"IT FLIPS UP," Fallout New Vegas modders yell after releasing a funky Pip-Boy based on cancelled entry Van Buren's design docs

The same folks are hard at work remaking Van Buren as part of a project dubbed Fallout: The New West

One of the days last week was October 23rd. It's the date in the Fallout universe when the bombs dropped and has morphed into a time for yearly community happenings plus, in Bethesda's case, usually some marketing. Sometimes, modders behind long-running projects time up standalone releases with it, as has been the case this year with the folks behind Fallout: The New West, the project aiming to make their own version of Black Isle Studios' cancelled third Fallout game. They've released a few guns inspired by the canned entry, which you may know by its codename Van Buren, but the headliner from this gear drop for New Vegas is a funky new Pip-Boy design.

According to its creators, this Lil Pip 3000 iteration of Fallout's iconic wrist-mounted computer has been recreated based on Van Buren's original design docs. Worn by inmates in Tibbets Prison, the AI overlord-run slammer that the modders have already recreated for a demo of their Van Buren remake, the Lil Pip has made its way to Mojave in the hands of an unnamed ranger who's deposited it near Nipton.

It does all the standard Pip-Boy things and should work with a host of established mods which add extra features to The Courier's fancy bracelet. Most importantly of all, thanks to custom animations, the lid flips up when you whip the device out to use it. To be clear since the modders have emphasised this in all caps, I said "IT FLIPS UP". In all seriousness, it's a cool design that departs from the general blockiness of the default Pip-Boys worn by Fallout protagonists old and new. It's perhaps heavier on children's toy vibes than its siblings, but not to the extent I'd say it looks like it couldn't survive its wearer failing to step out of the way of a rogue missile or grenade.

Alongside it, the New West lot have released a Wattz Weapon Pack. Consisting of five laser guns in the classic Fallout style, including a freshly assembled burst pistol from Van Buren, the mod also includes custom animations and add-ons to help these new energy weapons fit in seamlessly with the rest of New Vegas' arsenal. They'll even be distributed throughout the Capital Wasteland if you're running the Tale of Two Wastelands mod which mashes New Vegas and Fallout 3's worldspaces together.

If you fancy nabbing either mod, you'll need to nab a fair few requirements. The New Vegas Script Extender, JIP LN NVSE Plugin, JohnnyGuitar NVSE, and kNVSE Animation Plugin are musts for both, while the weapon pack also needs the Gun Runners’ Arsenal DLC, ShowOff xNVSE Plugin, ISControl Enabler, and Sound Extender.