GUIDE Fear and Loathing in New Vegas - Feedback

[MonoAccipiter]

Seems a logical addition and easy enough to add to the F&L Tweaks file, I'll write up some instructions for it on Sunday unless someone were to object. ^^

[GrantSP]

This would be okay if it only gave you negative karma if observed. If unobserved and I kill someone I still have no karma impact, don't I? Is robbing a grave worse than putting someone in one?

[Hackerpcs]

IMO it's like stealing and cannibalism, been observed doesn't matter. It's worse than killing someone (which doesn't result in karma loss in 3/NV unless it's a special character), you're messing with the deceased person which nobody deserves that, whoever he was. Here there is a law that strictly forbids that.

Edited January 30, 2016 by Hackerpcs

[MonoAccipiter]

IIRC the karma system doesn't really care whether you are observed or not in FNV (much like in Hinduism/Buddhism), something which is balanced out by how they tend to favor faction reputation over karma for deciding what effects your actions have. There's also the fact that the karma system in vanilla FNV is rather heavily biased towards good karma anyways, with stuff like killing ghouls giving good karma, making it rather difficult to achieve bad karma anyways. Josh Sawyer even said that he had a look at some of the karma values after the development cycle and had no idea why they'd ended up that way (which is why he changed a lot of them in JSawyer).

[Hackerpcs]

Bad karma is very easy, you just steal and as an added bonus you keep the items :P

Good karma on the other hand is harder because you must kill fiends/ghouls/etc (on FO3 it was easy by just donating to the atom man in Megaton)

Edited January 30, 2016 by Hackerpcs

[MonoAccipiter]

Well neither thing is really hard, I concede that, but fiends/ghouls and the like are things you will most likely end up killing no matter the character you're playing, while things affording bad karma would need to be actively pursued.

[Hackerpcs]

True.

[Adonis_VII]

Nice looking skill books: https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/61273/?

 

Hey Mono, you want me to add your gun to the Additional Weapons? It's pretty easy. Just need to know how you add it to the game. 

I know you usually don't use files from FO3 nexus, but the Skillbook retexture but 6IX is worth a look.  It is considerably closer to the original designs: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/19514/?

[Hackerpcs]

I know you usually don't use files from FO3 nexus, but the Skillbook retexture but 6IX is worth a look.  It is considerably closer to the original designs: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/19514/?

Very good indeed!

https://i.imgur.com/7Rn6YB4.png

Edited January 31, 2016 by Hackerpcs

[GrantSP]

Maybe some of our "texture gurus" can add some light to this but the textures from 6IX are half the size of the 'normals' that go with them. Each image is ~170Kb with ~340Kb for the 'normals'. Both image and 'normals' in the NV mod are ~340Kb. Aside from that oddity, I actually prefer the NV ones.

[Audley]

Maybe some of our "texture gurus" can add some light to this but the textures from 6IX are half the size of the 'normals' that go with them. Each image is ~170Kb with ~340Kb for the 'normals'. Both image and 'normals' in the NV mod are ~340Kb. Aside from that oddity, I actually prefer the NV ones.

Normal maps are a tricky thing in Fallout 3 and New Vegas. This is mainly due to some weird engine issue that causes the shaders to not render correctly. This is especially the case on terrain textures. If you look around you will see (depending on the quality of the textures) this horrible pixellation issue. You can prevent this some by using uncompressed normal maps. By using uncompressed normal maps your textures will usually look a lot better as well. The obvious downside is using more VRAM than necessary. Personally I don't see the point in using uncompressed normal maps on such small objects as no one is going to be looking at them for very long and the artifacting that could happen would be minimal. Simply put: the normal maps are twice as big as the diffuse maps because they were compressed (or not at all) with a different setting.

Cheers, Audley

[EssArrBee]

It's not just a problem with the game. It's a DX9 problem from the DXT compression algorithm. Normals can't really be compressed at a 1:6 ratio like colors. It usually can get by with a 2:3 ratio. That ends up lossless where DXT is lossy. Or you can just leave them uncompressed.

[oqhansoloqo]

I've been away for long enough to need advice on this.  OK, so today I decided to come back into modding/playing (yes, actually playing) FNV again.  So I look at all the outdated mods in MO that have newer versions now and also the more recent changes.  I would like to incorporate as much as I can without having to start a new game.  That is my goal.  As I forget a lot of game/modding mechanics now that I've been away, can someone please review my list and give me advice?  As things have recently been updated a bit in the guide, I have not seen any comments in the forums following those changes about upgrade issues for saved games.

 

Which of the following upgrades cannot be done without having to start a new game?:

 

[my version] > [current version available]

 

EVE 1.17 > 1.17.1

 

(For the next two, I currently have both installed... so according to what I've read, I probably would not be able to keep both and upgrade both.  I possibly may not be able to even remove one of them from my playthrough... but can I upgrade one of them at least?)

FCO 2.3.2 > 3.01

NVR3 3.0 > 3.7

 

JIP Companions and Control 2.3 > 2.41

 

(The next two are in a merged .esp file and I'm concerned that the Form ID numbering may change if I remerge again with the new versions)

Uncut Wasteland 0.9 > 0.91b

No more giant manhole covers 1.0 > 1.1

 

Yukichigai Unofficial Patch - YUP 10.2 > 10.4

 

 

ADAM - what is different between 4.1.3 and 4.1.4?  Apparently someone has been upgrading this mod unofficially off of the Nexus site, but there are no changelogs provided anywhere to see what changes were made from version to version.  Is a new game a must for this or can this be done on a saved game?

 

NVInteriors Rewritten

Interior Lighting Overhaul - ILO - ok, what happened to the Willow and YUP patches for ILO?  They used to be optional .esps that I think may have been in the instructions previously to be merged into the merge patch for this mod.  What was the reason for removing them, because I think I may have merged them when I installed version 6.9?

 

Assistance is appreciated.  Thank you.  :)

[EssArrBee]

The only thing that might not be upgradeable to an existing game is FCO. 

[Hackerpcs]

The only thing that might not be upgradeable to an existing game is FCO.

Not might but sure, from FCO 2 to 3 in an existing game the character is invisible and in the ground. So, upgrade NVR to 3.7, keep FCO in v2.

 

oqhansoloqo I have updated everything on your list except NVInteriors which I didn't install in the first place without a problem on an existing save.