Fallout: New Vegas is a great game, arguably the best in the franchise. The problem is, the game is literally and figuratively unfinished. It was rushed work that Obsidian did their best with, but didn't have enough time to fully realize their vision. Unlike many Bethesda games, mods feel less like an extra and more like a necessity to keep the game cool after just one run, as everything in New Vegas is almost inextricably linked to the main quest. Almost all of the quests that appear to be optional for the first time are still related to the main conflict in some way, with a few exceptions. Some are even compulsory; you can choose to have them out of service.
However, out of this flawed yet incredible shell, many modders have created mods that bring the game closer to its more definitive version. Many fix common bugs and crashes or add additional content or even things that needed to be added but were never completed. Either way, from simple quality-of-life improvements to necessary bug fixes and fun gameplay tweaks, here are the top New Vegas mods.
Fallout New Vegas Script Extender
If you want bigger, bigger and more complex mods, you need the New Vegas Script Extender (NVSE). It's only technically a mod, as it looks more like a bit more of the software modders used for the more complex New Vegas mods, but deserves a place for how ubiquitous it is and how it enhances the modding scene.
FNV 4 GB Patcher
Unfortunately, a necessary mod rather than a fun one. New Vegas is a great game but rushed and volatile. the 4GB Patcher allows it to use more memory, increase stability, and reduce script lag and crashes due to memory overload, an issue New Vegas shares with Skyrim where save bloat increases over time (exponentially with mods) until a given save file is ultimately too large to be processed by the game.
New Vegas Anti Crash (NVAC)
Another necessary, this mod (NVAC), does what it says on the tin. The game will crash less. Of course, this only reduces one specific type of crash (although it's common), but combined with the 4GB Patcher and NVSE you're in pretty good shape.
Pack the textures NMC
Now that the game is more stable, why not improve the way it looks? New Vegas is an old game and wasn't particularly a spectator when it was released anyway. Considering the limited time Obsidian had to work with, it's understandable that they focused more on gameplay than visuals, but modders don't have such time constraints. While I never dive deep into heavily modified visuals for Bethesda games (I don't even use ENBs), I appreciate a little upgrade after all these years. NMC's texture pack sits neatly between easy installation and far-reaching changes to the game's visuals. Taking the game to vanilla Skyrim levels is quite the accomplishment, and looks good enough to me. Plus, if you want more, it works well with most other graphics overhaul mods, as long as they don't replace the same textures, of course.
Fallout Character Review (FCO)
What are the consequences of the NMC texture pack on most textures, FCO does to the people of Mojave. Considering that you spend almost 40% of this game zooming in on the faces of these people, it's a really good idea to make sure you like what you're looking at. Similar to NMCTP, this boosts New Vegas pretty much vanilla Skyrim levels in terms of what each NPC (and your own character) looks like, which is perfectly tolerable for me.
EVE essential visual improvements
One final boost to the visuals, and we're good to go. This one (WATCH) mainly concerns weapon effects. Not the textures of the weapons themselves, but the bullet holes, explosion textures, lasers, ash and mud piles on the kill, and even the characters' reactions to firing. Given the lion's share of the remaining 60% in this game, aside from talking to people, it's shooting them. It will make your experience more enjoyable if you like to see people get killed in flashy ways, like seeing brief skeletal outlines of people who are ashed by your laser critics!
Nevada Project
Alright, we're in the fun now. Project Nevada is the redesign for New Vegas. It expands on existing mechanics (the cybernetic implants available at the clinic, for example), adds new cargo (like using explosives to unlock doors and chests), and also works as a game-rebalance, making more difficult combat and more valuable inventory space.
The best part about it? It is fully customizable. Each feature can be changed, enabled or disabled at will from its mod page. I don't like the reduced carrying capacity so I ride it so I never have to worry about it again. You can speed up your movement speed, change the amount of health you get from stamina and leveling, and whatever the mod hits.
This is the only mod that I recommend everyone to install as there is one for all types of players. For a while this was the only New Vegas mod I have ever installed as it already did what I was looking for in other modded Bethesda games.
The Someguy series
This is a master mod for all quests and companion mods made by someguy2000. The mods you install after are yours, but all of them are great. His quests and companions are entirely voice-played and are quite interesting plot wise after the first one (New Vegas Bounties I is pretty straightforward). It only gets better in both voice quality, complexity, and plot over time. It's great fun to play early on and see how the mods evolve as he gets better at crafting the quests.
New Vegas Uncut
Like the Someguy series, New Vegas Uncut is not a mod, but a collection. The purpose of this mod series is to complement and add content that needed to be added to New Vegas, but never released, usually due to Obsidian's lack of time. From weapons to entire quests, this series of nine mods add a lot to the game which is all respectful of lore and could even be considered canon content. The only one I don't recommend is Freeside Open. While a very cool mod that interconnects all parts of Freeside, so there aren't as many loading screens to go through (similar to the Open Cities mods for the Old Scrolls games), it's notoriously incompatible with many. other mods. Any mod that adds new quests, areas, certain items, or NPCs to Freeside (which is a lot) breaks with Freeside Open in the mix. This includes a quest deep inside New Vegas Bounties I (mentioned above) and makes the quest impossible to complete without entering the mod files, sifting through the quest steps, and using the console to advance the quest. .
Other than that, however, they're all worth a look.
Fallout: New California
New California is a huge mod from a dedicated and experienced mod team, some of whom have worked on Tale of Two Wastelands before (mentioned below). In short, they know what they're doing, both in terms of working within and around New Vegas' boundaries and in terms of making sure things are traditionally (if, of course, not canon).
The mod itself is a prequel to New Vegas itself and has a compelling history with tons of variety in player choice.
The only real downside is its temperamental nature; it's incompatible with many other mods (parts of Project Nevada and all of Tale of Two Wastelands, to begin with) and can be broken by occasional use of console controls.
But keep it at a relatively clean install, and it'll treat you right, delivering hours of new content to an already large game.
Extended Weapon Mods (WMX)
This WMX mod adds more weapon customization to existing weapons, and even adds a few new ones. This is another mod that I consider almost official content. The mod author (Antistar) is the reason weapon mods are New Vegas at all! He made a mod by adding weapon mod kits to Fallout 3, and Obsidian liked the idea so much that they implemented them as a staple of New Vegas. It makes this genre a XNUMXrd gen mod, a modification of a base system based on an original mod, which is pretty cool to me.
Additionally, it significantly expands New Vegas limited weapon mods (there were only three per weapon previously if that, as some weapons have been left out entirely) and adds a lot of new varieties and options. to arms. Only three mods can still be added to a single weapon, so rather than adding the only three mods to a weapon and calling it fully equipped and never touching it again, there are real trade-offs in modifying a weapon. , because adding one mod means you are taking one opportunity cost over another. It's not a big change, but it adds enough, and in such a way that I sometimes forget it's not part of the base game, the same way I feel for Project Nevada.
Unofficial patch of Yukichigai
New Vegas is a buggy game. No fan will deny it. But luckily there are fixes. Many of them make New Vegas quite unique among Bethesda games with active modding scenes. Oblivion and Skyrim, for example, have a large unofficial patch team on a mission to fix as many bugs as possible. New Vegas, perhaps fittingly, was more like the Wild West, a bunch of dedicated individuals who solve problems as they come across them.
OUAIP is just one of many New Vegas fixes, but it's my favorite for a big reason - it's easily compatible with the latest mod on this list. If you don't use the items below, then one of the other fixes will do you about as well.
A tale of two wastelands
Recreating a previous game in the series in the latest version of the game engine is the holy grail of Bethesda game modding. The Old Scrolls series has seen many very slow total conversion projects, from Morrowblivion to Skyblivion and Skywind (although Skyblivion has made great strides in the past year), and several others that have produced little results over the years. years. Even the New Vegas recreation in Fallout 4's engine has borne little fruit since its first reveal.
A tale of two wastelands is the exception. They had it a little easier: Fallout 3 and New Vegas use nearly identical engines and assets, and they got Bethesda's permission early to work on the project. This is not to underestimate their success, however; Successfully linking two games (Fallout 3 and New Vegas in this case) into one huge, transparent game is no small task.
Still up to date, this is the way to play the previous generation Fallout game in my opinion. Starting in Vault 101 and heading to Mojave is very satisfying, especially with its compatibility with some other mods (Project Nevada being the big star). You can always reverse as well, although that does get a little weird in terms of storytelling.
This is a great ambitious mod and improves both games by applying New Vegas "New mechanics and more interesting perks for Fallout 3Gameplay, and enjoy an upgraded version of 3 while carrying lots of fun weapons and other items. of 3 in a row.
And that's the list! Happy modding!
