# I want to love Fallout: New Vegas, but... **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [September 9, 2011, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-love-fallout-new-vegas-but/595691 "2011-09-09T03:05:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-love-fallout-new-vegas-but/595691/1 "2011-09-09T03:05:19Z")
… it’s so visually dull. Brown, grey, brown, grey. Even things that logically should not be brown and grey are brown and grey. The game seems to have a great story, great missions, great mechanics. But it’s just so… so… brown and grey. I understand it’s a post-apocalyptic story but, Jesus, even a nuclear war would not reduce the spectrum of visible light to just brown and grey. (In fairness, I am simplifying; there are many other shades, like tan, beige, and brownish grey.) I just loaded it up a few moments ago and decided I simply couldn’t take more endless brown and grey. It’s quite literally hard on my eyes. ---
**Author:** ![srzss05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-love-fallout-new-vegas-but/595691/2 "2011-09-09T03:18:29Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > … it’s so visually dull. > > Brown, grey, brown, grey. Even things that logically should not be brown and grey are brown and grey. Fallout 3 was the same way. I got a laugh out of the people who expected New Vegas to be more colorful—the lush forests of southern Nevada. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-love-fallout-new-vegas-but/595691/3 "2011-09-09T03:38:03Z")
> [@srzss05](#): > > Fallout 3 was the same way. I got a laugh out of the people who expected New Vegas to be more colorful—the lush forests of southern Nevada. Well, it sort of is more colorful. It’s brown rather than slate grey. The Strip is kind of dusty, but still lights up pleasantly at night. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-love-fallout-new-vegas-but/595691/4 "2011-09-09T03:42:43Z")
Man, don’t ever play any of the other Fallout games. Compared to the rest of the franchise, New Vegas is like a gay pride parade that ran into a paint factory. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-love-fallout-new-vegas-but/595691/5 "2011-09-09T03:44:55Z")
Haven’t you heard? [Real is brown.](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RealIsBrown) ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-love-fallout-new-vegas-but/595691/6 "2011-09-09T03:59:55Z")
> [@srzss05](#): > > Fallout 3 was the same way. I got a laugh out of the people who expected New Vegas to be more colorful—the lush forests of southern Nevada. Well, there are those three or four mesquite trees over in that one corner of the map ;). And some pines at higher elevations in that one area. But yeah, aside from the Strip at night, bright colors are pretty few and far between. But it is _still_ an awesome game. Hope you can battle past it **RickJay** , as I really do think it is worth it. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-love-fallout-new-vegas-but/595691/7 "2011-09-09T04:00:05Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Haven’t you heard? [Real is brown.](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RealIsBrown) From that page: > [@](#): > > NOTE: This trope does not apply to a game taking place in an environment that actually would be gray or brownish in Real Life, like a lot of deserts. Unless they’re just set in a desaturated environment to make their lack of color look like a deliberate design choice. It’s a desert. It’s actually pretty green for a desert with vegetation everywhere, and a number of the hills are red. It’s not eye-poppingly garish, but it’s also not intentionally washed out. Colors are about where they should be. ---
**Author:** ![Chipacabra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@Chipacabra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chipacabra)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-love-fallout-new-vegas-but/595691/8 "2011-09-09T04:38:29Z")
The DLC expansions add different places you can go, with new color palettes. To varying degrees, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-love-fallout-new-vegas-but/595691/9 "2011-09-09T05:00:46Z")
The NW of the map is very green with forests (on the way to Jacobstown). And there is one part that is very, very, VERY green. There are mods (if playing on PC) that make the environment prettier, mainly with the color balance. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-love-fallout-new-vegas-but/595691/10 "2011-09-09T05:05:26Z")
> [@srzss05](#): > > I got a laugh out of the people who expected New Vegas to be more colorful—the lush forests of southern Nevada. Ha; my thoughts after playing a bit of NV were “You know; post-apocalypse Nevada looks remarkably like pre-apocalypse Nevada…” ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-love-fallout-new-vegas-but/595691/11 "2011-09-09T05:56:25Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Ha; my thoughts after playing a bit of NV were “You know; post-apocalypse Nevada looks remarkably like pre-apocalypse Nevada…” Well, there are fewer tract homes, but that can be explained because Fallout is an alternative universe where the fifties lasted for centuries. In lore though, it is explained because Vegas didn’t get nuked directly like other places, only got a lot of **ahem** fallout. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-love-fallout-new-vegas-but/595691/12 "2011-09-09T06:32:17Z")
I never got far enough into the game to try it (I got sucked into WoW. AGAIN.), but for Fallout 3 there was a mod called, I think, Fellout, that restores a more vibrant color pattern to the game. I seem to recall being impressed by screenshots, but it’s been a while, and I never actually downloaded it. Perhaps something similar exists for New Vegas? Joe ---
**Author:** ![And\_his\_buzzer\_goes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/and_his_buzzer_goes/32/377_2.png) [@And\_his\_buzzer\_goes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/And_his_buzzer_goes)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-love-fallout-new-vegas-but/595691/13 "2011-09-09T07:13:05Z")
> [@wheresgeorge04](#): > > I never got far enough into the game to try it (I got sucked into WoW. AGAIN.), but for Fallout 3 there was a mod called, I think, Fellout, that restores a more vibrant color pattern to the game. I seem to recall being impressed by screenshots, but it’s been a while, and I never actually downloaded it. > > Perhaps something similar exists for New Vegas? > > Joe Joe beat me to it. I used that mod in Fallout 3 and was very happy with it. Googling fellout new vegas and opening one of the links I can open here at work, returns something about darker nights. Not exactly the purpose I think, but maybe there are different settings or packs you can use for the mod. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-love-fallout-new-vegas-but/595691/14 "2011-09-09T17:19:23Z")
I agree with the OP and I also found the gameplay repetitive: use the VATS system to pause game and target head, unpause, lather rinse repeat. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-love-fallout-new-vegas-but/595691/15 "2011-09-09T17:40:06Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > I agree with the OP and I also found the gameplay repetitive: use the VATS system to pause game and target head, unpause, lather rinse repeat. I don’t use VATS at all in FONV except for trick shots. I much prefer real-time combat, which is quite fun. Anyway, that stops being a sure kill PDQ. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-love-fallout-new-vegas-but/595691/16 "2011-09-09T18:00:05Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > I don’t use VATS at all in FONV except for trick shots. I much prefer real-time combat, which is quite fun. > > Anyway, that stops being a sure kill PDQ. That. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-love-fallout-new-vegas-but/595691/17 "2011-09-09T18:21:08Z")
VATS was much more necessary in Fallout 3. In NV, they rehauled the aiming, which made no-VATS more accessible. And doing things like headshots with a sniper rifle is much easier outside of VATS, where you can accidentally remove their torso as well.