How do you feel about New California?

[Ugly Kid]

I'm surprised at the lack of New California threads here. At least I couldn't find any using the search bar.

Before your take just know the mod was never finished due to burnout and lack of support.

I think with that knowledge it's one of the best mods I've ever played. I can't imagine I'll be doing many playthroughs of New Vegas without it anymore. Having two diverging paths at the start of the game is very cool, and having 7 separate endings is also very cool. I am disappointed that Path of warrior/Scientist only really affects the beginning of the game aside from "Electro Lover". You can get each ending and do every quest outside of the vault on either playthrough.

I'm also disappointed that the only companions in the mod are found within the vault and they're all human or robot. I like me some super mutants. I also dislike that you can't get Johnny Matheson as scientist. Sure I'm a dweeb but I'm still trying to rescue people and Johnny just runs away and dies. There are several temporary companions in the wasteland that could've been permanent.

I like the Survivalists and Xiabhula as ~new~ factions, and the unity remnants were okay. The Father obviously could've used some rewrites (addressed and planned by the project lead) . Also wished they did something with the Project V13 marketing "The Master Lives". Not that he should live, just that for some reason the mutants believe he still lives.

I like how they expanded upon the Bishops and NCR corruption. Just shows how poorly managed the nation is despite it's vast size and order. Union City could've been a bit more lively but it's fine as is.

The Shi were done weirdly. Kieva is an interesting character but she just feels too anime. For some reason she's Japanese, the race isn't a huge deal I can imagine China conquered Japan prewar or something. But she also speaks Japanese all game which is unnecessary and unrealistic. She is also indoctrinated into the Legion on Shi playthroughs, which makes no sense because they hate women.

I kind of like how they did Enclave, just wish there was less reference to Fallout 3. It's great that you can finally have the option to side with the Enclave proper. The Braggs are kinda interesting but also I found it strange how only two individuals are leading a whole campaign by themselves. Maybe the Enclave proper wants to get rid of them because they're mutants but are scared that exiling them would be disastrous (My headcannon for why they keep Frank Horrigan around) .

I also don't know how I feel about the Star Player and Courier being the same person. I feel like you should've been given an option at the end if you'd want them to be the same person or separate. I still like New California leading into New Vegas is cool regardless of who the Courier is. Though the NC companions are way too old in the Mojave. It was just 20 years but they've easily aged 40. I really like them showing up though.

Overall I really like the mod, but of course it's not without it's flaws. Really wish it could've been finished because the design docs look promising. I'd like to hear what people here think because I've found reddit to be unpromising when it comes to Fallout takes.

 

[Alphons]

I plan to do a proper review once I finish my current playthrough of NV (I've been trying to finish it for a few months, but as I was playing through other mods I went back to it feeling that my perspective changes as some other mods do something worse/ better and constantly rewriting it).

I am disappointed that Path of warrior/Scientist only really affects the beginning of the game aside from "Electro Lover". You can get each ending and do every quest outside of the vault on either playthrough.

It adds some replayability to the intro which is great, but I don't think making 2 distinct enough paths through the entire game would be feasible. And if it was there're some other areas which could use these resources.

7 separate endings is also very cool

Also pretty great that each path feels distinct enough (plus the options to betray the faction you support are always great).

I'm also disappointed that the only companions in the mod are found within the vault and they're all human or robot. I like me some super mutants. I also dislike that you can't get Johnny Matheson as scientist. Sure I'm a dweeb but I'm still trying to rescue people and Johnny just runs away and dies. There are several temporary companions in the wasteland that could've been permanent.

You can also get the protectron from the scavenger base on the way to ghoul village.

Johnny is definitely my favourite companion, as others feel kinda meh. Especially after you leave the Vault and rest. Almost no companion interactions or comments on quests. It's especially noticable as they're all very expresive during the intro- I guess they were also gutted due to a burnout.

Though I have to say that Kira is a massive bitch and is the only companion who did not survive.

The Father obviously could've used some rewrites (addressed and planned by the project lead) . Also wished they did something with the Project V13 marketing "The Master Lives". Not that he should live, just that for some reason the mutants believe he still lives.

I wish the Father was the side plot to the conflict between Alliance and NCR instead of the other way around.
The dynamic between the factions was much more interesting than another Supermutant threat (though I've enjoyed the ending where you join them and cover the world with the biomass).

I like how they expanded upon the Bishops and NCR corruption. Just shows how poorly managed the nation is despite it's vast size and order.

Working for Bishops was definitely one of the highlights. Both murdering Silverman and kidnapping Elsdragon's daughter to murder him during the exchange were fun scenarios.

The Shi were done weirdly. Kieva is an interesting character but she just feels too anime. For some reason she's Japanese, the race isn't a huge deal I can imagine China conquered Japan prewar or something. But she also speaks Japanese all game which is unnecessary and unrealistic. She is also indoctrinated into the Legion on Shi playthroughs, which makes no sense because they hate women.

Yeah, they already had some other factions they could have used instead like the Fire Cultists (which I don't think don't have any story or named NPC and could have used some development).

I kind of like how they did Enclave, just wish there was less reference to Fallout 3. It's great that you can finally have the option to side with the Enclave proper. The Braggs are kinda interesting but also I found it strange how only two individuals are leading a whole campaign by themselves. Maybe the Enclave proper wants to get rid of them because they're mutants but are scared that exiling them would be disastrous (My headcannon for why they keep Frank Horrigan around) .

I actually kinda liked that "Us vs Entire World" vibe they had going. If you got rid of Fallout 3 stuff you'd have 2 Enclave members using their knowledge of pre-war secrets and weapons to enact a vengeance against NCR, which could be an interesting angle for the PC whose home was almost invaded by NCR mercenary and is declared a terrorist if seen in a vault suit.

I also don't know how I feel about the Star Player and Courier being the same person. I feel like you should've been given an option at the end if you'd want them to be the same person or separate.

Absolutely terrible decision to have SP and Courier be the same character.
Whether you finish with NCR, Bishops, Elsdragon or Shi- it doesn't matter. Your actions in the canyon are undone (Silverman and senator get arrested, Elsdragon and Shi get destroyed by Legion) and all 4 factions force SP to become a courier and go to Divide.
And then they pull the amnesia card so you can't even roleplay properly and take your actions into account.

Overall I really like the mod, but of course it's not without it's flaws.

I wish they've scaled down the mod. It was far too ambitious for just 2 guys.


The area around the Vault looks great, with a few nice secrets (I still have and use the unique Swift and Silent sniper rifle you can find there) hidden around and interesting locations, but the rest of the map is filled with empty locations. You spend a lot of time walking between main locations (Union City, the Mine and Fort), occasionaly meeting a raider/ soldier or a bloatfly.

I wish they main plot focused on the NCR and Alliance conflict and not mumbo- jumbo with FEV and Project Brazil, because I was really invested in that.

Side quests- Whodunit in ghoul village was great, other 4 or 5 were OK, but the caravan one was absolutely terrible. So much walking.

I'm interested to see how my opinion changes once I play through other big mods like Frontier.

 

[Ugly Kid]

You can also get the protectron from the scavenger base on the way to ghoul village.

Johnny is definitely my favourite companion, as others feel kinda meh. Especially after you leave the Vault and rest. Almost no companion interactions or comments on quests. It's especially noticable as they're all very expresive during the intro- I guess they were also gutted due to a burnout.

Though I have to say that Kira is a massive bitch and is the only companion who did not survive.

Johnny is definitely in my top 3. Maybe he'll be my favourite after my next playthrough (I didn't get him on my first two playthroughs). Currently I like Ben the most, he's a bit of an anime edgelord but he's also the most developed and kinda badass.

Kira is 100% unlikable but she's the second most developed and the only one you can find on all playthroughs. She's not mean to me directly on my scientist playthrough with no other companions so she'll do.

I wish the Father was the side plot to the conflict between Alliance and NCR instead of the other way around.
The dynamic between the factions was much more interesting than another Supermutant threat (though I've enjoyed the ending where you join them and cover the world with the biomass).

That's a really cool idea. I felt having two and a half boss fights back to back (Father+Chevy/Bragg or Father+Annai/Jerri) is a bit much. Especially in the enhanced Father boss fight proposed in the design doc. If resources weren't an issue it could be cool to have two main storylines disconnected but running simultaneously (NCR v Raider + Enclave & Unity).

Yeah, they already had some other factions they could have used instead like the Fire Cultists (which I don't think don't have any story or named NPC and could have used some development).

I've never even heard of the fire cultists, that could've cool.

Absolutely terrible decision to have SP and Courier be the same character.
Whether you finish with NCR, Bishops, Elsdragon or Shi- it doesn't matter. Your actions in the canyon are undone (Silverman and senator get arrested, Elsdragon and Shi get destroyed by Legion) and all 4 factions force SP to become a courier and go to Divide.
And then they pull the amnesia card so you can't even roleplay properly and take your actions into account.

That was one of my gripes I forgot to mention. The courier isn't an amnesiac, it'd be cool to roleplay as one but Sawyer clarified you can just ask basic questions for the player's sake. It's also annoying that there isn't any FPGE-esque content for New California that you could stumble upon in the Mojave. I guess I understand the decision though, it would be a lot of content to add that doesn't really affect the story they wanted to craft.

I wish they've scaled down the mod. It was far too ambitious for just 2 guys.

I really like their ambition. This development story reminds me of Obsidian working on New Vegas. Working with the highest ambitions but limited resources and still coming out with one of the best pieces of Fallout content to come out in a while. The only thing I think they should've scaled down is the world map, either that or just add more locations and side quests.

Love you <3

 

[Alphons]

I've never even heard of the fire cultists, that could've cool.

Not surprising. They don't have bases outside of the Athens Mine like other groups and you can encounter them only East from the broken Sandcrawler that you help protect/ attack. If you go there you meet an unnamed drug runner from Reno who gets attacked by them.

You can find more of them and their altars in the Athens Mine, but they only hang out in the part you can't access during the slave quest and don't have any reason to enter the mine outside of that.

It's also annoying that there isn't any FPGE-esque content for New California that you could stumble upon in the Mojave. I guess I understand the decision though, it would be a lot of content to add that doesn't really affect the story they wanted to craft.

Now that you mention it- if SP and Courier were separate characters they could have added some stuff to NV depending on your NC ending that would make you feel like SP is also in Mojave.

So Bishop ending could have added the Goodprings Cemetery safe that you could lockpick and steal SP's cash which would trigger some ambushes by hired mercs. At the Tops you could find someone assassinated by them in one of the rooms.

Enclave ending could have something at the Remnants bunker (like the stash you currently get but with some extra notes).

NCR ending could add something at Ranger safehouse and maybe a camp of dead Legionaries?

All of these wouldn't have to be necessarily big.

I really like their ambition. This development story reminds me of Obsidian working on New Vegas. Working with the highest ambitions but limited resources and still coming out with one of the best pieces of Fallout content to come out in a while. The only thing I think they should've scaled down is the world map, either that or just add more locations and side quests.

I see your point and I might change my opinion once I have a point of comparison with other big mods.

The best parts of the NC are definitely the prologue at the Vault and escape to Pinehaven, along with the Union City, Athens Mine and Odyssey.
Everything else feels kinda like a filler and could have been removed for a much smaller, but focused experience.

Love you <3

<3

 

[Blastwave Dave]

While initially I quite hated it, it stands out as one of the only big quest mods that tried very hard to do what New Vegas is good at (lots of choices and consequences) rather than what it's not so good at (shooting shit with big guns.)

Though there is still too much of the latter going on.

People say the vault is the only good part and it gets worse afterward, but I honestly feel the opposite. The Nerd vs Jock angle is retarded and almost all of the dialogue is horrific and juvenile, "Dude, are you on CRACK!?" stands out in my brain. Whereas the rest of the game has more interesting conflicts and the factions are interesting, while the writing improves a bit minus some horrific stumbles that you guys already mentioned.

The SP being The Courier would be fine, maybe, if not for all the retarded cloning and regenerative ability bullshit that retroactively makes The Courier the most important superhero in the wasteland. Though I think it is commendable that they allow you to carry the same character through into the main game. Since NC lacks content in the overworld it's nice to carry your stuff over.

For a two man project it is ludicrously impressive. The Frontier is okay if you avoid The NCR like the plague but I'd still say New California beats it if only because the people who made it were genuine fans of what they were working with.

 

[Mirin Lurker]

I really like the mod overall but its very clear he thought the Shi were Japanese and someone pointed it out to him later and he made an ass-pull reason for them to be Japanese. In the GECK you can see the Chinese Shi in the bank all have Japanese names. Obviously just an honest mistake but pretty funny. Also, big weeb energy with them overall. Some of the writing is very fanfic-y but overall its clear a lot of thought and work went into it which is honestly more than can be said about FO3. Really like ex-BOS doctor character.

 

[Hargrimthebleak]

Its finished now, right?

 

[laclongquan]

California is finished, as in it has a complete starting section, a working middle, an end game that link well to Mojave content. You can certain say it's a complete game, even if there's certain part that dont get enough development compared to other part.

What it has is a content-creep. The devs want to do too much so they expand too much and dont have enough manpower to complete them evenly.

The beginning part is quite well done with several different start. The vault is a bit too heavy, in the way Hoover Dam part is heavy during end game: 3d structures, too much assets and light sources. But over all quite well done indeed~

The middle part is... clunky. My judgement is that they dont have enough experience to tweak an open sandbox game with main quest built in, so certain part doesnt get quality-control enough and left bugs/inconsistency in. The NCR route is 100% complete, as I played that route. The raider route doesnt get enough attention, but still reasonably complete, but players will feel it's not as complete as NCR.

The last part feel rushed though. They dont have enough manpower to fill that last region with quest, only terrains, hostiles. So that area feel empty somehow.
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About the arguing on content's direction, dont think too much about it. ANY and all total conversion project ALWAYS has argument about lore direction. TTW devs get accused of lots of things. Frontier is nough said. Obscurum Pandemic simply troll players etc and etc. What California has is simply par for the course.
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Overall I judge it's a complete game that worth playing~

 

[PsychoSniper]

The unfinished bits aside.... its amazing for what it is.

The way they tie it into Fallout 1 was really enjoyable, and having a mod that acts as a prequel is unique.

Overall I love it, I just wish that instead of content creep they had worked on intergrating the worldspace into the main game, just altered for the passage of time and which ending you got.

That, and the ending at the rocket has after my first couple of playthrus been consistently glitchy.