So, what exactly could the cloud be?

Crni Vuk said:
Blatherscythe said:
You would think that the wind would eventually take it away, or it would settle like dust or rain does.
Click to expand...
Dunno. I would think that our earth is not like Jupiter where storms/dust clouds can hang around for a few million years at the same place.

It is just my opinion. But this cloud thing just sounds totally silly in my eyes. Standing there. In the midle of nowhere. For 200 years. Throwing mutants out from time to time. What next ? Pirates which will come out of the cloud in a future DLC claiming to kill the player because he got cursed when he decided to take a bit of the gold with him after he finished the first DLC ?
Click to expand...

That's why I opened this thread, because clearly, it is *not* just some cloud. It's something different. :P The wind couldn't just move it away, Elijah probably knew pretty well how to "move" or even control it. I find it very interesting.
 
As I said it is kind of implied that the CLoud moves around the Villa, I mean you can find CLoud Residues in places wehre there is no cloud, or at least there is not concentrated cloud, because as Hardcore Mode shows us The CLoud is everywhere in the Village always taking a bite out of your HP.
 
My god Blatherscythe, use an edit button! You can put two quotes together without stretching out the forum. We should still be on page one.

Regarding the cloud, think about the developers. They knew they couldn't have a creepy, survival horror esique area with the sun shining happily in the sky.
 
I dunno about the Cloud, because let's be honest, the DLC never explained why is there, it's composition or where it came from.
It could be a result of the vending machines, it could be a defense mechanism implemented by Sinclair to protect the Sierra Madre or it could be polution from the location (but this don't explain why it doesn't spread beyond Sierra Madre).

Dead Money only gives us little information.

What we know for a fact is Elijah saying The Cloud is unique in his travels, so it can't be encountered in any other location.
He also was able to synthesize some small amount in the bunker's lab, but the log says he needs to travel to the location, so he can study it in more detail (that's why he ended trapped in Sierra Madre).
Also, the Hazard suits appears to be NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) suits, designed in the event of a nuclear war, not for dealing with the Cloud.

Just remember that the first time the workers found the Cloud were when constructing subterrenean structures.

Pollution from the vending machines don't explain why aren't more reports of the Cloud, because according to Elijah, the vending machines were common prior the Great War and could be encountered in most cities of US. Only the Sierra Madre produced that kind of polution, what about the rest of the country?
Maybe we can found more explanation when we travel to Big Empty, because they collected samples and perhaps they send some to the scientists there.
 
For all we know it could have been some combination of toxic waste and toxins produced by underground lava wells.

Still, is it really important that we know what the Cloud is?
To me its the hazard that explains why no one will probably ever claim the Sierra Madre and the villa, and that is probably enough.
 
The Dutch Ghost said:
For all we know it could have been some combination of toxic waste and toxins produced by underground lava wells.

Still, is it really important that we know what the Cloud is?
To me its the hazard that explains why no one will probably ever claim the Sierra Madre and the villa, and that is probably enough.
Click to expand...
For an short DLC ? Sure. But I think the "Cloud" was lame. From the way how it sounds and what people explain here. One way to explain why Elijah and the other characters have been traped in there for so long ? Most probably. But I dont know it. I mean I would have even accepted something as explanation like a "Bermuda Triangle in Nevada" as backstory then a mystery Cloud *makes twilight zone sounds*.

I hope they at least dont make a "sentient creature" out of that cloud ...
 
I thought the cloud is being released by the ventilation systems, hence why it's so concentrated in the area. I'm pretty it was first encountered being spilled out of the vents. Probably a by-product of the cutting-corners the construction crews did when constructing the villa, such as a balcony collapsing, if I recall, the crews did so because Sinclair was so caught up with Vera, they thought they could save money without him knowing.
 
The Dutch Ghost said:
For all we know it could have been some combination of toxic waste and toxins produced by underground lava wells.
Click to expand...

If it is "just" the stuff you descried, then Father Elijah couldn't move it over the whole wasteland at his disposal if you meet the correct requirements. I still say it's something *more*.

Still, is it really important that we know what the Cloud is?
To me its the hazard that explains why no one will probably ever claim the Sierra Madre and the villa, and that is probably enough.
Click to expand...

For me it's not enough, for I think they have something planned with it. ;)
 
brfritos said:
Pollution from the vending machines don't explain why aren't more reports of the Cloud, because according to Elijah, the vending machines were common prior the Great War and could be encountered in most cities of US. Only the Sierra Madre produced that kind of polution, what about the rest of the country?
Click to expand...

They weren't. Elijah is a post-nuclear human, so everything he knows about the pre-War world comes from what he read.

The vending machines, according to in-game notes, come from a world fair, where Sinclair saw them work and decided to install them in the Sierra Madre.
 
IMO I think there are two possible explanations of the Cloud.
First the more believable one: The cloud is some sort of biproduct of the underground systems located under the Villa.
But for Cloud to stay in one place it must be sustained and replenished.
So it has to be replenished from some source, but that source would had to be a realy massive so for example it could be a nuclear reactor of massive proportions or some other sort of automatic system.
Second hypothesis: The cloud is in fact a swarm of nanobots that originate from the vending machines.
Since we dont kow how exactly does the vending machine work we can only assume that items consturcted inside are assembled by a nanobots.
Exaclty the same nanobots of which the Cloud is composed of.
This could explain a fact that the erode everything and also the fact that they reproduce themself on such a scale like we can see in Elijahs lab in a bunker.

Well thats all I can come up with.
If you want you can now humiliate me by breaking my hypothesisis into tiny pieces and then slowly anihilate the as the Cloud does.
 
I like the proposed idea of the Cloud being a by product of the shoddy construction and perhaps some power plant that was not build up to code.

Dalex, had this not been Fallout I think your nanobot swarm idea would be pretty good.
But nano technology doesn't really fit the Fallout retro future setting unless stated otherwise somewhere else.

I think its best to stick with a combination of airborne natural or artificial chemicals that have have the property of degrading organic and non metallic materials over time.
 
Nanobots don't really fit in with the Fallout style of technology, but neither does a cloud of death that can stay in one place or move around, or even expand in size.

In order for a cloud to act the way the game describes, it has to be living in some way. Whether it is sentient or not can not be said. Maybe it is a swarm of microscopic bugs -- mutated insects that feed off the pollution of the vending machines? Sadly, I have not played the DLC; so I can not postulate anything else.
 
outofthegamer said:
Nanobots don't really fit in with the Fallout style of technology, but neither does a cloud of death that can stay in one place or move around, or even expand in size.

In order for a cloud to act the way the game describes, it has to be living in some way. Whether it is sentient or not can not be said. Maybe it is a swarm of microscopic bugs -- mutated insects that feed off the pollution of the vending machines? Sadly, I have not played the DLC; so I can not postulate anything else.
Click to expand...
Sory but the Cloud is clearly not an insect I think it's pretty obvious.
I know that my nanobots hypothesis doesnt fit the Fallout univers but i could explain how it can expand, replenish in chemistry set, move and destroy both organic and non-organic materials.
But I guess its most probably some form of gas.

But I propose a further question: Whats so special about those hazmat suits. I mean the Cloud can slowly corrode everything and those suits appear to be immune to that.
What are they made of?
Also another thing how do the Ghost people reproduce I mean: there couldnt be so many workers in the Sierra Madre to keep them in numbers which we can see in game.
Definetly not after those guys Elijah have send in before us.

BTW what do you think the Cloud (assuming that its a gas or an aerosol) could be composed of?
 
Let's estabilish a few facts about the Cloud:

- it's a phenomenon unique to the Sierra Madre, not encountered anywhere else,
- it's somehow connected to the venting systems of the casino and the villa,
- when living/dead tissue is exposed to it, the Cloud attacks and slowly destroys it,
- can create residue,
- tastes like copper and gold,
- it does not destroy inorganic materials,
- it can be loaded and used as a weapon of mass destruction.

Personally, I think that the Cloud is some kind of unique geological phenomena, maybe related to the copper/gold deposits in the area. The fact that it was first encountered in venting systems of the Sierra Madre by workers who built it indicates that it was not part of the original project, thus not man made. It's entirely local - Elijah does not move the Cloud, he loads it into a modified REPCONN rocket and deploys it against the NCR at Hoover Dam, then Helios One and other vital military bases in the Mojave.
 
Tagaziel said:
- it does not destroy inorganic materials,
Click to expand...
I seem to recall it being mentioned that the cloud would eat through regular Radiation suits, hence why the special hazmat suits were brought in (It then corroded the seals on the suit trapping the worker inside,)
 
Faceless Stranger said:
Tagaziel said:
- it does not destroy inorganic materials,
Click to expand...
I seem to recall it being mentioned that the cloud would eat through regular Radiation suits, hence why the special hazmat suits were brought in (It then corroded the seals on the suit trapping the worker inside,)
Click to expand...

Note that it says seals, not the suits themseles, because they look perfectly fine. I wager the cloud eats through the organic filters and corrodes seals, not the actual suit material, because the Villa is still pretty much intact, taking into account 200 years of no maintenance.

Furthermore, Elijah specifically uses the cloud to wipe the human element from installations he considers valuable, confirming what I said.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top