Fallout: Chicago (Includes Thorough Setting and Map)

DevilTakeMe said:
It begs further questions, of course. Was the pre-war United States so focused on burying underground power lines, yet not have any failsafe system for communications like simple telephone wires?

There's power still running in the Capital Wasteland, but no other utilities such as running water or telephone lines or other data management, which would be key for Raven Rock's intended purpose.

Why not across the country for government use only?
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The problem with underground lines is all it takes is one cut, and communications severed. From the destruction described to us regarding the nukes, I would assume there is at least one, probably thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands.
 
They made power lines pretty redundant - enough to continue running after two hundred years with little or no maintenance. Random people are capable of tapping into those lines.

Comm Lines between the Pentagon/Raven Rock and individual stations wouldn't be much different.
 
DevilTakeMe said:
They made power lines pretty redundant - enough to continue running after two hundred years with little or no maintenance. Random people are capable of tapping into those lines.

Comm Lines between the Pentagon/Raven Rock and individual stations wouldn't be much different.
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Dude, power works way different, and not all places have working power.

But, a power station in DC does not supply power to Navarro. You would be talking, for communications, a 3000 mile + hard line from RR to the Rig. 1 mm cut on that hardline and you have comm failure. That is if it was a direct line. If it wasn't a direct line, then you increase the probability even further that there is a failure. I just think that is impossible.
 
Dude, power works way different, and not all places have working power.
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Yeah, power works way different, which is why everyone has power in DC, despite 200 years of a lack of maintenance. No signs of cutting into that system. No signs of a source for that grid, either.

The problem? Dedicated landlines require the above for power. So if the power grid is online, why can't hardened telephone lines?

But again, that's how Bethesda designed DC, and doesn't reflect exactly how we'd picture Chicago or California, as those are written by different people.

Of course, Helios-One is apparently connected to Poseidonet, and yet there's a big ol' mountain range between the Oil Rig and the Mojave that would affect communications as well. Radio works differently, too. If it somehow depends on specific atmospheric conditions to connect, then DXing between stations on opposite ends of the continent shouldn't be that far. However, satellite bouncing is a much more likely possibility.

And then, as Archimedes, the Highwater Trousers satellite, and the satellite connected to Adams Crawler are all still active, it's hard to really justify the idea that the Chinese were able to shoot down all the comm satellites, but not the ones that shoot missiles and lasers.
 
I assume that people have regionally tapped into power where it was available. But regionally and continentally is what I was referring to. Just as I assume a group like Enclave would restore as much regional comm as possible.

Not all sats would be destroyed or disabled. The EMP from a 10 kiloton tact nuke sends out a EMP blast of 3 miles. That is a suitcase nuke that I got that info from on a fairly interesting history channel program that is on YouTube. I'm not sure EMP range of a ICBM or any larger nuke, or if the effect would be amplified in orbit.

Mainly, this will be up to Beth and the writing team. If they want to make claims of Eden communicating with Rig or Navarro, I would hope they explain it in FO4.

Regardless, there is some kind of Enclave base around Chicago, with origins unknown. Either populated by Autumn Sr, JR, or populated from a different Enclave faction.

Together with MWBoS and including other factions, new and maybe some old, it makes an interesting region for FO4 or some other future game.

But I see your points, and it one proof of many how so far Beth writing has not been stellar, as we should already know.
 
Don't forget the setting is retrofuturistic. Did people in the 50's know that nukes have EMP effects? If not, then EMP isn't something to be included in a 50's view of 2077+.
 
Makenshi said:
Don't forget the setting is retrofuturistic. Did people in the 50's know that nukes have EMP effects? If not, then EMP isn't something to be included in a 50's view of 2077+.
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I don't know if I would go that far. EMP isn't much of a stretch in a Fallout setting. Just my two cents.
 
Yes, it's retro futuristic. Doesn't mean that it's the 50's.
The EMP from nuclear weapons is known since the early 60's, btw.
But remember that most electronics in Fallout are based on vacuum tubes which are inherently immune to EMPs.
 
I didn't say it is IN the 50's, just that, it being the 50's view of 2077+, then things not know or at least imagined (such as lasers) at that time couldn't be in. I think. Dunno, whatever.

Nice point about the vacuum tube, btw.
 
Well, can't be too technical. Commsats for example really didn't get going until the 60s and 70s, and the high tech comm sats used today are totally different than what was imagined and first used for global commands.

In fact, if you go with the retro 50s theme, the sats in orbit would be pieces of junk. However, clearly there is EMP in the FO world, which is why say, vehicles stopped.
 
Sub-Human said:
EvilBastrd said:
However, clearly there is EMP in the FO world, which is why say, vehicles stopped.
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Didn't they simply rot under the Sun?
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Hmm? I mean in 2077, vehicles stopped if hit by EMP. For example the Survivalist and the old couple he mercy killed as documented from his journal in Honest Hearts.
 
vehicles with nuclear engines might automatically shut down if hit with EMP as a fail safe to make sure that they dont go critical if something in their cooling system quits working or burns out...

I think those nuke cars would have been more limited with their tires wearing out or lube etc needed for suspension systems drying up etc than running out of fuel.


WPD
 
Why wouldn't EMP exist in Fallout universe? The fact that it weren't known doesn't mean it didn't exist. Why would writers overwrite physics if they don't need to? If they needed it, it's alright, the fiction part is clear. But wasn't needed there, the people could easily ignore their existence AND it could be there at the same time.
 
Any word from the OP as to what engine/perspective he wants to use? As I am doing art for Chicago in my game too I would be interested to exchange/share some things. :)
 
Some one mentioned HAM Radio or HF radio...they said it's short range....I will bet my left nut if you fixed a ham radio (there are many of them in fallout) you can talk from one side of the coast to the other quite easily..

I live in Australia and I can contact the US on my HF radio, I could contact the international space station if I had the right frequency and range.

So communications across a nation is easy... I could imagin if the Enclave in Chicago were in a vault and only just came out.. It could of been apart of a backup if the first enclave failed...

They would of been living in a huge vault growing bigger, training and developing new tech, it could also be this vaults defence systems that protected most of chicargo
 
I... I really hate to two-month necro, but this looks really interesting... Chicago would be a good Fallout setting. There's something that irks me about your map, though. Aside from O'Hare, there's not much on it outside of downtown. No tribals, no crazed suburbanites, nothing.
 
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