Fallout Ashes is a massive DUST style overhaul mod that takes place 20 years after the events of New California. I worked on this mod as a passion project for a couple years but ended up giving up on modding in general. I didn't want it to go to waste sitting on my hard drive, so here it is as an open source kinda thing. The mod has built in kNVSE support to use hitman's animations for several guns and TOTNW for FNC's power armors. There is also an unused unique STG-44 that is restored from FNC, using animations from Sturmgewehr 44 (STG 44). (You have to download the animations for that mod separately, as they're not included in Ashes files.)

The Story:
You are a survivor trying to escape the ruins of the Pass after a massive supermutant war and mind virus outbreak ravaged the lands, now filled with restless survivors, NCR deserters, Enclave, and the infected.
be careful what kind of water you drink, as it may potentially be your death.
You are also able to get one companion in the mod, at a "place where they break stuff."

Compatibility:
Most dust mods and fixes should be compatible with Fallout Ashes, just make sure to always put the Ashes esp below them, as Ashes has it's own fixes for several bugs in DUST.

DO NOT install ANY New California related overhauls or addons other than the original mod with Ashes, because Ashes completely changes the entire FNC experience.

Alternate start mods are NOT compatible with Ashes. Ashes uses New California's startup to choose between DUST or ASHES.

Mods that allow you to travel freely between New Vegas and New California will BREAK the intended experience, be warned.

Bugs and Addons:
Feel free to create your own bug fixes or addons if you wish!

HIGHLY RECOMMEND MODS TO DOWNLOAD WITH ASHES:
DUST - Additional Fixes (DAF)
DUSTed DUST - Even More DUST Fixes and Tweaks
DUST Tweaks - Bug Fixes - Better Repair - and More
Sneak Level Tweak - Ghost People and DUST Tunneler Fix
Titans of The New West 2.0
Hit's Anims - Season 1
Hit's Anims - Season 2
Hit's Anims - Season 3
Hit - Chinese Officer Sword Anim Set

REMEMBER TO PUT FALLOUT ASHES.ESP BELOW EVERYTHING

QnA (You can also ask me more about the mod in the comments, I might respond when I have time):

Why did you make this? - I wanted to make Ashes because I loved playing through Fallout New California, and wanted to experience it in a fresh new way. I figured that giving it the "Dust treatment" would kinda be my way of giving back in a sense.

How difficult is Ashes compared to Dust? - Ashes "should" be slightly easier compared to Dust because almost all kinds of enemies can drop food, water, and thorazine, although the amount of thorazine varies based on how difficult of an enemy they are.

Am I still able to play DUST? - Yes, when you start the game, you're given the option of either playing Ashes or Dust, just like how the original Fallout New California allowed you to choose between FNV or FNC.

What happens if I go insane? Will I get teleported or experience hallucinations like DUST? - Short answer is no. I never got around to implementing proper insanity mechanics for Ashes, which I really wish I did. You would've essentially unlocked a "fun mode" where you could get overpowered gear, find joke weapons that would've done no damage or just kill you, and also unlock a secret ending where super mutants would become friendly to you and you'd take over the Pass.

How many endings are there for the mod? Where do I go to finish the mod? - Unfortunately there was only one ending that I finished for the mod, which is a basic escape into the LA Boneyard, via the tunnel at the west side of the map. I was actually working on a Dying Light style nuke ending for the mod, and had plans for other alternate endings, but I never came around to it.

Mind virus outbreak? Infected? Why do I have to watch what kind of water I drink? - Basically, The Father unleashed the mind virus against the Pass during the Supermutant-NCR war, which resulted in tons of people getting infected, dying, going crazy, etc. I wanted to play around with the underutilized infection mechanics in FNC, and tried to make it a major threat. I will admit, the execution is a bit sloppy, and I wish I reworked it to be less annoying.

How does this fit into the lore? Who are we even playing as? - MAJOR SPOILERS - The entire mod takes place during an alternate timeline, where the star player joins the enclave and successfully takes over vault 18, The Father invades the Pass early, and the NCR ends up blowing up the super mutants on their own. You are also playing as another clone of the star player that The Father created, I won't argue or pretend that this fits into the lore in any way, but I was just making this to have fun for the most part.

Disclaimer:
I don't own any of the assets used in this mod, everything belongs to the New California team.
If they ask me to take down the mod, I will.