I haven't finished playing Fallout 1 as of yet, but it seems to me as though Fallout 3 already contradicts some of the lore. What exactly are the origins of the FEV Virus? If the Master uses it to create an army of super mutants on the west coast, then how are they so prolific and common on the east coast? I know that the reasoning is that Vault 87's occupants were exposed to FEV, but that still doesn't explain two things...

Why would Vault-Tec have the FEV Virus? It's not even a social experiment, as with the other Vaults.

Why are the east coast mutants more aggressive? Is there any reasoning as to why? I know Fallout 1 said that the FEV could sometimes deteriorate part of the brain, but in Fallout 1 it seems to just make them more stupid.

F.E.V was originally the pan-immunity viron project designed to improve people's resistance to biological and chemical weapons and was developed by west-tek then the military stepped in when they seen that test subjects started increasing in size and muscle mass and moved F.E.V research as it was renamed to the mariposa base and then the great war happened...that's the origin but it's been further manipulated by the master,Dr curling,president eden and vault 87.

As for how it got in Vault 87 we can only guess

That sort of stuff tend to happen when diffrent company is making a sequel...
In short about FEV origins (that i remember from memory because i am to lazy to check ) FEV started as secret military project in Mariposa base , Master sort of stumble on the base and bunch of stuff happend that changed him to the Master , it wasn't made by him so it's not impossible that before war there were diffrent scientific bases that worked simultenously on FEV , Why vault tec had it ? it was weird social experiment , most of their vaults had very weird ideas behind them.
Why they SM are diffrent on the east coast? it's a different type of FEV that is most likely inferior to the west coast version

See, the weird stuff (or, to me, at least) is how did Vault-Tec ever get the FEV? I know they were very closely related to the US government (weren't they a puppet company even?), but that still doesn't explain things. Especially as Vault-Tec's FEV is a modified strain...

Being a social experiment doesn't explain how a private company managed to get ahold of top-secret government technology.

Yeah it's different strains of F.E.V the vault 87 strain on the east coast and the master's mariposa strain on the west.

I've never really understood that to be honest F.E.V ending up across america and in Vault 87 is probably the biggest plot hole in fallout 3 or at least it severely bends logic,

It was top secret research.

They established the setting and the facts surrounding it.

It does. Ask Bethesda why, they insisted on that -- I can't figure out a reason other than for [censored] and giggles.

FEV started out as another project. The original project, Pan-Immunity Virion Project to develop a way to stimulate the human immune system in such a way that it could naturally counteract any Chinese biological agents.

But then the military took notice and it became the FEV project. The project was moved to a place called Mariposa from West Tek. The military wanted to make super soldiers when they discovered that the PVP project was making animals bigger and stronger.

At Mariposa, FEV testing on humans didn't even start until 2077. The military didn't even take notice of the PVP project until around 2075 and all research relating to it was sent to Mariposa.

So if you are wondering how FEV got into a Vault (of all places) in Washington DC... Bethesda Magic

Seriously though this has come up many times. It all breaks down into "how long does it take to build a vault?" and people saying "Just because it's super dooper top secret doesn't mean it isn't common knowledge and therefore could be everywhere!"

My problem with FEV in Fallout 3 isn't so much that it's in DC, but it is in a Vault. Which bends the lore we know about FEV established by the orginal Fallouts.. But it being in a Vault ruins the idea that the Vaults were social experiments. It makes the Vaults places for any random evil thing the government wanted to carry out.

They already built a place to handle things like FEV, Mariposa which was secret and survived the Great War. So why not some other facility in the DC area? Why a Vault. It was a bad move IMO.

End of thread...

I wasn't trying to propose the Fallout 1 and 2 weren't cannon, as my question perhaps suggests. I just find it illogical at times. There are some very clear contradictions.

I guess we'll have to accept the rather lousy excuse of...

Vault-Tec were so strongly related to the US government and that said government wanted to test how the virus would work on untrained individuals, hence them giving it to a Vault. It's all I can suggest.

The Vault 87 FEV strain doesn't make any sense at all.

Why the hell would scientists in a VAULT experiment with FEV on Vault dwellers? And why is it apparently inferior (compared to the Mariposa strain)?

Oh and: Why. In. A. VAULT?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBXyB7niEc0

I'm not one of those people who bashes Bethesda and preaches about how the originals were better. If I weren't a Bethesda fan, but were simply a Fallout fan, I'd probably be over on No Mutants Allowed instead of the Bethesda Forums. In my opinion, there are advantages and disadvantages to the two different styles. What other contradictions are there anyway?

Also, on a side-note so as to not unnecessarily create another thread, is Tactics chronologically before Fallout 2? Should I play it first then?

I don't know. Maybe the social experiment was to see how those with and without the virus would coexist?

Tactics is chronologically before FO2, but you should play 2 before it, as 2 is heavily linked to 1, and Tactics is a strategy game with far, far less rpging, but you do have characters you level up and perks and all that jazz.

The enclave having there base destroyed as well as there outpost at Navarro taken over by the N.C.R (enclave only had about 2000 people at it's peak)magically ending up on the east coast, it's debatable whether it breaks canon or just bends logic.There's more examples but it'll make for a depressing thread if we just list of discrepancies in Fallout 3

I was just having some fun. I am not here to bash Bethesda and nor are the other forum dwellers that inhabit the Fallout forums. Talking about inconsistancies in Fallout 3 is often seen as bashing Bethesda and defended as if there are no such inconsistancies. So when someone new comes along and questions an inconsistency, it's fresh air. If that makes sense. To be far all Fallout's have inconsistencies, some more than others and Fallout 3 doesn't really break canon any any serious manner (not counting a DLC which I will not name because I don't want to spawn another damn debate on it). But it did shoehorn alot of things into the game that didn't really need to be in there or require alot of clear explanation but we didn't really get.

As for a list, it is a long list and not worth getting into.

As for Fallout Tactics, yes it does take place before Fallout 1. If you want you can play it before Fallout 2, but it has no impact on Fallout 2's story line. Well I see it as the reason why there aren't that many BoS in Fallout 2.

I'll probably play Tactics before then, seeing as if it is as bad as its reputation then I won't get very far.

Would that DLC be Mothership Zeta?

It got a bad reputation back in the day because it wasn't an RPG and it got worse when Van Buren (Fallout 3) was announced and information about it came out. Tactics has locations that were going to be in Van Buren aka Fallout 3 but of course it would have been completely different than what was in Fallout Tactics.

So naturally people thought. "Well I guess that makes Fallout Tactics none canon then." The location was the final location in Fallout Tactics. So it was branded none canon and treated like crap since Fallout 3 would have negated Fallout Tactics' whole main story.

It also didn't help that Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel came out which is none canon, Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel's reputation was hurt even more.

And over the years people picked apart Tactics, pointing out all the "Canon breaking" parts of the game. Keep in mind many of the people doing that considered Van Buren Canon, even though it was cancelled, hell some people still do see it as canon. And alot of the "canon breaking" wasn't even true. Just made up horse crap. I had to debate some high level guys running one of the Fallout wikis to convince them that the Fallout Tactics section was heavily misinformed and biased against the game and it has been radically changed for the better.

Of course that is in large part thanks to Bethesda that has said that the "High Level Events" of Fallout Tactics are canon and even confirmed the Midwestern Brotherhood of Steel as canon by having mentioned them in Fallout 3 being in the Chicago area.

There is also another possible mention of them still being in Colorado in New Vegas. So for now I am taking all that as a sign that Fallout Tactics is pretty much as solid canon came until we get more information on the matter, hopefully in a future game. Tactics might still be treated like dirt in some corners of the Fallout Community, but it is getting more and more respect everywhere else.

As for your other question..

I'm pretty certain that ALL the DLC is canon.

Nothing is canon until its confirmed by the devs or mentioned in another game.

I remember reading that Bethesda said that Mothership Zeta was canon.

Well if that is true, I don't think canon matters to me any more.