GUIDE Fear and Loathing in New Vegas - Feedback

[MonoAccipiter]

FNV is much more of an RPG than Fallout 4. It loses out on the technical aspects of what it includes even when modded, as A.I. is better in Fallout 4, the shooter mechanics are much better and animations look much more realistic. Overall Fallout 4 made progress everywhere you'd expect that game to move forward, but in what has traditionally been the scope and aim of Fallout, I think FNV does much better.

 

First of all the writing is far superior in my book. Bethesda hasn't really had that much of a flair for captivating storytelling since Oblivion (and then only in the side quests; the main quest was rather "normal" for a TES-game). Now I'm heavily biased since I'm very fond of both Obsidian as a developer and Chris Avellone as writer, but I truly think Obsidian is an example of someone taking the RPG genre as a storytelling medium and using its strengths to the fullest, as opposed to adapting the genre to a story you wanted telling. This is first and foremost heavily emphasized in FNV through a multi-faceted story that you can experience from several sides, but also through an attention to detail and a respect for their own work which is a rarity in today's video game industry. You know how all the guns in Fallout 4 are made for left-handed people? That's the thing that would only frustrate you if you actually know about it, but when you do it's gonna seem infinitely stupid. In FNV the main developer was more-than-averagely interested in weapons so they made an entire DLC dedicated to expanding the already detailed array of weaponry available to you. This kind of attention to detail is what often leads me to say that the main difference between the Bethesda Fallouts and FNV is that while the worlds Bethesda create have a tendency to fall apart once you start looking at them more closely (such as the fact that the Capital Wasteland had just a little over zero farms, or that they used bottlecaps as a currency without having anything backing it up), FNV just rewards this kind of attention. Wonder how bottlecaps work as a currency when there's nobody controlling the distribution of it in the first place? Boom, say hello to water merchants! Wonder what the people in New Vegas eat? Just explore the massive farmland outside of Freeside, or talk with Gundersen about the Brahmin Barons in one of the casinos. The world Obsidian created might not be as packed with scenery as Fallout 3 or Fallout 4 (though I actually found a lot of the scenery in Fallout 4 unrewarding because of the generic loot system, but that's a topic for another dicussion), but almost every single location has depth and attention given to it from several sides. Take the way they use an unleveled world to guide the player where they want them instead of collapsed buildings, subway tunnels and leveled loot. You know where a powerful weapon is not far from where you start the game? Fine, but you're still gonna have to get through that high-level lock, or that large mob of Cazadores. 

 

All this speaks volumes about the respect FNV has for the player, and moreso than any of that, the fact that every damn NPC in the game is killable bar one robot with a wicked smileyface on his monitor, and him only so because that's your always-available option to finish the game. Sure, sometimes this leads you into stupid situations, like when I managed to get the only one who would remove the bomb-collar around my neck to become hostile by wearing enemy faction armor in my first playthrough, but I'd still take this any day over a game that holds your hand all the way. In fact, one of my fondest memories from a video game ever was when Mr House called me a big idiot for having gone to see Benny before talking to him. I don't think I'd played a game that allowed me to live with my mistakes before, and having this all-powerful proprietor of New Vegas call me a fool and still require my help was a completely new experience for me. Just like when he tried to convince me to do what he wanted me to do, not for the material reward I had been offered so many times before, but rather for a part in mankind's future, or the very existence of one in the first place.

 

The DLCs (directed by the aforementioned Mr. Avellone; the exception being Honest Hearts which was directed by J. Sawyer) only servers to further cement this attribute, serving to make your story a much more personal one, and providing a fitting finale to your (expectedly) much-blistered journey. I highly recommend them, and I think you'll enjoy FNV a lot if you're open to what it serves you. If you like western films like me you'll enjoy it even more.

Edited February 19, 2016 by MonoAccipiter

[darkside]

Thank you very much, MonoAccipiter.

I will be setting up FNV using this guide now. 

[GrantSP]

...

Exactly! Well put, this is exactly why FO4 has failed to grab my attention. (albeit only witnessed via YouTube playthroughs)

[EssArrBee]

Do you guys have problems getting MO to log into the FNV nexus? I can get it to work with all other sites, but it refuses to log into the FNV site. I can't endorse anything I've downloaded. 

[GrantSP]

Do you guys have problems getting MO to log into the FNV nexus? I can get it to work with all other sites, but it refuses to log into the FNV site. I can't endorse anything I've downloaded. 

Check your MO settings. There is no code difference between the different game pages on Nexus, if Skyrim/FO3 works then FNV will also. I have no problems on my end, just checked for updates and endorsed a mod from within the MO UI with no issue.

[EssArrBee]

Check your MO settings. There is no code difference between the different game pages on Nexus, if Skyrim/FO3 works then FNV will also. I have no problems on my end, just checked for updates and endorsed a mod from within the MO UI with no issue.

I figured it out, but I think there is a bug either with Nexus login or MO. I had my username in MO set as "EssArrBee", but MO only logs me in if I put "essarrbee". That doesn't seem okay that my username is case sensitive, but in the wrong way.

[Hackerpcs]

Is it possible to have MO check for updates from FO3 nexus in a New Vegas profile?

[GrantSP]

Is it possible to have MO check for updates from FO3 nexus in a New Vegas profile?

Nope. All Nexus calls are made to the game specific page the MO is configured for.

[darkside]

I have a question before I dive further into the guide. My PC is on Windows 10. 

I am planning to use ENB with this guide. I have a few questions.

 

Per RoyBatterian - Author of 4GB Fallout New Vegas Updated

Quote "ENB doesn't work on windows 10, sorry."

 

- Is this true?

- How important is 4GB loader?

- Does ENB memory management alone without 4GB loader enough to get a stable game?

 

Thanks!

[MonoAccipiter]

"ENB works fine on my Windows 10 setup."

- MonoAccipiter

 

In all seriousness though, he probably had a reason for saying so but I haven't had any issues at all. The 4GB loader is pretty important if you want to have a stable game, but I've had no issues with that either.

[GrantSP]

There is also the recent changes that Boris is making to the ENB binaries that may make memory management better and thus negate the 4Gb Enabler, but for the time being I see no reason to drop the ENBoost from my install. Obviously my Win10 also works with ENB and 4Gb loaded.

[EssArrBee]

I'm thinking of a name for my patch page. Right now I'm on Mojave Patch Outpost. There is that sign for the Mojave Outpost, and one of you photoshop monkeys could replace the top line that says NCR RANGER with PATCH or PATCHES. The other name I'm thinking of is H&H Patch Factory. There is a sign for that one too where Tool can be replace by Patch.

 

 

Some of these mod author's need to check their comments or PMs. I can't wait around forever. 

[Nebulous112]

The first sign is much better looking, IMO. I also like the name: Mojave Patch Outpost.

 

Cool stuff, Ess.

[GrantSP]

Very quick hack in Paint.NET

 

[EssArrBee]

I think since the Mojave Outpost is kind of a big part of the game that every knows it would make more sense to use that. H&H isn't really a major location in the game.