playing on hardcoe/very hard but still want more challenge..

Then do not ever loot containers...

only rely on corpses for supplies.. or if the supplies are layed out on a shelf.

after 200 years it wouldnt make any sense that any crates/fridges etc.. contained loot.

So self-gimping?
Sorry, but I won't do that again unless I roleplay and it fits my role to do something.
It's the developers job to make the game more challenging, not up to us to self-gimp.

I never really liked not using items that are right in front of me though. If it's in the game you should be able to use it. The problem is the way the difficulty slider works and how it only (as far as i know) changes damage done/taken. I actually thought about playing a runthrough of not looting anything at all even if it it was right in front of me. I don't think I could get enough money from quests/gambling to support all the ammo you need though. I'm sure I would eventually die from hunger and thirst also. You could just use your fists but you would still need to heal and drink.

Just play till you die ONCE and then start a new character.

:clap: :clap:

I think a die once start over character would be fine for a main quest runthrough but not really an explore everywhere character.

Sadly the game is way too easy on Very Hard. I enjoy looting and I enjoy having followers so for me, nerfing looting and not having followers aren't an option. One thing I'd suggest is to not accept gambling winnings. I always do a quicksave before I gamble and when I'm done i reload. With it so easy to win caps gambling at an early level this helps to gimp the game a little. Another little thing I do is to avoid VATS. One other suggestion is to get the "slow leveling mod" from Nexus and turn that on to at least 50%.

Yikes! Too rich for my blood.

never play caravan as its broken and way too easy to win cash, never heal during combat

Ouch, this is pretty extreme. For example, I died within the first couple of hours on my game. I went to Goodsprings Cemetery and got ambushed by a randomly spawning Cazador and Young Deathclaw. I'd certainly like to give this a go in F3 though, so at least I know where to find all the good stuff and maximise my chances.

This is known as an Iron Man Playthrough.

I tried it once, You can't save in those, You can only use Auto-saves.

I died from a Caesars Legion ambush..

Doesn't the game auto-save when you do almost anything in this game though. Go through a door, wait or fast travel. Are you required to turn off those things? Couldn't I just cheat and wait an hour if I wanted to save?

Auto Saves save over Auto Saves.

Besides, The only reason you should have Autosaves on is to load the game if you crash or if you need to turn your PC/PS3/360 off.

Yeah don't mind me got a brain cramp there.

That's something I did in FO3. Never used stimpacks during a fight.

In New Vegas, I have the slow healing implant so I try not to use stimpacks AT ALL.

hardcoe... I might try that!

I got near the end of the game like this, Then I got ambushed..

You might get pissed off alot more if you do this.

I don't force restrictions on myself, it doesn't feel right. Other than the usual stuff anyway. If I know about the locations of good weapons from a previous playthrough I'm not going straight towards them, as there is no way that my new character would know of them.

Instead of self restrictions I use mods like http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1142628-relz-arwens-nv-realism-tweaks-thread-4/.

Depends on the context of the crate or fridge. Most of the fridges you find were being used by their previous occupants before being slaughtered by something. Most of the crates you find are likewise, or are simply part of hidden caches lost to time.

It's a big wasteland out there. Not everybody is brave enough to explore it. In order to loot something, you have to find it first.

nonsense.

It would be a matter of weeks before ALL food in a radius of 100 miles would be gone.

civilisation is only 3 meals away from anarchy.

take away its food and see it tear itself apart.

100 miles is a big area to explore on foot. You can't cover all of it, especially in a desert full of mutated creatures where just being outside is a huge risk. Also keep in mind that most of humanity was completely wiped out in the nuclear exchange. That's a lot less competition and a lot fewer people to cover all that ground.

To add more realism I did remove contact markers and guest markers on compass. Then I removed sneak/danger/hidden message. At the end I had to turn music of as it gives up enemy attack on you (music changes to more dynamic).

Like this I had to rely on my own eyes for locating enemies and I can be ambushed at any time without warning if I am not careful. It really adds a lot depth and challenge in to gameplay. You have to scout ahead and watch your sides and back. You can not just rush around from place to place.

I also newer use fast travel and restrain myself from using Mojave Express boxes. Instant free delivery of [censored]loads of items just does not seem realistic even for computer game.

What I still think of is removing healing effects from food (or tuning it way down) and made medical items heal over much longer time. Ours instead of seconds.

Iron man sounds also pretty good. I try to die as less as possible. Each time I die and had to reload, I feel breaking game. Problem is, this kind of games are designed (balanced) for casual save and load gameplay. Going through this game without dying is extreme challenge. Saves are unfortunately essential because all bugs and glitches.

uuhg... if the games not hard enough dont have companions,dont rely on vats or high perception,dont fast travel,DONT play on anything other than very hard,dont drink bottled water and perhaps only wear light armour.

Hruza are you playing on pc?alot of those things you just mentioned like turning off the markers im not sure i can do on 360 but im gonna load up now and see..

I don't use companions a lot. I don't rely on VATS, I don't fast-travel much (some but not a lot) and I've started only playing on Very Hard and I only wear clothing.
I do drink bottled water though. :whistling:

well my only advice for you is stock up on hollowtip rounds for cazadores cause that seems to be their only weakness and avoid deathclaws like the plague,should be interesting to hear how it turns out for you. Goodluck!