Bethesda games are famous for their modding communities, andFallout New Vegas, in particular, is no stranger to some massive, total conversion projects made by fans. Despite there being many of these total conversion projects, most have failed to see the light of day, and this is due to a problem that many mod developers looking to create big projects are suffering from. Although cosmetic mods will always be popular, modding has evolved beyond just these, and with the freedom ofBethesda’s Creation Engine, modders forFallout 4andSkyrimare attempting some truly ambitious things.
Still, despite everything that the Creation Engine allows, people are still working on games made before that engine was used, such asFallout 3andNew Vegas. These games use the ancient Gamebryo Engine, which serves as the base for Bethesda’s Creation Engine 1 and 2 but isn’t quite as powerful or relatively stable as either. That hasn’t stopped modders from working with these games, andNew Vegashas enjoyed many big fan projects, fromNew CaliforniatoThe Frontier. One of the largest, however, has just suffered cancelation.
Fallout: Nuevo Mexico Has Been Canceled
Another Fallout Project That Will Never See The Light Of Day
One of the biggest total conversion mod projects for anyFallouttitle wasFallout: Nuevo México, butthe project has recently been canceled, as shared on the project’s Discord and reported byPCGamer. This came as a surprise, considering that the project resumed work in 2024 after a break, but it seems that the project has come at too high a cost, both personally and financially, for the developer. Working with the older Gamebryo Engine likely didn’t help matters, and it’s a shame after the developer dropped an official reveal trailer on itsYouTubechannel that showed promising signs.
The Gamebryo Engine, originally called NetImmerse, was made in 1997 by Numerical Design Limited and first used by Bethesda forThe Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind.
Fallout: Nuevo Méxicojoins the likes ofFallout 4: Project Mojave(a fan-made recreation ofNew Vegasareas) in the canceled project category, and it calls attention to the difficulty of these projects. The word “mod” often comes with the implication that a project requires less effort than a game, especially because the projects are usually given away for free, but these total conversion mods are essentially games in their own right.Nuevo Méxicowould have been the size of most games on its own, but it will unfortunately have to remain a what-if.
Despite Many Total Conversion Mod Projects, Not All Enjoy Fallout: London’s Success
And Fallout: London Is The Perfect Example Of How Hard These Mods Are To Make
One of the big success stories regardingFallouttotal conversion mods isFallout: London.WhileNuevo Méxicowould have recreated Mexico in theFalloutuniverse,Fallout: Londonrecreated the English capital in the irradiated world, but even that mod’s success shows some of the hardships these creators face.Fallout: Londongrew big enough to enlist professional voice talent but nearly faced cancelation at the final hurdle when Bethesda introduced theFallout 4next-gen update. To get around this, theFallout: Londonteam simply asked players to revert their game to a version prior to the update.
Fallout London Is Releasing Three DLCs In 2025, And One Looks To Take Inspiration From New Vegas
The Fallout London team has announced three DLCs are in the works for release in 2025, including one that could be similar to Fallout: New Vegas.
This is but one issue these developers face, andFallout: Londonwas made using the Creation Engine.The Gamebryo engine’s dated nature likely created no end of headachesfor theNuevo Méxicoteam. Pair these optimization issues with the sheer amount of work required to make a mod the size of a game, and it’s no wonder that the developer struggled throughout the work. Even with years of development, there was no savingNuevo México, and this isn’t uncommon either.
Mods Are Becoming As Time-Consuming To Make As Full Games
They’re Suffering The Growing Pains Of Full Games As Well
BeforeNuevo México’s cancelation, it suffered from being put on hold and occasions of radio silence. This is the case with other mods for Bethesda titles, likeSkywind(theMorrowindremake mod inSkyrim) andFallout: Cascadia(aFallout 4total conversion mod based in Seattle).These projects have the size and workload of full games, yet they aren’t made by traditional companies and studios like games are. Many of these teams are more like a collective of volunteers, and although they do receive funding through fans, it isn’t always enough.
10 Mods That Should Inspire Fallout 5 Features
Fallout 5 could benefit if Bethesda looked at these mods and made new features based on what they’ve learned on what players want from them.
As fan communities are given more tools than ever to make mods and the scale of said mods grows, so do the expectations, but the expectations might be what are killing a lot of these projects.Nuevo Méxicobeing made usingFallout: New Vegasas a base was always going to make work on the project an uphill battle considering the Gamebryo engine’s age. Pair that with the time and financial commitment needed, and it’s no wonder that many of these projects don’t see the light of day despite the years of development many receive.
Source:YouTube - Fallout: México - Official Reveal Trailer | 🇲🇽 (English Dub),PCGamer
