The Idea

We wanted to patch Fallout New California (FNC) and Tale of Two Wastelands (TTW) so that we could combine all three games. Pretty simple goal really. We wanted as much Fallout in one game as we could possibly get. Some people said it was impossible. Some, for technical reasons. Some, for lore reasons. Well, we did it anyway. We've tested this mod quite a bit, but combining three huge games like this means our tests are surely inadequate. We don't have plans on adding more features, but please let us know if there's game-breaking bugs. Also, using this mod with a prior save could be catastrophic for all we know. Best do it with a new game. Anyone is free to add onto this themselves as detailed in the permissions section.

The Installation

The patch was made for the latest Tale of Two Wastelands (version 3.2.2) and what was the current Fallout New California (version 231). However, our tests indicate this patch shouldn't have any issues with the latest version of FNC (version 2.3.1). Ideally, any newer versions that are released won't change any of the things we modified, but we cannot be certain of that, of course. Other versions of FNC or TTW might work, might not. Read the instructions below for installation.

NOTE: If using the 3.3 version of TTW, these instructions are a bit outdated but mostly hold true. Just install TTW 3.3 as you normally would and then install FNC like its a normal mod as detailed below, followed by this mod.

1. Install TTW 3.2 as per their normal instructions. Follow the instructions on their site, whether you are installing the mod manually or through a mod manager like Mod Organizer 2.
2. Update TTW to 3.2.2 as per their normal instructions. Follow the instructions on their site, whether you are installing the mod manually or through a mod manager like Mod Organizer 2.
3. Make sure you install the latest version of JIP LN NVSE Plugin. In addition, install NVAC, or else you will experience crashes. It is necessary for such a huge setup.
4. Download the installer for FNC 231. Extract the contents of the download. You need to make a temporary folder. Locate your New Vegas game executable file. It should be called "FalloutNV.exe". Copy and paste that file into your temporary folder.
5. Run the FNC installer exe file. Click Next until it asks for a Destination folder. Select the temporary folder you made. Then click Install, and wait for FNC to install in the temporary folder.
6. Check that the FNC installation was successful. In your temporary folder, you should see a bunch of loose files. You don't need any of it. FNC patches FNV to use 4 GB of memory, but TTW already did that for you. Check that everything for FNC is in the Data folder, including a bunch of BSA files, plugins, and the ending video BIK files.
7. Install only the Data folder within the temporary folder. You can install it as if it is any ordinary mod, whether you are installing the mod manually or through a mod manager like Mod Organizer 2.
8. Install this patch, the FNC-TTW patch, like any other mod, whether you are installing the mod manually in your Fallout New Vegas Data folder or through a mod manager like Mod Organizer 2.
9. (OPTIONAL) install the Amanda or Android patches, like any other mod, whether you are installing the mod manually in your Fallout New Vegas Data folder or through a mod manager like Mod Organizer 2.
10. Check your load order to match below.



We also wanted to make a note about INI files. Beyond the TTW installation, you may not need to worry about them.
CORRECTION: If you're having issues getting meshes and textures to load, you may have missed a step in TTW setup regarding INI files.

Special thanks to ghipsandrew, Hellstoaster, and OddNooFoo for bringing this to light. Here's text from ghipsandrew:


The Lore

One of the major reasons that a patch for FNC and TTW was considered impossible was because of the lore implications for the origins of the player character. FNC has the player raised in Vault 18, and its twist is a convoluted origin story based on mutations and cloning. TTW has the player raised in Vault 101, and its twist is you were born in the wasteland to a scientist couple. FNC already has so much sci-fi in your origin story, we figured it would be a simple matter to expand the sci-fi to incorporate the TTW aspects of your origin. However, the real complication reveals itself when you realize that the timelines overlap. In Vault 18, you were born in 2241 and left the vault in 2260. In Vault 101, you were born in 2258 and left the vault in 2277. The dates overlap. This we saw not as a narrative impossibility but instead as a narrative challenge. And we believe we accomplished that with some narrative ploys involving mutations, cloning, twins, robots, and memory transfers. Both stories are simultaneously true.

The Vault 101 Auxiliary room was added to be a connector for all of the lore and the non-congruent games. It's where everything happens, and the lore is explained. Some characters have been added to your story to explain the connection. Particularly, Auntie is a Super Mutant now responsible for your twin-cloning, and her story is documented. We also needed a robot mouthpiece to speak for your other self (to avoid character inconsistencies). Vault 101 is in the Capital Wasteland, so we decided to add a founding father: Alexander Hamilton. We chose one that we feel didn't get enough attention, and we had fun writing his log entries.

We also extensively wrote up your character's story in the logs. We felt it was important that, after a certain point where the appropriate twists have been revealed, it is important your character can understand their origin before continuing on their adventures. The mystery, quite frankly, gets old and confusing after a while. So, read the logs, if you want, and be confused no longer! It's complete even with a birth/hierarchy/lineage poster to give a visual diagram to your complicated origins.

If you don't like what we wrote for your origins, you don't need to send hate messages. We have no intention of changing it.

The Order of Play

It would be way too much to account for every possible order you could play the games in, so we had to railroad you into playing the three games in an intended order. That order is chronological: 2260 -> 2277 -> 2281. The only exception is the vault experiences, since their time frames overlap. So, in total, the play order is:

Vault 101 -> Vault 18 -> New California -> Fallout 3 -> New Vegas

When you exit Vault 101, you'll see the entrance to Vault 101 Auxiliary. You can choose to ignore it, and in so doing, cut the New California experience entirely out of your story. If you proceed with the events of Fallout 3 or even just level up to level 3 in the Capital Wasteland, Vault 101 Auxiliary will be detonated, blocking you off from going there out of order. This must be done because the beginning of New California WILL NOT WORK if you are higher than level 3. Don't worry, leaving Vault 101 always makes you just level 2, as far as we can tell.

There have also been reports of mods that affect experience having issues with the New California start. Going to New Vegas (via cheats) before the game knows what happened in New California will crash the game, so don't do that! You must either play New California or fail the quest by proceeding with Fallout 3 before you can go to New Vegas.

If you want the New California experience, you must go right after escaping Vault 101, and you'll find yourself in Vault 18, living a new life. After playing through New California, a second room in Vault 101 Auxiliary can be accessed, and this is where the lore and your character's origins are explained. There's also some rewards.

TTW by default allows you to choose to play in New Vegas immediately. This option, however is very buggy, and even TTW recommends you not to do it. FNC similarly gives such an option. To avoid many bugs and issues, we removed these options, thereby insisting on the previously explained order of play.

You can go to New Vegas from the Capital Wasteland via Union Station. However, we recommend doing it only after completing Fallout 3's main quest (including Broken Steel). You can never return to New California when completed, but you can return to the Capital Wasteland via Union Station at a later time. There is an overarching quest that should help guide you through the three games.

New California Endings

There are a few ways in which the ending you get in New California affects the other games. Some endings don't change much, and many of the events of New Vegas are set in stone regardless. There are essentially six endings to New California, each with 1-3 variations. Regardless of which ending you get, upon returning to Vault 101 Auxiliary, you can find your gear from Vault 101 and Vault 18 (along with all gear you had from New California) in two footlockers. FNC used to place your gear in far-flung parts of the wasteland based on which ending you got, but instead your gear always appears in Vault 101 Auxiliary. In addition, two New California tribals appear in the Mojave Outpost.

If you sided with the New California Republic in New California, you get a unique outfit called Star's Unofficial Fatigues. If you sided with the Mob, you get Star's Tailored Suit, in addition to a safe in Goodsprings Cemetery with "a million dollars". If you sided with the Raider Alliance, you get Star's Survivalist Outfit. If you sided with the Shi Rebellion, you get Star's Honorary Armor.

If you sided with the Enclave, you get Star's Officer Uniform. In addition, Chevy Bragg, John Bragg, and other you never died and are currently aiding Enclave operations in the Capital Wasteland. Since Fallout 3 did not allow a way to work with the Enclave (aside from Eden), Chevy, John, and you will be among your Enclave enemy combatants. Chevy and John eventually are incinerated along with Raven Rock.

FNC used to simply end the game if you sided with the Super Mutant Army and joined the Unity, but we have changed that ending to bring you back to Vault 101 Auxiliary like any other ending. The idea is that, yes, you ended the world, but it is a slow roll-out, so have fun until your ruination takes effect. You get Star's Last Clothes, and there are significantly more Centaurs in New Vegas. Not enough to be challenging, but enough to see their corpses now and then. They're coming.

Any companions you had in New California can still be found in New Vegas, 21 years older, unless you sided with the Super Mutant Army, in which case, they're all mysteriously missing (or dead). Also, one of the entries in the terminals for the lore changes based on which faction with whom you sided.

Other Changes

There are a few other things patched by this mod. It changes the default name to Vault Dweller across all three games. It also patches Form ID Lists, the Nuka-Cola Vending Machine, and some scripts. The new playable races from FNC and have been changed to be un-playable, because they would unfortunately cause conflicts with race-specific stuff in Fallout 3. The DLC and Pre-Order pop-ups from FNV, FO3, FNC, and TTW have been disabled because they were really annoying and redundant.

Also, many dialogue lines to your companions in New Vegas have been changed. FNC wrote them as if your character didn't remember anything in their past. We fundamentally disagree with this assessment. We believe the only parts of your memory missing are the ones you DON'T play through. So we argue the only memories you forget are your youth in Vault 18, the events from New California to the Capital Wasteland, some of your youth in Vault 101, and the events from the Capital Wasteland through the Divide to the Mojave Wasteland. Basically, you didn't lose all of your memories, just the last three years. We changed the dialogue lines to instead be along the lines of "my memory is fuzzy" or "things are complicated".

Additional Patches

There are two additional patches we made for lore reasons. The first is for Ties That Bind, a mod that adds your sister as a companion in Vault 101. The patch adds a note that alludes to the existence of a sister, as well as an updated lineage poster.

EDIT: We have just found out that, in the time we were working on this patch, the TTW conversion of the Ties That Bind mod that adds your sister, Amanda, to Vault 101 has been deleted and purged from the Nexus, and everywhere else we know of. What a bleeping shame.

The second is a patch for any mod that lets you play as a robot, like Daughters of Ares or APOLLO Androids. It simply adds some terminal entries to both Vault 101 and Vault 18 that explain your mutation led to the need for transplantation in a stronger, android body.

Notes About Race

Fallout 3 has a lot of race-specific content (ugh). James will always be the same race as the player, and this also affects a family portrait, young versions of your character, and ending slides. Therefore, changing your race mid-game (at least prior to completing Fallout 3) can lead to game-breaking issues. Pick a race and stick with it.

TTW is said to be incompatible with race mods, but there are a few fixes that can be done about that, which is particularly important if you're using the Android patch. First, each race needs to have a corresponding child and elder variant. This can be done in FNVEdit to simply add existing child or elder races to any new races that are added. As far as we are aware, we believe APOLLO Androids already covers this, but Daughters of Ares does not.

Second, the ending slides of Fallout 3's ending will crash on the race-specific slide, if you're playing as anything but one of the four default races. A mod does exist that removes this slide to fix the crashing. We recommend it: Custom Race Ending Fix.

Version Notes

Enough updates and revisions have been made with this patch that we felt it was worth noting. v1.1 fixed an issue where the game would crash in Goodsprings if you skipped ahead or chose to skip New California. v1.2 fixed issues regarding dialogue bugs (thanks to Wolfremio) and the Wild Card Ending. Note however that the Wild Card Ending is very bare on lore, because you essentially skipped the lore or messed up if you get that ending. v1.3 fixed issues regarding companions not properly showing up, renaming your adoptive father from Dad to James, and accounted for alternative events in one of the Shi Endings. v1.4 fixed issues with the Vigor Tester in New California. Now, if your SPECIAL exceeds 40, it won't glitch out, it'll instead skip the Vigor Tester altogether. The redundant double-choosing of your Tag skills, Traits, and name were removed as well. Thanks to killerfurball for pointing out the issue to us.

v.1.5 is hopefully the last update. It made sure the Vigor Tester took modified SPECIAL stats into account. Also, importantly, it fixed the ability for people to circumvent the intended order of play, which would break New California. Previously, boulders were used to block players off, but that has been changed to instead have the auxiliary detonate if you don't immediately go into it upon leaving Vault 101. This must be enforced, as New California will break if you play too much of the game before starting. This was not our choice.

The End

Thank you for reading this far. We'd like to offer a big thank you to smit8420, whose previous attempt at this idea inspired us, and with whom we spoke at length in the brainstorming process. The screenshots are from a Super Mutant Army playthrough, which was running the following graphic mods: Onix ENB and FNV Realistic Wasteland Lighting. We'd like to take a moment to thank the authors of these mods, as well as all of the mods for which we made patches, for they're great content and great games. That does not however mean they offer any support whatsoever if any of these patches break your game. As always, mod at your own risk. If you'd like to support us, perhaps consider listening to our podcast, Game Theorem.