The team behind the Fallout 4: New Vegas total conversion mod released a new trailer today, showcasing impressive visuals and combat.
Fallout series fans have eagerly anticipated a follow-up to Fallout: New Vegas since its release in 2010. Obsidian Entertainment's spin-off game received widespread praise at release, and has cemented its place among the series' better entries. Unfortunately, the likelihood of a direct sequel for the last decade appeared slim.
Last year, Obsidian released The Outer Worlds to critical acclaim, and positioned it as the "spiritual successor" to New Vegas. However, Microsoft's recent surprise acquisition of Bethesda reunited Bethesda and Obsidian under the same umbrella, sparking speculation that a sequel could be in the works.
Until someone either confirms or denies the existence of a sequel, players can return to the Mojave with a fresh perspective. A volunteer mod team has been working on recreating the fan-favorite using Fallout 4's engine, dubbed Fallout 4: New Vegas. According to the project's FAQ, the team has been hard at work for over three years. Players will be able to trek across the desert in greater detail, and enjoy the newer game's fluid combat. In addition, the mod will also feature New Vegas's skill system and gambling.
The project aims to be as faithful a recreation as possible, but notes that there are certain limitations. Certain features from Fallout 4 – petting the dog, for example, as well as Fallout 4's settlement building – will carry over. A little of the opposite will also be true; while Fallout 4's Sole Survivor campaign is playable with the mod installed, some of its features will bleed back over. Depending on individual players' feelings about Fallout 4, it could turn out to be a positive, though the FAQ does not specify which of the project's features will cross-pollinate.
Fallout 4: New Vegas follows in the footsteps of similarly ambitious projects. Most notable are Skywind and Skyblivion, which aim to recreate Morrowind and Oblivion within Skyrim, respectively. In large part, these projects come from a place of love. Bethesda games are notoriously buggy, and can be unstable when heavily modified. Instead of spending a Saturday installing a dozen gigabytes' worth of HD texture packs for a decade-old game, F4NV seeks to streamline the process. If seen to completion, the mod will offer long-time fans the chance to see a game they love in sparkling glory, and make it more accessible to a generation of fans that cut their teeth on Skyrim.
As with any fan-made project, there are no guarantees. Fallout 4: New Vegas does not have a timeframe for release, but will be available for PC versions of Fallout 4 if it does.
Source: F4NV.com