing I believe some of them were not actually working properly in the original mod so I decided to change them (and make sure they work) and add a bit of flavor text to them as well because why not. The new bonuses are the following:
  

                - Dog Collar - Barrel: Dogmeat's barrel is filled with my-t-fine dog food that grants him an additional +50 Hit Points.
                - Dog Collar - Bell: The bell sound keeps Dogmeat light footed and quick witted, he gains +10% movement speed.
                - Dog Collar - Bottlecap: Dogmeat's lucky bottlecap increases his defenses, he gains +10 Damage and Energy Resistance.
                - Dog Collar - Lunch Box: The lunch box gives Dogmeat an extra +10 carrying capacity and +10 Hit Points, perfect for packing some tasty dog treats!

• Dog Collars are still craftable at the Chemistry station but not under 'Miscellaneous' anymore, I've given them their own 'DOG COLLARS' category so now it won't look odd anymore on the crafting list.
  

Concept behind the mod:

Dogmeat's Backpacks of the Commonwealth is a good way to help the player with his/her carrying needs during the early game. You meet Dogmeat soon after you leave Sanctuary and go to Red Rocket Station, since the smaller dog backpack doesn't have any perk requirements for crafting it you can increase his carrying capacity and add some bonuses to him (with the dog collars) from the start, so he becomes a much more useful early follower now.

As you progress in the game and earn levels, you can unlock the higher tier backpacks for Dogmeat (medium and large backpacks) by taking ranks in the Armorer perk. This is a small rebalance change to avoid defaulting to the biggest backpacks right from the start without ever using the smaller versions and gives the mod a better progression during the mid game.

If you are using Backpacks of the Commonwealth I would suggest you set it up to 0% at the beggining of the game and let it organically spawn its backpacks into the world, this way you won't feel flooded by them and while you search for your first backpack you'll have your trusty dog carry your burdens.


Installation:

• Install Dogmeat's Backpack original mod first (v2.0 at the time or writing this). You need it's Main.BA2 and Textures.BA2 files, otherwise my plugin will NOT work properly.
• Install my mod and let it overwrite Dogmeat's Backpack.esp plugin from the original mod.
• Optional: Install my 4K upscaled textures file and let it overwrite Dogmeat's Backpack - Textures.BA2 file from the original mod.
• Optional (but recommended): Install Backpacks of the Commonwealth.
  

Load order between the two mods doesn't matter.

This mod does not require AWKCR.


Compatibility:

• This mod doesn't edit Dogmeat (the NPC I mean), so it should be compatible with any mods that change his stats, skills, perks and AI packages.
• Fully compatible with Everyone's Best Friend.
• Fully compatible with K-9 Harness.
• If the bottlecap in the Dog Collar - Bottlecap shows weird textures it's because you have either a texture or mesh replacer that is messing with the bottlecap item. I suggest Nuka-Cola Bottlecap Replacer (also download its Collision Fix) which I have tested and don't mess with the collar mesh.
  

Known Issues:

• Armor workbench model is the same: when using the Armor Workbench to change the colors of Dogmeat's backpacks, the preview model will still show the basic version of the backpack (the Field color one), same thing happens in the inventory. However, the name of the item will still update correctly to show you the new material has been applied, and when you give it to Dogmeat he will equip the correct world model (see screenshots).
  

• Carry Weight too low in Survival Mode: There is a vanilla bug specifically tied to Dogmeat and his carry weight when playing in Survival Mode (reported in the wiki here):
  

In Survival mode, Dogmeat's carry weight is set as 25 by default, and will be increased to 150 when Dogmeat has a piece of equipment on (i.e. any bandana, armor, or dog collar). Welding goggles do not count.

This issue seems to mess with Dogmeat's carry weight sometimes when equipping/unequipping gear on him. If at some point during the game you notice he isn't carrying as much as he should (could) be carrying, unequipp all items from him and using the console select him and type the following:

getav carryweight

That command will tell you Dogmeat's carrying capacity, if you do this while not having anything equipped on him his base carrying capacity should be 150. If it's reporting 150 then it's all good and you can re-equipp all his stuff back.

If it's lower than 150 then:


If it's higher than 150 then:

• Backpack/Collar carry weight not being properly calculated: if at some point you see Dogmeat's carrying capacity not being properly calculated (but his base carrying capacity is correct, read above on how to check it) just unequip and re-equip his backpack to fix it. This is more noticeable when loading a save, there's nothing I can really do to fix this issue unfortunately.
  

Credits:

• hifoo: for creating Dogmeat's Backpack years ago and for allowing me to share my version of it.
• bmanzzs: for creating Backpacks of the Commonwealth :)
  

Check out my other mods:

- Bottle Labels Overhaul - Dirty Water Mesh Replacer
- Carry More with Power Armor REDUX
- Concord - Broken Minigun on Rooftop
- Concord - Supermutant Boss Instead of Deathclaw
- Crippled Limbs - Delayed Regeneration
- Dogmeat's Backpacks of the Commonwealth
- Guard More Posts
- Harder Barter - Expensive Prices
- Power Armor HUD - Left and Right Indicators
- Unique - Quest Items Are Not Junk
- VAFS Redux - Awareness perk fixes
- Wedding Rings XP
- XP - GEM (Global Experience Multiplier)