Fallout New Vegas fans, here is something for you today. Modder ‘Pr0bability’ has released a new mod for Fallout: New Vegas that adds support for Screen Space Ambient Occlusion. This mod is a must as it can make the game look better and less flat than before.
For those wondering, Fallout: New Vegas does not support Ambient Occlusion. You could enable it via ENB, Reshade, or the NVIDIA CP. So, this isn’t something new to those of us who have experimented with them. For your average Joe, though, this is a mod they can use to get a better visual quality.
Vanilla Plus AO is an xNVSE plugin and shader package that adds its own version of screen-space ambient occlusion (SSAO). Normally, shading only looks at the object being drawn and the main lights, like sunlight or lamps. Ambient occlusion helps show how light interacts between different objects. It makes the scene look more realistic and helps you see how far away things are and how they relate to each other.
Vanilla Plus AO uses a screen-space solution. This means that the ambient occlusion cannot take into account geometry missing from the depth buffer – like outside the screen. In other words, it works like ENB, Reshade, or the NVIDIA CP. However, you can now have AO without the need to use another mod.
In short, this mod is for those who only want AO in their game. That’s its purpose, and it does not make any other changes to it. Yes, some other visual mods also enabled AO. Still, purists may only want to use this specific feature, and nothing else.
Those interested can download the mod from this link. At the end of the article, you can also find some comparison screenshots. On the left, we have the vanilla shots. On the right, we have those with AO enabled.
If you are into Fallout: New Vegas, you can also try these other mods for it. For instance, this mod adds real-time reflections. Another one changes over 1,000 functions to make the game run smoother. Plus, there’s a mod to make the game’s characters even smarter. Another must-have mod is this one, which improves collision accuracy and fixes/optimizes meshes.
In June 2024, we shared a mod that brought some STALKER-like anomalies to the game. Moreover, you can get this mod that adds physically-based vehicles to the game. And if you love quests, there’s a mod that gives you an endless supply of new ones. Let’s also not forget the Visuals Improved Content Expanded Mod. This mod fills the surroundings of Vegas to make it feel more like a real city.
There are also some cool fan-made expansions for New Vegas. Four of them are being made as we speak. These are Fallout: Broken City, Fallout Van buren Remake, Fallout: Nuevo Mexico and Star Wars Open Worlds. On the other hand, we have these DLC-sized mods that you can grab and play right now. So, you can download Fallout New California, Fallout: Free Cheyenne Demo, and Fallout New Vegas: Out of Bounds. We also have Fallout The Frontier and Retribution 2. Another cool fan expansion is Tales of New Reno. Let’s also not forget Dawn of Stealthtenza, a new DLC-sized expansion mod that offers 3 hours of new content. There is also a demo of another fan remake mod for the canceled Fallout 3 game, called Fallout Revelation Blues.
Have fun!
John is the founder and Editor in Chief at DSOGaming. He is a PC gaming fan and highly supports the modding and indie communities. Before creating DSOGaming, John worked on numerous gaming websites. While he is a die-hard PC gamer, his gaming roots can be found on consoles. John loved – and still does – the 16-bit consoles, and considers SNES to be one of the best consoles. Still, the PC platform won him over consoles. That was mainly due to 3DFX and its iconic dedicated 3D accelerator graphics card, Voodoo 2. John has also written a higher degree thesis on the “The Evolution of PC graphics cards.”
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