That Lucky Old Sun is a side quest and achievement/trophy in Fallout: New Vegas.
Quick walkthrough[]
| Side Quest: That Lucky Old Sun | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reach HELIOS One north of Novac and speak with Lt. Haggerty; pass a 30 Speech/Science skill check or Liked NCR reputation check to gain entry. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Find and speak with the "idiot in sunglasses" Fantastic and the Follower, Ignacio Rivas to learn about reactivating the power plant. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Acquire and use the reflector control terminal passwords with the marked terminals around the mirror yard to reconnect the plant mainframe. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Enter the solar collection tower and repair the mainframe generator. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reactivate the Mister Handy, PYTHON to repair the generator by using a Poseidon Energy employee ID card or passing a 45 Science check | Pass a 35 Repair check to use one scrap metal to repair the generator directly. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Use the plant mainframe to decide where to send the power. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Send power to McCarran and the Strip | Send power to Fremont and Westside | Send power to the full region | Send power to arm ARCHIMEDES II | Send power to the full region (emergency level) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Optional) Arm the ARCHIMEDES I plant security system to wipe out the NCR garrison. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reward: NCR fame | Reward: (Small) Followers fame | Reward: (Large) Followers fame | Reward: Quest completion NCR infamy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Exit to the top of the tower and use the console to realign the reflector panels. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Return to Fantastic. | Return to Ignacio. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reward: 350 XP. | Reward: 350 XP, 3 stimpaks and 2 doctor's bags. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Detailed walkthrough[]
The quest is started by traveling to the HELIOS One power plant, located north of Novac and the Gibson scrap yard; talking to Old Lady Gibson at the latter will provide a map icon and information on its history including once being under the control of the Mojave chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel. Approaching from the south leads to the main entrance and the NCR checkpoint, with the commanding officer, Lt. Haggerty standing out front. Approaching causes her to stop and question the player character about their reason for coming:
- Choosing one of two basic responses will anger Haggerty and demand they leave, requiring passing one of two skill checks to prevent the NCR from turning hostile:
- Pass a Smiling Troublemaker NCR reputation check to offer support.
- Equip NCR armor and pass a 35 Speech check to lie about being a trooper; failing the Speech check will turn the NCR hostile.
- Attack and kill all NCR members (will incur NCR infamy and Karma loss).
However the player character gains clearance from Haggerty to enter the plant, she suggests they go to talk to the "idiot wearing sunglasses" about restoring the power.
An alternative start to the quest can be found by picking a Very Easy-locked door on the east face of the plant (will incur Karma loss). From there, find and talk with the aforementioned idiot, Fantastic.
Fantastic and Ignacio[]
From the front entrance, turn left to go through a door and ascend stairs to the upper catwalks, following through to a second chamber where a door lit up by a light fixture leads to the back of the plant with a science lab of sorts. Here, one can find the aforementioned idiot, Fantastic, and his assistant Ignacio Rivas who are trying to get the output of the plant up to acceptable levels. Speaking with both, one finds out right away that Fantastic is an opportunist fraud who clearly has no idea what he is doing while scamming the NCR (one can pass a 25 Speech check to threaten him into giving 100 caps to not reveal his scam), whereas Rivas is an actual scientist, acting as a liaison for the Followers of the Apocalypse, and worries that HELIOS was not merely a power plant, but a site for the development of pre-War military weapons that he wants kept out of the wrong hands. While Fantastic's incompetence has kept the NCR from looking too closely, Rivas knows that the sooner the plant is reactivated and they get the power they want, the less risk that they'll find out something dangerous.
Together, Fantastic and Rivas explain that to get the plant running as the NCR requested, the mirror control systems need to be connected to the mainframe and then the reflector mirrors behind the plant retargeted from the mainframe terminal in the solar collection tower. The two mirror control terminals require a password, with both holding one for each of the two mirror control terminals. Fantastic will give the western reflector control terminal password once he's told the player character is going to look into the tower, to which he demands they send the power to Camp McCarran and the New Vegas Strip because that's what the NCR wants. Note: Fantastic's password copy does not reside in his inventory and it cannot be pickpocketed; it must be obtained either in dialogue or finding the physical copy in a footlocker on the second floor.
Rivas' trust[]
While Fantastic makes it clear that he will only help the player character as far as he can profit off their success doing his job, getting into Rivas' good graces will both garner the second password and determine the quality of rewards received from him at the end of the quest.
To start, one must never choose "I'm with the NCR" when asked which group they fight for/belong to, nor select "War" when asked if they are a maker of war or peace; other than that, any other option available will gain his trust. Once Rivas' trust is gained, talking to him further and mentioning that the NCR sent them to power on the plant leads to Ignacio suggesting they do as asked but ensure that the power be diverted to supply the full region rather than only to help the NCR. He will then provide the eastern reflector control terminal password. One can also ask additional questions about Rivas' knowledge of the plant including the previous Brotherhood occupation, and information about the Followers of the Apocalypse.
If one successfully gained Rivas' trust during the first quest stage, then after diverting the power, a "Go talk to Ignacio" objective will appear and one of a few possible rewards will be gained depending on the choice made to send the power; the best reward including the Big Book of Science is only gained by following his suggestion to send power to the full region (the standard option and not the emergency level option).
Failing to gain Rivas' trust will immediately lock out any potential reward at the quest's end, no matter what other dialogue options are selected or actions done later. Likewise, even if one gained his trust, one has to mention that they were sent by the NCR to reactivate the plant before diverting the power in order for the objective to talk to him to appear and a reward gained.
Rivas will only give the player character his password if they gain his trust by professing to be peaceful (or at least not trying to get involved, both available if the Courier states they only work for themselves), states that they want what he wants (must know Rivas is with the Followers, requiring a Speech check or Confirmed Bachelor perk), or if the player character claims to be with the Brotherhood of Steel. This may only be done in the first conversation. One can also pickpocket the password from him, or a duplicate password can be found with Fantastic's copy in a second-floor office, lying on a desk.
Reflector alignment[]
Once one has both passwords, exit the plant through the nearby door close to the science lab to access the mirror yard surrounded by the perimeter fence. Both marked terminals are inside small shacks on the outer perimeter of the mirror field. The western terminal requires the password obtained from Fantastic while the eastern terminal can be unlocked with the password obtained from Ignacio Rivas or from the office of the main building on the second floor by the room with the giant hole in the floor (take an immediate right after entering through the main door) if Rivas' trust was not gained; the Hard-locked terminal can also be hacked with 75 Science.
The western shack has multiple traps, including three frag mines, a rigged shotgun with a tripwire and two bear traps. Once the traps have been disarmed or avoided, the terminal just needs to be activated and "Reset Mainframe Connection" selected.
The eastern shack is surrounded by a smaller fence and protected by several hostile NCR guard dogs. Killing them has no impact on NCR reputation and will not turn anyone nearby hostile. Activate it just like the first, by selecting "Reset Mainframe Connection."
With the reflector controls reconnected to the mainframe, one must now enter the solar collection tower in order to decide the direction of the power output. Enter the tower via an east-facing door near the base.
Note: There are several damaged panels lying around the mirror yard that require a 20 Repair skill level to salvage the solar array parts required to repair the Nellis array for the Boomers during Sunshine Boogie.
Climbing the sun tower[]
Just past the door and a short hallway is an area with three hostile turrets and hostile robots. In a room just across from the entrance is an Easy-locked terminal that controls the turrets. This same room also has four armed land mines. One must then wind through the rest of the building, destroying many robots along the way, until arriving at an elevator in the basement that takes the player character to the observation level. Along the way is a Poseidon Energy employee ID card; one can find a total of two lying on the floor in a room adjacent to the room with the elevator. There is a door in the elevator room with an Average-level lock that leads to the room with the IDs, or one can go back through a room filled with Protectrons and down a hall to reach the back door of the room. Combat with the aforementioned Protectrons can be avoided as they are contained in shielded charging stations until activated by a laser trip-wire at the base of the door to the room containing them; disabling the tripwire requires passing an 85 Repair or 65 Science skill check.
The observation level contains little of note besides the mainframe console itself and the stairs needed to reach the exit door to the outer viewing deck. Presently, the mainframe is not working because it does not have enough power as the attached generator is malfunctioning and needs repairs. One can repair the generator (which is connected to the mainframe by a steaming hose) directly by either obtaining one piece of scrap metal (found on any of the multiple Protectrons encountered earlier) and passing a 35 Repair skill check or, if the Repair check fails, go up the stairs to find the maintenance Mister Handy, PYTHON inactive in its pod; the robot can be reactivated by using either the Poseidon Energy employee ID card or passing a 45 Science check. Once activated, the robot will travel to the generator to make the repairs and then deactivate.
Rerouting the power[]
Once the repairs are made and the generator is power the mainframe again, accessing the attached terminal and choosing Configure Power Grid brings up the list of options to send the plant's power output, consisting of 5 options that each garner an associated reward depending on whether one gained Ignacio Rivas' trust earlier:
- McCarran and Las Vegas Strip: Direct the extra power toward Camp McCarran and the Strip, to be transferred to the NCR home states along with the energy generated at Hoover Dam. Choosing this option will garner NCR fame, but no reward from Rivas (if he trusts the player character).
- Fremont and Westside: Direct the power to the poorer areas of New Vegas where the Followers of the Apocalypse reside, though Rivas mentions that it doesn't help as many people as it could. Choosing this option garners a small amount of Followers fame.
- Full region: Distribute the power to the entire regional grid equally, however as a result everyone will only get a small amount of energy and the plant will suffer frequent brownouts. Choosing this option garners a large amount of Followers fame and Rivas (if he trusts the player character) will reward a copy of Big Book of Science, 3 stimpaks and 2 doctor's bags.
- ARCHIMEDES II: Direct the power to the ARCHIMEDES II next-generation orbital laser weapon system. Because the weapon is unregistered in the plant's system, Rivas will be pleased that the NCR will never discover the secret, however, he will also not reward the copy of Big Book of Science.
- Full region (Emergency Output Level): Maxes out the plant's systems to the point of overload, preventing ARCHIMEDES from being activated (see further notes). Choosing this option offers no reputation change with any faction, though Ignacio Rivas will still give a small reward out of sympathy.
Note: After an option is selected to send the power, an additional option appears on the terminal's main menu to arm the ARCHIMEDES I Plant Defense System. If it is chosen, as soon as one activates the reflector control panel on the observation deck, an orbital laser strike will fire on the area around the plant, killing all the NCR personnel in the area. Choosing this option will garner a large amount of NCR infamy and both Fantastic and Ignacio Rivas will refuse to speak with the player character, even if the power is originally sent to their preferred location(s).
Note: Until one activates the reflector control panel on the observation deck, the status of the ARCHIMEDES I defense system and the selected option for diverting the power can be changed.
Note: Sending the power to ARCHIMEDES II will give the player character the option of calling down powerful space-laser strikes once every 24 in-game hours (patch update) only if one has also acquired Euclid's C-Finder from Max in Freeside as well. Both of these prerequisites are also required to fulfill the optional objective of bringing Euclid's C-Finder to the Brotherhood elder with Veronica during her companion quest I Could Make You Care.
Making a choice[]
Once an option is selected (and a choice made with ARCHIMEDES I), the objective will update and direct the player character to exit onto the observation deck in order to realign the reflector array. The control panel is found at the bottom a spiral ramp to the left. Because it is a solar reflector array, one can only activate the controls between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. during daytime; otherwise a message appears saying one needs to wait until the mentioned timeframe.
If the ARCHIMEDES I defense system was armed, there are two different outcomes depending on the selected power grid option:
- If one selected option 5 (Full Region, Emergency Output Level), horns will blare and a warning will play about the imminent weapon test, but shortly thereafter, nothing will happen as everything shuts down. If the player character is trusted by Ignacio Rivas, they get the objective to speak with him and receive a reward for their choice of power distribution, otherwise the quest is completed.
- If one selected any option 1–4 for the power grid, horns blare and warnings sound, and the NCR troopers below gather near the tower base. Shortly thereafter, beams of solar energy fire from the tower's peak and annihilate several of the troopers shortly before a laser-targeting display zeroes in on the mirror yard and unleashes a massive blast that kills all remaining NCR personnel (inside and out) at the plant. The quest ends after the final blast and one garners a large amount of NCR infamy. Fantastic and Ignacio Rivas will still be alive, but will refuse to talk to the player character. If one leaves the power plant and returns after two in-game days, the plant will be occupied by Caesar's Legion, with Fantastic switching sides and killing Rivas as well.
If one did not arm ARCHIMEDES I, the NCR troopers remain alive and in control of the plant, with different outcomes depending on the selected power grid option:
- If one chose anything other than option 1 and did not gain Ignacio Rivas' trust, the quest will complete and garnering XP and no reward.
- If option 1 is selected (McCarran and the Strip), one can talk to Fantastic, who will be thrilled that he can claim all the credit while giving nothing to them, though one will still garner a large amount of NCR fame.
- If option 2 is selected (Fremont and Westside) and one is trusted by Ignacio Rivas, talking to him again garners 3 stimpaks, 2 doctor's bags, and a moderate amount of Followers Fame.
- If option 3 is chosen (Full Region) and one is trusted by Ignacio Rivas, talking to him garners a copy of Big Book of Science, 3 stimpaks, 2 doctor's bags, and a large amount of Followers fame.
- If option 4 is selected (ARCHIMEDES II) and one is trusted by Ignacio Rivas, talking to him garners 2 stimpaks, 1 doctor's bag, and a small amount of Followers fame.
- If option 5 is selected (Full Region, Emergency Output Level) and one is trusted by Ignacio Rivas, talking to him garners 3 stimpaks and 2 doctor's bags, but no reputation change.
Quest stages[]
Notes[]
- In order to avoid glitches and bugs, it is advisable to wait by the reflector control panel at the top of the tower until the entire powering up sequence is done, whether the player character chose to activate the ARCHIMEDES defense system or not.
- If Arcade Gannon is an active companion, after first talking to Fantastic and learning what to do to power up the plant, he will encourage them to distribute the power over the Freeside and Westside districts of New Vegas, saying the NCR does not need it. Passing a 7 Intelligence attribute check allows for convincing Arcade that the NCR needs HELIOS One as a backup (doing so earns one "trust point" towards triggering his companion quest For Auld Lang Syne). He may not say anything if the quest was started before receiving him as a companion. Whatever distribution choice the player character makes, he will comment on it. Arming ARCHIMEDES will cause him to get angry and leave permanently or become hostile, depending on one's response to his confrontation.
- Activating the ARCHIMEDES defense system while having Boone as a companion might cause him to confront the player character and possibly leave or become hostile, depending on the player character's current NCR reputation. This is not unique to HELIOS One; he will confront the player character if their NCR fame/infamy ratio goes below neutral, or if he has warned the player character once about hurting the NCR and their reputation gets worse.
- If the player character did not arm ARCHIMEDES during this quest, they can come back later and arm it, then walk outside and the attack sequence will play (if they did not choose option 5 for the power up during the quest), producing the same infamy gain as if they did it during the quest. However, the NCR troops inside the building will not disappear, nor Haggerty and her troops at the front entrance and all NCR troopers in the area will turn hostile.
- Fantastic can be killed without any loss of NCR reputation.
- If one sides with the Legion and becomes Vilified by the NCR, this quest can still be completed by killing all NCR troopers undetected, while the quest-essential NPCs will not turn hostile.
- Ignacio's dialogue talking about HELIOS One under the Brotherhood serves as one of the triggers for one of ED-E's audio logs during his companion quest ED-E My Love.
- If one uses the resetquest console command to replay the quest in order in activate the reflector control panel and finish the quest, it will be necessary to target the control panel in the console (open console and click on the control panel) and type set bdoneonce to 0.
Behind the scenes[]
- The quest name is a reference to the 1949 song "That Lucky Old Sun" written by Beasley Smith and Haven Gillespie.
- The passwords for the Eastern and Western reflector control terminals can be converted from hexadecimal into ASCII, translating as "My voice is my passport" and "Too many secrets." They serve as a reference to the 1992 film Sneakers, starring Robert Redford, where the phrases were used as computer passwords.
- The namesake of the ARCHIMEDES defense and weapons systems is Archimedes, a philosopher and scientist from Syracuse, Sicily in Ancient Greece. Around 213-212 BC, during the ongoing Siege of Syracuse, he created many military machines to help in the defense against Roman invasion; one of them was said to be a collection of mirrors that concentrated and redirected sunlight onto the Romans' ships, setting them aflame.
- There is an automated system voice that is heard giving the warnings for the ARCHIMEDES test fire during this quest. It works in-game by playing individual sound files, rather than voice lines from dialogue. It is not known who voiced the ARCHIMEDES warning system in these sound files.
 | The following is based on Fallout: New Vegas cut content. |
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- There are unused dialogue lines in the quest record for That Lucky Old Sun, with the exact same transcript as the ARCHIMEDES test fire warnings heard in-game. These cut dialogues are not used in-game, but are voiced by Gwen McGee.
- A number of remaining resources indicate that at one point, this quest included a method for completing it on behalf of the Brotherhood of Steel, allowing them to take over the facility. Among other resources, the quest includes greeting dialogue for Brotherhood guards, indicating their satisfaction at gaining control of HELIOS One. Other unused resources include the guards themselves (FormID 00143924) as well as the corresponding dialogue faction for these guards.
| End of information based on Fallout: New Vegas cut content |
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Bugs[]
If Fantastic is killed before the power is restored, Ignacio Rivas may not provide the quest-ending dialogue option after powering up the plant and the quest cannot be completed. The only way to complete it is to kill Ignacio.[verified]- If the player character goes to Hoover Dam to talk to the Commander before finishing this quest, Fantastic will be there instead of at HELIOS One, making it impossible to finish That Lucky Old Sun. To fix this, the player character must kill Fantastic at Hoover Dam.[verified]
- If the player character chooses to arm ARCHIMEDES, the orbital strike may not activate and all NCR soldiers within the base will become hostile. Arcade Gannon will still leave the player character.[verified]
- If the player character leaves the room after activating PYTHON, but before he fixes the generator, he will be deactivated when walking back inside again and will not perform the fixes.[verified]
- If the Courier obtains the password for the second terminal without talking to Rivas and activates ARCHIMEDES, Rivas will refuse to talk to them afterward and the quest cannot be completed. Killing Rivas completes the quest but no XP or rewards will be given to the Courier.[verified]
- The guard dogs guarding the eastern mainframe may not appear.[verified]
- If the player character speaks to Ignacio Rivas before speaking to Fantastic to learn about realigning the mirrors, Ignacio may not bring up the dialogue to suggest the player character reroute the power to the entire region. This will result in him not acknowledging the player character activating the plant, preventing the player character from receiving Followers fame and ending the quest.[verified]
- Ignacio Rivas will not give the Courier a Big Book of Science for completing That Lucky Old Sun by evenly distributing the power.[verified]
