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Nellis Air Force Base | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Here we have prospered and multiplied. Here our mighty guns destroy any savages that may try to harm us even before they can reach our gates!
”— PeteNellis Air Force Base is a location approximately 7.1 miles (11.4 km) northeast from New Vegas in the Mojave Wasteland. It is a pre-War air force base that once was the US Air Force Warfare Center and after the war became a home for the xenophobic Boomers, who were former occupants of Vault 34.
Background[]
In 2077, during the Great War, Nellis was struck by several atomic warheads, killing all the inhabitants and leaving the base highly radioactive. Over the following decades, wastelanders all avoided Nellis by habit due to the radiation levels, leaving it an empty, desolate place.[1]
In 2231, the Boomers who had departed from Vault 34 and walked the wastes seeking a new refuge, came across the Nellis Air Force Base and settled. Their PIP-Boy Geiger counters indicated that the base was radioactive, but not dangerously so,[1] as enough time had passed. They began using the bases' remaining defensive structures and their own stockpile of heavy arms, retrieved from Area 2,[2] to keep any strangers from setting foot anywhere nearby ever since.
The Air Force Base is entirely self-sufficient, growing its own crops using water pumped from Lake Mead. In particular, basic nourishment is provided by grains and green vegetables, while protein is provided by soy and legumes.[3][4][5] Maize is also used to produce fuel in its bio-diesel refinery. Power is provided by the Nellis solar array and its generator. Boomers also receive a rudimentary education, covering farming and combat,[6] and have access to the base's medical facilities.[7]
Boomers also use pre-War VR pilot training stations to train themselves for the day when they will take to the skies.[8] This dream stems from Loyal's finding a file concerning the crashed B-29 bomber in Lake Mead, which the Boomers plan to recover... Eventually.[9]
Layout[]
Nellis' location is discreet and well-defended, most accessible by a cracked and cratered road littered with signs suggesting that entrance in to the area is strictly forbidden to all outsiders. The front gate is vigilantly guarded day and night. Nellis Air Force Base main entrance can be approached from two different locations, most notable via the old road leading east from Fields' Shack. Approaching from this direction you will encounter George, who provides the Courier with Nellis Artillery Timing Details. The second approach can be accessed by the unmarked Train tunnel location east of Raul's Shack.
Upon entrance, the most obvious structures are the control tower and hangars, to the west. Two runways run parallel to the east, occupying a majority of the bases' territory. The Boomers have made good use of the land between them, converting a parcel into an irrigated farm plot. The pipes are connected to an inaccessible shack, implying they have access to reclamation facilities. North of the farm is the Nellis Array, which provides power for the entire facility via solar panels. Along the northeast corner of the fencing is an unlootable graveyard.
One hangar houses the remaining parts of a B-29 bomber, while the other is used for social functions. The VR terminals used to train pilots, mess hall and storage are housed inside this bunker. During the day, several important members of the Boomers can be found gathered here.
Quonset huts and shacks provide living quarters, medical and educational facilities on the west side of the base. Pearl and Loyal have their own homes, while the rest of the Boomers make do with segregated barracks. Also, the Boomer Museum is located amongst the Quonset huts. Of note is a bio-diesel storage hut near the crane and tracks, giving the player a hint of what the Boomers are capable of, despite their isolation.
Buildings[]
Inhabitants[]
- Argyll
- Boomer munitions manager
- Jack
- Lindsay
- Loyal
- Pearl
- Pete
- Raquel
- Mini Boomers
- Boomer teacher
- Boomer chef
- Janet (if the quest Young Hearts is completed)
Notable loot[]
Related quests[]
Notes[]
- On the way there (before the bombardment) a man named George will make a wager on you getting back alive. He wants 300 caps, and with a barter check you only need to give him 200 caps. If you pass the barter check you actually lose out on 200 caps, as if you give him the 300 caps, you can actually earn 600 caps when you go back to him. If you give him 200 caps, you'll only get 400 caps. So it is advised to give him the 300 caps.
- Optionally, if you pass a speech check and threaten to have the Boomers change targets, he will give you 600 caps anyway, even if you only paid 200.
- There are several methods of getting past the artillery:
- The artillery will always fire on you, regardless of Sneak skill or Stealth Boys, so run at all times.
- If you store most of your equipment in the nearby Field's Shack, running across the artillery field becomes easier. Simply fast travel back to your equipment when you have entered the base.
- On Hardcore mode, your companions are likely to die if they follow you, so have them wait outside the perimeter until you've made it through.
- When getting to Nellis AFB, closely follow the rock wall on the left after going into the artillery field. Do not stop moving. As you approach the corner where the fence meets the rock wall the shelling will stop. Follow the fence to the entrance. You should suffer little to no damage from the artillery.
- Another way to easily get through is to hug the right rock wall as you enter from the road. Run as fast as you can towards the railroad doors. Once you reach the railroad doors, turn around and continue hugging the right rock wall up the railroad tracks. This will eventually lead you to the fence. Turn left and hug the fence until you reach the main gate.
- Mentioned railroad doors come from some underground tracks which can be accessed from an entrance south-east of Raul's shack (Lockpick skill 100). This can give an otherwise low-level player a head start to reach Nellis.
- Two doses of Turbo (without any perks enhancing it) can get you to the gate on a straight run, probably without even being injured.
- If you dismiss a companion while at Nellis, they will walk through the artillery field and be killed, unless equipped with a high number of stimpaks, superstimpaks or other types of consumables. It is advisable to dismiss your followers at the nearby Field's Shack instead, or run them through the artillery field to safety before dismissing them. This is fixed in a fully patched game as dismissed followers instantly travel to their destination.
- If you give Jack scrap metal, it increases your fame with Nellis. If you give enough (about 50 units), you gain instant Idolized status with Nellis Air Force Base. Because of this, you can instantly complete that portion of the quest Volare!. There are about 10 scrap metal in the hangar alone, as long as you don't mind stealing them.
- If you kill the Boomer that has the mini nuke, he will eventually respawn, possibly being a source of infinite mini nukes. The respawn sequence takes about 24 in-game hours.
- If you look at the screen of the Virtual reality pods from the outside, images of Tranquility Lane are shown, just like in the Hidden Valley bunker.
- There is a dead Brotherhood of Steel paladin in the ruins of the town.
- In the far north east corner of the Base is a makeshift graveyard. As with all graves, barely audible whispering can be heard if you stand above them without the radio on.
- Although they won't bomb you once you've introduced yourself or anyone wearing a Boomer flight/jump suit, mini-Boomers can occasionally be seen leaving or returning to the base while bombs rain down.
- The VR simulators in the second hangar cannot be used.
- If you haven't received the note from the NCR soldier about Ambassador Crocker, and you sleep or wait here, he might approach you.
- If you have Veronica Santangelo with you when Pete narrates the Boomers' history, she'll comment on the similarities between them on the Brotherhood. The Boomers recognize her affiliation to the group.
- If you tell the guard you ran through the artillery field, people will comment on it.
- With Cass as a companion, Boomers will walk up to her and say, "Whatever you're selling, we have plenty of it."
Behind the scenes[]
- Nellis Air Force Base was named in honor of Republic P-47 Thunderbolt Pilot 1st Lieutenant William Harrell Nellis, who was killed in WWII during the famous Battle of the Bulge.
- The real world Nellis Air Force Base has a large solar panel array allowing it to be almost completely self-sufficient in terms of electricity.
Bugs[]
- The guard that opens the gate may stand with his back turned and will not interact with the player.
- Shelling may continue when near the Nellis fence and just inside the base.
- If the player attacks the guards and Mr. Gutsies near the fences, a guard may become glitched so that he is invincible, and no new guards will spawn to let you into the gate. FIX: While standing at the gate go into V.A.T.S. and disarm one of the roaming patrols. The (non-glitched) guard with the rocket launcher seemed to be the easiest. When successfully done a fight will ensue, but holstering your weapon will end the fight, and the glitched guard who should interact with the player will freeze in whatever position he was in when the fight ended. Get the fight to end with the guard near enough to the fence, and the player may speak to him through it. Play should proceed normally.
- At times the textures and layout maps fail to load correctly, leaving any character or robot that wanders into the afflicted area stuck in the ground if it reverts to normal.
- There is a greenhouse that has planks nailed to the main door. The player may activate it, but nothing happens.
- If the gate to the entrance of the air base is left open, some of the mini boomers may walk out and get attacked by the mortars. They don't die or even get affected by the missiles, they just keep walking and never come back. When the player walks with them the mortars do not fire, but if 2 - 5 steps are taken away from them, the mortars will begin firing again. This for some reason can lead to the mortars firing huge distances, potentially all the way to the outer walls of New Vegas and beyond.
- At times, the guards at the front gate or in guard towers will randomly attack the player, even at accepted status.
- Boomers will pile up just inside the west entrance/exit door of Mess Hall & Munitions Storage, vibrating and stuttering off of each other. Companions get 'lodged' inside the cluster upon entrance, and it takes several minutes for them to work free. Sometimes upon exit the Boomers will all 'burst free' and exit at the same time as the courier & companions, to then roam the base normally.
- Boomers and then making a trip back to the Base, you may incur a random infamy gain with the Boomers for no reason in particular. None of the Boomers will be hostile towards you, and no evidence or bodies of what could have happened can be found. (It could possibly be caused by the completion of Heartache by the Number and choosing to kill Alice McLafferty, which in turn can turn Janet from the Young Hearts quest (if you chose to have her come to NFB) hostile and force the Boomers to put her down at your expense).(Tested on Xbox, when approaching the museum infamy is gained, entering the museum triggers Pete to enter dialogue, in which he complains that the player walked off without listening to his speech. Could this be fixed by approaching him while he isn't in the museum?) Sometimes, after completing most or all of the quests for the
- Raquel will appear later at some point (usually after fast traveling) and asks you to go meet Mother Pearl. You will be forced to go back to the base with her to see Mother Pearl. If you go near the base, discover it, and leave without approaching the Boomer who was shooting at you,
- Female Boomers at Nellis AFB may have facial hair despite being female.
- Sometimes no one ever comes to the gate, making this portion of the game un-completable.
-Possible work around this bug: Sometimes the woman (Raquel) who did not come to the gate might have tried to chase after you when you fast travel. 1st time I arrived at the gate and the boomer guard told me to wait or I would get shot until someone arrived. I waited a few minutes then fast traveled to the secondary entrance point through the metro station. Finished it came out the other side. When I fast travel back to the metro entrance and entered Raquel was waiting for me inside the metro. 2nd after having fast travel out from the front gate. I fast travel back in later and Raquel was waiting right next to george. Conclusion: Raquel might be around the few last places you fast travel right after you met the boomer guard for the first time. If you went to their gate went away and came back later. Try to remember where you fast travel after getting bored of waiting at the gate, Raquel might be somewhere around the places you travel to. In two tests she was nowhere far from nellis, either at the metro or nearby George ( guy who bets with you about crossing the artillery barrage). Look for her around the destroyed town, the metro and surrounding areas. She might be there.... "might".
Appearances[]
Nellis Air Force Base appears only in Fallout: New Vegas.
Gallery[]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Courier: "I'm surprised Nellis was empty when your people found it."
Pete: "Several atomic warheads detonated here hundreds of years ago, leaving the base highly radioactive. The savages of the wastes, ignoramuses, all avoided Nellis by habit."
(Pete's dialogue (Fallout: New Vegas)) - ↑ The Courier: "What are howitzers doing at an Air Force Base?"
Pete: "You're right, they weren't here when we discovered Nellis! We found the guns at a huge weapon depot called Area 2, many miles from here! It took many weeks to drag the guns and their ammunition back to Nellis - and it was the last time any of us set foot beyond our homeland!"
(Pete's dialogue (Fallout: New Vegas)) - ↑ The Courier: "You must cultivate soy or legumes for protein, in addition to grains."
Pete: "[SUCCEEDED] Indeed we do! Very impressive."
(Pete's dialogue (Fallout: New Vegas)) - ↑ The Courier: "I guess poor nutrition could explain a lot of your behavior."
Pete: "Our nutrition is not deficient! We supplement our diet of grains and vegetables with soy and legumes for protein."
(Pete's dialogue (Fallout: New Vegas)) - ↑ The Courier: "But where do you get protein? Oh my god! You're all *cannibals!*"
Pete: "[FAILED] We are certainly not cannibals! We're not savages, like some people! We supplement grains and green vegetables with soy and legumes - that's how we get our protein!"
(Pete's dialogue (Fallout: New Vegas)) - ↑ The Courier: "What happens when they come of age?"
Boomer teacher: "All of us are trained in combat and farming from a very early age. When we reach adulthood, we serve in whatever capacity we are best suited."
(Boomer teacher's dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "How do you survive, totally cut off from the world?"
Pete: "Nellis is a completely self-sufficient community! We draw water from Lake Mead, solar arrays provide power, and we grow our own crops!"
(Pete's dialogue (Fallout: New Vegas)) - ↑ The Courier: "How has Nellis taught your people to fly?"
Pete: "Once we restored power, we learned that some elaborate chairs we'd been sleeping in were actually virtual reality simulators. We believe they were used to train combat pilots. We use them extensively. I alone have shot down over 500 Chinese Xian-85 fighters! Before you ask, I'm afraid there's no way you can be allowed to use the simulators. They are for our use only. Sorry."
(Pete's dialogue (Fallout: New Vegas)) - ↑ The Courier: "How did you learn where to find an old bomber?"
Pete: "Loyal found a file somewhere on the base, with magazine articles, photographs, a map, even. It seems that a bomber, apparently the 29th of its kind, crashed in Lake Mead on July 21st, 1948. Just imagine - that's over 300 years ago! The photographs showed that it was basically intact, and the map tells us exactly where to find it. Except we haven't left Nellis in decades."
(Pete's dialogue (Fallout: New Vegas))
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