Ok, there is a lot of mods, that do same and not compatible with each other. Some are old, some are new. And,since not so many ppl play FNV, u cannot always choose by endorsements or by posts. So, i think, that it is good to have a topic about that. Personally i do wonder a lot:)

And here is first one:

What is better?

- Nevada Skies or FNV Realistic Wasteland Lighting.

FNV Realistic Wasteland Lighting

In my opinion, it looks better and most ENBs use it over Nevada Skies. Also, Nevada Skies has a lot of extra weathers that most don’t want. You can disable the features but there is no MCM menu, it’s a Pipboy item you have to equip, then you will be able to pick and choose what features you want but the menu is poorly laid out IMO. It’s not easy to find exactly what you want.

Hmm, i may placed this at wrong category. Since it's mostly discussion. Looks like only me wonder about this:))

And -since u mention ENB - let see about this:

What is better - ENB, ReShade or ReShade with ENB?

ENB. I don't see any real reshades popping around in NV. ENBs can make your game visually aesthetic without taking that much of FPS.

Well, depends on what u are running game:)) Almost same effect i can get with ReShade -cost about 1 to max 10 FPS loss if i do it to look like heaviest ENB. And that at office computer:)) Not at gaming one:)
Also - there is one ReShade preset atm - combo with SweetFX.

I prefer ENB. If you have the hardware to run it, It's so much better than a ReShade.

Ok, next one - hope more ppl this time:

Adding weapons to game and NPC.

So - we have Millenia-personally do not like, but that's me.
F4 Weapons.
Mojave terror
Heffy Ak -adds AK and M16
Old one - Book of Earache
The Armory-at moddb - some sort of Aztec fixed version.
Also -there is several Russians like Pack of Guns.

O and pls some1 move this to Discussion - i think that's the place for it.

@d_ahat

There's a few mods that you listed that I'm familiar with but there's one mod that adds NPCs ALL over the wasteland and can be modified with the MCM menu to turn your Mojave into a more populated area or a downright warzone in some areas. It's called Increased Wasteland Spawns or IWS, I love the mod and I can't go without it in a playthrough. However, it is very script heavy, and if you don't have a capable rig but I'm assuming you do cause you're listing all these different mods. Give it a shot and then determine if you still would like to keep it or not. And also, if you need ESP slots when you're running out of space for plugins, just merge the files that are related to the spawning of civilians, military, and town guards. I also highly recommend REpopulated Wasteland, it's a updated version of Populated Wasteland but WITHOUT the military like the NCR and the Legion being modified or added in parts of the mojave. However, I have a damn good rig so I have both the outdated Populated Wasteland and the REpopulated version. In addition, if you don't wanna get both and just get the REpopulated version, get the Military Enhancement Project, it adds more NCR and Legion to their respective bases and outposts and areas where they are like the Fort and Camp McCarran. But I have all 3 cause my rig is badass but I get like 30 fps so yeah. I don't mind fps as long as it ain't 1 fps.

As for Weapons, I recommend everything you listed except Russian mod packs, russian sites are dangerous and more often than not have viruses or other nasty shit that you don't want. Plus, on my old computer, I downloaded a russian armor and weapon mod that was ported from some Russian game and it was a great mod but I almost lost my Steam and Ubisoft account cause my shit got fished  but I recovered them before the would be new owner of my accounts got it (He also paid money for both of the accounts cause I found my account name and both accounts being sold on some Russian account trading site. He paid a lot of fucking rubles for my shit and even bought me Ghost Recon Wildlands, I was so happy he got fucked), point is, don't go on those websites and don't download their shit unless you check that the sites are secure and if they are, check the downloads for viruses on a virus checker website without downloading the mod. Also, I know how to read Russian and speak Russian (semi fluently) so I know what I'm reading on these sites but your average modder or person who's looking for rare gems on sites that are foreign to them such as these types of sites I just mentioned are dangerous, especially if you aren't Russian but judging by your picture, you're either Russian or Ukrainian, I'll go with Russian. This isn't just a warning for you, it's for anyone who reads this post. Enter these sites at your own personal peril.

I JUST downloaded Heffy AK and M16 and I love the mod and out of all those mods, Millenia's and Heffy's pack are the ones I RECOMMEND the MOST.

As for weather, I recommend Nevada Skies with ENBs. Make sure you get the Ultimate Edition ENB version of Nevada Skies. And also, use an ENB WITHOUT Reshade. Both do the same thing, one does a better and more in depth job at making your game look better and thats ENB. I recommend Overgrowth ENB, Dynamo ENB, or Rudy ENB. But choose one ONLY.

Let me know if you need any more ideas and suggestions.

Pic is just for fun - my toon and ppl with him has to come from somewhere in game:)
All depends on sites, but yes u are right. Also - some mods are available only there - even mods from Master_Shifu-old ones:) But, while i do speak/use Russian - translate mod, with lvl list, spawns etc. - not easy at all:)
Since i still use NVEC and PN and AWOP + more - i got NPC almost at every step:) But yes - thous are good.
Recently i got URWLNV_Ultimate - so testing now:)So far so good, but will see:)

AND - TY for that post - really hope ppl to read all in it- especially about sites.

Nevada skies is much better providing you know how to remove the “bad weathers” from the ID list in fnvedit, it’s quite a long process tho and it’s not entirely fun, I personally like 47 weather the most In terms of weather mods just because it’s simple and isn’t script heavy in comparison to Nevada skies.

honestly it depends on what enb your are using but i personal like FNV Realistic Wasteland Lighting due to the fact of the enbs i personally use for example overgrowth enb

I agree with @"Georgemcm1010" - I would recommend 47 weather.
So... about the ones you asked... I've had huge performance decrease with Nevada Skies and i've not tested the Project Reality.

But as Rika's guide said:
"Both are badly scripted, Project Reality will cause major problems, while Nevada Skies is just unoptimized."

@ d_ahat (Original Post)

I've had some serious issues with Nevada Skies, especially when interiors would bug out and the like. I would highly recommend Ultra Realistic Wasteland Lighting though, it ran butter smooth, and made the darkness truly dark, and the lights truly bright.

@d_ahat

Here's my 2 cents.

-Nevada Skies or RWL: I'd say neither, though if I had to choose, I'd go for RWL. Nevada skies is buggy, and I find it ugly. RWL is a bit outdated, but does look nice, especially when used along with an enb. I just find that if you're already using an enb, most of the issues with light and color are fixed already so RWL isn't necessary. The one you should never use is Project Reality, because, gorgeous as it was, it's a buggy hell; it'll give you massive fps drops and break your savegames.

-enb or reshade. I've never been able to get any decent visuals with reshade. ENB is much much better in my opinion, plus it helps with performance and stability, which is nice.

weapons: I think that depends on the aesthetics you want in your game. I usually don't add any weapons because it breaks the game's balance and feel (and because most weapon packs focus on guns and I prefer energy weapons), except for the FO4 weapons mod because that can use modded FO4 textures. If I had to recommend one it would be "the lead farm" here on GUN. Of the mods that add individual weapons, "Tactical flamer" in (in nexus) is my favorite. Honestly though it depends a lot on which animations you're using.

Well, URWL has advantage to be stable and has interiors. Also u can adjust lights. Downside - at least 3 .esp, to run as it has.Merge DLC and forcer, but still u have 3 slots taken.

But, we have some news about weather.
We have update of Nevada Skies, with integrated 47. Also it was remade, so no problems with it so far.+integrated patch for ILO.
Still, not much testing, so no idea how it will goes for a long run.
Also - we have Budget Weather and light. VERY lightweight, nice look and stable. Still not 100% for DLC support.

Now, Lead Farm is nice and there is also several more. But,integration in game... Also F4 weapon replacer for FNV, but still mess with wmx.
And,fun part, tons of nice weapons - why i always look at AK's for personal weapon?!?!?

I use millenia's weapons but also camon and scottmack's weapons, theres a compatibility patch that adds leveled lists for them.

Ok, let me give you a more complete answer:

-ENB

This one for the most realistic feel: (FNV) Bright Vision ENB https://www.gunetwork.org/t19034-fnv-bright-vision-enb

This one is a personal favorite of mine: Exotic ENB https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/64560

Both look amazing. Both are incompatible with anything but 47 weathers. Which goes to what I was saying earlier about how there's not really any need for Nevada Skies, RWL or any of that.


-Weapons:

My Favorite: NV:REL | FO4 Weapons https://www.gunetwork.org/t13764-nvrel-fo4-weapons

The reason why is because not only does FO4 has better looking weapons than FNV, but you can actually use FO4 modded textures and meshes with the weapons. That includes, UHD textures, high poly models, or simply retextures, like the chrome energy weapons or the black and red Gatling Laser (which I use).

Also: Xrad's replacer https://www.gunetwork.org/t19092-updated-fnv-fo3-ttwfallout4-weapons-replacer

which depends on the previous one and replaces many weapons with the FO4 ones rather than adding them.

The downsides to this: The replacer messes with WMX and WME. It doesn't change every weapon, which can lead to some visual clashes. And you may get some problems depending on the animations you use.

Tactical Flamer Revamp: https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/55627?tab=files

The weapons look fantastic; textures come in 2k with optional 4k. They're fully integrated into the world. They're balanced. They're so much fun to use. And they work nicely with just about any animation pack that I've tried (Although trying to mix weapon packs have usually resulted in some problems).

The downsides: They're not moddable. They break really fast. Fire in general is nerfed in this game. And I'm not sure how lore friendly they are (but they blend in nicely though).

Other good weapons:

Hunting Revolver and Ranger Sequoia: https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/66585. This one replaces textures and models, and adds mods for the Hunting Revolver and Ranger Sequoia, as well as adding (6, I think) new revolvers. They look beautiful. They are fully integrated to the world (they're uniques though; you won't find them in NPC's),. They work with every animation pack. And they are great for cowboy/wild west characters. There seems to be a bug with the Ranger Sequoia where if you use all three mods all of them disappear for some reason. Otherwise it works flawlessly.

If you don't mind breaking the Fallout feel:


The Lead Farm -Misc Weapons Pack v1.2: https://www.gunetwork.org/t17784-nv-the-lead-farm-misc-weapons-pack-v1-2
CSGO weapons pack with skins V2.0: https://www.gunetwork.org/t16964-nv-csgo-weapons-pack-with-skins-v2-0

Both by tuxek. Both have amazing models and are really fun guns to shoot. Both can produce some problems if you don't use asurah's animation pack (which looks great but has problems of it's own). Both really don't fit in the game. And both have no integration (which I don't particularly mind, but you seem to)

Other awesome weapon mods:

Steyr AUG A1: https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/55250
Dragunov SVU - OTs-03: https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/57297
CZ805 BREN: https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/57356
Pancor Jackhammer: https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/47528

These four are made by Millenia, and of all the guns I've tried, these are my favorite. Again: good looking (the jackhammer ironsights are a bit blurry, but not terrible), really fun to shoot, and there's some variety for different play styles. They are made for W.A.R, but I've tried them with other animation packs and it has been OK.

The downsides: not integrated; you just find pick them up in Doc's House.

My preference stands with FNV Realistic Wasteland Lighting because I can definitely achieve some picturesque scenes with it as I enhance it further with The IMAGINATOR, Electro City Darker Nights, and Mojave Nights. Partner those mods with vurt's new plant mods and it gets even better lol

To me of course, Nevada Skies wins by a landslide when it comes to the weather effects in Lonesome Road. It is the most beautiful weather effects I've seen available for the dlc. It's true that FNV RWL gives it a touch of realism, sure, but the personality and the overall mood of the DLC ramps up to a hundred with Nevada Skies.

@"TheRatDragon"

Heffy's AKs and AR15s looks great, but the issue I have is this.  In addition to the assault rifles, I really like some of the weapons in Millenia's pack for the greater variety of weapon types.  But probably the hardest thing for me is...I already use WAR, just so it can function with Millenia's weapon pack, and a lot of other ones want me to use something like Asurah, which I have trouble with whenever I attempt to use it.  So I'm always concerned that whatever new weapon pack I add, I'm going to have also completely redo my weapon animations just to make it all work.  Oh, and then there's the issue with CaliberX compatibility too!

Luckily, I have managed to get them to play nice together, and it seems stable, but the concerns are still there.