Fallout: New Vegas is a great game, but there are many things that just don't work the way they should. Either Obsidian didn't playtest enough, or didn't have time to fix these things, or just made bad decisions. These are mods that I and others in the community recommend to make the game better, to clean up Obsidian's mistakes.
Essential - Mods that fix things Obsidian should have fixed themselves.
0. D3DX9.DLL FIX
This is an absolute MUST for Fallout: New Vegas, and will resolve 99% of performance issues for 99% of players. Simply download the d3dx9.dll file and put it in C:\\...\\fallout new vegas\\ . That's all. Nothing more required. Users have reported 50%-200% performance increases after installing this "mod". I personally saw my framerate go from 15-45fps to 40-75fps. The game apparently uses the incorrect form of DirectX9 (the game does not use DX10 or DX11). This .dll file tricks the game into thinking you have a GeForce 7900GS, which somehow makes it use the correct version. However it works, it's enough to know that it does work.
http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloa...e.php?id=34778
Note: you will have to reset your graphics settings after installing it, as it will detect your GPU as a 7900GS.
1. Mouse Acceleration fix - A fix for the horrible mouse acceleration in menus.
Go to C:\\...\\fallout new vegas\\fallout_default.ini and add the following lines at the end of "controls":
fForegroundMouseAccelBase=0
fForegroundMouseAccelTop=0
fForegroundMouseBase=0
fForegroundMouseMult=0
2. Play after MQ - Lets you play after the main quest is completed. Obviously a MUST.
http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloa...e.php?id=34811
3. No Auto Aim - Makes not using VATS so much more worthwhile, easier to snipe, selective fire, etc. A must for mainly FPS gamers.
http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloa...e.php?id=34723
4. Faster running - Makes exploring and getting around the desert so much easier, takes so much less time.
http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloa...e.php?id=34783
5. Fellout NV - Improves the look of the wasteland by removing the brown filter over everything and making nights darker. Not as pronounced a difference as with FO3, but still worth picking up
http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloa...e.php?id=34888
Warning: Known glitch, causes some containers/bodies to glow bright green briefly when they spawn.
6. Card/Ammo sorter - Puts ammunition at the bottom of your inventory when trading, makes bartering easier.
http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloa...e.php?id=35044
7. Caravan Card Pack - A fix so that you don't have infinity caravan cards clogging up your inventory, regardless of whether or not you play the game.
http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloa...e.php?id=34855
8. Level Cap Remover - Increases level cap from 30 to 100
http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloa...e.php?id=34782
- Thanks to runeazn!
9. Displode Changes - This makes weapons have realistic damage effects. Guns will no longer decapitate enemies! Large guns and melee weapons will smash limbs/heads, laser and plasma will dismember, smaller guns and small melee weapons will not leave visible damage. Much more realistic.
http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloa...e.php?id=35025
10. Moddable Uniques - Makes unique weapons moddable, so you can put a scope or expanded magazine on a unique weapon. This is a work in progress, so only four weapons are currently supported at time of writing. Make sure to check back for updates!
http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloa...e.php?id=35009
11. Wasteland Explorer - Adds a quest called "Wasteland Explorer", with the simple objective of "Explore the wasteland", with no objective marker. Although it may seem like a small thing, this simple mod removes the pressure to complete quests always having a quest marker causes, making the game much more relaxing and immersive. Highly recommended.
http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloa...e.php?id=34769
- Thanks to runeazn!
12. Unlimited Companions - Allows you to have more than two companions at any given time.
http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloa...e.php?id=34870
- Thanks to AOwpr!
13. Better Binoculars - Makes the binoculars actually worth using.
http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloa...e.php?id=34715
- Thanks to xBISHOPx!
14. Further 3rd Person Camera - Makes the 3rd person view able to zoom out farther, making it more useful.
http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloa...e.php?id=34775
- Thanks to xBISHOPx!
15. Better Pipboy light - Makes the Pipboy light much brighter.
http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloa...e.php?id=34776
- Thanks to xBISHOPx!
16. Perk Every Level - Lets you choose a perk every level, like in FO3.
http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloa...e.php?id=34707
- Thanks to rebelextrm02!
17. Balanced Boone - Reduces Boone's level to 0.4*your level, so that he's much less of a kill everything power house than he is in the vanilla game.
http://newvegasnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=34915
- Thanks to Vhati!
Pending - These are mods which are currently WIP, but which promise to be extremely high quality or useful to the majority of players. They haven't quite earned their spot on the main list yet, but they're worth pointing out.
DarNified UI - A must from FO3, currently in the process of being ported to FNV. Not 100% stable yet, and some things are still vanilla, but it's already looking like a very good mod.
http://forums.bethsoft.com/index.php...ified-ui-fonv/
Please give suggestions, I may also add a "recommended mod" list. Only suggest something for "Essential" mods if it really is a HUGE benefit to gameplay that almost every player will appreciate.
Edited by Phaedrus2129 - 10/24/10 at 11:06am
Essential - Mods that fix things Obsidian should have fixed themselves.
0. D3DX9.DLL FIX
This is an absolute MUST for Fallout: New Vegas, and will resolve 99% of performance issues for 99% of players. Simply download the d3dx9.dll file and put it in C:\\...\\fallout new vegas\\ . That's all. Nothing more required. Users have reported 50%-200% performance increases after installing this "mod". I personally saw my framerate go from 15-45fps to 40-75fps. The game apparently uses the incorrect form of DirectX9 (the game does not use DX10 or DX11). This .dll file tricks the game into thinking you have a GeForce 7900GS, which somehow makes it use the correct version. However it works, it's enough to know that it does work.
http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloa...e.php?id=34778
Note: you will have to reset your graphics settings after installing it, as it will detect your GPU as a 7900GS.
1. Mouse Acceleration fix - A fix for the horrible mouse acceleration in menus.
Go to C:\\...\\fallout new vegas\\fallout_default.ini and add the following lines at the end of "controls":
fForegroundMouseAccelBase=0
fForegroundMouseAccelTop=0
fForegroundMouseBase=0
fForegroundMouseMult=0
2. Play after MQ - Lets you play after the main quest is completed. Obviously a MUST.
http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloa...e.php?id=34811
3. No Auto Aim - Makes not using VATS so much more worthwhile, easier to snipe, selective fire, etc. A must for mainly FPS gamers.
http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloa...e.php?id=34723
4. Faster running - Makes exploring and getting around the desert so much easier, takes so much less time.
http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloa...e.php?id=34783
5. Fellout NV - Improves the look of the wasteland by removing the brown filter over everything and making nights darker. Not as pronounced a difference as with FO3, but still worth picking up
http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloa...e.php?id=34888
Warning: Known glitch, causes some containers/bodies to glow bright green briefly when they spawn.
6. Card/Ammo sorter - Puts ammunition at the bottom of your inventory when trading, makes bartering easier.
http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloa...e.php?id=35044
7. Caravan Card Pack - A fix so that you don't have infinity caravan cards clogging up your inventory, regardless of whether or not you play the game.
http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloa...e.php?id=34855
8. Level Cap Remover - Increases level cap from 30 to 100
http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloa...e.php?id=34782
- Thanks to runeazn!
9. Displode Changes - This makes weapons have realistic damage effects. Guns will no longer decapitate enemies! Large guns and melee weapons will smash limbs/heads, laser and plasma will dismember, smaller guns and small melee weapons will not leave visible damage. Much more realistic.
http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloa...e.php?id=35025
10. Moddable Uniques - Makes unique weapons moddable, so you can put a scope or expanded magazine on a unique weapon. This is a work in progress, so only four weapons are currently supported at time of writing. Make sure to check back for updates!
http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloa...e.php?id=35009
11. Wasteland Explorer - Adds a quest called "Wasteland Explorer", with the simple objective of "Explore the wasteland", with no objective marker. Although it may seem like a small thing, this simple mod removes the pressure to complete quests always having a quest marker causes, making the game much more relaxing and immersive. Highly recommended.
http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloa...e.php?id=34769
- Thanks to runeazn!
12. Unlimited Companions - Allows you to have more than two companions at any given time.
http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloa...e.php?id=34870
- Thanks to AOwpr!
13. Better Binoculars - Makes the binoculars actually worth using.
http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloa...e.php?id=34715
- Thanks to xBISHOPx!
14. Further 3rd Person Camera - Makes the 3rd person view able to zoom out farther, making it more useful.
http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloa...e.php?id=34775
- Thanks to xBISHOPx!
15. Better Pipboy light - Makes the Pipboy light much brighter.
http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloa...e.php?id=34776
- Thanks to xBISHOPx!
16. Perk Every Level - Lets you choose a perk every level, like in FO3.
http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloa...e.php?id=34707
- Thanks to rebelextrm02!
17. Balanced Boone - Reduces Boone's level to 0.4*your level, so that he's much less of a kill everything power house than he is in the vanilla game.
http://newvegasnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=34915
- Thanks to Vhati!
Pending - These are mods which are currently WIP, but which promise to be extremely high quality or useful to the majority of players. They haven't quite earned their spot on the main list yet, but they're worth pointing out.
DarNified UI - A must from FO3, currently in the process of being ported to FNV. Not 100% stable yet, and some things are still vanilla, but it's already looking like a very good mod.
http://forums.bethsoft.com/index.php...ified-ui-fonv/
Please give suggestions, I may also add a "recommended mod" list. Only suggest something for "Essential" mods if it really is a HUGE benefit to gameplay that almost every player will appreciate.
Edited by Phaedrus2129 - 10/24/10 at 11:06am
