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About this mod
This mod makes combat in the wasteland more realistic, but also much more unforgiving. Please read the long description for more details.
- Requirements
- Permissions and credits
- Changelogs
- Donations
[Introduction]
The idea to make this mod came from becoming bored in how easy combat had become once I was too high level (I use 2 perks per level and level uncapper mods) and became a walking wasteland god with tons of hp to spare. I often found myself standing in the open like an idiot spraying my targets with a minigun and not caring about the hits I took because the vanilla enemies simply weren't strong enough anymore to pose a serious treat, goodbye realism.
I fondly remembered the very different cautious approach I took when facing those same enemies while I was low level and the rush of adrenaline when getting hit, seeing half my hp bar go down and run for cover in semi-panic, often not making it in time because I got the kill shot in my back! Fun times!
So, I wanted to have that intensity back, and I started to work on unforgiving combat.
My goal was to make this mod non-intrusive, light weight, with no performance hit and compatible with almost everything. So while most rebalancing mods focus on buffing weapon stats (make weapons so powerful they one shot kill almost anything in the worst case) and/or buffing enemy stats (making the enemies bullet sponges in the worst case), that approach has the disadvantage of often being incompatible with or overriding each other.
Instead I focused on locational damage, enemy AI and VATS rebalancing. This mod is designed to work as a stand alone or in combination with other combat overhaul mods alike. I use it in conjunction with Project Nevada and BLEED myself.
Remember, this mod is primarily aimed at high level characters. You are welcome to start a new game and try this with a fresh character but prepare for a harsh experience. Combat is now unforgiving, even more so for lower level characters, and now you know where the name for this mod comes from :)
If you feel bold or want it even more difficult, I recommend using the optional file, "the Bleed edition" in combination with the excellent BLEED mod by RoyBatterian for a very harsh experience. Save often.
[ Gameplay changes]
1) Locational Damage, VATS made less reliable.
The locational damage on the player and vanilla enemies have changed in these ways:
- headshots are now often lethal, as in real life. The damage output has been severely increased and can effectively one shot kill you and most enemies, depending on the caliber/weapon and range when impacted. To balance this however, the chance of being hit in the head or to hit something in it's head have severely decreased, both in regular gameplay and in VATS.
- hits to the torso area are now slightly more lethal and the chance to hit has also slightly decreased for both player and enemies. (real time and VATS)
- hits to the limbs are now slightly less damaging and the chance to hit has slightly decreased (real time and VATS)
- the chance of exploding body parts, unless you have the bloody mess perk, are now directly tied to the kind ammunition used, range and area of impact, resulting in less flying body parts (as in real life).
- Limb damage: the effect of having damaged limbs is now a lot more handicapping than in vanilla, if you're severely hit in the leg for example, you can forget about running away, limp for cover and use a doctor's bag asap because as in real life you'll be a sitting duck.
Tip : The different VATS perks are now much more useful as they will make your life a lot easier.
2) Range of engagements:
- Long range: Snipers are going to have a field day as now the range they can engage if they detect you has increased by 35%. However, this also works both ways so if you spot an enemy afar you can put him down from an increased distance also.
- Short range: If you get close to a gun using enemy he or she will often switch to a melee weapon, act accordingly.
Tip: When getting hit from long range, go for cover asap or crouch if you're in the open and try to localize the enemy fire. This is one of the first things you learn in the army btw :)
3) Ennemy AI:
Note: so far, only the vanilla and DLC enemies AI has been altered, enemies added by mods will not be affected.
- Selfpreservation, Group behaviour:
I always found it odd how some fiends came in charging in the open armed sometimes with just a crowbar embracing certain death while running towards my firing machine gun. I mean what? No more. Self preservation is now on the enemies agenda.
Most humanoid enemies will now try to flee when injured and when many of their group gets killed as in real life their confidence will drop the more friends go down. Enemies will now also try to dodge and take cover more than they do in vanilla.
Animals will also try to flee when severely injured with the exception of mutated insects and scorpions and of course deathclaws. Unlike in vanilla when an enemy flees the scene you can often find them still nearby, now runners will get a lot further away from danger (as in real life). Runners can run into their death if they run into enemies (especially with Momod) or they can aggro nearby friends who will also come after you, so if you want to be safe better finish them before they're out of range.
Note: EXPERIMENTAL: I also added this feature to supermutants, although the treshold for them to flee is higher than for other humanoids due to their low intelligence. Self preservation should kick in when they're close to death though and they will try to make a run fot it. Behemoths and Gargantuan excepted. They are still bulldozers that flatten everything in their way until they die. (as it should imho)
Now, I hesitated for a long time to implement these mechanics to supermutants, they behaved as I expected in FNV but I have no idea if used in TTW the supermutants in DC will create bugs or problems. There are many more there so please contact me if you encounter any bugs and I will try to fix/change things.
- Kill reactions, Searching, Alertness:
Sneakers beware! When killing an enemy while in sneak mode will alert nearby allies of your target (in direct line of sight or when discovering the corpse of your victim) and they will look now for you longer and in a vastly increased perimeter compared to vanilla settings.
Tip: If you want to see some mayhem reverse pickpocket an explosive with an enemy and watch everyone go apeshit with the new settings. Don't breathe though because they will be looking :)
4) Misc changes (subject to change in possible later versions):
- Changed the death physics to more realistic values, no more flying enemies from bullet impacts.
- Increased the hit points bonus you and enemies get from the endurance stat, roughly by 12.5%, this is done mainly to balance things for lower levels, endurance is now a very useful stat.
- Increased maximum gun wobble angle from 15% to 25% at low gun and energy weapons skill.
- Added slightly more bounce to grenades to mimic real life ones.
- Decreased creature power attack chance from 55% to 35% to balance the new locational damage values (with the old setting a deathclaw would rip you to shreds very fast, realistic but too frustrating for a game)
5) Bleed Edition:
Optional file compatible with the BLEED mod. Use this file instead of the standard version, do not use both! Place after BLEEDNV - Final.esp in your load order.
6) RWD Edition: (New in v. 1.1)
Optional file compatible with Realistic Weapons Damage mod. Place after RWD-NV v1.4 [Standard Version].esp in your load order.
7) RWD+Bleed Edition: (New in v. 1.1)
Optional file compatible with Realistic Weapons Damage mod and the BLEED mods. Load order: Place RWD-NV v1.4 [Standard Version].esp first, BLEEDNV - Final.esp second and this optional file after both .esp's in your load order.
[Change Log]
v1.0
Original release for Fallout New Vegas and optional file for compatibility with the Bleed Mod.
v1.1
Misc. tweaks and improvements in all versions.
Released optional file for compatibility with the Realistic Weapons Damage mod.
Released optional file for compatibility with the Realistic Weapons Damage and Bleed mods combined.
[To Do List]
- Fallout 3 specific version (no promises, only if enough people want it and time permits)
- Special version for Momod and other popular mods added creatures (if RL time lets me and enough people want it)
- General tweaking according to people's feedback and requests if time permits.
[Known issues and bugs]
none so far, waiting for feedback.
[Compatibilities]
- Project Nevada users should load this mod after the Project Nevada - Rebalance.esp to fully enjoy the changes I made. PNR rebalance alters a slight number of settings also used in this mod, my mod should override them to be used as intended.
- TTW users: this mod should work in the Capital Wasteland also, but please provide feedback on super mutants behaviour, it's possible the AI changes might cause some problems, as I don't use TTW I have no way to know without your feedback.
- Responsive Kill Reactions users: please load my mod after this mod for it to work as intended, , if you prefer my changes you can safely disable RKR, if you prefer RKR please load my mod before it in your load order.
- Combat Enhancer mod : please load my mod after this mod for it to work as intended, if you like my changes you can safely disable CE, , if you prefer CE please load my mod before it in your load order.
[Incompatibilities]
version 1.1 adds a RWD compatible file!
None so far, waiting for feedbacks.
[Feedback]
This combat overhaul has been beta tested by myself and two friends, each of us playing with high level characters and starting a new game. Of course 3 people isn't a lot and can't possibly cover all the different mod combinations other people have in their load order.
I strongly encourage to give feedback in the comments thread, what did you like and what did you dislike. Please don't just post "OMG this sucks." kind of posts without providing feedback on why you think this way for example. I can live with criticism but I want to be able to learn from it :) Of course if you find this a great mod, please comment also, encouragements are always nice to hear.
[Installation]
- Standard version: just unzip the file into your fallout new vegas data folder. Place after all other overhaul mods.
- Bleed Edition: just unzip the file into your fallout new vegas data folder. Load this mod after BLEED in your load order.
- RWD Edition: just unzip the file into your fallout new vegas data folder. Load this mod after RWD in your load order.
- RWD + Bleed Edition: just unzip the file into your fallout new vegas data folder. Correct load order: RWD first, BLEED second, this mod last.
[Requirements]
Fallout New Vegas
Dead Money
Honest Hearts
Old World Blues
Bleed (for the Bleed and the RWD + Bleed editions)
Realistic Weapons Damage (for the RWD and the RWD+ Bleed editions)
A big thank you to everyone trying out this mod, please endorse if you like it and drop a line of feedback in my comments thread if you have suggestions, remarks or just to say hi!
Billy1969.