ACES - Additional Casino Enabling System
Modders' and Players' Resource
Creators: FMod, Yukichigai, Machienzo


Additional Casino Enabling System or ACES is a modification for Fallout New Vegas intended to improve its gambling component. It allows modders to safely add new casinos, players to use them, and, via optional components, expand casino functionality and interoperability.

The main component is Casino Data Extension master file, containing new Casino Chip and Casino Data entries. It offers modders a reliable way to prevent slot machines from breaking with "Invalid Chip in CasinoData List" message. An unlimited number of casino mods can play nice together, as long as all of them rely on this master to add new data.

Version 1.0 brings in a major addition - the Casino Overhaul component, which improves stock casino functionality and provides scripts for better casino streamlining. Currently a work in progress, it is fully playable and contains useful scripts for modders.

F.A.Q.

Q. What is this mod for?
A. ACES, or more specifically its ACES - Casino Data Extension.esm component, allows you to add new casinos without causing any problems.

Q. What problems can occur without it?
A. Installing casino mods, especially mid-game, often causes all slot machines to become unplayable, displaying "Invalid Chip in CasinoData list" message. This problem is very likely and has been recorded with just about every casino mod.

Q. Does ACES eliminate the problem?
A. No. The problem is hardwired and can not be eliminated by plugins. If your saved game already has the problem, ACES will not fix it, and can even trigger it in some cases. What ACES does is allow casino mods to be built in such a way that they will never cause the problem.

Q. I'm a modder, working on a new casino mod. Do I need this?
A. Yes, if you are adding any new casino data. Read this file to the end to see how.

Q. I'm a player, about to start a new game. Do I need this?
A. Yes, if you think you might want to install any casino or slot mods now or later. The sooner you install ACES, the better in terms of safety. Before starting a new game is best.

Q. I'm halfway through my game and never used casino mods before. Do I need this?
A. Yes, if you plan on installing mods that add or overhaul casinos or slot machines. It shouldn't break your game, but back it up just in case.

Q. I'm halfway through my game with several [older] casino mods installed. Do I need this?
A. Probably not. Your best bet at preventing "Invalid Chip" is not to touch anything in your load order. Anything that touches the casinos, and ACES does, risks triggering the problem. If you need it for a mod, make sure to back up your game before trying. However, you can check it out anyway, if you activate it and slots still work, you're good.

Q. I installed ACES and it broke my saved game.
A. This can happen if you had non-compatible casino mods installed before. Uninstall Casino Data Extension and put everything back the way it was before. Your saved game is already too "dirty" for this solution to work with. Loading an older save may help, if you have added mods mid-game.

Q. So, my saved game won't work with ACES. Is it worth starting a new game?
A. As of December 2011, there aren't any other mods using it yet, so you won't get any immediate benefits. Later on it will depend on how many mods are converted. If you aren't far along in your game and enjoy gambling, you might restart just to be sure.

Q. I installed ACES and it works fine. Is my game now safe no matter what I do?
A. No, installing any non-compatible casino mods can still break it. Corruption will only be prevented if all mods are built a certain way, specifically either not adding new casinos at all, or only adding them through ACES. On the plus side, mods built using this way will never cause the problem.

Q. What are optional files for?
A. ACES - Extra Slots.esp adds a few free-standing slot machines into the game, mostly as an example of how to use the Casino Data Extension master. The additions are very low-profile, and could add some fun to the game for players as well. You'll find one machine in Prospector's Saloon, one in Boulder City, and a lot of machines in McCarran Concourse are now working, all playable with your caps.
A. ACES - Casino Overhaul.esp makes changes to stock casinos; read below for detail.

Q. I like this initiative. How can I help?
A. Thanks! There are a few things that could be done:
* If you can create graphics, a few new or retextured models for casino chips and their inventory icons would help both stock casino functionality and modders making new casino mods. Or, really, just any casino-related graphics, if you are willing to release them as a community resource.
* Support by modders is critical to ACES functionality. If you know of any mods adding new casinos that haven't been mentioned here, please tell me about them, and their authors about this project.
* This project is in active development. If you notice any bugs, and they aren't listed as known issues, please be sure to report them.

Casino Overhaul


Casino Overhaul is a major undertaking to rework and improve the functionality of stock casinos.
The following features are currently fully or partially implemented:

* Playable Casino Chips: In real-life Las Vegas, chips are said to be "good as cash", and are often used for payments in casinos and outside, valued for the ease of carrying large sums and better safety than cash. They sure beat bottle caps as a currency - and now they work as one. No effort needed, use them or not, it's completely seamless.
* Multiple Table Limits: Reactivates non-functional tables in casinos and diversifies them for lower and higher table limits. Table limits vary between casinos to better match their specifics; be a dollar flea in Primm or put down thousands in Ultra-Luxe high-limit tables.
* Buy-in changes: First buy-in for Ultra-Luxe must be at least 5,000 caps or NCR$10,000. Of course, options for larger buy-ins are added as well. Pre-War money can be cashed in for a small value, if you don't plan on saving it for Sierra Madre (no spoilers here).
* Softer Luck: In vanilla game, any value of Luck other than 5 ruins Blackjack for you, making it either impossible to win or a money press. Not anymore - now the games will stay reasonably fair unless your Luck is off the charts.
* One-Script Casinos: Modders' resource. Your custom casinos can now get all this functionality too, with just one configurable script.
* Action Based Comps: Receive comps based on your betting action, like in real casinos. Partially complete.

Minor features:
* Restored slots: Intended for users of mods that populate casinos, more slot machines and chairs are now working, so NPCs won't occupy them all.
* Atomic Wrangler blackjack: Now pays 7:5. It's a rare but existing variation, which isn't as bad as 6:5, although still pretty hard on the player.
* Caravan player tweaks: Changes players, especially merchants, to have maximum play strength, better decks
game limit to 1 game per every game day passed (so they accumulate)
[http://newvegasnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=41247
* New challenges: Adds a few challenges for big-time gamblers and caravan players and increases the requirements for original ones. Currently the challenges run concurrently, not consequently, but it ensures that they actually start.
* Bug fixes: Now cashing out NCR or Legion money in Ultra-Luxe works without glitches.

More features are currently under development. Some of them include:
* Comps themselves: Get free drinks, freeplay tokens, access to promotional games with better odds, or even cut back your losses with cashback.
* Adaptive Comps: Tracking game stats and using some complex probability math, player action can be determined more accurately.
* Limited cash-out: You can win a million caps now. But is there a million caps in New Vegas at all? More than one, but not in the smallish version seen in-game. So instead of limiting your winnings and banning you, casinos (the good ones) will let you keep playing, hoping you do lose it all, but won't give you more cash than they can. Tracking what you actually deposit and adding some daily take, this feature will only let you cash out a limited amount and bleed the casino for more.
If Playable Chips is active, you don't really have to have "cold hard cash", as you can pay your way with chips. I might add an inflation feature kicking in if you spread so much cash that people start doubting if the Chairmen are really good for it, but maybe not - you won't be hurting for cash by that time anyway.
* Better cash-in/out: Run the entire thing on scripts. That will guarantee the Ultra-Luxe cash-out bug won't repeat itself in mods and prevent newly added casinos from conflicting in their cash-in/out options.
* Configuration support: Will add settings to toggle most features on and off. Not every feature, but everything potentially questionable.

The current version will begin tracking your play and adding to your comps accounts, but offers no options to redeem them yet. They will be added in the next version. For best results, play at tables that suit your bet size - there is no way to determine the amount of actual bets, so table limits are the primary method used to estimate them.

Version 0.50 is developmental, but fully playable. You'll be able to upgrade without uninstalling it or loading older saves, and the data tracking your play will be carried over. However, this version is likely to have minor bugs and glitches, so please be sure to report even the smallest ones. Don't just ignore them or assume they'll be fixed anyway - if we don't know about them, we can't fix them.
Bugs can be reported in comments or in PM to FMod, the primary maintainer.

Configuration

Configuring the mod is currently only possible via console. Press ~, type "set to " and press Enter.
ACESChipsPlayable - Chips will be usable as a currency (default 1, set to 0 to disable)
ACESChipDenominations - You will have $5, $25, $100, etc. chips in your inventory. Set to 0 if you prefer to receive all chips as $1 for ease of counting (default 1)
ACESEdgeBlackjack (default 0.01), ACESEdgeRoulette (default 0.04), ACESEdgeCraps (default 0.015), ACESEdgeSlots (default 0.1) - Sets assumed house edge for each game, used for comps calculations. Doesn't affect actual house edge.
Roulette is set to 0.04 (4%) because it sometimes pays out on multiple-number bets when it shouldn't. Should be 0.0526 if you only play single numbers and 0.027 if you play rows, odd/even and such.
Blackjack edge is assumed at 1% for Basic Strategy players. That's very tight and what casinos would assume for an excellent player, the actual edge for perfect play ranges from as low as 0.2% at Ultra-Luxe to as high as 0.6% at Atomic Wrangler (yes - you can beat the house through exploiting comps). If you follow a simplified strategy, set it to 0.02-0.03, and if you're just going with your gut, 0.04-0.05.


Installation

Make sure you have a saved game to fall back to (other than quicksave and autosave) before installation, in case something breaks.
Always follow the load order instructions below. It is critical to mod functionality.

Manual installation is recommended, as mod managers may alter the file's load order later. Just extract the contents into your Fallout New Vegas folder. A mod manager (Wrye Flash, FOMM or any other) should be used to place it correctly in the loading order.

If you have no DLC, place ACES - Casino Data Extension.esm right after Fallout.esm. If you have DLC, right after DeadMoney.esm and before all other DLC. It's best if you activate DeadMoney.esm if you have it, even if you don't intend to play it.
If some other mod's description asks that you place it at the very top, still place it after the ACES master. (Most mods ask you to put them at the bottom anyway). ACES - Casino Data Extension.esm actually needs to be fixed at the top.

After installing, first test if everything still works, specifically slots. If not, uninstall or use an older saved game.
Load order for other components doesn't matter, just place them where you like.

Your load order should look like this:
FalloutNV.esm
DeadMoney.esm
ACES - Casino Data Extension.esm
HonestHearts.esm
(*.esm)
(*.esp)

Once you have saved games that rely on ACES - Casino Data Extension.esm, never deactivate it, uninstall it, or move it in the load order.
Only replace it by newer versions, never by older ones. Back up the old version and your saved game before updating. Check if the slots work right after updating, if they don't, revert to the backup.
If you had ACES but not Dead Money installed, and then install Dead Money, it might break your game. If that happens, try loading DeadMoney.esm after ACES - Casino Data Extension.esm.

If you are starting a new game, make sure there are no non-ACES mods that add new casinos in your load order. Do not install such mods from now on. Mods that just change or reuse existing casinos are safe. You can check it with GECK or FNVEdit, if you aren't sure, don't install.
If a mod you like adds casino data other than through ACES, ask its creator to convert it. If you decide to use it anyway, do so at your own risk.

Uninstallation

Don't uninstall unless you are sure you want to. This mod isn't designed to be turned on and off.
If you are sure, remove ACES - Casino Overhaul.esp, ACES - Extra Slots.esp, and any other ACES .esp files. Keep ACES - Casino Data Extension.esm. It doesn't change anything in your game, but saved games created with ACES are likely to break if it is removed.

Compatibility

Mods that use ACES:
* Regional Slots Expanded Gambling by Machienzo - ACES version underway (work in progress)
* Extra Slots in the optional files section adds a few slots to the game. That's it for now.

Other:
ACES - Casino Data Extension.esm is technically compatible with all mods, but the whole point is not to use any non-ACES new casino mods, so you can think of them as soft-incompatible until updated.
ACES - Casino Overhaul.esp is incompatible with any mods that change casino betting limits or chip purchase options. You don't need them, it takes care of that and more. It might have incompatibilities with non-ACES new casino mods, in which case you should place it above these mods.
ACES - Extra Slots.esp has no known incompatibilities.


For Modders


If you have a mod that adds a new casino, you most likely have already heard of the Invalid Chip problem. A number of things have been suggested as solutions (update the game, etc), none of them known to have an effect. The problem is in the way slot machines and casino games in general are handled in Fallout New Vegas, not specific to errors in any particular plugin. Turning the mod itself into an .esm can help a little because .esm files tend to be moved around less, but it's not a reliable solution.

The problem can be prevented by establishing all new casinos in one .esm file and using overrides in .esp files as necessary. It's important that one common master is used for all mods, not individual masters for each.

To make a new casino mod using ACES:
1. Get your casino data added to ACES - Casino Data Extension.esm.
If you are confident, you can do it yourself in GECK (no third-party editors please), then send the updated file to one of ACES keepers (preferably FMod). Otherwise specify the name of your mod, your mod's formID prefix, the names of your casino(s) and whether they use custom chips.
2. Load ACES - Casino Data Extension.esm in GECK as a master file.
3. Use casino chips and casino data provided in the master for your casino. Feel free to override and modify them in any way, just as long as you don't change the FormID.
4. Place a link to ACES in your mod's description so your users can get it.

To convert an existing mod to use ACES:
0. Keep a backup of the non-ACES version of your mod, as saved games using it might not work with the ACES version.
1. Check if your casino data is in the master already. Entries have been provided in advance for NVR v11, SMOTS, Run Lucky 38, Bison Steve, Regional Slots, ACM and BDH. If there is none for your mod, see above.
2. Add ACES - Casino Data Extension.esm as a master to your mod. If your mod is an .esp, just load it in GECK and save. If it's an .esm, you will need to use Wrye Flash NV or FNVEdit.
3. Change your scripts to use casino data and casino chips from the ACES master.
4. Save your mod and back it up again. This intermediate version might be able to work with some non-ACES saved games that the final one doesn't work with.
5. Remove previously added casino chips and casino data from your mod. GECK can be used for .esp files, FNVEdit for .esm. Use FNVEdit or view Details in GECK to make sure that all such entries are removed for good.
6. Place a link to ACES in your mod's description. It's best to mark the old version as obsolete, but keep it available just in case.
Be sure to warn your users that the ACES version might break older saves.

Third option - playing it safe
If you really want to make your mod work for everyone without exceptions, there is a way.
1. Make your casino mod an .esm file that does not add any new casino data, reuse an existing entry instead, like has been done in SMOTS. Don't touch the casino entry itself.
2. Add an .esp file with your mod and ACES as masters. This .esp should override your mod's scripts to use casino data from the Casino Data Extension master, as intended.
3. You might also add another optional .esp for non-ACES games that modifies reused casino data to suit your mod better, although it is not a clean solution.
Reusing existing data isn't a good option, but it's the only option that works safely on already "dirty" saved games. It's possible to add a new casino entry via an .esp, but it risks breaking the game at a later point, so it's better not to add it at all.

Don't forget that all parts of ACES are a modders' resource that you are free to copy, modify and use in your mod. The scripts from Gambling Overhaul can be especially useful when building a new casino, with far more functionality than copying stock scripts.

Casino chips and data are not the only things the master file can add. There are several global variables (and more can be added) that can be used by multiple mods to work together well. If you need something added, please post a comment so that I can add it.
The file is fully forward-compatible - mods relying on any version starting from this one will work fine with any future version with no need for updates.


Version History

Master
v0.9 Closed Beta - Successfully tested, deprecated.
v0.99 Open Beta - First release, deprecated.
v1.0 Release - Current as of January 1, 2012.

Casino Overhaul
v0.50 Developmental - Current as of January 1, 2012.


Credits, Distribution and Permissions

For all questions regarding this mod, please contact FMod first.
This mod contains content created by Yukichigai and approved for distribution same as other content.
You are permitted to distribute this mod via websites other than Nexus and offline media.
Do not include it with mods that are distributed via Nexus (doing so risks accidentally downgrading it and breaking saved games and mods).
You are permitted to create translated versions of this mod's components and distribute them in any manner. (Please keep in mind that Casino Data Extension master should never be translated, only .esp plugins relying on it)
You are permitted to copy, modify and use parts of ACES in your mods, and distribute them in any way.

Where reasonable, please provide a link to the current mod's webpage in your mod description - http://newvegasnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=44902.