Fallout: New California is one of the most substantial mod projects in the community – a massive expansion that offers up a full prequel to the events of Obsidian’s modern(ish) classic, New Vegas. The New California mod has been in development for seven years, and now the end is finally in sight – a massive update went live today, and it sets the stage for the 1.0 release.
Beta version 221 is now available on ModDB (via PC Gamer), and the team calls it “the most stable and balanced version so far.” The release features tons of bug fixes and general improvements, but the big feature is the activation of the bridge to New Vegas. When you complete one of the New California endings, you’ll wake up twenty years later at the opening of the original game.
According to the modders, “1.0 is going to be less about performance and stability and more about upgrading companions, and adjusting gameplay balance to be more in line with vanilla New Vegas.” There will be one more beta update before the mod hits 1.0, and this is scheduled to happen “by the end of 2019 so 2020 can be a clean break.”
That’s assuming, of course, that none of the pesky real life stuff that brings mod projects down gets in the way – but if New California has survived since 2012, it can probably last the rest of the way.
“If we run out of steam,” modder Thain writes, “or simply can’t keep adding the companion’s scripting because a critical volunteer quit, then I’ll ensure all the dialogue and voices are in the final release and we’ll put that online as 1.0. Someone else can join and finish it eventually.”
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With or without the 1.0 release, we’ve still got one of the most substantial Fallout mod projects out there, fully playable up to the start of the original New Vegas. If you’re looking for your single-player Fallout fix, this should fit the bill.