At full power,Fallout: New Vegasis arguably the bestFalloutgame ever made, courtesy of how it gets to combine the new systems ofFallout 3with, well, better writing than that ofFallout 3.
Obsidian’sNew Vegasis a near-perfect project of aFalloutgame, but the development was rushed to the point of the game coming out in a very buggy state. This usually spells catastrophe, but fans took to fine-tuning the game, and thus we got a bunch of glorious mods that you should consider getting for maximizing your odds of succeeding and having fun inNew Vegas.
NVSE – New Vegas Script Extender
I apologize for starting with a “boring” one, but I assure you you won’t be disappointed.NVSEdoesn’t do anything fancy to your game by itself, but it expands upon the original game’s scripting capabilities without changing its original executable file. It is essential for getting many of the best mods to work, so I urge that you don’t ignore it.
FNV 4GB Patcher
The base version ofNew Vegasonly ever uses up to 2GB of your system’s RAM. I value that the game doesn’t try to take over my entire resource pool, but that’s a low amount — especially by today’s standards. The4GB Patchermakes your game immediately aware that it can use up to 4GB of your RAM. It even makes NVSE, the mod listed above, load automatically. It’s yet another mod that will bring about low-key massive quality-of-life improvements.
Note: Only install this mod on either the Steam or GoG versions of the game, as those are the only ones that support it, and the only ones that I can say I truly recommend.
Stability combo: New Vegas Anti Crash + Stutter Remover + Mod manager + Save manager
To make your game as stable as possible, I recommend theAnti-crash mod, which works in tandem with thestutter remover, as stutter is yet another huge source of the game’s instability. The mod that will complete your inoculation against the game’s lack of stability is theCASM with MCM, which creates a new save system that works much better than the game’s original one.
The Living Desert
Getting toNew Vegasafter you’ve playedRed Dead Redemption 2andThe Witcher 3, games whose worlds are filled with scripting events that greatly fuel the games’ sense of immersion, might leave your wasteland-dweller feeling a tad underwhelmed. Fear not, as this mod adds over one hundred new NPCs and various new interactions that will make your journeys way more interesting.
New California
Turning what’s good into something great rules, but sometimes you want something completely new. That’s what you get withNew California, a mod that features an unofficial story prequel toNew Vegasset on the West Coast. Mods tend to showcase the unexpected technical prowess of fans, but this one also shows the community’s dedication toward lore expansion and dialogue creation.New Californiaproves a great addition for anyone who wants moreFallout.
NMCs_Texture_Pack
Though I’d argue that the looks ofNew Vegasstill hold up to this day, it’s completely natural for a newcomer to want the game to look sharper. The NMCs Texture Pack is likely the most extensive texture pack out there. Install it to replace the game’s landscapes, roads, vehicles, buildings, building interiors, and objects with new photograph-based textures that will make the game look much more capable of battling it out with today’s games to get your attention.
Uncut Wasteland
As it is sadly known, we never got to see the full vision Obsidian had forNew Vegasrealized. A great amount of stuff got cut beforeandafter release, so fans naturally took to digging up all sorts of cut assets and gluing them in a functional manner to the game we ended up with. Works such asUncut WastelandhaveNew Vegasjoining the ranks ofVampire: The Masquerade – BloodlinesandKnights Of The Old Republic IIas the games most improved upon by the invaluable efforts of community restoration.
Fallout Character Overhaul
Remember the backlashObliviongot for its character face models?New Vegas’characters never looked that weird, but that didn’t stop fans from making them lookmuch better.Fallout Character Overhaulsets out to accomplish a simple task, that of bringing more beauty to the wasteland via better textures and meshes, and it passes the test with flying colors.
Nevada Skies
We now have mods that improve the looks of the wasteland and its populace, but no nuclear winter is complete without weather effects.Nevada Skiesintroduces a wide array of advanced dynamic weather effects and skyboxes that ensure that just contemplating the sky will never feel like wasting your time on the wasteland.
Wasteland Defense
The only thing I love aboutFallout 4that I don’t have inNew Vegasis the possibility of creating and defending my settlements. Luckily, that’s only true if I only have the base game, as the awesomeWasteland Defense modmade settlement defense a thing inNew Vegaslong beforeFallout 4was a thing.
