The source of all those weapons

[Nihilisaurus]

I always wondered where the streams of small (and large) arms came from in Fallout 3. I figured 200 years of war would've exhausted the stocks of easily available (and useable) pre-war weapons. We can see there are still a few small pre-war stockpiles here and there (hamilton's hideaway, National Guard depot, Wheaton Armoury) but there are hardly enough to keep every raider, slaver and merc gamg in the wasteland supplied. I always figured someone, somewhere had some sort of manufacturing operation set up. The Pitt showed this to an extent, ashur was tearing up all the steel he could get and turning it into ammo, which he was stockpiling or selling to raiders and slavers. But what about the rest of the wasteland? Where do the brotherhood, Talon company and the settlements buy their arms?

 

I think Rivet City. It's a massive pre-war carrier (so loaded with equipment for repairing and maintaining aircraft parts, small fiddly things similar to small arms) protected inside a waterproof steel shell. Not only that but it's on the Potomac, which gives it ideal trade routes (just sail down the river with your middle finger up to the raiders and mutants on the banks, then pull up at wilhelm's wharf, ride a Brahmin to megaton). And to top it all off there's plenty of unexplained space. Personally I think this is a brilliant idea for a mod. The market as it is needs re-doing. And the Nice big bulkhead we see at one end of the broken section shows us it's probably divided into thirds(one being in the broken bow, the other two being in the 'Rivet City' section of the ship). This means one for the market, one for the arms factory, and the lower decks (like IRL) for the residents. The factory would probably be a very simple affair. A lot of people toiling over workbenches hand-producing assault and hunting rifles. Not only would this explain the huge volumes of arms (also being canon as the Hunting rifle looks home-made and nobody ever says where all the guns come from) but it'd allow for some quests and maybe a little competition to Flak and Shrapnel.

 

If the science bay were also expanded to add a hydropnic farm (using the point lookout props for them) then Rivet city would almost be complete, a proper settlement in a proper carrier. If anyone is willing to help me I promise to at least add buldings with interiors to the flight deck (it's a city, you're telling me that they all live in those little sailors quarters down below? Nobody built a bar, shop or house on top out of scrap?) and navmesh the inside. Custom props probably aren't that important, although disassembled aircraft (as if they've been scavenged for metal) would look cool. I also volunteer to learn how to add npcs on Day/night loops and add guard patrols and misc workers, on the condition that somebody gives me an area for them to work in/patrol.

 

Quests would probably be to hunt down schematics and get deals for supplies of materials, maybe hire a few caravaners to deliver the weapons to buyers.