A vacuum tube is a device that controls electric current flow in a high vacuum between electrodes. First invented in 1904, the vacuum tubes formed the base of electronics through the first half of the 20th century, before being replaced by transistor-based solid state electronics.
In the Fallout series, due to the divergence, vacuum tubes continued to be the dominant building blocks of modern electronics, with transistors few and far in between. In fact, the term "chip" typically (but not always) refers to processing units using vacuum tubes, such as the water chip.
Background[]
Whether it was the delayed invention of the transistor,[Non-game 1], or another reason vacuum tubes formed the basis of modern electronics before the Great War, giving them a distinct look and resilience against electromagnetic pulses.[Non-game 2] Advances in technology continued to be made, and the cutting-edge model was a quantum vacuum tube (available since at least 2074), giving mainframes unparalleled computing ability[1] by combining them with conventional tubes.[2] By 2077, the most advanced technologies made use of both vacuum tubes and integrated circuits,[Non-game 3] in particular robots.[3]
After the Great War, chips became a popular trade good,[4] though it's situational: Chips that require specialize equipment to work might be considered worthless junk if said equipment is not readily available.[5] They would commonly be scrapped to provide replacement parts for other systems.[6]
Usage[]
- Some common examples of tubes in use include the various radio devices, holotape players,[7] communications,[8] and alarms, among others.[9] Industrial devices also used tubes: Excavator chips controlled high-efficiency mining machines that automated extraction of raw materials far ahead of anything a human could achieve.[10][11] The control chips were far less durable than the machines they controlled.[12]
- The Pip-Boy series of personal information processors from RobCo use highly sophisticated vacuum tubes, from the original Pip-Boy 1.0[17] to the miniaturized, more advanced models like the 2000[18] and 3000 series.[19] Likewise, peripherals also made use of vacuum tubes for procesing.[20]
- Vault-Tec Corporation used vacuum tube-based devices extensively while building the Vaults. However, to cut costs, they were made by the lowest bidder and prone to failure. This was especially problematic when a water chip broke down, as it frequently did.[21] Other chips produced by Vault-Tec were voice recognition modules, sophisticated machinery capable of real-time voice recognition and control.[22]
- The latest models of quantum tubes were used in Vault-Tec mainframes, for example, at Vault 96 to conduct rapid genetic experiments and simulations. 125 quantum tubes were linked in arrays with 54,000 conventional ones, at a 432:1 ratio, giving it incredible computing power.[2]
- Poseidon Oil was an example of mixing transistors and tubes: The navigation computer module combined integrated circuits with tubes, and enabled completely automated sailing for even the most ancient of vessels.[23]
- Robots commonly used a mix of integrated transistors and vacuum tubes. Allegedly, screwing in a vacuum tube the wrong way could cause them to malfunction.[3]
- The USSA and branches of the United States Armed Forces made heavy use of vacuum tubes, including in experimental technologies. Examples include the Valiant-1 space station, where they formed the backbone of a sophisticated communications array,[24][25] and the ATLAS Program.[26]
Behind the scenes[]
- The vacuum tubes in Fallout are much more powerful than their real-life counterparts. The Vault 96 mainframe contains 125 fictional quantum tubes and 54,000 conventional vacuum tubes, and is capable of genetic modeling, experiments, and simulations. For comparison, the 1945 ENIAC had 18,000 vacuum tubes, a third of those in the mainframe, and was, of course, unable of such simulations.
Vacuum tubes vs. transistors[]
- The preference for vacuum tubes was a conscious choice made early in Fallout's development. Leonard Boyarsky pitched the idea to Tim Cain during the development, proposing that in the universe of Fallout, humans never went beyond transistors (i.e. the transistor was invented, but microelectronics did not catch on) and stayed with vacuum tubes. The idea originated in a proposal to feature a lot of vacuum tubes, since "everything would look cooler if it had vacuum tubes". Cain agreed, adding that vacuum tube electronics would be less susceptible to electromagnetic damage. Leonard Boyarsky recounted the story in 2018, in an interview on Matt Chat.[Non-game 2]
- This was not consistently implemented, as noted in June 2003 by Joshua Sawyer during an exchange on No Mutants Allowed: When a user stated that Fallout is set in a future where the transistor was never invented, he pointed out the fact that EMP grenades in Fallout and Fallout 2 are incredibly powerful against robots, which would not be the case if they were based on vacuum tubes.[Non-game 4]
- During the development of Fallout 3 (2008), and later Fallout 4 (2015), Joel Burgess argued with the team numerous times over the effects the absence of transistors would have not just on the basic mechanics, but also on the culture of the world. In his own words, the butterfly effect change of not inventing a transistor, "[w]hat does that say about the cultural priorities of the people who live in that world?" Burgess recounted this in 2016, in a Ubisoft livestream's closing Q&A.[Non-game 1]
- In Fallout: New Vegas (2011), developed under the leadership of Joshua Sawyer, the platinum chip is an incredibly capacious electronic device and key, printed in Sunnyvale, and an example of integrated circuit technology. Robert House's life extension chamber also include a brain-machine interface, which was described in concept art as mounted on the top of House's head, featuring transistors and vacuum tubes wired directly into the brain after the skull was removed.[Non-game 3] Integrated circuits and printed circuit boards are also referred to occasionally in the game and its downloadable content.
- In a Tumblr question in March 2019, Sawyer maintained his position on transistors in Fallout, reiterating how robots in the series are affected by EMP blasts and pointed out that "the state of technology isn’t represented consistently", in his Fallout: New Vegas included. He also noted that he believed the whole idea was secondary to the setting in his opinion, though it did push interesting ideas (citing the fact that the Soviet MiG-25 used vacuum tube electronics that would theoretically make it less vulnerable to EMPs).[Non-game 5]
Miscellaneous[]
- Although labeled a memory transistor, the item to the right visually resembles and the designations refer to a real-world 6-volt octal (8 pin) vacuum tube. The designations of "6AC7" and "6Ж4" refer to two equivalent vacuum tube types in the North American RETMA tube naming convention and the Russian tube naming convention in Cyrillic, respectively.
- The idea of using vacuum tubes to build chips superior to ones using just transistors and integrated circuits has been explored in recent years.[Non-game 6]
References[]
- ↑ Fallout 76 loading screens: "The Vault 96 Mainframe incorporated cutting-edge quantum vacuum tube arrays to model, simulate, and conduct rapid genetic experiments."
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Vault 96 terminal entries: "ROBCO VTC-008 QUANTUM MAINFRAME
PURCHASE ORDER: V-2074-9-90400
INSTALL DATE: 8/4/77
INSTALL SITE: Vault 96
CUSTOMER: Vault-Tec
PRIMARY FUNCTIONALITY: Operations, Vault
SECONDARY FUNCTIONALITY: Research, Genetic
HARDWARE SPECIFICATIONS:
- Quantum Vacuum Tubes: 125
- Conventional Vacuum Tubes: 54000
- Storage: 89850 Blocks
SOFTWARE SPECIFICATIONS:
- Custom; see Schedule 21-B."
Note: There are two identical entries, one identified as CUT and the other as used. - ↑ 3.0 3.1 Courier: "What's your problem with ED-E?"
Arcade Gannon: "It just seems a little twitchy. Some of these robots, you look at them the wrong way, don't screw in a vacuum tube right... The next thing you know you're a pile of ash on the floor and someone's stepping out of a vertibird to sweep your remains into a Nuka-Cola bottle." - ↑ Fisherman: "{120}{}{About eight years ago, I sold some chips in Junktown. I don't know what they did. One of them could have been a water chip, though I wouldn't bet on it.}"
(FISHRMAN.MSG) - ↑ The Vault Dweller: "{104}{}{Do you have a water chip?}"
Martha Rastello: "{112}{}{Water chip... hmm. Oh, those old Vault purifying control chips. Well, I'm sure I speak for the entire town when I say you won't find one here. Without the proper equipment they're worthless. Only a Vault, or maybe Necropolis would have any use for one. Why do you ask?}"
(MSTMERCH.MSG) - ↑ Scrap electronics
- ↑ Item model.
- ↑ A Real Blast: "Error! Unrequested tube decompression detected. Immediate repair requested."
- ↑ Community treehouse alarm: "The alarm is broken.
(Requires vacuum tube.)" - ↑ Redding endings.
- ↑ Excavator chip: "{42200}{}{Excavator Chip}
{42201}{}{This chip appears to be for some sort of large industrial machine. Beneath the dirt and dust, it appears to be in surprisingly good shape.}"
(PRO ITEM.MSG (Fallout 2)) - ↑ Athabaska Dick: "{182}{}{Well, ya see, mines used to be dug out by big machines. Heck, those machines are built to last. Both mines got big diggers. But - an' here's the money question - the dang little control chips weren't made so tough. Neither mine's got a chip that works. Heh-hee.}"
(RCDICK.MSG) - ↑ Almost every television set has a CRT monitor.
- ↑ Cultist priest: "The cathode ray tube is the retina to the mind's eye."
- ↑ Silo code piece
- ↑ Nixie tube clock
- ↑ Prototyping the PIP-Boy.
- ↑ Pip-Boy screen.
- ↑ Pip-Boy 3000 internals
- ↑ Talk interface concept art.
- ↑ The Vault Dweller: "{105}{}{Do you have a water chip?}"
Paul: "{134}{}{A Water Chip? The ones from the old Vault-Tec shelters?}"
The Vault Dweller: "{135}{}{Yes!.. Do you have one?}"
"{136}{}{No. Those things were junk, they were prone to failure. We don’t deal with purifying our own water here. We have water delivered by caravans from the Hub.}"
(PAUL.MSG) - ↑ Eldridge: "It's a complex circuit board. A memory chip is set into it, and a number of computer connections are on the side, including an input and output. Printed on the board is: 'Vault Tec voice recognition module."
(NcEldrid.msg) - ↑ NavCom parts icon.
- ↑ The Importance of Communication features radio vacuum tubes used for Valiant-1 radio equipment.
- ↑ Wren: "The usual. Radio vacuum tubes to keep these comms runnin'. Whatever's toxic in this Valley never fails to do a number on my equipment."
- ↑ ATLAS: "Inside its container, a miniaturized ion focus sits nestled in a bundle of tubes and wires, many of which are attached. How will you go about extracting it?"
Non-game
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Joel Burgess: "That culture never invented transistors and part of that influences why you see big tube things. The interfaces in Fallout 1 and 2 are engineered in a way that, in a world without transistors, still gets really advanced technology. How is their technology different, by making this one butterfly effect change? This is an argument that I had, many, many times, with people working on 3 and 4, it's like that transistor decision about the world... That rule isn't just about the mechanics of 'how do I build like a fusion car without a transistor, or whatever?' What does that say about the cultural priorities of the people who live in that world?"
(Joel Burgess Ubisoft live-stream - November 4, 2016, starts at 1:27:30) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 Leonard Boyarsky: A lot of the things we figured out about it, like the fact that they never went beyond transistors, they stayed with the vacuum tubes, started with me going, "We need a lotta vacuum tubes! Everything would look cooler if it had vacuum tubes on it!" And Tim's like, "Well, you know if they never did, if they never went over to transistors, this would make it so that you wouldn't be as susceptible to an EMP blast."
(Leonard Boyarsky Matt Chat 396 - January 27, 2018, starts at 4:59) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide Collector's Edition p.463: "The helmet might be bolted right into his skull, like a "halo"used to stabilize severe neck injuries.
Or it might not be a helmet at all, the top of Mr. House's skull having been removed and fitted with transistors and vacuum tubes.
(Behind the Bright Lights & Big City) - ↑ User Saint_Proverbius: "EMP damage? Ummm.. Imagine a future where the transistor had never been invented. I wish I could remember which Fallout developer said that to describe Fallout's setting, but it's a fairly major concept! EMP really only works well on integrated circuits, re: transistor stuff, which aren't part of Fallout's setting."
Joshua Sawyer: "Let me know if you found out which dev said that, because EMP grenades wreak utter havok on robots all over Fallout and Fallout 2. I walk into the Glow, throw an EMP grenade, and robots drop like flies in a blast furnace. It's pretty clear that ICs are used in robots all over the Fallout world. However, I think that a future Fallout title should take into account that some models of our traditional friends like Mr. Handy and Floating Eye Bot should be made with vaccuum
tube tech to reflect the necessity of robots operating in the wake of atomic EMP blasts."
(Sawyer and NMA, the next chapter, post on the No Mutants Allowed forum, June 26, 2003) - ↑ User blingblingboistuff-blog: "I know Cain and Boyarsky have said that they created Fallout and came up with the whole "no transistor" to justify how everything looked but I wanted to maybe hear your opinion on it? I know its out of yours hands now of course, but I just wanted to know how you feel about it. No transistor or transistor?"
Joshua Sawyer: "I like vacuum tube tech and I think it pushes some interesting ideas, but it feels secondary in the series. One of the interesting properties of vacuum tubes is that they aren’t really affected by EMPs, such as those produced by a nuclear bomb blast. Some Soviet MiG-25s used vacuum tubes dominantly or exclusively, which would theoretically allow them to fly in the wake of a blast (assuming the pilots weren’t killed by radiation). Still, the robots in the series are affected by EMP grenades and similar attacks, so the state of technology isn’t represented consistently."
(Josh Sawyer tumblr post) - ↑ Engadget article archive
[[fr:Tube électronique (Fallout 4/76)]