Fallout New Vegas is one of my favorite RPGs. I didn’t get there from Fallout 1 and 2, or even 3. Obsidian Entertainment’s first three games (Knights of the Old Republic 2, Neverwinter Nights 2, and Alpha Protocol) were my real introduction to CRPGs. I’d been blown away by Bioware’s Knights of the Old Republic, sure, but Knights of the Old Republic 2 is etched in my soul.
Of course I took a look at New Vegas the day it came out. And like so many others, I was hooked. I’ve played the game intermittently ever since, sometimes annually. But last year, I was compelled to do my first major mod list after doing some casual tinkering since the game’s 2010 launch.
Now that I’m out the other side, I’m sharing this category by category, starting with the radio. I use all of these concurrently, and have spent a great deal of time making sure conflicts were not an issue here.
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This guide presumes you’re familiar with modding enough to add these stations. If you’re looking for a guide to start modding New Vegas, check out Viva New Vegas for an optimal experience and clear tutorial. At the absolute minimum, get to the end of the Base Finish section for maximum stability, but this guide presumes the entirety of the VNV guide was followed.
If you use the Extended Finish, I strongly discourage any use of B42 Optics, both for content and bugs. For Agua Fria I recommend reverting the Level Cap to 50, or to just not use it at all.
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I want to make something very clear about the radio: This is the best addition to Fallout that Bethesda made. I want to give the person who suggested this a raise retroactive to the moment they pitched it.
The music adds a level of real-world grounding for a 3D game where you’re required to suspend your disbelief differently than what was required for the abstraction of 2D. It also creates a great contrast from the horror and emptiness of the Wasteland, which is core to Fallout. While it does shift from the idea of retro-futurism to a more explicitly 1950s aesthetic, the tradeoff is an understandable one. And the reactive DJ? That was such a good idea that I’m not convinced it wasn’t granted in a magic shop by a mysterious old woman who said she would “collect payment later”, except payment was a literal arm and a leg.
So why add radio stations when the soundtrack is already excellent? Easy. This is really a long game. With the quests I’ve added, there’s an additional 50 to 80 hours of playtime at least. The score is about four hours long, and the radio stations have another two and a half hours of audio. There is a point where some variety helps.
To keep you from hearing the same songs quite so much (though Johnny Guitar will still play as often as ever), these new stations add roughly 22 hours of radio material, either from songs, DJ lines, or honest-to-God in-universe commercials.
Here’s how I made my picks for stations (assuming I liked them, which is the overriding factor).
1: These radio stations had to feel like Fallout. This is harder because it’s partly about tone, partly about wanting things that felt diegetic, and good old fashioned of personal preference.
2: Each station should be distinct. Sometimes that’s through the host, sometimes it’s just because of the feel of the music.
3: The stations should have good audio quality. Fallout’s radio is deliberately affectated to sound old, but there’s a difference between gentle static and recording off a 1995 microphone that came with the PC.
4: It had to be more than just music. I don’t listen to Radio Mojave because the music is all there is on that station. The music is a tool to further the setting, story, and tone.
With that in mind, here’s what I’ve got.
CONELRAD 640-1240 – Civil Defense Radio
https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/35061
Host: No
Using the real-world US broadcasts as a base, CONELRAD uses nuclear-themed period music and Vault-Tec advertising.
Cowboy Radio
https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/75728
Installation Instructions: After installing, disable the file “Cowboy Radio – Songs Only.esp”
Host: Yes
A radio station with a cowboy host. You’ve got both kinds of music, country and western! It mixes quiet campfire guitar with classics like Ghost Riders in the Sky. This is perfect for any traveler in the Mojave, especially if you like the old western aspect of New Vegas.
Enclave Radio Remastered
https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/68119?tab=files&file_id=1000076753
Host: Yes
A port of Fallout 3’s Enclave Radio, but with a new host. An Enclave nationalist styled after nutjobs like Alex Jones, with a surprising number of ties to Fallout 2 in the commentary. Perfect for fans of 2 and 3, which I never get to say. This particular version has some audio improvements from the original release.
Freedom Radio
https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/54923
Host: No
Using Fallout 3’s Galaxy News Radio as a base, this station expands the selection to 45 songs. Some of them are based off of New Vegas quest names, and some are there just because they’re stone-cold classics. Vault-Tec advertisements thrown in to give it that extra touch.
Imperium Radio
https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/85830
Download the “Available Everywhere” version
Host: Yes
A Legion radio station, using the kind of war music someone would likely associate with the Legion. Integrates into certain areas, including Dry Wells. It also puts the DJ in the New Vegas worldspace by the Legion Safehouse. Unusually for this list, this host is also reactive to certain events you take in the game.
KELZ Fiend Radio (Quest and Radio)
https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/76994
Host: Yes
A rockabilly station with stuff from the early 1960s. This is high energy stuff, with hits like Great Balls of Fire and You Really Got Me. What’s unusual about this mod is that it adds a brand new quest. Check the second floor of Camp McCarran for more on that.
Lone Wolf Radio
https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/94834
Host: Yes
A mod courtesy of Casey Mongillo! They’ve been modding New Vegas since just a month after it released. Their most recent mod is a big one. They repurposed the unused tracks found in the beta version to turn the Lone Wolf Radio location to an actual, functioning radio station, complete with an NPC voiced by Casey. This is as close to vanilla as you can get from any radio mod.
New Love Radio 2.0
https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/81444
Advanced Installation Instructions: To remove an obtrusive pop-up when you start the game, open “New Love Radio Station.esm” and “NewLoveRadioMeatAndPotatos.esp” mod in FNVEdit.
In “NewLoveRadioMeatAndPotatos.esp”, delete the “Messages” category. Save and exit.
Host: Yes
An electro-swing station! It includes a new location, a new host, and 56 voice actors doing radio ads for the old world and New Vegas proper. It hits the futurism part of retro-futurism pretty hard, which adds a lot of variety to the soundscape. The DJ is one of the few optimistic people in the Wasteland, and it makes him stand out.
Fair warning: This radio station is quiet relative to some others. You can simply increase the volume of your radio in-game, but it possible to make it louder inherently by using the Normalize effect from a program like Audacity.
Papa Joc’s Radio
https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/63705
Host: Yes
The station has oldies in the same vein as Radio New Vegas, but with a much more acerbic and funny host. The choice of opening track is perfect. No notes.
Extras
Those nine stations are all great, but I have two small recommendations for quality of life, and a big one with a tenth radio station to top it all off.
Radio Toggle Key
https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/80200
Turn the radio off or on with a key press.
IStewieAI’s Tweaks and Engine Fixes
https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/66347
If you followed the Viva New Vegas mod list, this should already be installed. Head to the Tweaks menu and check the options for Radio Volume and Change Stations. Hotkey them to your preference. Here’s what I use:
Volume Down – ;
Volume Up – ‘
Change Station Backwards – ,
Change Station Forward – .
Long 15 – NCR Expansion
https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/94306
Host: Yes
KELZ was a radio station mod with a quest. Long 15 a quest mod with a radio station. This is probably the biggest mod the game has to date, with a separate worldspace in NCR territory. In it is a radio station, local to that worldspace, but you can also expand its range into the Mojave proper.
The radio station is particularly interesting because it is diegetically new music, created by NCR citizens. Society is recovering, and that means leisure and entertainment are more of an option.
The actual tracks are a flavor of rock closer to its blues roots. Some of the tracks are old standards like Ghost Riders in the Sky, but even those are re-recorded by contemporary artists. It sounds like a new musical movement within Fallout, and it’s a great creative choice.
There is an option in the mod to exclusively turn off the new music, but I don’t see why you would.
And that’s it. Ten radio stations, the biggest quest mod, and some helpful changes for keyboard users. You’re good. We’re done! Go play some video games.
CMYK Avenger