Mods that make the Mohave less of a hole

[charwo]

Generally speaking, the further we get from 2077, the less tolerant of the world looking like a bombed out shithole. I'm looking for mods that make the Mohave as nice and rebuilt as possible. The less ruins, the better. The more repaved roads and working cars (whether or not you can ride them), the better. Something that restores the Vaults to working order, makes the roads paved and coherent, makes the trains run on time, makes Camp MacCarran look more like the Baghdad Green Zone in terms of cleanliness and material.

 

If you want an example, here's the gold standard:

http://newvegas.nexusmods.com/mods/44583/?tab=2&navtag=/ajax/modimages/?user=0|:|id=44583

 

I use all Bondster's mods, but it's still not enough. If we're going to have a post-post apocalypse Western, it needs to look a lot more like Red Dead Redemption in terms of clean clothes, well maintained businesses, functioning trains, etc, etc. Outer Vegas I can forgive, but I was disappointed in how desolate and still semi destoyed the settlements in the Mohave are.

 

Any mods to recommend?

[Immodium]

You're best bet is to ask Bondster to make more mods lol

[charwo]

Oh I asked him, he's out.

 

But here's the thing: there are others that at least are on the right track: the Strip Restoration, the Vault Restoration mods, the Recovering Wasteland Flora overhaul, etc, etc.

 

Even if I can't get Bond's level of restored awesome, there are other ones. I've been trying to find them. In the case of a place like Primm, there's almost too many, and I'm trying to figure which ones are best.

[TrickyVein]

You could always play a different game if you're not sure that you really enjoy New Vegas for what it is.

[charwo]

I'll be honest that I'm not overly enthused about the recent Fallout games, but this isn't about not liking it, as much as rationalizing it. The world of NV doesn't make sense even getting at its premise. The Mohave can't be that kind of hole 200 years out and still be a choice piece of real estate. 200 years past, the scavenger phase of the post apocalyptic should be well over. Vegas itself on the outer should look something closer to Legos Nigeria, bigger, more bustling especially among the poorer sections. The war damage should also have been repaired a long time ago as both House and NCR have been rebuilding infrastructure in the region with robots at their disposal and been doing so for 10 years. The story isn't bad though, it simply needs an aesthetic to match: ie a nearly fully rebuilt Mohave.

 

This in particular isn't about not liking NV, its about bridging the gap between the story and the game play.

[TrickyVein]

Why do you insist on misspelling Mojave?

 

There are places in the city (Baltimore), downtown where I live which look more run-down and post-apocalyptic than areas in New Vegas. That's WITH government, utilities, and a sizable population. If anything, New Vegas, including its population look much too well-off considering their circumstances. Nevermind the implicit racism in your comments about comparing 'rebuilt' civilization with places like Nigeria and Laos.

 

There isn't any law across the Mojave desert in the year 2281. There's no interest or money to fund/pursue the kind of maintenance of infrastructure that you describe across the region. The NCR wants the dam. So they put in some plumbing to take water from lake mead and bring it to their troops and they started growing some crops. Whatever. House wants to maintain the appearance of the strip. The worse-off the surrounding ruins of the city of Vegas look in comparison, the more attractive his casinos will appear to be. I think that it's actually in House's best interest to keep Freeside depressed. That seems way more rational than the NCR coming in with the aim of nation-building. Nowhere in the game was this ever the stated intent of the republic. Their goal was and always has been the dam. They could care less about making the desert more aesthetically pleasing to everyone. What game do you think you're playing? The one in your head, or the one Obsidian made?

[bethjunkie]

Charwo-

 

Why don't you give us a list of the mods you're using now to improve/restore the Mojave? That way people will know not to suggest anything you're already running :)

 

I understand what you're trying to accomplish with your game. I did a playthrough of FO3 using Bond's mods with a character who didn't know the war had happened. It was a great time.

[charwo]

Racism? No....I was referring to emerging third world entrepots that are building and rapidly rebuilding inspite of problems of infrastructure, crime, poverty, and a violent, unstable countryside. The best example for the Mohave, and that is an appropriate spelling by the way, would be Iraq, but Baghdad lacks the dynamism stable, economically progressive governance someone like house would bring.

 

As for the mods I have been using, I'm using all of Bondster's mods, which while adding a nice hotel on the outskirts of Vegas doesn't do a whole lot for settlements, except Goodsprings, and I wouldn't trade that mod for any other, and Primm, which I kinda like, but I was hoping for something better. If there is. I have a Novac cleaned up mod, but couldn't get it to work, though I'm OK with most of the outlying territories being holeish because they are logically very small territories, and most of them are in warzone territory between the NCR and Legion. Also I put it Bondster's Nipton Restored once a decent amount of time has passed from Cold Cold Heart, representing survivors and an NCR take over of the town.

 

I'm using The Strip restored, and, a couple of freeside mods, mostly restoring optional quests, the Bondster mods and Vurt's recovering wasteland.

There's three classes of mods I'm looking for:

 

Infrastructure rationalizations: My biggest, and mind numbing rage inducing complaint is the long-15. This road, being used as the main road transport route to MaCCarren for a decade, should be free of all debris cars, fully paved, with fresh, clean highway signs. Even the statue of the Rangers should not on the road, as trucks could not get through them. This is to say nothing of the burnt out cars at the Mohave outpost, which even if they were from the war, should be coming IN from California because in the days after the bombings, Nevada emerged wholly intact, and California was nuked. This meant the refugee flow would be toward Vegas, not away from it. Anyway they should be cleaned up, and if they are current vehicles tring to get in, they need to....have wheels, and windows.

 

Then there's the opposite end, MaCCarren. This is NCR's green zone, and it should be armed as such. a few light artillery pieces, mortars, vertibirds, even taking the planes out back and painting them with Red Cross Colors would say 'oh, these are medivac units!' At the very least, Obsidian should have looked at Firebase Khe Sanh and took that as a template of the minimum McCarren would be. And there should be a working rail system from NCR territory into Freeside, otherwise how do the tourists get there in sustainable numbers? the basics of this system are in place in vanilla but there are considerable gaps.

 

Honestly, as far as infrastructure, I just want rationalized, cleaned up version of the long 15: the Outpost, Primm, MacCaren, and the NCR embassy (same building but NCR could make it much nicer). and a fixed Las Vegas sign, cause even if House is going to call it New Vegas, that sign would be pristin and in full working order. Witness the patronage of 'Michel Angelo'

 

Settlement Restoration:

Something that cleans up and repopulates Searchlight, Nelson, one that cleans up a polluted Cottonwood Cove and replaces the Legion with an NCR garrison, the Vaults except 22 and 19, which have to be that way for narrative reasons. I have nothing but disgust for the Vault Preservation project, its literally the stupidist idea in Fallout. In my case, except for the Vaults, I would use them after their quests to represent the solidification of NCR control. The Vaults....well, I don't like dungeon crawls any more than necessary, and besides, World of Pain New Vegas give me all I could ever want.

 

And maybe something with the Prison after the quests, and a couple of other places, if opportunities exist. More fortified settlements, even if unenterable and just candy in the distance would be awesome.

 

Economic opportunity mods: stuff to do other than fight! Like the Bison Steve Hotel mod, which I love, love, LOVE! Or mods where you can fix or rebuild, or quest to rebuild Vault 3 with their refugees, or save Vault 34 from the radiation. Or even get XP from non-combat options, like businesses, or getting DLC equipment to any of the factions, or something like FO3's Outcast Collector or turn the Nellis Scrap metal quest into something like Walters Scrap Metal, or do more trade route and Merchant Empire stuff. Or even something like where you can salvage robots and sell them to House or NCR for cash.

 

Combat Mods:

I'd like something like Mart's for Vegas, but I heard that variant got taken down, certainly can't find it. Anything that put more natural critters into the mix, with few mutant creepy crawlies.

 

And something where you can break the back of minor factions, like you can end the fiend menace in Vegas, you can wipe out completely the Supermutants from Black Mountain, the deathclaws from the long 15, the powder gangers, the ruffians on the 15 and between Mohave Outpost and Nipton.

 

Ideally, I guess would be a spawn generator that can be fine tuned by faction. You could turn off new spawns of any faction, or critters, or kinds of critters.

[charwo]

I'm guessing we're coming up blanks on anything?