"See that settlement? You can power it."

IIRC, it was stated in the Fallout 3 game guide that Raven Rock had the capability of making these things. Though that only explains where The Enclave got all their stuff.

We do know The Pitt makes ammo, that they trade with various people, so there is that also.

hmm, very good point about the androids. I've just had a hard time wrapping my head around people living in tents and broken down houses while they are using stuff that requires large manufacturing plants to produce.

If factories have been built to produce all this stuff, it is not unrealistic to think that there could be entire areas of Boston that are re-developed to the point that they appear to be pre-war. After all, the people who built these factories probably built homes for themselves first.

Or maybe, the factories themselves are pre-war and refurbished?

Hmm, I'll need to look up lore on Ravenrock, I don't remember if that was built before or after the war.

Update: According to fallout wikia, it is prewar: Raven Rock was designed at the beginning of the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_War as a shelter for some of the top military officials from the effects of a possible nuclear attack on the United States.

Before.

Eden even says he and the base were built to ensure continuity of government and maintain communications between bases across the nation or w/e.

http://fallout.gamepedia.com/John_Henry_Eden%27s_dialogue

The ZAX series of computers was introduced in the years preceding the war. The government installed many of them to help automate various systems. This facility was designed for Continuity of Government, in the event that a catastrophe occurred. My terminal was installed to oversee the basic functions of the facility, and to act as a relay between other installations around the country. Data was acquired, anolyzed, and stored. In the decades following the war, I watched as the remnants of the government retreated to the West Coast. Awareness slowly grew within me. I became hungry for knowledge, understanding. I pored over data on great leaders of the past. My personality became an amalgam of many of America's greatest Presidents, from Washington to Richardson. I became what you see before you now.

Also, technology for nuclear power plants developed into the 2070s so fuel rods are not a necessity in 2077. There is also the issue of focus for energy development. The Fallout universe seems to be gung ho on nuclear power while nuclear power plant development is being reduced in favor of "green" energy development for North America in reality. There seems to be only a few nuclear power plants being built in the USA while a ton are being built in Asia.

People have used wind turbines. water turbines, water wheels, steam engines to turn a generator since the earliest days of generators.

As you could see in Fallout 3, BGS is not bothered by such "details". Where does the electricity come from, where is the food from, etc. Apply your suspension of disbelief.

Even if the details are not deliberately accounted for in the games, for some, it could be worth the effort to find ways to rationalize things. This is especially true when mods come into the picture since small holes can be filled in with additions to the environment.

To the OP. Coulombs. Coulombs is the answer.

Nice memes

Cold fission of some kind, there are fission batteries everywhere. We're developing them today, or trying to atleast make some kind of Cold nuclear reaction...

You know, it would be cool if we could actually use alcohol as a method of powering stuff. I mean, outside of role playing, I can't remember drinking it more than once or twice. Ever. I literally drink more in real life than I do in any video game.

Which is why my legs are black and blue from kicking myself

Fusion batteries and microfusion cells are, for all intents and purpose, cold fusion.

We see Fusion batteries hooked up to flood lights in a huge number of places. Many buildings have reactors in them. I would imagine they use either fusion or fission.

NV had hydro electric power being fought over, but the reason it is important isn't just because it is a source of electricity, but a source that can power so very much and most importantly, has a huge pre-existing grid.

With the new settlement crafting system providing power sources for everything, I wonder if in this new game there will be ways to turn on/off lights, turrets, etc by interacting with generators or other power sources... could also be used in area puzzles, for example, some terminals might appear to be dead terminals when they actually just need to have their generators switched on.

I'm pretty sure in one of the interviews or E3 presentations they said that settlement systems can be controlled by programmable terminals. I get the impression it's a fairly powerful and flexible system they put in, though whether the reality will live up to the advertising is anyone's guess

Power?
Aside from some buildings having built in reactors, here you go.
http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Generator
"Throughout the Capitol Wasteland" you can find these varying types of generators.
Many buildings that don't have full on reactors have the same type used for the National Archives' turrets. They are also found by the fuse board in Project Purity, the Corvega Factory, the Chryslus Building, and on and on.

The small fuel generators are the ones that explode, and can be found throughout metros, smaller settlements and in raider encampments.

Yes, those. And batteries. There's a distinct short supply of those and yet everything magically works.

And I'm just comparing F3 and FNV in this.

Oh, I've seen this and it looks awesome, still haven't wrapped my head around what they mean by "programmable" though, but it sounds exciting.

Anyway, what I meant was I wonder if you can turn lights and turrets off in other areas of the game that are not base-building areas, by destroying or turning off generators. In previous games the generators were just statics making noise but rarely ever did anything if you tried to interact with them. In the E3 video they said they used a similar system to build the game as is used in the crafting area, so maybe all the lights and computers and turrets in Fallout 4 will have wires that lead to power sources that may or may not be turned on.

I guess it wouldn't be a huge difference in terms of gameplay, but it would be a cool bit of extra realism. For example, you shoot a grenade at an enemy near a generator and blow it up, which turns off the generator. You feel good cuz the turrets stop, but now as you progress, the remainder of the building is pitch black and you need to use a flashlight to navigate.

uh. Look at the page. Multiple types of generators, using chemical and nuclear power sources are found throughout the wastes. This is where electricity comes from. Go to any settlement, raider encampment, metro, factory, etc., and you will find them. They are everywhere. But what do I know, I've only played F3 for thousands of hours- I'm sure it's just my imagination.

Thse same things are used throughout NV as well. Until the endgame or we reconfigure Helios One, pretty much the only place that doesn't use the reactors and generators that are everywhere, is the Strip.

If they don't hold logic for one, they can't for the other.
...and fission batteries are everywhere.

That is one of my main problems with Star Trek: Into Darkness. A Cold Fusion bomb doesn't make everything cold. It produces an unstable nuclear fusion reaction that doesn't require extremely high levels of heat to start.

As far as Cold Nuclear reactions go, the only one I am aware of is General Fusion's attempt. Any type of nuclear battery is decades into the future unless someone comes up with a revolutionary idea that shakes our understanding of reality.

Some off-topic posts have gone away. Name-calling, condescension and personal insults are not welcome here.

Its been fun reading all your posts, I find it interesting that the crafting possibilities added to the game, of the system used in the E3, showing that we can rebuild settlements, may have on the main game.
The fact we can build generators and power up old systems, has no effect on if we wish to try and build settlements, which has Todd said settlements are optional, but the crafting system that allows us to build settlements if we wish, can have lots of feed back into the main game......
It seems the new crafting system could, effect the main game in ways that could, add real depth to the game we haven't had before.
Restoring old systems, old machinery, crafting new stuff, returning our environment if we wish to a more civilised one....

I will just have to see, if they have used the new branch of crafting in the main game, or just held it for settlements, but it would be a missed opportunity for more varied quests if they don't.

What, like the water powered car?

Oh, you mean that kind of crank.

Heh, I doubt it'll be in the main game, but I can just see a mod appearing that lets you dump a crafting workstation anywhere. Then you can rig up lights and generators as you move into a dark dungeon, defences for an overnight camp in the wilderness...

I suspect we'll only see the crafting being used for a few set puzzles and events in the main game; it'd be a design nightmare otherwise