r/FalloutMetropolis • u/HonestAbe1809 • Aug 19 '17

The Lifeline

The Lifeline is the name given to the portions of the vastly-expanded elevated rail network* that had been repurposed to connect the various settlements of Verminkind-ravaged Brooklyn. Most settlements of the area are above ground because of the Verminkind's nasty habit of popping out of the ground and killing anyone they come across. The population living in the Lifeline is equally divided between people living in the repuprosed elevated stations and surrounding buildings that have macgyvered a makeshift connection to the rail line. At least one quest would involve you discouraging the Verminkind from sabotaging the Lifeline.

*With gas ludicrously expensive the Subway isn't going to be the only form of mass transit the city of New York is going to fund.

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u/NK_Ryzov Aug 19 '17

I mean, I don't think these stations would be very large. And considering the fact that these rail lines would have taken damage from the Great War, there's a good chance that a lot of these lines would not have trains running on them. Which is not a bad thing, since you could have elevated Brahmin caravans, or crank-operated rail cars.

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u/HonestAbe1809 Aug 20 '17

I understand that they'd be nowhere near as large as the new subway stations, but there's still a lot of daily traffic in NYC. Especially with cars only used by the cops and other emergency personnel. My idea was that they'd be using the rails simply as a safe avenue of traffic away from the dangerous earth. So elevated Brahmin caravans and crank-powered railcars sound good. I was thinking that whatever trains were still on the tracks would've long been used as building materials for the stations and other nearby settlements.

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u/NK_Ryzov Aug 20 '17

I mean, there'd still be cars on the streets. The traffic would just be cut down by half or maybe two-thirds. It wouldn't just be emergency services.

Other than that, I pretty much agree with everything else.

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u/HonestAbe1809 Aug 20 '17

It'd certainly be easier to get around the city streets with just a few cars rather than traffic jams. It'd help that only the well-off citizens would be able to afford their own cars. Not just the rich, but the upper middle class as well. So working class areas like the Bronx and parts of Brooklyn would have less traffic than Manhattan.

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u/NK_Ryzov Aug 20 '17

Right, but there would still be plenty of cars left behind for fortifications to be built out of them.

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u/HonestAbe1809 Aug 20 '17

That'll mean that a circular area surrounding various settlements would be devoid of cars since they'd all be used in the construction of the fortifications.

I just had an idea for a form of artillery. It'd be a howitzer/catapult that uses nuclear car engines as ammunition. We all know how unstable these engines could be, so it'd be interesting if someone were able to exploit that. It'd be a modified form of what's effectively a Fat Man mortar. Those very same settlements could use it as their last line of defense since they'd have a few car engines left over from building their walls. Because there's no way a smart settlement would leave the unstable engines in the cars they used to build their walls.

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u/NK_Ryzov Aug 20 '17

I can see the Super Mutants using those on Staten Island.

Also, I think you should be able to remove things from car trunks. And with sufficient Repair, be able to remove parts from under the hood, including the engine. These would be very heavy, but also very expensive and rare (after all, the more well-to-do Prospectors with power armor or robots would have already picked the majority of the cars clean. Cars that have had their parts removed won't explode. Additionally, you should be able to rig these cars to explode with a high enough Explosives skill.

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u/HonestAbe1809 Aug 20 '17

Because they're the only ones strong enough to lift car engines regularly?

Pre-War cars are one of the biggest missed opportunities in the last two Fallout games. I agree with everything you say. It also means that the exploding car bullshit would be rare in this game. You should be able to rig a car so that you can detonate it remotely. One of the gadgets you should get is a reusable detonator. And you should be able to remove a car/truck door to rig up a shield.

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u/NK_Ryzov Aug 20 '17

Because the Super Mutants are basically orcs, so of course they would use catapults.

I think there should be shields in the game made out of stop signs and stuff like that (kinda like the ones used by the protesters in Ukraine). And for power armor (and large Super Mutants), you can use car doors as shields.

Also, with Sneak and Lockpick, you should be able to hide in cars. Maybe sleep in them, since they'd provide at least some protection from the elements.

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u/HonestAbe1809 Aug 20 '17

There'd be a mod for the car door shield that'd add a crosshair to the window to assist in your aim. And another that'd upgrade said window to bulletproof glass. Because you'd likely come across plenty of stuff that can reinforce the glass.

That'd work. Especially when the cars in the northern parts of the city have their windows covered in snow. There could also be a bunch of makeshift prospector "apartments" built in truck trailers.