Where Did Fallout 3's Bombs Actually Hit?

Any Austin
27 May 202418:59

Summary

TLDRIn this video, the host embarks on a quest to uncover the mystery of nuclear bomb locations in the post-apocalyptic world of the 2008 video game Fallout 3. They explore the Capital Wasteland, searching for signs of nuclear Armageddon such as radioactive craters and remnants of infrastructure. The investigation includes both obvious sites intentionally placed by game developers and subtle environmental clues that suggest a nuclear strike. By examining in-game evidence, consulting fan forums, and applying the game's scale to real-world geography, the host deduces that there were likely 12 nuclear strikes and two unexploded bombs, scaled to the game's representation of Washington DC.

Takeaways

  • 🕹️ The video discusses the curiosity about the number and locations of nuclear explosions in the game Fallout 3.
  • 📍 The creator embarks on a virtual exploration of the game's Capital Wasteland to identify nuclear impact sites.
  • 💥 The video categorizes sites into two types: obvious nuclear explosion sites and those with subtle signs of a nuclear strike.
  • 🗺️ The exploration includes well-known locations like Megaton, the White House, and Fort Banister, which are explicitly designed to appear as nuclear impact sites.
  • 🔍 The creator uses online forums and community input to find less obvious potential nuclear strike locations.
  • 🏛️ The German Town Police Headquarters and the top of 10 Peny Tower are mentioned as places with possible airburst nuclear explosions.
  • 🚧 The video notes that not all suspected impact sites have explicit in-game confirmation, requiring players to pay close attention to environmental details.
  • 🌳 The creator speculates on the scale of Fallout 3's game world compared to the real Washington DC, suggesting a rough 1 to 8 scale.
  • 💣 The video concludes that there are 12 confirmed nuclear strike sites and two unexploded nuclear bombs within the game.
  • 🎮 The creator reflects on the artistic license and game design choices that shape the player's perception of the post-apocalyptic world in Fallout 3.

Q & A

  • What is the main topic of the video script?

    -The main topic of the video script is exploring the post-apocalyptic world of the video game Fallout 3, specifically investigating the locations of nuclear explosions within the game's setting.

  • What is the purpose of the investigation in the video script?

    -The purpose of the investigation is to determine where exactly the nuclear bombs dropped in Fallout 3's Capital Wasteland and to understand how Bethesda, the game's developer, chose to represent the past in a fictional setting.

  • What are the two categories of places the video script discusses regarding nuclear explosions?

    -The two categories are: 1) Sites that are obviously nuclear explosion sites, intentionally placed by the developers for players to discover, and 2) Places with telltale signs of a nuclear strike but without explicit recognition by the game.

  • What is the significance of Megaton in the video script?

    -Megaton is significant because it is a city with a literal unexploded nuclear bomb, which serves as a clear example of a nuclear explosion site in the game.

  • How does the video script address the White House in Fallout 3?

    -The script discusses the White House as an obvious site of a nuclear explosion, with a large crater and radioactivity, suggesting a 300-ton bomb was used based on a simulator.

  • What is the role of fan forums in the video script's investigation?

    -Fan forums play a role in the investigation by providing additional locations that players have discussed, which may indicate nuclear explosions not explicitly mentioned by the game.

  • What is the scale of Fallout 3 compared to the real Washington DC, according to the video script?

    -The video script suggests that Fallout 3 is roughly on a 1 to 8 scale compared to the real Washington DC, based on various online discussions and personal analysis.

  • How many nuclear strike sites and unexploded bombs were identified in the video script?

    -The script identified 12 nuclear strike sites and two unexploded nuclear bombs within the game.

  • What is the significance of air bursts in the context of the video script?

    -Air bursts are significant because they explain the lack of numerous craters across the landscape; they spread damage without necessarily creating craters, which aligns with the general destruction seen in the game.

  • How does the video script compare the nuclear devastation in Fallout 3 to real-world examples?

    -The script compares the in-game devastation to real-world examples like World War I battlefields and discusses the possibility of crater lakes, similar to Crater Lake in Oregon, as a result of nuclear explosions.

Outlines

00:00

🕹️ Exploring Fallout 3's Nuclear Devastation

The speaker begins their exploration of the video game Fallout 3's post-apocalyptic setting, curious about the specific locations of nuclear explosions within the game world. They plan to investigate the Capital Wasteland for signs of nuclear devastation, such as radioactive craters and damaged infrastructure, with the goal of understanding how the game developers, Bethesda, chose to represent the past through environmental storytelling. The speaker categorizes the sites of interest into obvious nuclear explosion sites, those with subtle signs, and locations with unexploded nuclear bombs.

05:01

🗺️ Mapping Out the Nuclear Explosion Sites

The speaker discusses their findings from online forums and personal exploration within the game, identifying specific locations that suggest nuclear explosions. They mention places like the German Town Police Headquarters, 10 Peny Tower, and Vernon Square, evaluating the evidence for nuclear detonations at these sites. The speaker also shares their own discoveries, such as a suspicious crater northwest of Rock Breakers and an open field near the Jury Street Metro Station, suggesting possible airburst explosions. They reflect on the game's attention to detail and the mix of intended lore and accidental environmental design that contributes to the game's post-apocalyptic atmosphere.

10:02

🔍 Community Contributions and Speculations

The speaker incorporates insights from the game's community, who suggested additional locations for investigation, such as Isabella Proud's Camp, Arlington National Cemetery, and areas near the Potomac River. They also consider the possibility of airbursts as an explanation for the relatively few visible craters, acknowledging the artistic license taken by Bethesda. The speaker wraps up their findings with a count of 12 confirmed nuclear strike sites and two unexploded bombs within the game, scaled to the game's representation of the Washington DC area.

15:03

📊 Scaling Fallout 3's Devastation to Reality

In the final paragraph, the speaker attempts to reconcile the in-game devastation with the lore that suggests hundreds of nuclear bombs hit Washington DC. They propose a scaling factor based on discussions from a forum, suggesting that the game world is roughly 1/8th the size of the real area it represents. By applying this scale to the number of confirmed nuclear sites, they estimate a more believable number of strikes. The speaker also humorously compares the targeting of Washington DC to that of Las Vegas from the game's lore, highlighting the game's creative choices and their impact on the player's perception of the game world.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Post-apocalyptic

Post-apocalyptic refers to scenarios or settings that occur after a catastrophic event has wiped out a significant portion of civilization. In the context of the video, it describes the setting of the video game 'Fallout 3,' where the player explores a world devastated by nuclear war. The script mentions the 'post-apocalyptic streets' and the quest to find evidence of nuclear explosions, which ties directly to the theme of exploring a world trying to rebuild after a nuclear catastrophe.

💡Fallout 3

Fallout 3 is a 2008 video game developed by Bethesda Game Studios. It is a role-playing game set in a post-apocalyptic environment, which is a key element in the script's exploration of the game's world. The video discusses the game's setting and the player's curiosity about the locations of nuclear bombs within the game's narrative, making it a central concept to the script's theme.

💡Nuclear bombs

Nuclear bombs are powerful weapons that release a massive amount of energy through nuclear reactions. In the video script, the term is used to describe the destructive force that shaped the game's world, with the player character investigating the aftermath of these weapons. The script discusses searching for 'signs of nuclear Armageddon,' including craters and radioactive areas, which are all related to the impact of nuclear bombs.

💡Capital Wasteland

Capital Wasteland is the game world setting of Fallout 3, representing a dystopian version of Washington D.C. after a nuclear war. The term is used in the script to describe the area the player is exploring in search of evidence of nuclear explosions. It is a key location in the game and central to the video's narrative as the player attempts to uncover the history of nuclear devastation.

💡Nuclear Armageddon

Nuclear Armageddon refers to a catastrophic event involving widespread nuclear warfare, often associated with the end of the world or civilization. In the script, the term is used to describe the hypothetical event that the game's world has experienced. The player is on a mission to find signs of this 'nuclear Armageddon,' which is a driving force behind the video's exploration of the game's environment.

💡Radioactive craters

Radioactive craters are depressions in the ground caused by nuclear explosions, which remain contaminated with radiation. The script mentions searching for 'radioactive craters' as evidence of nuclear bombs dropped in the game world. These craters are a significant part of the game's landscape and are used as clues by the player to determine where nuclear strikes occurred.

💡Megaton

Megaton is a city within the Fallout 3 game world, known for having a large unexploded nuclear bomb at its center. In the script, Megaton is highlighted as an example of a location with a literal 'Giant Bomb,' which did not explode but still signifies a site of intended nuclear devastation. It serves as a clear example of the game's post-apocalyptic theme and the impact of nuclear weapons.

💡White House

The White House, in the context of the video, refers to the location within the game that appears to have been hit by a nuclear bomb, as evidenced by a large hole in the ground. The script uses the White House as an example of a site of a 'gigantic nuclear explosion,' illustrating the scale of destruction within the game's narrative.

💡Fort Banister

Fort Banister is a location in Fallout 3 that the script mentions as having multiple small craters, suggesting the area was hit by several nuclear weapons. The description of Fort Banister contributes to the overall theme of the video by providing an example of the widespread devastation caused by nuclear warfare in the game's setting.

💡Vault 87

Vault 87 is an underground vault in Fallout 3, outside of which a nuclear bomb exploded. The script describes it as a place where the player cannot approach without dying from radiation poisoning, indicating the lasting effects of nuclear explosions. It is used as an example of a site with clear evidence of a nuclear strike in the game.

💡Airburst

An airburst is a type of nuclear explosion that occurs above the ground, which can spread damage over a wider area without necessarily creating a large crater. The script discusses the possibility that many of the bombs were airbursts, which could explain the general destruction across the landscape rather than specific points of devastation. This concept is important for understanding the scale and nature of the destruction in the game world.

Highlights

Exploration of the post-apocalyptic world of Fallout 3 to identify the locations of nuclear explosions.

Investigation of the game's environment for signs of nuclear Armageddon, including radioactive craters and knocked-over infrastructure.

Discussion on the authenticity of the game's depiction of a nuclear fallout, questioning the number of visible nuclear craters.

Introduction of three types of places in the game that suggest nuclear explosions: obvious developer-placed sites, subtle environmental hints, and unexploded bombs.

Analysis of Megaton City with its Giant Bomb, an unexploded nuclear device central to the game's narrative.

Debate on the plausibility of an unexploded nuclear bomb and historical references to such incidents.

Examination of the White House location, suggesting a 300-kiloton bomb impact based on the game's environment.

Investigation of Fort Banister and the surrounding landscape, identifying multiple small and one large nuclear crater.

Discovery of Vault 87, an underground vault with a nuclear explosion site marked by extreme radiation levels.

Finding of a radioactive crater in downtown DC with an airplane containing an unexploded nuclear bomb.

Search for additional nuclear strike sites using fan forums and community input to expand the investigation.

Analysis of German Town Police Headquarters for signs of an airburst nuclear explosion based on environmental damage.

Community-contributed findings, including potential nuclear strike sites like Isabella Proud's Camp and Arlington National Cemetery.

Discussion on the artistic license and scale of the game world, comparing it to real-world scenarios and the game's lore.

Final tally of identified nuclear strike sites and unexploded bombs, applying the game's scale to estimate the total number of strikes.

Reflection on the game's environmental storytelling and the player's ability to generate mini stories about the game world's past.

Consideration of the game's scientific accuracy regarding airbursts and their impact on the landscape.

Conclusion summarizing the findings and the estimated number of nuclear strikes in Fallout 3's game world.

Transcripts

00:00

I'm standing here in the

00:01

post-apocalyptic streets of the hit 2008

00:03

video game Fallout 3 and I have a

00:05

question does this look like a place

00:08

ravaged by hundreds of nuclear

00:10

explosions to you now obviously the

00:11

answer to that is yes but while playing

00:14

Fallout 3 for the first time over these

00:15

past couple of weeks I started to get

00:17

curious where exactly did all of these

00:19

nuclear bombs drop and I mean where

00:22

exactly did they drop down to the square

00:24

foot because I feel like I remember

00:25

seeing some obvious nuclear craters

00:28

while playing through the game but not

00:30

that many did I just miss them well I'm

00:32

going to figure it out and you're coming

00:33

with me if you want to we're going to be

00:35

scouring the capital Wasteland looking

00:37

for signs of nuclear Armageddon

00:39

including radioactive craters knocked

00:41

over electrical infrastructure and in

00:43

some cases literal nuclear bombs

00:46

anything that might be able to help us

00:47

pinpoint where this nuclear Fiesta

00:50

actually occurred and how many bombs

00:52

actually hit the ground in other words

00:54

we want to know how Bethesda chose to

00:56

fake the past in a place that doesn't

00:59

really have one

01:00

the types of places that we're going to

01:01

be looking at today really come in two

01:03

categories some of them are spots that

01:05

are very obviously sites of nuclear

01:07

explosions you know places that were put

01:09

there by the developer with the

01:10

intention that the player would stumble

01:12

upon them and go oh a nuclear bomb

01:15

exploded here maybe it has references in

01:17

the lore or maybe it's just really

01:19

obviously a radioactive crater the

01:21

second type of place we're going to look

01:22

at are places with the telltale signs of

01:24

a nuclear strike but no explicit

01:26

recognition by the game through

01:28

conversations or audio logs or whatever

01:30

places that we really have to pay

01:31

attention to the environment rather than

01:33

just being told by the game and then

01:35

technically there's also a third type I

01:36

guess which is places with uh literal

01:39

nuclear bombs in them that just didn't

01:40

explode so obviously this is a pretty

01:42

easy one this is the city of Megaton and

01:45

you can tell that a giant bomb fell here

01:48

on account of the Giant Bomb that's here

01:50

now this first one technically wasn't an

01:51

explosion so we'll use a little

01:53

unexploded icon on the map here you're

01:55

welcome now I know there's some debate

01:58

in the lore about whether this bomb

02:00

actually like fell here or if it was

02:02

brought here I'm sorry but these

02:04

malnourished post-apocalyptic weirdos

02:06

would not be able to drag a bomb there

02:08

and if they did why would they set it up

02:11

so that it looks like it crashed nose

02:13

first into the ground and made some kind

02:15

of impact crater we'll probably talk

02:17

more later about what the uh lower

02:19

communicates about the gamespace versus

02:21

what the environment communicates about

02:23

the gamespace uh but that is too boring

02:25

for the first half of a YouTube video we

02:27

have nuclear bombs to find and for those

02:30

you saying that a nuclear bomb never

02:31

could have fallen from an airplane and

02:33

impacted the ground without exploding

02:35

guess what yes it could have it happened

02:37

in North Carolina once twice I guess

02:39

technically here's a picture of it in

02:41

the little crater that it created

02:43

another place where there has obviously

02:44

been a gigantic nuclear explosion is

02:46

right here the White House now I know

02:49

what you're thinking wow it looks just

02:51

like the photographs with one small

02:52

difference this gigantic hole in the

02:54

ground big hole in the ground plus

02:57

radioactivity equals probably it was was

03:00

bombed by a nuclear explosion device out

03:02

of curiosity I went to that um nuclear

03:05

bomb simulator website in order to try

03:07

and figure out what size bomb actually

03:09

fell on the White House it looks like it

03:11

was most likely a 300 ton bomb which is

03:14

currently the smallest bomb in the

03:16

United States Arsenal Jesus Christ if I

03:19

had a 300 ton nuclear bomb and I had to

03:21

pick a target for it you know what I

03:22

would pick a very large empty field with

03:26

nothing in it in the middle of a desert

03:28

but if I was in The Fallout Universe I

03:29

would probably pick a military base

03:31

which is why the next place we're going

03:33

is Fort Banister the first thing that

03:35

you notice when you come here is all of

03:36

these tiny little craters dotting the

03:38

landscape almost like a bunch of little

03:40

nuclear weapons exploded all around but

03:42

then there's also this large crater and

03:43

actually with this big crater you can

03:45

see it if you look on the pit boy map

03:47

that's how big it

03:49

is a little further west of Fort

03:51

Banister is a place called vault 87 this

03:53

is an underground Vault outside of which

03:55

a nuclear bomb exploded you can't get

03:57

within 100 ft of the place without dying

03:59

of radiation poisoning so that's good

04:01

enough for me Mark it down aside from

04:03

all those the only other place that is

04:05

an obvious candidate for this is a

04:06

gigantic crater in downtown DC this

04:09

gigantic crater is radioactive and in

04:11

the bottom of it there looks to be some

04:13

sort of missile sounds promising but

04:16

upon closer inspection it's not a

04:17

missile it's an airplane with an

04:19

unexploded nuclear bomb on it so it's an

04:22

interesting site for sure but it's more

04:24

in line with what we saw in Megaton uh

04:26

than an actual nuclear crater so we use

04:28

this icon again and and that's really it

04:30

for places in the game that seem to have

04:31

been made with the intention of a player

04:33

stumbling upon them and thinking that

04:35

they are a nuclear bomb site so what we

04:37

need to do now is look for places that

04:39

have indications that they were probably

04:41

hit by one of these nuclear bombs even

04:43

if it's not explicitly stated by the

04:45

game now obviously I could just

04:47

personally walk around this whole map

04:49

for days at a time in order to find

04:51

these spots but I figured there's

04:52

probably an easier way which is to go on

04:54

Google and find old Fallout fan forums

04:57

and see if anyone has uh asked this

04:59

question before which lo and behold they

05:01

have so I perused all of these threads

05:03

and collected any places that people

05:05

brought up frequently that we didn't

05:07

already cover the first one of those

05:09

places is a place called the German Town

05:11

Police Headquarters this came up on a

05:13

couple of different forums that I read I

05:15

don't remember there being any explicit

05:17

evidence of a nuclear detonation here

05:19

but let's take a closer look and see

05:21

what we can't find out that's the police

05:22

headquarters there you see behind it all

05:24

of these wooden buildings now the thing

05:26

with nuclear bombs is that they are

05:29

quite warm so they do tend to burn

05:31

things up so the existence of these wood

05:33

buildings does kind of indicate that if

05:34

there was a nuclear explosion around

05:36

here it either wasn't directly on the

05:38

ground or was a little bit further away

05:41

we do have the whole backside of the

05:43

building totally torn off and a large

05:45

chunk of it literally pushed in this way

05:48

you do have a train that was blown

05:50

completely off its tracks going that way

05:53

so if we were to draw two lines from

05:56

both of those points in the opposite

05:58

direction that the force was applied you

06:00

would end up with something kind of like

06:02

this so I do think there is a

06:05

possibility that there was an airburst

06:07

nuclear explosion right here quite a

06:10

long time ago and if I had to pinpoint

06:12

the spot I'd say it was probably right

06:14

about there now two other places that

06:17

were referenced on a lot of these fan

06:19

forums were number one on the top of 10

06:21

peny Tower apparently if you look South

06:23

you will see a nuclear crater and then

06:25

number two a couple different people

06:27

referenced there being an explosion in

06:28

Vernon Square now upon further

06:30

investigation I think the Vernon Square

06:32

One was actually just people

06:34

misremembering where that uh crashed

06:36

airplane was so that one's out but if

06:38

you go to the top of 10 peny Tower and

06:41

you look

06:43

South look at that looks an awful lot

06:45

like a nuclear crater to me this crater

06:47

is off the uh bottom of the map once

06:50

again you can see it on the pit boy but

06:52

if you get close enough you'll also

06:53

notice that the trees surrounding it are

06:55

knocked away uh in the direction that

06:57

the blast would have come from so as far

06:59

as I'm concern it's good enough mark it

07:03

down now this is where things get a

07:05

little bit trickier cuz as of now we've

07:07

marked off every place that is uh

07:10

obvious we've marked off all the places

07:12

that aren't obvious that people have

07:13

mentioned which really only leaves all

07:15

the places that aren't obvious that

07:17

people haven't mentioned and so far we

07:19

only have five actual possible locations

07:22

of an explosion uh which doesn't seem

07:24

like very many it's definitely a far cry

07:26

from the hundreds that allegedly fell on

07:28

this area so now what well I pretended a

07:31

moment ago that I wasn't going to just

07:32

wander around the DC Wasteland and look

07:34

for craters myself but that's exactly

07:36

what I'm going to do the question is did

07:38

I find anything yes I did take a look so

07:41

one candidate that I located was just a

07:43

little bit Northwest of rock Breakers

07:45

last gas and it is this big pit with

07:47

this hole there's actually kind of a

07:50

faint almost crater like look to this

07:53

whole area could it just be kind of an

07:56

eroded old mine definitely one of the

07:59

things I do like about this as an option

08:01

is it reminds me of something that

08:02

craters do in real life on planet name

08:05

of Earth uh which is they form Lakes

08:07

sometimes Crater Lake in Oregon is

08:09

probably the most famous example of this

08:11

at least in the United States but

08:12

there's also this one in Estonia that

08:14

kind of reminds me of things that you

08:16

might see in Fallout so that's pretty

08:18

cool none of the ones in real life were

08:19

made by nuclear devices of course they

08:21

were all uh created by asteroids or

08:23

volcanic eruptions but

08:25

still aside from that I was also

08:28

wandering around the I I it was the jury

08:30

Street Metro Station and I stumbled

08:32

across this this is a large empty open

08:35

field almost no trees and the trees that

08:38

are there are all knocked over in a

08:40

suspicious Direction it's subtle but the

08:42

details are there you can also see this

08:44

little cut in the ground here with this

08:46

rock up here I almost wonder if

08:48

something maybe exploded and forced this

08:50

rock to wedge itself up there also up

08:52

kind of near Fort Banister and this

08:54

Metro station is this spot it's things

08:57

like this that really Tickle My Fancy

08:59

because on one hand you can see this and

09:01

think to yourself wow what detail they

09:05

really put the work in to have evidence

09:07

of a nuclear explosion in the past but

09:10

on the other hand I would any of this

09:12

even actually survive a nuclear bomb

09:14

like I'm not even sure if a steel pylon

09:16

would survive 200 years not being

09:18

affected by a nuclear device much less

09:21

having been exploded by one but I kind

09:23

of think that's cool they put details

09:26

like this in the game to communicate to

09:28

us that this is postnuclear apocalyptic

09:32

even though the detail itself isn't

09:34

realistically postnuclear apocalyptic

09:37

you know it kind of reminds me of how

09:39

when people saw the movie Apollo 13 they

09:41

said this is ridiculous this is just a

09:43

bunch of Hollywood mumbo jumbo trash

09:45

even though it was all very accurate or

09:47

sort of like how Spotify had to program

09:49

their Shuffle not to actually randomly

09:51

Shuffle the songs cuz when it did people

09:53

didn't think it was randomly shuffling

09:55

the songs so they had to program it to

09:57

not actually randomly Shuffle the songs

10:00

so people would think it was randomly

10:02

shuffling the songs now I think there's

10:03

another argument to be made that maybe

10:05

things like this is just sort of dumbing

10:07

us down in a way Bethesda is just using

10:10

like the bottom of the barrel lowest

10:12

common denominator way to communicate

10:14

this particular aesthetic and maybe it

10:16

would be cooler if they were more

10:17

thoughtful about what life in a

10:19

post-apocalypse might look like maybe we

10:21

would get more interesting human stories

10:24

which is why Fallout New Vegas is good

10:26

but that the sort of constant argument

10:29

uh between three versus New Vegas I

10:31

think people do Totally Miss what things

10:34

three has that New Vegas doesn't because

10:36

they're so preoccupied with what New

10:38

Vegas has the three doesn't that's just

10:40

my opinion and I didn't play Fallout 3

10:42

when I was young this is not a Nostalgia

10:44

problem so don't you try and throw that

10:45

against me you New Vegas heads even

10:48

though you are completely right

10:49

obviously anyway where were we show me

10:51

the

10:53

map all right perfect there's also an

10:57

unmarked spot on the map east of WTI

10:59

station that has a gigantic radioactive

11:02

crater so it's kind of funny that that a

11:04

doesn't have its own map marker but B

11:06

nobody online mentioned it cuz it's

11:08

seems very obviously a candidate for

11:10

this and I actually do kind of love that

11:12

there's not a map marker for it I think

11:13

that's kind of neat games now have too

11:15

many map markers too many we need to

11:17

restrict fast travel it's a whole other

11:19

video so at this point we have found

11:22

eight Nuclear Strike sites and two

11:25

unexploded nuclear bombs the lore of

11:27

Fallout 3 implies that DC was hit by

11:30

hundreds of nuclear bombs so what gives

11:33

well first of all I'm pretty sure we can

11:34

actually find a few more uh potential

11:37

Nuclear Strike sites we'll get to that

11:39

in a minute but secondly there actually

11:41

might be a pretty good explanation for

11:43

this and it has to do with scale I feel

11:46

like I recall reading a quote from Todd

11:48

Howard or maybe somebody else at

11:49

Bethesda where they were talking about

11:50

how the Elder Scrolls uh isn't

11:52

necessarily meant to be a literal fa

11:55

simile of the world of Tamriel that

11:58

Skyrim is really more more of an

11:59

artist's rendition of the world with

12:01

kind of like a wonky sense of scale some

12:03

flexibility with the specifics of the

12:05

lore and a very loose grasp of realistic

12:07

unemployment numbers I couldn't actually

12:09

find the quote so if somebody knows it

12:11

please uh post it down below so I can

12:12

find it and if it's not a real quote if

12:14

I just made it up well post it down

12:16

below anyway so people don't know but if

12:18

we were to take the size scale of

12:19

Fallout 3 meaning the way that it

12:22

compares to the real size of that area

12:24

in Washington DC on Earth and apply that

12:27

scale to the number of nule clear

12:29

strikes that we found where would that

12:31

put us the only problem is there's a lot

12:33

of debate online as to the exact scale

12:35

of Fallout 3 you know we don't know

12:37

exactly how big stuff is we don't know

12:39

exactly how fast player characters are

12:41

walking and it's also a real mishmash of

12:43

locations rather than being an exact

12:45

scale model of a part of DC but the best

12:48

discussion of the topic I could find was

12:49

on a forum called No mutants allowed

12:51

back in 2009 and they also could not

12:55

agree at all but using all the

12:57

information that they provided on that

12:58

forum as well as spending some time

13:00

drawing squares on Google Maps I feel

13:02

pretty comfortable saying that the game

13:04

is roughly a 1 to8 scale of the area

13:08

that it represents so if we take that

13:09

scale and apply it to the number of uh

13:12

Nuclear Strike sites that we found so

13:14

far you end up with I'm going to tell

13:17

you in a minute because I have one more

13:18

idea about how we might be able to find

13:20

some more places that bombs have dropped

13:22

see I've already looked in the lore I've

13:24

already read the wikis the forums I've

13:27

already uh used my own mind but the one

13:29

set of people that I haven't talked to

13:31

are the smartest people in the world you

13:35

guys I put the call out on my Community

13:38

page a few days ago asking if any of you

13:40

knew of some potential places that we

13:41

could investigate and lo and behold you

13:44

came through so here's everything that

13:46

you guys came up with number one

13:48

Isabella proud's Camp behind the Tacoma

13:50

Industrial Park this is first of all

13:53

just an awesome place if you've never

13:54

been here I wish I could uh tell you how

13:56

to get here without giving it away but

13:58

it's just a really great location and

14:00

it's also very likely that this is the

14:02

site of a nuclear strike you have a

14:03

giant crater it's filled with water

14:05

there's radioactive ghouls that's a shoe

14:07

in as far as I'm concerned the next

14:09

place I saw somebody bring up was the

14:10

Arlington National Cemetery and if you

14:12

go there you won't immediately see any

14:14

signs of nuclear destruction but head

14:16

just a little bit north of it and this

14:18

is what you find this one looks a lot

14:19

like the ones that we found in Fort

14:20

Banister so I feel very comfortable

14:22

counting it somebody else brought up the

14:24

uh Pennsylvania Avenue to Georgetown

14:26

Metro station I don't know if I see it

14:28

obviously the train tunnels are all

14:30

collapsed which I think is what the

14:31

person was thinking the idea that well

14:33

how would they have collapsed if not for

14:34

a nuclear strike but this metro line is

14:36

really close to the White House so I

14:38

feel like it's probably a result of that

14:40

same uh Nuclear Strike so I'm not going

14:43

to count that one then someone else told

14:44

me that if I went to Oasis and looked

14:46

East off the edge of the map I would see

14:49

some kind of nuclear crater I looked all

14:51

the way from east to west and I was not

14:53

able to see it then there were two more

14:55

places and these two places might be my

14:58

favorite of them all first up you have a

15:00

place that's north of spring Vil but

15:02

south of the bomac river when you come

15:04

here you won't actually notice it right

15:05

away but pay close attention and what do

15:07

you see this little section of the river

15:09

looks an awful lot like a a sort of

15:12

decayed nuclear crater like something

15:14

that was caused by a nuclear explosion a

15:16

long time ago but has since eroded just

15:19

a little bit so the details are a little

15:21

subtler there's some good signs of

15:22

Destruction all around it as well and

15:24

then the other place is just south of

15:26

Fort Banister now obviously this is

15:28

pretty close to fortan canister so

15:29

whatever this is was probably caused by

15:31

the same bombardment bombardment but

15:34

it's far enough away that I want to

15:35

count it as a separate place and I also

15:37

just want to point out how relatively

15:38

subtle the details of this one are

15:40

there's an electrical pylon a little

15:41

ways away that got blown away in the

15:43

direction of the blast there's also a

15:44

mound in the middle of the crater here

15:46

which does happen sometimes if like an

15:48

asteroid smashes into the Earth really

15:49

hard sometimes it can hit it so hard

15:51

that it actually bounces a little bit

15:53

back up and pulls some of the land up

15:54

with it which can cause these little

15:56

Islands to form and some of these lakes

15:57

that are made of craters like we talked

15:59

about earlier now I know that a lot of

16:00

these details are probably an accident

16:02

and that Bethesda probably didn't really

16:04

think about each individual piece of

16:06

rebar kind of like how they probably

16:08

didn't really think about the fact that

16:09

in Skyrim these generating waterfalls

16:12

could be explained by something uh

16:14

hydrologically uh realistic but I do

16:16

think it's neat how this combination of

16:18

intended lore and uh Happy accident

16:21

environmental design can cause you the

16:23

player to almost generate these little

16:25

mini stories about what may have gone on

16:27

in these places so those are all great

16:28

cand Cates and I really feel like it

16:30

helps flesh out the map that we've put

16:32

together so far but one thing that kept

16:34

bugging me was that even with all these

16:36

marks down it just seems weird that

16:37

there's not that many craters everywhere

16:40

you know this was a nuclear war this was

16:42

everybody uh shooting off every single

16:44

bomb they had you would think that the

16:46

land would just be a waste land of

16:47

craters like um if you ever see that

16:49

footage of Old World War I battlefields

16:52

it's just like pounded with artillery

16:54

but also there is a little bit of a

16:56

scientific explanation or whatever you

16:57

want to say a lot of people brought this

16:59

up when I posted about Fallout 3 they

17:00

said most of the bombs were Air Bursts

17:03

which means they don't create craters

17:05

necessarily and air burst explosions

17:07

also spread the damage out which kind of

17:09

explains how there's just like a general

17:12

destruction across the whole landscape

17:13

rather than like these specific points

17:15

of Destruction there's great arguments

17:17

going either way you could just say

17:18

artistic license you can say it's an air

17:20

burst whatever you want to do I'm

17:21

interested in what the game environment

17:23

is actually communicating to us which is

17:24

why for good measure I did one final lap

17:28

around the whole map and I didn't see

17:30

anything else well kind of probably one

17:34

more thing that might be worth

17:35

considering is that all of these little

17:36

nuclear puddles around could be signs of

17:39

smaller uh nuclear bombs hitting the

17:41

Wasteland but most of these places where

17:44

you find these uh nuclear puddles and

17:46

whatnot don't have a ton of other

17:47

environmental evidence going for them so

17:49

I don't believe that's the case you can

17:51

make that argument if you want but I'm

17:52

not doing it that's not for me that

17:54

means that the actual for real face

17:57

value total of nuclear explosions in

18:00

Fallout 3 is

18:03

12 and also the two Duds obviously now

18:07

the neat thing is if we take that amount

18:08

and we apply that uh 1 to8 scale that we

18:11

know Fallout 3 is probably built at we

18:13

do get 96 nuclear strikes which you know

18:16

it's a far cry from hundreds but it's

18:18

definitely enough you know it's

18:20

definitely sufficient to level an entire

18:22

metropolitan area the only slightly

18:24

amusing thing about that is that we know

18:26

for a fact that Las Vegas was targeted

18:28

by 77 nuclear bombs so this would sort

18:31

of imply that they saw the capital of

18:33

the United States as only a marginally

18:35

more important Target than Sin City but

18:38

you know maybe they were worried about

18:39

what Mr House was up to I you don't I

18:41

can't blame him he's a conniving freak

18:44

okay that's it if you support me on

18:45

patreon you're one of the greatest

18:46

people I know we'll see you in the next

18:48

video

18:58

h