ive never liked the idea that a lot of the vauls we encounter were experiments, that in nearly all cases lead to the deaths of everyone inside. You walk around an empty Vault reading computer logs of what happend to the dwellers there. Not really great as the vaults are very repetitive,

Sure, some vaults would have been attacked by raiders or suffered some disaster to make them empty. But it would be more interesting to see these social experiment vaults in full swing.

For example, there is a vault where everyone has died after years of sacrificing one person to keep the vault going. it would be fun to see this vault going about its business, a quest where you can rescue the person to be sacrificed, use computer skills to hack the mainframe and stop the programme.

there is a vault where the dwellers have been split into two armies (red and blue) ,go inside, see the brutal fighting, choose a side to fight for and bring the civil war to an end,

So many possibilities to be had, and the whole "everyone died before you got here" is a bit boring.

My idea for a Vault adventure

Vault 300

The dwellers here see themselves as Superior to others, they have enslaved the local settlements to act as forced labour. A harsh regime that sees the player either help the downtrodden into rebellion. or side with the vault dwellers and enslave more tribes for the glory of the 300

the problem is that if a vault hasnt collapsed (as is likely after being experimental for 200 years) or it will likely have beened opened as per vault tec instruction. if the vault is closed that means you cant get in. though i wouldnt mind their being a settlement in a vault somewhere.

p.s. as far as we know their are only about 123 vaults including vault 0

The experiments within Vault 21 in New Vegas were actually successful, as the dwellers learned how to settle differences without resorting to violence. Though it would be nice to have a few more vaults that are populated with peaceful people rather than raiders or deadly creatures.

The only vault I really had a problem with was Vault 34 in New Vegas. I really hated that vault, but it had awesome loot so it's always worth it to go through it.

I'm not a fan of social experiments, in-game or out, really. That's twisted science stuff. I guess that works with Fallout's pre-war scientists being a little on the unhinged side...if the Think Tank are anything to gleam from (I doubt they were any different from when they had bodies...)

I always wanted to know where the collected data was going to go after this long.

Like is Vault-Tec still out there somewhere, collected reams of paper from a printer about Vault Status Reports?

"Well, we got the red light from Vault XX, sir."

"Dropping like flies. Oh well, that's Science. Mark it off on the chart."

I actually agree. As interesting as it can be to read some of the backstories of these vaults, it all does become rather samey. I would much prefer seeing some vaults becoming actual successful settlements like Vault City, although it doesn't have to be to that same extent for which they've reached in being a significant power in the region for their time. Perhaps something smaller like some raiders or tribals moved into some abandoned vault and have made it their own settlement. Not like the Fiends in Vault 3, but an actual settlement tolerable of outsiders for trading and such. Vault 19 was also a nicely done vault with two sides of power gangers facing a dilemma that somewhat replicates the experiment of the vault itself.

There is a bit of inconsistency.

It is established in the first games that all the people you meet in the wasteland (except some ghouls, but still many of them) are from vault ancestry.

Which mean many, many vault let their people leave after a few decades. Yet, most vaults you see in recent Fallout feature high body count. From which vaults the locals come from ?

I really like the idea of a civil war vault. I think the war would need to have begun very shortly before you entered though, or even it begins while you're in it. As in such close quarters the death rate would be so high a war lasting more than a few days would be kinda impossible, I would think.

Yeah! With Robert Grant and Ulysses Lee as leaders!

Hehehe, I didn't mean a recreation of the American one, but that would also be cool. I just meant a vault that erupted into civil war over some long-running feud between two groups. Maybe the overseer died and there was discontent over the planned replacement or something, ideally they could come up with something a little more refreshing.

I knew what you meant, I was just being stupid lol

If I remember correctly, Fallout 3 had some people survive by retreating into the metro tunnels, basemants of buildings, personal shelters / bunkers, etc.

To be honest, I think that makes more sense to explain the abundance of humans, yet the high death count in vaults. Though I also remember Fallout 2 being the game to introduce the experimentation aspect, so I can't blame Beth for creating the inconsistency...this time.

Unless the vaults were actually opened and exposed to the outside world, why would they ever become anything other than experiments? The people were brainwashed at an early age and everybody as a role based on their GOAT examination. You could potentially have a "1984" type scenario in one of the vaults, but many would likely continue to function as anticipated. The only reason I could see a vault open to the outside world is a lack of food or a breakdown of the status quo if you had an iept Overseer.

It went to the Enclave Oil Rig in Fallout 2, they being the government and all in a purpose built facility. It was the called the Vault Behavioural Project. The reason for the data, which thankfully was to be included in the cancelled Fallout 3 (Van Buren) and there fore is t canon is that the experiments were being done so that when the Enclave went to colonise another planet they'd know how to structure their society on the ship by knowing what certain circumstances caused revolts and collapse and so forth in the Vaults. It was some [censored] like that, while thing read like [censored] and was only invented because one of the lead designers had just watched a load of X-Files and wanted to invent a government plot.

It doesn't make sense whatever way you slice it really but whatever, all we are left with is the experiments themselves and no explanation which is better. Better that the prewar lot were just utterly immoral and some other crap explanation.

Not all people come from Vaults. That badass guy in Honest Hearts (Father of the caves, Randall Clark I think?) is the proof.

Yeah it seems like by the time our PC gets there the 'experiment' is over and all we can do is read about it. Seeing actual live vault dwellers would be nice. Course we did start in one in FO3, though I forget now if there was even an experiment in that one.

Well, it would be hard for it to make sense, many factions would be interested in what's inside (if you can get in, everyone else can), unless it's protected by x faction in exchange for something valuable. Maybe they broadcast a signal for help and you're the only wastelander to make it trough. We also need to remember that Vault Dwellers really don't trust anything from the outside: boomers left Vault 34, and they still blew up everyone in range.

Actually Vault 11 and vault 111 are strangely similar, each have one "sole survivor" ...

It was an experiment is/was to observe a small group of individuals and the impact that would have on genetics. It also introduced the role of the overseer. The goal eventually was to study the effects of inbreeding.

Or so it says on the wiki...

Well they kind of blew that when they let the PC's parents in. All those fresh genes into the gene pool.

I belive thats where the overseer comes in, since he/she is the only one with say in the matter. So its their fault in reality.

I always assumed the social experiments in the vaults were to provide research to the Enclave for their return to rebuild a more stable society.

The results of the vaults would give the Enclave the information they wanted to better recreate their ideal society

Errr you do see live Vault Dwellers in both FO3 and NV. In the first you have the vault you start in, then later the vault with Gary and later the Vault with the VR people and Braun. They are all alive.

The Gary vault succesfully created Clones, your original vault was compromised due to the Overseer allowing a person in and Brauns vault was going as it was intended.

In NV there was the Vault with the people trapped behind the door, so live Vault Dwellers there too.

Vaults as experiments never added up.

I'd like to see something like Vault city again, though.

What would I like

I would like to be able to program Handy bots to fabricate parts for and repair the basic systems of an abandoned vault so that you can start a settlement that trades with and brings in outsiders while fixing up and establishing settlements in the near by abandoned communities. Maybe attract a group like the Followers of the Apocalypse to reach out to surrounding settlements and communities, recruit people to come a learn pre-war skills and tech skills needed to advance their communities.

The PC after all has fresh in their mind, pre-war tech skills only a few well educated ghouls might remember well after so many years. Maybe the PC should seek out such ghouls, and maybe super mutants as well, that the Followers or similar such groups have worked with, and believe willing and able to put the knowledge to good use.

I would hope the PC has the ability to conceal the fact they have such knowledge fresh in their mind, instead of being maybe a well trained and talented tinker.

If not Fallout 4, it would be great to have DLC or maybe FO 5 (in my life time), that gave you a giant canvas on which to paint something more imaginative than another Lonesome wanderer/ Mad Max of nearly a half century ago.

New Vegas was a step in that direction, a taste of what was possible if you could control Yes man and your robot army. Fall out 3 with the Enclave computer gave a similar taste of what Fall out Tactics gave as the result of your taking the option of contributing your brain to the calculator you would change civilization for the better.

I had hoped FO 3 would be less killing for small scale gains, and more strides than make a noticeable and growing difference, as in Tactics.

You should be able to help spread civilization in the wasteland areas of the Commonwealth by giving settlers operable vaults to retreat to if necessary, if they can't hold off invaders until help arrives. No more everybody is wiped out, or taken slave, no more everything you've worked for is destroyed.

Leave the settlement fairly small and adequately armed and protected by a few turrets, Move to another abandoned vault or so spend the months it takes to fix each up enough to occupy, and start a settlement with the aid of the a group like the Followers,

Come back to your first settlement later maybe after creating a third such settlement and find trash and garbage picked up, scrap salvaged, a lot more households and people growing food including farm animals. People armed weapons slung over shoulders, maybe riding bicycles and, more turrets, manned fighting positions on every intersection ground level, maybe sand bagged balconies and upstairs windows.

People using spinning wheels to make thread and hand looms to make cloth from hemp, animal hair and other fibers, people making new clothes, (and can we get away from white flowing hippy garb for the good guys, and black leather for the bad? Is anybody seeing this in their real lives? Are these old cliches tired enough?) Maybe playing the 1950s like you remember from old movies from the 60s or 70s (because you weren't born yet and don't find it stale and something you out grew long ago) should be an option. Hopefully teddy bears all over the place, running around in party dunce caps, two headed Brahmin, wooden sailing ships with rocket thrusters should be optional for people who enjoy whatever that is.

Enough of us found such stuff distracting and immersion busting enough that I believe what was called the "wild, humorous and zany" option was offered on the original loading of New Vegas. Maybe those of us who prefer more sci-fi and less fantasy, can have sci-fi not fantasy as an option again?

These are the biggest things I would most like to see happen with vaults.

Sooner than later Beth needs to give those who want to really change their reality for the better the option to really do so, through out the game, before someone else beats them to it in another game, if someone hasn't already.