Dear Obsidian,

Thank you for New Vegas.
I have really enjoyed the game and found the narrative (and underlying themes) to be deliciously involving and a good deal more complex than Fallout 3.

That said, perhaps you could answer a question for me, if you have time?

From the beginning I felt that the NCR was a mixed blessing, but a blessing nevertheless. They were focussed on the eventual improvement of life in the wasteland, though at times the ends may not have justified the means.
The NCR were also the only group truly forging a new world from the ashes. They were neither clinging to the last vestiges of the old world, nor delving into the distant past for inspiration, while ignoring the lessons learned from history.
Yes - they got things wrong, but they were merely human and ultimately trying to do good. I could relate to them and loved them for simply making the effort, even if it was not always perfect (or sometimes tragic).

When I put down the Powder-Gangers, shot dead to a man, it was for the NCR.

When I rescued Primm, gained support from the Boomers, and forged an alliance with the Great Kahns, it was for the NCR.

When I brokered a truce with the Brotherhood, made peace with The Kings, and waded into an entire nest of deathclaws at a rock mine, it too was for the NCR.

So what did I do when I discovered the purpose of the Platinum Chip?
I envisioned the battle of Hoover Dam, fought by Securitrons and won without loss of life... For the NCR.
So I deceived Mr House, following his lead only long enough for upgrades to be complete, then shot him - for the NCR - and took control of his army through the robot Yes Man. It was a glorious day! Soon the NCR would be endowed with sufficient military strength to eradicate banditry, protect the roads, and put down Ceasars Legion for good.

I went proudly to Colonel Moore to break the news, but found there was no way to make her listen (or rather, no way to tell her). I tried the ambassador, but he was similarly unreceptive.
In desperation I decided that the only way forward was to win the battle of Hoover Dam, thus demonstrating the power I had brought to bolster their cause.
So I went to the dam with Yes Man.

You probably know what comes next.
At the conclusion of the game I had no choice but to drive off the NCR, along with all the good they could have done, or worse still - to kill them.

Where did I go wrong? What choice did I make that the game interpreted my actions as being opposed to my beloved NCR?
Please, please tell me, so that I might put things right!

Kind (though heartbroken) regards.

You didn't do anything wrong, that's just how everything was scripted. The Devs didn't account for doing what you did.

i'm surprised you're asking. i think the whole yes man path is very clear about how to deal with the ncr from the very first second.
you know, you start the quest by asking what if you wanted to take over new vegas, and not "yes man, how can i use you and the robots as a tool for the ncr?"
it's the independency route, that of course implies the ncr to be driven off the mojave, given their unsatiable greed for power and expansion.
the ncr in that regard is like the legion, they won't stop rolling over everyone, till somebody shows up and defeats them.
the ncr has lots of nice people in their lower ranks, but their leadership more driven by ugly personalities like col. moore(i already have an apc reserved for her, with her name on it, hehehe), and the end credits reflect that quite clearly.

Couldn't have said it better. NCR was the most boring faction in New Vegas.
I rather go with the Yes Man ( or Benny)

Siding with Yes Man means NOT siding with anybody else. It does not mean that you can use him to support another faction.

Yes Man = Independent Vegas.

NCR = NCR Vegas.

You want NCR rule? You support NCR, not Yes Man.

I dunno. It all seems really simple to me. When I chose to go with Yes Man, I knew it was about me taking over Vegas. I knew it was NOT me taking over Vegas just to turn it over to NCR.

You shouldn't have upgraded the Securitrons. The NCR sure as hell don't want you to make their enemies more powerful.

Hmm, OK, I understand in terms of how this has been scripted then, but I'm surprised that the choices are so arbitrary.

I mean, isn't it logical, as an NCR supporter, to think that the Platinum Chip could be used in aid of their cause?
I mean half the game revolves around tracking down Benny because he stole it. There just doesn't seem to be much logic in ignoring the BIGGEST asset you can come upon in the game, for no particular reason, if you decide support the NCR. Surely they'd happily accept a Securitron army as an powerful addition to their ranks?
I'm pretty sure that if, after the battle of Hoover dam, you said "Oh by the way guys, I had a giant Securitron army waiting in the wings, but I decided not to use it because you had plenty of soldiers to throw away..." that the NCR would take fairly significant umbrage.

It is understandable that the Legion wouldn't accept that kind of help - it directly opposes parts of their ideology... But not so the NCR.

Is what I wanted to do really so rare and/or strange?

Your logic is fine, and I have felt similar pain with other games. It's just the sad reality of videogames with choices: they can't program in everyone's choices.

You can argue that your idea was a pretty obvious one they should have accounted for. It reminds me a little of the end choice of Mass Effect 2, where you could either save the station for TIM or destroy it, and everyone was like "WTFFFFFFF why is there no "save the station and give it to the Alliance/citadel" option".

While it seems criminally dumb to leave out the option, there is only so much developer time (and as angry as I was about the ME2 ending, I had to concede that they needed to account for dev time on an affected 3rd game too).

It does seem logical. And, given that Yes Man is programmed to agree with what you want, it should be quite possible (just because YM has a plan all laid out in his memory banks, that he can guide you through - the independant path - you should just be able to tell him "ok, now turn over control to the NCR" "Yessir, you're the boss! *grin*")

But, alas..... they didn't program that possibility in. Ah, well.

I understand, that was a bit painful in ME:2 for me too.
I think the thing which gets me about the situation in New Vegas is that it would only have called for an extra few lines of dialogue and another slide in the ending. ME:2 is a little easier to sympathise with, because your choices carry weight in the third game.

I agree with excession.

It would have been nice, and made a lot of sense, to have choices at the end other than 'help X force annex all of the mojave and get rid of the others.' Options like having New Vegas itself independent, but leaving the surrounding area under treaty with NCR, seemed tenable, and better for the population. It didn't seem prudent to me to side with one faction and effectively start a war with all the others, or to leave an army of battle robots under the direction of a computer program about which you know very little, or an enigmatic and egotistical man in cryo-stasis.

I imagine this would have been a lot of work to script and design, but would have made some gamers very happy.

Wait. You can't recruit the Securitrons to fight for the NCR?!

Good to know, as I won't waste my saves trying!

You know how it warned you that continuing with Yes Man would be a problem?

The OP raises a valid point. I thought allying myself with Caesar presented great opportunities for a double cross. There are actions you can take on behalf Caesar which could have benefited Yes Man or the NCR but the devs did not add this in. The main quest would have been more interesting to me if you were allowed to play one side of the other more.

I went in the game knowing who I'd support, that being the NCR. I made sure not even to go to the Legion Fort and killed everyone opposed to the NCR. The Brotherhood and NCR are my main allies, and that's fine.