I think when you try and think about what exactly happened to lead the world to how it looks in 2077, you're just making things needlessly complicated.

Fallout isn't just about the world of the 50's in the future, it is specifically about the 50's "world of tomorrow" being nuked. It's a specialized fantasy setting, not a literal time progression... in any normal time where androids existed, computers would be a hell of a lot further on than DOS and a monochromatic screen. Logic doesn't really work with a high-fantasy idea like this, thus mapping a sequence of events that lead to Fallout's pre-war world is impossible.

I understand why those interested in cannon and lore want to try and ascribe a linear progession... I tend to want that as well... but I don't know if it's possible.

Again, StingingVelvet hit the nail on the head. It's doesn't particularly matter what happened to get society to the point it was at when the bombs landed because it's a science fiction fantasy of the 1950's. It's having the world our parents and grand parents imagined realized and then nuked.

Since i don't wanna make a new thread. Didn't ghouls.etc exsist before the great war? I mean, hiroshima and nagasaki got nuked. So it must exsist.

As lore stand now, they did not, to my recollection. That doesn't mean there weren't small amounts of them no one really talked about though... the way FO3 presents their creation it really should have happened in any nuclear attack, you're right.

Some people insist FEV is needed for Ghoulification, by the way... this was stated in the original release of the Fallolut Bible, but was ammended later, I believe. FO3, in my opinion, denies this, having numerous stories of people being turned into ghouls due to simple high radiation exposure.

If we're in the Fallout mind-set (which is Not total reality), Radiation (especially after war) could easily cause more severe and heavy mutations on the east coast than on the west coast. Assuming the east-coast was more heavily bombed given it's industry and such, there would be alot more radiation here.

It isn't a bogus-enough of a storyline violation to worry about IMHO- Ghouls are Fun!!

Who doesn't like Gob for crying out loud?

M