Fallout: New Vegas MOD discussion thread

[Daehawk]

Ok this Pipboy light is annoying as hell. It will not stay on. I can have it on and do any of the following and it goes off....enter a new zone, get into combat, open my pipboy...just about anything and it goes off. Then to turn it on again I have to hold the button down till it clicks..then do it again and it comes on. It's as if it thinks it's on when it isn't. So i have to turn it'off' then back 'on' ARGH.

Also the light radius SUCKs....going to have to find a new light mod.

Lastly that bad karma hit sound is driving me crazy. I have no idea what bad karma will do to me but it telling me over and over when I get some stinks. time to mod that out too.

[Daehawk]

Was just walking along and it crashed. Now it won't restart..just crashes on start up.

[Daehawk]

Pics of some of the outfits Ive found through my mods. Must be 500 of them lol.

[Grifman]

I really want to recommend two mods:

A World of Pain

This is a mod that adds a number of challenging and rewarding dungeons. Some of the best fights in NV can be found here.

New Vegas Bounties

This is a really well designed set of quests for bounties on a number of evildoers and includes some surprises along the way. Very enjoyable.

[Doomboy]

You know, a mod I wish was in the game is a northern gate to New Vegas.

It is extremely annoying to go up north and do stuff, and then when coming back, have to walk all around New Vegas' junk wall just to get to the eastern or southern gate. And come to think of it, a western gate would be nice too.

[Grifman]

You know, a mod I wish was in the game is a northern gate to New Vegas.

It is extremely annoying to go up north and do stuff, and then when coming back, have to walk all around New Vegas' junk wall just to get to the eastern or southern gate. And come to think of it, a western gate would be nice too.

I think the game has this thing called Fast Travel . . .

[Doomboy]

You know, a mod I wish was in the game is a northern gate to New Vegas.

It is extremely annoying to go up north and do stuff, and then when coming back, have to walk all around New Vegas' junk wall just to get to the eastern or southern gate. And come to think of it, a western gate would be nice too.

I think the game has this thing called Fast Travel . . .

I have no idea what you are talking about. Fast Travel? Sounds like cheating to me.

Seriously, I hate using fast travel. It breaks the game for me. So I try my damnedest never to use it.

[Hipolito]

This is to let you know that, in honor of Fallout: New Vegas's victory in the Best Game of Last Five Years tournament, I will be posting my own guide on modding the game. Soon, probably tomorrow. It takes into account recent developments in FNV modding such as the restored original content.

My guide is meant to be in the spirit of what Blackhawk did for Morrowind and what triggercut did for Oblivion: step-by-step instructions for installing all the mods that most players, regardless of individual taste, would want to have. Having completed my first draft, I now see how hard it is to write one of these things and I'm afraid my work's not up to par. Still, it could be a useful introduction to modding, especially for players new to FNV. Watch this thread!

[Arkon]

This is to let you know that, in honor of Fallout: New Vegas's victory in the Best Game of Last Five Years tournament, I will be posting my own guide on modding the game. Soon, probably tomorrow. It takes into account recent developments in FNV modding such as the restored original content.

My guide is meant to be in the spirit of what Blackhawk did for Morrowind and what triggercut did for Oblivion: step-by-step instructions for installing all the mods that most players, regardless of individual taste, would want to have. Having completed my first draft, I now see how hard it is to write one of these things and I'm afraid my work's not up to par. Still, it could be a useful introduction to modding, especially for players new to FNV. Watch this thread!

Very cool, I recently reinstalled FNV and am doing a playthrough as a "Brotherhood of Steel" type guy. No traditional guns, only energy weapons, eventually heavy armor and science.

[ColdSteel]

I finally got around to New Vegas on my backlog and started my first game about 2 weeks ago. I'm at level 11 and playing as a sniper type. I'm generally interested in the mods but have been afraid to install anything out of fear of breaking something. So a compilation would certainly be interesting to see.

[TheMix]

Definitely interested in seeing what you come up with.

I was playing it recently. I'd gotten to NV, but was still doing the stuff in the area outside the city proper. This was without the DLC. Then the sale hit. So I grabbed the DLC. So I stopped playing because the DLC all loaded automatically.

I've been planning on grabbing new mods and restarting.

[Hipolito]

Hipolito's Fallout: New Vegas Modding Guide
Version 1.00, created on 23 September 2013

1. Introduction
   1. The Modding Process
      
      This guide walks you through the mod installation process as I went through it. It assumes you're starting with an installation of Fallout New Vegas with all DLC and no mods. The majority of this guide's content is based on the hard work of another person: Gopher of YouTube. I'll be directing you to watch his videos so that you'll minimize mistakes, understand what the mods do, and optimize your installation to suit your tastes. My guide fills in some holes here and there and suggests some mods that Gopher doesn't delve into.
      
      All told, modding took me 15 hours. More than half of that time was spent watching the videos; the remainder of it was spent reading the mods' readme files and user comments, installing the mods, and testing the mods in the game. While my guide will save you some of the trouble of researching and fixing errors, you'll probably spend some time experimenting on your own, using mods that my guide doesn't address, and getting the game to play the way just the way you like it. So even if this guide helps you, you might spend as much time modding as I did.
      
      If you're following this guide with a clean install of FNV, I recommend starting a dummy character in the game and saving once you're free to leave the starting building. This is a good place to go indoors and outdoors, adjust time, and test things out. As you add mods, I recommend testing the game from this position every now and then to detect problems as they come up.
      
      Because many mods are in RAR or 7z format, you may want to have a program that can open them. 7-Zip is great for this.
   2. My Setup
      
      I installed Fallout: New Vegas Ultimate Edition, purchased on Steam. This release was officially patched to version 1.4.0.525 and includes the official downloadable content (DLC) Dead Money, Honest Hearts, Old World Blues, Lonesome Road, Gun Runners' Arsenal and Courier's Stash. I installed the game and DLC before beginning the modding process. On my computer, I installed the game to the E:\SteamLibrary folder rather than C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam. I play the game with a screen resolution of 1920 by 1080.
      
      My hardware specs:
      Spoiler:

      Desktop computer purchased in November 2012
      Operating system: Windows 8 64-bit
      Processor: Intel Core i7 3930K 3.2 GHz before overclocking
      Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2 GB with PhysX
      System Memory: 16 GB DDR3 1600 MHz
      Motherboard: ASUS Sabertooth X79
      Power Supply: 800W Corsair GS
      C Drive: 240 GB SATA 6 Gbps Solid State Hard Drive
      E Drive: 1 TB 7200 RPM 32 MB Cache Hard Disk Drive
      Sound: Integrated motherboard audio
   3. Caveats
      1. Reliability of Information
         
         Every modding guide is always out of date and misses mods you'd think are essential. This guide is no exception. But just as Gopher's videos were an essential starting point for making FNV better for my tastes, my guide can serve as a starting point for you.
         
         At the time of posting the 1.00 version of this guide, I've played my modded FNV for only 10 hours and therefore don't yet know whether everything I've done works properly. I will update this guide as I continue playing FNV and detect bugs or try other mods.
      2. Known Issues
         
         I experience infrequent, unpredictable crashes in my modded FNV. These crashes require me to restart the operating system. I don't know the reason for these crashes; it could be hardware, the game, or a mod. I've never played the game unmodded.
      3. What This Guide Is Missing
         
         I'm playing it safe and not straying far from Gopher's eight-part "Modding Fallout NV Ultimate Edition" series. These videos date from Summer 2012, but I feel better following a modding guide that's proven and slightly out-of-date over one that's recent but risky. For this and other reasons, this guide is deficient in the following:
         
         • Flashlight mods. The ones I know about have significant reported issues.
         • Mods to improve the look of people, weapons, and explosions.
         • Adventures. I'm only included one in this guide (Tales From the Burning Sands). I prefer to focus on vanilla FNV's quests for now. I thought about installing the popular New Vegas Bounties I and II, but I read somewhere that they conflict with one of the other mods (Freeside Open maybe).
         • Player Homes.
         • Unofficial bug fix packs like Mission Mojave. They don't seem necessary and I've read horror stories about them.
         • Shaders. Gopher actually recommends one, but I'm avoiding it for reasons stated in II.G below.
2. Gopher's Videos
   1. Watch Nexus Mod Manager : Tutorial
      
      1. Nexus Mod Manager (NMM): An application that makes mod downloading and installation much easier and cleaner. Some caveats:
         • To use the handy "Download With Manager" links, which you'll be doing a lot, you need to be logged into NexusMods. It's free to create an account there.
         • NMM's mod-updating feature does not work properly because it gets confused by version numbers. It could mess things up if you use it. Un-check "Check for new Mod versions" in the Settings menu.
         • Downloading via NMM can fail at times, especially for the huge mods like the NMC texture pack. I just kept trying and got everything eventually.
         • Some mods don't work properly with NMM and therefore need to be manually downloaded and installed. Gopher or I will note when you need to download and install mods manually.
         • NMM crashed a few times while I was using it. This didn't do any damage, though; I was able to pick up where I left off.
   2. Watch Modding Fallout NV 'Ultimate Edition' part 1: User Interface
      
      After watching this video, I installed
      
      1. New Vegas Script Extender (NVSE): A lot of mods need this.
      2. Darnified beta test v 4: Makes the user interface smaller and better.
      3. Mod Configuration Menu v 1.1: Adds a Mod Configuration Menu option to the game's main menu, making it easy to adjust some mods' settings.
         • Bug alert: at some point during my mod installation process, all of the game's main menu commands except for Mod Configuration Menu became greyed out and unclickable after loading a saved game. I was able to fix the problem by downloading MCM Bugfix 2 (link) and manually installing it in the game's Data folder, replacing MCM's original ESP file.
      4. One HUD - oHUD: Makes the game's heads-up display more informative and customizable.
      5. Unified HUD Project: Merges other mods' HUDs so they don't conflict with one another.
   3. Watch Modding Fallout NV 'Ultimate Edition' part 2: Project Nevada
      
      After watching this video, I installed
      
      1. Project Nevada and patches: Adds various features to the game's first-person shooter aspect such as sprinting, charging, bullet time, visor overlay, explosive breaching, and customizable difficulty.
      2. Weapon Mods Expanded (WMX) and patches (link): Enhances the modifications that you can make to weapons. It's not part of Project Nevada, but Gopher recommended it during this video so I installed it. Gopher talks more about WMX (and other weapon mods, though I'm not installing those) in another video.
   4. Watch Modding Fallout NV 'Ultimate Edition' part 3: Nevada Skies
      
      After watching this video, I installed
      
      1. Nevada Skies URWLified (link): The Nevada Skies mods enhance the outdoor lighting, sky, and weather effects. I've tried versions 0-7, 0-6, URWLified, and Project Reality (covered in the next video). In my experiments, only URWLified allowed me to play in total night darkness, so that's the one I chose.
   5. Watch Fallout New Vegas Mod Clinic - Part 9 : Nuclear Wasteland (skip to 8:30 to skip the Project Reality material)
      
      After watching this video, I installed
      
      1. Hectrol FX Duststorm Deluxe HighRes Retex: makes duststorms look better.
      2. Mojave Nights - a moon and stars replacer: makes night sky more realistic and moon size adjustable.
         • Bug alert: I could not get the Main File version of this working. The configuration menu didn't appear and the mod made no difference. I got proper results by manually downloading the FOMOD version instead and activating it through NMM.
   6. Watch Modding Fallout NV 'Ultimate Edition' part 7 : Performance until the 7:35 mark
      
      After watching this, I installed
      
      1. 4GB Fallout New Vegas: I'm putting this up here because it's necessary to safely run the next mod, the Large Textures version of NMC. 4GB Fallout New Vegas is a retooled version of the game's executable file that allows the entire 4GB Virtual Memory Address Space to be used. I downloaded this to its own folder and start the game with it while the Steam client runs in the background. If I try to use it without Steam running, I get Steam Error: Application load error 5:0000065434
   7. Watch Modding Fallout NV 'Ultimate Edition' part 4: Visual Enhancements
      
      After watching this, I installed
      
      1. NMC's Texture Pack for New Vegas (large) with Red Wood and Burnt Fence Clash patch: replaces the textures of the game's roads, landscapes, vehicles, buildings, interiors, and many objects to make them look better. The popular way to go is to install both NMC and Poco Bueno (in that order) so that the latter overwrites the former when the two conflict. I avoid Poco Bueno entirely, though, because I think it makes things look too crispy for an area that was relatively unaffected by nukes.
      2. Dynavision 3 (includes Imaginator, Cinematech, and Director's Chair) (link): A suite of visual enhancements with HUD-based menus for on-the-fly adjustment. Allows dynamic depth of field, color adjustment, mood lighting, and cinematic filters.
      I am not using the shader he talks about, even though Enhanced Shaders - ENB 173 is popular. It interferes with antialiasing, making the game look awful. This problem can be worked around by adjusting graphics card settings, but I don't want to bother. Also, the shaders look great in some environments but iffy in others. Fortunately, it is pretty easy to test this mod for yourself.
   8. Watch Modding Fallout NV 'Ultimate Edition' part 6 : Weapon Animation Replacers (part 5 is optional, see K.1 below)
      
      After watching this video, I installed
      
      1. Commando Rifle and Professional Pistol Animation Packs and Weapon Animation Replacer FOMOD: These let you adjust your character's gun-carrying posture.
   9. Watch Modding Fallout NV 'Ultimate Edition' part 7 : Performance starting at the 7:35 mark to skip past the aforementioned 4GB Fallout New Vegas
      
      After watching this video, I installed
      
      1. CASM with MCM: Generates multiple autosaves at intervals you can adjust.
         • Note that FNV has a limit of 1,000 saved game files. You can see how many you have left by clicking on Save from the main menu; it will say "[NEW SAVE] xx/1000 saves used." The four-digit number in front of each save doesn't represent how many saves you've taken up; it can go past 1000 (source).
      I didn't feel the need for Fake Fullscreen Mode Windowed so I didn't install it.
   10. Watch Fallout New Vegas Mod Clinic - Part 1 (REVISED) : Stutter Remover
       
       After watching this video, I installed
       
       1. New Vegas Stutter Remover: Removes the choppiness that happens while you're moving sideways.
          • Installing this via the Nexus Mod Manager did not work, so I installed it manually by copying the mod's dll file to the game's data/NVSE/Plugins folder.
          • The mod's readme says that the mod may cause crashes after extended hours of play. I don't know whether the few crashes I've had are from this.
          • The mod, by design, reduces the game's frame rate. This makes the game run a little choppier. This can be remedied by changing the MaximumFPS value from 30 to 0 in the sr_New_Vegas_Stutter_Remover.ini file, which is generated in the data/NVSE/Plugins folder once the game is run with this mod's dll in that folder. I've done this and enjoy both a smooth frame rate and greatly reduced stutter.
          • In my observation, this mod has a modest, negative impact on antialiasing. This is particularly noticeable on thin, faraway objects, making them look segmented.
   11. Optional videos
       
       1. Modding Fallout New Vegas 'Ultimate Edition' 5 : FNVEdit: FNVEdit helps you diagnose problems and create merged patches to correct them. FNVEdit found no problems in my mod setup and I haven't needed it to create a merged patch.
       2. Modding Fallout NV 'Ultimate Edition' part 8: Troubleshooting: General tips.
       3. Nexus Mod Manager (NMM): What to do when Download With Manager fails: Shows how to download files manually, pretty obvious by now.
3. Beyond Gopher
   
   1. Restored Content
      1. JSawyer Mod: Designed by FNV project director J. E. Sawyer, this mod applies various fixes and tweaks that make the game more challenging as he had originally envisioned.
         • To install, go here and scroll to the end for the download link. Download it manually, then install it using the "Add Mod from File" function in NMM.
      2. New Vegas Uncut: A series of mods that restores content cut from the original game.
         • To get "the whole enchilada," as I did, go here and use NMM to install
           • New Vegas Uncut 2 - A Koch and Bohr Story
           • New Vegas Uncut 4 - A Thorny Situation
           • New Vegas Uncut 5 - A Wilder Wasteland
           • Freeside Open (I didn't bother getting the Debug Console Enabler, as I'm hoping I won't need it)
           • Freeside Open Cut Music
           • New Vegas Uncut 6 - If It Wasnt For Betsy (Freeside Open-compatible version)
           • New Vegas Uncut 8 - Welcome to Fabulous New Vegas (Extended Cut v1-0).
           • New Vegas Uncut - Outside Bets
         • Don't install 1, 3, or 7 if you're installing Freeside Open because Freeside Open already includes them.
         • Freeside Open requires 4GB Fallout New Vegas, will cause some glitches and performance issues while you're in Freeside, and will serious cause problems if installed on a game in already in progress or uninstalled from a saved game that has used it. It's a commitment!
         • 8 replaces the full motion video intro with an in-game depiction of the Courier scene and different dialogue. It totally skips the sweeping shot of the city and the narrated slideshow. Some prefer it for roleplaying and plot purposes. Since it's an in-game cutscene, you will get DLC and mod notices while it plays, though this is less of a problem if you use Delay DLC mentioned in III.B.1 below. If you've got Nevada Skies and JSawyer Mod enabled, you'll have to click away their pop-ups for the cutscene to progress. If that annoys you, you could start the game with those mods disabled and then enable them after the cutscene ends. 8's a matter of taste. As the modmaker says, "this mod is intended as more of a novelty than a serious choice."
         • The modmaker who uncovered and made this content available writes in great detail about it here for those interested. (Not me!)
   2. Gameplay Adjustment
      1. Delay DLC: Normally, when you start a new game with the DLC installed, you get slammed by all the DLC radio signals at once. That's a little overwhelming and annoying. This mod spaces them out so that you don't get a DLC radio signal until you're in the vicinity of it. When you get the signal, you must listen to the entire radio message for the DLC to show up as a quest in your Pip-Boy. For a couple of the DLCs, your character has to be at an appropriate level for the radio signal to activate.
         • To install, go here and use NMM to get Delay DLC Combined (assuming you have the Gun Runners' Arsenal DLC).
      2. Color Me Evil: In vanilla FNV, it's very difficult to get a bad karma rating because the karma bonuses are too generous and the karma penalties too lenient. This mod rebalances things so that if you're being a supreme jerk, you'll have a bad karma rating. It's still plenty easy to be good if you want.
         • To install, go here and use NMM to get version 2.1.
         • Using NMM to install this mod will install both the regular ESP file and the "Cass" version of the file in which the character Cass will not react to your becoming evil. Don't have both running; in the Plugins tab, uncheck the version you don't want.
         • JSawyer Mod also makes extensive karma adjustments and I don't yet know whether it makes sense to have both that and Color Me Evil running. I have JSawyer later in my load order so that JSawyer overrules Color Me Evil when they both seek to modify a karma bonus or penalty.
   3. Adventures
      1. Tales From the Burning Sands: A widely recommended three-chapter adventure designed by Puce Moose of the Gamers With Jobs forum.
         • To install, go here and use NMM install the Complete version with Hotfix Three.
         • To start each chapter of the adventure, use the Help Wanted terminal in the Goodsprings saloon.
         • It is recommended not to have companions with you while pursuing this quest.
   4. Music
      
      1. Extended New Vegas Radio Generator: Lets you add music to the Radio New Vegas station. Includes tools to rename your mp3s as sequential numbers, convert them to the recommended 128 kbps bitrate, generate corresponding OGG files, and generate the ExtendedNVRadio.esp you'll need to play the added music.
         • To install, go here and use NMM.
         • Using NMM to install this mod places the file "Extended NVR Generator.exe" in the game's Data folder, but the mod's description says that the file should reside in the game's main folder with FalloutNV.exe. I relocated the file manually.
      2. The Secret Stash: The rare prize of my mod collection. From the maker of the wonderful "More Where That Came From" for Fallout 3, this 80-song pack adds tunes to Radio New Vegas that are the namesakes of lots of quests in FNV. Note: the following installation instructions assume you haven't already added music to your Radio New Vegas station.
         • Download this file, then install it using the "Add Mod from File" function in NMM. In the Plugins tab, make sure only one of the four SecretStash esp files (SecretStash80.esp) is loaded.
         • The bitrate of the mp3s in this mod is not the recommended 128 kbps bitrate. It's 192 instead. To convert the bitrate to 128, I did the following:
           1. I moved the 80 mp3 files (their filenames are the numbers 1 to 80) from Data\Sound\songs\radionvextend to E:\SteamLibrary\SteamApps\common\Fallout New Vegas\Data\Sound\songs\radionvextend\MusicToConvert.
           2. I ran "[1. Convert to MP3].bat" in Data\Sound\songs\radionvextend to reduce the compression rate to 128kbps. (The original mp3 files in the MusicToConvert folder can then be deleted.)
           3. I deleted the 80 OGG files in Data\Sound\songs\radionvextend and ran "[3. Convert to Mono Ogg].bat" in Data\Sound\songs\radionvextend to generate new OGG files. (Running "[2. Rename to xxx].bat" is not necessary because the mp3 filenames are already in the required sequential number format.)
           4. I ran Extended NVR Generator.exe to generate a new ExtendedNVRadio.esp file, which I then checked in the Plugins tab of NMM.
         For lists of all 80 songs, refer to the "Track List - Mr New Vegas's Secret Stash" txt files in Data\Sound\songs\radionvextend. The list in the mod's readme file is incomplete.
      3. Mojave Music Radio - Extended: Expands the Mojave Music Radio station to 100 tracks, adding mostly country/western/bluegrass tunes.
         • To install, go here and use NMM to get the esp files and four music packs. In the Plugins tab, you'll see five MojaveExtended esps; make sure only MojaveExtended100.esp is checked in order to use all 85 of the new songs.
      4. Mysterious Broadcast - Extended: A 90-track expansion for the station that comes with the Old World Blues DLC
         • To install, go here and use NMM to get the esp files and five music packs. In the Plugins tab, you'll see five MBOWBExtended esps; make sure only MBOWBExtended100.esp is checked in order to use all 90 of the new songs.
      5. Existence 2-0 -Robot Radio-: A new radio station that plays weird ambient/horror. Ported from Fallout 3, though this version only has the audio content and none of the quest material.
         • To install, go here and use NMM to get the 1-3-1 Full Install and 1-3-2 Update.
      6. CONELRAD 640-1240 - Civil Defense Radio: A new radio station that plays atom bomb-related music and public service announcements. Ported from Fallout 3.
         • To install, go here and use NMM.
4. My Mod Load Order
   
   Here is my mod load order as generated by the "Export the current load order" function in NMM. I didn't have to do much adjusting here. I followed whatever load order recommendations Gopher made in his videos. I also made sure that patches were lower on the list than the files they were patching.
   
   Note that "=1" means that the file is checked and "=0" means that the file is unchecked.
   
   Spoiler:

   GameMode=FalloutNV
   
   FalloutNV.esm=1
   DeadMoney.esm=1
   HonestHearts.esm=1
   OldWorldBlues.esm=1
   LonesomeRoad.esm=1
   GunRunnersArsenal.esm=1
   CaravanPack.esm=1
   MercenaryPack.esm=1
   ClassicPack.esm=1
   TribalPack.esm=1
   Project Nevada - Core.esm=1
   Project Nevada - Equipment.esm=1
   Project Nevada - Cyberware.esp=1
   Project Nevada - Rebalance.esp=1
   NSkies URWLified.esm=1
   oHUD.esm=1
   FreesideOpen.esm=1
   Tales from the Burning Sands.esm=1
   Project Nevada - Dead Money.esp=1
   Project Nevada - Honest Hearts.esp=1
   Project Nevada - Old World Blues.esp=1
   Project Nevada - Lonesome Road.esp=1
   Project Nevada - Gun Runners' Arsenal.esp=1
   Color Me Evil.esp=1
   Color Me Evil - Cass.esp=0
   WeaponModsExpanded.esp=1
   WMX-DeadMoney.esp=1
   WMX-HonestHearts.esp=1
   WMX-LonesomeRoad.esp=1
   WMX-OldWorldBlues.esp=1
   WMX-GunRunnersArsenal.esp=1
   WMX-PreOrderPackCaravan.esp=1
   WMX-PreOrderPackClassic.esp=1
   WMX-PreOrderPackMercenary.esp=1
   WMX-PreOrderPackTribal.esp=1
   WMX-ArenovalisTextures.esp=1
   Project Nevada - WMX.esp=1
   NSkies URWLifiedDM.esp=1
   NSkies URWLifiedHH.esp=1
   NSkies URWLifiedOWB.esp=1
   DarNifiedUINV.esp=1
   The Mod Configuration Menu.esp=1
   DYNAVISION 3.esp=1
   CASM.esp=1
   Mojave Nights.esp=1
   jsawyer.esp=1
   kochandbohr.esp=1
   athornysituation.esp=1
   awilderwasteland.esp=1
   FreesideOpenPatch.esp=1
   FSOmusic.esp=1
   betsybrahminFSO.esp=1
   originalintroExtended.esp=1
   Delay DLC - DM + HH + OWB + LR + GRA.esp=1
   outsidebets.esp=1
   ExtendedNVRadio.esp=1
   SecretStash80.esp=1
   SecretStash60.esp=0
   SecretStash20.esp=0
   SecretStash40.esp=0
   MojaveExtended100.esp=1
   MojaveExtended80.esp=0
   MojaveExtended60.esp=0
   MojaveExtended40.esp=0
   MojaveExtended20.esp=0
   MBOWBExtended100.esp=1
   MBOWBExtended80.esp=0
   MBOWBExtended60.esp=0
   MBOWBExtended40.esp=0
   MBOWBExtended20.esp=0
   Existence2.0.esp=1
   CONELRAD 640-1240.esp=1
5. Miscellaneous Tips
   1. If you've installed 4GB Fallout New Vegas as above, then remember to start the game using it. Create a desktop shortcut for easy access.
   2. You can take screenshots by pressing Print Screen or F12. Print Screen places screenshots in the game's main directory. Pressing F12 places them somewhere in your Steam directory.
   3. You can activate and deactivate the console with the ` key. A useful, non-cheating reason to do so is to save games with filenames of your choice. Within the console, you do this by entering "save [filename]". [filename] cannot have spaces. However, entering any console commands makes the game think you're cheating and disables achievements for the rest of the play session. Exiting the game, restarting, and loading up that save re-enables achievements.
   4. In NMM, you can view the mods folder by clicking on Open folders->Open NMM's Mods Folder. This is where mods are kept when you download them via NMM or add them via NMM's "Add Mod from File" function. It helps to know this in case you want to examine your mod files' contents. Mods that you download and install outside of NMM will be wherever you put them, not in this folder.
   5. For other lists of FNV mods, you might consult:
      
      • Gopher's "final" mod video: Here he talks about the "final" list of mods he's using for his video AAR. This list addresses the types of mods listed in the "What This Guide Is Missing" section in I.C.3 above. However, he sounds noncommittal about this list and doesn't go into detail on how to install this combination of mods.
      • Jason McCullough's Fallout New Vegas Mod Pack at Quarter to Three: I thought about following this guide, but am not confident that it is bug-free.
      • Something Awful's list: a long list that's been kept up to date.
      • Reddit's list
6. Q&A
   
   To be updated as questions arise.
7. Guide Version History
   
   Version 1.00, created on 23 September 2013

[Hipolito]

As they say, a modding guide is never finished; it is "accidentally" posted to the Internet.

I'm not quite satisfied with how my guide turned out, as it's not a be-all end-all guide and asking you to watch a lot of YouTube videos now strikes me as very strange. But I think I've put together a lot of useful info. And so far, my FNV experience with these mods has been slick.

I would appreciate any corrections or suggestions. Thanks!

[Fitzy]

Nice guide. I'm doing a fallout 3 playful and used Gopher's advice for a lot of the mods I used. Good choice. After F3 I will probably follow your guide.

I noticed you say you hand ordered the mod list. I'm curious if you had a reason for not using BOSS?

[Hipolito]

Nice guide. I'm doing a fallout 3 playful and used Gopher's advice for a lot of the mods I used. Good choice. After F3 I will probably follow your guide.

I noticed you say you hand ordered the mod list. I'm curious if you had a reason for not using BOSS?

Thanks, Fitzy. I learned about BOSS very late, right while I was writing the guide, and didn't really look into it until your post prompted me to do so. I will keep it in mind for possible future revisions to the guide. Have you found BOSS helpful?

Gopher talks about BOSS in Load Order and BOSS Tutorial starting at 10:20. He seems to recommend it more for advanced users, but it can also be helpful for anyone experiencing crashes during FNV startup.

[Fitzy]

I found BOSS helpful, mostly because it allows me to be lazy and let a program set the load order. I did double check the order based on the resources Gopher provided and there was virtually no difference. My game has been stable enough, the auto-saver is the best mod though.

[Archinerd]

Extended New Vegas Radio Generator is a bit of a pain to get installed and probably not worth the effort. I did eventually get it to work but if you want to add/remove a song to your play list you have to re-do a lot of time consuming steps. This requires a big time investment up front just so you can hear Jack White* from the in-game radio stations. There are other radio editors (some you listed) that are easier to use and essentially solve the same problem of hearing the same 3 songs over and over with the vanilla radio.

*just an example.

[Hipolito]

I found BOSS helpful, mostly because it allows me to be lazy and let a program set the load order. I did double check the order based on the resources Gopher provided and there was virtually no difference. My game has been stable enough, the auto-saver is the best mod though.

Thanks. I'll give BOSS a try too, I'm curious to see how it would change my load order.

Extended New Vegas Radio Generator is a bit of a pain to get installed and probably not worth the effort. I did eventually get it to work but if you want to add/remove a song to your play list you have to re-do a lot of time consuming steps. This requires a big time investment up front just so you can hear Jack White* from the in-game radio stations. There are other radio editors (some you listed) that are easier to use and essentially solve the same problem of hearing the same 3 songs over and over with the vanilla radio.

*just an example.

Extended New Vegas Radio Generator is indeed cumbersome. I went through the steps of using it to adjust Secret Stash's bitrate. It is kind of nice to have the additional music in Radio New Vegas and not have to go into Pip-Boy to change stations, plus I get to hear the DJ now and then!

I think I will add a clarification that ENVRG isn't needed to add the other radio stations.

By the way, if you'd like to try making your own radio station, there's a written guide and a video guide. It looks a lot more involved than using ENVRG. But it'd be neat if someone made OO Radio!

[Blackhawk]

BOSS is invaluable. I use it for all of my Elder Scrolls and Fallout 3/NV installations.

[Tampa_Gamer]

I find myself having bought FNV with all DLC during one of the Steam sales but never got around to playing it more than an hour or so before going back to a Skyrim build. However, I have an itch to journey into the Fallout universe that needs scratched so looking for some advice.

I have gone from using over 100+ mods in Oblivion and Fallout 3 to less than a dozen or so in my current Skyrim build and (for better or worse) relying solely on the Nexus Mod Manager with a BOSS sort. My two main reasons for doing so were to (1) minimize the amount of time spent installing/maintaining updated mods for the current character build and (2) trying to avoid game-breaking bugs by using too many mods that I didn’t discover until I had a lot of time invested in a game.

After reading a number of FNV modding reviews and comparing a number of 'must have' mod lists, here is my current list of proposed mods and why (3 mod enablers and 8 actual mods):
(1) Nexus Mod Manager (I know its not as comprehensive as FOMM, but its so easy to use and keep mods updated - especially if you only use a dozen or so mods like I plan to)
(2) NVSE (many mods require the script extender and its fairly easy to keep updated manually)
(3) BOSS for FNV (easy way of tackling the load order)
(4) Project Nevada (the only overhaul I considered - I really like FWE for Fallout 3)
(5) RH_IronSights (I read that its almost required for those that like the combat aspect - but I wonder why Project Nevada didn’t address it)
(6) Centered 3rd Person View (cannot stand default 3rd person view in Fallout 3)
(7) Weapon Modkits Expanded (WMX) (again, really like this in Fallout 3 and its on a number of must have mod lists)
(8) Darn UI (used for Oblivion, Skyrim, Fallout 3, etc. - if there is a better alternative [any MTUI users?] please let me know)
(9) Energy Visuals Enhanced (like it for Fallout 3 - but couldn’t tell if it conflicts with others in my list)
(10) URWLNV Ultimate Edition (looks to be a combination of Fellout/Interior Lighting adding weather and making the nights/interiors much darker - which I want)
(11) New Vegas Bounties I & II (I don’t usually add content before I my first run through - but these come so highly recommended its hard to ignore)

So here are my questions:
(1) If someone feels strongly that I absolutely need to use FOMM rather than Nexus Mod Manager given the above, please let me know.
(2) Anyone know of incompatibilities between the above?
(3) I have not addressed any sound or texture mod replacers above and I am not opposed to an all inclusive one if someone likes a particular one please recommend (as long as its easy to install)
(4) I am used to one agreed upon community "unofficial patch" for Skyrim - but found multiple versions from different creators for FNV - what's up with that. Is there a particular one that anyone recommends?
(5) Given the above will I need some of the outlier menu/UI mods like (Weapon Mod Menu [which looks to be built into Project Nevada] or Universal HUDS)?
(6) I saw that one of the developers has a patch out (J.Sawyer)? Any users out there? However, it looks like it would conflict with a number of Project Nevada tweaks

Any other advice would be greatly appreciated.

[edit - Hipolito, thanks for the great guide up there, did you ever find a flashlight mod you liked without bugs?]

[TheMix]

Awwww crud. No I'm going to have to get this working again. And I haven't even finished Skyrim yet.

Edit:

After reading through the list, where are the visual updates? Are they part of Project Nevada?

Also, is there a dwelling one in there? Since I'm a collector... I had originally been eyeing one that was rated well, but it only worked for a full install with all the mods. And at the time I didn't have any.

[Archinerd]

I find myself having bought FNV with all DLC during one of the Steam sales but never got around to playing it more than an hour or so before going back to a Skyrim build. However, I have an itch to journey into the Fallout universe that needs scratched so looking for some advice.

I have gone from using over 100+ mods in Oblivion and Fallout 3 to less than a dozen or so in my current Skyrim build and (for better or worse) relying solely on the Nexus Mod Manager with a BOSS sort. My two main reasons for doing so were to (1) minimize the amount of time spent installing/maintaining updated mods for the current character build and (2) trying to avoid game-breaking bugs by using too many mods that I didn’t discover until I had a lot of time invested in a game.

After reading a number of FNV modding reviews and comparing a number of 'must have' mod lists, here is my current list of proposed mods and why (3 mod enablers and 8 actual mods):
(1) Nexus Mod Manager (I know its not as comprehensive as FOMM, but its so easy to use and keep mods updated - especially if you only use a dozen or so mods like I plan to)
(2) NVSE (many mods require the script extender and its fairly easy to keep updated manually)
(3) BOSS for FNV (easy way of tackling the load order)
(4) Project Nevada (the only overhaul I considered - I really like FWE for Fallout 3)
(5) RH_IronSights (I read that its almost required for those that like the combat aspect - but I wonder why Project Nevada didn’t address it)
(6) Centered 3rd Person View (cannot stand default 3rd person view in Fallout 3)
(7) Weapon Modkits Expanded (WMX) (again, really like this in Fallout 3 and its on a number of must have mod lists)
(8) Darn UI (used for Oblivion, Skyrim, Fallout 3, etc. - if there is a better alternative [any MTUI users?] please let me know)
(9) Energy Visuals Enhanced (like it for Fallout 3 - but couldn’t tell if it conflicts with others in my list)
(10) URWLNV Ultimate Edition (looks to be a combination of Fellout/Interior Lighting adding weather and making the nights/interiors much darker - which I want)
(11) New Vegas Bounties I & II (I don’t usually add content before I my first run through - but these come so highly recommended its hard to ignore)

So here are my questions:
(1) If someone feels strongly that I absolutely need to use FOMM rather than Nexus Mod Manager given the above, please let me know.
(2) Anyone know of incompatibilities between the above?
(3) I have not addressed any sound or texture mod replacers above and I am not opposed to an all inclusive one if someone likes a particular one please recommend (as long as its easy to install)
(4) I am used to one agreed upon community "unofficial patch" for Skyrim - but found multiple versions from different creators for FNV - what's up with that. Is there a particular one that anyone recommends?
(5) Given the above will I need some of the outlier menu/UI mods like (Weapon Mod Menu [which looks to be built into Project Nevada] or Universal HUDS)?
(6) I saw that one of the developers has a patch out (J.Sawyer)? Any users out there? However, it looks like it would conflict with a number of Project Nevada tweaks

Any other advice would be greatly appreciated.

[edit - Hipolito, thanks for the great guide up there, did you ever find a flashlight mod you liked without bugs?]

Weapon Modkits Epanded (WMX) used to have some conflicts with Project Nevada. Those may have been worked out now though.

I HIGHLY recommend J.Sawyer mod. I used it with Project Nevada and had no issues. There may be a fixpack or some portion of Project Nevada that you don't use though in order to get it to work, I can't remember.
Though, I don't think it plays nice with WMX either.

[Hipolito]

[edit - Hipolito, thanks for the great guide up there, did you ever find a flashlight mod you liked without bugs?]

Hi Tampa, glad you like the guide! To be honest, I kinda got bored with FNV early on and stopped playing it, though I intend to pick it back up and try again. I'm pretty out of touch with what's going on with FNV mods.

[Tampa_Gamer]

Thanks for the input folks, I guess I am a little late to this party. I should have time this weekend to finish and poke around with my mod loadout and will report back here in case anyone else finds it useful.