The real issues with Fallout 3, in my opinion.

[TheManWhoWouldBeDead]

TheManWhoWouldBeDead, you're confusing realism with believability and consistency and therefore your arguments fall flat.

How so? This entire thread is filled with people bickering over the possibility of wastelanders having English accents and the condition of the wood in the DC wasteland's trees. Realism and believability, in the mind of this forum's users, seem to be linked. My point is that realism (or believability) doesn't matter, as long as the game is fun. Acceptance is what matters, not believability.

This is evidenced by the love that this community has for the original Fallout, which is full of patently unbelievable scenarios. People overlook the logical and technical inconsistencies of Fallout because they accept it. No one believes that wearing black leather in the desert is a good idea, nor does anyone believe that a motorcycle jacket would be much use as armor, but the players of the game have accepted it.

How people are willing to accept such unrealistic notions from Fallout 1 and 2, and then get up in arms when Fallout 3 asks for the same level of tolerance, is beyond me. It only makes me think that the people making arguments about how hardware would degrade after two hundred years, how certain accents would no longer exist, etc, are nitpicking Fallout 3 to death simply because they never wanted the game to succeed. Rather, it would seem that such gamers have been waiting for an excuse, any excuse, to attack Fallout 3.

Accepting such ridiculous notions from the original Fallout (anyone remember Loxley?), and then turning around to attack Bethesda for similar stretching of the truth is a blatant double standard. It serves to do nothing more than undermine the credibility of the people making the attacks.

As far as consistency goes, I fail to see how Fallout 3 is inconsistent in anything more than superficial ways.


People seem to be attacking Fallout 3 simply because it isn't the original. The argument made earlier about Fallout being a niche product that doesn't need to be changed is utter bullshit. Anyone with an ounce of sense in their head should be able to see that releasing a game made in a ten year old format is market suicide, and would NEVER be attempted by any game company.

If someone wants to attack Fallout 3 for its failings, be my guest, but attacking the game because it's different from the original is a total copout. It does nothing other than show how closed-minded and rigidly traditionalist the person making the argument really is.

 

[Holocausto]

If someone wants to attack Fallout 3 for its failings, be my guest, but attacking the game because it's different from the original is a total copout.

I don't WANT to attack F3 for it's failings.....unfortunately due to my unusually high standards I am forced to. The list is long and I'm sure you don't want to hear it as it will just end in a realization of just how bad beth has failed gamers like me. I expect much much more from devs (why I cannot say as in this day and age expecting less seems to be the way to be). Anyway...

 

[TheManWhoWouldBeDead]

Fallout doesn't need defending. It's realistic in it's own retrofuturistic way, something people like you are seemingly unable to comprehend.

For something that doesn't need defending you sure do work hard at defending it. Can anyone say "blind advocate"?

I wonder how many times do we have to state "Fallout is based on how people in the 50s perceived nuclear war and the future" before people actually understand what that means?

Were nuclear weapons somehow appreciably less devastating in the 1950s? Are you entirely unfamiliar with the principles of Mutually Assured Destruction?

You parents must've been real happy when the No Child Left Behind policy was enacted, you'd finally graduate first class!

Reading comprehension: Fallout is internally consistent. Fallout 3 is not. You have to be real dense not to understand that.

Your childish insults aside, would you care to elaborate on how Fallout 3 is internally inconsistent?

Your leaps of logic are astounding. How is a small nod to Mad Max "poking fun at self"?

It wasn't the nod to Mad Max that was self-deprecating, but the comment that followed it, the bit scoffing at wearing black leather in the desert. I'm surprised that someone as enamored with his own intelligence as you obviously are failed to catch that.

Fallout was designed as a reality that works in accordance with how the future was perceived by people of the 1950s. It was never realistic, as it isn't governed by laws of our reality.

The core problem here is that everything in Fallout and much of Fallout 2 was designed to be internally consistent. Versimiliar (tough word, ask your mum to read you the dictionary definition).

Fallout 3 is defined by the rule of cool. It doesn't even try to create a convincing, internally consistent world.

How is it internally inconsistent? I'm actually quite curious. If you can possibly provide a reply without resorting to puerile name-calling, I'd really like to hear it.

It's bether to be perceived as a crothcety luddite than be a stupid person who doesn't do any research before coming to the oldest Fallout fansite on the web and spout uneducated bullshit.

Again with puffing your own ego, and again with the personal attacks.

 

[TheManWhoWouldBeDead]

I don't WANT to attack F3 for it's failings.....unfortunately due to my unusually high standards I am forced to. The list is long and I'm sure you don't want to hear it as it will just end in a realization of just how bad beth has failed gamers like me. I expect much much more from devs (why I cannot say as in this day and age expecting less seems to be the way to be). Anyway...

You're really taking it personally, aren't you? Bethesda failed you and gamers like you; it failed to live up to your "unusually high standards".

You seem to see yourself as some kind of educated connoisseur, and that puts you into a position of some small authority. I actually AM interested in hearing why someone such as yourself dislikes Fallout 3.

 

[Tagaziel]

For something that doesn't need defending you sure do work hard at defending it. Can anyone say "blind advocate"?

Around these parts we are called "people hammering sense into morons". But sure, call me whatever you want if it makes you feel more intelligent.

Were nuclear weapons somehow appreciably less devastating in the 1950s? Are you entirely unfamiliar with the principles of Mutually Assured Destruction?

Nice way to avoid comprehending the statement, TheManWhoWouldBeIntelligent. If you cared to did even the slightest bit of research (which I hope lies in your mental capacity) you'd notice that people in the 1950s believed they'd survive a nuclear holocaust, which is one of the core rules of Fallout - nukes don't obliterate all life nor do they create a global winter, because the concept wasn't widely known back then. Or even non-existent.

You seem hell bent on applying real-life physics and modern knowledge to a world operating on different principles, basing on how the 1950s perceived the future. Now, if you weren't such a fucking moron, you'd have stopped to think and understand that Fallout is fundamentally different from our world because it works according to the principles of Science! not science.

For fuck's sake, it's been repeatedly stated by the developers and fans that Fallout's not our timeline.

Your density would make you perfect for lining nuclear reactors on submarines, btw. Go volunteer, make yourself useful for a change.

Your childish insults aside, would you care to elaborate on how Fallout 3 is internally inconsistent?

The point has been covered over and over and over again on these forums, so use the search function.

Hopefully, you know where to find it, though I have my doubts about that.

It wasn't the nod to Mad Max that was self-deprecating, but the comment that followed it, the bit scoffing at wearing black leather in the desert. I'm surprised that someone as enamored with his own intelligence as you obviously are failed to catch that.

A single line. 40 characters.

I've seen people clutching straws, but you just seem to have hit the absolute record.

Any further insight you have to offer? I'm just dying to know what enlightenment you can offer.

How is it internally inconsistent? I'm actually quite curious. If you can possibly provide a reply without resorting to puerile name-calling, I'd really like to hear it.

If you had any kind of brain, you'd understand. Seems you don't have. A pity.

Again with puffing your own ego, and again with the personal attacks.

I've explained this a hundred times the past year, so I'm not going to be nice to another clueless moron who thinks he's discovered America all over again.

Every "point" you've made, every strawman you posted was seen and torn to shreds already. So come up with something new or shut up.

 

[Slaughter Manslaught]

Talking about acents, I noticed something funny: Dukov has a russian accent. Nothing anormal with the name Dukov, apart from it being a russian name, but naming people with foreign names ins't rare, and Dukov sounds awesome. But he has a russian accent. If there was a backstory, say, Dukov being born and growing in a isolated community of inbreed hicks with strong russian roots, somewhere near DC, then I would say "fine." But there's no reason, no backstory. Why this guy has a russian accent?

 

[nemetoad]

Funnily enough I can't remember anything about an "Arroyo accent".

Hm, Now that you mention it you're right, there is no general accent seen in text. However, There is Hakunin, which I was originally to originally, who apparently speaks differently then everyone else in the tribe because he's a witch doctor.

Seriously, Arroyo just took the tribal theme to the max it seems...despite the fact that it was started by a Vault Dweller who had both the Vault training and basic survival lessons from dealing with the Hub and the like.

And ya know, come to think of it Fallout 3 breaks the cycle that Fallout 1 and 2 had in regards to when the game takes place. Fallout 1 was 80 years post-nuke, Fallout 2 80 years after the Fallout 1 hero's exile. Shouldn't that mean Fallout 3 should be 80 years after the Enclave's destruction then to follow the setup of previous games?

 

[The Dutch Ghost]

Not necessarily.

The player character of Van Buren; the Prisoner was not related to the player at all, it was just someone who got infected by the New Plague and then picked up by ODYSSEUS' robots.

I think the developers rather wanted to use the setting; society slowly growing to nation states again which was taking of just before Fallout 2 but retain the atmosphere of small independent towns and unknown regions.

Another big jump like eighty years and there might have been the risk that the NCR and any other wasteland government had grown so big that they controlled entire states of the former US, having long ago claimed stuff like the ruins of military bases and power plants and whatever supplies remained there.

The 'small guy in a big world' atmosphere could have been lost then.

 

[Fraust]

This is getting ridiculous.

First off, about the Outcasts.
It's not too far fetched that the Outcasts are in contact with the west coast, after all, the Brotherhood is pretty much all about reclaiming lost technology, so why would the Brotherhood Outcasts leave after Lyons went "soft?" I can't really imagine a group of faithful Brotherhood soldiers saying, "Well, we're in D.C. There could be a vast amount of technology just waiting to be discovered! Taking that into account, let's go back home."
Just doesn't seem right to me. This point is also reinforced by the Fallout 3 DLC Operation: Anchorage, in which the entire premise is that the Outcasts are trying to get technology from a vault.

Then, there's the argument of Washington D.C. doing waaaaay worse than the west coast, even after 200 years.
See, you guys make a really good point. It's completely absurd to assume that the CAPITAL of THE UNITED STATES would receive more bombs than other parts of the nation. (End sarcasm.)
It seems to me that you just rejected the idea of Washington D.C. being the capital of the U.S. during the war. Good job on looking ignorant.

Then there's Fawkes. There were a few super mutants who did turn out to be intelligent. It was a hit or miss type thing. Basing an entire group of people on one example is like saying that since one person takes a medication without any side effects, that everyone else that takes that medication will not experience side effects either. You're doing that "looking ignorant" thing again.

Let's see, what else have we got here...

Persistent radiation.
Remember Necropolis, you know, that city that was founded by a group of people in a vault in which the door would not close properly, exposing the people inside to radiation, turning them into ghouls? Think about that.
Another thing about this. There's this little thing that life forms do, to adapt to living conditions. It's called EVOLUTION. You may have heard of it. Is it so hard to assume that over the course of 200 years the inhabitants of DC have evolved to become more resistant to radiation?

Oh, and about the Brotherhood getting to the east coast.
They walked. It took them a year, but they did it.
Remember Harold? How did he get to Washington D.C.? Magic?
I bet he walked. And why wouldn't a group of soldiers, with advanced armor, weaponry and tactics do the same?

Also, the West Coast Brotherhood cut themselves off from the East Coast because Lyons cared more about the people of D.C. than technology, which the Brotherhood usually doesn't do.

And about using the GECK instead of using it's parts to purify water.
Wouldn't it be nice if there was a machine that could make life inhabitable with no assistance? Yeah it would, too bad that's not what a GECK is.
A GECK is more of a stepping stone to help get humanity back onto it's feet. It's not a miracle machine that could cure the world. And if it were the case, why were several vaults stocked with multiple GECKs?

Slaves.
Ever considered that there just might be more people in FO3 than you encounter, that are interested in slaves?

Transportation.
Look at the landscape in Fallout 3. Just look at it. Do you think that environment would be a good one to drive a car in?
And then the vertibirds. FO2 ended in 2242. The Brotherhood sent a squad to D.C. in 2253. How long do you think it would take to find the materials and construct a vertibird?
I would assume too long to produce enough to send a group the size that was sent to D.C.

Scavenging.
Washington D.C. is a big place, even in a post apocalyptic setting. Then there's also the greatly decreased population.
But I get what you mean, there is no city big enough to sustain salvaging for 200 years, canned food doesn't keep that long, and neither does bottled water. In the year 2009.
The war happened it 2077. Maybe by then we have created preservatives that keep food safe indefinitely?
Also, the U.S. has a food surplus. Maybe it could grow larger in 70 years.

And who says that people don't make clothes and guns, and ammo in Fallout 3? You can make your own weapons, so why can't anyone else?

Radiation and doctors. Maybe some kind of improved radaway? Or maybe by 2277 they have found a good way to cure radiation poisoning?

The Cult of Atom.
Basically, who knows? They're a cult.
Cults usually consist of really really crazy people.

Anyway, that's what I got.

And you made yourself seem like the most ignorant person I have ever seen.

 

[Patton89]

Post shorter posts please, its a pain to write responses.

Yes, washington DC would get more bombs.
But would it get so much more that it would be after 200 years UNFARMABLE ? not really. Radiation disappears over time. If it would be that bad, people would move away from there. No reason to stay in DC area. And GECK can make even radiated desert farmable,it has ULTRA strong fertilizers, you should read Fallout/Fallout 2 manuals.

Crossing USA, on foot ? possible.
Crossing post-apocalyptic usa with out any knowledge of terrain, possible threats, repairs, reinforcements, and WITHOUT MOTIVE is not sensible. How would they even know that there is anything to find ? Why would they assume that ? It is bad design to simply copy paste factions from previous games, when setting is so far away. New factions would have worked better. And harold is crappy example, how the hell is he supposed to be able to do it ? Hes OLD and sick. No way he would cross USA, and make it alive.

Slaves thing, do not pull stuff out of your arse. There is NO mentioning of anything regarding slave buyers. So should i just assume the same way with every game, ignoring CLEAR plot holes ? Every game is great if i do that. Ignore faults and make up things explaining them. Even sonic unleashed is awesome if i do that.

Scavenging for first few years would make sense, but after 200 years most of the things would be unusable and uneatable. Even if it had miracle preservatives, THAT ARE NEVER MENTIONED ANYWHERE. Why is the TV dinner unsafe in Fallout ? Or the noodles ? There is no evidence supporting miracle presevatives.
You are making things up to explain something. Like i would claim that health packs in doom heal even mortal wounds, because they contain nanomachines. Sure, its reasonable, but it doesnt make it real, or correct.

Vertibirds are short ranged crap machines that need refueling AND repairs. Navarro was repair/refuel depot/ outpost.

 

[nemetoad]

This is getting ridiculous.

First off, about the Outcasts.
It's not too far fetched that the Outcasts are in contact with the west coast, after all, the Brotherhood is pretty much all about reclaiming lost technology, so why would the Brotherhood Outcasts leave after Lyons went "soft?" I can't really imagine a group of faithful Brotherhood soldiers saying, "Well, we're in D.C. There could be a vast amount of technology just waiting to be discovered! Taking that into account, let's go back home."
Just doesn't seem right to me. This point is also reinforced by the Fallout 3 DLC Operation: Anchorage, in which the entire premise is that the Outcasts are trying to get technology from a vault.

Well, it isn't a vault that they're trying to get tech from, but a military facility. Personally I find the situation "The door is locked by a simulator!" just plain daft, but whatever there. As far as contact goes, I believe they're still working on it, considering they're only recently a splinter group I think. Didn't the Outcasts form a year before you left the Vault?

In any case, they still hadn't contacted the West by the time of Fallout 3, as mentioned by Casdin I believe. The West broke communication from the East to begin with, so for all we know the West just wrote them off as dead weight to clean up after later after the issues on the West front (See: Van Buren and mentioned warring that led the Maxson kid to be stuck with Lyon to begin with) are subsided.

Then, there's the argument of Washington D.C. doing waaaaay worse than the west coast, even after 200 years.
See, you guys make a really good point. It's completely absurd to assume that the CAPITAL of THE UNITED STATES would receive more bombs than other parts of the nation. (End sarcasm.)
It seems to me that you just rejected the idea of Washington D.C. being the capital of the U.S. during the war. Good job on looking ignorant.

It's bombed, suffers more from psychos altogether because of the Pitt up north, possible Vault 106 survivors (Yay drugs!) and Super Mutants that aren't hindered by a Vault Dweller, like the Master's Army was. Besides, Fallout's universe seems set up so pretty much anything can happen as far as redevelopment post-Great War is concerned. On the East Coast you have Cities and tribes side-by-side basically. And also, since the Capitol Wasteland is such a small area, there is nothing to say a giant city exists outside it. Just, because of the Super Mutant issues and like they really cannot form.

Then there's Fawkes. There were a few super mutants who did turn out to be intelligent. It was a hit or miss type thing. Basing an entire group of people on one example is like saying that since one person takes a medication without any side effects, that everyone else that takes that medication will not experience side effects either. You're doing that "looking ignorant" thing again.

Let's see, what else have we got here...

Fallout 1's canon said that vault dwellers turned mutant would result in smart ones, wastelanders turned mutant would be dumb. That explains why Fawkes and the various ones that locked her up would be smart and the rest are dumb. Why Behemoths are dumb, despite being some of the first ones that have evolved in size and whatnot because of age, is probably because the FEV they were exposed to didnt prevent dementia?

Persistent radiation.
Remember Necropolis, you know, that city that was founded by a group of people in a vault in which the door would not close properly, exposing the people inside to radiation, turning them into ghouls? Think about that.
Another thing about this. There's this little thing that life forms do, to adapt to living conditions. It's called EVOLUTION. You may have heard of it. Is it so hard to assume that over the course of 200 years the inhabitants of DC have evolved to become more resistant to radiation?

Fallout 2 had at least one individual who wasn't a Ghoul and also was born radiation-resistant. As for evolution...well, I don't really go for that theory, but mutation carried through reproduction can occur. Someone is mutated by radiation in a way that prevents radiation poisoning has children, they have that trait too.....

Oh, and about the Brotherhood getting to the east coast.
They walked. It took them a year, but they did it.
Remember Harold? How did he get to Washington D.C.? Magic?
I bet he walked. And why wouldn't a group of soldiers, with advanced armor, weaponry and tactics do the same?

Harold is notorious for travelling large distances. Between Great War and Fallout 1, he had gone from Vault 29's location to the Hub. That's..... well, 1/3rd the way there. When he was sick in 2250's time period, aka Van Burenland, he ended up going back East more. And also considering his nature to want to explore (See: why he left the Nursery to begin with, where he went Post-leaving Vault 29) it isn't too far-fetched that he'd head to the East Coast just to see it.

And about using the GECK instead of using it's parts to purify water.
Wouldn't it be nice if there was a machine that could make life inhabitable with no assistance? Yeah it would, too bad that's not what a GECK is.
A GECK is more of a stepping stone to help get humanity back onto it's feet. It's not a miracle machine that could cure the world. And if it were the case, why were several vaults stocked with multiple GECKs?

The GECK is a civilization jumpstart kit. It has more fertilizer components then anything. It also had a working cold-fusion reactor! Honestly I think it's just canibalized for parts that were needed to make Project Purity work.

Slaves.
Ever considered that there just might be more people in FO3 than you encounter, that are interested in slaves?

Agreed. Fallout 1 and 2 both didn't show all the people in California, even in the locations they did show. Since The Capitol Wasteland is like the equivalent of the Necropolis....

Personally I just think they should've shown people leaving the Wasteland or something. Or just someone randomly coming to the Commons to provide items to trade throughout the area and such.

Transportation.
Look at the landscape in Fallout 3. Just look at it. Do you think that environment would be a good one to drive a car in?
And then the vertibirds. FO2 ended in 2242. The Brotherhood sent a squad to D.C. in 2253. How long do you think it would take to find the materials and construct a vertibird?
I would assume too long to produce enough to send a group the size that was sent to D.C.

The Brotherhood could have had vehicles to get over, provided they found some in good condition and so forth. With a few repairs and modifications, they could have travelled acrossed the country easily. I just assume they broke down beyond repair when they got to the Capitol Wasteland or something.

Scavenging.
Washington D.C. is a big place, even in a post apocalyptic setting. Then there's also the greatly decreased population.
But I get what you mean, there is no city big enough to sustain salvaging for 200 years, canned food doesn't keep that long, and neither does bottled water. In the year 2009.
The war happened it 2077. Maybe by then we have created preservatives that keep food safe indefinitely?
Also, the U.S. has a food surplus. Maybe it could grow larger in 70 years.

Agreed. However, there wasn't a surplus. In fact the country was suffering from a famine I think and food shortages. Then again, Fallout in general never has been good at representing things realistically...

And who says that people don't make clothes and guns, and ammo in Fallout 3? You can make your own weapons, so why can't anyone else?

Radiation and doctors. Maybe some kind of improved radaway? Or maybe by 2277 they have found a good way to cure radiation poisoning?

Rad-away was always a good way to cure poisoning. Making a more convenient version is possible when it comes to the Enclave, but probably not random doctors. They probably just charge you for having to use it on ya. Also, guns and the like can be made. See: Make-shift gun from Fallout 2. Not to mention the workbench ideas that were in the cancelled Fallout tabletop. Personally, I would -love- to see a lot fo the concepts from the tabletop game setup put into a future game. That being....various workshops for starters.

The Cult of Atom.
Basically, who knows? They're a cult.
Cults usually consist of really really crazy people.

Anyway, that's what I got.

And you made yourself seem like the most ignorant person I have ever seen.

I always assumed the cult leader just convinced the disciples that the bomb being deactivated was a test of faith or something. After all, if they can believe a faith about a bomb, they could believe anything.

 

[Fraust]

Well, if the Brotherhood did find vehicles, why did it take them almost a year to get to DC?

 

[nemetoad]

Hadn't realized it took them that long. That being the case, there's 3 likely reasons.

1.) They did walk, which is the simplest explanation.

2.) The vehicles were in a state of "barely working" or something. Repaired just enough to run well, but bound to break many times in the journey. Not to mention they needed energy cell power. Probably needed to stop often to recharge.

3.) Maybe they didn't just go straight to the East Coast? That's a lot of ground to cover, most of which is more or less unexplored. Maybe they did several stops along the way to the Capitol in order to document any other developments and locations to explore in future endevors?

 

[Fraust]

Hadn't realized it took them that long. That being the case, there's 3 likely reasons.

1.) They did walk, which is the simplest explanation.

2.) The vehicles were in a state of "barely working" or something. Repaired just enough to run well, but bound to break many times in the journey. Not to mention they needed energy cell power. Probably needed to stop often to recharge.

3.) Maybe they didn't just go straight to the East Coast? That's a lot of ground to cover, most of which is more or less unexplored. Maybe they did several stops along the way to the Capitol in order to document any other developments and locations to explore in future endevors?

I would agree, but according to everything I've read, the only place they stopped on the way was The Pitt, to conduct The Scourge.

 

[nemetoad]

True. However, the Scourge occured after they arrived on the East Coast. Really, there isn't anything that I can recall that actually talks about the trek over.

On another note, my mind now envisions a Brotherhood of Steel Reverse-Oregon Trail game.

 

[M-26-7]

True. However, the Scourge occured after they arrived on the East Coast. Really, there isn't anything that I can recall that actually talks about the trek over.

On another note, my mind now envisions a Brotherhood of Steel Reverse-Oregon Trail game.

You have died of dysentery.

 

[Fraust]

True. However, the Scourge occured after they arrived on the East Coast. Really, there isn't anything that I can recall that actually talks about the trek over.

On another note, my mind now envisions a Brotherhood of Steel Reverse-Oregon Trail game.

You have died of dysentery.

Made me lulz.

 

[Ravager69]

Just because someone can come up with an explanation it doesn't mean that it makes sense. If Beth didn't bother to explain how the BoS got there, it means no one knows how they did it. I can think of a couple of ways on how they accomplished such a feat, but alas, it won't change the fact that it is not explained in-game. Hence, discussing this is pointless.

 

[pipboy-x11]

This is evidenced by the love that this community has for the original Fallout, which is full of patently unbelievable scenarios. People overlook the logical and technical inconsistencies of Fallout because they accept it. No one believes that wearing black leather in the desert is a good idea, nor does anyone believe that a motorcycle jacket would be much use as armor, but the players of the game have accepted it.

I don't think this is about realism, a game - just like a book - doesn't have to be realistic to be believable. Did you read Homer poems? No one really believes in existence of Cyclops, for example (the same about wife not having sex while her husband is absent for 20 years), but the poems are still believable. People still read them and enjoy. Why? Because the author did the job right and made you believe the characters.

The Fallout 3 resembles of someone trying to write a comic book and sell it as a "sequel" to Odyssey. The media is full of "OMG, this guy is awesome!! this is the best comic book of the year, this is what Homer would do if he was still alive today!". Those rare voices "WTF? this is not even a literature! This is a goddamn comics book!!" don't get heard.

F1|2 both were deep and mature (just like Planescape: Torment). F3 is a product of pop culture for teenagers, that's the problem.

 

[Crni Vuk]

Just because someone can come up with an explanation it doesn't mean that it makes sense. If Beth didn't bother to explain how the BoS got there, it means no one knows how they did it. I can think of a couple of ways on how they accomplished such a feat, but alas, it won't change the fact that it is not explained in-game. Hence, discussing this is pointless.

Thats what I think as well

Its really not so much the issue that the Game is playing on the west coast or in DC.

What bothers me more is that when it comes to it they have been so unimaginative. I mean seriously. All the missed oportunities ... new situations, new stories, communities and the network of intrigues between them. A outlook on how the things have developed after the war in DC which seems to have been hit fairly hard (as one would imagine beeing the big thing Washington DC!). New factions with their own history and issues.

But what do we have ... Brotherhoood ... and Outcasts that are seen by the world as "evil" (mind you they even try to betray you with Anchorage and the loot!), The Enclave ... as vilains ... again. But the Mercenaries? Regulators and Talon? Or Raiders? Do they even have any plot or play any role? Nothing. Nada. Same about the communities like Rivent CIty or Tenn Penny towers. No interaction here between them. So much leeway has just been wasted for factions that sound "cool" and to make the game at any coost "falloutish".