What exactly is a mod and what can I do with it in new Vegas?

I really don't know what a mod is although I have a foggy idea. i see you can make armour and weapons. Very cool. What about levels? Charectors? Storylines? Enemies?

A mod is simply a colloquial term for a user-produced alteration to the game. They range from simple mods that change one thing (example: making stimpaks heal more or less), to huge sprawling overhauls that change almost everything and add new content like quests, locations, weapons, armor, items, etc.



Yes to all of the above. You can also change the underlying formulas that the game uses - make strength count for more carry weight, or make heads take more damage. Really, there's not a whole lot you *can't* do with the GECK.

Check out newvegasnexus.com for mods. The nexus is pretty much the big TES/Fallout3/NV mod site.

hey thanks alot man, it's like making your own video game then isn't it?

I suppose it would be simple enough to download other people mods and then boom!!! You basically have a net work of people who are making video games based on the Fallout Engine. this is very cool!!!

Sort of. It is possible to make your own game as a mod (a "total conversion"), for example this one for Oblivion: http://www.nehrim.de/indexEV.html. However something like that is an insane amount of work, and there aren't many people with the time, inclination and abilities to do something on that scale.

I am not aware of any total conversions that have been released for New Vegas. What you will find a lot of are mods that change your experience of the base game and give you new things to do. A good place to start is Gohper's modding tutorials.
http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=42832

The closest I have seen to a total conversion for New Vegas is Requiem for a Capital Wasteland, which lets you play Fallout 3 in New Vegas, but you have to own Fallout 3 to use it and its still early in development and a little buggy, but updates get released frequently. There are some great quest mods out there though that are as good if not better than the official DLC.

A great way to get started is through Gopher's http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=42832. This will cover the basics and get you into the popular Project Nevada and visual overhaul mods like NMC's Texture Pack. Then, when you're done with that, check out hishttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MII4TO-G634 which will introduce you to a lot more great mods - not that his mod clinic is not available through Nexus, only through youtube. That's as good a way as any to get started. His mod clinic is ongoing and there are currently I think 11 videos that he has? I could be wrong.

Whoops, didn't see you post that link to the tutorial above, cordsnwires. Still, recommend the mod clinic too after you go through the tutorial series (but you should do the tutorials before the mod clinic).