Wild Wasteland

Wild Wasteland is a trait in Fallout: New Vegas. It adds or changes random encounters or locations which would not appear the same in-game without the trait.

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

Characteristics
There are 15 major Wild Wasteland encounters throughout Fallout: 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. The Appendix XIV: Wild Wasteland Oddities section of the Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide describes the main encounters in more detail.

Hovering Anomaly
As one closes in on the area just north of the Horowitz farmstead, what looks 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.

What Is It, Boy?
This encounter will only appear with Rex as an active companion. At some point, Rex will speak to the Courier with an "aroo!", who then determines that Little Jimmy may have fallen into a well, the location of which is marked on the 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 references 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. This quest is in turn, a reference to the 1954 Lassie TV series, where Timmy was frequently rescued due to Lassie's efforts.

Granny’s Gang
When leaving Cerulean Robotics, a group of three elderly women including Irate Ida, Rancorous Ruth and Malefic Maud wearing pre-War spring outfits, while armed with rolling pins or switchblades, will strike. They often have a small amount of caps. Freeside drunks may occasionally mention them. This is a reference to a Monty Python sketch titled "Hell's Grannies", about "gangs of old ladies attacking fit, defenceless young men."

We Named the Dog Indiana
Slightly southeast of Goodsprings, along the road out of town, there is a refrigerator lying on the desert ground, 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 the titular character survives a nuclear test facility blast by climbing into a lead-lined refrigerator.

Getting Too Close
During the quest I Put a Spell on You, if the player divulges to Captain Curtis that they know a mole is using the control tower during the night and then stake it out, they are ambushed by him. Right before the ambush occurs, Curtis says "You're getting too close, shamus!", which is a reference to the video game Where in the U.S.A. Is Carmen Sandiego?

R.O.U.S.
In certain underground locations, such as the New Vegas sewers, the broc flower cave or Vault 11, there are rats 1.5x to 2x larger than normal. These are rodents of unusual size. They are mentioned by Lady Jane. These are 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."

Owen and Beru
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 have been charred. Looking at the burned corpses will reveal the male to be named "Owen" and the female "Beru." These corpses reference 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.

Holy Hand Grenades
In the basement of the Searchlight east church of Camp Searchlight, there are three Holy Frag Grenades on a table. The writing on a box beside these grenades reads "Pull pin and count to 5 3." This references the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. There is a special encounter and second unimplemented special encounter in Fallout 2 that also reference this, being King Arthur's Knights and King Arthur's Knights fighting a rat respectfully.

Romanes Eunt Domus
Scrawled on the north wall of Cottonwood Cove HQ in Cottonwood Cove, someone has added graffiti reading "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 a Centurion (John Cleese), who forces him to write the correct version on the wall 100 times by next morning.

Crusoe Sucks as an Investigator
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 red hair, sunglasses and a business suit. Crusoe is a reference to the TV series CSI: Miami, and more specifically, its main character, Horatio Caine, played by David Caruso.

The Future of Law Enforcement
If Heck Gunderson is framed during the side quest Beyond the Beef, one of the arresting Securitrons says, "dead or alive, you're coming with me" and "your move, creep.", which is a reference to Paul Verhoeven's 1987 movie RoboCop when the protagonist confronts a criminal with whom he has a personal history.

Stay Classy, Mr. New Vegas
Mr. New Vegas sometimes introduces music with phrases such as, “You know, I tried to measure my charisma on a Vit-o-matic Vigor Tester once. The machine burst into flames.” and "stay classy, New Vegas." This is a reference to the film Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.

The Big One
Slightly northwest of the Devil's Throat is a large, unexploded atomic bomb known as the One. Amid the crackle of their Geiger counter, one can open up the bomb and scavenge some energy weapon ammunition.

Johnny Five-Aces
During the Barton the Fink quest, Barton Thorn instructs the player to investigate an overlook south of Goodsprings. There is a dead Prospector up there named Johnny, wearing glasses, with a glass pitcher next to him, five aces on the table, and four balls in a line on the cliff. This setup 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, becoming a Something Awful forum ongoing joke.

Game Over Man, Game Over!
If listening to the NCR emergency radio during the final battle for Hoover Dam, among the chatter about positioning snipers and reinforcing positions one may hear lines "they're coming out of the walls, man! They're coming outta the damn walls" and "Game Over, Man! GAME OVER!" When searching the rooms near the control panels where Fantastic is met for the second time, one 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."

Dammit, I'm an ambassador
Occurrence: During the quest Kings' Gambit, there is a dialogue option for the trait when discussing with Ambassador Crocker about how to deal with Pacer. Telling 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!"

Donnie and Marie
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 at Mick & Ralph's, disco music will play every time the Pimp-Boy is equipped.

EXTERMINATE!
While in combat, the Securitrons guarding the Strip North Gate will repeatedly shout, "Exterminate!"

Witch! Witch!
If the Courier's reputation with Freeside is Vilified, some Freeside residents may tell them "Witch! Witch! You should be burned for all the people you've turned into newts!"

Ain't nothing but a hound dog
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 her normal response of "somebody's asking for a boot in their fusebox."

G is for Ghost People
The companion Dog and God will say "OM NOM NOM" when eating ghost people.

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."

Are you my mummy?
In the wine cellar near the bell tower from which the Gala Event is triggered, the phrase "I AM NOT YOUR MUMMY" is scrawled on the central pillar.

Two-Bears-High-Fiving
A member of the Dead Horses named Two-Bears-High-Fiving will rush out of the Angel cave and pump the air with his fist.

Take drugs! Kill a bear!
When speaking to White Bird during the Rite of Passage quest, he will shout, "Take drugs! Kill a bear!" when giving the Courier the quest objective.

Walking eye
In the magnetohydraulics complex, four robots are named as walking eyes and can be seen throughout the building. One can be seen directly to the left, on the ground; 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, perched on top of the flooded room on the left corner.

Wash the walking eye!
While wandering through the crater, one may hear a message over the intercom from Doctor 0 shouting, "Attention: Lobotomites! Do not neglect to wash the walking eye!"

Stripe
Behind Dr. Borous' house in Higgs Village is a dog house containing a miniature deathclaw named Stripe.

...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."

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 sitting around a table littered with cards, poker chips and alcohol.

Wolverines!
In the X-8 research center's high school testing area, the word "Wolverines" has been spelled out on a wall.

Hi-ho! Hi-ho! It's off to work we go!
At the construction site, there are seven intact garden gnomes positioned around the large red crystals, along with pickaxes and lanterns.

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?!"

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."

Plan 9
When speaking to Dr. Mobius, he will mention having to implement Plan 9. Without the trait, he says "Plan C."

Kilroy Was Here
As one exits 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."

Seymour
A petrified corpse 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.

North Rawr
When crafting the Fist of Rawr, it will be renamed Fist of the North Rawr.

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

Credits
The credits appear differently with the trait, listed in the game files as "CreditsWacky."

Behind the scenes

 * In an interview on Gametrailers, Chris Avellone noted 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 within the game's tone. Sawyer was also worried that if it was flipped on and off through the use of console commands, it would cause bugs, so he made the decision to have Wild Wasteland as an optional trait.
 * Justin Bell was responsible for creating and implementing the Wild Wasteland musical sound effect.

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.
 * After removing the Wild Wasteland perk in The Sink, the poker playing dogs will revert to the non-Wild Wasteland state, even if previously visited the X-8 facility.