Xtra Special New Vegas v 1.6
============================
by MrPimburton

NOTE: REQUIRES FALLOUT NV SCRIPT EXTENDER

Please check here for the current release of NVSE.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

1.6 Changes
===========
-Removed modifications to weapon and armor durability damage from Repair, as it seems to be a bugged effect.
-Removed Attack speed modifiers, as the engine doesn't handle them well.
-Charisma now modifies disposition for values > 10
-Charisma determines how much you have to damage an opponent to get credit for the kill.
-Some error prevention script coding added
-In-game descriptions cleaned up and updated

1.5 Changes
===========
Quick fix for the problem with modded health not really "counting" as extra health. I think this may be an engine problem, but this version should work fine. Health is more weighted towards endurance now, as a consequence.

1.4 Changes
===========
-weapon skills now provide more consistent VATS to-hit bonuses >100
-cleaned up code and reduced number of perks related to weapon skills
-removed XP gains from general item creation: far too exploitable. You still earn XP for modifications, repairs, and creating weapons, specifically.
-Science now factors in to the XP you earn for modifications and weapon creation, along with repair.
-Perception will now affect the distance at which map markers "trigger."


1.3 Changes
===========
-Fix for skill change bug
-Removed Barter XP exploit: Barter Xp now only triggers as you increase the maximum # of caps you have ever held.

1.2 Changes
===========
-Shuffled some things around so bonuses from Luck are applied properly.
-Tweaked the Survival settings for skills > 100.


1.1 Changes
===========
Simple script fix to address XP "spam" with huge caps earnings.


DESCRIPTION
===========

This mod is a heavily modified port of my barely-known "Xtra Special" mod for Fallout 3. Just like that one, it is intended as a comprehensive uncapper mod that allows SPECIAL stats over 10 and Skills over 100 to have actual game effects for the player. It does this by making use of the "setnumericgamesetting" function from the NV script extender (strictly requiring it), along with using a few global variables, hidden perks, and a whole lot of ModAV commands. Xtra Special also attempts to enhance the importance of the SPECIAL stats across the board, and makes a few setting tweaks towards that end. Although this mod uses a rather longish quest script for all its changes, I haven't noticed any performance issues with it, and my PC is not cutting-edge by any means.

I have included a small balancing mod that adds a few more changes that are optional, but highly recommended for use with Xtra Special. Also recommended is the use of Hardcore Mode, as well as Hard or Very Hard difficulty.


S.P.E.C.I.A.L. STATS
====================
Note: although SPECIAL stats are truly uncapped and continue to provide most of their benefits at arbitrarily large numbers, a small number of their effects cut off at around 50. This value is, of course, still well out of the normal range you could really concievably get in game, barring console cheats. Every point of a stat >10 increases its associated skills by 2, as normal.

Str : affects Melee damage more and Continues to increase Melee damage and carry weight when >10. Grants 1 point of DT for every point above 10. Affects movement speed
Per : affects VATS to-hit and damage for all firearms, modifies Auto Aim distance, Iron Sight speed, POI compass marker reveal distance. greatly modifies the XP you earn from finding locations.
End : affects HP recovery, continues to increase HP, RR, and PR for values >10, modifies addiction chance and chem duration
Cha : affects combat, speech, and wealth xp.
Int : affects XP from reading books/magazines, as well as most skill-related of xp boosts. Determines your Tag skill bonus (2*Int + 5) Skill points/level ARE capped at Int 10
Agi : affects AP more than vanilla, as well as movement and attack speed. (equip/holster/reload speed from Agility seems to be uncapped in Vanilla NV)
Luc : affects skills more than vanilla, awards xp for weird stuff, affects lockpick bonus items.


SKILLS
======
Barter : for values >100, continues to reduce buy price. Modifies carrying capacity and affects XP earned for amassing caps.
Guns : >100, increases VATS accuracy, attack speed, and grants random damage bonuses (like an extra critical effect).
Energy Weapons: "
Melee Weapons : ", plus adds to carry weight and max health
Explosives : as the other weapon skills, plus increases xp for disarming mines and traps
Unarmed : mostly unchanged (already uncapped just like in Fallout 3, for some reason), but contributes to max Health and AP
Lockpick: higher skill awards more xp for lockpicking and better items from safes.
Medicine: >100 modifies health recovery and max health. Increases radiation resistance, addiction resistance, chem duration, and max Health.
Repair : >100 reduces damage your gear takes and continues to increase how much you repair. Rewards xp for making modifications, disarming traps and making repairs.
Science : higher skill awards more xp for hacking, for making items of all types, and for disabling robots
Survival: >100 modifies health recovery, max health, HC deprivation rates, +xp for finding locations, and increases the number of harvested ingredients from plants
Sneak: >100 increases sneak attack critical damage, increases movement speed while sneaking, adds to AP
Speech : higher skill drastically increases speech xp rewards


GENERAL TWEAKS
==============
These are general game setting tweaks that I consider essiential for the feel of the mod, and are part of the main .esp:

Health: Skills will add to health (Medicine, Survival, Melee, Unarmed) but health per level is removed for the player.
Carry Weight: 100 base, +20 per Strength. (Vanilla is 150/10). Skills also affect this stat.
Barter Values : Much harder than vanilla, but your Barter skill continues to modify costs beyond 100 (with diminishing returns)
Action Points : 50 base, +5 per Agility. (Vanilla is 65/3). Skills also affect this stat.
Luck Skill Bonus : Increased from 1/2 a point per point of luck to a full point.
Retention Perk : Having this perk increases the XP you earn from reading magazines and skill books (vanilla effects unchanged)
Comprehension Perk: Same as above
Infiltrator Perk : Increases picking XP in addition to its normal effects
Computer Whiz Perk: Increases hacking XP in addition to its normal effects
Fast Metab. Perk : Increases your recovered health over and above its normal effects.
Tag Skill bonus: Your tag skill bonus is 2 * Intelligence + 5, rather than a flat 15.

For all the stats and skills, Xtra Special will give its effects for both permanent changes and temporary changes >100. This does mean that you can switch out equipment or take chems to enhance xp rewards if you are about to recieve them, but this is a very minor balance issue in my opinion, and often not really worth the trouble. It is sort of fun to maximize your benefits like this, anyway ;)

The in-game stats descriptions and splash screens have been modded to reflect all changes, where possible.


Installation
============
Unpack the XtraSpecialNV.esp into your NV data folder, along with any optional/recommended mods. If you do not use DarnUI, then move the "levelup_menu.xml" file into the data\menus folder. If you DO use DarnUI, leave the above file alone (or delete it) and instead use DarnUI's main config file to select "Allow Skills above 100." Xtra Special New Vegas and its optional mods should load after all other balance mods you use. Check them in a mod manager or the launcher. Play the game!


Some notes on Uncapping Skills and Stats
========================================
With this mod in place, you can assign values to a stat above 10 in character creation, though you have to wait until you get the "rebuild your character option" that triggers as you wander away from Goodsprings. When you assign points above 10, you will not see that value (it will tick over every time you click, but only show 10): rest assured it is still recorded by the game. You can theoretically take all your stats down to 1, then assign 34 points to one stat. This will make for a VERY odd character, indeed, but I have to say that playing the game with such lopsided specialists is a lot of fun (I completed Fallout 3 with every possible combination therof, fyi., and didn't find them particularly unbalanced). When you add a point from Intense Training, you can assign them above 10, just as with character creation.

Permanent attribute points awarded from perks, implants, and such will be recorded over and above whatever your "normal" stats are, and there is no need to worry about them: the script takes care of it.

When you assign points to a skill over 100, it will display values normally, however it will only show a skill of 100 in the PipBoy stats screen. Again, rest assured the real value is recorded.

In order to see your actual skills and stats in game, I have included an aid menu item <xtra special> that mimics the functionality of the old "Skill Check" mod. It also lets you see your movement speed, critical chance %, and Unarmed damage.<br><br><br>Rationale/Philosophy<br>====================<br>In RPGS, I like for my choices in character creation and development to continue to matter throughout my experience with the game. Although New Vegas is much better in this regard compared to Fallout 3, it still has some legacy mechanics/design decisions that inhibit having truly unique characters that maintain that uniqueness as the game progresses. Among other things, it is way too easy to max out skills, Stats still don't matter as much as they should, and characters start to get more "samey" the higher level they are. <br><br>This mod is not about making super-powered characters; it is about allowing your characters to continue to grow in the direction you wanted them to throughout the game. If you want to make an infiltrator type with lockpick, science, and sneak as your main skills, what do you do in the vanilla game after these all reach 100? A couple of perks and that's it, really: you have to switch gears and put points elsewhere. with Xtra Special, you can keep improving in the areas you deem character-defining.<br><br>I played countless numbers of Fallout 3 characters with its version of this mod, and most of them ended the game with their tag skills in the 200-300 range, and most ofther skills well under 100, with SPECIAL stats all over the place. Each one of them felt different when I started to play them and they continued to feel different throughout play.<br><br>A big way this mod reinforces your character choices is by increasing XP rewards according to stats and skills. If you have really high values in a particular area, you will get a lot more XP for doing things that those skills/stats govern, and this will shape how you play the game rather dramatically. Take a very high INT character with Comprehension and Retention, focusing on Science and Repair: most of your XP in the game, aside from Quests, is going to come from reading books, hacking computers and making things (you know, nerdy stuff). Combat will probably be comprably much less rewarding and best avoided, but you will drool every time you see a magazine lying around or a locked computer unattended.<br><br><br>Issues<br>======<br>-If you use the TGM cheat with this mod active, it will lead to ever-expanding health totals. This is due to the way god mode handles negative modifiers to health (it doesn't). Avoid using it entirely, in other words.<br><br>-Xtra Special will track stats over 10 and generally extends their normal effects appropriately. The only exception to this is Intelligence, which will NOT grant you any additional skill points over level 10. I highly recommend using a mod which limits or entirely eliminates bonus skill points from Int., such as the one I have included. With Xtra Special, Intelligence increases your XP earned from more sources than any other stat and boosts your tag skills, so the skill point influence isn't necessary.<br><br>-This mod is somewhat invasive and dynamically alters Game Settings through its scripts. As such, it is entirely incompatible with mods that touch those settings, and obviously strictly requires FOSE. MANY balancing mods make extensive reworkings of the game settings, so there are bound to be some conflicts if you use them. Use FOMM/TESnip to check which settings are affected and adjust appropriately, but when in doubt, load Xtra Special after all balancing mods.<br><br>-This mod does do a little rebalancing with some of the base stats and game settings. There are no plans to release this mod without such changes. <br><br>-This mod alters XP rewards extensively, reducing them in some places but generally increasing the overall level of xp you will earn, particularly with smart/charismatic character builds. I highly recommend an XP slowdown mod, and have bundled one with Xtra Special NV. <br><br>-If you Uninstall this mod, it will be difficult to strip out the changes from a save game you used with it. I highly recommend making a backup, trying out the mod for awhile, and if you decide you don't like it, simply reverting. I have no real plans to make an uninstaller function right now, as they are a real headache.<br><br>-This mod will work fine if you add it to a game in progress, though expect to get bombed with a fair bit of XP as soon as you load the game. Obviously, the mod works best with a new save.<br><br>-Xtra Special NV does not include a level cap remover. These are trivially made and are found all over the Nexus, so pick which one you think will work best for you.<br><br>-This mod does not use the Challenges system in any way; though that might have made things easier, I had some trouble adding new challenges to the game. Because of this, sometimes the XP awards from the mod will overlap a little with awards from challenges, which might be a tiny bit spammy. A small issue, I think.<br><br><br><add-on mod>&gt;<br><br><br>Xtra Special Balance Tweaks<br>===========================<br>This mod changes some game settings so as to dovetail with the main changes in "Xtra Special."<br><br>-All XP earned is reduced by 50%<br>-All characters, regardless of Intelligence, get 10 skill points per level (12 with the Educated Perk)<br>-Tag skills increase by two points per point spent<br>-Reduced sneak attack damage bonuses down to normal critical hits. Seriously, they were out of control. Take sneak over 100 if you want a boost.<br>-game difficulty only affects how much damage the player TAKES, not GIVES.<br>-NPCs get more health per level and per Endurance<br><br><br>Highly Recommended Mods<br>=======================<br>DarNified UI (New Vegas)<br>NV Sprint Mod <br>NV Bullet Time<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br></add-on></xtra>