I know most of the Bethesda RPGs have massive mod support, and there’s games like Minecraft that have more mods than anyone can imagine. I would consider those games pretty playable in their vanilla states. Would you say there are any games that were “saved” by modding? Or that are still kept alive by thriving modding communities? What are some of your favorite mods?
Fallout New Vegas for sure, although many of the issues were fixed by the devs over the lifespan of the game. Mods are pretty much vital to run that game properly, however. Many issues with the engine and many core bugs have been fixed by the community, and it’s honestly something where once you play with them fixed, it’s hard to go back
Do you have specific mods (or mod packs) you’d suggest for a beginner who’s never played the game before? Or a guide you could point to?
Absolutely! My favorite general purpose New Vegas modpack is Viva New Vegas: https://vivanewvegas.moddinglinked.com/
This pack is heavily focused on a vanilla or a near-vanilla experience, and, ideally, you will not notice it being modded. To that end, I recommend skipping the entire Overhaul section of the guide.
This team also has a good Tale of Two Wastelands guide if/when you get bored of the Mojave: https://thebestoftimes.moddinglinked.com/
Tale of Two Wastelands combines Fallout 3 and New Vegas into one continuous experience. This guide improves compatibility and stability, so it’s a good starting point.
There’s also my personal mod… https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/78329
But I have to warn, it’s not really a beginner’s mod, and is purely for fun
Thank you, this looks perfect! :D
I’m rather lost in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom at the moment, but I’ve popped that Viva New Vegas link into my bookmarks bar where I won’t forget it for when I’m ready to move on to my next game. :)