Back in 2010, Fallout: New Vegas was released for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. Although the differences between the versions are minimal, a number of minute elements from the original PC version appear to have been dropped because they would have caused console hardware to lag. These consist of a plethora of minute environmental elements and monster spawning, as well as more varied NPC movements and behaviours.
You may have noticed, for example, that NPCs in New Vegas tend to stand still in one location, rather than cycling through a range of idle animations like sleeping and smoking, or leaving their homes to visit other areas. The new mod, titled LD’s Improved New Vegas, restores all of these features, as well as populating the game with more characters and monsters that were removed to spare console memory space.
Though it is still a work in progress, so far the mod has reintroduced cut environmental features to a wide range of New Vegas locations, including Primm, Goodsprings, Novac, and the Westside of the New Vegas strip itself. The goal is to continue adding more animations, NPCs, and cut enemy spawns to make the entire Mojave Wasteland feel more active and lived-in, as was initially intended before cuts were made for consoles.
You can download LD’s Improved New Vegas from Nexus Mods, and test it out to see how, with just a few minor improvements, the Mojave can actually feel significantly more alive. And of course, another playthrough of New Vegas, with this overhauled world, is the perfect way to pass the time as we wait for more information on the next project from Bethesda, and the Starfield release date.
You might also want to take a look at some of the other best Fallout: New Vegas mods, or maybe some of the best survival games and best RPGs on PC, which include Fallout 4 and Elden Ring.