Classic Inspiration is a side quest in Fallout: New Vegas.
Quick walkthrough[]
| Side Quest: Classic Inspiration | |||||
| Speak with Michael Angelo in his workshop on the Strip. | |||||
| Use the Codac R9000 to take pictures of: the Dinky the T-Rex statue in Novac, the McCarran Airfield sign, the HELIOS One logo, the Bison Steve Hotel's sign in Primm and the Sunset Sarsaparilla headquarters' bottle statue. | |||||
| Return to Michael Angelo on the Strip. | |||||
| Reward: 500 caps (additional 150 caps per photo) 950 XP Strip fame | |||||
Detailed walkthrough[]
Artist's block[]
The quest is started by talking to the eponymous owner of Michael Angelo's workshop, Michael Angelo, located in the southernmost section of the Strip across from the NCR Embassy; Angelo is typically located either in his room in the north end of the ground floor or on the catwalks above the main chamber. When first speaking with him, the artist will suspect the player character of working for Mr. House and bringing new requests for signage from him (this happens regardless of whether one actually sides with House during the main story). One can say they are not, or pass a 40 Speech skill check to lie and claim that they are, then pass either a 45 Speech or Repair check to persuade him to offer a bribe, for which a final 55 Speech check must be passed to unlock the option to gain a bonus of 300 caps. At any time, even after the final Speech check, one can choose to pass it off as a joke, declining the caps, and move on. One can return to the extortion dialogue again by passing a separate 50 Speech check.
Michael then reveals more about himself, including his previous name of Sheldon, being Sarah Weintraub's brother and once living in Vault 21 prior to its takeover by Mr. House, then onto the steady decline of his artistic output due to some unknown issue with his "inspiration." One can pass a 55 Medicine skill check to offer a medical diagnosis of acute agoraphobia, to which Michael asks for suggestions on how to get around his disorder to recapture his inspiration. Of the options available, the suggestion to escort him through the wasteland will continue the rest of the quest. Michael decries the thought of leaving his workshop, but then hits on the idea to have the player character do the sight-seeing for him by taking pictures of notable Mojave landmarks to use in his creative process.
He offers up the use of an old Codac R9000 for taking the pictures along with some camera film to load it with (if one somehow runs out of film before getting all the pictures, Michael can be asked for more). An optional dialogue will confirm with Michael that he will pay 150 caps per photo taken and brought back to him.
Picturing the Mojave[]
Michael suggests a total of five locations that he wants to get pictures of from the player character, consisting of:
- The World's 2nd Largest Thermometer, held in the arms of Dinky the T-Rex in Novac.
- The neon bison sign on the roof of the Bison Steve Hotel in Primm.
- The wrecked neon sign over the entrance at McCarran Airport.
- The sign over the main doors at HELIOS One.
- The Sunset Sarsaparilla bottle statue built over the main entrance of the Sunset Sarsaparilla headquarters.
Using the Codac R9000, when a picture is successfully taken of one of the above landmarks, the player character can return and receive 150 caps, while returning with all pictures taken will garner a total 500 caps. Additionally, successful photos grant increasing, small amounts of XP at 100, 125, 150, 175, and 200 respectively. Once Michael is given all five landmarks photos, he will thank the player character for their help restoring his inspiration, completing the quest with an additional 200 XP, for a total of 950 XP and gaining Strip fame.
Quest stages[]
Notes[]
- Michael can still be asked for more camera film even after completing the quest despite it and the Codac R9000 no longer having any use.
- In the case of the Sunset Sarsaparilla bottle statue at the headquarters, it is only required to get close enough for the label on the bottle to appear (go between the street lamp and New Vegas wall past the old Poesidon gas station from McCarran). One does not have to walk all the way to the building or across the highway. It is a bit harder to accomplish trying to do the same for the McCarran sign, as it is a much smaller target.
- If Sarah Weintraub is killed at any point before or during Classic Inspiration, the quest will be failed. Michael will not continue the conversation after she has died.
- After triggering Don't Tread on the Bear! during the main story, it is very likely to run into an NCR military police that will attack when returning to receive the reward.
- If one successfully extorted Michael during the first meeting, completing the quest may no longer be possible.
Behind the scenes[]
This quest was designed by Jorge Salgado; it was one of the first pieces of content that he worked on for the game.[Non-game 1]
Gallery[]
References[]
Non-game
