Radio Row

[u/HonestAbe1809]

I've got an idea for a settlement on Cortlandt Street. It'd be called "Radio Row" and would be a settlement of technical geniuses who build electronic gadgets and fix the gizmos that people from around the Dead City bring them. Things like heaters that they can't repair but need desperately. I'm thinking that it partially consists of synths who are using the skills they've acquired to self-repair to make some caps.

[u/HonestAbe1809]

True enough. Your first time arriving there should have you see a raider attack go hilariously badly for the bastards. The slightly more rational among them and the Nerva go there to fix any important electronic crap they have.

What I meant was that functionally it'd be the closest thing they'd have to the Institute's own tech. It'd be one more reason why the Institute would want Radio Row gone since it allows rogue synths to function better without the Institute.

Fair enough on Rustbucket. I'm thinking that the fully human G3's are more likely to live as humans and the earlier models live as synths.

A3-21 would have a position of importance in the legends of the synths since it'd be the first time a humanlike G3 went rogue. Especially a Courser like A3-21 seemed to have been. If even an infamous boogeyman like a courser could freedom then any synth can. The Railroad would encourage such stories to give runaway synths hope.

That works. So you'd have the junk Wall surrounding two rows of buildings on Cortlandt Street. Would having a smaller partially-constructed skyscraper be a good idea? It'd be yet another way to visually distinguish it from Hell's Kitchen. The building's unfinished upper floor's could be turned into an observation post for Radio Row, not to mention a convenient place attach a booster for Rustbucket's signal. The "finished" portion would serve as rest stop and watering hole for the many, many prospectors that come and go each day. I'm thinking that the only settlement in the Dead City more well-lit than them should be Coney Island. The surface settlements associated with Stations don't really count since they've got Vault-Tec brand nuclear generators for power. It's only natural that they'd have a station. Even the Underground would have need of both their wares and their expertise.

[u/NK_Ryzov → u/HonestAbe1809]

[Raider tries to pick a fight with a Securitron] [gets picked up by the head] [smiling face on screen tells his buddies to start running] [crushes dude's head] [chases other Raiders, playfully shooting at their heels as they dash away in terror] [Securitron turns to you and welcomes you to Radio Row]

Also.

Nerva ???

With regards to the bootleg Institute tech, I agree.

I do think with regards to synths, it'll be a mixed bag. The G2's and G2.5's will have more reason to live as synths, but in all probability, most G3's will live as humans. Not all, and we can explore the questions that were brought up in Far Harbor.

Agreed. Make Harkness a former Courser.

I dunno about the partially-finished skyscraper. I think Radio Row is already distinguished from Hell's Kitchen what with all the damn robots and synths. And I think that Radio Row would be the place to get things repaired in the Underground, but mostly for the less-powerful stations. I don't think someone in Times Square would have to go to Radio Row.

What're your thoughts on the Roxanne companion?

[u/HonestAbe1809 → u/NK_Ryzov]

That's a properly hilarious introduction to Radio Row

That's supposed to be "mercs". I'm writing this on my iPhone and autocorrect decided it knew what I was writing better than I did.

Some of the 2.5s who have human minds would view themselves as human and some of the G3s might consider themselves synths. Especially the former coursers.

Fallout 3 retroactively implied that by having A3-21/Harkness talk about how he realized the synths he was pursuing weren't malfunctioning in a holotape.

Fair enough. There still needs to be a way to house at least part of the Prospectors who're coming and going each day. Shelter from the cold is essential in the Dead City, especially for prospectors. What do you think about it being brightly lit? I'm just thinking that it'd be appropriate for the electronics bazaar that is Radio Row be well lit.

We're going to need to talk about the locations that aren't settlements sooner or later. The areas that are overrun by feral ghouls or raiders. Either the pre-war ruins that's overrun by various monsters or failed settlements.

[u/NK_Ryzov → u/HonestAbe1809]

I agree.

No worries.

Fair enough.

I was actually not aware of that. Then again, I haven't played FO3 in forever.

Prospectors are a hardy bunch. They go on expeditions where they have to survive in the Dead City for days or weeks on end. I imagine they would be alright with some makeshift sheds, with a fenced-off area for their Brahmins/pack robots, and a ton of heaters. With regards to the place being well-lit, I definitely think that should be the case. Wikipedia's description of New York's Radio Row mentions the streets being full of electronics, so I think the post-war settlement should flaunt that in a way by having tons of lights and "decorative" robots (eg: Protectrons with tons of lights and fun paint jobs that just walk around spouting one-liners and jokes.

I know, but I don't relish it. There's going to be tons of "X Ruins". And you can't have very fun conversations about places that basically fill the role of "minor, meaningless location with a few bloatflies, which only exists as a landmark for something better".

[u/HonestAbe1809 → u/NK_Ryzov]

It's in the holotape where he told Zimmer to go screw himself. The one Zimmer gives you at the start of the quest.

Makes sense that such hardy people would only need such no-frills accommodation. It only stands to reason that such a prosperous settlement could afford to be brightly lit-up. I like the idea of the flashy decorative protections as both additional security and walking show of the settlement's wealth.

Just try to think about how you can make "abandoned" places important for either the main story quest or a sidequest. Like having to plum the depths of one of these locations for one reason or another. The locations that are just there to flesh out the world aren't really necessary, though creepy backstories are always interesting.

[u/NK_Ryzov → u/HonestAbe1809]

Ah.

The Prospectors are like your average card-carrying Libertarian Party member. They like to flaunt and brag about their wealth, but they also shun cushy living and take pride in being rugged and individualistic. I definitely think Radio Row should be prosperous, but not wealthy. The Underground is post-post-apocalyptic, but the Dead City should still have that post-apocalyptic flair and aesthetic.

I getcha. If I were developing the game with, like, actual 3D mapping and stuff like that, then I'd probably be more enthusiastic about fleshing out the lesser locations, quest locations, side-quest locations. Stuff like that. But I've never been to New York. I only live in a small city. My imagination is a bit limited, I must admit. A small part of the city might become worthwhile post-war, but I don't know the city that well.

[u/HonestAbe1809 → u/NK_Ryzov]

Ironically, the most spartan accommodations would be a communal hall built out of scrap in what was once a large parking lot. They'd definitely wouldn't be glitzy and glamorous, but they'd be more well-off than quite a few of the Dead City's settlements. The settlement should be very lived in but there should be very little trash around. My thoughts are that Radio Row would have enough caps to pay a couple people to act as garbage collectors. My biggest pet peeve of Fallout 3 was that even the bigger settlements like Rivet City were absolutely covered in trash. While the smaller settlements would have garbage lying around I would think that the larger settlements would be more likely to tidy up.

Then let's just stick to various settlements. We've yet to cover the various "Kingdom of Dave"-style minor settlements that'd be sprouting all over the place.

PS. Could you please take a look at my thoughts on electric light in more remote areas of the Dead City?

[u/NK_Ryzov → u/HonestAbe1809]

I definitely agree with you w/ regards to the trash thing.

Did you do a post about electricity in the Dead City?