Westside

Westside is an independent settlement within the northwest Las Vegas Conurbation in Fallout: New Vegas.

Westside can be used to refer to the entire region east of the Spring Mountains, south of the Corn Creek Dunes, and west of the New Vegas Strip's massive walls. While civilization thrives around the settlement, society gradually breaks down the farther south one travels. These city blocks are violently run by Chem-addicted raiders known as the Fiends.

Background
Westside was a small, impoverished community on the edges of Outer Vegas, suffering from a shortage of everything: Water, food, equipment, and everything else a society needs to thrive. Although a few shops operated in the area, they were mostly minor ventures with the majority of the folks in the Mojave being semi-nomadic. The arrival of the New California Republic and the foundation of FEZ-NV turned Vegas into a major trade and tourism hub, promising a new future for the tight-knit communities of Outer Vegas. Ignored by the Strip families and the Republic, the communities faced a struggle to become "economically viable" enough for the traders to earn a slice of the pie. The tight-knit Westside would be one of the first to find a solution to the problem, thanks to the Followers of the Apocalypse.

Tom Anderson and Arcade Gannon passed through the area a few years before 2281. Realizing the community's potential, Anderson used his knowledge of farming to help Westsiders clear parking lots and install planters, as well as cultivate food crops. Combined with Clayton Ettienne's knack for organization and the determination of the local community, the crops paved the way for the Westside Cooperative.

The Cooperative
Coordinated out of an old drug store, the cooperative quickly became the antithesis of the great landed estates of the NCR controlled by Agri-Baron s. Every Westsider who works a plot of land or operates planters remains their sole owner, donating a portion of their crops to the Cooperative. This produce is then sold to outside parties, with profits shared among the people who made the produce, rather than winding up in the pockets of landowners. Apart from greatly reducing Westside's reliance on merchants, the food also helps Westside maintain a militia that keeps threats lurking in Outside Vegas at bay.

The single biggest problem in the Cooperative's early days was the supply of clean water. Contaminated water created crops of sub-par quality that could not be sold, making it impossible for Westside to generate income. Without that income, the Westside could not afford the steep fees for a license to use the NCR-controlled municipal waterworks piping water in from Lake Mead. Rather than let the Cooperative fail, Anderson decided to do everything in his power to keep it afloat, rather than allow people who lived in the Mojave for generations suffer due to the economic policies imposed by a colonizing power. Since the Lake was too far for Westsiders to reach and transport water, the only solution was to somehow make use of the municipal waterworks restored by the NCR. Since The Republic established its own sharecropper farms in Vegas with the Thaler Act, the infrastructure was already there. As such, rather than let the NCR hoard the local water supply for its own citizens, Anderson rigged the pump station to pump clean water to the north cistern at regular intervals. Hector, a local urchin, volunteered to act as middle-man, pumping the water out of the cistern into barrels for delivery, believing nobody would pay attention to a child with a water brahmin. The ruse worked and Westside's crops were saved - and with them, the entire community.

Anderson never lost any sleep over it, as he believed the detached politicians in Shady Sands did not care about the people living in Vegas, caring only about productivity and growth. The issues NCR sharecroppers experience with mandated quotas and OSI's water rationing are a prime example of that trend (though Anderson ignores the fact he is partly to blame for the water shortages due to redirecting a portion of the water to Westside).

The Whitewash
The water shortages would cause issues for the sharecroppers eventually, with the risk of being sacked by the NCR administration leading some of them to consider packing up and moving back to California. The risk for the sharecroppers would be put off for a time thanks to the decision to increase the water quotas from Lake Mead, to increase production and eventually set up more farms to increase the output and likely stop reserving it for the NCR Army forces in the Mojave. In the meantime, Westside would continue to prosper. In 2281, after years of breaking even, the farms would start generating enough produce to generate a profit. The tight-knit community would steadily grow richer and more prosperous,with food, clothes, weapons, and medicine in ample supply - all the while maintaining their independence.

However, the continuing supply issues exacerbated by Vault 34's steady deterioration would eventually attract attention. Corporal White of the NCR Army, a promising soldier who wanted to earn his Ranger star, decided to investigate the shortages on his private time. In between layovers with Dazzle at Gomorrah, he investigated the computer allocations and water supply schedules in order to find the missing water. Interviews with the sharecroppers turned up little, while the garrisoned troopers were even less helpful, blaming the shortages on farmers' incompetence. Finally, analyzing pump station logs put him on Westside's trail. He left to interview Anderson in Westside without sharing his suspicions with anyone. Not that they would have cared. White was considered a glory hound among the troopers and Lieutenant Romanowski, commanding officer of the sharecropper security detail even lodged a complaint with Lieutenant Boyd about his behavior.

At Westside, White immediately spotted Hector making his rounds. The boy wasn't expecting anyone to question him, least of all an uniformed trooper. He told him to go to Anderson. When White confronted Anderson over the water supply, the Follower acted docile until the soldier turned his back. Anderson made a rash decision to protect Westside's independence: He shot White in the back. Although it protected Westside's essential water supply, killing a man weighed heavily on his conscience.

The murder proved easy to cover up. Nobody in Westside remembered the corporal and if they did, they weren't telling. Most troopers didn't like White for his drive to join the Rangers. Those who didn't care about it, like Lieutenant Boyd, believed his disappearance was tied to the Gomorrah prostitute he constantly visited. Only Hector, the water boy, remained a loose end... Or so they thought. The trail of evidence leading to Westside persisted and the Courier can investigate it, taking the fate of Westside in their hands and throttling the struggling settlement or letting it thrive. as part of. They can track Anderson down and decide his fate together with that of Westside:

Current status
Westside's emergence as a thriving community has stabilized a good part of the western part of Outer Vegas. Their independent streak and work ethic paired with the economic output has attracted travelers, farmers, and merchants, coming to exchange their goods or hire protection. Westside prospers as an independent settlement bridging the gap between the savage wasteland and the prosperous city, relying on both to survive. Although Red Lucy and The Thorn founded beneath Westside celebrate the spirit of strength and independence, the truth is that the rough times lead many to choose drink as a way to smooth the rough edges of their daily existence.

Beyond the ever-present concern for water, Westside has only one major problem: The Fiends. The loose militia helps defend the borders from the crazies, using an impressive array of fortifications established on the edges of the inhabited parts of Westside that helped end Fiend raids on Westside. The militia members are understandably suspicious of outsiders, not just because of the chem fiends, but also the Scorpions, a minor gang on the southern edge of Westside that occupies itself with mercenary work, selling drugs, and getting killed by the Fiends.

Layout
Westside proper is located in the northwestern corner of the Mojave, just at the edge of the city. The community is surrounded by strong defensive walls erected out of junk or salvaged metal sheets, with double layered fortifications surrounding the western entrance, open to the wasteland, complete with sandbag bunkers overlooking the surrounding expanse.

The community is concentrated in this enclosed neighborhood, around two streets going in a west-east direction. The northern street houses Miguel's Pawn Shop on the northwestern corner and is a common place for Judah Kreger, one of the prominent local leaders, to stay and enjoy a game of chess. Otherwise, it's mostly a cracked expanse of boarded-up commercial buildings, including an ancient motel. Opposite Miguel's Pawn Shop is the biggest single building in Westside, the Casa Madrid Apartments, which doubles as the local brothel.

The southern street is where life concentrates in Westside, with the headquarters of the Westside Co-op at the southern face, a large clearing with one of many farms in the center, next to Klamath Bob's liquor store, and the north cistern at the east end, supplying Westside with water diverted from Lake Mead.

Although not part of Westside proper, there are a few more places that are a part of it, including Red Lucy's The Thorn and the Scorpions hangout, Monte Carlo Suites, further south, at the edge of Fiend territory.

Inhabitants
All generic residents (those without a name) respawn every 73 hours.

Behind the scenes
Spare Us the Cutter short bWrenchRepair					; 1 = Player knows Wrench can repair stuff. short bWrenchWaterShortage		; 1 = Wrench mentioned he knows something about the water shortage. He also has the following single dialogue line, remnant of a larger dialogue file:
 * Paul Fish implemented the exterior of Westside.
 * There is an alternative earlier version of the quest The White Wash. VMS10 is repurposed as a variables holder in the final game, but its original quest stages and objectives reveal a very different and much more simplistic quest rather than the final Chinatown inspired one.
 * There are NPCs cut from the quest here. Originally a bunch of local thugs were supposed to ambush the player after catching Hector in the act of stealing water from the pump. Their sequence is complete in the game code and they have full dialogue, so it's unclear why they were cut.
 * There is a cut NPC called 'Wrench' who would be used extensively in this quest. References to him exist in VMS10QuestScript:
 * VMS101EWrenchTopic009 - "I've got the whiskey." (the player is saying this line)


 * According to the quest objectives, the player would have to investigate the east pump station to find evidence of a water shortage. In the final game this area was repurposed for a different quest instead (Hard Luck Blues). From here the player would have to talk to Wrench who it seems would either be located in the Sharecroppers farm, or more likely in Westside. It can be assumed from what little remains that he was some kind of down on his luck type - he firstly wants the player to give him whiskey (as seen above), but also seems to have sold his "super tool kit" (really?) to Angelo's Pawn Shop in Westside, which the player must buy back. It's not clear if Wrench actually fixes anything or not, but perhaps his input merely reveals the fact someone is stealing the water, as you must next catch someone doing so as in the final game quest. Finally, Anderson is confronted as in the eventual version of this quest.
 * The above early quest objectives show that the Miguel's pawn shop was originally called Angelo's pawn shop, and would presumably be run by a cut NPC called Angelo. His Merchant container still exists as VendorContainerAngelo. Checking Miguel's dialogue reveals that he is literally the same NPC, just renamed, e.g. VDialogueDoldrums1EAngeloTopic001 which is a Miguel line. Interestingly these lines also have the area name listed as "Doldrums" rather than Westside - presumably this is what the area was originally called! It seems Angelo was still used as the name for Miguel past the point where Doldrums was renamed to Westside - there is a dialogue topic for him with both the name Angelo and also the Westside distinguisher (vDialogueWestside1EAngeloTopic000).
 * Pretty Sarah has empty dialogue topics for other things the player could ask her at one stage; most interestingly propositioning her for sex (perhaps with spiteful intent considering she is mutilated), and working for her as a prostitute.
 * It's very likely Westside was originally an "open" settlement; that is to say all of its buildings, NPCs etc were located as part of the main wastelandNV worldspace. Even the ground still has correct textures painted for this.
 * There's a cut character here with full player dialogue and the generic name of "Water Seller". VDialogueVegasWest1EWaterSellerTopic010 - His/her dialogue was later recycled for the character Lupe - her dialogue is literally identical with the same topics, only they've been moved into the grub n gulp quest.
 * There are two other cut characters possibly from this area: Pablo Miller and Billy Bettis. 1E is used as a code for several areas (some Fiend territory, the share cropper farms, Westside, and a few others). There's little to give away what they were for - they have no dialogue, factions or AI packages, but both seem to be fighter types, armed with decent armour and a shotgun/laser rifle. Billy Bettis is part of the Vendordrinks class, so possibly he was going to be some kind of tough bartender/water seller? Possibly he was the original Doldrums/Westside "Water Seller"?

Appearances
Westside appears only in Fallout: New Vegas.