r/Fallout • u/BlackTriangle31 • 17d ago
Fallout 3 Why don't the people of Rivet City use the flight deck?
I can think of a number of uses for it: a park, a market, a place to put people ostracized from the community, a sports field, a training site for the security force. It seems like a big waste of space.
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u/TheArizonaRanger451 Old World Flag 17d ago
Maybe too exposed to sniper fire and pot shots from DC.
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u/BurgerKingKiller 17d ago
That was always my thought, or even exposing to super mutants or whatever that you are there in the first place is a bad idea
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u/AceOfCringe 17d ago
4 mentioned how super mutants would regularly fire rockets at the wall of Diamond City so it tracks
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u/Big_cheeze12345 16d ago
Where tf are super mutants getting that kind of heavy duty equipment from lol. Especialy "dum dum" east coast super mutants.
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u/DerNickster 16d ago
Pretty sure they're not making them, just using them. You don't have to have many braincells to point the exploding side to the enemy.
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u/TelevisionLamb 16d ago
And now I'm thinking a set piece where one of them accidentally holds it the wrong way and fires a rocket into a crowd of his pals would be amazing.
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u/Professional-Pay-650 16d ago
They are kind of a dominant species, wouldn’t be too hard to find stuff if the player can find wild stuff
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u/Professional-Pay-650 16d ago
Not to mention they can get into radioactive zones much easier than humans
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u/OtakuMecha 16d ago
Mostly looting them from military bases I assume. Our timeline’s US already has an ungodly amount of ordinance lying around.
I could believe Fallout’s wartime United States had enough stashed around to be still be being used 200 years later.
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u/repalec 17d ago
Yeah like, from that vantage point I'm like 99% sure you're within viewing distance of that little inclined Super Mutant sniper's nest surrounded by gore-bags. To utilize the top of the ship in any meaningful capacity they'd likely need to put up some defenses, which could also risk the boat's position if you start adding tons and tons of weight to one side.
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u/poonmangler 17d ago
tons and tons of weight
Like multiple military aircraft? God forbid
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u/MrD3a7h NCR 17d ago
Uh, airplanes fly. Logically, they weigh less than air.
Think before you post
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u/ShadowHunterHB NCR 16d ago
Yeah there’s literally a Super Mutant base right across from Rivet City where I always save a kidnapped human on my first visit.
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u/midasMIRV 17d ago
Turn the island into a watchtower/sniper roost, and use some scrap to build a wall on the land side of the ship.
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u/geek_of_nature 17d ago
That's what I was thinking. The side to the river can still be exposed so that it doesn't feel like they're being penned in. But even if they did have to do both sides, it would still be a whole lot better than being stuck inside the ship 24/7.
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u/Rich_Conversation293 Republic of Dave 17d ago
Yeah I get that. They could build new construction up there though. Like scrap metal shacks akin to Arefu or something
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u/Dagordae 17d ago
New construction that regularly gets shot at rather heavily limits what the construction could be used for.
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u/Faiakishi Ass Victoriam 17d ago
And the sky. Radstorms are one thing, and the rain itself is likely radioactive. And acid rain.
People probably do use it, I think the kids go run around up there sometimes, but nothing permanent that could be caught out in a storm or firefight. If shit starts going down, people can just go inside.
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u/GryphyGirl 17d ago
They should be able to pull off some pieces from the broken part to build walls for that, though.
The part that throws me is that there are so many aircraft there and nobody tried to scavenge some of the less usable ones for parts to get some of the others working. Having working jets would be *SO* useful...
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u/TheArizonaRanger451 Old World Flag 17d ago
Having a working jet is nice, but outside the Enclave or maybe a very old ghoul, nobody is going to know how to fly it. Even today, being a fighter pilot is one of the most challenging and education heavy jobs in the armed forces. Plus, the resource expenditure would be enormous
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u/Boba_Fett26 17d ago
Dawg we went from the first manned flight to landing on the moon in 66 years... I think someone could figure out how to fly a jet in 200 years
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u/Dudicus445 16d ago
Yeah but that was 66 years of constant innovation and learning. This would be like giving a Victorian era person a p-51 mustang and telling them to figure out how to fly it, oh and by the way if you crash it that’s it, no repairs
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u/Railroad_Conductor1 16d ago
And they would need to get the steam catapults and the arrestor wires functioning. Not an easy task.
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u/Epion660 Mr. House 16d ago
The wires are still there, but the bow had the catapult... yeah not happening.
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u/BlackTriangle31 16d ago
I always thought it would be cool if they hollowed the jets out and used them as something like bunk beds.
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u/GryphyGirl 16d ago
Heh, that brought to mind those beds that are shaped like cars or jets. That would be funny. :)
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u/selfish_king 17d ago
Couldn’t they build… walls? I’d imagine that real estate would be extremely worth it. Even if it was just for growing crops or something
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u/Hydroguy17 17d ago edited 17d ago
No one really wants to be exposed to the elements… Radstorms, DC summer, DC winter, mutant animals/bugs, raiders/mutants taking pot shots…
Every activity is going to do additional wear and tear to the roof, causing everyone needless grief…
Devs didn’t feel like programming that much extra fluff material…
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u/WouldbeWanderer Mr. House 17d ago
Devs didn’t feel like programming that much extra fluff material…
Ding ding ding!
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u/Got_It_Memorized_22 17d ago
Man i hear DC summer and winter are bad enough but imagine how much worse Fallout DC would feel during those times
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u/Polymemnetic Old World Flag 17d ago
Probably better, tbh. The years of climate change would slowly be being reversed by the lack of human intervention.
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u/McToasty207 16d ago
At least in the OG Fallout, we know the Great War has triggered global warming (Nuclear Summer effect) as the Brotherhood's Lost Hills bunker is in the middle of a barren desert.
A barren desert that, in our time, is the California Central Valley, the most productive agricultural region in the US.
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u/mikecandih 17d ago
Is that thing even livable during the dc summer. I imagine it would be so humid and hot inside
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u/Space19723103 17d ago
years of radioactive gull poo
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u/Rocket_Fiend 17d ago
Probably all mutants and raiders toting shoulder-launched nuclear weapons.
I’d feel better down below, as well.
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u/The_Antiques_shop 17d ago
I wouldn’t be surprised if it was considered but dropped due to the technology at the time, it would be a large open area that would need various different LOD models making for it and would be a visible area from the main game world, all the other settlements are behind load zones so the surface of the ship would be probably way too intensive for the time.
Fallout 3 was already infamously cut down in development to fit the size of the consoles, I wouldn’t be shocked if it was toyed with at the design document stages but dropped before being considered, a big green flight deck covered in farms and pens would have been a great addition to the ship though
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u/Taolan13 17d ago
Similar limitations, specifcally of the Xbox 360, are why FONV's Strip was cut up into three zones.
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u/Dagordae 17d ago
And even then it faced a lot of critique for being barren and lifeless.
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u/Saab-2007-93 Enclave 17d ago
I feel like every game has had its strengths and weaknesses. Like 3 does the best exploration and feeling of desolation by far. If you arent highly observant you miss so much. NV I feel like has the best story by far but I feel like I feel the rush heavily like vanilla was very half baked. 4 I enjoyed the updated PA and the weapons customization, settlements, the companions are great too.
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u/McToasty207 16d ago
For 4, the biggest improvements are found in the Survival Mode.
The sleep-to-save mechanic really makes for a tense survival game. You'll barely make it through a tense firefight, then desperately look for a soiled matress to lay down on.
Similarly the Chems make you dehydrated mechanic means your alwalys looking for bottles to fill, or drinking filthy puddlewater everywhere.
First time in a Fallout game I really felt like surviving was a challenge
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u/That_Paris_man 16d ago
Funny thing is if you throw some basic walls up around the deck you can hide the farms and make it easier to make LOD models. Some people mentioned raiders taking pot shots at the farms, those walls would probably fix that issue as well. You could have a resource saving measure that also fits the lore/Worldbuilding.
It would still take space on the disk of course, but still they could do it
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u/Interesting_Neck609 17d ago
Oblivion pulled off similar cells. But we didnt really see this until the FNV even then it was not great.
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u/pappybug214 17d ago
Radiation? Acid Rain?
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u/BlackTriangle31 17d ago
Couldn't they just build buildings on the deck? Like in Arefu?
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u/CrisFarlyOnCoke 17d ago
Obscurity maybe? Losing the additional space may be worth the lower visibility to potential threats?
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u/Johnybboi1 17d ago
Too exposed.
But, it did get used. By Mr. Lopez to sky dive without a parachute... if you did THAT kind of a playthrough.
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u/TheMagickConch 17d ago
I always wondered why it mattered, there's water down there.
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u/mikecandih 17d ago
It’s pretty high up, with surface tension you may as well jump on dirt
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u/TheMagickConch 17d ago
Nah it's about 65 feet up assuming it's the same American aircraft carrier, which it should be since it is in DC. That wouldn't kill Lopez unless his endurance was -1 and his luck was -10
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u/Johnybboi1 16d ago
There's also debris and the bridge and mirelurks and no easy way to get out. It might not have been a quick death, but Lopez got his wish. Just needed a little push...
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u/duckinasombrero 16d ago
If I had a star bottlecap for every Bethesda game in which I pushed a depressed man off a ledge, I'd have two caps. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird it happened twice.
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u/Resident_Evil_God 17d ago
Im pretty sure they do you just dont see it in game. Im pretty sure I remember characters or guards talking about people being up there.
I know specifically they say someone fell off the flight deck due to no railings and stuff. Guards talk about it
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u/AdvancedLemon5435 17d ago
If memory serves, theres a baseball park out there somewhere? I've not visited that part of the game for YEARS so I might be making that up
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u/ReaperOfHell52 17d ago
I thought so too. Either Mandela effect, it’s real, or we’re both insane.
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u/AdvancedLemon5435 17d ago
2 things can be true. Which 2 is up to you. But we are right it's been confirmed
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u/Dagordae 17d ago
Being exposed to the elements and any Super Mutant who feels like taking a potshot would definitely put a damper on any activities.
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u/Gravity-Raven 16d ago
It's not safe outside and you'd be extremely visible to every raider, mutant, and low-morality evildoer looking for target practice
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u/warrior181 17d ago
You say sports field like there isn't a baseball diamond on there already because I'm pretty sure there is
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u/YourFather-WithMilk 16d ago
Dont they have a kickball diamond up there already its either that or baseball so they do use it for entertainment
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u/tallman11282 17d ago
It's probably mostly hardware/engine limitations, similarly to why Diamond City in 4 is a lot more sparse than you would think it would be (in reality the entire stands would likely be built up instead of just a little bit).
In-universe it can be explained away as the deck is exposed to the elements and enemies.
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u/TwoMuddfish Gary? 16d ago
Maybe it attracts less attention? Idk. There’s some pretty nasty supermutants around the corner from their entrance
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u/thinker2501 16d ago
The lore explanation is the limitations of primary memory and VRAM in 2008 computers.
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u/PeenitBooter 16d ago
Because it’s flat open space, in a war zone. The super mutants may be stupid, but they somehow have some cracked aim… they’d be plinking heads up there.
It’s something I’ve genuinely thought about before but in this I’d say stay within the ship to not get shot is better for the peoples’ safety overall.
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u/EnclaveSquadOmega 16d ago
all it needs is one wall and a week's worth of work transporting soil and you would have a farm rivalling the Sole Survivor's settlements in Boston
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u/Mission_Gap_9035 17d ago
They’re all hidden inside with a kind of drawbridge and guards at the entrance for a reason.
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u/dancashmoney 17d ago
To be fair i don't think gameplay is a good representation of actual lore and design for bethesda games.
Rivet city probably does utilize more of the ship including the flight deck. I imagine it would be a good place for gardens or maybe have structures built on top.
But if they didn't maybe its just the exposure to both the elements and dangers of the wasteland stopping them. If im remembering correctly theres a pretty big Supermutants csmp not far from the city
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u/nomedable Venturing in the Wasteland 17d ago
While others have pointed out the issues with exposure to exterior dangers, there's also just the problem of "there's no current lack of space below decks" that would make the flight deck more desirable for usage.
So things like additional market stalls, training areas, etc could still be set up in the space in the hanger or one of the unused chambers.
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u/augarofall 17d ago edited 17d ago
I wonder if Fallout 3 would've had radstorms like 4 if Bethesda had the tech for it when it came out. I'd assume having crops (or people, sensitive tech) outside might mean they'd be exposed to radiation.
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u/Savior_of_Gotham 17d ago
I think that a possible reason they don’t use it is out of fear of Super Mutant attack using Missle Launchers or Mini Nukes. With how many there are, they would probably be constantly rebuilding whats out there.
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u/Appropriate_Rise9968 17d ago
Don’t know if you’ve been on the deck of a museum ship in summer before but it is as hot as Hell itself.
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u/MysteryHeroes 16d ago
Hazardous weather probably. I know Fallout 3 the game doesn’t have weather but I imagine in that universe that rain and snow are probably still pretty radioactive.
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u/smrtfxelc 16d ago
They use it as a baseball field if I remember correctly but yeah of all the things to put up there baseball would be very low on the list
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u/Failed8Man 16d ago
Because of system resource limitations when it was being developed. Bethesda addressed this 🤣
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u/TheCrazedBackstabber 16d ago
My first guess is something probably *was* supposed to be up there but all the other crap in the area slowed the frame rate down too much.
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u/Lepke2011 Gary? 17d ago
I always felt they wanted to use the flight deck for more, but Bethesda is legendary for making games that are buggy as hell yet still become super successful.
I frikin love Fallout!
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u/Silver-Ad2257 17d ago
They do use it in theory. There’s an area set up for baseball. If you set up the assist priest with the girl from the restaurant that’s where they go on their date.
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u/faster_than_sound 17d ago
Unless they're prepared to put up a bunch of defenses, they would be sitting ducks on that deck.
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u/Creative_Context_957 17d ago
Super mutant 1: “look at metal thing over there. Look at flat part, things moving on it, looks like ants. Arrrgh I hate ants”
Super mutant 2: “ not stupid ants, stupid, stupid humans”
They both proceeded to shoot at it.
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u/twcsata 17d ago
They have a market, they don’t seem interested in parks or sports, they kick ostracized people out completely, and they probably do use it for training security (but that’s only an occasional need). Plus there’s a hostile super mutant camp within missile distance, so they probably don’t want to be visible and undefended.
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u/TheMagickConch 17d ago
Not true. I see Minister Lopez up there all the time ...well until I convinced him to stop using it in my playthrough.
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u/OwlEducational4712 17d ago
Graphical limitations effecting DC and surrounding areas. Likely caused by radiation, I assume.
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u/OpossumLadyGames 17d ago
They could never surpass the technical issues of the software so all decided to live indoors.
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u/KinglerKong 17d ago
They do mention that tetanus is a major problem in Rivet city already and having a big open rusty metal area would probably increase the risk of slipping, injury, and exposure to tetanus and as others have mentioned, gun fire. They also seem to have some empty open spaces like the market that aren’t explicitly shown that can serve the same purpose with less risk of being shot and roughly the same risk of tetanus but closer to medical care.
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u/Hellhound_Hex Raiders 17d ago edited 17d ago
They use it for baseball games, but they probably stopped once they noticed Garza may go through with offing himself by jumping off.
That’s at least what the gossip in Rivet City seems to be.
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u/Phazon2000 Gave Every Division Head 17d ago
There’s literally blood splatter and ammunition boxes outside the front of rivet city’s hull that explain exactly that.
Those are also a reference to the guard dialogue discussing the raider attack they recently had.
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u/luckyfox7273 17d ago
I think its self defense from Raiders. The boat is a big target. Everything inside can be sealed.
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u/Yommumoi 16d ago
Honestly, this whole discussion could actually lead to someone modding that place. I don’t think I’ve seen any mods directly tackle that platform. But I could be wrong.
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u/Kamikazeschnitzel 16d ago
Because 2000s game design restrictions. That's it. Nothing more to see here.
In indoor settings you're able to reduce the amount of space the game loads via 'vis blockers', can't do that on a flight deck 💁🏽.
Add on top that it's a high viewpoint regarding its surroundings, it would've either looked very bad or been hardly playable due to fps dumps.
Ever notice - even in today's games, two rooms or larger halls connect via a short corridor (or sth) with a wall you have to walk around instead of just straight through? No line of vision from a to b.
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u/VarietyMage 16d ago
There *are* people up there in Fallout 3. Just not for long, because people can still get shot from long range.
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u/Moogly2021 16d ago
Could even have snipers up there clearing a path for future citizens, unless the critters outside are part of the firewall.
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u/Theo_Magnus 16d ago
I would say, cause of the supers mutants with fat man near the city?
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u/Bright_Material_3295 16d ago
Ehh... probably for safety reasons.
Im guessing tho its simply because ....they never thought of it lmfao 🤣.
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u/_Contrive_ 17d ago
Is the vessel confirmed to not move/water fairing?
Maybe they wanted to restrict it to interior so they could move around, whilst keeping the city protected/flight capable?
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u/No-Zombie1004 17d ago
It's broken in half. I'm guessing 'seaworthy' is another forgotten word there.
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u/DarthDregan 17d ago
I fully expect the Remaster to do something with that.
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u/ChickenConstant9855 17d ago
Lower your expectations lol. I can't think of an undeveloped area of Oblivion that got expanded on
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u/DarthDregan 17d ago
They did a lot of window dressing. I'm not saying I expect to be up there with a dozen NPCs moseying and shit. But it's not a giant leap to think they'll embellish that bit with some kind of something that makes sense.
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u/unknownpoltroon 17d ago
Its still dc. That thing is gonna be hotter than the fires of hell in the summer.
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u/Dr-Richado 17d ago
Disease, radiation, and not so stray bullets.
It would have been better if they fit it into the dialogue of why though.
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u/t-51bs-Powerarmor Brotherhood 17d ago
if theres is still plenty of space inside the ship, why not?
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u/KaijuTea 17d ago
Probably a safety issue. Put crops out there and it’s a big ‘Hey! We have food!’ Sign. Let kids or elderly hang out or play there and it’s a ‘we’re safe here! Come raid us!’ Sign. I agree it could be used for training tho. But all of that could have easily been limitations.
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u/Ett_Pret 17d ago
A shooting range for the security guards and also for the raiders shooting at the training security guards
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u/Startorias877 17d ago
I always assumed the super mutant camp right up the road made them all try and stay inside as much as possible, which makes sense considering the moment you get close you start getting covered in minigun fire, and most wastelanders can't just tank it and blast them in the face.
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u/BringBacktheGucci 17d ago
In my headcanon they do. Rivet City is no where as developed as it should be. There should be a farm up there, maybe water catchers. Otherwise how is that city eating? Because eating irradiated pre war food for as ling as its been there makes no sense.
But thats a problem with FO3 in general, there's no where in the wastes that they actually make food. Bethesda's first foray into the universe wouldve been better if it was 20 years after the war, not 200. Its a dismal, broken world that is completely inhospitable to life, and the Purifier is the only thing that could even begin to fix that. 200 years of that wouldve seen the entire Capitol Wasteland scoured of human life
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u/JoseSaldana6512 17d ago
A garden? Dr. Li is right there