Bethesda engine doesn't work well with really fast player movement. It will break if the player moves fast, because the player will reach cells before they fully load 
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So why can't Fallout have tank gangs in it?
- Thread starter TheHouseAlwaysWins
- Start date
cronicler
Lurksalot
Heh 
The came can't even handle the game world at dismounted speeds, I shudder to think how much it would glitch at actual vehicle speeds.
In order to accommodate vehicles, Bethesda would have to overhaul both their location of interest spread patterns and map size drastically.
Their engine is simply incapable of adding anything more without a lot of sleight of hand moves at this point so... no, I don't think we'll ever see it in Beth's fallout games without turning into an even watered down version of Mad Max.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/234140/Mad_Max/
The came can't even handle the game world at dismounted speeds, I shudder to think how much it would glitch at actual vehicle speeds.
In order to accommodate vehicles, Bethesda would have to overhaul both their location of interest spread patterns and map size drastically.
Their engine is simply incapable of adding anything more without a lot of sleight of hand moves at this point so... no, I don't think we'll ever see it in Beth's fallout games without turning into an even watered down version of Mad Max.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/234140/Mad_Max/
You know, I was thinking about this (lore-wise) and I think that Tanks could be something in the Fallout Universe (at least for factions like the NCR): it's just that the idea tanks must be redifined. Heavy Tanks would be too costly to mantain and manifacture and too much of a loss if destroyed. But what if they were lightly armored, low tech and steam propelled? We know the Republic has steam powered trucks, so maybe it could be possible
cronicler
Lurksalot
Sublime;
Ok, a more serious answer you deserve.
The actual question you should start from is "What exactly is a tank?" followed by other questions like "Why one would need a tank?"
In it's most simplistic form, A tank, regardless of it's classification (light, heavy, MBT, tankette, recon and so on) is a platform that brings a "heavier than infantry operated gadget" (mostly guns but with vehicles like Saracen, original Wiesels and so on, sensors, comms. and fire control equipment take that primary role) of some kind to the desired location in a chassis that can survive arty better than a regular squishy.
Nudge, nudge... T51... Nudge...
In Fallout-verse, between all the available firepower available to an infantryman thanks to the pre-war tech relics and the overall lack of mass manufacturing due to post-war conditions; building an effective tank is simply not a cost-effective option. In fact, they are extremely cost ineffective when you factor in the amount of man hours you need to put into one to make it battle worthy and it's overall fragility.
All in all, Once you go anywhere heavier than a Tachanka ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tachanka ), there isn't much of a point to build a tank in the post-apoc era.
Ok, a more serious answer you deserve.
The actual question you should start from is "What exactly is a tank?" followed by other questions like "Why one would need a tank?"
In it's most simplistic form, A tank, regardless of it's classification (light, heavy, MBT, tankette, recon and so on) is a platform that brings a "heavier than infantry operated gadget" (mostly guns but with vehicles like Saracen, original Wiesels and so on, sensors, comms. and fire control equipment take that primary role) of some kind to the desired location in a chassis that can survive arty better than a regular squishy.
Nudge, nudge... T51... Nudge...
In Fallout-verse, between all the available firepower available to an infantryman thanks to the pre-war tech relics and the overall lack of mass manufacturing due to post-war conditions; building an effective tank is simply not a cost-effective option. In fact, they are extremely cost ineffective when you factor in the amount of man hours you need to put into one to make it battle worthy and it's overall fragility.
All in all, Once you go anywhere heavier than a Tachanka ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tachanka ), there isn't much of a point to build a tank in the post-apoc era.
That's it, I thought the lore was tanks were abandoned as giant targets when you had your mechanized infantry running around in Power Armor and gas supplies were low (save for aircraft or the like). The Chinese, without Power Armor, still relied on tanks.
And fusion was relatively new by the time of the Great War. The Corvegas sold out almost instantly when released and most of the United States still relied on Nuclear fission instead of fusion for power.
Regarding industrial manufacturing I think you're underestimating the NCR. Steam powered trucks aside, the Gun Runners supply the entire NCR with guns, an army that counts tens of thousands of men. They can't just be a bunch of artisans like in New Vegas. And what about the Van Graffs? All those weapons must come from somewhere, and there must be an industry: if they can mass produce weapons, they can produce tanks
As @ReedTFM has correctly pointed out, PA are mechanized heavy infantry.
But the point is that Power armor has several disadvantages compared to a simple tank:
- it's very sophisticated and therefore can't be manufactured. We know from Fallout 2 that it cost several hundreds of milions to make one power armor, and in full industrialization...
-...and that's also why NCR engineers haven't figured out how to make them work properly. At the same time however they (logically) must have some ability to mantain, because relying on equipment that can only be scavanged and not repaired doesn't seem like a great idea
- they're very resistant but also have less armor. That's inevitabile because it's still infantry. But that means they can't resist as much as a tank. And I'm also not sure about firepower
- Finally PA can Is more versatile and can be employed in buildings, they have one big flaw: they make you slow as fuck, and therefore an easier target. Tanks on the other hand may be heavy, but the still have an engine and in a world such as Fallout where functioning vehicles are rare, charging tanks could really give an edge
Lastly let's look at countermeasures:
There are a few weapons that could pose a threat to tanks thare are available in the post war:
Fat Man - extremely rare just like its ammo
Missile launcher - rare
Grenade Launcher machine gun - rare
Nuka Mines/ pulse mines extremely rare
Artillery - almost impossible to find
Now, say, the Legion has some artillery and could probably get a hold of the others, but to which degree as they are a primitivist faction?
That's what the Germans did sometimes with tank turrets from destroyed tanks where the turret was still operational or they simply dug in immobilized tanks so the turret was the only visible part. Like 1945 in Berlin.
