Going to play Fallout: New Vegas for the first time, requesting sage 'dex advice.

[PorkyThePaladin]

New Vegas's strengths do not rely on gameplay. No amount of mods or fixes are going to make that part of the game extra enjoyable.

You should focus on exploring, factions stuff and quests.

I agree. At the end of the day, it's still Bethesda's shitty engine. Does any mod actually overcome the combat's clunkiness? Removing VATs is one thing, but then you're still left with something unwieldy that just can't deliver any kind of shooty fun.

I disagree with you guys. Will the mods turn NV combat into a great FPS? No, of course not, but let's not talk in absolutes. You CAN remove a lot of the bad stuff about it with mods and choices. I think most players start with the default system, can't hit anything because their weapon skill is low, enemies dodge/strafe in stupid ways making it even harder to hit them, and then everyone has a fuckton of hitpoints/armor, resulting in uncanny valley of bullets to the head.

But once you raise your weapon skill, lower hitpoints with a mod, use hardcore mode to remove stimpak abuse, use other mods to fix NPC dodging and auto-aim, and use equipment more conducive to fun gameplay (like light armor and powerful single shot weapons), much of the clunkiness is removed, and NV combat becomes fast and deadly. Yeah it still won't remind anyone of F.E.A.R. but it's not like Fallout 1/2 had amazing combat either.

 

[valcik]

I had a lot of fun with heavy weapons guys. Melee and unarmed combat suck in this shitty engine, sniping enemies with antimaterial rifle feels much better, but visiting Vault 19 with Gatling CZ or cal .308 automatic rifle turns your balls into pure steel!

 

[Dustin542]

Ok, first impressions.

Visually - looks nice (my potato is enough to run it un ultra-high, so it's all good), but OMG that uninformative HUD, huge font sizes everywhere (looks as if I'm playing in 800x600 instead of 1920x1200), and the absolutely disgusting Pip-Boy menu that is too clunkly and ugly to boot. It looks and works way worse than the FO1+2 variant. I kinda expected to see 3D models of all the junk I have in my inventory, or at least nice coloured 2D images, instead i get crappy orangey drawings that come with stats that are hard to read. I blame the consoletards for that, of course. Them and their TVs.
Hopefully, there are mods that fix Pip-Boy. At least, I've found a couple that seem to allow to customise HUD and the cool one that reduces the font size to reasonable levels, hurray!

DARNUI helped with the small consolized interface when it came out. Others have since come out on the Nexus.

 

[T. Reich]

DARNUI helped with the small consolized interface when it came out. Others have since come out on the Nexus.

I'm using another one, and it's all good now. I've moddef FNV to hell (around 20 mods I think, 50/50 between texture/model improving ones and interface/gameplay improving ones, including patches, but none of the extra features mods). The difference between properly-modded and vanilla FNV is quite drastic, and it's all for the better.

 

[Zarniwoop]

I had a lot of fun with heavy weapons guys. Melee and unarmed combat suck in this shitty engine, sniping enemies with antimaterial rifle feels much better, but visiting Vault 19 with Gatling CZ or cal .308 automatic rifle turns your balls into pure steel!

Lolwut? NV is famous for the stupidly, ridiculously overpowered melee combat. Where a rocket launcher or even Anti-materiel Rifle does minimal damage to your power armor but 2 hits from a power fist and you're a pile of red goo. Likewise if you're the one with the power fist/sledgehammer. It's actually hilariously bad.

 

[razvedchiki]

Well for starters the difficulty changes how much damage you and the mobs do,i believe in very hard they do 200% and you do like 50%.

So there is no hp bloat or anything.

And for the mod choice it depends on what you are after-you want to see the story,explore a bit and do some subquests or you wanna leave nothing undiscovered do every little quest and become the ultimate death machine?

I would recommend the jsaywer mod and turning up the difficulty to very hard and hardcore mod on.

You will have very little carry capacity,something like 80 pounds with 5 on strength and with the increase in food/drink depredation the jsaywer mod brings your actually carry capacity will be even less.

That will force you to weight your choices really hard, i.e you wanna storm that cave and possibly find some good loot or dont take any risks and head straight to the next safe town/zone?

 

[Somberlain]

Well for starters the difficulty changes how much damage you and the mobs do,i believe in very hard they do 200% and you do like 50%.

So there is no hp bloat or anything.

I'm not sure if that was a sarcastic statement or not, but having to shoot enemies twice as much as normal sounds like HP bloat to me.

It doesn't matter if it's achieved through halving your damage or doubling their HP.

 

[razvedchiki]

i mean it doesnt give them more hp by deufalt,like a 10 hp mod on normal will not get 10 more on hard.

 

[Gnidrologist]

You will have very little carry capacity,something like 80 pounds with 5 on strength and with the increase in food/drink depredation the jsaywer mod brings your actually carry capacity will be even less.

That will force you to weight your choices really hard, i.e you wanna storm that cave and possibly find some good loot or dont take any risks and head straight to the next safe town/zone?

What do you mean by ''risks''? Having to go back and forth 10 times from a cave to shop just to sell your loot isn't a ''risk''. It's retarded. Less than 80pounds with 5 strenght? Wow! Have fun having a single rifle take down half of your inventory space and having to fast travel to nearest hub/cabinet every 20 minutes just to resupply ammo to get through that cazador cave. Your assburgers must be strong.

 

[T. Reich]

You will have very little carry capacity,something like 80 pounds with 5 on strength and with the increase in food/drink depredation the jsaywer mod brings your actually carry capacity will be even less.

That will force you to weight your choices really hard, i.e you wanna storm that cave and possibly find some good loot or dont take any risks and head straight to the next safe town/zone?

What do you mean by ''risks''? Having to go back and forth 10 times from a cave to shop just to sell your loot isn't a ''risk''. It's retarded. Less than 80pounds with 5 strenght? Wow! Have fun having a single rifle take down half of your inventory space and having to fast travel to nearest hub/cabinet every 20 minutes just to resupply ammo to get through that cazador cave. Your assburgers must be strong.

I can attest to that. Having so far played from start til Nipton (and near-full-clearing anything in between), with JSawyer mod (extra stim weight + halved weight capacity, so I have 90 at STR 4) and softcore (weightless ammo and no need for sustenance or rest), I find myself quickly burdened with moderately-expensive stuff (I don't pick up all the junk, just the one with 10+ caps/pound ratio), even though ED-E helps me out (a lot). And all the traders are already out of caps, crap. I can imagine the tedium of playing with JSawyer mod + HC mode, where you constantly have to mule back and forth, scavenge for food and drink, all on a very tight inventory space. That's the worst example of LARPing.

I can't wait to get a second mule.. err, companion.

 

[razvedchiki]

you dont have to do that,im writing about possible aproaches to certain problems.

the 5 strengh gives you 80 pounds in jsaywer if i remember correctly but it all comes to what type of build you have actually decided to follow.
in my current playthrough with saywers and fook, and im roleplaying an ex NCR ranger,and i have built my character around the cowboy perk meaning only using the weapons of that perk ie lever action rifles and pistols plus combat knife.
so i only have to keep ammo for 1-2 guns and having the knife as back up,and my main income comes not from loot but from quests rewards which im able to bargain due to high trade/speech.

i dont have actually to do 20+ runs to carry all the loot i can find,i usually plan ahead where i want to go and do quests/explore and equip food/water/ammo i think will last me.{i dont use fast travel}

 

[Somberlain]

the 5 strengh gives you 80 pounds in jsaywer if i remember correctl

I'm fairly sure that you have 100 pounds with 5 strength and each additional STR point gives you 10 pounds more.

 

[pippin]

I can imagine the tedium of playing with JSawyer mod + HC mode, where you constantly have to mule back and forth, scavenge for food and drink, all on a very tight inventory space. That's the worst example of LARPing.

I'm going to be the ultimate wasteland hoarder and there's nothing you can do to stop me


There was a perk which allows fast travel when you're encumbered iirc. But it's not like shelters are too far away from each other.

 

[Onholyservicebound]

That's the worst example of LARPing.

It isn't any example of LARPing.

 

[Somberlain]

That's the worst example of LARPing.

It isn't any example of LARPing.

This. While I agree that lowering the carry weight to ridiculously low amounts makes the game tedious and boring, it isn't LARPing. LARPing in crpg context means doing something that has no effect on gameplay, like sweeping floors in Skyrim just for immershun.

 

[RedScum]

Just go explosive and start throwing grenades all around you until either you or your enemy is dead.

 

[razvedchiki]

Just go explosive and start throwing grenades all around you until either you or your enemy is dead.

make an explosives builld aka "combat engineer" using only mines/grenades and shotgun for anything left standing after walking throughyour custom minefield and centering along the perks that boost explosive damage.

 

[Gnidrologist]

That's the worst example of LARPing.

It isn't any example of LARPing.

Yeah, it's just being mildly retarded sperglord.

and my main income comes not from loot but from quests rewards which im able to bargain due to high trade/speech.

i dont have actually to do 20+ runs to carry all the loot i can find,i usually plan ahead where i want to go and do quests/explore and equip food/water/ammo i think will last me.{i dont use fast travel}

Barter doesn't add all that much bonus and not every quests give much moneys. One would still get most of profit from selling loot. Even larping trv cowboy, you'll need money for the implants, weapon mods, armor n such. Making the inventory micromanagement intentionally tedious doesn't count as ''challenge'' in my book. It's something else.

 

[Onholyservicebound]

I am insecure because I play with unlimited carry weight.

It's okay.

 

[razvedchiki]

One would still get most of profit from selling loot. Even larping trv cowboy, you'll need money for the implants, weapon mods, armor n such. Making the inventory micromanagement intentionally tedious doesn't count as ''challenge'' in my book. It's something else.

with all due respect and as i said before esteemed fellow codexer,it all comes to what each player prefers.

for me running around carrying 10 rifles,6 pistols,8 plasma rifles and 1000 ammo each killing every living thing as soon as it looks at me makes the game extremely boring.

instead i limit myself with difficulty enchment mods and house rules like no

Barter doesn't add all that much bonus and not every quests give much moneys.

fast travel and using only the weapons my role playing build allows.

does it actually matters if you get to be a billionaire at a certain point or another?

 

[razvedchiki]

limiting to a few weapos each time not only frees aditional carry space but also makes it possible to muster each weapon and learn how to use it most effectively.

my ranger uses now medicine stick and has the survivalist armor from honest hearts.i also have chances knife for emergency situations like running out of ammo.

the medicine stick makes good medium range damage and with good crit chance due to my high luck,but if i find my self in a situation where rapid fire weaponry is needed like being rushed my 4 casadores im in really deep shit.

 

[Gnidrologist]

I recon you're not playing the game for the first time like i am, so i guess it's ok for a theme character build. I on the other hand want to have more variety and experience most of the weapons at least for some time. I'm also a pack rat because i can never know what will become handy later on. On the second playthrough i might behave differently.

I am insecure because I play with unlimited carry weight.

It's okay.

More like vice versa. I don't need fake ''challenge'' to enjoy my games. Turing Fallout into logistics simulator isn't adding challenge. It would simply mean you'll have to be more gamist instead of enjoying plot and exploration in free flowing manner.

 

[razvedchiki]

I'm also a pack rat because i can never know what will become handy later on. On the second playthrough i might behave differently.

there is a perk made for ya then.

yea my new vegas builds are made having abit metagaming knowledge.
thats why i have to limit my self in certain aspects of the game,knowing where to not go at the start of the game because BIG MOTHAFAKAS await to butt rape me help but also makes the game boring if i do the same thing each and every time.

now,actually going there underleveled with a kithen knife/water pistol and having to device a plan to make it alive and abit richer,thats what i could fun.

 

[Onholyservicebound]

I am still insecure because I play with unlimited carry weight.

Don't worry about it mate, no one's judging you for your cheat codes. You play the way that gets you the most enjoyment.

 

[valcik]

Lolwut? NV is famous for the stupidly, ridiculously overpowered melee combat.

That's why I call it shitty combat, bro. Clunky, frenetic, rage inducing mess with ugly and stupid Havok ragdoll animations. OP or not, HTH fight suck balls in FNV.