New Vegas mods

[Butter]

Ultimately the big problem with New Vegas is that if you think the main quest is boring, you are out of luck as most of the quests in the game are directly related to said major conflict. It's as if 90% of Fallout 1's quests had to do with your Vault and its lack of water; instead, the water chip is your motivation for exploring the world instead of the key "theme" behind every single quest (because of how Fallout begins, one understands that the theme behind the quests could be "this is what a post-nuclear world looks like")..

Imagine an open world game that's cohesive and not a theme park!

 

[Cosmo]

Listen Sawyer's mod was just about making the game harder for the player by HP bloat, reducing levels, reducing experience, simulating a longer journey of growth, and some weight / HP shit. it wasn't really all that imaginative for a guy who has access to every toolset and design doc and a fucking year or so to build it out.

It wasn't designed to be hard, but to make what little survival mechanics were still there actually matter.
And "imaginative" ? It wasn't a storytelling mod, you dolt.

 

[Sigourn]

Imagine an open world game that's cohesive and not a theme park!

I'm not sure what you tried to imply, but New Vegas is the very definition of a theme park, because almost all of its quests have to do with the bigger theme of political factions trying to control the Dam.

Ironically Fallout 3, often described as a "theme park", is an amusement park in contrast (the attractions, i.e. quests, are not really connected by a theme).

 

[Butter]

Imagine an open world game that's cohesive and not a theme park!

I'm not sure what you tried to imply, but New Vegas is the very definition of a theme park, because almost all of its quests have to do with the bigger theme of political factions trying to control the Dam.

Ironically Fallout 3, often described as a "theme park", is an amusement park in contrast (the attractions, i.e. quests, are not really connected by a theme).

OK you got me Captain Semantics.

 

[Sigourn]

OK you got me Captain Semantics.

Ultimately, the problem with New Vegas is not that it has a cohesive world. The problem is that, as I said, almost every quest of note has to do with the major conflict, which gets very old if you roleplay a character that has a strong faction association. If you pick NCR, you have the most quests available at your disposal. If you pick Legion, you are out of luck. People talk about the unfinished Legion territory, which is fine, but there's never any talks about how the content of the Mojave is heavily biased towards NCR or neutral (be it House or Independent) characters. And even then, there's far many more NCR-centric quests which treat you as a friend of the NCR rather than an outsider doing what's best for House or Yes Man.

 

[Major_Blackhart]

Listen Sawyer's mod was just about making the game harder for the player by HP bloat, reducing levels, reducing experience, simulating a longer journey of growth, and some weight / HP shit. it wasn't really all that imaginative for a guy who has access to every toolset and design doc and a fucking year or so to build it out.

It wasn't designed to be hard, but to make what little survival mechanics were still there actually matter.
And "imaginative" ? It wasn't a storytelling mod, you dolt.

You can make something imaginative without making it about storytelling, putz. How about adding random encounters? You want Survival to matter? Ok, change how much water each well or pipe can give daily. How about designing certain areas to be harder with the survival stuff if you don't specialize? Like, unless you know what you're looking for, there's a good chance you can die of dehydration in an area because there's no water. Or unless your endurance is at a certain level, radiated water actually does more damage to you by decreasing your H20 meter or something. Or make water less available outside of towns. Or how about pockets of radiation outside a few areas? And Radiation actually does something to you?

Or you can also increase the skills of enemies without increasing their health, though I'm not sure that actually matters for this game. I mean fuck, the only encounters I ever got aside from Dethclaw and super mutant respawn were Caesar's Legion or NCR ambushing at specific areas.

How about improving those ambush scenarios? Different enemy types even. Like NCR sending at one point an elite ranger with a Sniper, supported by two heavy troopers with LMGs and suitable armor, AND a few robots.

What about restoring Benny's final ambush? It's been done in a mod or two already because the speech stuff is in the system already. But that's story related so it falls into the abovementioned dolt category. Even then, restoring it and improving it wouldn't be that difficult.

Hell, he could have also restored a few spots that weren't in the original game but still with assets in the engine, and made the mod PC only for Christ's sake.

And now you and Josh Sawyer made me take the Lord's name in vain.

 

[typical user]

Remember when I tried to replay NV, installed some promising mods such as JSawyer Ultimate, tried to merge it with most popular bugfixing mods only to have the game crash. Didn't bother to salvage that crap and instead I installed some different game.

New Vegas could really use some updated mod list with instructions to have "definitive" experience out-of-the-box. You know basic yet must-have stuff like bug-fixes, graphics, NPC and interriors improvements, JSawyer included. All that so I could focus on installing some additional weapons, quests with JSawyer patch or some other addons.

 

[Major_Blackhart]

OK you got me Captain Semantics.

Ultimately, the problem with New Vegas is not that it has a cohesive world. The problem is that, as I said, almost every quest of note has to do with the major conflict, which gets very old if you roleplay a character that has a strong faction association. If you pick NCR, you have the most quests available at your disposal. If you pick Legion, you are out of luck. People talk about the unfinished Legion territory, which is fine, but there's never any talks about how the content of the Mojave is heavily biased towards NCR or neutral (be it House or Independent) characters. And even then, there's far many more NCR-centric quests which treat you as a friend of the NCR rather than an outsider doing what's best for House or Yes Man.

This was another major failing. I would have loved to see areas under Legion control realistically prospering for example. And more than just Stupid evil like having women carrying an idiotic pack when a brahmin would obviously be more efficient. But rather women being the ones in society that were concerned with healing, or even the religious practices devoted to maintaining Caesar's grip on power. All that was cut too.

 

[d1r]

Imagine an open world game that's cohesive and not a theme park!

I'm not sure what you tried to imply, but New Vegas is the very definition of a theme park, because almost all of its quests have to do with the bigger theme of political factions trying to control the Dam.

Ironically Fallout 3, often described as a "theme park", is an amusement park in contrast (the attractions, i.e. quests, are not really connected by a theme).

I am really questioning your concept of a theme park, tbh. I'd consider games like Fallout 3 or DiV2 to be theme park games because there is so much random shit like locations, settlements, random enemy bases, dungeons, quests, and so on, cramped in so little space (And that certainly wasn't the case in New Vegas).

 

[Major_Blackhart]

NV was much better than FO3 in regard to the general theme of the desert and the desolation of that wasteland. Obsidian learned mistakes from FO2 well in that regard.

 

[Butter]

Remember when I tried to replay NV, installed some promising mods such as JSawyer Ultimate, tried to merge it with most popular bugfixing mods only to have the game crash. Didn't bother to salvage that crap and instead I installed some different game.

New Vegas could really use some updated mod list with instructions to have "definitive" experience out-of-the-box. You know basic yet must-have stuff like bug-fixes, graphics, NPC and interriors improvements, JSawyer included. All that so I could focus on installing some additional weapons, quests with JSawyer patch or some other addons.

Viva New Vegas is generally agreed to be the definitive mod guide. It's modular, and the gameplay section includes things JSawyer Ultimate, BLEED, and Economy Overhaul.

 

[Major_Blackhart]

The biggest non-mechanic story failing of NV was that ultimately they cut so much content that it led to relegating a viable faction to simply 'obvious stoopid evil group duhhh'

 

[Cosmo]

You can make something imaginative without making it about storytelling, putz. How about adding random encounters?

FFS .
THe mod was just a recalibration and was never designed to be more (and it certainly wasn't created to satisfy your personal idea of what it should have been).

 

[Major_Blackhart]

It's hardly just my idea of what should have been. And it's hardly a worthwhile recalibration if it doesn't fix the aspects that make survival negligible in the first place. Like how much water pipes and wells give. Limit that to x amount of sips weekly and it suddenly makes survival more important.

 

[Sigourn]

I am really questioning your concept of a theme park, tbh. I'd consider games like Fallout 3 or DiV2 to be theme park games because there is so much random shit like locations, settlements, random enemy bases, dungeons, quests, and so on, cramped in so little space (And that certainly wasn't the case in New Vegas).

I know what Codexers mean by "theme park". But beyond the obvious negative connotation, portraying Fallout 3 as an amusement park and New Vegas as a theme park (which is exactly what each of them are closer to) shows where the issues with both games lie. Fallout 3 is one extreme: complete disconnection between world and quests. New Vegas is the other extreme: complete connection between world and quests.

 

[Black Angel]

Remember when I tried to replay NV, installed some promising mods such as JSawyer Ultimate, tried to merge it with most popular bugfixing mods only to have the game crash. Didn't bother to salvage that crap and instead I installed some different game.

New Vegas could really use some updated mod list with instructions to have "definitive" experience out-of-the-box. You know basic yet must-have stuff like bug-fixes, graphics, NPC and interriors improvements, JSawyer included. All that so I could focus on installing some additional weapons, quests with JSawyer patch or some other addons.

Viva New Vegas is generally agreed to be the definitive mod guide. It's modular, and the gameplay section includes things JSawyer Ultimate, BLEED, and Economy Overhaul.

What the fuck. If I know Viva New Vegas is basically Fear&Loathing but for Mod Organizer 2, but also better designed guide, I would've made the migration sooner than later. Oh well, I'm already THIS far with the outdated MO and Fear&Loathing, so might as well play a run or two, then make the migration in the far future.

 

[Ol' Willy]

And more than just Stupid evil like having women carrying an idiotic pack when a brahmin would obviously be more efficient. But rather women being the ones in society that were concerned with healing, or even the religious practices devoted to maintaining Caesar's grip on power. All that was cut too.

This is just woke Sawyer espousing his lousy beliefs. Rome was a patriarchal society, but not misogynistic; women had their rights and had their place. Rome was far more progressive in the regard of women rights than barbaric Muslim societies of today or Medieval Christian societies. But it's Sawyer, of course, in his views patriarchal = misogynistic.

And not to say that the institution of Vestals, which you do mention above, is completely omitted from the game.

 

[Quillon]

Fallout 3 is one extreme: complete disconnection between world and quests. New Vegas is the other extreme: complete connection between world and quests.

now I'm sure you'd say "complete connection between world and quests" is bad somehow lmao

also stop spending every waking minute thinking about NV vs FO3, tis not healthy

 

[Ol' Willy]

You want Survival to matter?

Survival in New Vegas is a complete non-issue because fast-travel still exist. You're running short of water, food or ammo? Just teleport and restock!

 

[Sigourn]

now I'm sure you'd say "complete connection between world and quests" is bad somehow lmao

I've already given a logical explanation as to why this can be a problem: unless you find the main quest very interesting, you are fucked because almost every sidequest has to do with it.

And personally I didn't find the main quest particularly interesting, especially because the structure itself has barely anything to do with NCR vs Legion vs House, and more about "go meet the Boomers/the Khans/the BoS" etc.

"bla bla bla NCR!!"

"bla bla bla Legion!!"

"bla bla bla Mr. House!!"

Imagine if every classic Fallout quest was

"bla bla bla water chip/super mutants!!"

"bla bla bla G.E.C.K./Enclave!!"

 

[Kazuki]

Oh well, I'm already THIS far with the outdated MO and Fear&Loathing, so might as well play a run or two, then make the migration in the far future.

Stick core module as base and add few mod for you liking. The core module already had mod needed to create stable and near crash free FNV.

You really don't need another module, maybe for a reference but don't install all of them.

 

[Black Angel]

Oh well, I'm already THIS far with the outdated MO and Fear&Loathing, so might as well play a run or two, then make the migration in the far future.

Stick core module as base and add few mod for you liking. The core module already had mod needed to create stable and near crash free FNV.

You really don't need another module, maybe for a reference but don't install all of them.

Which one, Fear&Loathing or Viva New Vegas?

Either way, I did, and would do, certainly just that. With these guides, the authors goes pretty crazy with their recommendation but it's fine since many kinds of people use their guides. But as a Fine Codex Gentleman™ I'm also something of a purist myself, so I prefer to keep the mods to the mininum and only really go crazy with models, retextures, and stuff because, good Lord, ain't Gamebryo such an ugly sore to look at.

 

[d1r]

Be sure to also check out this mod:

https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/66726?tab=description

It's well made, and allows you to roam free in the Mojave after finishing the main quest. It even comes with small MQ post content.

 

[Risewild]

 

[Kazuki]

Which one, Fear&Loathing or Viva New Vegas?

Either way, I did, and would do, certainly just that. With these guides, the authors goes pretty crazy with their recommendation but it's fine since many kinds of people use their guides. But as a Fine Codex Gentleman™ I'm also something of a purist myself, so I prefer to keep the mods to the mininum and only really go crazy with models, retextures, and stuff because, good Lord, ain't Gamebryo such an ugly sore to look at.

Here's for my personal recommendation rip off from Viva New Vegas but only for the most essential for stability and perfomance improvement for mininalist mod list

- Utilities

https://vivanewvegas.github.io/core-utilities.html

xNVSE (You need this even for not extensive modding)
New Vegas Anti Crash
New Vegas Tick Fix
Mod Limit Fix

These mod is very essential for the most stable game.

Don't install JIP LN NVSE and Johnny Guitar NVSE because i believe this mod only used for much more extensive modding hardly needed for minimalist but it doesnt harm if you add them to use it at later date.

- Bugfix

YUP Unofficial Bug Fix Only

https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/51664

- Optional

JE Sawyer mod or it's derivatives which are you prefer some of them is already included fix from YUP so it's not necessary to install it.

- UI Mod

Recommendation from here
https://vivanewvegas.github.io/core-hud.html

And that's it you don't even need mod manager such as mod organizer 2 or need extensive knowledge of FNVEdit if you install all that and read the instruction carefully.

I think the game is fine the way it is, adding high quality texture from 2020 only just make it worse because it was not mean to be used for 2010 game. It's just my opinion.