So I got my status with the Powder Gang to "Hated" through helping the good folks at Goodsprings and by killing some other Powder Gangers in the wasteland, yet when I got to the NCR Correctional Facility I was still able to buy my way in and do some quests for their leader.

Should I be able to do that if they hate me or is there a worse faction rating I would have needed to have?

Strange, after I helped goodsprings, the NCRCF was 100% hostile to me.

You can be "Vilified", then they'll shoot on sight (or as soon as you try to initiate dialogue, in my case).

About the only thing that's bothering me about this game is how killing random Grunt Y in the middle of the wasteland is noteworthy enough that I can raid a small encampment and have an entire faction at-large now hostile to me. I feel like there's some [censored] with binoculars following me around and then scurrying off to tattle on me to every faction leader in the Wastes. In quests it's one things, but just on the road? The wasteland's a dangerous place. Sometimes your goons are going to bite the dust. Why you gotta hold such a grudge like that?

What's worse is that there's a glitch when you are trying to go into the NCRCF disguised as a Powder Ganger. The door guard will agree to let you in, but if you have a negative reputation... there's a chance that script will take priority and he'll instantly turn on you after the dialog is over. Also, the initial dialog with him is scripted upon entry of the gated area. I tried to sneak in there with a Stealth boy on at night and he somehow "saw" me enough to initiate a dialog.

They ham-handed the reputation system in this game, badly. Modders will probably have to be the ones to fix it.

You know, I was wondering this very same thing. Even though I was apparently "hated" by the powder gangers I bribed my way into the jail and visited a few of their camps with absolutely no confrontation. Which was a shame because I really wanted to wipe out everyone in that jail! I was beginning to think the reputation feature was bugged on my game but then i noticed every time I wandered into a powder gangers camp all those dudes kept making statements about how "no law-man is ever gonna take me down" or something to that effect.

Then it occurred to me that I was wearing a sheriff's duster and sheriff's hat that I found. So I guess, as they say, clothes really do make the man.

To be honest, I keep forgetting the whole reputation thing until it's too late. Last night I sneaked up on the NCRCF and started picking off Powder Gangers, just like FO3 and Talon Company. After taking out a couple guys in towers and the guys at the door, I was rudely reminded of it when I was informed that I was now "vilified"...lesson learned.

Ah, so maybe if I took them out in there it woul.d Villify me. I just thought it was odd, even though I wiped them all out in Primm as well I'm still just "Hated".