Yet another rebalance mod, for FNV and TTW. It started out as my personal port of the Fallout 3 mod Simple Realism. New Vegas, however, has more mechanics, it's balanced very differently, and even the way the Mojave is laid out makes a difference, so I had to tweak almost everything. At this point it's a different beast. But if you like Simple Realism you'll probably like this.

The base file is for FNV. TTW support is in an optional file. (If you successfully installed TTW, I assume you can read instructions.)

Play in Hardcore Mode. Also, use JSawyer. I left things out because JSawyer already covered them, so if you don't use JSawyer, you're not getting the complete experience. (Can you use any JSawyer variant? Sure, but there are conflicts in loot distribution. Let Just Enough Realism win if you don't care about expired stimpaks, or vice versa.)

Don't worry, fixes from YUP are carried through.

If you are a user of Sweet6Shooter mods you may want to use Sweet Just Enough Realism Patch.

Thanks to Nocturnal987 there is a set of loading screen tips included in the optional files. Download it so you don't have to memorize the rest of this description!

Compatibility

In the optional files there are compatibility patches for using JER with BLEED and Ragdolls. Use the NV patch unless you are using the TTW version of BLEED and Ragdolls.

Cons:

• The Legion is too squishy. (Fixed in v2! See changelog.)
• Some of the added recipes and flavor items are a bit... Fallout
• Some changes aren't consistent between you and NPCs
• (TTW) You may not be able to survive the Operation: Anchorage DLC at a low level
• (TTW) The Enclave may be too tough for low-level characters
  

Pros:

• Lightweight! Doesn't modify weapons*, armor†, or locations.
• Existing game mechanics are harder to ignore
• Everyone dies faster (except robots)
• You can shoot straight, but low-level NPCs aren’t Olympic sharpshooters. (I’m proud of this one! It was hard to get right.)
• Locational damage makes more sense. Headshots do much more damage to humans but less damage to robots. Shooting a Super Mutant Behemoth in the legs is not a good strategy. (Have you ever considered what one of those things must weigh?)
• Many new recipes, for the workbench, campfire, and ammo bench – for immersion, for flavor, for fun. Break down bottlecap mines! Convert baseballs into throwable baseballs! Break down bottlecap mines! Trim the fuse on long-fuse dynamite!
• Loot makes sense. Garbage cans have... garbage. Dumpsters have... junk
• Loot from DLCs may turn up in the main game where it makes sense, or in other DLCs. (Like MREs in military bases, scrubs in hospitals, or nails anywhere.)
• Combat styles are generally tweaked to make opponents less reckless, more inclined to use cover, and less prone to kill each other off for you with explosives. (Except Lobotomites. Lobotomites are stupid.)
• Enemies pick up better weapons from their fallen comrades
• Most explosions cause knockdowns and powerful explosions tend to cripple limbs
• All large mammals (bears, mole rats, whatever) gain 50 DR and Strength of ten when their health is <20%. (“There’s nothing more dangerous than a wounded animal.”)
• Different animal species are now hostile to one another, based on which species eats/competes with/lays eggs in the other. (Applies to the base game, Honest Hearts and (for TTW players) Point Lookout.)
• Some factions in Old World Blues are now hostile to one another, in a lore-friendly manner.
• Maximum DR is raised to 90 and DT damage bleedthrough is lowered from 20 to 15. (Why not take it further? Any further and good armor makes you an invincible superhero.)
• Wearing Power Armor (with training) removes all weapon strength requirements. (Yes, this is lore-friendly – the lore says it’s what Power Armor is for.)
• Most explosives and potential explosives in the world will blow up if you damage them enough: grenades, rockets, flamer fuel, even microfusion cells and mini-nukes. But they’re not fragile.
• Bullets and other projectiles go farther and faster
• Mines go off much faster and are more powerful (but have a smaller trigger radius)
• Fire-based weapons bypass 10 DT
• All fire-based weapons have the Lonesome Road flare gun effect and make “abominations” flee.
• Being on fire is very, very bad and you will probably die
• You find much less in the way of ammo and stimpaks in loot containers
• Stimpaks and other healing items are more expensive
• Strength affects how far you can throw things (but not weapon projectiles!)
• Strength matters more for hand-to-hand damage
• Base carry weight is much lower; Strength matters more
• Base health is lower; Endurance matters more
• Perception actually affects your accuracy in VATs
• You get fewer base skill points
• You get fewer base AP, but more per point of Agility
• Agility affects your movement speed (slightly)
• Luck gives you a slight chance to not set off mines
• You walk faster
• You get XP for causing less damage (see “everything dies faster”)
• Things are worth less, and barter matters more
• Pickpocketing is saner
• Penalties for not meeting a weapon’s strength requirements are much higher
• You have to get much closer to a location before a marker appears on your compass
• Weapons and armor degrade much more slowly
• Grenades don’t bounce around like tennis balls
• Safe falling distance is lower
• Crippled arms make it very hard to aim
• Crippled legs make you very slow
• You accumulate radiation much faster
• You die at 800 rads (not 1000)
• Guns in bad condition are much more likely to jam in combat
• Melee weapons hit what's in front of you
• Crippled torsos tend to cause staggering
• Stealth is more influenced by ambient light
• Weapon condition affects spread
• VATs doesn't make you do any more damage
• VATs doesn't make you take any less damage
• Headshots in VATS are harder (if you take Sniper it brings them back to “normal”)
• Reloading is slower (for you and everyone else)
• Radios are generally destructible. (For your Sierra Madre–traumatized courier.)
• Vertibirds are tougher
• Psycho only boosts unarmed and melee damage
• Yao Gaui meat only boosts unarmed and melee damage
• Rad-X lasts longer
• Drinking beer nets you a bottle cap
• You are less likely to become addicted to beer, unless you drink it all the time
• Med-X allows you to ignore crippled limbs
• Fire Ant nectar is also addictive
• Pre-War refrigerators frequently contain candy (it was Halloween)
• You have more Fire Resistance while swimming. (On fire? Try jumping into the nearest canal. Companion on fire? Push them in a lake!)
• Ammo weights are tweaked to be more realistic
• Mini-nukes and missiles weigh much more
• Legionaries are harder to stagger
• Mirelurks can’t open doors
• Ghoul Reavers (and Roamers, for TTW) have DT equivalent to a broken suit of the armor they're wearing
• Ghouls may cause radiation when they hit you
• Deathclaws have the Bloody Mess perk
• Deathclaws are immune to radiation
• Deathclaws have both DR and DT
• Deathclaws have some energy and poison resistance
• Behemoths have Bloody Mess
• Yao Guai have a knockdown effect
• Dogs are less aggressive
• Sentry bots explode on death (sometimes)
• All Sentry bots level up with the player (like the ones in OWB and Lonesome Road)
• Nuclear explosions ignore line of sight
• Nuclear explosions are much more powerful and cause much more radiation for much longer
• You can repair BB guns with switchblades (think springs)
• You can repair metal armor with scrap metal
• You can repair leather armor with leather goods (baseball gloves, leather belts, etc)
• You can repair machetes with lawn mower blades
• You may find vinegar instead of wine
• Being well rested only gives you +5% XP
• You only ever get 1 skill point from books
• Sitting makes you accumulate sleep sickness more slowly. (Can't find a place to sleep? Crash on a sofa!)
• Deathclaw hands are worth more (but are heavier)
• Some miscellaneous items have their weights adjusted
• .50 MG cases have weight (did you know some people use them as paperweights?)
• Pre-War cars are harder to detonate
• Commando also removes the movement penalty from using a two-handed weapon.
• Light Step only gives you a 95% chance of not setting off mines
• You can take Tag from level 10
• Swift Learner and Lessons Learned are removed
• You can only take Educated if your Intelligence is less than five
• Comprehension only affects magazines (not books)
• Shotgun Surgeon also tightens your spread with shotguns
• Using slugs reduces shotgun spread a little more
• The requirement for Home on the Range is 50 survival instead of 70
• Your lockpick skill is slightly higher when crouching and holding still
• Critical hits on Power Armor are much less likely (unless you're packing certain specialized weapons)
• All Power Armor gives you baseline rad resistance equivalent to a radiation suit
• There are special recipes for villains that are only available when you have low karma
• There are special workbench recipes that require an arc welder
• Penalties for radiation poisoning are much more severe
• Penalties for drug withdrawal are much more severe
• Penalties for starvation, dehydration, and sleep deprivation are much worse
• *The Garand (Battle Rifle, This Machine) and BAR (Automatic Rifle) have reduced spread. (Applied with a script so it won't conflict with other mods.)
• †Roving trader outfits give you extra carry weight but make it harder to sneak
• (TTW) You find all kinds of meat in gore bags
• (TTW) You no longer find post-war food in Pre-War ovens and refrigerators
• (TTW) Rarely, Legion money may turn in the Capital Wasteland. (Did you know they find Roman coins in Chinese tombs? Money travels.)
• (TTW) DLC weapons don’t magically do extra damage against the player
• (TTW) You escape Vault 101 with much less loot
• (TTW) Swamp folk may have a wider range of weapons
• (TTW) Dogmeat is not suicidal (Brave instead of Foolhardy)
• (TTW) Dogmeat is restored to his Broken Steel level of toughness (Dogmeat dying is too much realism).
• (TTW) †Vault utility suits increase lockpick
• (TTW) Stockholm packs a sniper rifle
• (TTW) Member of Lyon's Pride may have better-maintained weapons
• (TTW) Lucky Harith is the stone cold badass the lore says he is
• (TTW) Merchants who are not Lucky Harith tend to run from fights