IMPORTANT
This mod is no longer supported.  I will not be providing bug fixes for this mod, or any of my other mods which use VotW.

So what's this then?
It's Commonwealth Ad Packs (CAP) for Videos of the Wasteland.  It's a collection of adverts, by category, from the 1950s onwards.  Most of them are American adverts, but there may be the odd ad from other countries.  They've been grouped into categories for anyone who may object to a certain product (alcohol, tobacco, scary adverts with coked up kiddies), with optional ESL versions if you're getting close to your ESP limit.

At present I'm only supporting TVs (these were TV ads after all) although I've got a few plans for special editions for Starlight Drive In.



What ads are there?
They'll be listed in the Articles section.



So how many packs are there?
Look on the files page.  They're going to be released periodically, but often until I run out of ads.  The reason for this is the fact that converting these is the most mind numbing experience and my son, who seems to find his zen by importing audio files for CSFR in CK, refuses point blank to do them, so I need to maintain what little sanity I have left.



Installation?
All of the packs have their own individual installer which will ask whether you want the ESL or ESP version, or there's the complete collection available as one download, and you'll have to choose ESL or ESP across the board.

Something to be aware of with the mega pack is that it contains multiple ESL/Ps.  Your mod manager may require you to explicitly activate them.  Vortex does do this by default, so if you're missing videos or something check they're all installed before you hit the bugs tab.



What's this blank.dds that it asks can it overwrite?
It's just a black texture.  When VotW reaches the end of a grid, it automatically moves on to the next.  If you've got 3 grids (the minumum number is 4), then it needs to access this blank file otherwise you get a purple screen for a couple of seconds.  If you're got more than one pack installed then you will definitely get this request, but it may also happen if you have any of my other videos or if someone else has installed it.



What's with the clapping/music/other stuff at the start of the ads?
This is down to the source files.  I did play around with a few trying to remove the clapping etc, but it was more hassle than it was worth, and in some cases didn't make much difference.  There's also the fact that some of the source files were in bad condition, and weren't going to survive another compression without becoming a blurry mess.



Do you have any testimonials?
I sure do(1).  Trudy said(2). "I was a modern 21st century woman until I downloaded CAP.  Now I've realised that I must make every effort to make my husband and boss are satisfied in every way, and that my place is in the kitchen.  I've never felt so neurotic!"

And little Billy(3), aged 8, gushes, "I was a clean wholesome kid until I downloaded CAP.  I've discovered that cigarettes are cool(4) and I'm hoping to move onto hard liquor soon.  Please do an alcohol CAP!".

Finally, a Tominic Doretto(5) admits "When I'm not saving the world from the world's fastest nuclear submarine or subverting the way fire works I love to download and watch the latest CAP.  The cars one made me cream my pants."



Is there something wrong with the preview videos?  YouTube says they can't be played.
No, you just need to click the link to view them on YouTube.  I've basically stopped the videos from being embedded (they're purely made for Nexus), so because of how that works it means you need to click through to YouTube.



Will you be uploading source videos?
No.  I would do if it was just one or a few videos, but I'm not cluttering up Nexus servers and the files page with zips of a load of mp4 files.  If you want to find them, have a scout around archive.org which is where I got them from.  Please don't ask as refusal often offends.



Any legal stuff?
Yep.  All files used are believed to be in the public domain, and used in good faith.  Inclusion of a product should not be taken as an endorsement of the product and is here purely for entertainment purposes.



Do you have a special note for snowflakes and those who get offended on other people's behalf?
Please bear in mind that these ads are from a bygone era.  They may contain content that is offensive in the modern climate, but back then certain terms were completely acceptable.  I'm not trying to offend anyone at all by including this content, but I'm not a huge fan of censorship either.  Maybe you could look at it from the view that it's a reminder of how far we've progressed recently.



Is that it?
Yep.



Footnotes?
1 - Legal Disclaimer: No I don't.
2 - Legal Disclaimer: No she never.  I made this up.
3 - Legal Disclaimer: I made this up, too.  Little Billy is actually on crack and heroin already, and unable to comment in his doped up state.
4 - Legal Disclaimer: No they're not.  Or at least not in the UK since they've banned menthol cigarettes.
5 - Legal Disclaimer: Any resemblance to fictional persons or other fictional entities is purely coincidental. All characters and other entities appearing in this work are also fictional. Any resemblance to fictional persons, dead or alive, written out, or other fictional entities, past or present, is purely coincidental.