“Where the Vending Machine technology came from is unknown. While they take Sierra Madre Chips, they seem to supply a number of non-commercial services.”— Dead Money loading screen
A revolutionary pre-War technology that never achieved much commercial success outside the occasional world fair or the Sierra Madre. The vending machine is in fact a self-contained matter transformation device. It can recreate any item (limited by the templates stored in its memory) by using Sierra Madre chips as a battery and source of raw material for the created goods. It can also take certain items and transform them back into Sierra Madre chips. Selection is made through a holographic interface that displays the item being purchased.
As the chips are not some form of nanotech feedstock, but simple alloys of common and fissionable elements (see Coin Operator), the machines use nuclear fission/fusion to process this material not only into tools, but edible food and even prescription chems. The machines demonstrate that civilization was on the cusp of unimaginable prosperity when the bombs fell; a truly great height from which to fall.
Sierra Madre vending machines initially only offer food, cigarettes, doctor's bags and redeem cigarettes for chips. However, scattered throughout the Sierra Madre are holotapes that enable the vending machines to dispense more useful items in quantities only limited by the Courier's supply of chips.
Salida del Sol North, leading to the bell tower on the third floor of the only building in the area with three stories. on bookshelf near the "Casino lights carry me home" graffiti in a room with a computer terminal used in the history side quest
Salida del Sol North, bell tower district, southeast area, behind a counter in room with pool-table that the Courier enters from a staircase or the nearby hole in the wall. It's the only way of access to and from the bell tower half of salida sol north.
Villa police station, on top of a file cabinet at the end of a corridor of prison cells, in the same area where Dog is kept, or access the terminal in the accessed in Puesta del Sol south foreman's service tunnels.
Villa police station - When entering the station, located on the desk to the left with the police chief's terminal on it, next to a locked door (unlocked via the terminal)
Residential District - Go up the staircase in front (or south), climb down the stairs on the other side, and climb another staircase adjacent to it. Walk around the wooden balcony overlooking the cloudy area. The vending machine is left (or east) of the staircase on the other side of the building.
Puesta del Sol north - Turn right (or head north) immediately after entering from Villa.
Puesta del Sol south - Entering from eastern entrance (near ruined store), go southwest and turn north after the arch. Or, entering from western entrance (near the ruined cafe), head south, and turn east after the arch.
The codes for scotch, vodka and wine do not work on vending machines outside of the casino area. This includes the vending machine in the Abandoned Brotherhood of Steel bunker.
For every item returned, the Courier will receive +1 in the "Crafted Items" counter.
Although the researchers in Big MT created these machines, they are nowhere to be found in Old World Blues. They are, however, mentioned on a terminal outside the destroyed Y-0 facility.
According to Dean Domino, the Sierra Madre vending machine technology was not uncommon before the war.
New production codes can be created post-War, as evidenced by weapon mods for the Holorifle being produced by the vending machines.
The following is based on Fallout: New Vegas cut content and has not been confirmed by canon sources.
The Old World Blues add-on includes an unused, unscripted, partially implemented version of the Sierra Madre vending machine, likely meant to be placed around the Y-0 research center. Called the "Holo-Vending Machine," the object uses the same shape as the vending machines which appear in Dead Money. Though both the mesh (shape) and textures are included for the object, the mesh file references textures as though they are in the "nvdlc01" folder used by Dead Money, rather than the "nvdlc03" folder used by Old World Blues, making it appear incorrectly if viewed without the Dead Money add-on loaded.
PCPlaystation 3Xbox 360 The "Return Outfit Item" vending machine code includes an option to return fedoras for chips. The fedora is a "non-playable" article of clothing, meaning it cannot normally be obtained, and furthermore does not appear anywhere within Dead Money. [verified]
PCPlaystation 3Xbox 360 Returning any pre-War outfit while wearing it will give a permanent Agility bonus. The bonus can be stacked far beyond 10 Agility and though it stops increasing related skills and AP, weapon draw/holster and reload speed will continue to increase. While running some guns may glitch during the holster animation due to the speed of the animation causing the gun to glitch inside the player character, usually leaving the gun sticking out of the Courier's shoulder. The gun will return to normal if drawing and then holstering again while staying still, or if reequiping the weapon. [verified]
Note: Even though the glitch will increase the Agility to max, the Agility stats will remain the same in SPECIAL due to clothes that are wear items giving that extra bonus of skill. This attribute is not working as an implant.
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