A mod has finally given New Vegas the more cinematic VATS visuals of Fallout 3
Among the many little tweaks Obsidian made in Fallout: New Vegas was an overhaul of VATS. The crit bonus and damage reduction were revised downward, meaning that rather than being a bulletproof god who took 90% less damage like you did in Fallout 3, the New Vegas VATS enjoyer gained a mere 25% damage reduction while cinematics played out. What’s more, those cinematics were less cinematic, with decreased use of those dramatic camera angles that let you linger on the gore.
Modder Hitman47101 has decided to change that, fully restoring the Fallout 3 visual style with the VATS Restored mod. As well as bringing back the old camera angles, it removes “a load of new, overly simple and static cameras with the word ‘boring’ literally in their editorIDs.”
The video at the top of the page is a fine demonstration of what New Vegas looks like with VATS Restored, though other mods are clearly in play. The hilarious display of dexterity seen at 1.57 is evidence of that, as are the Fallout 1-style 10mm pistol, animations for classic weapons, animations for door-opening, ragdoll reactivity, and probably a bunch more that hardcore New Vegas modders will notice.
Of course, should you want to take things in the other direction and reduce the amount of lingering of VATS, the Fast VATS and Kill Camera mod is for you. Since 2021 this mod has been giving players the opportunity to bounce in and out of VATS like lightning, which sure does change the way New Vegas plays.
If it’s VATS Restored you’re looking to install, it can be downloaded from Nexus Mods and is entirely standalone. If you’re a Tale of Two Wastelands sicko then don’t worry, there’s a version compatible with that available on the Files page.
