I don't get what so terrible about fast travel. Especially on a map as huge as what we have in FO3 and FONV. By the time it gets to be a real bother (that is, by the time you've explored enough of the map for fast travel to really save time) you probably have no issues killing the bloatflies, rad scorps and random bandits that you might encounter along the way. Really the only bother I can see: more time walking is more time for legion/NCR goon squads to show up and ambush your companions. (lost ED-E to that on a HC playthrough. Heard gunfire, figured it was just more of the random background noise, then "you have lost the enhanced sensor perk" ... Grrr! Reload last save.)
How about this for a truly immersive game; never save. Or rather, only save when you quit playing for the day, and immediately delete that save once you start up again. Companion dies? Tough. You die? Oh well, start over again from Lvl 1.
Oh, and no VATS. Real combat doesn't pause for you to make a shopping list of body parts to cripple.
Just curious, because I'm sure someone has done it: how long does it take to walk from one corner to the other? Say, Nellis to Mojave Outpost. I know it'll vary based on agi, armor, etc... but ballpark it. We looking 20-30 min or 1-2 hours?
Just seems like wasted time to me. Why not just fast travel, guess how long it would take to walk there sans fast travel... And put down the controller for that period of time. Spend that time making a sammich or something. It'll be a really good sammich too, cuz you'll probably spend an hour on it