New Vegas Lets play! Blind! Modded! Fun!

[Avilan the Grey]

UPDATE: This thread is no longer used for the LP!!!Due to my normal strategy of over-modding and then being forced to reinstall due to failing to clean it up... This thread is now CLOSED. New thread is coming up today or tomorrow. Tell your friends...!

Edit: Replacement thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=196268).


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I have stayed away from this mainly because I was 110% hyped up for DA2, but since I have stopped playing it (I just hated the story; I love the game mechanics and characters) I need a new RPG (I was going to pick this up eventually and now when I found it REALLY cheap already...)

Is there anything I need to think about? Unofficial patches, etc? (it IS the Oblivion Engine after all...)

[Maxios]

I believe there's mods out for it on the PC, but the game is so massive, you probably won't need any mods :smallcool:

[Avilan the Grey]

Well I modded the heck out of FO3...

[Maxios]

If you get it on Steam, you can't mod it. Well, technically, you can, but it takes a lot of work.

[James the Dark]

I have never finished it. Not because it was bad, but because I know you can't play after the final mission and I don't want it to end.

So that's a recommendation. If you get a hankering for hard-mode and cheating a system flaw, you should also try Dead Money and see if you can get out of the vault with all the gold. It is possible. I've done it both pre-and-post patch, just using different techniques each time.

Play it. Once you get past some of the bad acting in the first town (Sunny Smiles must have literally been phoning it in. Get it together, woman!), it just keeps going up.

[shadow_archmagi]

I have stayed away from this mainly because I was 110% hyped up for DA2, but since I have stopped playing it (I just hated the story; I love the game mechanics and characters) I need a new RPG (I was going to pick this up eventually and now when I found it REALLY cheap already...)

Is there anything I need to think about? Unofficial patches, etc? (it IS the Oblivion Engine after all...)

Personally, I recommend a "make the game less brown" mod. I had one, but it seems to have vanished from the internet.

EDIT: If you want some general game advice

1. Max INT. Skills are the most important thing in the game, and more INT means more skills faster.

2. Don't take skill perks. If you want to raise, say, Energy Weapons, just put points into Energy Weapons. Perks are rare and special; get something rare and special with them.

3. Put points into repair. At first glance, repair seems pretty terrible. "Combine two guns to make one that's moderately better?"

But then realize what a huge difference that can make for looting. Kill nineteen enemies, pick up three hundred pounds of pants and guns, and then use Repair to consolidate that into a single mint condition gun and pants so it only takes up twenty pounds. Not only that, but if you *use* that gun, it'll deal more damage and reload faster!

4. Take Jury Rigging. Best Perk, since it makes repair even better. It lets you repair anything with anything like it. There's nothing like buying a broken chainsaw for 100 caps, five switchblades for 14 caps each, and then using the switchblades to fix the chainsaw and selling it back to the guy for 2000 caps.

[Avilan the Grey]

Thanks for the tips; half of them I knew from FO3; but the new perks is good to look into.

I think I will be a sniper again; I loved it in FO3:

Guns, Stealth and Repair. I am also thinking of FourEyes and Weird Wasteland for starters.

[warty goblin]

If you're playing on the PC and looking for something mechanically closer to the Dragon Age games, I suggest Drakensang: On the River of Time. It's only available digitally, but is really remarkably lovely, and has a wonderful RPG system behind it all.

[Chen]

If you get it on Steam, you can't mod it. Well, technically, you can, but it takes a lot of work.

I bought it off steam and had no problem whatsoever using mods from NWNexus. Even without a mod manager its pretty damn simple. You just need to copy them into an odd directory somewhere in the Steam folder.

I think Reloaded is a fun mod for added weapon damage and more dangerous encounters. I haven't played in a while but there was the beginnings of a FOOK mod which was awesome in FO3. I'd play through first with no mods though and save them for a second playthrough. The game is big enough alone to be entertaining without them at least the first time.

[Avilan the Grey]

Well so far I have downloaded:

FOMM, of course.
Electro City (Basically the mod Street Lights for NV)
The Weapon Animation replacers
Fellout (including Greener Grass)
Weapon Mods expanded
Operation Fixed Terrain

[Maxios]

I'm currently downloading one of the Motorcycle mods, and I just got the Punisher Costume Mod :smallcool:

[Avilan the Grey]

The thing that sucks is that the weather mod for NV is still Beta. I loved that for FO3, it really enhanced the atmosphere of the wasteland.

[Kris Strife]

I downloaded the Conelrad station and RNV Secret Stash mods, for a wider music selection. I also have an Underground Hideout, mainly for the item sorters. Couple of other nifty parts, but those were the big sell for me.

[James the Dark]

Just to chime in with perks:

Take Hand Loader. Just do it. It's 70 repair, but it gives you access to .308 rounds which do +50% damage, amongst other interesting ammunitions. If you're playing vanilla FO:NV, then the silenced Sniper is pretty much the go to weapon, and having the most punch possible out of that gun requires custom rounds.

I can't help in the mods thing. My game is on 360.

[Wabbajack]

Thanks for the tips; half of them I knew from FO3; but the new perks is good to look into.

I think I will be a sniper again; I loved it in FO3:

Guns, Stealth and Repair. I am also thinking of FourEyes and Weird Wasteland for starters.

Four Eyes (http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Four_Eyes) is a really bad trait. You need 1 perception more to qualify for perks and you can't wear full helmets without loosing 2 perception. Small Frame (http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Small_Frame) or Trigger Disciple (http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Trigger_Discipline) are better for a sniper. Good Natured (http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Good_Natured) can be nice if you only want to use one or two weapon skills.

[Tengu_temp]

Good Natured is a really awesome trait. Take penalties to several skills from which you'll probably use only 1-2 anyway, get bonuses to several other skills from which you're bound to use all? Yes please.

Personally, I think Wild Wasteland should be the default setting, and there should be a trait called No Weirdness Allowed or I Hate Mutants that removes it. That way those who care for a more fun experience could pick two traits, not just one.

[Demon 997]

I'd get a mod that makes Wild Wasteland default, so you don't have to use a trait on it. You might want to put endurance at 8, so you can get all the implants (expect the endurance one).

[Avilan the Grey]

I'd get a mod that makes Wild Wasteland default, so you don't have to use a trait on it. You might want to put endurance at 8, so you can get all the implants (expect the endurance one).

As a sniper in FO3 my standard build was STR 2, END 2 or 3, since the whole point is to never be caught. On the other end of the scale was INT, PER, AGL and LCK as high as possible.

[James the Dark]

Noooooo... Do not tank anything but Charisma.

In order to get enough accuracy out of a Sniper rifle to be able to use it as per the label, you need a STR of 6. What I do is leave STR at 5 at Gen, tank Charisma to 2, boost INT to 9, and spread out the rest between perception (6 is good, because the highest check I've ever seen is an 8, and between Absinthe and a Pre War Hat, you have that covered), Agility, and definitely definitely definitely get your Luck as high as you can. I start at 7, use the Naughty Nightwear to get it to 8, win a mint, and eventually implant it up to 9. This game has gambling in it, and Luck turns gambling from a hair-tearing experience into an excuse to print money.

Ahem.

A fun trick is to walk to NV directly from the starting town. There's a neat way to bypass the Meat Gates (IE a horde of deathclaws) at Sloan, if you head quietly up part of Black Mountain and then jump down the other side. That way, you can get the INT implant before level 2, by gambling for the money at the Silver Rush in Freeside. Maximum skill points, baby.
Be sure to avoid activating locations when you do it, though. You need to be at least 120xp shy of Level 2 when you start gambling, because winning that money will complete a challenge worth 100, and you need to 'discover' the clinic, directly east of the east entrance of the Crimson Caravan.

But that's just how I did it. Bankrupting casinos is too much fun to overlook. That and the delicious, delicious critical chance.

[Avilan the Grey]

Noooooo... Do not tank anything but Charisma.

In order to get enough accuracy out of a Sniper rifle to be able to use it as per the label, you need a STR of 6. What I do is leave STR at 5 at Gen, tank Charisma to 2, boost INT to 9, and spread out the rest between perception (6 is good, because the highest check I've ever seen is an 8, and between Absinthe and a Pre War Hat, you have that covered), Agility, and definitely definitely definitely get your Luck as high as you can. I start at 7, use the Naughty Nightwear to get it to 8, win a mint, and eventually implant it up to 9. This game has gambling in it, and Luck turns gambling from a hair-tearing experience into an excuse to print money.

Ahem.



PER is great of you are weak because the red spots really appear early enough that even if your stealth is low, you spot the enemies before they spot you.

I also (in FO3) tend to use the hunter rifle and repeater far more often than the sniper rifles, since I use VATS in 90% of my kills. The sniper rifle is worse in VATS than the other rifles, for some reason.

Anyway, I take it the STR requirement for the sniper rifle is a new thing?

[Zorg]

Yeah, NV has STR ratings for weapons - you can use them if you're low, but your accuracy will be horrible (much like in FO:1, 2 and Tactics). The sniper and hunting rifles both need 6, while the Anti-Material rifle is 8 (which is great fun, especially with incendiary ammo!).
You can get a perk that gives you +2 STR for the purpose if determaning if you can wield a weapon. However you only get it at level 16.

The Varmint Rifle, which you can get very early on (in the starting town tutorial mission), requires only 3. I was still using the Varmint Rifle, with optional night scope, extended mag and suppressor very late in the game. It's good for exterminating raiders and the like, and 5.56mm ammo practically grows on trees. It has a reasonable accuracy even without the scope, so is quite effective for snipers early game.

And speaking of scopes and such, the hunting rifle can get a scope, larger magazine, faster reload. The sniper can be silenced and fitted with a lighter frame.


If you want a mod get the one that makes the Chinese Stealth suits you can find work like the ones in Anchorage (ie dirty). Otherwise they just act like BoS scout armour and give you a +5% to sneak and make you look like a ninja.
I had great fun with Veronica and I in CSArmour. Thanks to the improved companion AI they won't rush off into combat if you are hidden, so even with a melee companion you can snipe and not have to worry about them getting killed.

[James the Dark]

Also, regarding red pips on the compass: If you take ED-E as your companion (And considering he's sitting on a bench in the second town you're supposed to come to, with all the bits required to fix him around him, why wouldn't you?), he shows all enemies around as though you have a PER of 20 or something. Simply a ridiculous distance. Were Perception not needed for conversation checks and the ability to do super painful criticals, I'd have tanked it, too. But still, don't take Four Eyes. ****ty trait. I took small frame and wacky wasteland. As long as you're not in Hardcore (and even if you are, if you're good enough at the game), the extra limb damage won't be nearly as debilitating as the permanent +1 to AGI is beneficial.

Extra bonus on EDE: He's a non-humanoid, but you can still make it carry stuff. Beats the hell out of Dogmeat, eh?
Final Post script: A STR of 6 is the most you're likely going to need, since that covers up to the Sniper Rifle, which beats the hell out of the AMR. It fires a lot faster, can be silenced, and its bullets aren't 10 bucks a pop and rarer than a virgin at a whorehouse. The Hunting Rifle (which can get a Scope put on if you find one) has the same STR rating... and ammunition, oddly... as a Sniper. The main reason to go Sniper is better rate of fire (Sniper's semiauto, Rifle's bolt), and higher damage. Kind of a shame, since I like the scope on the Rifle better. More discrete. But do get Weapon Handling if you're going to mess around with the Light Machine Guns that some Mutants carry around.

[JadedDM]

If you get it on Steam, you can't mod it. Well, technically, you can, but it takes a lot of work.

I thought it was Steam only. Even if you buy it retail, you still have to download and register it through Steam to play, right?

[Demon 997]

I thought it was Steam only. Even if you buy it retail, you still have to download and register it through Steam to play, right?

It registers with steam, but you install it normally. Modding is no problem, you just go into the steam game folders.

[Avilan the Grey]

It registers with steam, but you install it normally. Modding is no problem, you just go into the steam game folders.

All the patches go through Steam too.

Anyway:
Change of subject line...

The game should arrive at my door today or tomorrow.

How many are interested in a let's play?
Before you say yes, please note the following:

1. It will be modded
No extreme mods but the following will be used:

Extended Weapons Mod mod
Weather mods
Some clothing mods
Type3 body
A few companion mods
Added map markers inside the Strip mod
Companion equipment control mod
Streetlight mod
More Realistic indoor light mod


2. The Character will be set:

Female
Sniper
Not-completely-evil


This means that she will use the following tagged skills:
Guns, Sneak.

So if anyone is interested you get to vote on:
Third tagged Skill and what traits to start with.

Oh and this means that the Let's Play in essence will be a blind one. I have watched the game online up to Primm, no further.

[chiasaur11]

Kill every Caesar's Legion scumbag you see.

Every. Single. One.

[Avilan the Grey]

Kill every Caesar's Legion scumbag you see.

Every. Single. One.

I did write "not-completely-evil"...
:smallbiggrin:

[Fri]

that's because you haven't met caesar legion :smallwink:

[Avilan the Grey]

that's because you haven't met caesar legion :smallwink:

Heh. I meant it the opposite of how you took it; I meant it as in "duh" :smallbiggrin:

[Drfaust]

Take the black widow perk! It adds some wonderful conversation options.:smallwink:

[chiasaur11]

I did write "not-completely-evil"...
:smallbiggrin:

Does the evil part come from eating their corpses?

And repair, just so you can fix busted power armor with a pair of sunglasses.

[Avilan the Grey]

The Black Widow perk is a given; you have to be a moron if you play a female character not to pick it.

Cannibal... I don't know. If I am playing on Hardcore then maybe; otherwise no.

Jury-rigging I will take. Repair skill? Yes, but unlike FO3 it does seem unnecessary to tag it. Speech seems more important in this game?

[James the Dark]

Because other skills sometimes reach in to replace speach, it's good to have it at around 70. Between Naughty and a skill mag, that means if you know a check's coming, you can boost it to 100. Or just get lazy and 100 it.

I've found Jury Rigging to be of dubious value. Parking Repair on 70, to get Hand Loader, is the most I've ever had to take. Plus, you can hit 90 with a skill mag, so long as you did the sane thing and took Comprehension at level 6 (Educated at 4 for between 52 and 60 more skill points over the course of a 30 or 35 level game).

Oh, and you probably won't need a sneak much higher than 50, because the's a lot more distance between you and what you're killing, usually. And 50 lets you bring a silenced 10mm into a casino.

[Avilan the Grey]

Okay, I am currently installing mods.
Might get going on the actual playing tomorrow morning...

[Ogremindes]

...you did the sane thing and took Comprehension at level 6.

Is it really worth a perk? You don't get as many perks as you did in FO3, and the skill point benefit is smaller.

[James the Dark]

Not for the skill books (alright, yes for the skill books), but also for the doubled efficacy of the skill mags. A temporary +20 to a check can make a world of difference. If it were split skill mags and books, then no, the perk would have been tit useless, but together, I make sure to always grab it.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Is it really worth a perk? You don't get as many perks as you did in FO3, and the skill point benefit is smaller.

I never took either in either game and always had plenty of skill points to slosh around. Towards the end of my most recent NV playthrough (Dead Money installed), I was putting points in skills I had never used because everything else was already 100s.

[Avilan the Grey]

Okay, I have settled on this character:

Morgan
Female Sniper
Stealth, Repair, Guns as tagged skills.

Traits: Kamikaze and the one with slower rate of fire but higher accuracy. The reason is simple; she is a sniper primarily, and it's in character.

Now one question: Hardcore or not!?

[Zorg]

the one with slower rate of fire but higher accuracy.

It's counter intuitive, but it's terrible for snipers and good for close up gunners. The reasoning is sound, but mechanically the benefits don't work out right.

What I mean is that a sniper is already very accurate, the bonus is really insignificant except over such long distances you can't see anything, but the RoF penalty does have a large negative effect, especially with a hunting rifle before you get the custom bolt.

However with something like an assault rifle, LMG, or minigun the accuracy is a big plus but the RoF penalty is negligable as you'll be hitting more so won't need to fire as much.

I almost always take small frame - the AG bonus is nice, and so long as you have a companion you can load gear onto them.



Now one question: Hardcore or not!?

I tried it but just found it annoying. If you could toggle some of the options (ammo weight, crippling only healed by doctors) I'd use that. But, as it is, the eating and drinking didn't feel 'real' enough - just a way to soak up caps and an extra annoyance, no real feeling of 'I hope there's some water around here somewhere!'

[Avilan the Grey]

It's counter intuitive, but it's terrible for snipers and good for close up gunners. The reasoning is sound, but mechanically the benefits don't work out right.

What I mean is that a sniper is already very accurate, the bonus is really insignificant except over such long distances you can't see anything, but the RoF penalty does have a large negative effect, especially with a hunting rifle before you get the custom bolt.

Keep in mind that I use VATS for 90% of my battles. High accuracy really matters then.

[James the Dark]

If you're going to snipe in this game, learn to do it through the scope. Using a silenced Sniper, you can take out an entire raider/deathclaw/Legion encampment without them realizing that you're there. The Sneak Crits make a big difference, and if your Sneak Crit kills the person it hits, then you don't lose reputation for killing folks.

[Zorg]

I found early on (I like VATS alot too) that encounters were so close it didn't matter and the RoF/AP penalty was pretty harsh, and later my Guns skill was so high and my guns skill so good that the accuracy would be great without it.
With Guns at 100 and a sniper rifle at range I'd fire manually, and use something else like a shotgun up close (in VATS), where a higher RoF would have been better.

As James says above, using the scope with silenced weapons is the best way to snipe as with a bit of patience and sneakyness there are plenty of opportunities to stay hidden and annihilate things.

It's not really that bad, but it's that great either. I didn't regret taking it, so so calling it terrible was an overstatement, but skills like Commando, Sniper and Grim Reaper's Spirit all had more noticable effects on my shooting in my experience.

[Avilan the Grey]

Mod List:
Electro City (Realistic Street lights)
Usable Cigarettes (Basically turns cigarettes into another Chem / drug. With smoking animations)
Light-step ED-E (Makes the flying robot stop setting off landmines and traps)
Dressup (Makes it possible to dress your companions however you want)
Companions Relax (Makes companions told to wait use the "relaxed" animations, like smoking, sitting, leaning etc)
Tailor Made (cool clothes mod. Slightly overpowered, but cool)*
Weapons Mods Expanded (From the guy that made the FO3 mod that inspired the weapon mods for NV)
Operation Fixed Terrain (just terrain fixes, like removing floating rocks etc)
New Strip Markers (Adds fast-travel markers in locations inside the New Vegas Strip)
Nevada Skies (Weather mod, including sandstorms, rain, thunderstorms etc)
Fellout (Clearer skies, darker nights. Compatible with Nevada Skies)
Interior Lighting Overhaul (more realistic indoor lighting. Compatible with Nevada Skies and Fellout)

On top of these there are a number of texture mods:
Greener Grass (what it sounds like; the grass is only half-dead instead of dead)
Beware Of Girl Type3 Body (HD skin mod, slightly beautified female bodies. Yes, it's a nude mod, but of course I will keep this SFW!!!)
A number of environment and equipment reskins (better detailed textures)

*TOO overpowered. Not used.

[Avilan the Grey]

Okay, here we go. Pictures to be added later. Red text - In character. Black text - my comments.

My name is Morgan.
I don't know if it's my first name, or my last name, or my only name. I don't think I ever did know, even though I might have; it's hard to tell when you have just been awaken on a sickbed after being dead - shot in the head to boot.

http://i963.photobucket.com/albums/ae113/Avilan2010/New%20Vegas%20-%20Morgan/ScreenShot0.jpg

http://i963.photobucket.com/albums/ae113/Avilan2010/New%20Vegas%20-%20Morgan/ScreenShot1.jpg

Apparently I am in Goodsprings; at least that's what the doc is telling me. He seems like a nice old guy but maybe a bit of a perv; I had nothing on me when I woke up and he has yet to offer me any clothes.

(The unfortunate effect of the Type3 body mods is nudity... and the game is not programmed to notice, which leads to fun situations like this one.)

http://i963.photobucket.com/albums/ae113/Avilan2010/New%20Vegas%20-%20Morgan/ScreenShot3.jpg

Anyway he keeps talking about me needing to test my abilities... While he is talking I wander aimlessly around the room, helping myself to a lot of stuff. He doesn't seem to mind, which is good - I don't think I am in the shape to actually fight back... I find several bottles of dirty water, quite a few stimpacks and some food. I also spot a broken 9mm SMG in a corner. I even take his doctor's bag without him protesting at all.

http://i963.photobucket.com/albums/ae113/Avilan2010/New%20Vegas%20-%20Morgan/ScreenShot5.jpg

http://i963.photobucket.com/albums/ae113/Avilan2010/New%20Vegas%20-%20Morgan/ScreenShot7.jpg

http://i963.photobucket.com/albums/ae113/Avilan2010/New%20Vegas%20-%20Morgan/ScreenShot8.jpg

http://i963.photobucket.com/albums/ae113/Avilan2010/New%20Vegas%20-%20Morgan/ScreenShot10.jpg

Now it's time for a psychological exam, and I have to answer a bunch of weird questions. Anyway we are soon done with that and now finally he offers me some clothes; apparently he and his wife was vault dwellers and he still had kept her old vault suit. It's better than nothing, and I take his pre-war hat and the 9mm SMG (I manage to repair it) before heading out the door towards the saloon to talk to a woman named Sunny which apparently is going to teach me how to survive out here.

It is irritating that I feel I should know this stuff already, but I guess a bullet to the head makes anyone weird. On the way there I rummage through some boxes behind the general store and find quite a few bottles of Sunset Sarsaparilla.

http://i963.photobucket.com/albums/ae113/Avilan2010/New%20Vegas%20-%20Morgan/ScreenShot13.jpg

Anyway, we talk for a bit and then she takes me out back to teach me how to use a rifle. We fire away at some empty Sunset Sarsaparilla bottles and she is quite pleased with my skill. She tells me she needs help cleaning out vermin at the local well and I agree.

[Avilan the Grey]

UPDATE: This thread is no longer used for the LP!!!Due to my normal strategy of over-modding and then being forced to reinstall due to failing to clean it up... This thread is now CLOSED. New thread is coming up today or tomorrow. Tell your friends...!

Edit: Replacement thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=196268).