Fallout世界与现实的差異

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辐射的故事发生在一个历史，科学原理等方面都与我们所处宇宙不同的平行宇宙。这个世界的基本概念是20世纪中期人们所设想的明日世界，一个核子技术和喷气机的未来世界。总体来说，辐射世界是一个对美国人在20世纪40年代末到60年代初所设想的未来的讽刺的，后启示录的描绘。

设定

明日世界

辐射世界是一个管家机器人投入应用，小型激光武器成为常态的世界。汽车看起来都像是20世纪50年代的概念车：镀铬，有着巨大的尾翼，并且由核聚变发动机提供动力。虽然有类似于台式电脑的终端机(外观与20世纪80年代商业化的台式电脑相似，图形界面原始且储存容量极小)，但计算机的体型普遍巨大，并使用磁带储存(虽然样式古老，但在某些方面比我们现代的超级计算机更加强大)。服装风格，建筑，装修和家具仍旧严重受到20世纪50年代美国文化的影响，这一时期的流行风格，如艺术装饰风格和未来主义仍然在辐射世界中有普遍体现，海报和标识也倾向20世纪50年代的风格。电台，而不是电视，仍然是最普遍的大众媒体，并且食品也是快餐时代中所普及的(如盒装芝士通心粉，肉罐头，索尔兹伯里牛肉饼等)。广播电台主要播放20世纪中叶的美国经典，如The Ink Spots，猫王和Andrew Sisters，尽管这可以解释为只有这些唱片在大戰后幸存。

与现实不同，辐射世界中的人类社会并没有开发出小型化的电子设备，也没有诸如风能这样的清洁能源。在辐射世界的二战结束后，人类致力于研究大型超级计算机——例如扎克斯超级计算机——并进一步开发了原子能，使核动力发电机小型化和日常化。辐射世界中还出现了一些在现实中还不发达的先进技术，例如机器人技术、人机交互技术和生物技术，这也令一些现实中尚不存在科技产物在辐射世界内得以实现，例如动力装甲、便携式激光武器、多功能家用机器人。

在辐射世界中，20世纪50年代偏执的政治观点和共产主义与资本主义两大阵营的对立，仍是北美地区人们日常生活的一部分。例如在Take it Back!任务中，自由金刚高喊的口号“Death is a preferable alternative to communism!”(比起共产主义，死亡是更好的选择！)对应50年代“Better dead than Red!”的反共口号。反共宣传在美国流行文化中似乎也有体现，如电子游戏(Red Menace，即红色威胁 等)和漫画(Commie-Kazi vs. Manta Man,即蝠鲼侠vs共产海豚)等。

娱乐

主页面: Timeline of the music of the Fallout series

相比之下，收音机保持了主要媒体地位而电视并没有，食用产品则基于广告宣传的 TV-dinner（暂译为“电视餐”，也叫做冷冻餐、冰箱餐、微波餐或者即食餐。指独立包装的冷冻或冷藏餐食。这种餐食基本不需加工，而且包含了一顿单人餐所需的所有成分。）时代产物。（奶焗通心粉，罐装肉，索尔伯利兹牛肉饼电视餐 等。） 广播站主要放送 The Ink Spots， Bing Crosby，或者 The Andrews Sisters等歌手的20世纪中期美国经典曲目。这一现象也可以被不完全地解释为只有这些唱片和音轨在核战争中被保存下来。

幸存的歌曲包括40年代到50年代各式各样的曲目，甚至更多的之后几十年间的无名的唱片。战前的歌手像Vera Keyes和Dean Domino则是在全息磁带上发布处女作的。

历史事件的不同

辐射世界与现实之间的差异最早形成的时间尚不清楚，但应该不会早于1945年——也就是第二次世界大战结束的那一年。产生差异的一个可能的原因是辐射世界里的电子设备发展水平不及现实世界——比较有力的证据是在辐射世界中，晶体管直到2023年才被发明出来，远远晚于现实世界中的1947年。这或许能够解释为什么游戏中的电脑技术为什么相对落后。事件对应的日期很难确定，因为即使在时间线分歧之后，两个时间线也并不是完全错开的。 例如，Fallout 3 中核弹镇的某些居民偶尔会说“不要让他们打着嬉皮士的幌子欺骗你”，以及 Fallout: New Vegas 隐秘山谷地堡的涂鸦包含反核，亲 “和平”口号，让人联想到60年代反主流文化所使用的口号。 虽然“嬉皮”一词早在1945年就已存在，但它直到20世纪60年代才进入主流美国词典中。很明显，类似于我们世界中嬉皮反文化的兴起也发生在辐射宇宙中，或者嬉皮士运动也可能正常发生。 Fallout 4 的开头动画也表明，对广岛和长崎的轰炸等第二次世界大战的事件以同样时间与方式发生，证明了1945年是时间线分歧前的最后时间点。

虽然辐射的时间线与我们的时间线在1945年之后的某个时间发生了重大分歧，但是在1945年之前的辐射时间线中也发生了一些与我们的时间线不同的事件。 然而，这些都不会对人类历史产生重大影响。 这些差异中最值得注意的是在地球轨道上存在一个外星宇宙飞船，以及至少1603年以来对人类进行的外星人相关的绑架和实验。其他辐射时间线独有事件的例子包括： 1918年首次制造夕阳沙士，1932年维姬和万斯的犯罪狂潮，以及Vim! 流行公司 于1931年的成立，在第二次世界大战结束的十多年前。 1943年建造的密苏里号在自由博物馆的壁画中的不同之处在于，她有4个主炮塔，而不是3个。

政治

内华达州旗, 在米歇尔医生的家门外飘扬 (注意在左边增加的“西南联邦”).

辐射世界中的政治与现实有着明显的区别。

美国

在时间线分歧之后美国国旗的更改，证明美国发生了巨大的变化。 在1969年，50个州被巩固（加利福尼亚则是分裂）为13个联邦，尽管看起来各州本身保留了一定程度的主权（从米歇尔医生房屋外面的内华达州旗以及各种车牌装饰上有州名而不是联邦名称可以看出 ）。然而这可以被看作是一种更简单的整合版图的方式，因为将三个州合并为联邦会导致形成三个一模一样的版图。

在时间线分歧之后对政治家的记载不多，Fallout 2 中提及1972年至1974年的美国总统为理查德·尼克松。根据GNN News transcript记载，在2075年2月，一位不知名的美国总统因为横穿马路被弹劾。 该记录还提到，在总统结束国际石油谈判后不久，“美国经济正在经历自里根时期以来的最大增长。” 这表明罗纳德·里根曾在20世纪80年代担任总统。

同样，我们对辐射世界中的美国政治知之甚少。丹尼尔·伯德, 杰克·史密斯和阿盖尔提到“共和党人”（分别在Fallout 2，Fallout 3和Fallout: New Vegas），暗示共和党在辐射世界中以某种形式存在。

杰克·史密斯还暗示民主党在时间线分歧后仍然存在，他提到他永远不会投票给“其中一个自由派”，尽管这可能指的是一个不同的未知党派。

种族隔离似乎已经结束，至少这种现象在军队中是明显的，例如托马斯·摩根中尉。 妇女的公民权利似乎也取得了进步，妇女如男性一般正常地担任军事战斗职业，如Anchorage Reclamation simulation所示。

美国似乎已经向越南宣战，因为在Fallout Tactics中的Interplay / Microforte片头中可以听到有关这一事件的评论。 它的发生时间和结果仍是未知的。 在我们的时间线上，美国从未真正向越南宣战，尽管其在1965年至1973年期间大规模部署了作战部队。

在辐射世界中，美国政府非常腐败（参考被披露的五角大楼文件中美国是如何在越南战争中被蒙蔽），作为二战后现实文化的一部分，辐射世界融入了冷战的许多特征，特别是当时政府机构的特征，其中许多因解密而被人所知。像现实的美国政府一样，辐射世界中的美国在古怪的项目付出人力物力，使其在与苏联的对抗中获得优势，在辐射世界中冷战在2051年就已结束，但在大戰前的资源战争中，类似的情况再次重演，并催生了避难所实验。在现实世界中，冷战时期美国政府的著名计划包括1963年NASA的海豚LSD项目，CIA的MKUltra计划，用美国国土上的恐怖主义来证明古巴战争的合法性，将放射性物质暴露于不知情的民众中等。

世界

在辐射世界中，苏维埃社会主义共和国联盟直到大戰前都一直存在，而且很有可能与美国结为同盟。而在现实中，苏联于1991年解体为俄罗斯、哈萨克斯坦等独立国家。

辐射世界中的中国历史和现实中类似，在经历了抗日战争与解放战争后于1949年成立中华人民共和国，不过，现实中发生于1970年代的一系列重大事件，如：中美建交、改革开放等在辐射世界中并未发生。

通货膨胀

时间线分歧的其中一点是战前美国的价格膨胀。 可能是因为化石燃料的稀缺，战时支出以及世界性的政权不稳定，美元在大战前的几年中经历了严重的通货膨胀。 许多东西，从汽车，汽油到玩具和食品，价格都远高于我们的世界。 值得注意的例子是：

• 战前加油站遗留的信息显示，2077年时的汽油价格高达每加仑8500美元。
• 在红火箭维修站，A级的核冷却剂每加仑售价119美元，C级售价121美元。
• 由甜甜圈和一杯咖啡组成的简餐价格为32美元。吧
• 2077年，奶油小马要价16,000美元。
• 像波士顿号角报和华盛顿邮报这样的报纸每期售价56美元。漫画和杂志，如Guns and Bullets(枪支和子弹,Fallout 4及Fallout: New Vegas版本在此)，Unstoppables(无人能挡)和Astoundingly Awesome Tales(惊世奇谭)，根据具体内容，价格从15美元到33美元不等。
• Chryslus Corvega于2077年上市，价格"仅"为199,999美元。
• 避难所计划（也称为安全屋计划或社会保护计划）最初计划投入4000亿美元建设122个避难所，但到2077年膨胀到6450亿美元。

虽然从现代标准来看汽油价格确实十分夸张，但其他价格实际上与现在到Great War(2077年)之间的几十年中可预期的正常通货膨胀水平相当。

Petroleum

主页面: Petroleum

The entire reason for the Great War and the Resource Wars is the world's petroleum reserves running out by 2052 in the Fallout world. This is based on the infamous 1956 peak oil theory. Famous real-life events related to petroleum demand that parallel the events leading up to the Great War in the Fallout universe include the Yom Kippur War, during which the OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) made an embargo on oil by increasing prices by 400% and leading to the 1973 oil crisis, and the Prohibition era which outlawed alcohol at a time when it was set to replace petroleum as a fuel source for automobiles. It is unclear if there were any events behind-the-scenes pertaining to the demand of petroleum in the Fallout universe (given its uses of technology and its respective fuel resources differing from ours), but it is peculiar, given that there are pre-war energy alternatives, such as Prometheus Coal, Helios Solar, Greenway Hydroponics, Gecko's nuclear power plant, Olney Powerworks, the Hoover Dam power plants, etc. It is also unclear exactly how dire Europe's energy shortage was in 2052 which led to the European Commonwealth-Middle East War and China's energy shortage that led to the Sino-American War, as there is no mention of ulterior geopolitical motives or artificial demand anywhere in the Fallout world.

Oil still exists in Fallout 4 and Fallout 76. It is an item used in crafting meant as a "catch-all" item (meaning it could be an oil other than petroleum), but its appearance and presence in items such as the lantern, Fuel tank, and Mr. Handy fuel among others implies it is a petroleum derivative.

地理

美国

Fallout宇宙的城市设计与现实世界有所不同，常以至于只是表面上在布局和熟悉地标的出现方面与现实类似。

华盛顿特区

从特色建筑的坐落和总体的城市规划的角度来看类似于我们世界的美国首都，但存在一些显著的区别：

• 大量战前的当代建筑是1940/50年代艺术装饰风格和1950/60年代的现代主义风格的。
• 我们世界中界定弗吉尼亚州阿灵顿县的摩天大厦并不存在。
• 美国国家航空航天博物馆之类的建筑被替换为科技博物馆。美国自然历史博物馆和美国历史博物馆被替换为历史博物馆。很多史密斯学会的博物馆都没有出现在游戏中。
• Fallout世界的许多名人半身像在很多建筑物中都存在，这些名人在我们的世界中都不存在。
• 国会大厦在正面（朝向国家广场一面）有两段阶梯步级而不是两侧的阶梯。
• 游戏中的国家广场比现实的要小。（尽管这也可以被看作证实首都废土比真正的哥伦比亚特区小的例子）
• 地下铁道网也与现实有所区别；部分线路和车站不同。（Fallout 3中特区的地铁网有三条线路：红线，白线和蓝线;而现实中的特区地铁网有六条线路：红线，橙线，黄线，蓝线，绿线和银线。但不可否认的是Fallout 3发行时银线还只是规划中的线路，甚至都还没有拨款兴建）
• 游戏中的华盛顿纪念碑有钢筋骨架，而真实的纪念碑则没有。
• 五角大楼座落处也与我们的宇宙不同，位于波托马克河畔，阿灵顿纪念桥（游戏内被重命名为Francis Scott基桥）旁。
• 一张高架单轨铁路网遍及了城市主体和周围区域。我们的时间线中可没有这样的铁路网，尽管有部分“地铁”轨道实际上是高出地面的。例如华盛顿联合车站和森林幽谷站之间的红线轨道段，以及越过波托马克河的黄线轨道段。
• 很多我们的时间线中在1950/60年代修建的建筑和纪念碑等（例如越战纪念碑、二战纪念碑 、国民公园球场、朝鲜战争纪念碑、富兰克林罗斯福纪念碑、西奥多罗斯福纪念碑、肯尼迪中心、新闻博物馆 等）在游戏中要不然根本没被建造，要不然被摧毁殆尽或彻底遗忘。
• 华盛顿联合车站没有在游戏中出现。
• 美国联邦最高法院大楼没有在游戏中出现。
• 工厂仍然相当普遍，就像20世纪40-60年代美国工业经济时期的情况一样，同时，尽管工业流水线使用机器人技术达到高度自动化，但以现代标准来看依然很原始。

波士顿

和华盛顿的情况类似，由于历史发生变化，波士顿与联邦地区的建筑风格与现实之间存在巨大差异，例如：

• 立交的高速公路在这片区域纵横交错，某些区域的路段可以高达离地85到100英尺（26到30米），甚至穿过波士顿的中心。
• 未来主义风格的摩天大楼遍及波士顿中心区，而且由于波士顿受到的核打击相对较弱，许多建筑直到210年后依然耸立在地平线上。
• 波士顿的航空港——爱德华·劳伦斯·洛根国际机场设计同实际的完全不同，它的航站楼外观更接近现实中的洛杉矶国际机场。
• 波士顿的市中心位于半岛上，南北方向都是水。
• 莱克星顿比现实中的要小一些。
• 斯克利广场在辐射世界中依然存在，现实中，它于1962年被拆除。
• 在法尼尔厅对面于1825年开张的昆西市场（波士顿内）连同环绕着它的商圈在游戏中都不存在。
• 庇护山丘在现实中并不像游戏中一样在社区出口路右侧有一座民兵雕像，实际上是一座与游戏中完全不同的民兵雕像且在路正中央。而进出庇护山丘经过的那座桥在现实中确实存在。最后一点是，庇护山丘实际上不包含一个社区，而是一片开阔的空地。
• 凯伯宅邸（建于1711年）在我们的世界中从未被建立过。

拉斯维加斯

• 长街，以及Fallout世界中拉斯维加斯的大部分残迹似乎比我们世界中的要小。大量拉斯维加斯的赌场以及别具特色的建筑结构在游戏中似乎从未动工，而是被类似的建筑代替或者直接不存在。
• 奈利斯空军基地在Fallout世界中似乎是孤立的并且相对而言距离拉斯维加斯较远。然而，虽然地理位置基本上是准确的，但现实中的基地被城市蔓延区所包围，并没有离城区那么远。
• Hoover Dam is significantly shorter than its real counterpart, and also lies much closer to Las Vegas than the dam does in the real world. The exterior of the dam is mostly accurate to the real thing in appearance, but the interior diverges significantly.
• Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, which runs adjacent to Hoover Dam and carries traffic from Route 93 (which previously ran across the dam itself), does not appear to have been built. However, the bridge was only completed on October 14, 2010, mere days before Fallout: New Vegas was released.
• The B-29 Superfortress submerged at the bottom of Lake Mead, while real, is in significantly worse shape in the real world and far more corroded than it appears in Fallout: New Vegas even in the present day (let alone 200+ years in the future when 2281 comes to pass.)

眺望角

• The Lighthouse that appears in-game looks very different in real life.
• In the Fallout universe John Smith discovered Point Lookout in 1612; in OTL it was in 1608. Also due to a gunpowder explosion in 1609 he had to return to England for treatment and didn't return to the Americas until 1615.

匹兹堡

• The city still is and has grown for steel industries to the point where there are factories and steel yards in the uppertown area, in the Fallout universe. But for our timeline, in Pittsburgh, the steel industry has mostly gone out of business.
• The Pitt Bridge before the war was actually an updated version (specifically remodeled after the 10th Street bridge) of the Wabash bridge in the Fallout universe. As for our timeline, the Wabash bridge was demolished in 1948 after decades of neglect. Two piers remain in places today, the only remnants of the bridge still in place at the original site in our timeline.
• Haven, used by Ishmael Ashur as a home is the Cathedral of Learning in the middle of downtown Pittsburgh. In our reality, the Cathedral of Learning is located outside of downtown Pittsburgh on the University of Pittsburgh's main campus in the Oakland neighborhood, east of downtown.

芒特迪瑟特岛

• The Coast around Far Harbor (Bar Harbor in our world) appears to be a lot higher than in our world.

洛杉矶

• The Cathedral is a prominent building that was built post-war and appears in the original Fallout is not in the real world.

西維吉尼亞

• The character on the Camden Park sign is different than the one used in real life (which is a clown). The park is also missing a few rides/attractions as well as certain areas of the park such as the picnic shelter.
• Huntington and Wheeling don’t appear in game, whereas they are two of the largest cities in WV in real life.
• Flatwoods is much smaller featuring only a small version of the older town and much if not all of the newer areas don’t appear.
• Sutton's Dam is not featured in game.
• West Virginia University is now known as Vault-Tec University.
• The Greenbrier Resort has been renamed to the Whitespring Resort.
• Hillbilly Hotdogs has been renamed to Hillfolk Hotdogs.
• The New River Gorge Bridge appears right over Flatwoods in game where as in real life they are further away from each other.
• The Mothman statue in Point Pleasant doesn’t have arms where as it does in real life.
• The Greenbank telescope is on a hill where as in real life it’s in a large field; it has also been renamed in-game to the National Isolated Radio Array. The science center does not appear in game.
• The Summersville lighthouse is further away from the lake than it is in real life and is renamed in-game to Landview Lighthouse.
• The Tamarack does not appear in-game.
• The Pumpkin house is far to the north east in game, where as in real life it is to the south west near Kenova and Huntington.

科技

大型计算机

与现实相比，辐射世界最大的区别之一在于数字计算机和电子产品没有出现小型化趋势。最突出的例子是晶体管，在现实世界中早在1947年便被发明出来，并在随后的半个世纪中掀起一场微电子革命。但在辐射世界中，晶体管直到2067年才发明，而它的后继产品——半导体微处理器芯片更是从未出现过。这直接影响了辐射世界中的数字计算机发展，在游戏中，计算机并不像现实里的那样普及，而且它们大多采用老式的磁带作为存储介质，不仅内存狭小，还需要占用大量的安放空间。辐射世界中的个人计算机虽然小很多，但同现实相比，他们依然显得很笨重，而且基本上都采用单色的阴极射线管显示器，带有一体式的键盘，外观上近似于现实中1970年代的Intertec Superbrain计算机，以及苹果公司设计师哈特穆特·艾斯林格为Apple II计算机设计的原型。不过不可否认的是，这些计算机大都十分坚实、可靠，甚至在被制造出来210年后还可以正常运作。These computers are very advanced in their processing power, indicating that progress continued in computer science (albeit at a slower rate than in our universe), but the technology to make them smaller never emerged on a large scale: technologies like the Pip-Boy and androids require miniaturized electronics to function. Nor did user-friendly icon-based graphical user interface (GUI) operating systems, which first appeared commercially in our world in the 1980s. UIs remained fairly basic command-line affairs, and less frequently advanced voice interfaces (as per computers in 1950s science fiction) were developed for computer systems which made a GUI redundant on such systems.

Television sets and radios also failed to evolve past the early 1960s level, and television in the Fallout universe remained in the same monochromatic hues as its computer screens, as well as having tiny displays and large frames. However, color television seems to not be prominent in the Fallout universe despite the fact that color television first became mainstream in 1953. Another example of technology failing to evolve can also be found in cameras. Cameras in the Fallout universe are big and bulky with large flash bulbs like those used in the late '50s and '60s. Interestingly enough, however, the CCTV cameras seen in Fallout games are just as compact as those in the real world.

Various references to uploading and downloading, as well as to e-mail and networked communications, also demonstrate that though the Fallout universe lacks our mastery of microprocessor technology, other aspects of computer science proceeded unhindered, such as robotics, the development of the Internet, and orbital communications satellites.

原子能

In the Fallout world, nuclear power was not only used for atomic bombs, it was also harnessed in nuclear reactors, which became a prominent source of energy. Large scale fission reactors that powered whole towns as in our world existed, but were a lot more common. These power plants were smaller and they often existed underneath towns and cities, such as the one in New York that almost went into meltdown and the powerworks beneath Olney. But similar to our world where more priority was put towards making electronics smaller, more priority was put towards making nuclear reactors smaller in the Fallout universe.

They were reduced in size to the extent that they could be used in roles more typically occupied by internal combustion engines in our world, such as car engines and small electrical generators, or even in fission batteries. Controlled nuclear fusion, a source of energy which is yet to be harnessed by scientists of our world, was developed. Fusion reactors were used to power vehicles and, like fission reactors, were reduced to very small sizes for use in power cells which were the standard for powering medium energy weapons in the military. Many of these pre-War power sources are still functioning around the time of Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas. One example of functioning mini reactors are the ones in radios and televisions across the wasteland. It is seen in the demo video of Fallout 3, that there is a mini reactor still pumping out energy in a destroyed bus radio. This also explains the lack of power cords on the radios and televisions in the wastes.

This nuclear obsession of the Fallout world saw nuclear energy and, to a lesser extent, radioactive materials, being utilized wherever possible; even seeing radioactive isotopes added to a type of cola at one point despite the inevitable health risks of ionizing radiation. Their world's obsession with nuclear energy ultimately ended in the destruction of pre-War society.

Along with this proliferation of nuclear technologies came the risk of radiation poisoning during accidental radiation exposure. In response to this threat, radiation treatment and inoculation technologies were developed in the Fallout universe. Such technologies have yet to be realized in our timeline beyond very early experiments.

军事科技

All of the Fallout games use a combination of fictional weapons and weapons similar or identical to real-world examples. The games vary in their faithfulness to canon and logic in their choices of which weapons are included as well as in how the weapons' characteristics have been modified from their real-world counterparts.

核武器

The development of nuclear weapons in the Fallout world differed from our universe in that the majority of nuclear weapons remained in aircraft-delivered bomb form, while only a minority were miniaturized into warheads and placed atop ballistic missiles. The progress of nuclear weapons apparently stayed at the atom bomb level and improving upon it; thermonuclear and hydrogen bombs were either never researched or abandoned in favor of atom bombs. There are a few examples of a nuclear missile in-game: the Minuteman ICBM in Fort Constantine. Other areas, such as Fort Bannister and the Wheaton Armory, have missile silo doors that are similar to the one found at Fort Constantine but feature no apparent way to launch missiles. This suggests that the missiles in these facilities were launched during the Great War. In The Divide, there are a large number of un-launched ICBM's, suggesting they were prepped for launch, but never got the call during the short period of mass destruction. It is suggested that nuclear-capable countries, such as the U.S. and China, had begun converting their nuclear stockpiles to ballistic missile form by the time of the Great War in 2077. Aircraft-delivered nuclear weapons took the form of the old-style bombs used in the 1940s and 1950s, similar to the Fat Man dropped on Nagasaki in World War II. Although electronic miniaturization was accomplished in the Fallout universe, nuclear bombs of the late twenty-first century still retained the Fat Man-esque shape. However, in New Vegas, Mr. House mentions having defended the city from 77 nuclear missiles, suggesting that the Chinese at least had access to substantial numbers of warheads in missile form. Also, information on the computer terminals found in the Washington, D.C. Museum of Technology would suggest that the American military recommissioned the Delta IX rockets as nuclear warhead vectors. Additionally, the "Minuteman" series of nuclear missiles (First launched in 1962 in our universe) appear to have also been developed and expanded on in the Fallout world, as "Minuteman XI" missiles appear in both Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, while the Minuteman III is the latest in our world.

弹道武器

Rifles retained designs of weapons that originated in the 1940s and 1950s, such as the AK47 or FN FAL. There is evidence that despite the diverging timelines, weapons development in the Fallout universe followed a similar path to ours. Picatinny rails (a technology that is only recently been implemented in our universe) as well as weapons such as pump-action grenade launchers and break-action grenade rifles, which were developed around the 1960s for the Vietnam War in our timeline. Handguns also retained similar designs to those of the early 20th century. Heavy weapons, such as missile launchers and the Fat Man, had unique designs such as side mounted foregrips and pneumatic ammunition loading systems. Weapons that seem impractical in our timeline, such as nuclear catapults and man-portable miniguns, were extensively developed in the Fallout timeline and issued to frontline troops. Ammunition calibers that are not common in our timeline, such as the 10mm, are widely used in the Fallout era, while common ammunition in our timeline, such as .50 BMG, .45 ACP, etc. is utilized for more specialized roles, such as high caliber rifles and submachine guns.

Guided missiles exist in the Fallout timeline, but are much less commonly used. As mentioned above, intercontinental ballistic missiles existed during the Great War, however, most nuclear weapons appeared to be free-fall bombs. Smaller hand-held Missile launchers capable of locking onto targets, particularly metallic targets such as robots or turrets with the Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System also exist, possibly originally intended as anti-tank, anti-power armor, and/or anti-robot weapons. Guided missile cruisers such as the USS Ebon Atoll were also in service with the US Navy by the 2050s. In spite of the development of handheld and naval missile systems, aircraft launched air-to-air or air-to-ground missiles may not been invented until the time of the Great War, as the primary armament of Great War-era Fighter jets of the game appear to be armed only with nose-mounted machine guns, suggesting aerial warfare tactics changed little since the 1950s. Guided missile launchers have only been confirmed on the cutting-edge Vertibird VTOL aircraft.

能量武器

雷射與電漿武器存在於異塵餘生的世界，它們各別能將目標燒成一堆灰燼與熔化成一攤液體，事實上這些武器廣為盛行，亦為軍事裝備。ARE系列雷射步鎗與AEP系列雷射手鎗都是值得注意的例子。自動雷射武器如加特林雷射砲也開發成功。這些武器大部分都使用微型核融合電池，也是因為異塵餘生世界中更加著重於利用核能。使用電磁鐵與環形線圈用來驅射電漿的電漿武器也很常見。此外甚至有外星能量武器存在的證據，例如外星衝擊鎗或1950年代B級片中著名的「死亡射線」。

衛星軌道武器

異塵餘生宇宙有三臺重要的衛星軌道武器。一臺代號為Highwater-Trousers（短管長褲）的軌道飛彈平臺，在異塵餘生3中可透過衛星站的終端機使用。一臺名為Bradley-Hercules（布萊德利-海克力士）的高爆飛彈軌道平臺，此武器在異塵餘生3的拓展包Broken Steel中摧毀了Liberty Prime（自由至尊）。出現於異塵餘生:新維加斯中，搭載雷射的Archimedes II（阿基米德二世）。他們都瞄準了地表上的某個位置，可以消滅任何威脅。遊戲中的對話表明核武器與雷射武器的軌道武器網路都是存在的。

現實世界的衛星軌道武器實例是蘇聯的8K69部分軌道轟擊系統（Fractional Orbital Bombardment System，FOBS），是將裝載核子飛彈的可重返大氣層載具部屬在低地球軌道，可待機無限久並以前所未有的速度於全球發動襲擊，類似遊戲中英克雷的Bradley-Hercules平臺。部分軌道轟擊系統於1982年逐步淘汰，以符合現已失效的SALT II條約，該條約禁止將大規模殺傷性武器部屬到地球的衛星軌道上。

机器人

The Fallout universe excelled at robotics technology, to the point that robots permeated pre-War society and served a variety of roles, both military and civilian. Robots walked family pets, retrieved groceries from the store, took care of children, impersonated famous celebrities to the joy of the public and even fought in the military. The types of robots and their physical characteristics varied, ranging from bipedal Protectrons, to tracked and hovering robots like the Robobrain and Mister Handy/Gutsy, to the enormous Liberty Prime robot designed to retake Alaska from the Chinese during the Sino-American War. Robots were often powered by fission batteries and energy cells, meaning many survived the nuclear holocaust of 2077.

其他科技

航空

辐射世界中的航空器上镜率并没有其他交通工具那样高，不过它们的结构设计似乎自1940-1950年代早期后便没有再发生重大改变了。另外，游戏中没有证据显示空对空或地对空战术导弹的存在，这或许意味着在辐射世界中，空战依然像第二次世界大战和朝鲜战争那样，用航空机枪和机炮进行近身缠斗。不过，辐射世界中的喷气推进技术已经得到了完善并应用于军事方面，在游戏中已经出现了中国和美国的军用喷气式飞机。

Rotary craft such as helicopters do not seem to be prevalent in pre-War society, despite helipads being found on hospitals and high-rises, suggesting they were limited in numbers or only used specialized roles or no wreckage survived the Great War.

Despite the development of jet power, some civilian airliners still use propellers, as evidenced by the aircraft at Camp McCarran in New Vegas. Wrecked jetliners found at Logan International Airport in Boston have enormous frames, being almost the size of a cargo plane and have five nuclear jet engines arranged in a cluster formation on each wing, for a total of 10 engines, with passenger seating integrated into the wing.

航天

在辐射世界中，人类同样实现了载人航天，其发展速度甚至在某些方面还快于现实世界。在1961年5月5日，辐射世界的美国航天局宣布宇航员卡尔·贝尔搭乘挑战7号飞船首次进入太空，绕地球轨道飞行一周，但宇航员在返回过程中不幸身亡。与之相对应的是，在现实世界中的1961年5月5日，美国国家航空航天局发射了它的第一艘载人飞船——自由7号进入亚轨道，宇航员艾伦·谢泼德成为第一名进入太空的美国人。不过，在此之前的4月12日，苏联宇航员尤里·加加林已经搭乘东方1号飞船升空并进入低地球轨道，绕地飞行一周后安全返回。

在辐射世界中的1969年7月16日，美国宇航员理查德·韦德、马克·加里斯上校和迈克尔·哈根搭乘室女2号飞船的着陆舱勇气11号首次登月。11月14日，室女3号飞船的着陆舱勇气12号再度登月。而在现实中，美国宇航员尼尔·阿姆斯特朗、巴兹·奥尔德林与迈克尔·柯林斯于1969年7月16日从卡纳维拉尔角空军基地发射升空，7月21日，柯林斯留守指令舱哥伦比亚号，而阿姆斯特朗与奥尔德林搭乘着陆舱鹰号在月球静海着陆，成为首批登月的人类。1969年11月14日，阿波罗12号飞船发射升空，并于11月19日登月。

辐射世界进入21世纪后，载人火箭取代了载人飞船，后者在现实世界里只存在于20世纪中期科幻作品中。辐射世界中的2020年，最后一代登月载人火箭德尔塔9号入役，并在15年后被改造为洲际导弹，到2077年，洲际导弹、卫星武器与可重复使用的空天飞机。在现实中，登月任务在1972年的阿波罗17号任务后便不再继续，取而代之的是新一代航天飞机，截至21世纪早期，除了洲际导弹外，其他航天技术如天基武器和可重复使用航天器仍在开发当中。

高分子聚合物

Another technological difference between the Fallout universe and our own is the approach taken to plastic polymer use. In the Fallout universe, plastic is far less prevalent than in our own, with glass and metal alloys being the materials of choice. This is likely due to the scarcity of oil in the Fallout universe, which is essential to manufacture plastic. Syringes are glass and reusable, stimpaks come in a glass vial inside a metal casing, etc. Although water seems to come in plastic Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET or PETE) bottles, the shape and size of the bottles themselves suggest they are mainly part of laboratory equipment. Intravenous preparations like RadAway and Blood packs also comes in plastic bags. However, the American military has widely employed plastic polymers - military combat armor is made of advanced defensive polymers, as is the T-51b power armor and later power armor models in the line. In Fallout 4, plastic containers and products are more common, with examples being bottles for automotive products such as coolant and antifreeze, as well as some household products such as bread boxes and dog food bowls. In spite of this, plastics are still far less common in Fallout 4 than in real life, as seen with the prevalence of glass stimpak syringes and Nuka-Cola bottles.

棒球

Specific teams are never accurately referenced by name because that would require licensing from Major League Baseball, but there are some key divergences in the Fallout timeline to be observed. A terminal in the Boston Bugle building reveals an article that states that "it has been 159 years since this city has revealed in the joy of a World Series victory." This would mean 1918 was the last time Boston won a world series. In reality, they have since won in 2004, 2007, 2013, and 2018. (This could be a reference to the Curse of the Bambino, which in reality was broken in 2004.) The article also makes reference to ways Boston has previously lost their chance to win. The line "[lost by a] ball that rolls disastrously through an infielder's legs," is a clear reference to the nature of the error made by Boston first baseman Bill Buckner that allowed the New York Mets to win Game 6 of the 1986 World Series (and eventually the whole series) over Boston when the Red Sox were one strike away from winning the game and the championship.

The baseball cap and uniform have a red-and-white color scheme, suggesting the Red Sox departed from their traditional red and navy blue uniforms. Furthermore, batting helmets found throughout the Commonwealth are royal blue.

Diamond City, a walled city built within the confines of the Red Sox home stadium Fenway Park, features a collection of retired team numbers in the left field stands. These numbers include 1, 4, and 6, which are retired numbers in reality. Most of the remainder of the team's currently retired numbers (8, 9, 14, 26, 27, 45, and 49) are not present. Two numbers that are not retired in reality are retired in the divergent timeline: 11 and 13. Finally, there are also two numbers retired in reality that were likely retired in the Fallout universe at some point after the Divergence occurred; the numbers 21 and 33, worn in reality by Roger Clemens and Jason Varitek, respectively.

Boston's opponent in the 2077 World Series is mentioned in the game as 'Texas'. This suggests the Texas Rangers, but it makes no sense with current timeline teams because both the Rangers and the Red Sox are American League teams and would not be facing each other in the World Series. (It's possible that the opponent was meant to be the Houston Astros, but this team is commonly referred to as 'Houston' to differentiate it from the Rangers. Not only that, but the Astros are also currently an American League team, giving the same problem. This could be remedied when one considers that until 2013 the Astros were a National League team. It is also possible the divergence includes a new team being designated 'Texas' or that the Rangers moved to the National League.)

The schedule of the World Series also suggests a possible divergence from modern baseball. The fourth game of the 2077 World Series is scheduled for October 23. The length needed for the playoffs (as well as possible delays due to weather, etc.) means the first game of the World Series usually begins after October 20 and can easily continue into November before being definitively won. A World Series being resolved by October 23 is technically possible, but unlikely. A possible explanation is that there may be less than 30 teams and therefore a shorter playoff series, or that the playoffs are organized differently. It is also possible the playoffs proceeded exceptionally quickly that year.

Finally, given that the baseball card of Matt "The Missile" Murtagh includes batting statistics when he is a pitcher, it suggests that the Designated Hitter rule was never implemented in Fallout's version of the American League, or at least it was eventually rescinded before 2077. More likely this is a mistake as the stats listed on his baseball card appear more akin to a position player's than a pitcher's. (Very vaguely, as the text is so small.)