I should be done with my Megamod impressions later today.
Over the weekend I've reinstalled NV and while I was initially planning to play with only the basics of
Viva New Vegas guide, I saw that since I've played NV in 2020 some pretty cool stuff has come out, plus I've wanted to check out some mods that I haven't used. I've picked mostly quest and new locations mods.
I still have to finish fixing the game with GECK, as some locations overlap between mods (for example Bonnie Springs is repopulated by Tales From New Reno 0, but also has new interiors from both AWOP and NV Interiors).
Megamod
I've had a lot of fun with Megamod. It's uneven in some places design-wise (like the bunker with rats), but it fits nicely with the rest of the game.
Combat is a bit harder and I didn't feel safe even in APA. Final fight with Kaga and the encounters with Morton brothers required some preparations.
Early on I was expecting to swim in money due to ability to salvage armours with Repair skill (things like combat armour or power armours also require Science), but it didn't affect much, as merchants had less money.
There're some new items and perks- sadly perks felt a bit worthless. If you kill enough enemies of some type- Rats for example- you can pick a Rat Master perk that give you bonus XP for killing Rats. Another new perk is Bounty Hunter which felt a bit like a trap. From the description I was expecting option to collect some scalps/ heads from evil characters and turn them in for some money. Instead from time to time you get an unavoidable fight with a gang leader and a bunch of his henchmen, all armed to the teeth. The higher your level the more deadly they are and the leader has more money on his body.
New locations and quests were really enjoyable, my favourite were definitely the changed quests in Arroyo and Klamath and the Cold Hearts in Modoc.
There's a new questline that gives you an alternative option to finish the game. Sadly you only get Myron's and Harold's endings, probably due to other endings having a flag that checks for the destruction of the Oil Rig.
There's a crafting system, but I only used it from time to time. In Arroyo depending on how you complete the Temple of the Trials you can become either a hunter (weapons) or shaman (potions and poisoned weapons). Becoming one gives you access to unique recipes, other can be learned from Wooz (Molotovs), Balthas (leather jackets and armours) and Troy or Myron (Stimpaks and drugs).
The sentry robot version of Skynet has a lot more firepower than the Robobrain, but it's much harder to acquire, as you need a part from one of the other sentry bots in SAD. Klint was great with his banter with every other party member and comments about places you visit, plus his healing and foraging skills are useful. Private Dobbs is a great shot, but I wish he talked more. The conversation you have with him about the world ending after you release him from SAD and asking him to stop calling you Sir really show the full potential he could reach. You also have the option to cure Lenny of his ghoulism, hopefully it works better than in Resurrection.
The Bad:
I've had some minor annoyances and bugs.
During one of Cold Hearts' missions you have to retrieve weapons from a group of enemies. Killed everyone and looted every body and locker. No option to progress the dialogue with quest giver. Reloaded a couple of times and finally got lucky. On the floor I saw a crate and noticed that one of helping NPCs comes to it and picks it up. Reloaded previous saves and it was in the same guy's inventory every time. Pickpocketing worked.
After convincing certain girl to leave with the guy she loves screen fades to black and the guy dissapers, while her corpse spawns where she was standing.
The next 2 bugs are more severe- combat turns never end in Broken Hills Mine and if one of enemies spot you, game has to be manually killed. I was allowed to progress through the quest by using Stealth Boy and stealthing by the bugs.
Second doesn't allow the full exploration of the EPA as the beam on the ground floor can't b used at.
Conclusion
If you have ever played the entire Fallout 2 with Restoration Project and then realized that you still want more stuff to do- jump right in.
If not- I'd think first whether you really want to make the really big game Fallout 2 + RP is and make it even bigger.