Dead Money has suddenly stopped working...

[Naeco06]

in February I started a new character in New Vegas because it was my first time playing from scratch with all the DLC installed and activated from the beginning of the game.

 

I got close to finishing the main questline (on the side of House) and decided that before actually completing the Endgame I'd try some DLC content; bring some new/unique weapons back with me for the battle at Hoover Dam.

so I started with Dead Money.

 

now my main game had almost 60 hours of total play without any major bugs or glitches or crashes to speak of.

and I made sure to save my main game in a separate save slot before entering the Abandoned BoS Bunker.

 

I started Dead Money just fine. explored much of the areas that were accessible then started the quests.

was able to recruit the hulk, the zombie, and the mute girl.

got the 3 of them back to the fountain and took the next set of quests.

was able to get the mute girl over to the electrical station and set her up in front of the computer.

went back and got the hulk and started taking him towards his spot.

 

doing a little exploring and killing with the hulk led me towards Salida del Sol North.

but then I realized I was going the wrong direction (he needs to be taken to SdS South).

 

so I turned around and opened the door that I had come through and the game crashed.

now whenever I load (either the last autosave or my last quicksave) I'm stuck in SdS North. none of the doors that take me back to SdS South will work. every time I try to zone back to SdS South the game crashes during the short load screen. I'm stuck in SdS North. I can't fast travel and I can't open any of the doors to SdS South, the game crashes every single time.

 

I've never had a game-breaking problem in Fallout before so I don't even know how to begin troubleshooting.

should I use the console to teleport myself to the SdS South map cell? should I try to teleport myself to a completely different cell (like the main Villa) and then try to enter SdS South from another direction? should I try just forcing the God/Dog part of the quest to complete and moving on to Dean Domino's part?

 

should I disable all my custom mods?

where do I start?

Edited March 23, 2012 by Naeco06

[Naeco06]

little update - I think I've figured it out.

 

I didn't have to disable any mods, but I started teleporting myself to different places and seeing if I could just walk back to Sierra Madre from another direction.

eventually I used the console to do "MOVETOQT" (move to quest target) while highlighting the main Dead Money quest (to meet companions by the fountain).

 

it finally loaded me in the Villa and I was able to walk back to Salida del Sol South on my own.

and this time it loaded SdS South without crashing and I've been able to move on.

 

I have no idea why it started crashing between SdS North and South, but now I can move between them again without any problems.

weird....