Ranger Combat Armor Replacer

[Kickerz]

Ok, so hello everyone. Pretty new to these forums (As in signed up today) but I made an account because of an idea I had while playing New Vegas.

 

I use the Desert Ranger armor pretty much all of the time. It's my favorite armor. However, it feels significantly less cool when one walks by and sees a Veteran Ranger wearing what is basically the same armor with a slight difference in color.

This is perhaps the most annoying thing I encounter while playing New Vegas as I am one of those guys who likes my character to feel almost entirely unique to everyone in the game. :cool:

 

It then crossed my mind "Well what if the veteran rangers were to be given their own version of the ranger patrol armor?"

 

If I even had the slightest bit of modding know-how (Which I don't) I would envision the veterans having a black patrol armor with extra armoring on the back of the legs and some on the arms (The veteran's armor is called Ranger COMBAT armor after all). I also thought that it'd have maybe 1 or 2 more NCR logos on it to further stand out but that's kind of where my creativity died. I thought about a helmet type thing for them (that isn't the same thing as the Desert Ranger's helmet) instead of a black ranger hat but I'm not too sure if it'd be possible.

 

It seems to me at least like a nice idea, the Desert Ranger Armor becomes completely unique, and the veteran rangers can still look different to the patrol rangers. So I figured I'd post my idea for you guys to judge if it's a good idea and in case there is modder out there who would make this come true.

 

Cheers for reading, I know that was quite a bit of text. :blush:

Edited August 26, 2014 by Kickerz

[dangman4ever]

The mod is probably not that hard to do since it's basically a simple recolor with extra bits but it's kinda...odd? Many of the Veteran Rangers were Desert Rangers. So it makes sense for those Desert Rangers to keep their armor when they became NCR Veteran Rangers. Why bother downgrading, basically, to the Patrol Armor?

 

If you really wanted to be unique, how about a custom Desert/Veteran Ranger Armor for your courier specifically?

[devinpatterson]

If you really wanted to be unique, how about a custom Desert/Veteran Ranger Armor for your courier specifically?

Dangman makes a good point, it seems like it would make more sense to change your armor (to make it more unique) rather than all the NCR's. The ranger combat armor is made by the NCR; "The distinctive black ranger combat armor consists of the Desert Rangers' traditional trench coat worn with pre-War riot armor. Ranger patrol armor is hand-manufactured in the NCR". It's sort of a big deal lore wise, and as this quote shows, it's iconic of the NCR "A veteran Ranger inspires awe. Stick around for when they get here, you'll see. If I live to earn the Black Armor, I can die a happy woman."-NCR trooper .

 

If you play a female I did a little tweak for Cass when she wears the desert ranger armor;

 

PIC;

 

 

http://static-2.nexusmods.com/15/mods/130/images/46145-1-1336495718.jpg

 

 

 

I wouldn't be surprised if there were some other tweaks to teh desert ranger armor for both males and females on nexus.

[Kickerz]

I did originally consider looking for tweaks to the desert ranger armor instead of breaking the lore by changing the veteran ranger's armor since up until now I have tried persistently to stick to mods that don't harm the lore. However, as I play a male character I found nothing that I liked for the armor that wasn't female only.

 

Do any of you guys use/know of mods that alter it and are usable by male characters? I'd be interested to see if there are any that are out there.

[devinpatterson]

Do any of you guys use/know of mods that alter it and are usable by male characters? I'd be interested to see if there are any that are out there.

Sorry I don't know of any off hand (I use pretty much vanilla riot armor), but if you can't find any you can design your own and I might be able to help you. I'm making a revamp of teh ranger combat armor (not a huge change, just adding variety by including variations on pants, shoes, gear etc), and I can also throw something together for you and your desert ranger armor. The only fly in the ointment is I'm not sure when I can start it.

[flamenx01]

You could try ADAM - A Definitive Armor Mod it improves the textures of the desert ranger armor and gives it a slightly more unique look:

http://static-3.nexusmods.com/15/mods/130/images/43192-1-1317637375.jpg

it also includes some custom ranger armors:

http://static-3.nexusmods.com/15/mods/130/images/43192-1-1317637340.jpghttp://static-3.nexusmods.com/15/mods/130/images/43192-1-1317839296.jpghttp://static-3.nexusmods.com/15/mods/130/images/43192-1-1320097018.jpghttp://static-3.nexusmods.com/15/mods/130/images/43192-1-1318158767.jpg

 

Edited August 27, 2014 by flamenx01

[Morgwynn]

Canada has something to do with the Fallout universe. When America annexed Canada they expended more forces against the Canadian Rocky Mountain Rangers because ever the Queens own riflemen couldn't even hold a candle to them. Canadian Rangers were better trained than American green barets and they used less advanced armor because each one had the crossed rifles with clove leaves on their sleave. There is no better sniper even today. . .

[Morgwynn]

A armored trench coat was for novice snipers, Real snipers wore basic fatigues.

[devinpatterson]

big disclaimer; Fallout lore isn't my forte and I didn't play any of the old series (FO1, 2, tactics etc).

 

When America annexed Canada they expended more forces against the Canadian Rocky Mountain Rangers because ever the Queens own riflemen couldn't even hold a candle to them. Canadian Rangers were better trained than American green barets and they used less advanced armor because each one had the crossed rifles with clove leaves on their sleave. There is no better sniper even today. . .

Hi Morgwynn do you have a link? I'd be curious to read more about the Rocky Mountain Rangers, the only references I can find are for RL and they seem to be reservists.

 

A armored trench coat was for novice snipers, Real snipers wore basic fatigues.

Well I don't think the duster was originally intended (or is) to be integrated into the armor or armored in and of itself. The duster serves the same purpose, as say, cold weather gear.....it's simply environmental protection for the desert areas. In the desert ranger combat armor, the duster makes sense in light of the time spent in the Gobi Desert during that Campaign in China. In the NCR it makes sense in light of the Mojave desert (and I'd assume the Col desert). I think other areas of the country would have similar armor, but without the duster in certain regions.

 

In the riot control armors, things got a little more convoluted because there are integrated pauldrons/shoulder pads, which blurred the lines a bit.

 

But it looks like there were two sorts of origin stories to the ranger vet combat armor. One was Tycho, a early desert ranger, a survivalist with a gas mask, hardened leather armor and " a sand-colored trench coat usable for camouflage and to keep the sun off". Obviously this isn't the same as the feared black ranger armor or desert ranger armor. The second line of lore is the hermes armor; "intended to be the next generation of combat armor used by elite light infantry troops. In theory, it was to offer all of the protection of power armor without the cumbersome weight or Strength enhancements." In some of the FONV artwork, H3RM35 (elite speak for Hermes) is stamped into the radio on the helmet. But it's also listed as never moving out of the development phase thanks to interference by enclave elements (that wanted to keep teh armor a secret for themselves).

 

But we we *know* it was developed for both the military (at a bare minimum the marines which used the desert ranger armor and the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment which used the riot control gear) and paramilitary (at least the LAPD, but more likely other PDs and probably other homeland defense forces)....all according to established NV lore.

 

So it's a jumble of mixed lore, but long story short, I don't think the duster is part of the armor per se, nor armored, rather it's regional gear for the desert environment. The armor may look considerably different in regions further north, or in sub/tropical areas like Florida. We associate it with the duster because of the area FONV takes place in, makes the duster a useful survivalist tool.