What faction do you guys think can sustain the strip (Resources, food, energy, etc) the longest? House, Idependant, NCR, or The Legion? Personally I think the NCR has the best chance. I don't personally agree with their idea of bringing old world democracy to the new world, but. They are spread out. Albiet, they're spread thin, but this gives them access to resources from other communites. House and independant have the fatal flaw that their rule is automated. Anybody could come along (Like the courier can) and access these technologies to take over or ruin their progress. My issue with the legion is that they hold themelves back on ideologies more than the NCR does, and are doomed to fail and collapse.

From my point of view it goes from worst to best on who can sustain the strip.
4. Legion
3. Independent
2. NCR
1. House

Legion wouldn't use the strip to it's fullest potential due to their overbearing culture.

Independent does have many factors going for it ; like with the freedom it brings but it makes it a less united force that doesn't allow it to best utilize the strip for the long term.

NCR does have democracy which is great for Vegas and its casinos. In my eyes the big risk is the NCR spreading itself to thin in the long term by expanding more; a more inflated ego after winning the strip and the Mohave.

House while not my favorite ending (independent is my favorite) he has a lot going for him. House has years upon years of wisdom and knowledge to utilize the strip to the fullest potential. He has the full support his securitrons and the Currier who from what we can tell from House ending stays at the Lucky 38 with House giving you whatever you want. In the short term he is fine but in the long term he better do what he says time line wise with the strip because who knows how long until unexpected forces come into play like the Enclave, Nukes, etc. Think about how the tunnelers will more than likely come in the near future; only if he has a good karma Currier will he care about the outside the strip to maintain and put money into with revenue from the Strip, allowing for more stronger Mohave which allows stronger protection in turn.

YansterG wrote:

In the short term he is fine but in the long term he better do what he says time line wise with the strip because who knows how long until unexpected forces come into play like the Enclave, Nukes, etc.

Indeed. I might be the only person who thinks that House might have over-estimated himself. We're not under any obligation to believe that he can do what he says. maybe. Maybe not.

He let a heavily armed stranger, who quite possibly is a murdering lunatic (the courier) into his sanctum, with NO protection for himself. None. Not even a lock on the door. That's incredibly foolish and short-sighted and arrogant. There's no other way around it. He potentially makes an incredibly silly mistake, depending on the courier.
I remember my first courier. Only friend was Veronica. And he said "Go kill the brotherhood." He was dead meat. And he didn't see it coming, he had not one shred of a failsafe or plan for a courier gone rogue.

I think it's fair to consider the possibility that he's not quite as smart as he thinks he is. But it's probably more interesting for a sequel and makes for a better story, if he actually knew what he was doing. I think the writers intended for him to be a genius who had all the bases covered and a perfect plan.

@Sirdanest There's a difference between intelligence and gullibility. House is responsible for making most of the technology you find in the game as well as predicting the war and saving Vegas. It's fair to say you could put all NCR politicians together and they wouldn't be able to accomplish a 10th of what he has.

House's main problem is that he always trusts people to act in their best interest. He never considers the possibility that someone might betray him because he knows that rationally, he's the best option they've got. He offers you a life at the height of luxury and opulence, never having to worry about money or food or anything else ever again. What does Caesar offer? Slavery? What does the NCR offer? A medal and a heartfelt thanks?

Problem is, humans do not always act rationally or in their best interests. I suspect House was supposed to have some sort of mental condition, maybe Asperger or something like that. Or simply he's so intelligent that he has trouble relating to the actions and motivations of common folk, as it usually is the case. Consider that if you have 100 IQ, which is average, to someone who has an exceptional 160 IQ, you would sound exactly like someone who has a 60IQ (which is mentally retarded) sounds to you, and therefore it's quite difficult for people like that to relate.

Also consider that certain actions are made a lot easier than they should for the sake of gameplay. I always think it's funny how half of the Brotherhood died defending Helios One because the security systems were so sophisticated and complicated that Elijah, the ultimate mad genius, couldn't discover its secrets despite working on it for hours or days. Meanwhile you can activate the plant in a couple of minutes and don't even have to hack a single terminal. Same thing in the Sierra Madre, where hacking the holograms takes barely any effort, but if you do, Christine says you must be some kind of genius even greater than Elijah.

If the game was realistic, a person isn't going to survive an army of robots shooting at him, that's his contingency plan. Game mechanics being what they are, you take a couple of stimpacks and you are good to go.

Even if he wasn't the scientific genius he is supposed to be, he's certainly a business genius, that was proven again and again. He can absolutely run the strip better than anyone else.

House predicted the war a day early, who knows what the Mohave would look like if he got the chip earlier. He has made a lasting impact in the wasteland besides protecting the Mohave from the nukes. For example him and RobCo created the Pip boy and Liberty Prime; and we now how those two things overall have affected the history of the post war world and the games themselves. If House can keep his Ego in check he would make the strip the best it can be.