Fallout: New Vegas

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Fallout: New Vegas

Developers
	Obsidian Entertainment
Publishers
	Bethesda Softworks
Engines
	Gamebryo (TES Engine)
Release dates
Windows	October 19, 2010
Reception
Metacritic	84
IGDB	82
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase, DLC, Expansion pack
Microtransactions	Time-limited, Unlock
Modes	Singleplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	First-person, Third-person
Controls	Direct control
Genres	ARPG, Open world, Shooter
Art styles	Realistic
Themes	North America, Post-apocalyptic, Sci-fi
Series	Fallout

Fallout
Fallout	1997
Fallout 2	1998
Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel	2001
Fallout 3	2008
Fallout: New Vegas	2010
Fallout 4	2015
Fallout Shelter	2016
Fallout 4 VR	2017
Fallout 76	2018

Fallout: New Vegas is a singleplayer first-person open world RPG shooter developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Bethesda Softworks. The game is not a direct sequel to its predecessor Fallout 3, but follows events referenced in Fallout and Fallout 2 and features the return of elements from Fallout 2. The game shares much of its engine and assets with Fallout 3.

The game was released on Steam and at retail (Steam key) on October 19, 2010. A DRM-free version of the game was later released on GOG.com on June 2, 2017, followed by a release on Bethesda.net on January 16, 2020. The Bethesda.net version features recompiled .exe files, consequently rendering them incompatible with virtually all mods.

The game's state on all platforms during its initial launch was widely considered "buggy", "broken" and "unplayable" by critics and players alike. However, various official patches were released until July 7, 2011 that alleviated many of these bugs and performance issues.

4 DLC expansion packs were released for the game (Dead Money, Honest Hearts, Old World Blues and Lonesome Road). Initially. the game also featured pre-order bonuses and paid add-on packs that granted additional in-game items, such as new weapons, armor and ammo types; all of this content was later bundled together in a DLC pack titled Courier's Stash. On February 7, 2012, the game was released as Fallout: New Vegas - Ultimate Edition, bundling the base game with all story expansions and item packs.

Modding is well-supported using the officially-provided toolkit Garden of Eden Creation Kit on Steam (in the Steam Library under "Tools" section). Players have produced mods that fix many of the issues with the game post-official support. The largest collection of mods are available from Nexus Mods and there is an extensive modding forum.

As of 2020, bug-fix and stability mods are strongly recommended, even for a first playthrough. See Essential Improvements and Modifications sections for more information.

General information

GOG.com Community Discussions for game series

GOG.com Support Page

Steam Community Discussions

Reddit Community Modding Guide, guide to the basics of FNV modding, curated by modders Qolore and SciRika.

Viva New Vegas, guide to a complete overhaul of FNV, curated by modder Qolore.

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail
GamersGate		Ultimate Edition is also available.
		Ultimate Edition also available.
GOG.com		Ultimate Edition only.
Green Man Gaming		Ultimate Edition is also available.
Humble Store		Ultimate Edition is also available.
Microsoft Store		Does not require Xbox Live log-in. Ultimate Edition. Included with Xbox Game Pass for PC.
Steam		Ultimate Edition is also available. If you bought the game in Poland, Russia or Czech Republic, you will get the RU version, which may not be compatible with some mods.
Amazon.com (unavailable)		Ultimate Edition is also available.
Amazon.co.uk (unavailable)		Ultimate Edition is also available.
Bethesda.net (unavailable)		Ultimate Edition (recompiled, incompatible with 4GB Patch and NVSE)

Version differences

Ultimate Edition is the complete edition with all DLC.

Microsoft Store/PC Game Pass Version is ~45GB, possibly due to each localization having its own install directory. Currently compatible with some mods through Vortex Mod Manager.

Monetization

DLC and expansion packs

DLC may need to be manually enabled in the launcher after purchase.

Name	Notes
Caravan Pack	Pre-order bonus, now sold in Courier's Stash bundle.
Classic Pack	Pre-order bonus, now sold in Courier's Stash bundle.
Mercenary Pack	Pre-order bonus, now sold in Courier's Stash bundle.
Tribal Pack	Pre-order bonus, now sold in Courier's Stash bundle.
Gun Runners' Arsenal
Courier's Stash	Contains Caravan Pack, Classic Pack, Mercenary Pack and Tribal Pack.
Lonesome Road
Old World Blues
Honest Hearts
Dead Money
Original Soundtrack

Essential improvements

Mod Manager

Mod managers simplify mod installation, among various additional features. Recommended to use one of the following.

Mod Organizer

Powerful mod manager with mod virtualization, keeping the game-installation folder vanilla.

Features a configuration editor.

Vortex

Official mod manager made by Nexus Mods.

Designed to make modding games as simple as possible for new users, while still providing enough control for more experienced users.

Unofficial Patches

Yukichigai Unofficial Patch (YUP)

Fixes over a thousand bugs.

Constantly updated.

Unofficial Patch NVSE Plus

Requires all DLC, New Vegas Script Extender, JIP LN NVSE Plugin and JohnnyGuitar NVSE.

Fixes several bugs that aren't covered by Yukichigai Unofficial Patch.

Asterra's Many Fixes

Fixes several bugs that aren't covered by Yukichigai Unofficial Patch.

General

FNV 4GB Patcher

Patches the game to utilize more RAM than the initially allotted amount.

Pre-patched on GOG version.

Improves stability on systems with at least 3 GB of RAM.

New Vegas Heap Replacer

Replaces in-game heap with a better-optimized version.

Decreases load-times, alleviates stutter and slightly improves frame rate.

Ogg Vorbis Libraries

Updated sound libraries that optimize the game's audio decoding, fix an audio memory leak, sound-related stuttering and boosts performance while reducing CPU strain.

Miscellaneous

Skip intro videos

Instructions
Go to %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\FalloutNV\ Open Fallout.ini. Find SMainMenuMovieIntro= and SIntroSequence= lines and set them to 0

Game data

Configuration file location

System	Location
Windows	%USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\FalloutNV\FalloutPrefs.ini
Microsoft Store
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/22380/pfx/

Default settings are stored in <path-to-game>\Fallout_default.ini.

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	%USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\FalloutNV\Saves
Microsoft Store
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/22380/pfx/

Autosaves and quicksaves automatically create a backup (*.bak) of the previous save when overwritten.

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
GOG Galaxy
OneDrive		Requires enabling backup of the Documents folder in OneDrive on all computers.
Steam Cloud		Stores up to 200 MB of game saves online (maximum 1000 files).
Xbox Cloud

Video

Video settings.

Graphics feature	State	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution
Multi-monitor			See Multi-monitor.
Ultra-widescreen
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)		See Field of view (FOV).
Windowed		See Windowed.
Borderless fullscreen windowed		Use OneTweak or Borderless Gaming (add to favorites by process binary name) or Special K (need to activate in in-game menu, which is opened by Ctrl+Shift+Backspace).
Anisotropic filtering (AF)		Set in launcher. Up to 15 samples.
Anti-aliasing (AA)		Set in launcher. Up to 8x MSAA. HSAA, OGSSAA, SGSSAA, and TrSSAA can be utilized through the anti-aliasing compatibility bits 0x0000F0C1 (or 0x0000F0C5 if you experience Pip-Boy issues) using NVIDIA Inspector for NVIDIA graphics cards.
Vertical sync (Vsync)		Always enabled even when disabled in the launcher; see Vertical sync (Vsync).
60 FPS
120+ FPS		Use New Vegas Tick Fix.
High dynamic range display (HDR)		Rendered image uses SDR color space. In-game HDR option refers only to HDR Rendering.

Most graphics options are accessible on the main launcher screen.

Multi-monitor

Add support for multi-monitor set-ups[citation needed]
Go to the installation folder. Open Fallout_default.ini. Find the following lines: iSafeZoneXWide=15 iSafeZoneYWide=15 iSafeZoneX=15 Notes Many fonts become blurry and terminals may become unusable. HUD is shown on the middle/main monitor.

Relevant multi-monitor resolutions:

3840x1024	5040x1050
iSafeZoneXWide=610	iSafeZoneXWide=770
iSafeZoneYWide=15	iSafeZoneYWide=15
iSafeZoneX=610	iSafeZoneX=770

Field of view (FOV)

FOV Slider (Mod)
Required Mods: New Vegas Script Extender. JIP LN NVSE Plugin. The Mod Configuration Menu. Allows changing indiviudal Camera, Hands, and Pip-Boy FOV on the fly, in game, along with a multitude of other related settings.

Edit Field of view (FOV)

Edit %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\FalloutNV\Fallout.ini Change fDefaultFOV=75.0000 to the desired FOV. Below it, add fDefaultWorldFOV=75.0000 set to the desired value. Example: fDefaultFOV=80.0000 fDefaultWorldFOV=80.0000 Notes High FOV values can cause scopes to not cover the entire screen when aiming down sights. If you use the console command fov #, achievements will be disabled for the current session of the game; edit the file mentioned above for a permanent fix.

Suggested FOV values (with the assumption of default being good for 5:4):

Aspect Ratio	FOV Value
4:3	79.9000
16:9	105.3000
15:9	99.0000
16:10	95.2000
21:9	80.0000

Windowed

By default, windowed mode only supports a limited number of resolutions.

Edit windowed resolution[citation needed]
Go to %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\FalloutNV\ Open FalloutPrefs.ini. Change the values of iSize W= and iSize H= to the desired resolution.

Vertical sync (Vsync)

Vsync is enabled at all times, even if the Vertical Sync box is unticked. This setting can be forced in the Fallout_default.ini file.

Force Disable VSync[citation needed]
Go to the installation folder. Open Fallout_default.ini Change iPresentInterval=1 to iPresentInterval=0

Enabling SSAO for all graphics cards

ENB Series has a much better AO shader that works on all GPUs. Download it from here.

To install, extract all the files in the archive to the same folder as FalloutNV.exe.

Enabling HBAO+ for Nvidia graphics cards

Note: Using Nvidia HBAO+ can break compatibility with ENB Series.

Use the Ambient Occlusion flag 0x00000005 with Quality or High Quality.

Using Ambient Occlusion flag 0x00000005

Download and run Nvidia Profile Inspector. Under Profiles select Fallout - New Vegas. Under Ambient Occlusion compatibility insert the flag 0x00000005. Under Ambient Occlusion usage select Enabled. Under Ambient Occlusion setting select your quality of preference, but in order to use HBAO+ you must use Quality or High Quality. Click Apply changes. If you get an error saying access denied when applying the Ambient Occlusion setting, navigate to C:\ProgramData\NVIDIA Corporation and delete the folder named Drs. If there is no Drs folder then create it, this will fix the error.

Input

Input settings.

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping		Some menu keys are hardcoded.
Mouse acceleration		Enabled by default; see Mouse acceleration.
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support		Native XInput controller support. Only recognizes gamepad assigned to "Player 1".
Full controller support		Player name must be entered with keyboard at the beginning but default name can be chosen with controller.
Controller remapping
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion

Additional information
Button prompts		For DualShock use the Playstation 4 Controller mod.
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback		If disabled, it may re-enable itself after loading a save, even though it still says vibration is disabled.
Simultaneous controller+KB/M		Use the Better Steam Controller Support mod or lStewieAl's Tweaks and Engine Fixes with "Use Keyboard/Mouse In Gamemode While A Controller Is Connected" turned on (excludes menus).

It is possible to bind functions to mouse buttons by clicking on Devices in the bottom right corner when rebinding keys.

Mouse acceleration

Disable mouse acceleration

Edit %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\FalloutNV\Fallout.ini Find the section: [Controls] Add these lines: fForegroundMouseAccelBase=0 fForegroundMouseAccelTop=0 fForegroundMouseBase=0 fForegroundMouseMult=0 This fix should work, opposed to changes to the fallout_default.ini in the game's folder. Also, there is no need to add these lines every time you start up Fallout. Once added, the mouse acceleration should be disabled permanently. The following paragraphs should be obsolete but are kept for archive purposes. If this fix doesn't work, load the Fallout: New Vegas launcher and then add the lines to Fallout.ini. However, you will have to add those lines every time you play Fallout. You can also make Fallout.ini read-only, which will prevent mouse acceleration from being reset. If this still doesn't work, find the following lines in the Fallout_default.ini and change them to match the following: bBackground Mouse=1 iPresentInterval=0

Audio

Audio settings.

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls		Music, footsteps, voice, effects and radio.
Surround sound		Up to 7.1 output
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
EAX support		Use this mod to enable true binaural sound. Does not require a sound card.
Royalty free audio		In-game radio, including the player's PIP-Boy, in-game physical radios, and in-game speaker systems, uses licensed music; furthermore, the DLC Dead Money includes an unavoidable instance of licensed music. Otherwise, music is royalty free.

May require DirectSound3D restoration software to restore proper audio functionality on Windows Vista and later (Included in HRTF mod).

Creative ALchemy may cause the game to freeze and stop responding during the introduction with Doc Mitchell.

Localizations

Some versions of the game (such as Polish and Russian) have their translations in *_lang.esp files, which causes worse performance and incompatibilities with mods.

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
Czech
French
German
Hungarian				Fan translation.
Italian
Simplified Chinese				Fan translation, Fine translation version by «BN13»&«tianmiao(天邈) team» download here（only base game, DLC is still in translation). Machine translation version by «3DM»&«tieba fans» download here .
Japanese				Unknown if taken from the PS3 version or retranslated from English into Japanese, download
Polish				Not in every version, patch here.
Brazilian Portuguese				Fan translation: for base game and DLCs; Nexus Mods.
Russian				1) Not in every version, patch here. 2) Fan voice-over by «Cool-Games», download
Spanish				There is a enhanced fan translation that corrects many errors the original has here.
Turkish				A Turkish fan patch is available here.

Make multi-language versions compatible with mods

merge translation plugins with master files

Download FMV Plugin utility. Make sure to download version 1.7. Run FMVPlugin.jar. Set the path to your data folder. Open the file you want to translate (e.g. FalloutNV.esm). An error might show up, but you can ignore it. Merge it with the corresponding translation plugin (e.g. FalloutNV_lang.esp). Once you're done, open the launcher and make sure the *_lang.esp files are disabled. This process requires more than 4 GB of RAM. Pre-made version is available for Russian. Incompatible with the Polish version, the Lucky 38 Penthouse dissapears.

VR support

3D modes	Native	GG3D	Notes
Nvidia 3D Vision			Use Helix Mod: Fallout New Vegas.
TriDef 3D
iZ3D
vorpX		G3D, DirectVR Officially supported game, see official vorpx game list.
Devices	Native	Notes
3RD Space Gaming Vest
Novint Falcon

Issues fixed

TweakGuides has created a comprehensive guide for fixing issues in this game. It can be found here.

Characters "Throwing Up"

This is caused by conflicting character mods, this can usually be fixed with a compatibility patch or by using LOOT to fix the load order.

Rotating Heads/Floating, non-animated NPCs

Setting "Actor Fade" to the maximum value should fix this.

Random unlit geometry when using Pip-Boy light

The "Improved Lighting Shaders" xNVSE plugin may help remedy this, without needing to sacrifice distant light quality.

Alternatively lowering the "Light Fade" option can help reduce instances of this happening, at the cost of distant lighting being reduced.

Unable To Level

Caused by using the advlevel console command.

rewardxp console command
Can be fixed by adding enough XP to level once again. Use the console command rewardxp (e.g. rewardxp 5000 to award 5000xp) and add enough XP to level once again.

Game Crashes on Startup (NVSE installed properly)

This happens when you start the game and have mods that utilize NVSE (New Vegas Script Extender)

Crashes on Startup (NVSE installed properly)[citation needed]
Rightclick nvse_loader in the Fallout New Vegas installation folder and select properties. Select the tab "Compatibility" and click "Run this program as administrator" and apply. This could also be the result of mods attempting to change the same object.

Data Files get auto loaded on Startup

Affected data files are enabled at all times, even if their boxes in the "Data Files" menu are unticked.

Disable data file autoloading[citation needed]
Go to the <path-to-game>\Data\ Search for a file you want disabled with a .nam extension. Delete or rename the selected file. Repeat for any file you want disabled.

If you chose to delete the .nam files, you can recover them by verifying the game data files integrity in Steam.

Unable to trade/loot in the German game Version

Use the .exe from the international version
Exchange the game's .exe-files with ones from the international version, available HERE. Notes This method also reenables the gib/gore features of the game.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	9.0c
Shader Model support	3.0

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Physics	Havok
Audio	DirectSound
Cutscenes	Bink Video

Modifications

Mods for Fallout: New Vegas can be found at New Vegas Nexus.

See Essential improvements for modifications that fix bugs and improve performance.

Recommended mods

Viva New Vegas is a comprehensive Fallout New Vegas modding guide website which gets updated constantly and provides links to essential, stable and lore-friendly mods and how to install them.

Utilities

New Vegas Script Extender (xNVSE)

Required by many mods for them to function correctly.

Community-maintained fork of the original New Vegas Script Extender (NVSE).

Expands the scripting capabilities of the game.

Load Order Optimisation Tool (LOOT)

Plugin load order optimizer for Fallout: New Vegas and other games. Provides thousands of plugin-specific messages, including usage notes, Bash Tag suggestions, requirements, incompatibilities, bug warnings and installation mistake notifications. Supports the sorting of plugins ghosted by the Wrye Bash utility, is highly customizable, and has been translated into multiple languages.

FNV BSA Decompressor

Decompresses the Fallout: New Vegas BSAs and repacks them without zlib compression for improved performance.

Transcodes .ogg sounds effects to .wav to ensure they play as intended.

Extracts .mp3 files to loose files as they will not play when in a BSA.

Updates Ogg Vorbis libraries (fixing an audio memory leak), sound-related stuttering as well as boosting performance while reducing CPU strain.

The Mod Configuration Menu (MCM)

Allows mods to be configured from an in-game menu.

Script Extender Plugins

The following mods require New Vegas Script Extender.

JIP LN NVSE Plugin

Expands the scripting capabilities of the game.

Fixes several engine-related bugs.

JohnnyGuitar NVSE

Expands the scripting capabilities of the game.

Fixes several engine-related bugs.

New Vegas Anti Crash (NVAC)

Implements structured exception handling and sanity-checking to reduce frequency of game crashes.

New Vegas Tick Fix (NVTF)

Alleviates micro-stuttering.

FNV Mod Limit Fix

Raises the game's 120 plugin limit to 255.

Can also cause an increase in FPS, remove game stutter and allow for faster loading times, especially when using a large number of mods.

lStewieAl's Tweaks

A fully customizable engine plugin that provides a collection of bug fixes, tweaks and new features to the game at no performance cost.

An INI that only enables the bug fixes can be found here.

Overhauls

JSawyer

Requires all official DLC to be installed in order to function.

General difficulty tweak and bug-fix mod by Fallout: New Vegas' Project Director and Lead Designer, Joshua Sawyer.

Contains crude editing and bugs. JSawyer Ultimate is a reconstructed version with tweaks and fixes, but strays heavily from the original mod and introduces its own bugs.

Tale of Two Wastelands

Total conversion of Fallout 3 and its DLC to the Fallout: New Vegas engine, allowing both games to be played on a single save file. along with the improvements New Vegas' engine brings in regards to stability and modding.

Said to include "more than 40,000" bug fixes to both games.

Requires Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition and Fallout: New Vegas - Ultimate Edition. The mod is currently in beta and is stable. TTW Setup Guide by Qolore7.

Due to the mod utilizing New Vegas' engine, mods made for Fallout 3 are inherently incompatible. Modders must make TTW-specific versions of their mods for them to be compatible and list them as such.

User Interface

Vanilla UI Plus (VUI+)

Overhauls the user-interface without compromising the original style

Consistent Pip-Boy Icons

Remasters around 3,600 of the vanilla icons for higher resolutions.

Fixes consistency issues of the original icons in regards to transparency, sizes, etc.

Requires a UI mod that supports scaling, such as Vanilla UI Plus.

Vanilla HUD Cleaned

Remasters text and other vanilla HUD elements.

Requires Vanilla UI Plus.

Vanilla HUD Remastered (4K)

Remasters the vanilla HUD for up to 4K resolution.

Clean Companion Wheel

Remasters Companion Wheel for higher resolutions.

User Interface Organizer

Requires New Vegas Script Extender.

A plugin that manages and maintains all UI/HUD extensions added to the game by various mods.

One HUD

Allows for HUD elements to be moved and/or hidden.

PlayStation Button Icons

Replaces the Xbox controller button-prompts with their DualShock equivalents.

Utilizes official icons ripped from the PlayStation 3 version of the game.

Compatible with all the U.I. mods mentioned above.

Restored Content

Simply Uncut

Restores content cut from the game in a number of individual mods. List by mod author MoBurma lists content that has been cut from the game due to time constraints.

Mods such as Freeside Uncut require higher-end computers (relative to the game's recommended requirements) to perform optimally.

Contains various unintentional ("dirty") plugin edits, which can cause stability issues.

Vanilla Intro Plus

Restores the scene where Victor pulls the player out of the grave, after the vanilla intro video.

Texture Packs

Charge's FNV HD Texture Packs

Upscales the game's original textures using a curated selection of A.I. upscaling programs.

Vanilla Loading Screens HD

Remasters loading-screen artwork.

Processed by an A.I. upscaling program then tweaked by hand.

Pip-Boy 3000 HD Retexture

Remasters the texture of the Pip-Boy 3000 without compromising the original's style.

Includes a version for PlayStation 3 controller (L1-R1 instead of LT-RT)

Graphics

Improved Lighting Shaders

Fixes an exterior lighting bug with the vanilla game's shaders, and allows for up to 4x the number of active lights.

Weapon Mesh Improvement

Fixes for mesh errors, UV errors, incorrect flags, missing extra data, form lists, projectiles, and other weapon-related bugs/errors.

Collision Meshes

Improves the game's collision meshes.

Improved LOD Noise Texture

Improves the LOD noise texture used on all distant land.

Uses minimal video memory and greatly improves quality.

Lucky 38 World LOD Fix

Fixes glitched-looking LOD in a certain area of the game.

Aqua Performa - Strip Performance Fix

Drastically improves performance on The Strip by getting rid of water LOD.

High Resolution Water Fog - Water Aliasing Fix

Increases resolution of water depth render target, thus significantly reducing aliasing and improving image quality.

High Resolution Bloom

Edits the resolution of the bloom render target, allowing it to use higher screen resolutions instead of the hardcoded quarter size. This increases bloom precision, reducing it's flicker.

Pip-Boy Shading Fix

Fixes Pip-Boy's shading by taking into account lights around it.

MoonlightNVSE

Fixes moonlight by making the moon the light caster instead of the sun.

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	XP	Vista, 7
Processor (CPU)	Intel Pentium 4 2.4 GHz	2.0 GHz Dual Core
System memory (RAM)	1 GB	2 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	10 GB
Video card (GPU)	256 MB of VRAM DirectX 9.0c compatible	ATI Radeon X1300 XT series Nvidia GeForce 6 series 512 MB of VRAM