Sierra Madre

The Sierra Madre is the primary location of the Fallout: New Vegas add-on Dead Money. A mystic place close to the Grand Canyon, travelers and prospectors alike risk their lives to find the legendary city, and obtain the treasure that lies within. Only one man truly "found" it and lived. The Courier is lured to the Sierra Madre by a faint radio broadcast advertising the gala grand opening.

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// alternate prompt? for response below? - not on page // The Courier: "So you met her before she met Sinclair?" The Courier: "Introductions? You knew her before?" Dean Domino: ''"Of course. What, some kind of surprise to you that I knew people once? Used to have my name in lights, all right? Knew a dozen Veras, or whatever her name was. Uh... "Vera Keyes." Figured I could pay Sinclair back, introduce the two... ...guy was a slouch in the dame department, had to pick up the slack somehow.

// alternate prompts? for response below? - not on page // The Courier: "Why would security shut down for the Gala?" The Courier: "How is the Gala tied to the casino? That makes no sense." The Courier: "The Gala Event's tied into the casino's generators?" Dean Domino: ''"Right, look - so, not everything about the Villa was the pinnacle of bright ideas. In order to pull off the Gala, old Sinclair had to get creative... the Sierra Madre announcement, for example. Not just for the casino, not at all. The Gala's tied to the casino, draws on its power. Might cause it to reset itself, open the doors for a bit like it was supposed to.

During its construction until the end, it remained a reclusive area. All conveniences were supplied to the inhabitants by unique vending machines, which provided a number of commercial and non-commercial services, allow the residents to live in self-sufficiency, even when cut off from the world. The goal of the entire enterprise was not only to create a grand casino - it was to construct the perfect shelter from the nearing nuclear holocaust. Every element of the Sierra Madre's functions was to protect its residents.

In design, Sinclair was drawn to the nostalgic Art Deco era; this is reflected in the architecture of the villa and casino. To make it a perfect opening gala, Sinclair strengthened its frequency emissions, normally reserved for emergency broadcast signals before the war. The kitchens of the Sierra Madre aimed for a 5-star rating and sought to bring in the best chefs from around the world. In order to meet deadlines and budgets, the construction of the Sierra Madre was handled by two different companies, a well-performing reputable company for the casino and a cheaper, slacking and corrupt company for the villa, which created numerous incidents during its construction.

As guardian of his paradise, Sinclair forbade any other food or vending machines beyond the ones he had installed and banned any personal contraband like chems, alcohol, and "foreign substances", which created a black market from the workers within. Part of Sierra Madre security's role was to prevent such contraband from entering the villa area and they are known to have conducted inspections of the Puesta del Sol construction offices and confiscating prohibited items.

Sinclair's obsession with security, often attributed to his financial losses in the 70s, led to the Sierra Madre being provided with militarized holograms, a futuristic technology developed in the Big MT Z-38 lightwave dynamics research facility on a generous grant provided by Sinclair. The doors of the Sierra Madre were designed to hermetically seal in case of emergency, while its floors were constructed to isolate frequencies and disable electronics not connected directly through cables on every floor. Furthermore, the Sierra Madre Casino had an automated front desk that would escort guests to their rooms upon arrival, while security systems would stun those entering with foreign substances or contaminated by radiation. Though shocking at first glance, all these precautions were put in place to reinforce the Madre's status as an impenetrable fortress in case of nuclear war, built to protect its inhabitants, especially Sinclair's lover, Vera Keyes.

The construction and all the futuristic technologies contained within led Sinclair to near bankruptcy. But money was not the most important price Sinclair paid; to afford all the technologies he requested from Big MT, he agreed for Sierra Madre to act as proving grounds for experimental technologies created in the labs of the Big MT, including Saturnite alloy knives, next-generation Auto-Docs and prototype matter recombinators. Sinclair was not privy to information about other such deals made by Big MT and the fate of their "test cities" on American soil (such as the disastrous meteorological experiments in Hopeville). The deal with Big MT was an almost literal deal with the devil: apart from usable miracle technologies, the Big MT also used the Sierra Madre to field test the Cloud, a completely new toxic weapon developed in its Z-43 Innovative Toxins plant, as well as their prototype hazmat suits designed to withstand such toxins.

When the War came, the Sierra Madre locked its guests inside and the holograms killed everyone they came across except Vera. Sinclair had, in his own words, turned it into a deathtrap in a fit of revenge. Though he reconsidered his plan he was unable to reverse the change and came to believe that the only safe place left was the vault. The shoddily built Villa was thus left to rot, and as the aging ventilation system gradually gave up the ghost, the Cloud began to emerge, eventually engulfing the entire Sierra Madre in an eerie, red mist.

Layout
The Sierra Madre is broken into two locations: the Villa and the actual resort and casino.

Villa
The Villa rests below the resort in a valley. It provides guests with all the accommodations they desire during their stay with a residential and medical district with a clinic. The additional districts of Puesta and Salida del Sol provide guests with other amenities. Puesta contains multiple gift shops and other attractions while Salida contains the homes of the casino staff and the church in Campanas del Sol. A police station is also present to oversee activity in the Villa.

Casino
The hotel rests atop a cliff overlooking the Villa. The casino is far less dangerous than the Villa but still remains hazardous. A main lobby connects to a theatre, restaurant, casino, and executive suites. The Sierra Madre vault rests within the suites.

Appearances
The Sierra Madre appears only in the Fallout: New Vegas add-on, Dead Money and is referenced by graffiti throughout Fallout: New Vegas and in several terminals in Old World Blues.

Behind the scenes

 * The Sierra Madre is a reference to B. Traven's seminal 1927 Western novel, and later 1948 film, directed by John Huston, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.
 * The Madre look (a combination of Art Deco and Mission Revival) was conceived by Joe Sanabria and implemented by James Garcia.
 * Megan Parks created the modular signs, art deco beds, dressers, light sconces and various other props for the Sierra Madre.