Fallout: Nevada Mod - final English version released

[Drowed]

If you tolerate the bad writing, terrible encounter design, and quests that are nothing special, it's okay.

Just to have a reference, is that your opinion about Fallout 1 or 2 too, or just about those mods? Because that puts your statement in context.

 

[taxalot]

If you tolerate the bad writing, terrible encounter design, and quests that are nothing special, it's okay.

Just to have a reference, is that your opinion about Fallout 1 or 2 too, or just about those mods? Because that puts your statement in context.

FO1&2 are great and have aged well. I replay both every couple of years.

Ressurection and Nevada try hard to emulate that feeling but fail, only providing an unfulfilling and somehow frustrating experience by providing subpar content with under competent balancing and writing.

 

[Lord_Potato]

You mean, they were too hard for you? :D

 

[taxalot]

Hard doesn't make it better. Ask your mom.

 

[commie]

Hard doesn't make it better. Ask your mom.

Well if it was a critique of your own performance, then I understand your current butthurt, TaxaLITTLE.

 

[Darth Canoli]

FO1&2 are great and have aged well. I replay both every couple of years.

Resurrection and Nevada try hard to emulate that feeling but fail, only providing an unfulfilling and somehow frustrating experience by providing subpar content with under competent balancing and writing.

FO 1 & 2 were made by Interplay, while Nevada and Resurrection were made by modders.
Why would you compare games which made history with their mods ?

You only can make better modules than the base game with mediocre games like NWN 2, even if one modder is talented enough, it's very unlikely he finds a whole team of talented and knowledgeable people to help him develop the ultimate mod.

That said, Resurrection is pretty good, the writing is so-so but it gets better, or you get used to it (or both)

Nevada is interesting but no companions removes half the fun and easy combat another 25%.

 

[Sratopotator]

Only way to objectively compare them all, excluding Fallout 1 of course (because it's that good, and because it started the whole thing), is to count the ratio of shit content to good content, while considering worldbuilding/story. Maybe add a bit of atmosphere/general feel to the mix. Oh, and sense of progress is important too.
What's the verdict? At least for me it's obvious - they are more or less similar. Maybe in case of 'sense of progress' F2 wins, but only because it hits OP levels of awesome™.

Some parts of Nevada and Resurrection are waaaay better than the misguided or underdeveloped parts of F2. Even in comparative settings/areas.
The mods themselves are also underdeveloped and not throughly thought out, in places.
BI/Interplay didn't have the excuse of creating a fan mod though

In all honesty, I don't know how can you consider F2 being better than either of these mods. Maybe they don't blow Fallout 2 out of the water, but they are at least worthy rivals in this comparison.
For me, Nevada would be unparalleled here with a one more english editing pass, but this time done by native speakers with 'Cain&Co' qualities (meaning, sense of humor and juicy wrinkled brains). Subtle main story rewrites here and there would help too, unfortunately.
On the other hand, Fallout 2 main story arc would need to be completely rewritten to make any sense.

Glorifying Fallout 2 (or keeping it on the same pedestal as F1) always baffles me.

 

[tindrli]

Can someone point me to links how to install Nevada with latest patches and anything else ?
thanx

 

[Gunnar]

Latest version here. I haven't played it, but the opening cutscene was in Russian in the version I played, and this one is in English, so progress seems to have been made.

 

[Wunderbar]

Finished this bad boy a couple of weeks ago.

Sidequests are the best part of Nevada. Devs really put Fallout systems to good use here, almost all every skill is now useful - you can help NPCs with doctor, hack computers with science to get some extra quest info or lore exposition, you can repair stuff around you with repair, craft useful items with outdoorsman - it doesn't sound groundbreaking, but unlike Fo1-2 there's so much skillchecks it actually makes investing into something other than "diplosniper trifecta" worthwhile. Quest design is one of the best i've seen, Nevada plays almost like an emergent adventure game and frequently asks you to think outside the box. Was also pleased to see design elements from modern games, such as the ability to use scrap metal if your repair skill isn't high enough.

Really enjoyed new gameplay additions such as crafting, picking safeboxes, or searching for secrets with a metal detector. Exploration was also pretty good - funnily enough not because of loot (loot is trash), but because quite often you can stumble upon another interesting quest, or find a quest-related item which will move you one step closer to obtaining a power armor or a reward from V8 quartermaster.

Wasn't a fan of power progression. You start with a Mauser pistol, an hour later you buy a leather armor and a hunting rifle in New Reno, and then your progression stops dead in its tracks because the game is very stingy when it comes to giving you the good stuff. Combat armor is locked behind collecting spare parts for V8 quartermaster (which means you won't get it until the very end of the game), power armor is locked behind collecting parts and those parts are hidden around the world so you won't get it until the very end too. There are like only 2 or 3 sniper rifles in the whole game, one of which is locked behind collecting spare parts for V8 quartermaster, and another is hidden somewhere in the endgame location. Gauss guns and more powerful energy weapons can only be acquired after beating the game with a specific "play after the ending" perk. Very strange decision, especially since there are quite a few new weapons (like M1 garand, a new Gauss pistol, cowboy repeater, pump-action shotgun, etc), but they are either worse than a Hunting rifle, or hidden in obscure places, or have an ammunition scarcity problem.

The main story is, unfortunately, the weakest part of Nevada.

Spoiler

Someone steals an important mcguffin from Vault 8, and the only guy they are sending out is some amnesiac schmuck with a wounded head. They aren't even giving you the supplies! I mean i understand that all V8 dwellers are assholes, bigots and slavers, but it's still ridiculous. At least V13 overseer gave OG Vault dweller a pistol and a bunch of stimpaks, V8 dwellers just hand you some trash that was in your pockets around the time you was hit in a head.

So after obtaining mcguffin you finally return to V8, and what are dwellers doing? An overseer is kidnapped, and instead of sending their most experienced soldiers armed to the teeth they are like "oh it's good that you are here, overseer was kidnapped so go save him. no, we don't know where he is or who did it, try figuring it out by yourself. and no, we won't give you any weapons or supplies".

Ok, after locating the overseer you meet the bad guy... and he's just some guy. No build up, no foreshadowing, he just pops out of nowhere in the final mission. Mutants, Children of the Cathedral and the Master were all over Fo1, Enclave were shown doing some shady stuff with Salvatore and were all over Fo2 after you return to Arroyo with GECK. This "Collector of Souls" is a fucking nobody, no one in Nevada ever heard of him except SLC sheriff for some reason. It's like the anthagonist was added as an afterthought a few days before the release.

So you beat him up and return to V8 only to find out that Collector of souls had some friends. You quickly dispatch of them and then the game just sort of ends. Who are those guys? Maybe we should conduct an investigation to prevent them from attacking V8 in the future? Nah, it's fine.

Overall Fo Nevada is like a Bethesda game - kinda stupid main quest, but a good exploration and a lot of side stuff to do.

 

[Ol' Willy]

Finished

What a coincidence, mate! I replaying it right now.

Gauss guns and more powerful energy weapons can only be acquired after beating the game with a specific "play after the ending" perk.

There is Gauss pistol in one special encounter. Also, there is a chance to stumble upon a cave with super-raiders, who have Gauss rifles on them. Latter could be fixed now, was true couple of years ago.

cowboy repeater

It's similar to hunting rifle in its characteristics, but uses .44 ammo. Kinda neat.

amnesiac schmuck with a wounded head

In fact, you're not. If you hack a computer near to V8 doctor you will find out that your old personality is completely destroyed and doctor basically "created" you anew. Probably, V8 guys didn't have too much faith in you from the start.

 

[Wunderbar]

There is Gauss pistol in one special encounter.

yeah, i've found it... after looting a superior Gauss pistol from the final boss and returning to Vault 8. But it's a pretty obscure place to hide an important weapon imo. It's not even that OP.
You can also get one by killing SLC sheriff.

Also, there is a chance to stumble upon a cave with super-raiders, who have Gauss rifles on them. Latter could be fixed now, was true couple of years ago.

Sounds like an atavism of Fo2.

It's similar to hunting rifle in its characteristics, but uses .44 ammo. Kinda neat.

too bad it's not armor piercing.

In fact, you're not. If you hack a computer near to V8 doctor you will find out that your old personality is completely destroyed and doctor basically "created" you anew. Probably, V8 guys didn't have too much faith in you from the start.

yeah, i know that. Even more insulting that such an important fact is not even a part of your main quest, despite it being named "Total recall".

 

[Ol' Willy]

yeah, i know that. Even more insulting that such an important fact is not even a part of your main quest, despite it being named "Total recall".

Well, I like when a game doesn't shove important facts right in your face but leaves them for you to discover.

Anyway, I can't disagree, writing is indeed the weakest part of Nevada. But main quest is just a little part of the overall game, so it's forgivable.

too bad it's not armor piercing.

There's .44 FMJ ammo, albeit very scarce. But once again, I agree, balance issues.

 

[tindrli]

is luck still unimportant?

 

[Ol' Willy]

Nevada has five different versions of Colt 6520 pistol. Someone definitely was carried away while adding new weapons.

 

[Wunderbar]

The weapons bloat is real, and 90% of them are useless garbage.

 

[Ol' Willy]

The weapons bloat is real, and 90% of them are useless garbage.

Well, not necessary that harsh. For example:

Mauser - your first gun. Has Weapon Accuracy perk that will help you early with your low small guns skill. Could be improved.
10 mm Award Pistol - best stats of all 10mm pistols. Quest item, could be sold to Wesker. Easy to find in Hawthorne, I used it a little in early game.
10 mm Pistol with a flashlight - has no darkness penalties (Weapon Night Sight perk). Comes too late, though.
10 mm with extended mag - is exactly what it says on the tin. Another latecomer, though.
10 mm Old Model - Easter egg?
Pump action Shotgun - better than Sawn-off, but worse than automatic ones.
Henry Repeater - a good weapon to keep using .44 ammo. Usually, you have no need to keep .44 after you find better weapons than Desert Eagle. Competes with custom Desert Eagle found in the Wind of War, but this one is another quest item and can be given back to owner.
Striker Shotgun - one armed shotgun! Must have for the users of One Handed trait.
Training Laser Rifle - inferior to the regular one, but could be found early in Uranium City. Useful for energy weapons chars, for the better alternatives will come later.
Liberator pistol - a shitty one, you say? Two round capacity, short range, small damage. But it has Weapon Penetrate perk that reduces opponent DT by 80%. Gotta test the usefulness of this thing for the curiosity sake.
M1 Garand - similar to Colt Rangemaster, but useful nonetheless. I cleared Vault in the Wind of War and Area 51 with it. Ammo is rare, though.
40 mm Grenade Launcher - good early weapon for Heavy Weapons users.
Regular 9 mm SMG - a direct nod to early Fallout promo-art.
Photon Pistol - another nod to early Fallout art.
Old Revolver - .44 revolver, inferior to Desert Eagle and Magnum, but comes very early.
Colt Revolver - best damage of all .44 pistols. Range is less than Desert Eagle though.
PPK5 Gauss Pistol - inferior to standard, but easiest to find Gauss weapon in the game.
Calico SMG - how about 100 round mag capacity? With proper build this thing wrecks.
Laser Pistol police model - best damage of all laser pistols.
Lucky One - easiest to get plasma pistol in the game, found in Black Rock.

 

[Wunderbar]

Striker Shotgun - one armed shotgun! Must have for the users of One Handed trait.

didn't know that it's one-handed.
Btw there is also a Maxon's sawed-off, which is Browning Auto-5. Stat-wise it's like a vanilla sawed-off shotgun, but with capacity of 5 shells.

M1 Garand - similar to Colt Rangemaster, but useful nonetheless. I cleared Vault in the Wind of War and Area 51 with it. Ammo is rare, though.

i thought it was inferior to Rangemaster, and rare type of ammo is a dealbreaker.

PPK5 Gauss Pistol - inferior to standard, but easiest to find Gauss weapon in the game.

it's not easy to find unless you are a metagamer who looks up solutions before playing.

 

[Ol' Willy]

Well, time for my evaluation, eh? I played Nevada couple of years ago. Game is really big, so I run out of steam and haven't replayed it since - until now.

Nevada really shines in three departments: quest design, reactivity and C&C.

The number of quests, both marked and not, is outstanding. Most of the game's NPCs are involved somehow: they give you quests, are part of the quest, or have some kind of interaction, often skill or item based. Surprisingly, very little quests are your typical fetch item/kill some guys types, and even if that, often with some interesting twist. Dialogues are filled with stat/skill/item checks, though it's way more forgiving than in AoD. There are forks and multiple sides to choose from, multiple solutions, and game really puts your skills to good use. Some examples:

- Gecko hunting in Jerlack. First part has you going without any of your weapons, but with traps and whistle to lure geckos. You lay down traps in narrow spots and use whistle to have geckos killed. Second part is you going to the cave - once again, only with spear and whistle. Goal is to collect as much eggs as possible without killing more than half of the geckos.

- Raiders in Black Rock. Information about the ambush could be received from town's trader/mayor or from band member who happens to be the son of local grumpy mechanic. Latter could be killed or convinced to give up his asocial lifestyle. Either way, you get radio and use it to find the place of the ambush. There it's: 1) side with raiders - kill caravaners or convince them to come out 2) side with caravaners - kill raiders or find another exit from the cave. Siding with caravaners you will have them coming to town every 10-th day every month.

- Luciano's diversion. You can craft/buy lightly poisoned beer and reverse-steal it to Legacy' customers; or you can steal Thompson SMG and, wearing balaclava, start shooting at people in Legacy at night. To steal the case with the money you can: as female character, sleep with Bertolini and rob him blind; or, at night, sneak through the sleeping guard, hide in the wardrobe, wait out for Bertolini to leave his bedroom and open safe (pick it or, if not enough skill, use thermite).

- Drunkard in SLC. You can: outright murder him; take poisoned booze from his wife and "drink" with him, thus he will tell you how he come down to such life before dying, beat some sense into him or use your bodycount to frighten him.

Reactivity is another highlight here. Items, environment, people have you using some skills or items to interact with them. Blinking lamppost? Fix it! Or, working lamppost near the place where you had to stage robbery? Break it! Broken drawbridge in Lovelock? Attach rope to cranking mechanism, then carry some planks to repair it or convince local tribal to help you if you don't have enough STR or use meds to raise you STR. Sick guy? Use doctor to make diagnosis and apply some meds to heal the guy.

C&C is no worse here than other elements. Kid, who vandalizes the wall of Casino? Catch him, stage a deal that he will paint a cool piece of art at this wall; later he will paint your car. You worked for Big Lou and now you are his trusted man? Don't expect good relationships with caravaners. You bought/stole a car from mechanic in Wind of War? He will hire assassins to kill you, and later you can tell on him to Wesker. You convinced people at Jerlack to move to Vault city? Jerlack is now empty.

Nevada is very light on combat, though. There's very little obligatory combat. Top-tier weapons are hard to get by, but there's no need to: enemies in Power Armor are almost non-existent, in combat armor are very rare, even in metal armor are uncommon; they are armed accordingly. Rifle/Sniper rifle/various autoshotguns/Assault rifle are more than enough.

Yes, writing. Best way to describe writing in Nevada is "amauter". But it competent. It carries the meaning to you, and world is not unbelievable. All cities and town are with their own identity: Reno with the law of the strongest; Vegas and it's power play and inequality; SLC, safe and relatively prosperous but not without setbacks. Tin Angel bar in SLC: local barkeep tells his stories, patrons ridicule him and all the while local waitress serves people while being very rude. Immersion, huh?

You know, I feel that Nevada gives us glimpse into the parallel reality: reality, where popamoles haven't conquered RPG market and where exquisite design philosophies of the late 90-s weren't forgotten, but were improved upon. Imagine Nevada, but made by bigger team and with actual budget.

 

[Ol' Willy]

Finished the main quest yesterday, and, oh boy, I completely forgot about President's head all this years! Say what you want, but this is very Fallouty wacky thing: severed head of US president, attached to a life support system, going completely deranged with time. What connection to the main quest it has, though, I still don't get.

 

[barghwata]

So, i am really interested in playing this and i am curious, can a pacifist diplomat type character get you all the way to the end of the game or do you have to invest in combat skills?

 

[Zer0wing]

So, i am really interested in playing this and i am curious, can a pacifist diplomat type character get you all the way to the end of the game or do you have to invest in combat skills?

Either 1 combat skill for landing good crits on head to turn off enemies from combat or maxing out stealth.

 

[barghwata]

Either 1 combat skill for landing good crits on head to turn off enemies from combat or maxing out stealth.

So speech and science aren't enough?

 

[Zer0wing]

So speech and science aren't enough?

You have to evade the collector of souls somehow. Speech and science come in handy in final dungeon, Vault 8 that is.
Besides, where do you think you are if you confident in finishing F:Nevada with just speech and science? That's not how gamedesign here rolls, these other skills are useful in quests.

 

[Wunderbar]

can a pacifist diplomat type character get you all the way to the end of the game

in Sonora - yes, in Nevada - no.