If Fallout 4 had actual proper alternate endings.

Jogre

So Old I'm Losing Radiation Signs
One of my main criticisms of both 3 and 4 is that they failed to have the basic alternate endings that gave the fallout series its edge (Another major criticism being that they retconned Molerats from being big furry bear creatures in to being, literal Mole Rats, with no Lorewise explanation whatsoever.)

For Fallout 3, I made a post recently to try and write a narrative of what Fallout 3s endings would have been like, had it actually been the basic standard you can expect from a fallout game. I promised to do the same if Fallout 4 also failed in the most basic of things, and so here I am. Fallout 4 is much harder to write endings for, supposing that there are literally like two major communities, but here is my attempt anyway

Please note that this is just a first draft, and I will happily make improvements at a later date.
Intro
Complete the game(This is shown regardless of ending)
The Sole Survivor of Vault 111, who had gone on a quest for his/her son, soon found that he/she had a greater impact on the Commonwealth than he/she would have possibly imagined. The Commonwealth changed greatly in the years to come.
Faction Ending
Complete the ending for either the Railroad or The Minutemen
The Boogeyman of the Commonwealth, had finally been killed. Although the threat of the Institute was still fresh in peoples minds, and the Commonwealth would unlikely recover from the damage any time soon, all the paranoia surrounding Synths was no longer keeping people awake at night.
Complete the ending for the Brotherhood
Prydwen flew high over the Wasteland, and Brotherhood of Steel Squads started patrolling The Commonwealth. Brotherhood troops defended towns against attacks, but took huge amounts of technology and supplies as "Compensation". The people of the Commonwealth were forced to trade their freedom for security.
Complete the ending for The Institute
With all outside threats out of the way, the Institute began using their Synths to restore order to the surface of the Commonwealth. They did however, forcibly take a lot of what they wanted from the surface, and most of the Directorate still saw the world above as a lost cause. A lot of opposition still standed against them, as paranoia towards the Institute didn't fade over night.
Diamond City
Complete any ending except the Institute ending
Mayor Mcdonough was soon discovered to be an Institute Synth by the people of Diamond City. He was never heard from after that. The cities fears had only been heightened by this, and more measures than ever before were taken to keep Synths out of the city.
Complete the Institute Ending
After many years, the fears of Diamond City had truly been realized. The Institute, as it had been planning for a while, annexed Diamond City. The annexation process wasn't easy however, and many stood up to them, only to be gunned down by Coursers. The City became a major base of operations on the surface, although the residents never had any say in the politics of the Commonwealth."
Goodneighbour
Kill Hancock (This Ending overrides all others)
With Hancock dead, very little was holding Goodneighbour together. Times were tough, and eventually the locals decided to move on, resettling other communities throughout The Commonwealth.
Complete Brotherhood Ending
As the Brotherhood of Steel began bringing order to the Commonwealth, the town of Goodneighbour came to their attention. They began rounding up the local Ghouls, and taking them away, most of which were never seen again. Those few who resisted the Brotherhood take-over were quickly put to death.
Complete Institute Ending
The people of Goodneighbour decided to make a stand against The Institute, and resisted their annexation of The Commonwealth. Within a day of this, Goodneighbour was destroyed by an attacking force of Synths.
Complete Railroad ending, do not kill Sinjin
The Raider Gangs of Boston became far more violent and organised than ever before. A few years after the destruction of the Institute, an army of Raiders led by a ghoul named Sinjin pillaged the town. Nothing but a ruin remained
Complete Minutemen Ending, do not kill Sinjin
Led by a ghoul named Sinjin, various raider gangs staged an attack on Goodneighbour. Although the Minutemen were able to defend the town, a lot of damage was done, and many died.
Complete Minutemen or Railroad Ending, Kill Sinjin
The town of Goodneighbour continued as it was. Life didn't get much better or worse for the locals.
Gunners
Kill the Gunner leaders in both Quincy and Gunner Plaza
The Gunners, though once a major threat throughout The Commonwealth, had been severely weakened by the actions of the Sole Survivor. The fear towards the Gunners slowly disappeared, and now they are thought of as little more than a Raider Gang.
Kill the Gunner leaders in either Quincy or Gunner Plaza
The Gunners continued to plague The Commonwealth, attacking any communities that they viewed as weak and undefended. They showed far more stubbornness and resilience than the other Raider Gangs.
Do not meet either requirements
In the years to come, The Gunners grew in to a major army. With an arsenal of powerful weapons, and well trained soldiers at their disposal, they became a force to be reckoned with, and a major power throughout The Commonwealth.
Brotherhood of Steel (This ending only shows if you completed the Minutemen ending and didn’t destroy Prydwen)
A few Brotherhood Patrols still travel the Commonwealth in search of pre-war tech. The Prydwen returned to the Capital Wasteland. The Brotherhood of Steel soon realized that they didn’t want to risk an open war against the Minutemen
Raiders
There are three conditions for the endings here: Kill Sinjin, Kill Slag and Deal with Gabriel in Libertalia.
All 3 conditions are met (This Ending Overrides all others)
Stories were told amongst Raiders, of the city of Libertalia, and about The Forged. The Golden age of Raiding was over, and raiders became little more than unorganised gangs who occasionally attacked caravans.
Complete either Minutemen or Railroad Ending: No Conditions are met
Raiders became more of a threat in the Commonwealth than ever before. Many villages were burnt to the ground, and ravellers avoided most main roads, in fear of Raider attacks.
Complete either Minutemen or Railroad Ending: At least 1 condition is met
Raiders neither thrived nor suffered from the conflict that occurred in The Commonwealth. Though attacks on caravans and kidnappings at villages weren’t unheard of, Raiders never posed too much of a threat.
Complete the Brotherhood of Steel Ending: Not all conditions are met
As the Brotherhood of Steel began securing order throughout The Commonwealth, they began to suffer from Raider activity. A campaign was launched to try and remove Raiders from the Commonwealth.
Complete the Institute ending: Less than 2 conditions are met
Raider activity continued throughout the Commonwealth, and many villages continued to be threatened by Raiders, although it wasn’t unheard of for entire Raider Gangs to be destroyed by Synth Coursers.
Complete the Institute Ending: Exactly 2 conditions are met
The Institute, having had Synths attacked by Raider gangs in the past, decided to send various invasion forces to deal with as many of the Commonwealth Raider Gangs as possible.
Vault 81
Do not complete Hole in the Wall.
The whole of Vault 81 eventually succumbed to a mysterious illness. By the time Vault Security found the cure, it was too late, and most of the Vaults population was already dead.
Complete Hole in the Wall by keeping the cure for yourself
After Austin’s death, his illness began to spread around Vault 81. Although it was easily curable, still many died.
Complete Hole in the Wall by giving some or all of the cure to Doctor Forsythe
The people of Vault 81 found the other side of the Vault, and began making use of it. They slowly came to the realisation that their lives had been all for some twisted experiment.
Supermutants

There are 3 conditions to this ending: Kill the Behemoth in Fort Strong, Kill Fist in Trinity Tower and clear out the Revere Satellite Array
All Conditions are met (This ending overrides all others)
Thanks to the efforts of the Sole Survivor, Super Mutants are no longer a major threat to the Commonwealth. Although a few Super Mutant survivors occasionally make attacks on settlements every once in a while, they are no longer as much of a threat as they are a nuisance.
At least 1 condition is met
Although some of the largest Super Mutant hordes in the Commonwealth had been dealt with, still a few small groups of Super Mutants cause trouble throughout the Commonwealth.
No Conditions are met
Super Mutants are still found destroying communities throughout The Commonwealth. They prove to be a threat to the everyday lives of travellers throughout the Commonwealth.
Synths
Complete the Railroad Ending
The Synth Rebellion was successful, and many Gen 3s escaped in to the Commonwealth. The Railroad were able to successfully escort huge numbers of Synths out of the Commonwealth and in to safety.
Desdemona Dead, Minutemen Ending Completed
The Railroad disbanded quickly. The loss of the Switchboard had already wounded them, and Desdemona’s death was the killing blow. Though some Synths owed their freedom to the Railroad, many Synths stayed stranded in the Commonwealth.
Desdemona Alive, Minutemen Ending Completed
Though countless Synths died in the Institute, the Railroad continued to do their duty. The few remaining Synths were escorted out of the Commonwealth, to safer places where they would find acceptance.
Complete the Institute Ending
All the remaining Synths who had yet to escape the Commonwealth were hunted down and reprogrammed by The Institute. The Gen 3 Synths had no option but to accept their fates.
Complete the Brotherhood of Steel Ending
After the destruction of The Institute, the Brotherhood of Steel turned their attention to the surviving Synths in the Commonwealth, as well as escaped Synths in the Capital Wasteland. They are able to track down every last Synth, and perform a swift execution.
Minutemen
Complete the Minutemen Ending (This Ending overrides all others)
The Minutemen, who had once been destroyed, were reborn, becoming more powerful than they ever had been. The people of the Commonwealth began supporting their cause, hearing stories about how they defeated The Institute. With more allies and resources than ever before, they truly could protect the people at a minutes notice.
Don’t retake The Castle.
The survivors among the Minutemen slowly lost faith in their cause, Realising that they would never again be the organisation they once were. The Minutemen and their deeds were forgotten by history.
Retake the Castle
Thanks to the efforts of the Sole Survivor, The Minutemen had been rebuilt in to what they once were. Radio Freedom played once more, and very few even remembered that there was a time when the Minutemen weren’t protecting the Commonwealth
Leave Preston in Concord
The Survivors from Quincy were not able to hold off the Raiders for long, Concord was the final resting place for the people of Quincy. The Minutemen were forgotten, and those few who once thought themselves Minutemen, became little more than drifters and mercenaries.


EDIT: I added an extra ending for the Minutemen, and as per popular request(Or at least what were my only 2 requests 3 months ago), I'm also working on Companion Endings
 
Last edited:
That and add companion endings. I am nearly convinced that they are saving some stuff for DLC like Mass Effect.
 
Biggest problem with this is that you do so little of any kind toinfluence any settlement that all the endings you came up with are kind of lame (no offense to you, more towards the game). It's really hard to come up with an ending for Diamond city when you barely have any quests there, and the ones you have are all clearing some enemy infested ruin on the other side of the map. It's so bad that the Mayor getting outted as a Synth takes place until after completing the game and is a quest that barely takes 3 minutes; the mayor doesn't even have any dialogue options outside of asking him about Kellog's house and even then you can get it without asking him.... I was actually surprised by how fast I was done with Diamond city and never even set foot inside afterwards.
 
Is it true that there are almost only radiant AI quests as side quests in the game?

There are a small handful of random quests, but it generally follows the Skyrim-formula. Factions will have their main-route, and everything else they offer is radiant. Minutemen are a good example of the laziest, since almost all their quests - even main ones - are radiant, just "go kill raiders, come back, progress"

Oh, the Railroad too, I suspected that almost right away, with my dissapointment increasing rapidly. As soon as you meet them, all they do is give you radiant quests, insultingly poorly disguised as something more substantial

(and as you might have picked up, these quests are litterally forced upon you, sometimes by merely walking nearby the quest-giver, who will initiate conversation without your interaction, and simply PIN the quest on you "here, let me mark it on your map")
 
There are a number of side quests but they are far outnumbered by repeatable radiant quests that are boring as fuck. You can get them from so many places it begins to feel like that is all you do...
 
The saddest part is that after you take back The Castle for the Minutemen, you don't even have to walk by anyone, you are likely to get another "burger" just by the virtue of going there, since they have that huge radio tower that gives you quests from time to time.
 
The game feels more like two steps forward then tripping over a rock and falling down a cliff. The game lacks everything besides scooting everything that lives.
 
There are a number of side quests but they are far outnumbered by repeatable radiant quests that are boring as fuck. You can get them from so many places it begins to feel like that is all you do...

But hey, at least now someone can make a list with all Fallout 3 quests next to a list of all New Vegas quests next to the endless list of Fallout 4 quests, which clearly shows that Fallout 4 is the better game because of quests! Awesome!

/Edit: I felt motivated to collect such a list on my own. It took me a few hours to collect all the unique side-quests, but I think it was worth it. Take care, it is full of spoilers.

dipIb8.png
 
Last edited:
I think the Institute ending could be a bit more nuanced, dependent upon how you answered during the radio broadcast to the Commonwealth.
 
This was my biggest complain with the game. Basically no real ending(s) and consequences and also not enough locations/entities to apply the choice/consequence formula on.
 
I think the Institute ending could be a bit more nuanced, dependent upon how you answered during the radio broadcast to the Commonwealth.

If only the game was more nuanced.

What? You mean you don't like completely linear storytelling that leaves you little options to define your character? Blasphemy!

No... please mercy be! I have sinned against the emperor and offer my soul for punishment.
 
I think the Institute ending could be a bit more nuanced, dependent upon how you answered during the radio broadcast to the Commonwealth.

If only the game was more nuanced.

What? You mean you don't like completely linear storytelling that leaves you little options to define your character? Blasphemy!

No... please mercy be! I have sinned against the emperor and offer my soul for punishment.

You shall be sentenced to walk across hot fiery coals that burn like a thousand suns for a full day with your bare feet!
 
I think the Institute ending could be a bit more nuanced, dependent upon how you answered during the radio broadcast to the Commonwealth.

If only the game was more nuanced.

What? You mean you don't like completely linear storytelling that leaves you little options to define your character? Blasphemy!

No... please mercy be! I have sinned against the emperor and offer my soul for punishment.

You shall be sentenced to walk across hot fiery coals that burn like a thousand suns for a full day with your bare feet!

Or alternatively play Fallout 4 for eternity.
 
Where's the 'F*** all ya'll, I'm outta here ending' as your person wanders off into the Wasteland to leave behind the nonsensical Fallout Boston behind forever.
 
Back
Top