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What has to be true first
New Vegas Reloaded loads as a script extender plugin. If the script extender is not installed correctly, or the game is not patched to address more than 2 GB, nothing on this site will work — the game will simply start without it and you will not be told why.
01
The game
Ultimate Edition, or the base game with all six DLC. Install it outside C:\Program Files so Windows does not lock the folder against mod tools.
- Fallout: New Vegas Ultimate Edition on Steam
- Ultimate Edition on GOG
- Ultimate Edition on the Epic Games Store
Run the game once through its own launcher before you install anything, so it writes its INI files and registry keys.
02
xNVSE — the script extender
The New Vegas Script Extender is what loads NewVegasReloaded.dll. It is maintained
on GitHub, and the releases there are the same builds mirrored to Nexus.
After extracting, the root folder should contain at least these:
FalloutNV.exe
nvse_loader.exe
nvse_1_4.dll
nvse_editor_1_4.dll
nvse_steam_loader.dll03
Mod Organizer 2
Every instruction on this site assumes MO2. It keeps mods out of the game folder entirely, which
is what makes a graphics extender safe to add and remove. Install it outside
C:\Program Files as well.
- Mod Organizer 2 — files page on Nexus Mods
- Viva New Vegas — MO2 setup walkthrough if you have not configured it before
04
Memory patch and archive decompression
The vanilla executable is 2 GB limited. With a texture pack, full LOD and a graphics extender you will hit that ceiling and crash. Pick the patcher that matches your release.
- FNV 4GB Patcher — Steam and GOG. Put
FNVpatch.exein the root folder and run it. - Epic Games Patcher — Epic release only.
- FNV BSA Decompressor — optional but recommended. Decompresses the vanilla archives, which cuts loading stutter.
05
The four plugins NVR reads the depth buffer through
These are ordinary MO2 mods and they appear again in the mod list, but they are worth calling out here because several NVR effects are wrong or missing without them. Install them in this order.
- Shader Loader — NVSE — lets the engine load shaders from loose files.
- LOD Flicker Fix — NVSE — fixes distant geometry flickering from depth precision loss.
- Depth of Field Fix — NVSE — stops depth of field bleeding onto the viewmodel.
- Depth Resolve — NVSE — resolves the real depth buffer instead of rendering a fake one.
Two more are strongly recommended alongside them:
NVTF — New Vegas Tick Fix and
FNV Mod Limit Fix.
In NVTF.ini, set bModifyDirectXBehavior = 1; NVR expects it, and leaving
it off is a common cause of a crash on startup.
06
Two INI lines the water shader needs
Without both of these, water renders glassy and fully transparent. Put them in
FalloutCustom.ini if you use one (MO2 → Tools → INI Editor), otherwise in
Fallout.ini.
[Water]
bUseWaterReflections=1
bUseWaterRefractions=107
DXVK, and the one line that stops the sky seam
NVR is heavy. DXVK translates the game's Direct3D 9 calls to Vulkan and is where most of the
performance comes from on modern hardware. Install it from the
Performance Guide, then add one line to
dxvk.conf in the game root:
d3d9.floatEmulation = strict08
Check it before you go further
Install the ML Utilities Checker as a normal MO2 mod, launch the game once, and wait at the main menu. It reports which script extender plugins actually loaded. Disable it again afterwards. If something fails here, fix it now — a missing plugin is far harder to diagnose once a graphics extender is in the mix.
Two more references worth keeping open while you work:
- Viva New Vegas — the baseline setup guide this list assumes.
- The New Vegas Reloaded wiki — official documentation for every setting, plus the FAQ and the TES Reloaded Discord, which is where NVR itself is officially distributed.