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Must Have Mods for Fallout: New Vegas

Now as all you PC Fallout'ers will be aware, it really could not be easier to install absolute hordes of fun, useful, epic and and plain game improving mods into your game. This thread will give you what i feel to be the absolute essential mods that any player should have if they want to enhance the game and inject that little bit of extra zing that obsidian seem to have blind-eyed over the course of developing the game.

If you don't know what a mod is, or if you dont know how to download, install or edit mods or even you dont know where the best 'mod marketplace' then go ahead andgo to the Introduction panel on the right. If you are famailiar with the basics of modding then skip straight to the good stuff and get the very best of the mods out there. If you feel I have missed anything out then please do not hesitate to suggest something!

Enjoy!

[multipage=Introduction]

Introduction to Mods

What is a Mod?

A Mod (or Modification) is a series of files and scripts that can be installed into the game in order to change aspects of the Gameplay, story, lighting, items etc. It can be used to fix bugs, add new quests and items, or just make the game better.

Where Can I Get Mods?

The best site on the web for Fallout mods is undoubtedly New Vegas Nexus. Thousands of mods to choose from, File of the Month competition, and very neat and easy to understand categories and sorting systems to find a file your looking for easily.

Click You must login or register to view this content. to go to NVN.

How Do I Download A Mod I Like?

First you need to sign up to Nexus, its easy as pie and completely free, just click register up at the top to make your account.

Once your done, navigate to the mod you want and then look at the tabs above the description. These tabs allow you to find out more information about the Mod you are looking at. Such as, Images of the mod in game, comments from other users, videos advertising the mod and more. Your going to click on the "Files" tab.

Normally the mod will only require one file to be downloaded. But read the description carefully to make sure. Now click on the name of the file at the top. (Usually the file at the top is the latest version of the mod, as the big mods are updated on a regular basis.) It will open a new window and often an advert/commercial will play. Once it has finished you are free to download your mod. You will either be asked to pick the server you want to download it from or it will automatically begin.

How Do I Install The Mod Into New Vegas?

First, I HIGHLY recommend downloading the Fallout Mod Manager. It is a program that displays all of the mods you currently have installed on new vegas and allows you to disable them and re-enable them as simply as ticking a box next to the mod. It does a whole host more but we wont get into that now. Get FOMM You must login or register to view this content.

Now that you have downloaded your mod, you are going to need WinRar to extract the file. Get winrar You must login or register to view this content. (You may notice that there are hundreds of downloads, pick the one you need to download from the "English WinRAR and RAR Release" List.

Once WinRAR is installed, open up the file you downloaded from nexus with it. Now you can see everything in your mod. This will almost without fail contain an esm or esp file, but some mods do not require them, and some may require 2 or 3. It may also contain folders named Meshes, textures, sounds etc. These are the raw data that the mod requires. So, go up to the button at the top of the zipped folder with the text "Extract To" and click on it. It should bring up a window asking where you want to extract the files to. Navigate to where you installed NV. Usually in the steam folder in your program files. And then open up
the game's folder (Fallout: New Vegas.) Inside you should see a folder named Data. This is where all your mods are going to go. (You must login or register to view this content.) Click on Data and then Hit OK.

Now open up Fallout Mod Manager and your mod should be displayed there, enable it by ticking the box and your ready to play your mod! If your mod isnt displayed then try manually dragging the files into your data folder and make sure they arent being blocked.


Modding Jargon


While modding you will almost certainly find a word that looks completely out of the ordinary and you have no clue what it means. This list will hopefully explain it for you, if a word you find isnt on here, tell me and ill put it up.

Vanilla - When someone refers to something as 'vanilla' it means that it is part of, or from, the original game. Example - This adds hundreds of new and exciting weapon attachments for the vanilla weapons system. This means it will add more weapon mods to the game for the weapons that were already there in the retailed version of the game.

FOMM - This is the prefix that is often used for the Fallout Mod Manager.

Script - An automated series of instructions carried out in a specific order, this is the code that the game uses to run. Everything in the entire game, from speech to skill attributes, is made in and functions through the script.

Overhaul - An overhaul is a complete and utter change in the way something works or looks. In a mod sense, a weapons overhaul may introduce hundreds of new guns, melee items and explosives. A combat overhaul may make bullets more deadly, combat harder to survive and NPC's fight harder. Think carefully when installing Overhauls as they often change a lot of stuff!

Lore - Fallout lore is a past or story belonging to a quest, item or place. If a mod is "Lore friendly" then it means that there is a story or a history that makes the content of the mod understandable and realistic. Not just 500 brand new weapons unscraped by a nuclear apocalypse just.. appearing in a door that was never there before.

Canon - If something is canon then it is considered to be an official part of the fallout universe and means that it is in keeping with the official fallout story. Since there have been numerous different developers of the fallout series there are many inconsistencies in the games. This means that a lot of Fallout fans disagree on which part of the story is 'canon'

Just remember, modders LOVE to use prefixes and abbreviations, they are all over the place. Just look about a bit and most of them will eventually make sense

You are now ready to get the very essential mods for all Fallout fans!

[multipage=Mod 1: NVSE ]

New Vegas Script Extender (NVSE)

Originally posted by another user

The New Vegas Script Extender, or NVSE for short, is a modder's resource that expands the scripting capabilities of Fallout: NV. It does so without modifying the executable files on disk, so there are no permanent side effects.

Basically, the NVSE expands what New Vegas can do, it allows for more complex and customized scripting and is required by most of the most popular mods as they all introduce fantastic new features that should have been in the original all along.

NVSE allows for things like:

Working masterkeys and grenade launchers attacthed to guns.
"Blueprinting" objects in the open world and then duplicating and placing them anywhere you like.
Customizable Crosshairs and more.

Note: NVSE Doesn't actually install any features at all, it simply expands the capabilities of new vegas so that other mods can have more adventurous and awesome features.

NVSE is absolutely essential to a serious modder as it is required by the majority of the big mods, just make sure you get the right one for your version.

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[multipage=Mod 2: Shrapnel]

Shrapnel

Originally posted by another user

The Definitive Weapons Collection

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One word i'm going to use to describe this mod - Wow.

Shrapnel, previously Ahzteks Weapons Overhaul, adds absolute stacks upon stacks of new weapons in a cosy little armoury in the Lucky 38. From the AK47 to the G36c, there will be no shortage of what you are after here. Thats not all, on top of the weapons it adds loads of new ammo types to the game courtesy of the required CaliberX mod, and heaps of weapon mods to kit your new loadout with. As well as that it adds a brand new shop across from the silver rush that sells you mods, ammo and the weapons themselves for repairs, and a couple of little surprises hanging from the wall as you enter.

Here is the full list of features included in this fantastic mod:

New ballistic weapons
New energy weapons
New particle effects for energy weapons
New Merchant NPC's x 2
New Vendor Shop
New display area in Lucky 38 Suite for all weapons and mods
New weapon sounds for ALL weapons
New sounds for holstering/unholstering most weapons
New muzzle flashes (Optional)
New repair lists, holdout lists
Adjusted weapon damages
Adjusted weapon prices
Adjusted minor energy impact effects (optional)
New Bullpup Weapons utilizing Joefoxx' animation set
Most weapons will now be found on the major factions while playing the game.
Mods (such as scopes) that can be equipped on more than one weapon will be clear as to which weapons they are compatible with.
ALL iron sights zeroed in perfectly

Full list of weapons here: (Open if you dare)
A35 MGL
AK47
AK48 Prototype
AK74
AKs74u
AK74
AK74M
AN94 Abakan
AR-15 (RIS)
AR-15 (Magpul)
AWP
Barrett M82
Barrett M82 Grenade Rifle
Barrett REC-7
Benelli M3
Beretta 92F
Beretta 92FS
Beretta 92G
Beretta 93R
Browning Auto-5
Browning HP
Browning HP M1935
Browning HP MkIII
Chechen Makeshift AK
Colt 1911
Colt K1911
Colt Anaconda
Colt M16A1
Colt M16A4
Colt M4A1
Colt M4A1 S.I.R.S.
Colt M4A1 S.I.R.S. Tactical
Delisle Carbine
Desert Eagle (3 Variants)
Famas BR-II
Femaru 37
FN FAL
FN FNC
FN SCAR (2 Variants)
Fort 12
Gator Quad Barrel Shotgun
Gauss Rifle
Gauss Assault Rifle
Gewehr 43
Glock 18C (2 Variants)
HK 416
HK 416 Tactical
HK 417
HK 417 Sniper Rifle
HK G36C
HK G3A3
HK G3A4
HK G41
HK Mk.23
HK MP5
HK MP5K (3 Variants)
HK MP7
HK PSG-1
HK USP
HK USP Compact
Jericho 941
Knights Armament Co PDW
Kimber II Custom
Kimber II Stainless
Kimber II Gold Custom
LR-300 S.I.R.S.
M14
M1897 Trenchgun
M249 SAW
M3A1 "Grease Gun"
M79
Makarov Pm
Marlin Rifle (Winchester 1894)
Mossberg 590
MRC
Remington 11-87
Remington 870
Remington 870AE (2 Variants)
Remington 870 Magnum
Remington 7600
RPK
Ruger Mk.2
Sako TRG
Sawn Off Shotgun
Sig Sauer P226
Sig Sauer 550
Sig Sauer 550 Sniper
Sig Sauer 552
Sig Sauer 556
Skif A3000 9mm
Smith and Wesson 908
Smith and Wesson 357 Combat Magnum (2 Variants)
Smith and Wesson M29 Satan
Smith and Wesson Mk.22
Smithfield Operator (3 variants)
Spas 12 (2 Variants)
Striker-12
Steyr Aug A3
SVI Accelerator
SVI Infinity (3 Variants)
Taurus Raging Bull
Taurus Silhouette
Taurus T850 Bull
Thompson 1928
Thompson M1A1
Tokarev TT-33
Vulcan Cannon
Vulcan Minigun
Vulcan Hellfire Laser
Uzi
Walther P99
Winchester 1873

I got this mod expecting massive crashes, texture failures, missing meshes and the likes due to its sheer size. But it was absolutely flawless, apart from one texture problem on one of the guns, flawless.

Note: There has recently been a new update for Shrapnel, the final build. It is possible that a few small bugs have appeared as I havent tested it yet. Though i doubt anything major, if anything at all will go wrong with the mod. Sorry for the inconvenience but you'll just have to take the plunge!

You need CaliberX to play this mod! Get it You must login or register to view this content.
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[multipage=Mod 3: Underground Hideout ]

The Underground Hideout

This fantastic mod adds a Player Vault on the North West of the Wasteland next to Spring Mt. Ranch State Park and close to Red Rock Canyon. The vault includes all the ammonites including a Armory, ammo Sorters, Weapons wall, water purifier, book shelf, grow area, and is Companion Friendly.

The superbly layed out vault contains everything you could ever want in a fallout home including an aquarium, hidden doors and even decorations that are added as you complete quests! There is even a quest involved to unlock it and an included computer system named heidi you can talk to and give commands. You can also move the entrance to the hideout to wherever you want and even order items online in the Crimson Caravan Online Store and have them delivered to your hideout!

There is SO much more i haven't mentioned here, you simply must try it.

Get your Underground Hideout
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[/FONT]
[multipage=Mod 4: Re-Populated Wasteland]

Re-Populated Wasteland

Re-Populated wasteland is a fantastic mod that greatly increases the amount of NPC's in and around major locations in the wasteland like Nellis, Helois-One and Caesers Fort. Several new idle markers and a sandbox AI package will give the new NPCs something to do, giving the impression of a lively environment as opposed to them simply walking around aimlessly. They will relax, do push-ups, patrol, tend to their crops, repair items, etc.

The mod also adds new settlements, alters existing NPC's and more. For the complete experience you should also install Populated Casinos and the Military Expansion Program, which adds more NPC's and features to military bases including walls, tents, watchtowers etc.

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[multipage=Mods 5 and 6: The Strip Makeover! ]

2 Unbeatable Strip Mods!

NVR (New Vegas Restoration,) and Sierra Madre on the Strip are two absolute essentials for the strip. NVR removes the horrible wrecked walls in the middle of the strip and gives us one, long, elegant road to call Vegas. It takes this to the next level by completely re-vamping the whole strip. It removes litter, cracks in the road, broken buildings, wrecked pavements and even gives some of the casino interiors a paintjob. But even better, NVR adds a whole new casino to the strip, new streets behind the casinos, and new gift shops and signs. Here is a full overview of the features:

- Adds the Grand Millenium casino to the Strip.
- Makes Sierra Madre On The Strip compatible with NVR.
- Adds a new North gate.
- Adds new messages to the loading screens.
- Adds a sturdy interior and exterior wall to the Strip in place of those old and busted
scrap walls.
- Changes the Strip enterance in Freeside, so security and style will be present.
- Adds a new enterance to the south wall of the Strip.
- Removes the destroyed catwalk.
- Added a visable Las Vegas Welcome sign to the rear of the Strip.
- Fixes issues around the Strip
- Adds more plants to the dirt areas around The TOPS.
- Removes the trashy gates inside the Strip
- Removes trash, car hulks, repairs buildings and streets.
- Adds fix for the removed interior gates.
- Adds a paved area next to The TOPS.
- Makes the static doors on the left of The TOPS useable.
- Adds an entirely new sewer system under the Strip, accesable via the manhole covers.
- Many more changes around the Strip. See for yourself after you download!

And, for those of you with the Dead Money add on, The Sierra Madre on The Strip is one more mod that makes the strip truly what we wanted it to be.

Originally posted by another user

I decided to create this mod for two reasons. Firstly, The Strip in vanilla game is pitifully small: there are three functional casinos, the rest is filled with train station and a friggin workshop, and yet it STILL covers only a part of what it should judging from the size of walled-off terrain in the Wasteland. Just go take a look. Secondly, I felt that Sierra Madre was a horribly wasted potential: The Villa had good climate, but almost nothing was accessible from there, and developers didn't seem to bother with differing the districts at all. They also didn't seem to bother with Casino itself - two blackjack tables and restaurant with no restaurant just doesn't work. The idea was awesome, but the execution was severely lacking. And the execution is what this mod covers.
Sierra Madre On The Strip expands the southern part of the Strip, recreating the Sierra Madre Casino & Villa Resort as the fourth casino there. Unlike the other ones, managed by Three Families, the Hologram system does all the work on the resort terrain. The aim is to make the New Vegas Strip a truly a jewel of the Mojave.

Open the spoiler for the complete features of The Sierra Madre on The Strip.

-A fully functioning pristine Sierra Madre Casino on the Strip, along with its Villa Resort
-Slots, Blackjack, Roulette and high stakes Caravan players
-Brand new interiors inside the Sierra Madre, as well in surrounding Villa
-Old interiors relighted and repopulated and restored
-Frederick Sinclair's Penthouse on the top floor along with Recreation Area on the Sierra Madre rooftop
-Various unique services


*VILLA RESORT & FOUNTAIN


Sierra Madre comes with Villa underneath the cliffs, providing high-level services to those fortunate enough to make it to the Strip.

-Villa Clinic

The best customer is a healthy customer - the Clinic offers treatment with pristine Mark IX Auto-Doc machines, as well as various medicaments for the future use.

-Villa Armor Shop

The Armor Shop provides the best possible defense against the outside world. Scavenged combat armors, Pre-war Sierra Madre security armors, even the amazing cloaking devices - all for the reasonable price!

-Villa Restaurant

Enjoy some of the most delicious, as well as nourished meals and lunches in the Mojave Wasteland.

-Villa Bar

Take a seat and rest your weary bones with what our bar specializes in - the widest selection of alcohols in the west.

-Villa Café

Meet fellow travelers in front of the best possible selection of desserts and soft drinks.

-Villa Gift Shop

Ever wanted to make a stunning present? Give your friend a fancy pre-war trinket! Provide entertainment for your closest ones a Sentry Bot toy! Outfit yourself with the classy clothes! Tinker with untouched pre-war technology!

-Villa Conservatory

Take pleasure in sightseeing the lush plants and rarest flora specimens selected specially to cater for your eye' needs.


*SIERRA MADRE CASINO


Everyone can agree that what we saw inside the Sierra Madre itself was a disappointment. Aside from being unable to revisit it after the DLC's completion, while the facility offered many interesting interiors, none of them was done properly. This mod also try to fix this - using fantastic resources of Dead Money, Sierra Madre Casino was expanded in every aspect, enclosing it to "the most extravagant resort in the West" it was supposed to be.


-Sierra Madre Lobby

Your chance to begin again... with many choices. Casino, Theater, Restaurant, Suites, Vending Machines... Everything awaits for you here.

-Sierra Madre Casino

Exchange bottle caps, NCR dollars, Legion coins and complimentary vouchers for Sierra Madre Chips and try your best - Begin again and win fortunes here!

-The Tampico

The Tampico theater is here to entertain, featuring Dean Domino himself (well, at least his hologram) to play various, even if not entirely his own, songs.


-Executive Suites
Designed to shelter and protect travelers, Executive Suites are offering the most luxurious rest one can imagine.
Rumor says a shady person has recently rented one of them...

-Cantina Madrid Reception

Aside from reception, kitchen is also located there. The finest recipes from all over the Mojave were brought to satisfy the most sublime tastes.

NEW INTERIORS:

-Sierra Madre Casino Great Hall

The heart of the Sierra Madre Casino. Aside from Slots, Blackjack and Roulette, there are also a high-stakes Caravan players, ready to try their best at the hand of it.

Accessible from Casino.

-Cantina Madrid

When I saw that there was no Cantina Madrid in the Cantina Madrid area, I was shocked how half-aced job the Obsidian did with this. Now, as the finest restaurant in the West, Cantina Madrid offers most sublime delicatessen and fricasses possible at the Sweden tables, surpassing even the Ultra-Luxe Gourmaud in the quality aspect while avoiding the pitiful snobness of those pompous fools.

Accessible from Cantina Madrid Reception.

-Ibiza Nightclub

For those unsatisfied with the Tampico performances, the Ibiza Nightclub allows one to endulge him/herself in companionship of the most beautiful dancers to satisfy your eyes.

Accessible from Casino.

-Penthouse

The Sierra Madre founder's Frederick Sinclair's residence, the Penthouse consists of the Great Room, Kitchen, Bathroom, Office and Master Bedroom, as well as Pool, Bar and Cabanas on the Sierra Madre rooftop, and observation area from the Sierra Madre peak.

Accessible from Executive Suites.

These two mods work together to give us the strip we were promised, the jewel of the wasteland, the shining beacon of hope in a utter sh*tehole that is the mojave dessert! Not the drab, dirty strip we got!

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[multipage=Conclusion ]

Conclusion

I hope you have enjoyed and benefited from this thread showcasing the very best mods in Fallout New Vegas! There will no doubt be more mods getting released and uncovered in the future so i will be updating this thread when necessary!

In the meantime though, Happy Modding!

CheezyMuffin
[/FONT][/FONT]

Thanks! the 3648 words seem worth it now! :evil:

How can you play with no appearance mods?
You are a god amoungst men..
I know of NVSE and all that jazz of course but I'm just wondering about a wasteland re populated for Fo3 :p.
They had these jizz worthy crowded streets, random encounters, open cities and ability to see everywhere with a much more dynamic enviroment in Oblivion.
I never used fast travel after installing those mods for Oblivion :p.
I was just curious about Fo3, you should also provide a link to the fallout nexus, You must login or register to view this content. and there's one for NV too, both awesome for mods, in case you didnt know about that, you just kinda forgot.

I provide a link to nexus in the introduction and on every single mod page! And i do play with some appearance mods as a matter of fact. Just didnt deem them to be "essential"

---------- Post added at 07:46 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:35 AM ----------



This what you were after?

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great thread, some great looking mods.
i can run New vegas on my pc, but on the lowest graphics and still the frame rate is kinda laggy, will the mods make it worse?

It really depends on which mods you are running, i would stay away completely from mods like Re-Populated Wasteland as more NPC's will destroy a less powerful computer.

However, mods that only make very small changes, even mods that make big changes but have small file sizes shouldnt be too demanding. Just try to make sure you arent running loads and loads of mods at the same time and you should he fine, but no mod is gonna make it better thats for sure.

Can someone help me, there is this Mod I really want to try out its called Willow - A Better Companion Experience the only problem is that it’s for PC and I don’t have the game for PC. So I want to make this work for PS3. All the files in Fallout New Vegas for PS3 all work the same and, are the same, BSA files and, ESP files, but the person that made the MOD didn't put in the texture, meshes, and, sound folders/files in the BSA file he made. So when I tried the MOD for PS3 it Loads good except there was no sound and, no appearance, but the textures did load. So I looked at BSA file and saw that the File’s weren’t in there, so I put in the missing files so it can work properly for PS3, but now here’s the real problem I need an ESP file to make the Mod work and I have no idea how to make one, I know what it is I just don’t know how to make one or add stuff to it. Willow - A Better Companion Experience MOD did come with an ESP file but it was also missing the same files Textures, Meshes and, Sound. So I want to put in those missing files somehow or make a new ESP file with all the files he made has but just add the missing one so it can work. Can someone help me out with this, or point me to the right direction in this. I really want to use this MOD.

Cant help you there im afraid, i am familiar with the mod but i have no experience at all in porting them to ps3. Im sure there will be someone on here that can help you but you may need to fish them out for yourself as not many people come on the fallout section