Wild Wasteland

Wild Wasteland is a trait in Fallout: New Vegas. It adds (and in some cases changes) random encounters and locations to include the dark humor more reminiscent to that of Fallout, Fallout 2 and Fallout Tactics special encounters. Not having this trait will make fewer humorous analogues in places of the Wild Wasteland encounters.

Events that are modified/triggered by Wild Wasteland are indicated by an "alien-esque" sound and an on-screen message ... with an image of the Vault Boy with spirals for eyes, identical to the Wild Wasteland image.

Wild Wasteland encounters
There are 15 major Wild Wasteland encounters throughout New Vegas. Besides encounters, Wild Wasteland also has a few effects on things that occur in the base game. Although these changes or events are specific to taking the Wild Wasteland trait, their occurrence is not accompanied by the "..." message.

That Fridge Was a Death Trap!
Occurrence: Slightly southeast of Goodsprings, along the road out of town, there is a refrigerator lying on the desert floor, wherein a curled up skeleton exists... and a Suave gambler hat.

This is a reference to the fourth Indiana Jones movie, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, in which Jones survives a nuclear blast by climbing into a lead-lined refrigerator and being catapulted miles away. Many consider this to be one of the silliest stunts in the history of the Indiana Jones franchise, and "Indy's" appearance here seems to suggest the likelier outcome of trying to survive Armageddon inside a fridge.

Hovering alien ship
Occurrence: As you close in on the area just north of Horowitz farmstead, what looked like a mercenary camp from a distance turns into an extraterrestrial landing, complete with a broken spacecraft, and three stranded aliens. Looking closely at the UFO one can see cables and tubes hanging out from a hatch. The UFO is exactly the same in appearance as the crashed Recon craft Theta in Fallout 3 that initiates Mothership Zeta. The alien captain has the unique alien blaster (though he cannot use it) along with over 100 alien power cells. Two other aliens carry tri-beam laser rifles along with some energy cells and drained small energy cells.

What Is It, Boy?
Occurrence: This encounter will only appear with Rex in company. At some point, Rex will speak to you with an "aroo!" You then determine that Little Jimmy may have fallen into a well, the location of which is marked on your Pip-Boy's world map (east of New Vegas, underneath the overpass). The well contains a child's skeleton, a mole rat, an Abilene Kid LE BB gun, 200 BBs, a rawhide cowboy hat, as well as a super stimpak.

This is a reference to a similar quest in Fallout 2, where the Chosen One is looking for a boy named Jonny, and learns from his dog Laddie that Jonny may have fallen into the town well and likely been eaten by a mole rat, dropping his BB gun. (Jonny is later found to be alive at the end of the quest, if the Chosen discovers the truth about his disappearance.)

This in turn, is a reference to the 1954 Lassie TV series, where Timmy was frequently rescued after Lassie warned somebody. On the TV show Timmy never fell into a well, though he did get in a lot of similar predicaments.

Maud's Muggers
Occurrence: When leaving Cerulean Robotics, a group of three elderly women (known as Maud's Muggers) named Irate Ida, Rancorous Ruth and Malefic Maud wearing pre-War spring outfits and armed with rolling pins and switchblades will strike. They often have a small amount of caps, showing the success of previous muggings.

This is possibly a reference to a Monty Python sketch named Hell's Grannies. Any resident of Freeside may occasionally mention them.

You're getting too close, shamus!
Occurrence: During the quest I Put a Spell on You, if you unwittingly divulge to Captain Curtis that you know a mole is using the control tower during the night and then stake it out, he ambushes you there. Right before the ambush occurs, Curtis says "You're getting too close, shamus!", shamus being early 20th century slang for a private detective.

The phrase is taken directly from the Carmen Sandiego series of video games, where it would be said by in-game NPCs to indicate the player was close to apprehending a criminal.

R.O.U.S.
Occurrence: You may not think they exist, but in certain underground locations, such as the New Vegas sewers, the broc flower cave, or Vault 11, are rats one-and-a-half to two-times larger than normal. These are rodents of unusual size.

This is a reference to The Princess Bride and the R.O.U.S (Rodents of Unusual Size) that inhabit the Fire Swamp. Similarly, the town of Klamath in Fallout 2 had a problem with large rats that were referred to as "R.U.S," wherein "of" is simply omitted from the acronym.

Owen and Beru
Occurrence: Located just in front of a ruined Nipton house containing a Mister Gutsy, to the right of the town hall, there are two corpses. One looks to be a male human, while the other is female, lying next to each other. They look like they've been charred. Looking at the burned corpses will reveal the male to be named "Owen" and the female "Beru."

This is a reference to Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, where Luke Skywalker's uncle and aunt, Owen and Beru Lars, are burned to death and their charred corpses are shown in the same pose as in the game.

Romanes Eunt Domus
Occurrence: Scrawled on the north wall of Cottonwood Cove HQ in Cottonwood Cove, some upstart has scrawled the graffiti Romanes Eunt Domus.

This is a reference to Monty Python's Life of Brian where Brian is writing graffiti on the palace wall and uses the same incorrect inflection, trying to write "Romans go home" but instead writes "People called Romanes, they go, the house." He is then corrected by an Imperial guard, who then forces him to write the correct version on the wall 100 times by the morning of the next day.

Dead investigator
Occurrence: During the side quest Beyond the Beef, a dead investigator is discovered inside an Ultra-Luxe hotel room. Further investigation of this crime-scene reveals his name to be "Crusoe," with a shock of red hair, sunglasses and a business suit. This is a reference to the popular TV series CSI: Miami, and more specifically, its main character, Horatio Caine, played by David Caruso.

Dead or alive, you're coming with me
Occurrence: If you frame Heck Gunderson during the side quest Beyond the Beef you may hear the arresting Securitron say: "Dead or alive, you're coming with me." and "Your move, creep." Players may also over hear the Securitrons saying this instead of their usual banter on the Strip. This is a reference to Paul Verhoeven's 1987 movie RoboCop, when the protagonist confronts a criminal with whom he has a personal history.

The One


Occurrence: Slightly north-west of the Devil's Throat is a large, unexploded atomic bomb known as The One. Amid the crackle of your Geiger counter, you can open up the bomb, and scavenge some energy weapon ammunition. There is a super mutant encampment in very close vicinity to the bomb. Usually, there are 4-5 super mutant masters lingering around, plus a few assorted ghouls.

Johnny Five-Aces
Occurrence: During Barton Thorn's quest, you're instructed to investigate an overlook south of Goodsprings. There's a dead Prospector up there named Johnny, wearing glasses, with a glass pitcher next to him, and five aces on the table. On the cliff are four balls in a line.

This is a reference to the failed game project Zybourne Clock, more specifically to one of its characters, "Johnny Five-Aces," as well as a metaphorical explanation of time-travel involving four balls placed on the edge of a cliff. Initially announced on the Something Awful forums, the project featured questionable artwork and somewhat convoluted plot material, and eventually became a forum inside joke.

The line formed by the 4 red balls besides Johnny is actually a sign pointing the exact direction of the Deathtrap Fridge (another Wild Wasteland scene) from there. (Note: Sometimes Johnny will not be there and there will only be 4 red balls. In this case, it is possible he has actually fallen off the cliff and is resting below. If this happens, a variant of Merc armor could be found beside him.)

Game over, man, game over!
Occurrence: If you're listening to the NCR Emergency Radio during the final battle for Hoover Dam, among the chatter about positioning snipers and reinforcing positions you may hear lines "They're coming out of the walls, man! They're coming outta the damn walls." and "Game Over, Man! GAME OVER!"

If you search the rooms near the control panels where you meet Fantastic for the second time, you may find three Legion centurions standing in a small room next to a hole in the wall. Three NCR soldiers are at their feet, dead, and one of them is named "Private Hudson." This will only occur if you search this room after hearing the radio broadcast.

This is a reference to Bill Paxton's character Private First Class William Hudson from James Cameron's 1986 movie Aliens, where Hudson says these lines after his team's drop-ship has crashed on an alien-infested planet.

Dammit, I'm an ambassador
Occurrence: During the quest Kings' Gambit, there is a dialogue option for the trait when discussing dealing with Pacer with Ambassador Crocker. You tell him that Pacer has a heart condition and is addicted to jet and insinuate that Crocker ought to be able to figure out what to do with that information. He responds with "Damn it, I'm an ambassador, not a doctor!"

This phrase is a permutation of the phrase "Dammit Jim, I'm a doctor, not a(n) {insert profession here}" often attributed to Leonard "Bones" McCoy on Star Trek.

Holy Frag Grenades
Occurrence: In the basement of the Searchlight east church of Camp Searchlight, there are 3 Holy Frag Grenades on a table. The writing on a box beside these grenades reads "Pull pin and count to  5  3 "

Reference to the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail."

Donnie and Marie
Occurrence: If the Courier warns Motor-Runner that they are there to kill him, Motor-Runner will refer to his dogs (BoneGnash and GhashBone) as "Donnie and Marie" before engaging the Courier in combat.

There is also a script that would cause BoneGnash and GhashBone to be renamed to Donnie and Marie, though it is unused.

Pimp-Boy 3 Billion
After acquiring the Pimp-Boy 3 Billion from Mick in Mick & Ralph's, some disco music will play every time the Pimp-Boy is equipped.

Mr. New Vegas
Mr. New Vegas has a number of special intro lines that only play with Wild Wasteland:
 * "Stay classy, New Vegas." - a reference to the film Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
 * "Mojave, mo' problems, am I right?" - a reference to The Notorious B.I.G's song, Mo' Money, Mo' Problems.

EXTERMINATE!
While in combat, the Freeside Securitrons guarding The Strip North Gate will repeatedly shout, "Exterminate!" This is a reference to the Daleks, a genocidal race of alien-robot hybrids and recurring villains in the science fiction television series Doctor Who.

Witch! Witch!
Occurrence: If your reputation with Freeside is Vilified, some Freeside residents may harass you by saying, "Witch! Witch! You should be burned for all the people you've turned into newts!"

This is a reference to from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, where a villager accuses a woman of witchcraft for turning him into a newt, despite the fact that he is still human.

Ain't nothing but a hound dog
Occurrence: While in Freeside, Cass may be whistled at or otherwise hit on by members of the Kings, to which she will respond dismissively, "ain't nothing but a hound dog," instead of the normal response of "somebody's asking for a boot in their fusebox."

This is a reference to the song of the same name by "Big Momma" Thornton, covered years later by Elvis Presley.

Credits
The credits are significantly changed with Wild Wasteland. Most names will carry a rather silly nickname, and other nonsense messages from the developers are interjected semi-randomly. This is a holdover from the developer comment credits from the first two Fallout games. Also, most instances of the name Dead Money is replaced with "Dead Monkey." The "wacky" credits can be read without the perk inside the game's data file as CreditsWacky.txt.

G is for ghost people
In the add-on Dead Money, the companion Dog and God will go "OM NOM NOM" when eating ghost people. This is a reference to the internet meme, where OM NOM NOM represents eating something. The meme originates from the sound Cookie Monster makes while eating cookies in the Sesame Street TV series.

Get an axe!
When Dean Domino kills his first Ghost Person he will say, "He's not dead... it's a trick. Get an axe." This is a reference to a scene near the beginning of Army of Darkness, wherein the series' hero Ashley "Ash" Williams cautions a knight against touching a seemingly deceased Deadite who, true to his warning, proves to be merely faking.

Are you my mummy?
In the wine cellar near the bell tower from which you trigger the Gala Event, the phrase "I AM NOT YOUR MUMMY" is scrawled on the central pillar. This is in reference to the Ghosts' gas masks and the two-part episode of Doctor Who, The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances.

Two-Bears-High-Fiving
A Dead Horses tribal named Two-Bears-High-Fiving will rush out of the Angel cave. This refers to a mod from New Vegas Nexus that makes it optional to select the dialogue "Two bears high fiving" during the beginning of Fallout: New Vegas, while being tested by Doc Mitchell.

Take drugs! Kill a bear!
When speaking to White Bird with the trait, during the Rite of Passage quest, he will shout, "Take drugs! Kill a bear!" when giving the Courier the quest objective. This is a reference to the "Advice Dog" internet meme.

Walking eye
In the Magnetohydraulics complex are four robots known as walking eyes. One can be seen directly to the left, two others are in the flooded room to the left - one on the ceiling above the door frame and one on the desk. The last one is perched on top of the flooded room on the left corner (if you leave the flooded area and are on the crosswalk, jump and you will see it). This scene is a reference to the robotic spider in The Venture Bros. episode Fallen Arches. Also the robotic spider is one of the many references to Jonny Quest in The Venture Bros., as the show is heavily based on the 1964-65 show and seems to take place in the same universe decades later. Jonny Quest himself becomes a character in later seasons after its creators realized during the first season that Cartoon Network's parent company owned Jonny Quest and began using the actual characters. The robotic spider is in the opening of both Jonny Quest and The Venture Bros.

Lobotomites! Wash the walking eye!
While wandering the crater, you may hear a message over the intercom from Dr. 0 (voiced by James Urbaniak, who is Dr. Venture in the TV show The Venture Brothers) shouting "Lobotomites! Wash the walking eye!" This is also a reference to The Venture Bros. episode Fallen Arches mentioned above.

Stripe
Behind Dr. Borous' house in Higgs Village is a dog house containing a miniature deathclaw named Stripe that is roughly as tough as a legendary deathclaw. Its name is a reference to the Gremlins movie series, as is the "chicken leg" lying on the ground in front of the dog house.

...And then Explode and Die
Inside X-7a "Left Field" Artillery Launch, the Courier will hear a garbled intercom message that ends with "...and then explode and die." This is a reference to the film Serenity in which the same announcement is made over the ship's intercom.

Dogs Playing Poker
In the X-8 research center, after exiting the high school testing area, is a room with a window that looks into another room containing five police cyberdogs. Where they would normally be sitting, staring obediently at an image of Vault Girl petting a dog (which is itself a reference to the canceled Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel 2), with Wild Wasteland they are sitting around a table littered with cards, poker chips, and alcohol. This is a reference to the famous "Dogs Playing Poker" series of paintings. A similar scene appears in the Fallout Tactics special encounter Brahmin Poker.

Wolverines!
In the X-8 research center's high school testing area, the word "Wolverines" has been spelled out on a wall. This is a reference to the film Red Dawn, where high school students fend off an invasion by Soviet forces.

Hi-ho! Hi-ho! It's off to work we go!
At the construction site, there are seven Garden gnomes positioned around the large red crystals, along with pickaxes and lanterns. There is a grave nearby. This is a reference to the film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Hey, who turned out the lights?!
At multiple locations, including the X-12 research center and the Z-43 innovative toxins plant, it is possible to hear a trauma override harness say "Hey who turned out the lights?!" This is a reference to the Doctor Who episodes "Silence in the Library" and "Forest of the Dead."

Rokit 88
Slightly northeast of the Big MT west tunnel is an abandoned military truck that has been cut in half by a hill. The truck's cargo bed contains several barrels of radioactive waste and it has a New Jersey license plate that reads "Rokit 88." The license plate is a reference to the film The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension in which a vehicle drives through a solid mountain.

Plan 9
When speaking to Dr. Mobius, he will mention having to implement Plan 9 (instead of Plan C, as he would without Wild Wasteland). This is a reference to the infamous film Plan 9 from Outer Space.

Kilroy Was Here
As you exit The Think Tank or The Sink, turn left and follow the dome's wall. On the wall is a piece of graffiti that reads "Kilroy was here." This phrase was popular with Allied soldiers (usually US) during World War II, who would leave the graffiti in various (occasionally unlikely) places as a sort of commemoration and marker to their progress.

OH, YEAAHH!
An unused texture for wall graffiti is present in the game files of Old World Blues. The static object depicts the phrase "OH, YEAAHH!" in stylized red letters when viewed. There is no indication as to where this graffiti was to be placed.

Seymour
A petrified corpse, frozen in solid dolomite, of a dog named Seymour can be found in the Cave of the Abaddon on the right side from the entrance next to Sunflower Summers' corpse on top of a turned over cabinet.

This is a reference to Fry's petrified dog of the same name in Futurama in the episode Jurassic Bark.

You're already dead
When crafting the Fist of Rawr, it will be renamed Fist of the North Rawr. This is a reference to the post-apocalyptic anime and manga Fist of the North Star (Hokuto no Ken).

Damn you, you maniacs!
If the Courier launches Ulysses' missiles at both NCR and Caesar's Legion, there will be a slide during the ending slideshow of the Mojave Outpost Ranger monument shown half-way buried under sand and what looks like one NCR Trooper (on his knees) and one NCR Veteran Ranger viewing the scene.

This is a reference to the 1968 film Planet of the Apes where Charlton Heston's character is seen "damning them all to hell" as he witnesses the half-buried Statue of Liberty.

Try "Guest"
The password to the terminal at Third Street Municipal Building is "Guest."

Behind the scenes

 * In an interview on gametrailers, Chris Avellone notes that the Wild Wasteland trait adds more references to older content in Fallout and Fallout 2, in regards to special encounters.
 * According to Joshua Sawyer, the trait was added as a compromise between members of the team who suggested "wacky" content and those who thought such content would be out of place.

Bugs

 * The special dialogue on the NCR Emergency Radio channel may be processed while there are no radios tuned in to the station, causing the "..." message to appear for seemingly no reason.
 * The "..." message will not appear when finding the 'I am not your mummy' message.