Sierra Madre vending machines are pre-War devices developed at the Big MT, which dispense and redeem numerous items in exchange for Sierra Madre chips. They can be found throughout the Sierra Madre, and one is found in Elijah's quarters in the abandoned Brotherhood of Steel bunker.
Contents
Background
Created at Big MT at the Y-0 research center, the development of the Sierra Madre vending machines was bankrolled by Frederick Sinclair after witnessing them at a World's Fair exhibit.[1] Willing to bankrupt himself for these devices, Sinclair also struck a deal with the company's executives to use the Villa as a proving ground for various Big MT experimental technologies.[2] The devices he commissioned were intended not just as vending machines, but as emergency dispensers supplying food and resources to ration out in the event of a nuclear holocaust.[3] The machines were also capable of outputting special supplies, such as chems and security and maintenance equipment, restricted with dispenser codes issued only to trained professionals and doctors.[4]
Although Sinclair described them as the means for self-sufficiency for the Madre, others felt that they were a means to ensure that any money spent at the casino would line Sinclair's pockets,[5] especially with the ban on all other vending machines.[6][7] To his employees, the vending machines felt like a company store, as they could barely afford anything with the modest amount of chips they received along with their paycheck.[8]
The Great War and the isolation of the Madre resulted in the vending machines becoming the only known surviving examples of the underlying technology. They remained in the ruins of the Sierra Madre. Around 2281, they attracted the attention of a rogue elder of the Brotherhood of Steel, Elijah. As potentially unlimited sources of "food, supplies, medical assistance, ammo... even currency," Elijah saw that the Sierra Madre "can kill nations and build them" if its Cloud, holograms and vending machines were applied in the correct manner. While the Cloud wipes the slate clean, collars ensure cooperation, holograms provide defense and the vending machines provide everything else.[9]
Principle of operation
At the heart of the machine is a revolutionary pre-War technology that never achieved much commercial success outside the occasional World Fair or the Sierra Madre: The vending machine is a self-contained matter transformation device. It can recreate any item (limited by the templates stored in its memory; emergency codes could be used to unlock additional templates, for medical supplies and other restricted items)[10][11][12][13] by using Sierra Madre chips and the alloy they are made from 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.[14]
As the chips are not some form of nanotech feedstock, but simple alloys of common and fissionable elements[15] (which can be easily manufactured out of common junk, 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.[9]
Characteristics
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 additional items in quantities only limited by the Courier's supply of chips.
Food
| Item | Chip Cost | Holotape Location |
|---|---|---|
| BlamCo Mac & Cheese | -5 | |
| Dandy Boy Apples | -5 | |
| Fancy Lads Snack Cakes | -5 | |
| InstaMash | -5 | |
| Junk food | -5 | |
| Pork n' Beans | -5 | |
| Potato Crisps | -5 | |
| Salisbury Steak | -5 | |
| Scotch (note) | -10 | Sierra Madre Casino & Resort security office on a metal shelf |
| Sugar Bombs | -5 | |
| Vodka (note) | -10 | Sierra Madre casino floor countertop behind a Very Easy locked door |
| Wine (note) | -10 | Sierra Madre casino floor behind the bar on top of a shelf |
| YumYum Deviled Eggs | -5 |
Misc
| Item | Chip Cost | Holotape Location |
|---|---|---|
| Pack of cigarettes | -10 | |
| (Return) pack of cigarettes | +5 | |
| (Return) carton of cigarettes | +20 | |
| (Return) pre-War casualwear | +4 | Can be found in multiple cash registers scattered around the villa and casino |
| (Return) dirty pre-War casualwear | +2 | |
| (Return) Fedora | +3 | |
| (Return) pre-War parkstroller outfit | +4 | |
| (Return) dirty pre-War parkstroller outfit | +2 | |
| (Return) pre-War relaxedwear | +4 | |
| (Return) dirty pre-War relaxedwear | +2 | |
| (Return) pre-War spring outfit | +4 | |
| (Return) dirty pre-War spring outfit | +2 | |
| Free chips | +1,000, -1 complimentary voucher | Win 7,500 chips in the Sierra Madre casino |
Weapons
| Item | Chip Cost | Holotape Location |
|---|---|---|
| Demolition charge | -75 | Puesta Del Sol North Service Tunnel by accessing the terminal in the corner or Puesta del Sol South 2F near the two lounge chairs. |
| Auto. rifle upgr. internals | -250 | Puesta Del Sol South, on the roof where the Courier leaves Dean Domino before activating the Gala Event |
| Bear trap fist HD springs | -250 | Salida del Sol South, in switch room where the Courier leaves Dog/God, near some pipes on the right) |
| Holorifle adv. calibration | -125 | Puesta Del Sol South, atop the central building, among a pile of drained microfusion cells |
| Holorifle focus optics | -175 | Salida del Sol North, belltower, along with super stimpak code |
| Holorifle reinf. components | -100 | Puesta del Sol Switching Station, near the elevator and "remote maintenance terminal" |
Aid
| Item | Chip Cost | Holotape Location |
|---|---|---|
| Doctor's bag | -55 | |
| Med-X | -20 | Villa clinic (second floor doctor's computer terminal) the area nearby will have a hologram patrol |
| Rad-X | -20 | 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 |
| RadAway | -20 | Salida del Sol North, bell tower district, southeast area, behind a counter in the room with a 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 del Sol North |
| Stimpak | -25 | Villa clinic, on the lower floor in the check-in area on the main desk |
| Super stimpak | -100 | Salida del Sol North, inside the belltower on a ledge near to the light controls |
| Weapon repair kit | -20 | 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 |
Ammunition
| Item | Chip Cost | Holotape Location |
|---|---|---|
| .357 Magnum round (12) | -24 | 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) |
| .308 round (20) | -60 | Villa police station male restroom |
Chems
| Item | Chip Cost | Holotape Location |
|---|---|---|
| Buffout | -20 | Puesta del Sol South through a ground level hole in the wall east of the ruined cafe entrance next to cash register |
| Mentats | -20 | Villa clinic right across from the chief physician's office on the bottom shelf with a TV and typewriter on top of it. |
| Steady | -20 | Police station entryway on the coffee table right when the Courier walks in |
Locations
- Villa - East of Elijah's fountain.
- Villa - West of Father Elijah's fountain.
- Villa - Southwest of the entrance to Salida del Sol south.
- Salida del Sol south - South end of the area.
- Residential District - Turn right (or west) upon entering.
- 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 the eastern entrance (near ruined store), go southwest and turn north after the arch. Or, entering from the western entrance (near the ruined cafe), head south, and turn east after the arch.
- Sierra Madre lobby - East of the entrance, on the second floor.
- Sierra Madre Casino & Resort - Entering from the double door entrance of the Sierra Madre lobby, walk around the stairs.
- The Tampico - North of the inaccessible double doors.
- Sierra Madre executive suites - Two at either end of the hall outside Vera's room.
- In the abandoned Brotherhood of Steel bunker, in Father Elijah's room.
- Sierra Madre vault - To left of the table with the gold bars and pre-War money.
Notes
- 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.
- The Sierra Madre vending machines will not accept returns of sexy sleepwear, pre-War bonnets, baseball caps, hats or pre-War businesswear, despite these items being commonly found alongside other, returnable articles of clothing.
- It seems that pre-War hats were intended to be a returnable item, as with the outfit return code there is an option to return fedoras, and the pre-War hat is a fedora style of hat. However the actual fedora is a non-playable item only worn by Jay Barnes and the Mysterious Stranger.
- 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 of the destroyed Y-0 facility.
- According to Dean Domino, the Sierra Madre vending machine technology was common 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.
Appearances
The Sierra Madre vending machine appears only in the Fallout: New Vegas add-on Dead Money.
Behind the scenes
 | The following is based on Fallout: New Vegas cut content. |
|---|
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.
| End of information based on Fallout: New Vegas cut content. |
|---|
Bugs
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]- 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 reequipping the weapon. [verified]
- Even though the glitch will increase Agility past 10, the base Agility stat will remain the same in the Pip-Boy due to clothes acting as a temporary increase to SPECIAL, not a permanent increase like an implant.
- Equipping and unequipping a copy of each returned outfit will remove the stacked agility bonus respective to each outfit return code; e.g. If you have a +4 Agility boost from returning a parkstroller outfit and pre-War casualwear, if you equip and unequip a copy of the pre-War casualwear it will remove the +2 agility provided by that particular outfit, but leave the +2 provided by the parkstroller outfit.
References
- ↑ Villa police station terminal entries; terminal, Dispenser Report
- ↑ Y-0 research center terminals; Terminal, Dispenser Funding Update
- ↑ Y-0 research center terminals; Terminal, Requisition Order: Dispensers
- ↑ The Courier: "What other items can you get out of the machines?"
Dean Domino: "If it's an emergency, you can get chems for any... uh... condition. Sinclair left that for doctors and trained professionals, not the common folk. Even security and maintenance could get special supplies out of them. Staff had codes on little cards they could use to unlock them."
(Dean Domino's dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "I've never seen machines like those before."
Dean Domino: "Yeah, well, machines like those weren't unusual before the Bomb. Maybe to you, they're amazing, to me, they're grifters without the personality."
The Courier: "Grifters?"
Dean Domino: "Sinclair made sure if you spent money here, it went one direction - although that's not how he described it."
The Courier: "How did he describe it?"
Dean Domino: "Called it "self-sufficient." Like he was doing the residents a favor. Right."
(Dean Domino's dialogue) - ↑ Dead Money loading screens: "Sinclair forbade any other food or vending machines in the Villa beyond the ones he'd installed there."
- ↑ The Courier: "I don't believe you."
Elijah: "You think I wanted to send you here without weapons, healing? No, the Sierra Madre lays you bare, strips and stores all your worldly possessions... It's automated to move things as the builder saw fit, Sinclair - even the guests. It's what divided your team, me, assigned us to "our floors." No contraband, nothing foreign in his paradise - even common Pre-War vending machines were banned from the Villa."
(Elijah's dialogue) - ↑ Villa police station terminals; Terminal, Vending Machine Installation
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 The Courier: "If you secure that, that's all you want?"
Elijah: "No, there is one last thing I want from the Sierra Madre. Its bounty. The machines that fill its streets, its corridors. They provide, provide almost anything. Perhaps in the Pre-War era, they were commonplace, things to dismiss. Now, they are far more valuable. You know it. They helped keep you alive."
The Courier: "I can't argue that."
Elijah: "Sources of food, supplies... medical assistance, ammo... make more collars, even print currency. Make a nation. The Cloud allows me to wipe the slate clean. Collars ensure cooperation. Holograms - defense. The Vending Machines provide... everything else. The Sierra Madre can kill nations and build them, using its technology with the right applications."
(Elijah's dialogue) - ↑ Villa clinic terminal entries; Download Dispenser Code: Med-X
- ↑ Dead Money loading screens: "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."
- ↑ Puesta del Sol terminals; Terminal, Special Orders
- ↑ The Courier: "What are the Vending Machines all over town?"
Dean Domino: "Those little company stores? Sinclair's toy boxes, put in a casino chip, get a treat, like you're some dog doing tricks. Take any of the casino chips, put 'em into the machine, and you'll get something out - a snack, a cola, something to mend a tear in your shirt. Sometimes you have to know exactly what to ask for, other times, there's codes for... eh, unconventional items. For emergencies."
(Dean Domino's dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "What are the Vending Machines in the Villa?"
Elijah: "Assembly stations. Schematics are stored within... dispensers with unlock codes. They use the Chips scattered around as batteries... alloys and raw material embedded in the shell. They resemble the vending machines of the Mojave, but they are crafting devices of tremendous versatility. Once an Old World convenience, now... ...now, they are a means of survival. Use the Chips to power them. Select from the holographic display, the device will assemble it."
(Elijah's dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "You need a battery... a Fission Battery... and Scrap Metal? And you can counterfeit the chips?"
Christine Royce: [She nods, impressed. Then she points at you, then her and makes a circle.]
(Christine Royce's dialogue)
