In FO2, it was revealed that FEV was developed in a lab in Mariposa, CA. There they had started to do human modification experiments, hoping to create a supersoldier. Then the war came. In FO3, the Supermutants had a supply of FEV in Vault 87 and were augmenting their ranks by snatching humans and subjecting them to the FEV alteration process. Connecting the two FOs, one can conclude that FEV had been widely distributed just before the world went BOOM. And that more than likely Supermutants, products of the FEV program, know where those FEV sites are located and as in FO3, continue to create more Supermutants to swell their ranks.

Well, it's a fictional universe with fictional science.

If OP is going to play the realism card, then the answer is easy (not probable of course, but does leave an easy logical suspension of belief scenario like watching hollywood car explosions vs real life mechanics- you know its implausible but suspend disbelief and enjoy)

So realism card facts for OP - atomic weapons are different than and produce significantly lower blast and radiation yield than nuclear weapons (aka thermonuclear). In WWII we only had and dropped atomics bombs produced by simple fission. Google atomic v nuclear bombs for details on yield and radiation.

Basic point is, science doesnt expect ghouls from either atomic or nuclear weapons - but as OP bases conclusion that since Nagasaki and Hiroshima did not produce ghouls that FO universe also did/should not, the logical error is simply that in FO they had progressed much further in nuclear tech and dropped high yield gamma radiation nukes vs lower yield we dropped in WWII.

If you are going to use realism against FO Science!, then basic fact is technically we've never dropped mass nukes with the radiation yield the FO universe did.

I really like what they did with the ghouls in Fallout 4, they're totally freaky! They're my favorite bad guy/woman to dispatch. I like it when they come at you in droves. I say more the better!

agreed! how i wish i can hack and get unlimited caps to buy bullets. and go explore commonwealth

The official explanation for http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Ghoul#Biology: "The reason for this longevity has to do with differences on the cellular level, and the ability of ghoul DNA to regenerate at a rate unmatched by normal human nucleic acids. Occasionally, in a ghoul, additional genetic material is added as a result of the mutation. The unnaturally long lifespan of a ghoul is also due to a mutation within the autonomic nervous system of certain individuals following exposure to specific combinations of ionizing radiation with wavelengths below ten picometers. Radiation that has such a short wavelength, less than ten picometers, is known as gamma radiation and is normally lethal to healthy humans in even moderate doses. The mutation in response to gamma radiation that produces ghouls disrupts the normal process of decay in the neurotransmitters along the spinal cord."

This is not true. Ghoulification is not exclusive to people born pre-war. This pretty much trumps your theory about the "initial ghoul population" because the current population is subject to "addition rates" as well as death rates.

I just wanna know why they wake up when I'm hidden in stealth...

That's a good question, but not all of them do I've noticed. I've actually tripped over some of them while they snooze, I was in stealth mode too.

Honestly there is just way too many hostiles in boston. Diamond city has maybe 25-40 guards and rest of the city is full of raiders, super mutants, gunners and triggermen. Any of these factions can just overrun the security. You can't even claim that hostiles are too disorganized when trinity tower super mutants could do it alone.

It basically comes down to.. 'Games need enemies to shoot at.

What I do really love about these ghouls is how they just lay around. That's an awesome idea. Instead of just wandering around like every other type of zombie.. they just lay there until something comes along and disturbs them. I find it really, really, really difficult not to use vats to "cheat" my way through the slumbering ghoul hordes.

Heh, I just shoot every dead body that looks like a ghoul.

Just use vats to see if there alive or not I do it all the time. Hell in fo3 I would constantly click the vats button to see if there was any near by enemies so they dont get the drop on me while traveling the waste.

The nuclear weapons in the Fallout universe are the product of over 100 years' post-WWII technological development, in a timeline where the entire world embraced nuclear technology for both military and commercial use to a greater extent than in our world. Maybe the bombs used in Fallout's apocalyptic war, whilst still technically nukes, were of quite different design than those in our world, and produced a different form of radioactive fallout. That would certainly explain why radiation in the Fallout universe works very differently than in the real world - if you're really desperate to find an explanation.

The thing is, outside the Super Mutants none of those other groups are interested in sacking Diamond City.

Tiggermen are organized crime muscle, so Diamond City represents a market to exploit and preserve, not crush.

Gunners are mercenaries. Places like Diamond City are what give them jobs and make them money (and give them a place to spend their money).

Raiders are basically the player - taking what they want through force of arms. Places like Diamond City are great centers of commerce and trade, which attract caravans which are the Raiders natural prey. Sure, Raiders could storm Diamond City and take over...but somebody's got to work the fields. Raiders in Fallout 4 generally hassle Settlers, but they aren't butchering them in job lots for giggles. Mostly because if they do...they starve.

However, don't forget that the giant metal plate which probably weighs several tons would be dropped down in the event of sn attack, meaning the invading force would need some pretty tall ladders or long ropes to climb over the wall.

While getting potshotted by security the whole time.

It's too tough a nut to crack. Unless your goal is extermination of the citizens of Diamond City, any assault is just a bad idea. If you're trying to take it over, you'll end up destroying the walls so you can be in a position to take it over, and ruining the best reason to take it over in the first place. If it's looting the city, you'll probably expend far more bullets, chems and explosives than you'd take trying to breach the walls.

i do not rank my sneak perk above r1 because imo beyond that it just gets more and more unrealistic/easy; my plan is to stick with r1 sneak and then later in game work on ninja perk, but i think it takes away from the game when u can walk through traps and mines, and walk right up to enemies like that.....so imo if you like the challenge and suspense, keep your sneak perk at r1

and there are spots in the world and dungeon areas where u will not see the ghoul(s) until u walk up to a certain spot and then they'll crawl out of some little hole or window or something

I've always though of the massive ghoul population just as one of the problems of the commonwealth. Something about this area just makes it so that there's more ghouls then other parts of the remains of the United States. Just like there are less Rad Scorpions in the commonwealth as there are in other areas.

My favourite combat encounters in this game are when packs of 8-10 ghouls start running at you. They aren't difficult, but they look cool.

The reality is that no human would survive the radiation levels described in the "Great War", unless they were in shelters. So just roll with it. You're also in a world where scientists created robots and powered exoskeletons before they invented semiconductors, which is ridiculous.

Oh, and there are gigantic mutated chameleons with horns called "deathclaws.

this makes total sense actually...

barren, wide-open desert = lots of nasty creatures

congested metropolis = lots of ghouls

To each their own. I don't think the game becomes easy because of greater sneak, on the contrary (no power armour, since light clothing/armour is preferred) Meaning you have to evaluate every encounter and how to approach it, at least on survival difficulty. As for ghouls, they are easy to spot, even without sneak.

Haven't seen any scripted ghouls, at least not that I can recollect, other than in

. They usually just lay there on the ground. Putting a bullet into corpses that potential could be a ghoul, will immediatly tell you what it is anyways, and as soon as you see that healthbar or a satisfying "thud" + blood decals, you just pump some more lead in that direction.

So many ghouls, and yet no sign of Desmond Lockheart...

Ghouls? Have you seen the amount of Mirelurks in this game? It's insane. They're literally everywhere.