Chatting with Vault Dwellers from PAX

[Jim Cojones]

And so do single-person phone-booth sized shelters, flaming swords, mini-nuclear-bomb launchers, Chinese-language manuals in the booths being readable by someone who's spent their whole life in an English-language only (or at least primarily) Vault, and mutated crab...things.

Are we sure that it is phone-booth seized? Because if it's personal but at least some bigger than that, it could suit Fallout universe. In 1954 Dick wrote a short story (Foster, You're dead) inspired by what he read in newspaper. According to it, American government was considering resignation from building nuclear shelters so everybody should have his own shelter. It may be not the same situation but personal shelters are acceptable for the setting.

And what's so bad about crab-like creatures (were they called murloks? myrmidons?). Is it worse than centaurs, floaters and whannamingos?

 

[UncannyGarlic]

Yes we are, we've seen it in game since one of the early gameplay demos (one of the ones from around E3, possibly the X-Play one).

 

[Moving Target]

Yeah I know geology Geography, It was joke about a debate I had that people confuse them.

Oh. I wasn't sure if you were being serious or not. So I just played it like it was straight. It's impossible to figure these things out unless someone does the "sarcasm tags" thing.

I think the one man Shelter is supposed to be a joke anyway.

"HEY LOOK I SURVIVED ARMAGEDDON!!! HUZZAH! NOW I Can starve to death in a little tube....."

Yea, but it's a really lame joke. It doesn't mesh with what was happening in the Fallout universe, and besides, is just... silly, honestly. I mean, sure, humor is fine, there was plenty of it in the first two games, but a one-person shelter? That's taking the whole "retro 50's" Cold War-era fear of nuclear war waaaay too far. Would've been fine if it had been a fallout shelter or something like that, but a tube? Come on.

 

[UncannyGarlic]

I think the one man Shelter is supposed to be a joke anyway.

"HEY LOOK I SURVIVED ARMAGEDDON!!! HUZZAH! NOW I Can starve to death in a little tube....."

Yea, but it's a really lame joke. It doesn't mesh with what was happening in the Fallout universe, and besides, is just... silly, honestly. I mean, sure, humor is fine, there was plenty of it in the first two games, but a one-person shelter? That's taking the whole "retro 50's" Cold War-era fear of nuclear war waaaay too far. Would've been fine if it had been a fallout shelter or something like that, but a tube? Come on.

The last nail in the coffin for me was the coin slot, it's just too stupid and makes no sense. Yes, there was the whole preparing for nuclear war. No, coin operated Fallout shelters would not exist because they wouldn't be profitable.

The idea of a personal Fallout shelter isn't the problem (would kinda make sense for [office?] buildings), it's how it was implemented.

 

[Moving Target]

Right.

Basically the problem is that they're exposed, like phone booths, and that they're single-person shelters. There are just so many things to complain about when it comes to those shelters, I really don't know where to begin.

 

[TheGM]

I think the one man Shelter is supposed to be a joke anyway.

"HEY LOOK I SURVIVED ARMAGEDDON!!! HUZZAH! NOW I Can starve to death in a little tube....."

Yea, but it's a really lame joke. It doesn't mesh with what was happening in the Fallout universe, and besides, is just... silly, honestly. I mean, sure, humor is fine, there was plenty of it in the first two games, but a one-person shelter? That's taking the whole "retro 50's" Cold War-era fear of nuclear war waaaay too far. Would've been fine if it had been a fallout shelter or something like that, but a tube? Come on.

The last nail in the coffin for me was the coin slot, it's just too stupid and makes no sense. Yes, there was the whole preparing for nuclear war. No, coin operated Fallout shelters would not exist because they wouldn't be profitable.

The idea of a personal Fallout shelter isn't the problem (would kinda make sense for [office?] buildings), it's how it was implemented.

Now these are assumptions on my part. But in those vids from the Prepare website. The one with the captian cosmos when he talks about the one man shelter. It sounds like when you hear it, that the O.M.S. was sold to people and there where a few public ones as to "Make you feel safer in your work place enviorment ,knowing that shelter from the horrors of Nuclear war was waiting for you *Smokes cigerite*"

And just like companies today. They don't care what happens in a week as long as they are making money right now....and die rich.

 

[UncannyGarlic]

And just like companies today. They don't care what happens in a week as long as they are making money right now....and die rich.

And how exactly is a coin operated Fallout shelter going to be profitable? If you install them for yourself then you won't make any money and who's going to buy one? It's stupid through and through.

 

[TheGM]

And just like companies today. They don't care what happens in a week as long as they are making money right now....and die rich.

And how exactly is a coin operated Fallout shelter going to be profitable? If you install them for yourself then you won't make any money and who's going to buy one? It's stupid through and through.

I dunno....maybe when I typed this.

that the O.M.S. was sold to people and there where a few public ones as to "Make you feel safer in your work place enviorment ,knowing that shelter from the horrors of Nuclear war was waiting for you *Smokes cigerite*"

 

[UncannyGarlic]

And just like companies today. They don't care what happens in a week as long as they are making money right now....and die rich.

And how exactly is a coin operated Fallout shelter going to be profitable? If you install them for yourself then you won't make any money and who's going to buy one? It's stupid through and through.

I dunno....maybe when I typed this.

that the O.M.S. was sold to people and there where a few public ones as to "Make you feel safer in your work place enviorment ,knowing that shelter from the horrors of Nuclear war was waiting for you *Smokes cigerite*"

What about that is profitable?

Let's take your "feel safer" point, these were on the street and since we know they aren't profitable the only candidate left is the government. Now the government was all about making people feel safe and claiming that duck and cover would protect them so why would they risk that program by installing expensive, glorified phone booths which would make people not near them or in busy areas afraid they might not reach one?

 

[TheGM]

And just like companies today. They don't care what happens in a week as long as they are making money right now....and die rich.

And how exactly is a coin operated Fallout shelter going to be profitable? If you install them for yourself then you won't make any money and who's going to buy one? It's stupid through and through.

I dunno....maybe when I typed this.

that the O.M.S. was sold to people and there where a few public ones as to "Make you feel safer in your work place enviorment ,knowing that shelter from the horrors of Nuclear war was waiting for you *Smokes cigerite*"

What about that is profitable?

Let's take your "feel safer" point, these were on the street and since we know they aren't profitable the only candidate left is the government. Now the government was all about making people feel safe and claiming that duck and cover would protect them so why would they risk that program by installing expensive, glorified phone booths which would make people not near them or in busy areas afraid they might not reach one?

Well look at it like this. John Q Public knowing he has no chance of getting into a vault, seeing these O.M.S. around D.C., which happens to be the world's biggest Bullseye. Thinks about purchasing on for his home, or one of their other products in the bomb shelter catalog. We also don't know how well they worked....could have been cooked alive.

Vault-Tec can't have all the fun...thats a anti trust case waiting to happen. Vault-Tec is making bookoo bucks making all their vaults. How is that going to make a prophet...the world is going to end? But right know their is money to be made for now. like those pre-fabricated Bomb Shelters in the 50's that where nothing but corrugated steel.

But that doesn't mean that the little guys in the bomb shelter industry can get a far shake. This is a America. and competitive business is a corner stone of American values.

But lets now look at the O.M.S. for what it is. a damn time capsule to get dead Chinamen's stuff.

 

[Moester]

I always assumed that the bombs themselves were part of a nuclear cluster bomb, modified to be used in a handheld launcher. I'm going to consider it a personal mortar launcher that has a cool mushroom cloud effect.

A nuclear cluster bomb? Modified to be launched with a springloaded catapult? What part of that makes sense?

Well, a nuclear cluster bomb was envisioned in the mid 60's as the yield control for nukes became more sensitive. While I don't have much of the data, I believe that the general thinking behind the weapon was that while a tactical nuke would cause near total destruction near epicenter of the shockwave and with the destruction decreasing the farther from the epicentre leaving several areas on the outskirts of the target undammaged. While a series of closely delivered lower yield nukes could could essentially provide heavy damage over a much wider area. Effectively spreading the damage from one massive explosion to several smaller ones. The advantage of such a weapon would have been that it could have been delivered from a high-altitude bomber as an area denial weapon. I think eventually, costs, the decrease in nuclear testing, and the radiation damage of successive nukes even "clean nukes" made it an ineffective alternative to carpet bombing. Eventually, the development of Fuel Air Munitions made the program obsolete as they are non-nuclear and much more cheaply built and delivered.

Now, in the world of Fallout where the use of nuclear energy is so widespread that it becomes a common occurrence; it might be assume that the government did build a number of those weapons, and someone might have built a home-made launcher for such a weapon.

Now keep in mind that this is half remember stuff I read when I was reading into nuclear proliferation and development a decade or so ago...So please don't ask for sources, I don't remember them.

Is it far-fetched? Sure, but I like it better than the official explanation than the military built it for use in the field.

 

[Moester]

I think the one man Shelter is supposed to be a joke anyway.

"HEY LOOK I SURVIVED ARMAGEDDON!!! HUZZAH! NOW I Can starve to death in a little tube....."

Yea, but it's a really lame joke. It doesn't mesh with what was happening in the Fallout universe, and besides, is just... silly, honestly. I mean, sure, humor is fine, there was plenty of it in the first two games, but a one-person shelter? That's taking the whole "retro 50's" Cold War-era fear of nuclear war waaaay too far. Would've been fine if it had been a fallout shelter or something like that, but a tube? Come on.

The last nail in the coffin for me was the coin slot, it's just too stupid and makes no sense. Yes, there was the whole preparing for nuclear war. No, coin operated Fallout shelters would not exist because they wouldn't be profitable.

The idea of a personal Fallout shelter isn't the problem (would kinda make sense for [office?] buildings), it's how it was implemented.

Public perception of safety is incredibly important. Also remember that in the 50's people didn't really know about radiation as we know it. It could have been built as a means to pacify the masses.

"Go about your business, make money, live your life. If something happens jump into these handy-dandy shleters for a small price and be safe from the bomb..." There's no profit, but if its government sponsored...you've already made your cash. On top of that, I'm sure that many people would have used them during drills and tests.

Not saying its the most logical thing in the world, but stranger things have received government funding and have been built.