a hypothetical fallout universe question

[BlueNinja]

What is this "nuclear winter" thing you speak of? Or do you mean that boogey man theory that was disproved LONG ago.

Quick summary: the scientists that formulated the theory later admitted that they exaggerated the power of the nukes and their number.

Yes, but the theory of a nuclear winter was alive and well during the 50's, IIRC, and so is perfectly plausible for a 50's-retro game. However, since there is plant life, the Fallout universe seems to be more of a charred wasteland rather than a frozen one.

 

[bob_the_rambler]

in the event of nuclear war we would hope that humanity would survive, but the fact of the matter is that it has been over 50 years since anyone has seen the real effects of nukes in war (Japan). nuclear technology has taken huge leaps since the late 40's, and though we have seen tests we dont really understand the effects of our ICBM's on heavily populated countrys. not to mention multiple warhead rockets that carry many warheads over their targets (nuclear carpet bombing).
we can speculate the long term effects of many nukes going off at the same time but we really dont know what would happen. there are many variables in a situation like nuclear war. lets just hope we dont ever reach that point to find out what it would be like.

 

[Bradylama]

I think lots of islanders would survive a nuclear catastrophy.
You know: all those little islands between Australia and South-America where most inhabitants still don't know what underwear is or even why someone in his right mind would ever want to wear a thing like that.

Not if the French have anything to say about it.

 

[quietfanatic]

I think lots of islanders would survive a nuclear catastrophy.
You know: all those little islands between Australia and South-America where most inhabitants still don't know what underwear is or even why someone in his right mind would ever want to wear a thing like that.

Ah, they deserve to survive, and you know it.

Now many of them are going bankrupt and will end up under water according to current projections. You can't feed 500 people on yams and coconuts for long. Radioactive fish might suit them but otherwise, there screwed. No escape from globalisation.

I do that much of this was covered in various FO Bible updates, however just off the top of my head I seem to recall that Australia was nuked and invaded by China, but the invasion was repulsed. I belive the middle east nations also nuked themselves in a separate conflict.

That would be Pine Gap realistically (if it existed), and not the population centres. Now China is a trading partner. We could only repulse the Red Army if they sent one company, maybe.

Australia is self sufficient and unlikely to be attacked, as well as having large undefended resources. We have a very small but multicultural society. It is quite rare to find someone with Australian-born parents.

I always smile when people forget about Australia. But what is really funny is that I have to remind them about New Zealand. It annoys every government in the world without posing the mildest threat. That's the place to go, although you might die of boredom after being in a 'modern' country.

 

[Zaij]

Nuclear winter is theoretically impossible.

 

[Ashmo]

Nuclear winter is theoretically impossible.

Ebbeh?

Nuclear winter
(..)
One effort to predict the metereological effects of a large-scale nuclear war was the 1983 "TTAPS" study (from the initials of the last names of its authors, R.P. Turco, O.B. Toon, T.P. Ackerman, J.B. Pollack, and Carl Sagan). The authors were inspired to write the paper by cooling effects due to dust storms on Mars and to carry out a calculation of the effect they used a simplified two dimensional model of the Earth's atmosphere that assumed that conditions at a given latitude were constant. The consensus with more sophisticated calculations is that the atmospheric model used in TTAPS probably overestimates the degree of cooling although the amount of this overestimation remains unclear. (..)

That sounds like "Don't know yet" rather than a clear "Not possible" to me.

 

[BOS13]

well, my curiosity is largely about Austrailia, as it is the most out of the way of any of the larger landmasses.

the US maintained a fairly livable situation after being BOMBED.


it's pretty safe to say austrailia didn't get bombed. they're not a threat to anyone on any side. they'd see some kind of nuclear winter, but i wonder if civilization there would be a little closer to pre-war than the USA or anywhere else for that matter.

Australia is an ally of the US. Granted they're relatively useless, they are also allies to Great Britain. They would have been fired at and taken out just like everyone else. But the US and China I think would have the same mentality I would have in that situation, "If I'm goin' down, I'm bringin everyone I can with me!"

 

[PhredBean]

Australia is an ally of the US. Granted they're relatively useless,

Not big on WWII history are you?

 

[Carib FMJ]

Times and alliances have changed during the Fallout period.

Remember, the UN was dissolved twenty or thrity years prior to the great war, and also the New Plague had forced the United States to close its borders... Later I believe the Pan-Immunity Project was born thus breathing life into the FEV that basically saved people from the heavy rads and had readpated life to adjust.

Another twist as I recall the EU had dissolved into bickering nation states... The Middle East basically plays limited nuclear exchange with eachother.


Also, Fallout I suppose uses '50's tech. Reason why the nukes weren't so super potent as they would be today. Also Neutron bombs could have been used... High rads for a breif period of time and then, well Rads go down a bit.

I can imagine life for none Vault Dwellers being tough but the USA as well as Annexed Canada and Mexico would have areas untoched by the primary blast zones, such as military bases.

And also remember the Great Static when all lines of communication were severed and lets not forget the Great Winter (Side effect of the war) that ripped into the wastelands like a cold sore.

 

[Fez]

Remember that real world science need not apply to a sci-fi fantasy land. Go easy on poor old FO.

 

[Carib FMJ]

As I said, just because the world made advances in Fallout, doesn't mean the tech is all improved. They still think 64K computers are super advanced!!!!!

Remember on the Enclave Oilrig, you note the computer terminals, and the description says 64K computers: The most advanced computers you ever seen.

So low yield nukes would do the trick just nice.

 

[Morpoggel]

I wonder what happened to Holland. I sure hope we won't get nuked by some silly middle-easterlings...

 

[Crowley]

I'd expect flooding there.

 

[Brutulf]

And "here" is...?

 

[Tagaziel]

Poland in the eastern Europe must have survived, I mean - we have a completely F-ed up government, scrapping each and every project and foreign investment, fascist parties etc.

So, by the time of 2077 we either were annexed by other countries, or just became a country comparable with Sudan at best, without any important militry targets for nukes.

So, without boubt, Poland survived.

But what happened then...?

 

[Wooz]

Dude, read the Fallout Bible. Europe divided into "quarreling nation states".

 

[Corpse]

Australia is an ally of the US.

Unfortunately this is true..

Granted they're relatively useless

WTF...

Not big on WWII history are you?

Obviously.

 

[Silencer]

Dudes, World War 2 is, like, SO OLD

In addition, Poland'd get blasted to atoms as a vital passage from Russia into Europe. American plans in case of Soviet invasion ordered a massive nuclear barrage of transportation routes in Poland.

But, we don't know if Russia was of any threat in Fallout, and also I believe the US wouldn't be too eager to support Europe, especially after it's dissolved, so I think that Poland was just another belligerent nation state, with nobody having the will (nor guts) to completely devastate it, it escaped relatively unscarred.

 

[Tagaziel]

Silencer, youre 100% absolutely right!

As for Russia - there is no mention of it in Fallout 1, 2 or Bible, so we can assume it was either out of the picture (something similiar happened to Europe) or was allied/annexed with/by China for even more natural resources in the upcoming war. This makes sense, as AFAIK there are rich oil deposits in Siberia, and president Xin would really not want to have his tanks without fuel.

Middle East is propably non-existent now - the Resource Wars between the Commonwealth and OPEC nations, combined with the drying up of the oil fields and limited nuclear exchange toped with possible flooding may have changed the Middle East into an even more desolate Wasteland or destroyed all life there. Including wabbits.

And possibly Israel also is dead (Tel Aviw for sure, as it was destroyed around 2053 with a terrorist nuclear weapon)

Alaska was nuked (as someone said "if I'm going down, I'm taking everyone else with me" [president Richardson, anybody?]) with it's oil reserves and the Anchorange Fortified Line.

Ah, and one more thing - how the hell the Oil Derrick survived??? You'd imagine, after so much controversies between USA and China, president Xin would order the destruction of this facility? If so, how the nuke could jhave left it unscarred if it exploded? Or did it miss an enormous armored Drill Rig? WTH?

Wooz, I am a Fallout maniac, and read the Bible thoroughly several times and I have a good view of FO events - and Poland is, by 2005 a quarreling nation state. Period.

 

[Brutulf]

Silencer, youre 100% absolutely right!



Ah, and one more thing - how the hell the Oil Derrick survived??? You'd imagine, after so much controversies between USA and China, president Xin would order the destruction of this facility? If so, how the nuke could jhave left it unscarred if it exploded? Or did it miss an enormous armored Drill Rig? WTH?.

Uhm, It wasn't really an important target, was it? I would say it probably was out of oil even before the war started, and thus just used as a secret headquarters for the Enclave.