The way of the hardcore is not easy or quick, but you can be the one to conquer it with just a few simple steps.
On water: You should devote as much space as you need to water, both purified and dirty. this will give you the stamina necessary to accomplish your quests with out the bouncing out to drink from the rad free sources convientiently located around the map. The best of these are Good Springs Source, the camp in the far south where you get Rose, and the NCR tenant farm. Also, remember that even an irradated source will reset you to zero so drink when you can to save bottles for when you can't.
On food: You should be able to scavange more than enough food from those you kill through the quests and just laying around to never even need to touch a campfire. Concentrate on things that have a high food to weight value like the squrriel-on-a-stick and the brahmin steak. I would recommend not using food to heal as the hit points aren't worth it on a weight basis, although if your hurt and hungry, they are a nice bonus.
On healing: Med supplies still don't have weight so get those! I also like to use soda but only when I have a ready source of water (irradiated or not). The sunsets are a better option than the nukas but dealers choice. I would save your stimpacks for your companions as they have a tendancy to drop quickly if it ever drops in the pot with things that are over your level. (As your speed running, your level will still be low at the end of the game).
On storage: I wouldn't worry about it. You take what you need along with you and leave the rest behind with out a backward glance. The fallout games make you want to be hoarder, but those guys smell funny and you don't even get be on T.V. so don't do it!
On quests: The trick with the quest is do the main plot and the ones you can do along the way. That's it. You can beat the game by the quickest method at level 24 or 25 as long as you don't do any of the long trek quests. You can also keep all the various factions off you until you have already gotten a bunch of fast travel spots in the strategic spots, which will save you time in the long run. To this end skip the Booted! quest as you don't want to have to run and gun all those assassins.
On companions: Boone and Ed-e, 'Nuff said.
On ammo: Ammo is a great way to make money, it's by far the lightest trade good in the game. I would suggest picking what you are going to use as a weapon and keep only that ammo and sell the rest. This also lets you ignore 3 skills entirely so that you boost your chosen skill even quicker. I would also grab the best gun for your skill even if it makes you go out of your way. That machine is a great choice if you're focusing on guns and there is a great energy gun in the factory just south of new vegas, if you'd rather go that way.
On the end game: This contains some spoilers so don't read it if that's going to upset you, kthxbye
The easiest and quickest path to the
end of the game is the Mr. House path.
It has the fewest hoops to jump
through and least amount of exposure
to inevitable pissed off other
factions. If you drive to the end
along this path you can hit the end at
an extremely low level, especially if
you invest in a higher speech.
Anyway, hope this helps you get that last little achievement with a quickness :)
The passwords are not unique or fixed, but are selected randomly, so the password is different for each player (and even each time you visit it).
Instead, you'll need to learn how the minigame works, and how to beat it.
The "quick" description of play is:
Select any password on the screen, you will be then told how many letters it matchs to the correct password (eg, 3/7
means the word selected has 3 identical letters in exactly the same place as the correct password). Using that information find other possible words that match that criteria and give them a try.
This question is related and might provide some deeper insights.
Best Answer
You are correct in your observation that you cannot receive medical attention when your character is at full health. This can be easily rectified without any additional cost. Doctors always charge the same flat rate (50 caps) regardless of whether your courier is almost dead or only has light damage. This means you can't get medical attention right now, but if you injured yourself then you could return at no extra cost to yourself.
The four easiest ways to injure yourself are drowning, mishandling explosives, engaging in combat, or falling from too high. You're in Goodsprings so there aren't any bodies of water to drown in. You'll be best off not using explosives or engaging in combat because both of those will lower the condition of your gear. Jumping off a small hill is easy, free and won't damage your apparel. Goodsprings is surrounded by mountains on three sides so it will be easy to find a small cliff to leap off of. Do this and Doc Mitchell should treat you without hesitation.