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New California Republic Overview “Welcome to Camp Searchlight, the shittiest place on Earth.”— Private Edwards
Camp Searchlight is an irradiated former NCR military camp in the Mojave Wasteland.
Background
Searchlight was originally a Pre-War gold mining town.[1] A convoy of flatbed trucks transporting nuclear waste from San Onofre were diverted to Searchlight for safety reasons when the Great War occurred.[2][Pub 1] Local police directed two of the trucks to the fire station and a third headed towards Cottonwood Cove due to lack of space at the station.[2][Pub 1]
Camp Searchlight was established when the New California Republic deployed in force to the Mojave, and became an obstacle for Caesar's Legion due to its size and location.[Pub 2] Instead of attacking it outright, Vulpes Inculta used NCR patrol gaps to their advantage and sent in recruit legionaries, directing them to open the nuclear waste containers.[Pub 2][3][4] The plan succeeded, irradiated the area to the point that Camp Searchlight could no longer serve as a military base, and prompting Caesar to establish additional presence at Cottonwood Cove.[Pub 2][5][6] Those who were not killed by the radiation turned into feral ghouls and glowing ones.
NCR First Sergeant Astor states that he survived because he was out on patrol when the attack took place.[7] He states that several soldiers including his superiors who survived the initial attack have since died due to radiation poisoning or subsequent Legion attacks.[7] The remaining survivors join him at a recon camp to the northwest, patrolling the area in an effort to warn travelers before they get too close to the former camp.[8][9][10]
Publications
“As an unfortunate twist of fate would have it, a convoy of flatbed trucks transporting nuclear waste from San Onofre was passing through Searchlight when the Great War broke out. Local police directed the drivers to temporarily park their vehicles in the fire department, but no one ever came back to retrieve them. There they sat in their extremely sturdy solid steel spent fuel flasks for over 200 years. The NCR recently set up a sizable base here; but this was a major obstacle for Caesar’s Legion due to its size and clear view of the surrounding desert. When it became obvious that a direct assault would not prove fruitful, Vulpes Inculta sent in some spies to learn more about the situation. After he learned about the radioactive waste being stored in the fire station, he ordered some unwitting legionaries to open the containers. Though the legionaries died almost instantly, the sacrifice produced a massive wave of death and ghoulification among NCR troops that effectively destroyed Camp Searchlight as a viable military base.”— Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide/Tour of the Mojave Wasteland
Layout
Searchlight is located at the intersection of Nevada 164 and Highway 95. In the Searchlight church basement, Logan and a few prospectors are looting the town on a contract from the Crimson Caravan Company. Private Edwards is hiding in a house near the church.
The NCR set up defensive turrets near the police station, behind the fire station and on the intersection just south of it, and under the Cottonwood Cove Road bridge passing over Highway 95. Terminals nearby control the turrets. Astor's Recon Camp is located on the outskirts of the town to the northeast, the base of surviving NCR troopers that patrol the area.
The fire station is locked, with keys carried by Logan. A radscorpion queen and several radscorpions are located inside. Golden geckos inhabit the Searchlight Elementary School. To the west is a trailer park.
Locations
Inhabitants
| Image | Name | Dialogue | Editor ID | Form ID |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
First Sergeant Astor | CampSearchlightAstor.txt | CampSearchlightAstor | 0013FE78 |
|
Kyle Edwards | CampSearchlightPvtEdwards.txt | CampSearchlightPvtEdwards | 0013FE79 |
|
Logan (Fallout: New Vegas) | CampSearchlightLogan.txt | CampSearchlightLogan | 0013FE7A |
|
Training dummy | 0014BE0A |
Loot
- Chinese Army: Special Ops Training Manual - In the east church's basement, by the eastern wall, at the foot of the metal shelves, on the floor.
- Knock-Knock - Unique fire axe in the right hand corner of the bathroom stall with the skeleton in it, upstairs in the Searchlight fire station. This is only obtainable after starting the quest Wheel of Fortune or killing Logan and taking the key.
- Seven fire helmets - In the fire station, with five on the ground floor shelves, one upstairs in the chief's office on a shelf, and one in the bathroom stall where Knock-Knock is found.
- Sunset Sarsaparilla Star Bottle Cap - In the fire station. Upstairs in the northeast corner of the kitchen area, on a table next to two empty bottles.
- Legion orders - In the fire station, found on two recruit legionaries in the garage.
- NCR computer parts and NCR radio parts - In the police station, the quest items for Wheel of Fortune.
Three Holy Frag Grenades - In the Searchlight church basement. If the Wild Wasteland perk is not selected, the hand grenades will appear as two mini nukes.
Related quests
Notes
- Searchlight firetrucks appear in the Divide, in the add-on Lonesome Road.
- If the Courier follows Vulpes Inculta's group from Nipton, they will pass by here and fight the NCR troops.
- The background music is City of the Dead which was originally used for Necropolis in Fallout, as well as Navarro and Vault 15 in Fallout 2.
Appearances
Camp Searchlight appears in Fallout: New Vegas.
Behind the scenes
- Searchlight is a real world location in Clark County, Nevada.
- Denise McMurry designed the location and wrote all the logs, based on the basic high-level design document by Joshua Sawyer.[Dev 1]
Bugs
Logan will not talk with the player character. Also, he does not have the key when pickpocketed or killed, if having already killed other characters involved in obtaining Knock-Knock. If killed before killing Boxcars while on the Wheel of Fortune quest, his body should have both keys on it.[verified]- If the player character discovers and raids the supply cave before approaching Logan, it will be impossible to proceed with the quest, only if the 4 radiation suits have been repaired to make one radiation suit already.[verified]
- The back sections of the firetrucks behind the fire station can be clipped through.[verified]
Gallery
Crusin the streets of Searchlight
Aerial view
Western outpost
Water tower on the north side
Roadsign above NV-164
Military trucks on the main drag
Searchlight on the NV 164 street sign
Fire truck decal
Texture
Texture
Texture
Texture
Texture
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References
- ↑ Courier: "What's the history of the camp?"
Kyle Edwards: "I know that this place was originally a mining town before the NCR took it over. I think they mined gold before the war."
(Private Edward's dialogue) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 Camp Searchlight terminals; Chief Fire Officer Terminal, Chief Fire Officer Report No. F1-218
- ↑ Legion orders
- ↑ Camp Searchlight terminal entries; NCR communications terminal, Communications Entry #923
- ↑ Courier: "What happened at Searchlight?"
Hanlon: "Searchlight was worse. One of Caesar's frumentarii must have found something in there, flooded the whole camp with radiation."
(Hanlon's dialogue) - ↑ Courier: "You must be the one in charge here."
Aurelius of Phoenix: "Of course I am, you fool. I am a Centurion! When Vulpes Inculta drove the NCR from Searchlight by clever means, Caesar himself ordered me to set up this camp and harass the Profligates! It's a modest presence, a single finger of the Legion reaching across the river's narrows. But with me here, it has an iron knuckle."
(Aurelius of Phoenix's dialogue) - ↑ 7.0 7.1 Courier: "How did you survive?"
First Sergeant Astor: "I was out on patrol at the time so I wasn't in the camp when it happened. There were a few others with me after it happened, including some of my superiors. Between radiation poisoning and attacks by the Legion they all died out."
(Astor's dialogue) - ↑ First Sergeant Astor's log
- ↑ Astor: "Hang on there, traveler. You'll want to steer clear of this place - the whole town is irradiated to high hell."
(Astor's dialogue) - ↑ Courier: "If the area is filled with radiation, why are you still here?"
First Sergeant Astor: "I was stationed at Camp Searchlight before the incident. I've since taken it upon myself to keep travelers away from the area."
(Astor's dialogue)
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide/Tour of the Mojave Wasteland p. 421: "Camp Searchlight: As an unfortunate twist of fate would have it, a convoy of flatbed trucks transporting nuclear waste from San Onofre was passing through Searchlight when the Great War broke out. Local police directed the drivers to temporarily park their vehicles in the fire department, but no one ever came back to retrieve them. There they sat in their extremely sturdy solid steel spent fuel flasks for over 200 years."
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide/Tour of the Mojave Wasteland p. 421: "Camp Searchlight: The NCR recently set up a sizable base here; but this was a major obstacle for Caesar's Legion due to its size and clear view of the surrounding desert. When it became obvious that a direct assault would not prove fruitful, Vulpes Inculta sent in some spies to learn more about the situation. After he learned about the radioactive waste being stored in the fire station, he ordered some unwitting legionaries to open the containers. The legionaries died near instantly, their sacrifice producing a massive wave of death and ghoulification among NCR troops that effectively destroyed Camp Searchlight as a viable military base."
- ↑ Question "Whose idea was Searchlight? I like the backstory a lot, particularly the pre-war part."
Joshua Sawyer: "I wrote the basic high-level design documents for all major locations in the game. For Searchlight the high-level design for the back story was essentially "Guys carrying waste from San Onofre stop in Searchlight when war breaks out, local police tell them to park the trucks in the fire department, one takes off for Cottonwood Cove hoping to get as far away from the blast centers as possible." Denise McMurry did all of the actual "for real" area design for Searchlight including writing all of the logs for the area."
J.E. Sawyer on Formspring (Archived)
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