REPCONN test site

The REPCONN test site is a former rocket testing facility located west of Novac and south of scorpion gulch in 2281. Its inhabitants consist of feral ghouls, Bright followers, and in the basement level, nightkin.
==Background==
The location consists of the remains of the pre-War REPCONN Aerospace (Rocket Engineering Production Company of Nevada) Aerospace test plant, along with its landmark rocket launch dome. Before the war, the plant was managed by a corrupt executive who cut corners to save money, forcing employees to work overtime and when they quit, hired under-qualified, under-trained replacements. It was only a matter of time until an incident took place. And it did, in 2075. As RobCo was negotiating the terms of purchasing the company, REPCONN wanted to demonstrate its technology to gain an advantage in negotiations. However, a disastrous radiation spill occurred, contaminating the area for decades and effectively weakening REPCONN's bargaining position. When the company was acquired by RobCo, its proprietary plasma propulsion system was repurposed as a weapon.
The test site was abandoned after the Great War and left to the elements and prospectors for over two centuries, now irradiated and home to feral ghouls. Picking the massive facility apart became a source of revenue for many inhabitants living in the area, most importantly the settlers at Novac in the 23rd century. It was taken over around 2279 by the Bright Brotherhood, seeking to return the remaining rockets to functionality and make their "great journey" into space. 
However, within the facility, a prolonged stalemate has begun between the ghouls and a band of nightkin, devolved from former residents of Jacobstown and led by a deranged nightkin named Davison. After losing nearly half their number, the ghouls holed up in the research laboratories, cornered by Davison's forces, who busied themselves with ripping the basement apart looking for a shipment of Stealth Boys accidentally routed to the test facility centuries ago.Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide Collector's Edition pp. 407-409: "REPCONN Test Site: The remains of the old REPCONN (Rocket Engineering Production Company of Nevada) test plant, along with its landmark rocket launch dome, have sat idle over the years, and are now home to Feral Ghouls who come to terrorize the inhabitants of nearby Novac [5.18]. However, within the facility, there's a prolonged stalemate going on between a band of Nightkin, devolved from Marcus' forces up at Jacobstown [1.10] and lead by a deranged man-mountain named Davidson. They are attempting to locate shipments of Stealth Boys. The (marginally) sane ghouls are led by an intelligent, messianic glowing ghoul who dreams of escaping with his followers in the plant's remaining rockets."
==Layout==
===Exterior===
The test site is a vast compound nestled inside a large valley west of Novac, accessible through a single canyon. The area contains a reinforced checkpoint that was used to clear visitors and employees before the Great War. Though damaged by Novac scavengers, it was sturdy enough to be turned into an outer defensive position by the Bright Brotherhood ghouls, further enhanced with sandbags and a guard post just beyond the checkpoint to allow guards to rest and relax in between shifts.
It was not enough to deter the nightkin, who punched through the defenses leaving dead Brotherhood members in their wake and letting the feral ghouls, normally kept bottled up below the facility, wander out into the open and towards Novac. 
The canyon leads down into the valley containing the test site. The roundabout with the rocket statue stands directly in front of the two main staircases leading into the building, with the road branching off further into the west, towards a now collapsed tunnel, and to the east, towards reservoirs of fuel and other materials used in REPCONN's research. The facility can be accessed by going up the stairs, through a collapsed section of the earthworks near the reservoirs, or a break in the chainlink fence beyond the collapsed tunnel. The building has two entrances, the main doors, and a side entrance.
The launch site opposite the building cannot be accessed. However, there is a depression by the western end, off of the road by a Joshua tree and burned-out car, with a small radioactive swamp. Following a path to the left will reveal a hatch leading to the facility's basement.
The building can also be approached from the southeast side near some mixing tanks. There are broken fences and some collapsed ground that will allow access to the concrete walkway that leads to the main entrance. If approached from the south and choosing to go towards the traffic circle, a combination of five ghouls or glowing ones will be encountered, and an additional two when approaching the main entrance.
===Facility===
The interior of the facility is filled with traces of combat, left behind by the Bright Brotherhood and the nightkin. Its corridors are filled with feral ghouls who have made their way out of containment and prowl the halls. A large number of microfusion cells and electron charge packs may be found on the dead Bright Brotherhood followers. Rarely, plasma defenders and laser RCWs can also be found on their corpses. The main entrance opens into the reception hall with a dead nightkin and two bathrooms. Evidence of recent violence can be seen here and throughout the facility. 
The Easy locked door leads to the upper floor and a corridor that circumnavigates the upper floor. In the center are two Easy locked offices. The western room contains an Easy locked safe with a significant amount of loot, with 60 microfusion cells, 24 .308 rounds, and a hunting revolver to the right of the safe, while the eastern has some supplies. The west wing consists of a recreation room and cafeteria on the lower floor, with sleeping quarters, a server room, and two storage closets on the upper floor. There's also a main stairwell in the northwest corner directly next to the side entrance.
In the back are offices, containing several cubicles and other living quarters just above them. The top level contains another administrative section and the office of Steve Reynolds, the launch facility project manager, complete with a safe and message from disappointed employees. Most of the walls and ceilings are collapsed, linking rooms and floors together.
The eastern wing contains the cafeteria on the upper floor and eventually leads to the assembly hall where rockets were prepared and checked for launch. The ground floor is crawling with feral ghouls, and the walkways connect directly to the laboratories where Bright Brotherhood survivors and their leader Jason Bright took shelter. Next to the entrance to the assembly hall is the entrance to the basement, where the nightkin are found.
===Research laboratory===
Located at the top of the facility, the research laboratories are where REPCONN once pioneered its rockets. Now it's the heart of the Bright Brotherhood and their refuge. Chris Haversam will immediately approach the player character as they enter and direct them to Jason Bright.
The laboratories have two levels, with the lower containing the primary lab in the center, an adjacent office space converted hastily into a dormitory, and is surrounded by a corridor that connects the exits to the stairwell in the facility and the assembly hall. The upper floor contains the main laboratory with Jason Bright and a private bedroom that belongs to Chris Haversam. There's a stockpile of anti-radiation drugs in his chambers. Both levels contain a workbench. 
The launch observation platform is accessed from the research labs and contains the navigation console and launch control panel used to send rockets into space. If the control room is accessed before Haversam is spoken to in person, interacting with the intercom will result in the Courier asking "what's with the rockets" to which Haversam will get agitated and try to redirect the player character back to meet with Jason Bright once more
===Basement===
The basement consists of several interlocking hallways and rooms. The entrance corridor leads to a workspace where a single nightkin lurks. The corridor beyond branches in two directions. The left-hand side leads directly to the storage room guarded by Harland, a trapped ghoul sharpshooter. Harland's room consists of a large room where he stands on a catwalk. The ground floor contains many traps: rigged shotguns, booby-trapped terminals, bear traps, and a concealed mine. Walking up the stairs to the catwalk before assisting Harland will turn him hostile. On the second floor, a terminal can be accessed to find the Stealth Boy shipment update.
The righthand side leads to a room with Davison and Antler. The door behind Davison's back leads to another room with a console that opens the passageway into tunnels that connect the facility to the launch dome. These eventually lead to a branch, near a chamber with a reloading bench. The branch connects to the control room overlooking the launch chamber. The control room contains a workbench and a ladder that leads to the manhole near the swamp outside REPCONN, providing direct access to the underground.
The main section of the basement contains the servers, meeting room, and staff room, with two corridors connecting them together. Another corridor leads away from the staff area to the generator area, which consists of two halls with two levels each. The floors are separated by a chainlink fence, necessitating the use of adjacent stairwells.
A deceased ghoul prisoner is found in the second generator hall, the first room on the left. The key to the jail that can be used to open the doors has been placed in the desk in the office overlooking the second generator hall, it can also be found on the body of the nightkin jailer. The other rooms contain minor loot and crafting materials.
==Inhabitants==
* Bright followers
* Chris Haversam
* Davison
* Harland
* Jason Bright
* Nightkin
==Notable loot==
* Six Stealth Boys - One on a nightkin corpse at the entrance of the facility, it can only be picked up off the floor. Four more are found in two Easy locked safes, one on the first floor in an Easy locked room, center of the map and one in the manager's room on the second floor. Another is found on the dining table in the room marked with a "food" sign in the basement of the main building.
* Space suit and helmet - On a shelf in the very last room of the basement, where the final assignments for the quest Come Fly With Me are given.
* Storage room safe - A note on the administrator terminal in the facility.
* Stealthboy shipment update - A note, found on the terminal in Harland's area. 
* Prior to patch 1.2.0.31x, five food sanitizers could be found in the basement of the REPCONN test site. Four were found on the table in the room marked with "food" signs. The release of patch 1.2.0.31x removed all instances of the item.
* Ten destroyed party hats - In the upper floors, on shelving units where the Bright Brotherhood followers are found.
* 43 small ruined books, 35 large burned books, 28 large scorched books in the facility, the largest amount in a single section in the game.
==Related quests==
* Come Fly With Me
==Notes==
* According to a computer terminal in the basement of the facility, two shipments of Stealth Boys were received and sent back to the manufacturer. This is in relation to the quest that Davison attempts to send the Courier on if they decide to bend to the will of Antler, a brahmin skull. The messages on the terminal describe five Stealth Boys missing from one shipment. They also imply that the five Stealth Boys were used by an employee to sexually harass other employees, with one message directing employees to review sexual harassment policies and another stating that the missing Stealth Boys are absent due to "workplace misbehavior."
* There is an upside-down gene projector in the room where Jason Bright is first met.
* In the main lobby on the rocket suspended from the ceiling, the support cables are connected to the rocket and the ceiling by tiny garbage cans. These garbage cans can be looted like normal sized ones.
* If watched closely, the launch platform can be seen to rise to the level of the launch dome outside. 
* If the Courier picks up or otherwise moves the brahmin skull named Antler while Davison is still there he will become hostile.
* There might not be any ghouls or dead Bright followers around the test site the first time it is visited. To fix this problem discover the test site location on the Pip-Boy, fast travel to another location then fast travel back, the Courier will be in the middle of the feral ghouls but it will now be possible to obtain loot otherwise lost.
* In the office with two Stealth Boys in the locked safe, faded pictures of Tenpenny Tower and other Fallout 3 locations can be seen.
* On the administrator terminal, there is an email discussing the change of a generator room into a storage room. This email also talks about a safe within the room and gives a password. The room in question is the same one where Harland is found. The safe doesn't exist.
* The missing "O" from the REPCONN sign can be found at the Gibson scrap yard, repurposed by Old Lady Gibson as a chair.Courier: "What can you tell me about REPCONN?"Old Lady Gibson: "Sometimes it seems like I spent the better portion of my youth in that old wreck of a building. Me and my hubby, may the man rest in peace, used to scavenge there. If it weren't bolted down, you can bet we took it and sold it. A lot of the scrap you see around here is from REPCONN, even my favorite chair."(Old Lady Gibson's dialogue)
* Objects referring to the REPCONN test site in xEdit, such as reference IDs, have the location's name spelled as "REPCON."
* A Delta IX rocket statue is in front of the test site.
==Appearances==
The REPCONN test site appears only in Fallout: New Vegas.
==Behind the scenes==
The REPCONN test site is located in the same geographical area as the real world PEPCON (Pacific Engineering and Production Company of Nevada), a chemical plant formerly located in Henderson, Nevada, that produced ammonium perchlorate, an oxidizer used in solid propellant rocket boosters. The plant was destroyed due to a series of explosions determined to be caused by incorrect storage of the chemicals, known as the PEPCON disaster.
==Bugs==
* After completing the quest Come Fly With Me, when exiting the platform overlooking the rocket takeoffs and proceeding to the research labs, then finally exiting through the door marked "Door to REPCONN Facility," the game may freeze (but not crash) before the player exits the research labs, and remain frozen until one Alt+Tabs out of the game session and manually ends FalloutNV.exe. 
* When wandering through the basement of the REPCONN test site where the Courier fights nightkin, closing a door while still walking forward and facing it will cause the player to fall through the floor and be respawned at the original entrance to the nightkin area. This does not affect any weapons or items equipped. 
* The road to the REPCONN test site (if traveling from Novac) seems to have poor textures. Only on a small amount of the road, and there appears to be no way to fix this. 
==Gallery==
REPCONN front with sign.png|Overview with sign
Fallout New Vegas Repconn Test Site.jpg
REPCONNmissingO.jpg|REPCONN sign missing the "O"
Repconn test site reception.jpg
Harlands hideout.jpg|Harland's hideout in the basement
Stealthboy shipment update.jpg|Stealthboy shipment update
Stealth Boy nightkin RepConn facility.jpg|Stealth Boy at the entrance of the facility
Stealth Boy safe ff RepConn facility.jpg|Stealth Boy, first floor safe
Stealth Boy safe RepConn facility.jpg|Stealth Boy in the facility, near administrator terminal
Stealth Boy food RepConn basement.jpg|Stealth Boy in the basement
Jail key Repconn test site.jpg|Jail key
Repconn rocket facility.jpg|Rocket launch facility
Repconn research labs.jpg|The research labs
Repconn lab room.jpg
Come Fly with Me.jpg|The Bright followers leaving for a better place
Henderson sign.jpg
Hatch to basement.png|Hatch to basement
Do not touch Antler.png|Do not even think about touching Antler
REPCONN food sign.png|Basement food sign
Third rocket.jpg|A broken rocket in the basement
REPCONN Test Site map.jpg|Map
Fallout Magic Zombie Mutant token.png|Magic: The Gathering Zombie Mutant token
==References==
Non-game
Category:REPCONN locations
es:Instalaciones de ensayos de REPCONN
de:REPCONN-Testgelände
pl:Poligon testowy REPCONU
ru:Испытательный полигон РЕПКОНН
uk:Випробувальний полігон РЕПКОНН
zh:瑞普康试验场