CoreXion Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 I find the discussion as to which is more correct, Tim Cain or Chris Taylor, to be an interesting one. In the end I think that the answer is that they are both correct in their own way. It is very much like the origins of Mr. Freeze from the Batman series. His origins differ depending on who you ask, however many you ask would go with the most modern version of him being mutated/transformed due to an accident while trying to cure his wife. His first origins stem from an accident with his ice gun that causes his mutation/transformation after it backfires on him. It would be nice to have Tim Cain and Chris Taylor to sit down and hammer out the details as to which version is correct, but by doing so you would end up with a third version out of the mix and that would just add fuel to the fire. I look at both answers being the correct one, since there has to be a cause for the transformations and a combination of the two answers seems to be the best way to describe how such a thing is possible. The Fallout series does borrow from pop culture, and there are a number of films and comics that show radiation to be the cause of mutations and gigantic growth of insects and other creatures. At the same time there are movies that show virus' to be the cause of such things. For all we know it might be that the FEV has mutated in someway in order to survive in the radiation rich environment of the Fallout world, much like cold and flue virus' have mutated today to become more resistant to antibiotics. There is also a possibility that the FEV found in Fallout 3 is a different strain then that found in the other games. Given that the research was being conducted by the US Military as well as by Vault Tech in two locations, it is entirely possible that the two labs developed two different strains of FEV that produced very different results. It would explain the vast difference between the West Coast versions of Super Mutants and those found on the East Coast, as well as their localization in the D.C. area. The researchers at the Vaults could also have had more time to develop their FEV then those at Mariposa, since they were in a sealed environment and weren't taken over in a coup d'etat by their military guards and forced to stop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RatcatcherOfKvatch Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 FEV isn't quite a "classic movie outbreak virus" because it either doesn't replicate or doesn't replicate very well. In both Fallout canons you only get a super-mutant if you completely immerse someone in FEV, and FEV can never be transmitted from one host to another. Were FEV aggressively replicating you'd possibly have a bite from a super-mutant turning people into super-mutants. FEV having to be manufactured creates problems for the writers. Where did this story's batch come from? How did there come to be enough of it to actually cause a problem? Where is it stored? How much is left? Who will make more of it? If the super-mutant population is limited by the FEV supply are they really all that big a problem? (Well they're big and that's a problem ...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minngarm Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 Not so much Ratcatcher, as any chemical developed for military use would have backup reserves and they would be placed in "sporadic" locations to prevent complete contamination of the chemical in the case of one or two incidents. So you could easily have FEV storage units all over North America and thus write it all into any needed story easily. Not to mention transport trucks, trains, and aircraft that could have crashed or been captured or moved out of a previously known FEV local. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RatcatcherOfKvatch Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 I suppose it would be easier to explain FEV making its way into Fallout:Beijing than Nuka Cola Quantum. Chinese spies wouldn't be stealing the secret of the "glowing pee" soft drink ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minngarm Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 Right, theres a endless world of possibilities for the spread of FEV, and frankly its just not written yet. Now personally I like the radiation ghouls more than FEV ghouls, as it lets it become a global situation and not just sporadicly local. But I will eagerly admit that the FEV version makes far more sense in a logical way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mopel Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 (edited) How are new raiders recruited if they attack just about anyone? (They also attack slavers.) You obviously cant just walk up to a bunch of raiders and say "Hello, everybody! Can I be part of your little gang?" Edited January 8, 2012 by Mopel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoreXion Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 @Mopel, There is a random encounter where you come upon an initiation by a group of raiders to a person. It appears that it is almost as simple as walking up to them and asking if you can join. However, like with most gangs and groups there is a process that you have to go through in order to join. In the random encounter you find a group beating on or getting ready to deliver a beating to a guy wearing only his under garments. If you interfere with it the guy will attack you as well as the raiders. This leads me to believe that normally if the guy survived his beating then he would be taken in as a member of that raiding group. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talwyn224 Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 @ CoreXion, your answers are extremely illuminating and very thoughtful and I've enjoyed reading them. Thanks :) My question is this: why is Vault 112 pretty much ignored/forgotten about once you've freed James from the VR pod? Surely both the BoS and the Outcasts would be keen to get their hands on this priceless and intact Vault and all the tech that's located inside it? I would have thought that the LW could have gained more trust/respect from either faction by divulging the location to V112, perhaps even leading a small party out there to claim the place? I realise that there are more urgent matters demanding the BoS's attention however after Broken Steel they appear to be extending their influence over the capital wasteland so logically I'd have thought they'd like to gain access to this vault and use it as a base of operations in the western region of the CW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashman63 Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 I take issue with the idea that Ghouls are created by FEV. Think of Carol- How was she exposed to FEV within the DC ruins, especially since the FEV experiments in Vault 87 were not even completed yet. The game is a mockery of 1950s culture and "Science" but at the same time it is obviously utilizing those same sciences. I mean, fission engines the size of a battery and plasma pistols... in 60 years time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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