This is a sub-page of Proto:Fallout: New Vegas.

A mid to late build of Fallout New Vegas. A playable ESM file from this version of the game was not recovered, only a handful of .Bsa archive files. Despite not being playable, the recovered files offer a good insight into the contents of the build and any changes present.

Unused AudioLarge amounts of unused dialogue have been recovered from a BSA from this build.

Quests

Changed#

I Fought the Law#

The version of the quest present within this build varies greatly from the final iteration. For the first stage of the quest, Eddie would task the player with killing an NCRCF guard he had taken hostage during the escape as a test of the player's loyalty. Dialogue states he had received no ransom and was unwilling to waste resources feeding him. The player could either refuse, bargain for the hostage's survival, kill the hostage or help them escape. If the player opted to refuse, Eddie and the Powder Gangers would turn hostile. If the player successfully passed a skill check, Eddie would agree to hold on to the hostage a while longer.

If the player chooses to execute the hostage, they will be sent to speak with Scrambler in Cell Block A to gain entry. If the player opts to rescue the hostage, they will have the opportunity to meet with them later at a town called "Jean" (most likely referring to the ruins of the town at Jean Sky Diving). Once there, the hostage would travel to the Mojave Outpost and request the player meet them there for a reward, which the player could either accept or refuse. Of note is that Chavez is still present in this build, he is locked in a cell and asks the player to release him as part of a cut subplot.

The second phase also proceeds somewhat differently. While the water merchant present in the final build is a bounty hunter in disguise, in the early iteration of the quest there is no guise and the NPC is a regular traveling merchant. The player had the option to either shake them down, let them go or to engage them in combat if the attempt to intimidate them failed. Of note is that this iteration of the merchant mentions being accompanied by companions in his dialogue, using "we " instead of "I". In the final game, two markers are placed for generic travelers at Goodsprings Source but are disabled. It is possible they are a remnant of this version of the quest.

The third phase proceeds as normal until the player returns to Eddie. It seems there were two possible endings to the players scouting mission, one where the player returns too late and another where the player returns in time to prep with Eddie. Unused player only lines suggest they could recommend Eddie deploy additional snipers. There were also three possible outcomes: The Powder Gangers repel the NCR with minimal losses, the Powder Gangers succeed with heavy losses or the NCR takes the prison. The first and third options appear to proceed similarly to the final game, whilst leftover dialogue from Eddie suggests that if the second scenario were to occur, he would abandon NCRCF and head north to possibly start a new gang.

An unused subplot is also present where the player could convince Scrambler to stage a coup against Eddie. Scrambler could be persuaded to offer some of his men to assist with dispatching Eddie. Alternatively, there is an option for the player to lure Eddie atop a guard tower and push him to his demise. There are also two references to two distinct sub factions of Powder Ganger occupying the prison, belonging to Eddie and Scrambler. Eddie's group would possess shades, while Scrambler's would wear mohawks. NPC entries present in the final tell us that Eddie's gang would use guns, while Scrambler's would rely on melee weapons. They are labelled "NCRCFEddieGangerGun" and "NCRCFScramblerGangerMelee" respectively. The Scrambler gangers are unused in the final. There exist two factions also: EddieGangerFaction and ScramblerGangerFaction - though the quest's removal renders them both inconsequential. Additionally, the following unused objectives have also been found from the November 17th build from these scenarios:

My Kind of Town#

The Meyers and NCR routes of this quest originally played out differently, as evidence by dialogue recovered from this build. If siding with Meyers, he would be reluctant to become the new Sheriff on account of the possibility of Eddie raiding Primm, and would ask the player to deal with him. The player could do this through a speech check, or could just kill Eddie instead. The following quest objectives for this early scenario are from the November 17th build:

In the event that the player assists the NCR, they would first need to pass a skill check to convince Hayes the town is worth protecting. After this, Hayes would instruct them to speak to McGee to see if he was willing to take over as Sheriff. Once the player had McGree's approval, they would need to arrange for at least half of all Primm residents to sign a petition. At least of half of Primm's residents would need to sign. The following quest objectives from November 17th build are from the early NCR route specifically:

Dialogue from this build also accounts for a number of other, alternative outcomes for this quest. If the newly appointed Sheriff died, the player could arrange for another candidate to take over. Dialogue also exists for Johnson Nash where he laments that there is no one left to protect Primm, alluding to a scenario where all possible candidates are unavailable. In the final, no changes can be made to Primm's leadership once the quest has ended.

Flags of Our Foul-Ups#

This quest appears to have undergone an extensive rework between this build and the final release. It appears in this version McCredie would have arranged for a fatal combat patrol for the Misfits if their scores did not improve, likely in a final attempt to improve the squad’s lackluster performance. The following dialogue exchange recovered from the January 27th build reveals how this quest would have originally begun:

The following dialogue script is attached:

if getStage VFreeformCampGolf < 10
    setStage VFreeformCampGolf 10

This would activate the following stage: Find a way to help the Misfits improve so they aren't sent off to their deaths. In order to arrange for the patrol to be cancelled, McCredie would need to see a sufficient increase in performance. There seem to be two routes available to the player, help the Misfits legitimately improve, or cheat. If the player decides to cheat, they would be directed to Poindexter, whose route proceeds similarly to the final. If the player opted to help the Misfits, they would be directed towards Mags. Before the player could begin the course, however, they would need to convince the Misfits to work together:

The above exchanges are from the January the 4th build. In the final game, convincing the Misfits to work together is a separate route entirely, independent from the rifle and grenade courses. In the final version, it is O'Hanrahan's idea to convince the squad to work together better, and there is no skill check for him. In this version of the quest, the player had to pass a speech check in order to convince O'Hanrahan to accept his responsibilities as a soldier:

Once the player had successfully convinced the Misfits to work together, they would need to help them achieve a passable result on a rifle range and grenade course. Sergeant McCredie has dialogue in this build to comment on all possible outcomes, i.e. a poor performance on the shooting range but a good performance on the grenade test. He also has a dialogue line where he expresses suspicion, likely in reference to a fabricated result.

There is another stage of the quest as well, where the player would need to delete the Misfit's mission orders directly in a final attempt to spare the squad. Mags would direct the player to Poindexter, who would ask them to alter their mission orders. This could be done through a terminal internally designated "CampGolfMissionTerminal". This terminal still exists in the final game albeit unused, called the Camp Golf Mission Parameters Terminal. It has a single entry that reads: Delete Misfits Combat Patrol Mission. This outcome is further evidenced by the cut objective: Delete the Misfits' mission orders.

It is not currently known what would cause this objective to trigger, though the player line: "I've got bad news - it looks like McCredie's still planning to send you out." implies Poindexter's initial plan would not work. Poindexter also has dialogue in the April build introducing the cut stage to the player, further evidencing this stage was related to hi, specifically. There are unused player lines as well that reference the suicide mission. When the scenario was altered, player lines were amended but actual dialogue with the Misfits was not, below is an example:

As opposed to:

Poindexter's worry and subsequent relief make more sense when considering the original context of the quest.

Return to Sender#

Unused dialogue and scripts point to a significantly more involved quest than what made it into the final build. The first phase of this quest differs significantly, it appears Reyes would task the player with uploading some type of program off of their pip-boy to a terminal present in each station, as opposed to simply providing the Comm Officers with a password. The player would have to convince each Ranger of their trustworthiness or use before being allowed access to the terminal. The player could pass a successful skill check, use their positive NCR rep or simply kill the Ranger guarding the terminal. Additionally, the player could convince the Comm Officers to upload the program themselves. Also of note is that the Rangers could react to a negative NCR rep, further impeding the players efforts.

The interaction with each Ranger is unique, depending on their disposition. Lenk would be found in Foxtrot’s otherwise unused bunker, and would attempt to bribe the player. Whilst in the final it is Lenk who has a debt with a casino, in this iteration of the quest it is actually Delta station’s Officer Scheffer. In order to extort her, the player would have to guess which casino she had a debt with. Oddly enough, the notes containing the passwords for the stations are present in the final build:

Of particular note is the password for Ranger Station Echo. The player could also choose to either upgrade the station’s encryption or hijack the broadcast. If the player opted to hijack the broadcast, they could later extort Reyes for a sum of money, with the amount increasing per hijacked station. Going down this route does not necessarily lock the player from progressing with the quest, the player could convince Reyes their actions were to strengthen security in the long term. They could also convince Reyes to use the situation to her advantage (take credit for plugging a major security leak).

The second phase is also different, with Reyes sending the player to verify reports at stations Delta, Charlie and Foxtrot as opposed to Alpha, Delta and Foxtrot in the final. Despite this, dialogue for checking reports with all senior rangers is present. Player lines also exist for reporting back on stations Alpha, Bravo and Echo. There are two mentions of optional content in the quest stages 50 and 200 in the final build:

Present in the December 11th build are a set of early quest objectives for the quest. Of note is that all objectives related to the second phase of the quest contain the prefix "Optional", evidencing that the second and first phases originally occurred simultaneously. It is likely that the player needed to successfully investigate the reports in order to be considered eligible for the final portion of the quest. Also of note is that Kudlow would request the player assist her with fixing an antenna and Passon would request either cigarettes or booze before speaking with the player. Passon's robobrain also accompanies him, with dialogue options present for the Ranger to comment on it. Whilst not directly related to the quest itself, it appears at this point in development Ranger Erasmus and Comm Officer Green were both ghouls, the player would have to win them over in order to interact with them.

Each Ranger would give the player some form of evidence for part two of the quest, in the form of logbooks, written reports or optic data from the robobrain at Delta. The player could use this evidence in conversation with Chief Hanlon. Whilst in the final Reyes herself suspects Hanlon of manipulation, in this iteration she does not, simply intending for the player to bring the matter to his attention. The options to resolve the quest are also slightly altered, with a further visit to Reyes being mandatory to conclude the quest. An option is also available for the player to agree with Hanlon's plan, then double cross him in conversation with Reyes. This creates a scenario where Hanlon is exposed but does not get the chance to commit suicide, an impossible outcome in the final game.

Ain't That a Kick in The Head#

There is cut dialogue from this quest that indicates there was an additional portion of the opening conversation where Doc Mitchell would further question the player. The first of the dialogue topics is designated "VCG01DocTraitIntro", which implies that the player's responses here would be used to determine their traits for the playthrough. There is also a line of dialogue in text only format where the doctor would instruct the player to pick up a brahmin skull off a shelf to test their coordination: "See that Brahmin skull above the mantle? Try and get her down". This line is from the February 16th build. The closing dialogue for the quest is modified also, with Mitchell mentioning that the player would have been wearing a hospital gown. He also makes mention of a settler dropping off additional items belonging to the Courier, recovered from the spot where Victor had first found them. It is likely this is how the Courier's Stash items would have been received.

The unused dialogue exchange:

They Went That-A Way#

A series of unused quest objectives from the November 17th build and unused dialogue reveal that this quest was a lot shorter and originally proceeded somewhat differently:

To start, the player would speak with Trudy at the Goodsprings Saloon. From here, she would direct the player towards Chet at the General Store. From here, Chet would direct the player straight towards Novac, while in the final the player is instructed by Sunny Smiles to travel east via Primm and then through Nipton. After arriving at Novac, the player would need to speak to Manny. Manny would inform the player that the Great Khans and Benny have been staying at his room, and warns the player against visiting as Benny is likely to shoot him for trying. The player could find a note from Benny in the room, revealing they have already departed for Boulder City.

The circumstances under which Benny departed from the Khan’s company is also different in this version of the quest. Here, after a payment dispute, Benny began executing the Khans at midnight. In dialogue with Jessup he states he woke up part way through, after which Benny escaped and apparently began firing upon a squad of NCR troopers, likely to distract the Khans. There was a house full of dead Khans here also, referenced in dialogue with Monroe. This early scenario is also referenced in dialogue with Swank, where the player could present Swank with a different piece of evidence and tell him Benny had left it when began killing the Khans. Also, while not a part of the quest itself, Ulysses could also be asked of Benny’s identity and whereabouts if encountered before completing the quest.

Cry Me A River#

In the final game the player can speak with Julie Farkas to arrange for Jerry to leave the Khans to become a follower instead. In this version of the quest, Jerry would instead leave for New Reno, as indicated in unused dialogue recovered from this build.

A Pair of Dead Desperados, II#

Originally there was an option for the player to sell Vance's 9mm Submachinegun to Alexander at the 188 Trading Post. He would have purchased the firearm for 250 caps, or 450 caps, if a barter check was passed successfully. In dialogue recovered from this build Alexander states that if the player wants "special orders" he will need to first show them something special. Multiple Player topics also exist for this scenario:

• 188AlexanderGunVikkiVance
• 188AlexanderGunVikkiYes
• 188AlexanderGunVikkiNo
• 188AlexanderGunVikkiBarter
• 188AlexanderGunSpecialNo

Additional dialogue recovered from the March 26th build also references this cut scenario. This dialogue clarifies that the player would be able to place orders for special weapons via Alexander, though it's not known yet what kind of weapons the player could obtain this way.

Boulder City Showdown#

The quest proceeds somewhat differently in this build when compared with the final. There was an unused stage of the quest where Monroe would request the player scout out the location of the hostages so he could begin his assault. Once the player had located the hostages, Monroe would have the Great Khans keeping guard eliminated by snipers before sending his troopers to eliminate the rest of the group. Both hostages are also placed elsewhere in earlier builds, being on the second floor of the building where Jessup is located. They are placed in the main wasteland world space, suggesting the ruins were segregated late in development. There was a Great Khan guard stationed outside also, with an unused script to confront the player if they loitered around the area, recovered from the November 17th build:

ScriptName BCConfrontPlayerTriggerScript
Begin OnTriggerEnter player
  If VMS20.Negotiator && DoOnce == 0
    BCGreatKhanAAMRef.StartConversation player
    Set DoOnce to 1
  EndIf
End

There was also originally an option for the player to bribe some of the NCR soldiers to look the other way so the Khans could slip out undetected. In the final game, there is a generic NCR trooper with the internal ID Private Hastings (her in-game name was Sergeant Hastings). Dialogue is present for the NPC in this build which suggests she was a disgruntled NCR trooper who could be bribed for 500 caps, or 400 caps if a successful skill check was passed. There is a condition in the files named "HastingsBribed" which further evidences this. Lieutenant Monroe also references this event in dialogue. It seems the bribe functionality was given to Monroe in the final, and Sergeant Hastings was mostly commented out.

Still In The Dark#

For the first phase of the quest to deal with the Ranger keeping camp at Hidden Valley, the player had an additional option which was to send Dobson to Quarry Junction instead. A female player could do this with the Black Widow perk, telling him that the deathclaws had been eliminated. Elder McNamara would deem this an acceptable solution. Dialogue with McNamara also suggests that the Brotherhood would dispose of the player if they eliminated the Ranger without any prior investigation, as opposed to the final where he decides the player can be of some use despite their failure. Full dialogue for this scenario has been recovered from this build, albeit in text to speech format. An unused script and marker exists for the scenario where Dobson goes to Quarry Junction, both from the November 17th build:

ScriptName HVRangerDEADscript
Begin OnLoad
  HVRangerDeadRef.kill QJDeathclawAlphaMaleRef
End

An Eye For an Eye#

Dialogue in this build reveals that Major Polatli of Camp Forlorn Hope would have initiated this quest and acted as the main point of contact, not First Sergeant Astor as it is in the final. A number of unused quest objectives from the February 26th build support this as well:

This seems to be the only difference, the quest would have proceeded the same, and dialogue for Major Polatli in this build is a word for word match with the dialogue used by First Sergeant Astor in the final.

The Silus Treatment#

In the final game, Silus can be made to reveal information about Caesar's brain tumor if the player is successful in their attempts to extract information from him. In the prototype, however, he instead reveals that Caesar had him abandon his war efforts to slaughter member of The Followers of the Apocalypse. Silus believes Caesar has done this out of some irrational paranoia. This is related to the abandoned plot thread to have Caesar's Lieutenants turn on him and execute him, with the Followers having some part to play in this due to Caesar's association with them prior to forming the Legion.

Beyond The Beef#

Dialogue with both Chauncey and Mortimer provides additional background on the quest and the White Glove Societies activities, as well as an additional option for completion. Underpass is mentioned directly in dialogue by both, with Chauncey elaborating that the remote town is a favourite spot for the White Glove Society to poach humans due to its remote nature. Furthermore, Mortimer mentions that Carlyle St Clair has chosen the town as his home in an attempt to distance himself from his family, before instructing the player to collect him from there. Mortimer also has dialogue for offering up the companion Ulysses as a replacement meal for the banquet, something impossible in the final game due to Ulysses' removal.

The following objective was also found for the quest from the November 17th build:

Fort Arena#

In the final game, the first stage of the arena fight is against two slaves wielding machetes. Initially, the first phase was a one on one fight putting the player against a slave named Elias. This is referenced in unused dialogue for Otho recovered from this build. An NPC entry for Elias is present in the March the 10th build.

Unused#

Hidden Valley VR Simulation#

Dialogue and unused scripts recovered from earlier builds reveal that it was at one point intended for the player to be able to participate in the Hidden Valley VR simulation. The HVSimMasterScript outlines the basic workings of the challenge. The simulation itself is dubbed the "Base Defense Simulation", the player would have to protect a set point dubbed the "command center". If enemies were to breach this point, the simulation would be failed. Taking too much damage would also cause the simulation to fail, and for the player to be ejected from the sim. The simulation would consist of up to three waves, the beginning of the first wave being announced with an explosion. Enemies would spawn every 15 seconds (up to a maximum of 12 at once). The player would also be afforded up to 2 allies at a time, these allies would respawn every wave. Script notes also state that turrets would be available to aid the player as well.

After a certain point, the enemy spawns would switch from the initial location to the armory, with an explosion and an on screen message alerting the player to the change. At this point the shooting range and armory doors would also be opened. There is a pushback script and message also, revealing the player could pressure the enemies into the armory and force them back to the original spawn point. The simulation itself would take place in a mockup of Hidden Valley, evidenced by the HVNormalSimNote present in the retail game files, which reads: "Current Simulation: Hidden_Valley_Attack". Further evidence of this is the name "Base Defense simulation", Hidden Valley being the Brotherhood's current base. Also of note is the fact that there is a shooting range and armory present in the simulation, these are present in Hidden Valley also and tell us the simulation took place in the first level. The note reads:

Current Simulation: Hidden_Valley_Attack

Invading Forces: Enclave
Invader Offensive Strength: Strong
Invader Defensive Strength: Strong
Overall Difficulty: Hard

The player could also set the faction of enemy and ally npcs through the use of two terminals dubbed the "HVSimAllySelectionTerminal" and "HVSimEnemySelectionTerminal" respectively. The player could choose ally and enemy factions from the Brotherhood of Steel, Enclave, NCR and super mutants. The player would be equipped with a suit of power armor upon entering the sim, they would also be allowed a grace period to set mines and choose armaments. The following is a list of weapons the player could choose from:

• HVSimWeapLaserRifle
• HVSimWeapPowerFist
• HVSimWeapMinigun
• HVSimWeapMineFrag
• HVSimWeapSuperSledge
• HVSimWeapAssaultRifle
• HVSimWeapGrenadeFrag
• HVSimWeapPlasmaRifle
• HVSimWeapGatlingLaser

Note that above are all Fallout 3 weapons, with the Assault Rifle being the Chinese Assault Rifle that was cut from Fallout New Vegas. This is indicative of how early the simulation was worked on in the game's development. The players score would be determined by the number of kills they were able to accumulate before the simulation reaches its end. Three different versions of the simulation are mentioned within Fallout_Release_Beta.xex, each having its own interior cell:

- HiddenValleySim

- HiddenValleyWatkinsSim

- HiddenValleyPTSDSim

Each version of the simulation also has its own corresponding master, enter and exit scripts. It is likely these corresponded to the three difficulty levels mentioned by Head Scribe Taggart: easy, normal and hard. The note, HVEasySimNote, further evidences that this naming convention denotes the level of difficulty:

Current Simulation: Hidden_Valley_Attack_Watkins

Invading Forces: Enclave
Invader Offensive Strength: Baby
Invader Defensive Strength: Pansy
Overall Difficulty: Easy

The player would unlock the easy version of the simulation through dialogue with Head Scribe Taggart, with the Courier convincing them that if Watkin's record were to be beaten she would redouble her efforts. This is likely the version of the sim dubbed "Watkins". In order to unlock the hard difficulty setting dubbed "PTSD" the player would need to surpass Watkin's score in the simulation. After this, Taggart would unlock access to this version of the challenge.

Dialogue with Taggart also reveals that he would task the player with keeping an eye out for any VR holotapes they might find out in the wasteland, offering to compensate them for bringing them to him. Paladin Ramos also has an unused greeting where he would direct the player to Head Scribe Taggart in the VR room for some potential work. The PTSD simulation is also directly related to the cut task Senior Scribe Schuler would have assigned to the player. Apprentice Watkins was also set up to greet the player and comment on their performance within the simulation, dialogue lines exist for this in the July build. There are four levels of score, as evidenced by an early version of the Hidden Valley dialogue script recovered from Fallout_Debug.xex:

int LastGameStatus          ; 0 = No status
                                    ; 1 = Poor score
                                    ; 2 = Decent score
                                    ; 3 = Close score
                                    ; 4 = New record

Senior Scribe Schuler#

Senior Scribe Schuler acts as a doctor for the Brotherhood of Steel. In this build, there is a line of dialogue that suggests she would offer combat implants to the player with the Elder's approval. Also of note is a task that the Scribe would assign to the player. Dialogue with Schuler has her suggest Taggart is incompetent and that the work he does not befit the position of Head Scribe. She speculates he may retain his title due to some kind of leverage he has over the Elder. She would ask the player to investigate this for them. There is a script named SpyingForSchuler that is related to this task, but it does not contain any useful information.

A dialogue script present in the final game reveals the discovery of the PTSD simulation is the "dirt" that Taggart has over the Elder. The dialogue script states the condition "SpyingForSchuler" would be set to 1 if the player had discovered the PTSD simulation. Also of note is that the entry point for the PTSD sim is a pod designated as "McNamara". There is also a terminal referenced named McNamara Sim Terminal internally, with Taggart mentioning that a terminal in the VR room would allow the player to alter the simulation's parameters, further evidencing the connection. The dialogue script is as follows:

; This might not be necessary. I might be able to
; add a top level topic for telling her what you
; found out and simply have it check to see if you
; discovered the PTSD sim.
set VDialogueHiddenValley.SpyingForSchuler to 1

This dialogue script is attached to the lines "I don't appreciate how much harder I have to work to cover for his tendency to focus on his personal projects" and "I try not to think too much about his personal proclivities" which follows on and is a part of the same sequence. Also of note is a generic greeting used by the Brotherhood in the final game: "I heard the Elders got Taggart on some kind of secret project", this may be in reference to the simulation.

It's not clear exactly what the PTSD sim would present differently from the other two, but based on the above it's likely it was designed as a secret therapeutic simulation created for McNamara by Taggart. This would suggest McNamara is aware of how the crushing defeat at Helios One has affected his judgement and that it's the reason for the isolationist doctrine the chapter are taking under his leadership, and is using the sim to try and overcome his fear by wargaming an outcome where the chapter could have won. In this case the PTSD sim may have in fact have taken place inside Helios One. One of Ulysses' cut location lines alludes to this, with him noting "Some say the ghosts of this battle live on in computer systems."

Finally, the note used to record McNamara's expulsion as elder in the final game is written by Schuler, despite Taggart being the Head Scribe of the chapter (all other expulsion notes are written by Head Scribes). This would fit in with Taggart being brought down by his association with McNamara, with firstly McNamara being shown as unfit to lead due to his mental state (as he concedes in the final game) exposed by the sim with Taggart knowing McNamara is unfit and concealing it. Secondly, Schuler may also have obtaining proof of Taggart's inappropriate relationship with Watkins via the player finding the easy sim version allowing Watkins to unknowingly cheat. It seems it was initially required for the player to complete Schuler's sub-quest to be able to depose McNamara, but this was cut very early (the voiced dialogue left in the July 2010 beta already suggests the sim had quickly reduced in importance compared to the TTS lines in the April build, and the ESM shows it was already totally cut by then) with only trace elements left.

It Only Hurts For A Little While/Boom Boom Baby#

It seems at this point in development the Great Khan initiation quest was implemented and functional in game, albeit in an early state. It's internal ID was VMS48. The quest at this stage was called Boom Boom Baby, but was named It Only Hurts For A Little While in earlier builds. Unused dialogue recovered from this build helps us understand how the quest would have proceeded. A series of early objectives can be found in the files for the March 30th build:

The Ritemaster would be found outside of the proving ground at Red Rock Canyon. When approached, he would greet the player, and could be spoken to about the specifics of the initiation. His response to the player depends on their reputation; if the player had a mixed or negative reputation, he would ask them to move on. If the player's reputation was positive, he would invite them to attempt to join the Khans. It seems a reputation of at least accepted was needed to being the quest, the player would be turned away otherwise.

To successfully complete the initiation, the player would need to either survive for four minutes or knock out their attackers. The player would be equipped with a set of boxing tape for this task. The player could take their armour, but would be forbidden from taking any weapons into the arena. The player's companions could also not accompany them during the initiation. In order to prevent the player from dying, the initiation was set to fail if the player dropped below 15% health, though it would technically still be possible for a weak character to die if receiving a hit that reduces their health to zero from above 15%. This was controlled by the following script, also from the March 30th build:

ScriptName VMS48TimerScript
Begin GameMode
  If player.GetHealthPercentage <= 0.15
    player.MoveTo VRRCPostInitiationMarkerREF
    VRRCKhanInitiation1REF.Disable
    SetObjectiveDisplayed VMS48 30 1
    VRRCRitemasterREF.StartConversation player GKRitemasterFailure
  EndIf
  If bRunTimer
    If fTimer > 0
      Set fTimer to fTimer - GetSecondsPassed
    Else
      player.MoveTo VRRCPostInitiationMarkerREF
      VRRCKhanInitiation1REF.Disable
      Set VMS48.PlayerJoinedGreAtKhans to 1
      SetObjectiveCompleted VMS48 20 1
      SetStage VMS48 30
      player.UnEquipObject WeapNVBoxingTape
      player.RemoveItem WeapNVBoxingTape 1
      VRRCRitemasterREF.StartConversation player GKRitemasterSuccess
      StopQuest VMS48Timer
    EndIf
  EndIf
End

There are also number of additional lines present for the Ritemaster in audio files for this build as well, though they do not seem to have been implemented in game. They mention the player learning to fight like a Great Khan, and seem to be intended for after a successful initiation attempt. He mentions a technique that requires the player to "Grab a handful of dirt and fling it in your opponents eyes and hit them while they’re distracted", which is essentially what the Khan trick unarmed move does in the final game. This suggests the unarmed move and initiation quest may have been related at some point during development.

During the quest Oh My Papa there is a dialogue topic where the player asks Regis about Papa Khan's hatred of the NCR, named RegisTopic007 internally. In the final game, Regis has only response for this topic. In the March 30th build however, there is an additional response, set to play if the player had successfully completed their initiation. The actual text for the response has not been recovered, leaving it unknown what exactly was said.

More remnants of this cut quest can be found in the files for the July 21st build, including congratulatory lines for named Great Khans at Red Rock Canyon, and two unused Radio New Vegas broadcasts.

Ulysses Companion Quest#

Present in this build is some dialogue for the cut companion Ulysses. He has a large amount of dialogue for the first encounter at Wolfhorn Ranch, where he can comment on the player’s NCR or Legion disguise if they are wearing one. There is also a dialogue branch where Ulysses and the player discuss the player’s use of a Pip-Boy, this was not carried over to the July 21st build, which features a far larger and more complete set of his dialogue. There are some dialogue lines referencing his personal quest also, which saw him pick a side to support at the upcoming battle. These sequences seem to be only partially implemented at this stage however. There is dialogue for Ulysses to reveal more about his past as well as a set of follower lines for him also.

Sergeant Warren Jacobs and Lieutenant Boyd#

Lieutenant Boyd at McCarran has dialogue for a quest where she would request the player investigate a situation involving a Sergeant named Warren Jacobs. She claims he had recently walked away from a firefight and has been at the psych ward ever since. Boyd notes Jacobs was a trooper with a clean track record, and that the change in mental state was abrupt. She doubts whether his ailment is genuine, or a ruse in an attempt to secure an honorable discharge from the military. She tasks the player with discerning whether or not Jacobs is acting. Other remnants for this quest include an NPC entry for Jacobs and the player line "I could find out if Jacobs is faking".

Jack Wilson and Boulder City#

An unused quest alluded to in dialogue where the player would investigate the use of Boulder City rubble as a building material for NCR embattlements. Ike has a number of dialogue lines alluding to the basic premise of the quest, implying that the rubble of Boulder City is a viable resource but intervention by Jack Wilson and the OSI has deemed it unsuitable. It is implied that the report is fraudulent, as Jack Wilson stands to gain much from the situation as it is. Presumably, this quest would function as an alternative to clearing Quarry Junction of deathclaws, allowing the player to relocate the workers to Boulder City instead. Dialogue for the introductory portion of the quest is present for Ike within this build, as well as the corresponding player lines. Unfortunately, dialogue intended for the conclusion of this quest or the interaction with Jack Wilson have not yet been located.

The Hostetlers#

Dialogue exists for both the player and Don Hostetler that alludes to a scenario where the player could confront him about his affair. Possible options include telling his wife or extorting him. This was originally a part of the quest Someone To Watch Over Me. In the final game, the player must pass either a speech or barter check with Crandon in order to join the watch and be offered work by Crandon. In this early version of the quest, the player had a third option, which was to blackmail Mr. Hostetler into putting in a good word for him. These player lines are present in the November 17th build:

Dialogue for Mr. Hostetler in reaction to being confronted about his affair exist in this build, and accompanying player lines have been recovered from the November 17th build also. Unfortunately, while player lines for bringing the situation to Mrs. Hostetler's attention have been found, the NPC responses have not. It is not currently known what her reaction to the news would be, or if she would even believe the player in the first place.

Biggs and Harcourt#

This was a quest taking place at Ranger Station Foxtrot where NCR Private Biggs would task the player with killing his squad mate Harcourt. Biggs believes that Harcourt is a jinx, his evidence being that her prior squads had both been wiped out and a string of unfortunate occurrences at camp since her arrival. Biggs would promise the player a monetary reward as well as some contraband in exchange for their help. Player lines and dialogue for both characters has also been recovered from this build, though Biggs seems to lack dialogue for if the task is successfully completed.

Betsy The Brahmin#

This quest is only partially implemented in this build. Kevin Hargrove and Betsy are found within Freeside near to the north gate, as opposed to their final position at a pen just outside of it. Kevin’s dialogue is implemented up to reporting Betsy’s disappearance to him, it seems at this point a proper conclusion was not implemented. This would be done by the time of the July 21st build, where a full set of dialogue for Kevin and Tom Dooley can be found.

NCRCF#

Numerous cut objectives and unmarked quests that would have taken place at the NCRCF are also alluded to in dialogue. The Powder Ganger Chavez was originally found within a cell, with the player being tasked with releasing him. Dialogue with the Powder Gangers tells us that Hannigan had tried to pick the lock previously, but had failed. If spoken to, Hannigan would give the player some bobby pins. Upon release, Chavez would give the player his backup weapon. Named Powder Gangers at the NCRCF also have dialogue for commenting on Chavez's confinement, and his possible release. Dialogue is also present in this build for Hannigan and Carter's miscellaneous quests. Carter would task the player with cracking a safe for him, while Hannigan would request medical advice from the player.

Unused Locations

Underpass#

At this point of development, Underpass as settlement seems to be integrated into the game world and functioning in game. Meg and some of the Underpass citizens have in game placements here, as seen in other builds from around this time, with UnderpassCitizen06 being placed inside the ranch house. Notably, the residents numbered 4 and 5 exist within the files but are not placed, suggesting they were either cut or their final placements had not been determined yet.

Meg has dialogue here to assign the player the task to fix the water purifier, with the reward for doing so being an undetermined number of caps, scripts and messages for doing so are still present in the game files for the final build. Also of note is that the settlement is directly referenced in unused dialogue for the quest Beyond The Beef, with Chauncey and Mortimer pointing out that the town's remote location makes it an ideal place to poach settlers for use in their recipes.

Dialogue for Meg and the Underpass residents is present and fully voiced in the files for the July 21st build.

Unused Characters

Dialogue for the following characters has been recovered from this build specifically, revealing more about how player interactions with these NPCs would have occurred. Form IDx, scripts and renders are from the November 17th build specifically.

NCR Correctional Facility#

NCR Hostage#

Form ID: D7805

His editor ID is "NCRCFHostage01". He is equipped with a Merc Grunt Outfit and uses the unsettler hairstyle. This hostage is the focal point of the first phase of I Fought the Law in this build as opposed to Chavez in the final. Originally a prison guard, he is the sole survivor of the outbreak and has been taken hostage. The prison guard would offer the player a brief account of the events of the breakout. If freed, he would travel to Jean Sky Diving before making his way to the Mojave Outpost, where he would offer the player a reward. The player also had the option to offer him some kind of medical aid, though it is not clear what. Dialogue lines for the character exist in audio files for this build. There is a script assigned to him, NCRCFHostageScript, which is set to complete the first stage of the quest once he is dead:

ScriptName NCRCFHostageScript
Begin OnDeath
  If GetStage VMS02 == 10
    SetObjectiveCompleted VMS02 10 1
    SetObjectiveDisplayed VMS02 15 1
    SetStage VMS02 15
  EndIf
End

Eddie's Bodyguard#

Form ID: A5AD5

Originally, there was a dedicated bodyguard NPC posted just outside of Eddie's office at NCRCF. He is named NCRCFEddieBodyguard01 internally. The player would speak to him before being granted permission to speak to Eddie. There is some additional dialogue present for him as well, allowing the player to ask him about the situation between Eddie and Scrambler. Dialogue for him exists in the files for this build, and a number of additional lines for this NPC have been recovered from the February the 16th build also.

Boulder City#

Sergeant Hastings#

Form ID: 10C6DB

This is the in game name for the NCR Trooper Private Hastings. While present in the final build, she is without dialogue and cannot be interacted in any meaningful capacity. In this version of the quest, there is an unused objective where the player can speak with about a potential bribe in exchange for ignoring the Great Khan's escape from Boulder City.

Sunset Sarsaparilla HQ#

Felicia#

Form ID: 106513

An unused wanderer associated with the quest The Legend Of The Star. Her default placement in this build is in the RandomEncounterNPCs cell. She can be spawned into the game world proper through dialogue with the star quest encounter ghoul, which would her place her at the SSHQEncMarker to the left of the entrance. This is not likely to have been her intended location in the final, however. She has a DefaultTalkToPlayer package, revealing she would have initiated a conversation with the player once in proximity. It is unknown if she was intended to behave this way when finalised or if this package was established for debug purposes only.

She has dialogue present in this build to offer general info on the quest, as well as offer standard trading services. She has her own merchant container, SSHQFeliciaContainer, which contains plasma and pulse mines, energy weapon ammo and spare parts. The player would also be able to trade star caps with her in exchange for a number of items. She would have offered the following trades to the player in exchange for star caps:

Star Quest Random Encounter Ghoul#

Form ID: 106514

A debug character made for testing encounters for the Legend Of The Star quest. His internal ID is SSHQHelperGhoul and he is equipped with Colonel Autumn's Uniform from Fallout 3. Through dialogue with him, the player can arrange to spawn Felicia and Malcolm Holmes, as well as Thomas and Jacklyn. He was placed at the entrance to the Sunset Sarsaparilla HQ. There is a script associated with him also, SSHQRandomEncounterTestTriggerScript, which reveals how the game would've handled his spawns. This script is present in the final game, but notably Felicia is entirely removed from that version. It seems that the other characters had also not yet had their placements finalised, being found in the random encounters cell with Felicia, and only spawned via this debug system.

ScriptName SSHQRandomEncounterTestTriggerScript
Begin OnTriggerEnter player
  If Encounter == 1
    If DoOnce == 0
      Set Marker1 to SSHQEncMarker1
      SSHQMalcolmHolmesREF.Enable
      SSHQMalcolmHolmesREF.MoveTo Marker1
      Set DoOnce to 1
    EndIf
  ElseIf Encounter == 2
    If DoOnce == 0
      Set Marker1 to SSHQEncMarker1
      Set Marker2 to SSHQEncMarker2
      SSHQTomasREF.Enable
      SSHQTomasREF.MoveTo Marker1
      SSHQJacklynREF.Enable
      SSHQJacklynREF.MoveTo Marker2
      SSHQTomasREF.StartCombat SSHQJacklynREF
      SSHQJacklynREF.StartCombat SSHQTomasREF
      Set DoOnce to 1
    EndIf
  ElseIf Encounter == 3
    If DoOnce == 0
      Set Marker1 to SSHQEncMarker1
      SSHQFeliciaREF.Enable
      SSHQFeliciaREF.MoveTo Marker1
      Set DoOnce to 1
    EndIf
  EndIf
End

Ranger Station Foxtrot#

Private Biggs#

Form ID: 1028CB

An unused NCR Private equipped with a set of NCR Bandoleer Armor, lacking armaments to defend himself. He would have assigned the player a task to remove Private Harcourt, attributing many of the recent problems at the camp to her presence. He would have rewarded the player with caps and contraband items for doing this. While his dialogue is stored under the quest VFreeformRSFoxtrot, his actual world placement in this build places him just west of the Cassidy Caravan's wreckage, suggesting his final location had not been determined yet.

Private Harcourt#

Form ID: 1028C9

An NCR Private that Biggs would have asked the player to eliminate as part of an unmarked quest at Ranger Station Foxtrot. She is equipped with a set of standard NCR Trooper Armor, without any weapons. She is placed next to Biggs in this build, away from Ranger Station Foxtrot and closer to Outer Vegas.

Outer Vegas#

Betsy the Brahmin & Kevin Hargrove#

Form IDs: 12938E + 12939D

While these two characters were almost certainly intended to be found at the dedicated pen for Betsy outside Freeside's North gate, analysis of the dump files from April reveal originally they were placed elsewhere. Specifically both were positioned inside Freeside's North gate, with the bus shelter there repurposed as a makeshift pen. This is also evidenced by the player lines to confront Tom Dooley, some of which presume that Kevin Hargrove is within line of sight, when normally he would be found outside the town. The persistent reference objects for Betsy's external pen also do not exist yet at this point in development, suggesting the move to outside the town was a later idea.

The Strip#

Angel#

Form ID: 10C6FB

Present within the super mutant voice type folder are three lines of dialogue with the same prefix as dialogue for Gomorrah. These are generic lines of dialogue for the beginning of the quest How Little We Know, where the player must interrogate members of the Omerta family to arrange for a conversation with Cachino. While these lines do not tell us much about what Angel’s role in the game would have been, they do confirm he could be interacted with in this capacity at least.

Jack Wilson#

An independent contractor for the NCR who oversees operations at Boulder City and Quarry Junction. Originally involved in a quest for restarting NCR mining work at Boulder City. He is mentioned in dialogue with Ike in this build but does not seem to have an NPC entry. Dialogue with Ike reveals he was to be encountered at the Gomorrah casino.