We are really breaking some new ground here.

Bethesda, with TES, has always gone by the idea that everything happened though it may not have been the player that accomplished a paticular deed. However, outside Daggerfall (which they worked around) their games have very few choices that truly change the nature of the story. You always stop Dagoth Ur. Dagon is always stopped by Martin's sacrifice. Alduin is always defeated in Sovngarde. On a lesser scale, Almalexia is always killed, the Divine Crusader always collects the Relics and stops Umaril, and Harkon is always defeated.

Thing is... Fallout is different, and has been since before Beth got hold of it. Devs make 'canon' choices for the future timeline. I'm wondering how Bethesda are going to handle it.

Returning to Vault 101, you can either fix things and leave them inside, screw things up and leave them inside, kill everyone inside, or even force them out into the wasteland where they will be picked off in random encounters.

Tenpenny Tower is either healthy and hale, or a refuge for murdurous Ghouls.

The Brotherhood is either the healthiest it has ever been, controlling the spic... er, water, and growing, while making actual headway against the mutants. Or they are a ruined minority of bitter soldiers roaming downtown DC, their Citadel destroyed by an orbital strike.

Harold is either slowly spreading lush plantlife across the wasteland, or a burned husk surrounded by mourning followers.

Since not everyone bought Broken Steel, it's even concievable that the Lone Wanderer died, too.

A good portion of the games important NPCs can die at certain points in the game, which in TES would mean we will never see them again. Exceptions that spring to mind are Doctor Li and... well, Doctor Li.

How do you think Bethesd are going to going to handle it? See, i'd say good karma choices for all, but this is Fallout and a few bad or neutral karma choices might make the setting more interesting going forwards. We know the survival guide was completed, from NV, but the game was (understandably, given the geographic distance) vague of details.

Thoughts? I think it might be interesting to ponder, as I expect FO4 to at least be announced this year, even if its two or more from actual release.

You're presuming that Fallout 4 will be a continuation of the events that took place in version 3. There's absolutely no way of knowing if that's the case right now as we know nothing about what Bethesda is working on. It may not even be Fallout 4. If the events of Fallout 4 are totally unrelated to 3, then your whole discussion is meaningless.

Perhaps, but no more meaningless than any other. If we follow that logic, and judged what was worth discussing on such strict values, the forum would be empty.

Or, we could just enjoy a theoretical conversation.

At the very least, it's likely events will be referenced. It's heavily hinted in game that the next location we visit may be Boston, and Doctor Li may pop up again. It's the most heavily mentioned (and related to side-quests) place in FO3, and in Bethesda style, they usually hint at the next game location.

And since when does what Bethesda is currently working on, or whether it is in fact FO4, have to do with FO3/FO continuity. At some point there are going to be more east coast Fallout games, and FO3 references and cameos will come up. That in of itself makes it relevant.

I don't know who pissed in your coffee, but don't take it out on the rest of us.

Theoretically speaking from a platform gamer and purveyor of the Fallout, Tabletop RPG Gamer, and reader/writer of fanfiction across multiple genres view the Fallout 4 could allow references to the previous releases, say you take the role of a BoS or Enclave survivor disheartened by what you've done, the child of Vault 101 and Sentinel Lyons, that has managed to get to the Commonwealth or other part of the USA. Is your mission to scout the area for the pure clean water to other settlements, finding a GECK to clean up the Pitt, recon the area for Super Mutant stragglers, recon for pre-war tech bases and infrastructure, or what... it could be anything. It could be a rehashing of the old game mechanics, characters, and story base or a completely new game.

They could even release a few new DLC's for FO3 and FONV with access to new areas outside the core game and prior DLC's... for Fallout 3 you could travel to nearby installations to recon them for BoS occupation, travel to Virginia to find a nearly complete warship, and etcetera. For New Vegas you could have travel to Area 51 and find all manner of UFO wreckage and alien corpses in cryo, or maybe another military base like White Sands Test Range. Heck you could have players travel to reconnect with the BoS units in Chicago, Texas, or wherever they are... it could be entirely open world like WoW with every player taking a set path; you're Brotherhood, she's Enclave, I'm a Vault exile for getting the Overseer's wife, his sister, and daughter pregnant at the same time, and then their is the Wasteland NPC's.

Until we hear/read a press release or see a promo video speculation is going to be rampant... for now I am settling for replay of what I own till I get the next gen consoles and games and biding my time with my own little Fallout-esque Apocalypse Tabletop RPG with my normal group.

The could also be biding their time for when the new consoles have sold enough before releasing any new...

Broken steel is canon (sadly) as it's referenced in Lonesome road and AAFB plays a large role in LR along with the duraframes from the eye bots to make hellfire armour, so it's canon.I'd imagine Fallout 4 like the rest of the series wont directly continue the events of another Fallout game but probably just reference it here and there.