A small element within the Fallout present has some followers anxious that the occasions of Fallout: New Vegas simply obtained kicked out of the franchise’s timeline. 

Notice: Discussing it will entail some obligatory spoilers of each the Fallout present and the sport New Vegas, so bear in mind that spoilers observe from right here on out.

Whereas the Fallout TV present has solely been out for lower than per week, one specific element has already lit up some dialogue, centered across the timeline of occasions in Fallout‘s model of America and their relation to the Obsidian-developed RPG Fallout: New Vegas.

The element in query is a blackboard in a Vault 4 classroom that’s meant to be instructing a few of the wasteland’s historical past. A lot of Vault 4’s residents are refugees from Shady Sands, the previous capital of the New California Republic that Hank MacLean nuked someday earlier than the occasions of the present, which takes place in 2296. The blackboard lists an occasion labeled as “The Fall of Shady Sands” as occurring in 2277, and it reveals an arrow indicating the capital was nuked someday after that time. 

The explanation this can be a downside for some followers is that New Vegas takes place in 2281, and not one of the NCR residents in that sport point out something referred to as the “fall of Shady Sands.” The fear is that the present is establishing a brand new timeline the place the NCR collapsed earlier than the occasions of New Vegas ever occurred, however if you have a look at the bigger image, that doesn’t appear to be what’s really occurring right here. 

Mojave, mo’ issues

There are a number of causes to suppose that New Vegas’s place within the canon is secure. For one factor, Bethesda’s design director Emil Pagliarulo has explicitly stated the sport’s story remains to be canon. 

On the subject of that “fall of Shady Sands” label on the blackboard, there’s no cause to suppose the autumn was a singular occasion. “Fall” right here appears to be a label that the residents of Vault 4 are making use of retroactively to mark when the NCR began dropping energy. That really strains up with the lore of New Vegas, the place we study that the NCR has stretched itself too skinny and is struggling to take care of management over all of its territory. 

There’s additionally a element within the present that appears to indicate the NCR had already deserted Shady Sands by the point the nuke fell. An indication within the city refers to it being the “first capital” of the NCR, which suggests one thing should have pushed the NCR to relocate, and that in all probability has so much to do with why we don’t see a lot of them within the first season.

We all know that, despite the fact that Shady Sands was destroyed typically after 2277, loads of folks nonetheless stay within the space, as a result of these are who Moldaver is making an attempt to present electrical energy to with chilly fusion. We additionally see proof within the present that the NCR had a heavy presence in New Vegas, similar to it did within the sport. The finale’s credit score sequence reveals us an NCR vertibird within the streets of town — perhaps that’s the place it arrange its new capital.

There’s nonetheless loads we don’t know in regards to the state of the NCR or different notable areas just like the Boneyard, the Hub, and naturally New Vegas itself. Assuming the present will get a second season, I’m excited to see what route it takes. Drastically diminishing the ability of the NCR is an enormous lore change, however to be truthful, the writing was on the wall for the faction by the point they pushed into the Mojave.