If you are referring to the red handle seen above the vault during post-war, it is attached to the only visible controls that could operate the lift leading down into the vault. Also, you would not place such controls out of reach due to the nature of the vault itself. The controls to operate the lift would therefore be within easy reach of the lift area, to allow fast access in the event of an imminent nuclear strike.

I would imagine that there would be an audible warning sound and a delay of several seconds before the lift actually begins to move downwards. The reason I say this is due to the blast doors we see opening as we emerge from the vault in the E3 demo. Once these doors have sealed shut upon first accessing the vault, nobody is getting out for a good while. And so anyone left topside will not be getting into vault 111.

As for your suggestion of a rear vault door, it would not make sense having another way in or out above the vault. The fail-safe that I have suggested earlier in this thread would have been put in place to allow for any blockage (such as an aeroplane falling out of the sky following EMP blast) preventing access to surface level via the topside lift area. This fail-safe would consist of a compression chamber beneath the main vault level (at the base of the vault) that would lead out into a subterranean tunnel.

Anyone still inside the vault could then escape at a later time via the tunnel and emerge into a nearby waterway (most likely https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Great+Meadows+National+Wildlife+Refuge/@42.4756627,-71.3330381,2397m/data=http://forums.bethsoft.com/topic/1523172-is-vault-111-built-like-a-submarine/!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x0000000000000000:0xbf6cbd4a2b47e5a4 one). Note that a submersible, such as the one seen in concept art, would be placed at the entrance to the tunnel to provide a means of escape.

Are you like a genius gkk7z? Lol
It would never occur to me to even think of this. You continue to produce thoughtful and very plausible theories. I look forward to seeing just how right you have been about all of these things. My bet is pretty damn close!

Built like a submarine. . .

Lets see

Built literally into the ground and is in fact buried into the ground and not at a shipyard

Does not appear to have any means of propulsion.

Would sink the instant you put it into the water. . .

Does not seem to have any way of returning to the surface.....

Well one out of 4 is not too bad I guess. . .

I'm talking here of design similarities. I am not suggesting that vault 111 could be used as a submarine.

The vault is built around the principle of extreme pressurization, similar to that of a submarine. Except in the case of vault 111, the extreme high pressure is being kept in, and not out. The reference I made to the red handle on the lift-access controls, is that this has the same appearance as the hatch seen above 'Captain Nemo's' submarine (which also happens to tie in with the images of the giant squid and the submersible in concept art). There are links to all of these in the OP. Also, the entire design of the top area of the vault gives it an appearance similar to that of a hatch seen above a submarine.

I have added a note in the OP to clarify this

EDIT: in addition to the above details, the design I suggested (as explained earlier in the thread) would also include a fail-safe consisting of an actual submersible accessed via a decompression chamber below the vault, as this would allow an alternative means of escape should the lift area become blocked or damaged.

I was being silly. Besides subs are designed to keep preasure out, not in.

Being silly isn't allowed around here! Or is it...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOqHNNmTz68

This is apparently a known side-effect of spending such a long time inside a high-pressure vault. The new walking animations will be revealed at QuakeCon.

I recently heard vault 111 was actually a tourist trap " worlds largest keg" that was converted to a vault

http://static-4.nexusmods.com/15/mods/120/images/1340-2-1229771084.jpg

All Vault doors in Bethesda's Fallout have had pressure warnings on them.

Also, for what possible purpose would this serve? What does outside pressure have to do with a sealed cyropod?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HemgPo3W4s0

Look at Vault 101 opening, the blast of air as it's pulled open. That's what all the warnings on the door are relating too. Presumably because the Vault has a sealed air supply.

If the vault is below sea level (or below groundwater level actually) it's probably to keep water out. It may physically be easier to always keep an overpressure inside, than to keep the structure otherwise stable against the surrounding rock and water, and keep the ground water out via pumps. Especially if the system is sealed and supposed to remain intact no matter what happens outside (earthquakes, rising sea or groundwater level etc...)

As others pointed out: it will also keep radioactivity from getting into the vault.
As for the coloration of gases: keep in mind that the standardized colors may have changed between (our) now and the 50s.

Long edit incoming: It seems Bethesda rethought the design of the vaults when bringing them to the 3rd dimension for FO3. In FO 1 & 2 they were like house interiors built into a mine. In FO3 they were underground metal boxes connected by metal tubes. They were not simply walls mortared on top of the rock structure. There needs to be a small cavity between the rock outside and the metal box. Ground water will get into the cavity over time, and depending on the depth, the vault needs to be pressurized to withstand. Basically it's exactly like a submarine. It's actually a quite servicably concept for a real tight vault that is supposed to keep [censored] out.

I think they put more emphasis on these naval elements in the vaults of FO4 due to the Boston setting.

Edit: the picture from the post aboce just shows that the hydraulic of the door is pressurized. That doesn't say very much actually with regards to the theory.

The slight over-pressure is more to ensure purity of the air. All air is either recycled, or severely filtered/cleaned before being circulated into the vault. With a slight over-pressure, the vault doesn't have to be hermetically sealed, to prevent radiation contamination via air leaks. Sure, it's going to be pretty much air tight, but, no system is going to be perfect.

I don't think that Bethesda are thinking that deeply about the actual architecture of the Vaults.

Nor do I believe that the few pictures we have of this Vault indicate any naval themes, it's just Bethesda trying a different aesthetic style like the crappy new Vault Suits but absolutely brilliant Vertibirds.

I've read blog posts from geologists that were happy and floored with how accurate and sensical skyrims landscape including river and ore vain flows were. So i give them the benefit of the doubt, that someone at bethesda thought through the vault design. Despite popular oppinion, they put some thought behind their decisions.

I see also nothing wrong with how the vault suites turned out. Sure, most of us didn't envision them to be so rubbery, but i can imagine that that would actually have been quite the rage in the 50s, unlike an absolutely non-futuristic (from a 50s pov) full-body cloth suit. Sure nowadays we know these things get sweaty fast.

Well that's what they were like in Fallout 1 and 2, specifically about the 1950's sci-fi jumpsuit thing. But I preferred Bethesda's redesign for Fallout 3 where they actually looked more practical and something that would be made into a uniform.

Maybe they just failed at making it look like plastic in fo3 due to technical limitations. I mean i'm not sure where you got the idea from that they were not supposed to be plastic in fo3. The texture carried very little detail to begin with and only the retexture mods made it look to have a cloth texture. Had they now finally made it cloth, it would have changed the style much more (adding all the little clothy detail in the normal map). In fo3 they got away with keeping it undefined because of the resolution.
Now the level of detail is there and a decision needed to be made. I would guess that actually adding a cloth texture leads to more visual artifacts and texture flickering. The current solution does have some fine pattern, but it's slight and visually lost when zoomed away a few meters; thus not prone to anisotropic artifacts and texture flickering.

Interesting new development to support this theory.

The close-up shots of the doors on the http://i.imgur.com/Cf3rX07.png look very similar to access doors found on a http://www.navyhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/19-N-31790-hatch.jpg or a http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m_tee6ZjE7A/UKWcuuTJZNI/AAAAAAAAJVA/vbh7GWFlZYE/s1600/Submarine_Door1_Thumbnail1.jpg. Also note the circular vents on the chart that are designed to look like http://www.mare2.com/images/product_images/mg/popup_images/1139_0.jpg.

Coming pretty damn fast to me. Seems like it was just yesterday it was September 1st and it's already the 18th.

I (from what I understand on this theory) approve of this theory. Seems to make sense.

Or like those bulkhead doors that were used in Fallout 3 in multiple places or indeed the ones in Vault that had the rotary handle model on the front, the ones you see in the engineering areas mostly. It's just a picture of a door dude.

You mean http://i915.photobucket.com/albums/ac358/The_Zink/Fallout%203%20LP%201/Fallout32010-11-0920-16-57-03.jpg ones? Because they look nothing like the doors shown on the perk chart.

Or http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/fallout/images/c/c2/FNV_Vault_Door.png/revision/latest?cb=20110513203219.

EDIT: neither of the two examples shown here look anything like the ones on the chart, and yet the ones on the chart look very similar to those seen on a Naval battleship/destroyer or a sub

That and the ones with the actual rotary handle in the middle, and before you say it yes the ones in Rivet City but they are used elsewhere as-well because it's just a door model. It's just a cartoon of a door, nothing about it screams that Vault 111 has a submarine pen built under it.

It's funny, because I remember when most people were saying "it's just a trailer", and were arguing against the possibility of us playing during pre-war. And now the very same people who argued against this claim that it was somehow 'obvious'. And so, with the weight of available evidence, I would say that it's a lot more than a simple cartoon of a door. Also, the Rivet City connection is actually highly significant, given that our protagonists couple were in the Marines and the Navy.

Well you would, and I would point to all the previous Vault Boy images from previous games that don't actually have anything to do with their respective perks. Why is the door necessarily from a Vault? Maybe it's just from an actual ship in the game. You said that because there was a rotary valve on the Vault's surface entrance that it was evidence of it being like a submarine, this is just more confirmation bias.

How is the protagonist of this game being a Marine any kind of "connexion" to there being a boat in Fallout 3.

The doors are a part of the vault, not the perk images. They are in the background of many of the icon 'locations', as are the stairs, the vents, and several other important details. Even the levels of the vault are shown to be descending, just as I predicted. And incidentally, I said that because there is a huge amount of evidence to suggest a connection to both the US Marine Corps and the US Navy, not just because of the valve topside of Vault 111. There is a ton of other evidence.

And the Rivet City connection is due to the fact that Bethesda knew years ago where they were going to set Fallout 4. Just like they showed Fallout Shelter in the trailer for Fallout 3. Also, the entire game is built around the Navy and the Marines! Even the protagonist couple themselves.

How many other perk images show a door in the back? Considering that you can identify tiny models of rockets you must have seen some others?

What kind of argument is that? They knew about Fallout 4 in advance so the presence of a navy ship, that they never even name in-game, is indicative of what? Navy themes in Fallout 4 (but none of Fallout 3's DLCs obviously). That's the kind of loose argument which is why people take chagrin to these threads.

At least half of the perk images have either the same doors or 'porthole' vents behind them. And the rocket has now been confirmed as being a piece of armor, just like the doors have been confirmed as having circular access levers, like the ones seen in military ships and submarines.

And what kind of argument you ask? When a company like Bethesda buys a franchise such as this, do you not think that they could perhaps have a fair idea in advance of where they wish to set future games in the series, as well as an idea of themes? If George Lucas can write a ridiculously detailed back story covering nine movies before he had even started making the first, do you not think it is possible that Bethesda knew from the beginning where they wanted to go with the Fallout series?

And by loose argument, I assume you are referring to my viewpoint differing from your own. Because the rest of what you said makes no sense.

TheCheshireKhajiit, on 13 Jul 2015 - 11:08 PM, said:

Are you like a genius gkk7z? Lol
It would never occur to me to even think of this. You continue to produce thoughtful and very plausible theories. I look forward to seeing just how right you have been about all of these things. My bet is pretty damn close!

~~~~

Being a kitty, I must agree with you on all points. Even if I weren't a kitty, I would agree with your post whole-heartedly. ?