Novac

Novac is a town in the Mojave Wasteland in 2281.

Background
Before the Great War, this community was a small hamlet built as a refueling and restroom break along Highway 95. Presently, the faded, cracked concrete and peeling buildings give the sense of depression; indeed, Novac is little more than a lonely desert highway motel, a small Brahmin ranch and multiple surrounding buildings that have been fortified for the protection of its inhabitants. Watching over them is the landmark of the area: a giant fabricated dinosaur named Dinky biting off the top of "The World's (2nd) Largest Thermometer". The interior of "Dinky" also serves as the settlement center (a converted gift shop from pre-War times, with a sniper's nest in Dinky's mouth). Dinky is the "attraction" that drew in tourists from both post and pre-War. Most of the locals are friendly folk, though most aren't trusting of outsiders. They appreciate the protection of the NCR, but are afraid of what's going on at the REPCONN Test Site up the road. The local law enforcement, Ranger Andy, is unable to investigate due to an injury, and periodic intrusions by feral ghouls and the odd Viper from the hideout down the road.

Layout
Novac consists of a residential area with several houses, including Jeannie May Crawford's house, the McBride house, No-bark's shack and a house with Novac settlers living in them. There are 3 bungalows inside the motel compound as well, where Ranger Andy and Cliff Briscoe live.

The main part of Novac is the motel area. Here you can find the Dino-Bite Gift Shop, eight motel rooms and the Dino Dee-lite Front Desk, where you can buy a motel room for 100 caps from Jeannie May Crawford. Alternatively, she will give you a room free of charge once you attain Accepted status in Novac. Cliff Briscoe will give this room instead if Jeannie May Crawford dies, likely during the quest One for My Baby.

The Dino Dee-Lite motel room you can acquire is located up the stairs on the immediate left after entering the motel compound. Inside it is a bed and storage facilities that are safe to store your items in. Also, in the bathroom of the motel room is a First aid box.

Across the street from the motel is a gas station with some spare parts, a workbench and a reloading bench. There are two graves you can open with a shovel beside one of the residences that runs parallel to the motel's main building, as well as a kitchen tent that traveling merchants rest in front of. Near the grave site is a shanty that contains a usable workbench. With all graves, walking near them will trigger faint, ghostly whispering.

Appearances
Novac appears only in Fallout: New Vegas.

Behind the scenes

 * Unlike most other towns in the Mojave, Novac has no real-world equivalent. There is a road crossing at US 95 and NV-165 (the road to the real-world location of Nelson, where Novac would be if it existed), but there is nothing there in the real world. However, it has many similarities with Baker, home of the world's largest thermometer, and clearly takes some inspiration from Claude Bell's Dinosaurs.
 * Novac was the first cell developers constructed because it's more advantageous to not build tutorials around areas that you're going to end up scrapping in the end, and due to game engine fluctuations.

Bugs

 * If you push Manny Vargas or Boone onto the teeth of the dinosaur and then do a Ranger Takedown on him, he will fall off of the dinosaur, and then fly back up, creating humorous results.
 * After the 1.6 patch, sections of the motel will not load properly, leaving working doors hanging in empty space.
 * Items stored in the player's hotel room, in the wardrobe & footlocker etc., can be lost with the original junk contents replacing them.