Finding a Job in Fallout 3's Post-Apocalyptic Economy

[@any_austin]

Go to ground.news/anyaustin and stay ahead of the curve by combating misinformation in today’s world. Sign up through my link for 50% off unlimited access to their Vantage Plan. Why do you think the left leaning media refuses to report on how many Macy’s stores are closing? This is one of the things I learned from Ground News and I unironically love it. Happiest of holidays everyone. We’ve had a great year together.

[@iamjames8403]

@any_austin Please do more content like this i enjoy it very much.

[@Lou-Mae]

Oh heck yeah, you've got one of the big pretty important sponsory fellas paying you now. Good job Mr Any.

[@ScReamOut93]

moira brown technically does radiation science for her survival guide book if you count quest content ofc.

[@absolutezerochill2700]

The work liberal media doesn't want you to know this, but Macy's is all out of roller sleds and nice skates, but you can find them at Seinfeld's and Gimble's respectively. Macy's usually wouldn't send you to other stores, but making the children happy is what's important. Merry Christmas!

[@Merluch]

you forgot to calculate how much is a cap worth in USD

[@Zetakyun]

I would watch Austin spend 20 minutes trying to determine what a location would smell like without the ability to actually smell it

[@elmine7707]

Which Skyrim city smells the best (medieval cities were notoriously stinky)

[@Jejaimes20]

@@elmine7707 I would say that Riften probably smells really bad due to the sewer that runs below the street market area. There is probably a lot of fermentation smells coming from the local meadery too.

[@josephbloom2074]

Unironically could be a pretty good video.

[@Theverymemeshorts]

​@@elmine7707 Best smelling city would be Dawnstar or maybe Falkreath due to no sewage water going everywhere

[@UhOphelia]

No because I can see him doing that

[@Savanna-e9m]

If you hack into the Rivet City doctor's computer, you'll find files about common health issues the citizens suffer. These include something called Red Lung, which is caused by breathing in the rusty air of the boat. Another is lockjaw, caused by cutting yourself on a rusty surface in the boat. So the boat itself is a health hazard, possibly explaining the lower life expectancy in Rivet City.

[@doc.rankin577]

Quick FYI: lockjaw is an older term for tetanus. Another rust based disease.

[@mewr11]

Fun fact: Lockjaw is actually a real thing - a somewhat archaic name for tetanus. These days we have a vaccine for it (in my experience it's one of the most painful), but the bacteria that causes the infection thrives on rust that's exposed to the elements, leading to the modern association between tetanus/lockjaw and rust.

[@87MookTV]

Megaton also is a more accessible trade hub which would build up better immunities for residents overall.

[@C4MG1RL]

Isn't Rivet City also mainly a trading area with a lot of people coming and going? Wouldn't a more likely reason be that the bloat is because of that flow of people as opposed to Megaton that seems more of a settledown town?

[@87MookTV]

Megaton is also a trading hub, but I'd reckon having all those super mutants around detours all but the most dedicated traders. And don't forget about Talon Company

[@TPlyem]

If the nuke in Megaton goes off everyone dies except for Moira, who keeps producing the Wasteland Survival Guide. This brings Megaton's employment rate to 100%.

[@BailleyJoeLyons]

Where she resides afterwards depends on if the player character has already met her or not. If you've already met her she'll stay in Megaton, but if you haven't spoken to her before blowing up Megaton she moves to Underworld.

[@derekhunter7632]

Presidents hate this one trick to get re-elected

[@qwopiretyu]

​@@BailleyJoeLyons I had the guide so I'm sure I was aware of this but I've for sure never done it.

[@DaveSmith-v3t]

thats what germany did

[@mi38029]

Wow, what a great way to improve the economy!! This post was brought to you by John Maynard Keynes gang

[@ant0n1o13]

16:43 Moira Brown selling intellectual property at significantly higher prices is the very definition of an advanced economy. Megaton all the way.

[@maverick9708]

😂 exactly, people forget that charging the lone wanderer an arm and a leg for easy work is one of the best business models in the wasteland!

[@TheSchnieder6]

The Megaton house and furnishings is a scam! The sheriff _gives_ you the house, there's no option to buy it. Coincidentally, the only place to purchase furnishings for your new home is at Craterside Supplies. Moira is all too happy to sell them to you for what would probably be double or triple the price of the house itself.

[@pipermintpat854]

He's also unfairly handicapping megatons by doing this and not doing the same to rivet city.

[@updownbanana]

@@pipermintpat854 are there any items in rivet city that sell for over 1000 caps?

[@SuperiorPosterior]

14:00 I would argue that Moira Brown is pulling double duty as both a shopkeeper and scientist, as she is the one who has a crafting station in her store, which she uses to create a few items that she then asks adventurous sorts (like the Lone Wanderer) to test and report back on. And that's without mentioning that she's happiest when you give well-reasoned and/or scientific data instead of using caveman speech or being rude.

[@neoqwerty]

She's a bit disappointed with the molerat repellent factual results but I would guess that's because she didn't meant to invent moleratsplodatorine. (I for one am grateful to it because the things clog up my autoaxe and the deterrent is permanent.)

[@syelallouch]

Can't wait for Austin to visit the IRL Bureau of Labor Statistics just for a gag. *points at the building "I work there." Edit: Turns out he has a patreon video. Perfect reason to join, I think!

[@joncraps]

He talks about going while he was in DC and them being lame and not letting him check it out on a video on his patreon :(.

[@durtydeeds69]

Lol you're too late! He's already been there, and they would not let him tour the building! It sounded like they were very nice about it though 😆

[@IanJBarker]

Brother, literally never change. I genuinely can't think of another KZbinr who makes me look at video games in a completely different way like you do.

[@gweltazlemartret6760]

That’s a game designer’s job usually. Adding top surgery scars are ground-level game design, while adding wealth consideration are top level. Any Austin gracefully highlights the design choices players are silently exposed to by talented people carefully crafting hints and lore. Lore teller is a wonderfull job, I'm so glad to be part of this audience. In my old days, I'll point my daughters to this channel, saying "here, that’s what games had to offer when people making them were valuing the player’s immersion." Then we'll play a generic IA puzzle game, and both regret that. 🥲

[@danielsmokesmids]

@@gweltazlemartret6760what are you even saying

[@Mr.MasterOfTheMonsters]

There is Beerevity, but she focuses on Genshin only.

[@TheGooseIsLoose9000]

He already has changed at least somewhat. His content was a bit different a couple years ago not even. He used to do more odd places and skybox videos. How he seems to be more aiming for popular algorithm stuff. But I get it. The grind has to happen

[@Lt_Noodles]

I would argue that Moira Brown has at least some stake in the field of "Science and Acedemics" Given how she's actively writing a non-fiction guide to survival. While not cutting edge tech like Project Purity, bringing education to the masses is a noble effort and should not be forgotten about

[@ineedapharmists]

This!

[@Broken-Flesh]

It's cool her survival guide made it all the way to Boston in fallout 4.

[@marxisttheoryandlore]

Is she currently making her living off the proceeds of the process of writing the book, though? That's the important question

[@agamemnonofmycenae5258]

Plus, her work was popular enough to be relevant miles away in the Commonwealth. On top of that, it was 10 years later! For how rugged the world is, that's a significant achievement!

[@docquanta6869]

It seems she funds her research from revenue she makes from her shop. However, privately funded research is still research. She does hire people (the player) to conduct field research, so it is a factor in the local economy.

[@realrattled]

I just really like your videos and this is the best way for me to financially support it a bit so yeah I think anyone can read this so merry christmas happy new year I hope you had a great 2024 and aim to make your 2025 better, if it is your 2024 but with a better haircut, even that counts.

[@Fanatic4500]

Another thing to consider with Rivet City is how much each employed person actually produces and returns to the economy. The large police force of the city likely means high overhead costs for its citizens, in the form of taxes or protection fees. The economy of Rivet City would most likely be pretty stagnant, with most of its excess funds going to support the security forces and maintenance of the ship. Megaton also has the support of surrounding farms and settlements, whereas Rivet City is pretty isolated.

[@milesperhour9256]

Rivet City should be self-sufficient, since its standard of living is at the level where there are luxury goods and entertainment. It produces its own power, has a proper government, food and clean water. It also definitely is part of the wasteland's trading network, otherwise the market would've been closed a long time ago. I also doubt the guards would demand a high price for protection. A lot of of them are highly motivated, and their behavior implies that they're paid fairly but don't bully the government nor the locals for caps. Since the economy doesn't actually rely on caps - goods are usually able to be bartered - the economy is fairly on par with the large settlements in the Commonwealth. A stagnant economy would be the isolated Tenpenny Tower.

[@spookyMovement]

the conclusion that megatons larger elderly population is due to a heightened life expectancy or the social generosity of its residents is not unreasonable, but i think it fails to account for what megaton IS. this is a city populated largely by, like you said, former caravaneers or mercenaries. the elderly population in megaton is, i think, more likely members of these demographics that settled down there following their retirement, meaning they were already old when they moved there, and did not grow old thanks to the specific factors present in megaton

[@ragnarokaeon8242]

Also, are we really not going to talk about the bomb that could be triggered by sociopathic wanderer?

[@gweltazlemartret6760]

Plus there might happen to be some level of health hazard in Rivet City keeping the oldness of the population at an artificially low value.

[@conelybiscuit4985]

@@gweltazlemartret6760 while Rivet City does have quite a few health hazards (red-lung and tetanus are epidemic, as others have pointed out), it seems possible that the city is just too dangerous for most elderly people to get to. Megaton, being located in a somewhat quieter and better-mapped region, is probably seen as more accessible for the elderly retiree who may have never so much as ventured inside D.C. before.

[@Ennio444]

It's like the Florida of the Capital Wasteland.

[@owenatkinson5744]

Moreover, Rivet City seems like a place where you have to be useful to stay. They want working folk to keep the tub patched and the borders secure, not retirees taking up space that could otherwise house skilled hands.

[@SpaceMissile]

0:45 - "You're also gonna be looking at lots of graphs, and at least one table, and maybe this spreadsheet at least once." Me, shouting, home alone folding laundry: "Yes.... Yes! ...YES!"

[@Coop838]

Could he make those spreadsheets.... sharable?

[@Atmatan]

I bet you play Eve.

[@samaddison20]

WHAT A DELIGHT!! Each week, I go to my favorite restaurant (at least once), get the same dish at the front counter, plop down at a booth, and watch an Any Austin video while eating. It’s sort of a midweek ritual/treat for myself and I’m always pleased to see a new video pop up.

[@garrett2439]

Yum yum, eat up that Ground News commercial! Nom nom nom!

[@Elrond_Hubbard_1]

What's the dish you always get?

[@DiegoSouto-fy9su]

"plop down at a booth", never quite heard or saw that expression before. You learn something every day.

[@everythingmemes5644]

What do you get?

[@oddfuturewolfjoey]

@@Elrond_Hubbard_1 yeah, I'm surprisingly invested in finding this out as well.

[@Mikey-xz4vn]

I mean, Paradise falls has a burgeoning economy and almost 0% unemployment rate with even some minors and seniors known to be part of the workforce there - but that would be slander against the Republic of Dave which is rumored to have a GDP valued in the millions, if not BILLIONS of caps.

[@brutforce100]

At 14:16 It's such a subtle thing and maybe strange to notice, but when the NPC comes into frame and walks in his path, he slides out of the way and it looks like he is actually in the game world.

[@Savanna-e9m]

Well he doesn't want to get in Lucy's way, that would be rude.

[@Merodo99]

Doing something like this with red dead redemption 2 must be as close as you can get to a thesis

[@Barlakopofai]

I think Red Dead has randomly spawned NPCs just like GTA so it would be functionally impossible to do since there is not a consistent population.

[@username1660]

@@Barlakopofai Red Dead Redemption 1 might be a better bet since if I remember right quite a lot of NPC's in towns have some degree of set identities

[@kijabifilms7264]

Bro I brought it up on a community post and he liked the comment. So I guess we just wait and see

[@Merodo99]

@@Barlakopofai that’s on the roads but in the towns every npc has their own routine

[@kijabifilms7264]

@@Merodo99 yeah so it’s very possible to do something massive like Saint Denis. Which I’m honestly interested in. The city is broken up into slums, industrial, and elites. So it would be interesting to hear about their statistics

[@fuzzywumble]

The sheer amount of work that you put into your videos is absurd and I'm here for it. Merry Xmas you absolute gentleman.

[@any_austin]

Merry Christmas my friend

[@czarnemo5195]

any reason you didn’t include Tenpenny Tower as a viable living place?

[@BradTheAmerican]

@@czarnemo5195 I was surprised to see Tenpenny Tower not even mentioned. That would have been a better comparison with Megaton since those locations are meant to be mutually exclusive player house hubs and thus near 1:1 in terms of in-game functionality.

[@kevincronk7981]

Austin has gotten so good at direct surveys that doing 2 is only part of a video now

[@pericles9629]

Fallout 3 economy: Slavery murder and starvation Fallout New Vegas economy: Gamble away your paycheck of paper money from a central bank at luxury resorts over the weekend before heading back to your job at an interstate shipping company

[@bilboplayedminecraft3322]

One thing to consider too about their excessive police force is they also have a defense application (from the nearby population of super mutants, and raiders) so you could consider the employment as military/defense spending

[@guschiggin4507]

Cannot help but appreciate the level of growth in your craft. You make the mundane interesting and that is a feat that deserves recognition.

[@EvanKammler]

4:40 I think the reason that megaton has an older population is due to much of the younger people moving to rivet city for better job opportunities

[@milesperhour9256]

Or becoming caravaneers and joining the Brotherhood

[@rashkavar]

One other data point to consider: the job market. If moving to one of these cities,one would likely consider what employment opportunities there are. The in game measure of this would probably be quests, and Megaton has, iirc, more quests than any other location in the game.

[@misterperson3469]

Quests are not the same as stable employment though. Disarming the bomb in Megaton is not the beginning of your career as a bomb disposal specialist its just a one-off gig.

[@cptnraptor]

​@@misterperson3469but it does set you up as a reliable handyman when someone's Mister Handy goes on the fritz and thinks they're a Mister Gutsy

[@AbstractTraitorHero]

@@cptnraptor All it does is give you clout & opportunity, but not stable income. Maybe you could become a scavenger helping Walter as an employment opportunity. But that's all that immediately comes to mind.

[@TheBigIronOnMyHip]

​@@misterperson3469 yeah people can't comprehend that Fallout 3 is just a fun game to play, this is not gta working as a taxi man, not even Fallout new vegas has that but they gonna find everything to hate on Fallout 3

[@insaincaldo]

I would almost give you, selling scrap. That is just your wanderers lifestyle though, not employment. Filling water and picking crops maybe (don't remember if you have that option here.) Like a job in Skyrim would be chopping wood for the inns, or selling ore, crops to the places that work for it. Terrible pay, did it back in a playthrough where I tried not adventuring and see if I could make enough daily to buy food and rent bedding, till I could afford a house.

[@SpookyDeerArt]

i cannot quite put into words just how enthralling you make in world statistics videos about video games i have never played in my life

[@jestergodfield690]

8:53 "Ted Strayer" is, if memory serves, a retired mercenary who spends is time and fortune getting high to forget whatever it is he did. Definitely a "not applicable" type

[@avabricknell4140]

His dad was the mercenary! I think Ted just spends his father's fortune, lol. Good for him

[@resurgam_b7]

On the one hand, this is just a fun silly video, on the other hand, it does a really good job of simplifying data analysis and explaining why you can't just take collected data as the whole truth. The facts may be right, but you might draw the wrong conclusions from them and that's an important concept to grasp and understand.

[@debdebberton]

actually makes the Ground News advert a great choice in-context

[@resurgam_b7]

@@debdebberton Haha, true!

[@thatonedudeyousawb4]

God I love bureaucracy gaming videos. I played a quest in 40k rogue trader that I feel Austin would love, where you are trying to get a companion certified as a merchant, so you have to get go find 2 certification seals, and then literally wait in a line for 48 in game hours

[@TheRunningLeopard]

That’s perfection right there.

[@tbotalpha8133]

Only 48 hours? The Administratum must have been having a good day.

[@mrziiz6893]

@@tbotalpha8133that’s the true power of the warrant of trade!

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

So basically Postal 2 pacifist run then? Including waiting in line to buy tp...

[@nickjoseph77]

Trying to find the bureau of labor statistics in game is so funny to me every time. Lol

[@CaliRed1865]

This channel just gets better and better. You're doing something really cool, really unique, and you're doing it really well.

[@LmgWarThunder]

I love that your video discusses the social issues potentially faced by people living in different places in-game. It's a much better assessment of life in the modern world and allows us to reflect on the society we're building.

[@РоманАндреев-в4з]

We need part 2, there is plenty of settlements in Capital Wasteland that weren't covered here. Underworld, Little lamp light, republic of Dave, Oasis, Big town, Tenpenny Tower, and others...

[@koderamerikaner5147]

We all know the Republic of Dave has the best economic opportunity. Long live President Dave!

[@voxel-loves-you]

Genuinely I want this.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

I have a feeling we're just starting with the capital wasteland

[@MonkoK14]

no way in hell would I move to big town

[@maxpower3990]

Your forgetting the best town in the Capital Wasteland, Andale. The pies there are to die for!

[@misterperson3469]

The large hospitality sector in Megaton makes sense given how many traders travel through there. They need to be housed and want to buy the services of sex workers. Meanwhile Rivet City seems to have traders not stay within the city rather they turn around at the door after selling their stuff. This also makes some sense since they cant very well expand the carrier wereas megaton can just sprawl a bit if more space is needed.

[@mrziiz6893]

I don’t think there’s any sex workers or much of a tourist business beyond serving the couple caravans that come through for trade. Rivet City on the other hand is a major trade hub. You’d think Rivet City would have more hospitality then, but I guess there’s nothing like small town hospitality lol

[@owenatkinson5744]

@@mrziiz6893 Location location location. Rivet City is between a war zone and a radioactive river/sea, so most folks aren't going to travel out that way unless they really need to. Meanwhile, Megaton is in the dead centre of the Capital Wasteland, with minor settlements fanning out in every direction. So even if people don't necessarily want to go TO Megaton, it makes a convenient rest stop for hunters and scavvers out on the trail.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

@@owenatkinson5744 Plus add to that the bridge. While it provides a strong safety buffer, it is also a major task to operate it every time a trader shows up or leaves.

[@mrziiz6893]

@@owenatkinson5744 I’m Just going off of what the game shows and tells us. The game says that rivet city is a major trade hub

[@LucyWest370]

@@mrziiz6893rivet city is probably a stable trade hub most likely because it has a stable population and flowing economy with a lot of safety. If you decide to make the trip to rovet city, chances are it will still be there when you arrive, unlike something like bigtown which could get wiped off the map at any moment

[@curelessorc7044]

As a data analyst and sales strategist for a national corporation your perspective on how data and vibes should blend together to measure the human condition is actually really enlightening.

[@Atmatan]

As a fellow data analyst: Always remember that people are more than numbers, and that what's going on behind the screen, proverbially speaking, is a far larger story than our variables can ever tell. Vibes are everything.

[@haydenarlo1950]

I kinda want this kind of video for New Vegas, Fallout 4, and Fallout London now 😭

[@HummingLantern27]

I'd love to see a 40 hour video like this going over Cyberpunk 2077!

[@kieranelliott5607]

It should be easy to get a job as a decorator, but the local communities love the authentic clutter.

[@insaincaldo]

And that is what spawned Fallout 4

[@mrziiz6893]

I mean there’s a fine line between clutter and trash, y’know?

[@insaincaldo]

@@mrziiz6893 Also between trash and debris from nuclear carpet bombing.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

@@mrziiz6893 while the average wastelender seems to be pretty content to share their home with skeletons, some parts of the population prefer dangerous cutting and stabbing hazards and unrefridgerated meat.

[@flyyf1]

my favorite job in 3 is working for Reilly's Rangers she pays you for every location you map out in the DC area

[@Pingviinimursu]

Brilliant, I'm always so hyped to see one of these! A constructive criticism: when you make a pie chart like in 10:30, it's generally considered good practice to put the largest group beginning at "12 o'clock" and then go clockwise in descending order. This makes it easier to find the smallest and largest groups at a glance, without the need to fully take in all the data in the chart. Great work once again and keep it up, Austin!

[@LPSgal10]

He did it correctly with this one at 4:20. Strange he made a mistake later?

[@communistamanda]

i love this video, its an absolute banger. fantastic editing as always, and i love the more in-depth look of the job market and economy. love the way that your videos touch upon the finer details of video games AND are so detail-oriented themselves. it scratches my nerd itch. also picking the start of "nobody noticed" as the outro for this vid is *chefs kiss.* this sort of video in NV or 4 would go so so hard.

[@Obijaunecanoli]

These videos are actually a really good introduction to economic statistics and the challenges of 1) surveying a population and 2) the issues with drawing concrete conclusions from data about quality of life in a given location. Particularly when you’re comparing one location to another

[@electronkaleidoscope5860]

We need to have a mod made for Fallout 3 that adds the interior to the Bureau of labor statistics building Austin Located and inside you can meet an NPC who tells you all of this stuff

[@Ocarina654]

It should be a ghoul of Austin.

[@electronkaleidoscope5860]

@@Ocarina654 yeees

[@BradTheAmerican]

I agree that there should be a BLS mod, but the location mentioned in the video might not be the best fit since the building in which the BLS resides today was originally Washington DC's main post office until the 1980s, although I haven't the faintest idea where BLS was headquartered before it moved into the current building in the 1990s. Although, I suppose there's no reason to assume that the HQ couldn't have changed to where we know it to be sometime within the 100+ years between the typical 1940s-1960s divergence period and when the bombs dropped. I guess it doesn't really matter anyway since there are already plenty of liberties taken with the map.

[@electronkaleidoscope5860]

@@BradTheAmerican that's an interesting point, I wonder if it's possible to locate the pre 1980s BLS building in fo3's map

[@toymachine2328]

​@@electronkaleidoscope5860 the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics website has a page showing photos and locations of buildings they've occupied, frequently in that time period they were in several concurrently

[@cornyFisher7]

Finding real life spots in fallout is my FAVORITE thing to do. I live in Boston, nearly 10 minutes away from the swan pond in park street. The details are scary accurate, Copley, state street, tremont street, mbta stations, they are all in the exact spot. It’s so detailed, I actually have my apartment located in downtown Boston!!! It’s crazy

[@PrebleStreetRecords]

When I first played FO4, I was doing the mission to rescue Nick from Park St and got lost. Then I realized I was on Winter Street and thought “wait, I used to walk this every week to take commuter rail”, and found my way. One of the coolest moments I ever had in a video game. Also fun Boston fact, where the T turns left exiting Boylston headed out, that tunnel also keeps going straight under boylston and at the end there (at least used to be) a civil defense bunker stocked with supplies. Would’ve been a cool thing to see in Fallout.

[@cornyFisher7]

@@PrebleStreetRecords yesss I’m so obsessed with that story! How cute

[@cornyFisher7]

@@PrebleStreetRecords the creeping realization when I was at park street and slowly followed the bus stops up… cross the same bridge I live by, see the same stop I wait at, and then looking across the street and seeing a store in the SAME spot of the store I lived next to. And next to that fallout store? A 4 story apartment building!!! I LIVE in a 4 story apartment building!!

[@cornyFisher7]

I have a few streets in mind that I’ve wanted to record walking, and edit to along side a video of walking the same streets in fallout. I wish I could express how crazy it feels to walk your own home in a game

[@burymeinjhenny918]

@@cornyFisher7I hope you do make a video like that one day!

[@Savanna-e9m]

Since Moira Brown is author and researcher of the Wasteland Survival Guide, and dabbles research and invention, I would say she doubles as working in Science/Academics in addition to running the store.

[@VeteranRangerSwiss]

I don’t know, Moira’s research feels more like a hobby to me. She enjoys it far too much for it to be a job. Now the Lone Wonderer I could see counting as a researcher for megaton, as they can own a house in the city and do get paid by Moira to help with research. Plus the dialog options make it clear the kid from 101 doesn’t enjoy doing the research, so it is clearly a job. Albeit a fairly temporary one.

[@AbstractTraitorHero]

@@VeteranRangerSwiss The lone wanderer could also be considered employed if he does the scrap metal quest for walter often?

[@mrziiz6893]

@@VeteranRangerSwissthankfully most scientists enjoy doing their jobs lol

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

@@AbstractTraitorHero To be fair, any repeatable quest with no fixed point of conclusion could be considered stable employment. Like that quest in Fallout 4 where the guy in the vaults wants tools (hammers, wrenches, screwdrivers) and pays for each of them. There is no limit to it. You can continue bringing tools indefinitely. In fact, I recently brought him over 6000 caps worth of tools, which means this one guy offers more money than the value off all businesses in Megaton combined. But in theory, by fulfilling quests, the player is basically doing day jobs as independent contractor.

[@AbstractTraitorHero]

@@HappyBeezerStudios I honestly feel scavenger is actually a job description in this case? If you say you're a freelance/professional scavenger who helps Walter by going out into the wasteland to grab useable metal to keep the water purifier running. You kind of have a very important & I'd def say anyone would call you employed since your work is steady.

[@wack1305]

I’m me clicking on the link and watching the entire ad helps you even tho I’m not interested in the ground news subscription. I really appreciate your very honest style of advertising

[@AlqhemyA]

This channel genuinely feels like it was custom made for my interests, like I fucking adore these videos about random shit I've never even thought about relating to my favorite games. Like, name one other KZbinr that can make a video about Liberty City's power lines and make it seem interesting

[@rairaur2234]

18:22 This hit harder than I expected, oof, good question

[@donkeykong315]

You should listen to his other music

[@RalphELee]

any Austin is the only youtuber I've seen do the sensible thing and get a traditional microphone to record into while standing up , see so many youtubers standing there looking super daft with their deck mic awkwardly in their hands .

[@raafmaat]

yea or they hold some microscopically small mic that is probably ment to be clipped on to clothing or something

[@danjordan2625]

John Green's *The Format* on the vlogbrothers. Every now and then they break out a 60ft cable and record themselves wandering the scenery while talking like you do on your phone. Became a little thing on their channel I suppose

[@Barlakopofai]

@@raafmaat That's a lavalier mic and yes, it's supposed to go on your collar, but these people rely on how your voice sounds more interesting if you jam the microphone in your mouth, so they can't do that.

[@Kidzelda0]

Plenty of people use a Shure SM7B as a handheld mic in studio situations. I agree that it looks weird but people have been doing it for 30 years or more.

[@some-replies]

you must not watch many people then...

[@superdarthangel]

Employment, Employment never changes..

[@rafaxd8178]

What about Paradise Falls, Arefu, Little Lamplight, Big Town, Daves Republic, Tempenny Tower, Oasis, Underworld and Andale? Also 101 Vault, the Citadel and Raven Rock

[@N8Dulcimer]

Paradise falls has a 100% employment rate, technically speaking. Some of those places don't really have any kind of economy, like in Little Lamplight, they basically just trade food for fertilizer (cave fungus for strange meat) and in Andale they just eat whoever shows up, and in Oasis there seems to be such a massive abundance of food and safety that everyone just chills.

[@boxofbees7272]

The entirety of little lamplight is not applicable by default since they are all children

[@milesperhour9256]

Villages are pretty much one collective, and can be treated as a single entity. Like Little Lamplight for example - they do sustenance farming with fungi while the population volunteers to protect themselves from the mutants from Vault 87, and possibly sell some scrap to adults. I think none of them should be applicable.

[@milesperhour9256]

@@N8Dulcimer Paradise Falls is an enterprise. It's like saying the people who live at a family farm are all employed. Technically, none of them are applicable since they earn money on their own terms. A lot of "jobs" in the wasteland aren't what we'd call jobs, more like freelancing.

[@N8Dulcimer]

​@@milesperhour9256 Well I think you could argue that almost none of the "jobs" have set hours and wages and could be considered somewhere between "freelance" and "odd jobs."

[@TKsMantis]

Another great video, Austin! Thank you!

[@Mr_King96]

You did an employment survey without us? As most people are aware, the best way to determine the working demographic is by performing a direct survey... and you, Austin, are one of - if not THE - most well known public figureheads of the bureau of labor statistics. You have earned considerable trust among the population by making this process very transparent (a.k.a. making videos about it) which is really why we enjoy your channel so much. I do hope we get to see this survey one day

[@Barlakopofai]

I choose to believe the reason why megaton has so many old people and hospitality workers despite having basically nothing in it is because it's a trading hub and most of the roving traders you can encounter are settled in megaton when they're not out and about

[@mrziiz6893]

It’s a safe simple place with a friendly enough community, that’s a rarity in the wastes so it makes sense it would attract people just looking to settle down

[@saniah-8419]

This is the type of 'tism that just resonates with me. I love these videos - please keep making them lol

[@hopin8krzys]

If you were interested in real world militaries, then Perun is also a perfect fit - even more data, economy and spreadsheets

[@ajstone6226]

Merry Christmas, Austin! 🎄

[@IndyJay53]

Can really sense the extra effort you're putting in! Very polished.

[@alterablebark54]

Hearing "the crater of an unexploded nuclear bomb" is funny, I don't think the kinetic energy of a bomb could make a crater that big

[@xtramangled]

The bomb in Megaton is modeled directly on the real life Fat Man bomb, which was around 10,000 pounds or 4,600 kilos. Dropped from a typical bombing altitude of about 35,000 feet, it would hit the ground with enough force to make a crater of somewhere between 25-35 meters in diameter. But that's just rough calculations using some online tools, I could be way off.

[@absolutezerochill2700]

Actually the plane it was in crashed, and the nuke it was holding was undetonated.

[@mrziiz6893]

@absolutezerochill2700I’m pretty sure the old timers said that they built the city around the bomb using parts from the nearby airbase

[@mojojoji5493]

@absolutezerochill2700that can’t be cause planes in real life don’t leave a meteoric sized crater, idk what the real lore is but My realistic lore is that america got bombed twice over and the bomb in megaton is actually a secondary volley that didn’t explode (a dud)

[@mojojoji5493]

@absolutezerochill2700 it can realistically only be that it’s a second bomb, or that someone had moved a unexploded bomb into the crater

[@acedfirefist]

literally yesterday I said out loud to myself, "man, Any Austin needs to make a new video" so thanks for listening, also get out of my house.

[@jonathanfasd9671]

The thing that annoys me most in fallout is that no one cleans

[@hopin8krzys]

Especially in fallout 4, where they have entire settlement system, even you as a protagonist (not to mention the leader of said settlements) cannot clean up

[@misterTavao]

MY MAN!!!!!! Every video i think the criteria for data and the overalll analysis gets more detailed and better presented, i really hope you keep this up and do further videos on other open world games! Sending you lots of love and admiration :)

[@erp7625]

At some point, this became my Favorite Channel on KZbin. Congrats!

[@XturbiskiX]

Was not expecting a ground news ad read. Great and fitting partnership

[@abzeke123]

Realistically, I think the best place for a job or to make money in the Capital Wasteland would be along the banks of the Potomac. Regular Brotherhood patrols for some protection. There is civilian boat traffic as evidenced by Tobar. Plenty of crab in the waters. Hell, there's already people who capitalize on this in-game; Grandma Sparkle at Wilhelm's Wharf and at least one scavenger underneath one of the bridges.

[@mrziiz6893]

The issue is that it’s also pretty dangerous The BOS is patrolling the Potomac because of how many threats there are beyond the usual mirelurks and gangs of raiders

[@mrziiz6893]

I’m also pretty sure it was stated that Tobar was like the only ferryman. I guess a working boat and the knowledge of how to use it isn’t common in the wastelands, though you’d think people on the coast would be very interested in the safety of houseboats

[@abzeke123]

@@mrziiz6893 Good points. However, if we include Fallout 4's future canon as well then we can safely assume that coastal and riverine travel has become more common after the events of 3 thanks to the Far Harbor DLC. As for the safety of the Potomac banks, I still think they would be safer than D.C. proper, again the residents already in the game; Dukov, Sparkle, and Tobar even don't seem too concerned about their environment they live (or make port) in. Seems about as safe as say Arefu prior to the attacks by the Family and is probably marginally better than the living conditions of Big Town even, granted Dukov probably pays raiders and/or slavers to keep his little piece of Potomac heaven safer than the rest.

[@mrziiz6893]

@ For Far Harbor I always assumed that it’s pretty rare for anyone to travel there, based on the reactions of the residents. If you join the CoA in the Nucleus and go to the lady in the Crater of Atom there’s some unique dialogue where she says something along the line that it’s rare to see someone who not only traveled to Far Harbor but also one who came back alive. If it’s rare for the super zealous cultists to travel to their Mecca (and survive) then that probably says something about normal survivors traveling lol

[@ZeonicFenrir]

Love this kind of video and also love Fallout 3, so I wanted to point out a few things!: -Gob is a slave, bought and owned by Moriarty: not sure how if slaves should be counted differently towards the labor force, given that anything Gob makes, Moriarty keeps to "pay towards his debt", which he never seems to be able to pay off. Plus, when you meet Gob's "mother" in Underworld, you can also outright tell her that Gob is a slave. -The water beggars outside Megaton, Rivet City and aTenpenny Tower point towards these 3 settlements being the better ones in the Capital Wasteland. Mickey outside Megaton also claims that the pure water for Megaton is only available for its settlers or those who can pay for it: "They have plenty of water in there, but they only give it to residents... or people who can pay for it." This also makes me think that perhaps we can consider purified water one of Megaton's key exports (described as a bartering town), at least until Project Purity comes around. -Megaton seems to supplement its "law enforcement" with robots, Deputy Weld (guarding the outside gate) and Deputy Steel (guarding the armory). Private Jones from Rivet City is a Mr. Gutsy similarly protecting the RC armory. Back to Megaton, Jericho says that when raiders attack, the townsfolk come to him for help: "Sure, I'm the best shot in town with a rifle, so everyone comes running to ol' Jericho when the Raiders show up. But between raids, they're content to take my money and drag me home when I've had too much. Hahaha!" While I suppose you counted him as mercenary, since you can hire him as a companion, he takes quite a bit of convincing to do so, claiming in the process that his raiding days are over. Therefore I would make the case that he is law enforcement (perhaps more like guard?) of Megaton before you recruit him... and independent mercenary afterwards, since he pretty much doesn't give a damn if you blow up the town, even mocking the townsfolk in the aftermath if he is still alive at that point. -I have the suspicion that Rivet City exports Mirelurk meat, which infest the bow of the ship and whose nests need to be periodically destroyed. One hand hand Gary's Gally star dish is the Mirelurk cake, but more disturbingly, inside the Anchorage Memorial we find the remnants of a recently destroyed Mirelurk farming business that was doing so great a of a competitor sent mercenaries to shut it down... permanently. -The Megaton refugees are a group of wastelanders that come after you (in a random encounter) if you blow Megaton, supposedly outside the settlement at the time of its destruction. Mentioning them in case you consider they should be counted towards the total population of the town. Also, the generic merchants, some of which have fixed locations, will comment that they prefer to trade with you rather than hauling their goods to Megaton, or if you blow up the town, comment that they were bringing their goods to Megaton until they got news of its destruction. -Tenpenny Tower, where the alternative player home is located, also has a vendor with the same overpriced items to modify your home/suite. Also, Susan Lancaster is doing a different kind of business in the tower, namely you can find her at night in the room (or rather bed) of 5 different residents, further changing into sexy sleepwear while doing so. Also, the scientists at Rivet City will randomly chat among themselves, one such conversation mentioning if they should get aid for their research from Tenpenny Tower. -By the way, Canterbury Commons used to be bigger than what we find in game: the official game guide indicates that Derek's parents (including uncle Roe's sister) were recently killed by raiders, though it is implied that Junders Plunkett is the one who murdered them. Also, the Mechanist used to be Scott Wollinksi, the town's handyman. Uncle Roe also half jokingly says that there isn't a 5th slaver caravan just because their goods are hard to move around. Their caravans do stop at Paradise Falls... and Evergreen Mills, which in the final version of the game is an always hostile raider base, but at one point in development was supposedly meant to be a raider town friendly to evil karma characters. Last, but not least, Radking made a video about "Power in Fallout?" of which particular note is that seemingly the Capital Wasteland still has an active underground power network from which several places around the wasteland, such as the metro tunnels, can still draw power from. He particularly pointed out how unlike some actual flowable generators in game, some are actually labeled in the game files as power goes and have cables connecting them to the ground. A terminal in the Satcom array where you find the hostile ghoul scientist that hired Talon Company mentions this power grid, and Broken Steel showed us Olney Powerworks, an actual example of this facilities. Tied to this, in an earlier version of the game had a metro entrance at the bottom of Megaton (one of the FO3 cut content videos covered it in more detail, but don't remember which in particular), which presumably would have been from where Megaton drew power from. Edit: meant the Anchorage Memorial, not the Washington Memorial

[@brandongore711]

All these years playing Fallout 3 and I never pieced together what happened at the Washington Memorial. Your theory about Rivet City makes so much sense, I have to wonder if that was intentional design on the part of the devs. Rivet City having such a large police force would also make sense in that case, as they would be best equipped to hunt Mirelurks

[@ZeonicFenrir]

@ My bad: I meant the Anchorage Memorial, not the Washington Memorial. Thanks for pointing it out, already corrected it in my previous post.

[@brandongore711]

@@ZeonicFenrir Ah right, it is the Anchorage War Memorial. I forgot what it was called, but I knew what you meant lol

[@frogkitchen]

please keep making whatever you find interesting! i remember the first video I saw of yours was the mario kart wii sky box appreciation; I played that game by driving everywhere you "weren't" supposed to go on every map, driving backwards, and just stopping and staring at the level design, including all of the sky boxes. I also live down the street from a substation and stop near it listening to it hum sometimes. Have a great New Years!

[@stonehousetales6954]

man Ive been watching you since you were Eggbusters, swooning over pre rendered skyboxes in OoT...Its great to see your growth

[@BlueLobster00]

Next video:How easy it is to find a job in Diamond city

[@gummybeast6343]

As much as I love this content, I am a bit disappointed that we didn’t get to see the full employment survey process for the cities

[@liamanthonyalanpearson3419]

We’re getting closer to finally getting a new vegas video I can feel it boys. Incredible video

[@TechnicolorMammoth]

I genuinely adore your content so much. It scratches a data analysis itch I have every single time I watch your videos. Thank you, Any Austin!

[@ThePivotgiant]

I’m a massive lore fan, might be helpful to know the ingame lore each settlement is around 1:20 scale so each room, building and npc is actually 20x their value so the brahmin npc sweeping/raking would be 20npcs so might be useful data

[@suneater_zeef050]

fallout was always a strange comfort for me because in these games i could just walk up to anyone and ask "can i do _anything_ for you for some caps?" ans they'd usually give me a quest. the beautiful sci-fi fantasy of finding a gig quickly and easily....

[@Brandelwyn]

Men want literally one thing and it's ###### disgusting

[@gweltazlemartret6760]

Works irl aswell. Sometimes, it’s paid in Cops, but worth the show.

[@Scarwing]

"The Devil is They/Them." -Any Austin 2024

[@Numbabu]

It’s true, I am. I mean what 😇

[@brianreilly8846]

It's interesting to me that the player can get a house in Megaton gifted to them by services rendered (disarming the nuke), almost immediately upon arrival (stats pending). Lucy, who is from Arefu and arrived recently, is unemployed/nonapplicable, owns a house implies that she either provided a service to the town no one else was able to and was rewarded with it, or came to Megaton with enough money to buy it outright. It is unclear if that is how Megaton distributes house ownership, and Lucy lived with her parents (and younger brother) until she decided to make her own way in the world. Also what about Canterbury Commons and Tenpenny Tower? Could someone get a job there easily? Thank you for the video, I enjoyed it greatly

[@FinnDanger-e3v]

Oddly enough, Me. Burke has a house in Megaton

[@MrMacMan23]

4:25 it’s helpful in direct comparisons to keep the key or colors the same

[@ikarus_horizon]

I just wanted to say that I love the expression "vibes machine". Definitely gonna use that from now on. Also great stuff to fall asleep to as always, thanks Austin :)

[@Angularrex]

thank you so much i was searching for a new line of work

[@LordMarcus]

14:51 If I had to calculate the US GDP, I would probably collect all tax receipts and extrapolate based on the percentages thereof.

[@adualaispuro]

thank you austin, my girlfriend and i always like to watch your videos together

[@N4TM4c]

Socially I'd go for Megaton too. Residents will randomly come up to you after disarming the bomb and give you items. Not sure Rivet City residents do the same, I know you don't disarm a bomb for them, but you help Project Purity, you'd think word would travel that your character can be a good guy

[@b.sharp.]

7:22 "That's philosophy though, we're doing DATA" 🗣🗣🗣

[@alleadonai]

I was gonna 🗣🗣🗣 so thank you.

[@jracuna5763]

Any time I see a new any Austin vid I get a little depressed. Because it means soon I am going to start watching said video, and even sooner I'm going to be finished - and then I have to go back to waiting for the next one :'(

[@Stalker6622]

You forgot some places in rivet city ,for example the hotel

[@CBGBBB]

Fallout 4 had the real job seeking cities. I feel like Bunker Hill was like one of the main hubs for jobseekers. Although Diamond City seemed to also have a lot of people working and looking for work

[@ArcAngle1117]

I feel like Fallout 4 does have better economic world building than Fallout 3.

[@mrziiz6893]

I always found working out the most likely and realistic places for communities to build up around incredibly fascinating. Even more so how the environment would effect the day to day and culture of the town

[@somebadbeatscrub3154]

Hey @any_austin, you should look at the pig simulator "Ready or Not" Specifically at the water coolers: Someone thought to create an effect that when you shoot a water cooler the water descends precisely to the level of your bullet hole. However They accomplish this by lowering the entire asset that is the semitransparent water in the cooler as a whole cylinder down to that level. I could tell this because it clips the water cooler awkwardly in several places, especially where it tapers. This seems like such a specific little detail that both shows great attention but also a limit to how far that attention goes and when I saw it I was like "Hey that KZbin guy would think this is neat." Make an entire video on video game water coolers. You won't.

[@loirai4349]

Austin I genuinely love you. You're wholesome, you're nostalgic, you're smart and you're taking sponsors that are actually educational! I love you Austin. I hope your day is going well.

[@OmnipotensCrusade]

Scavenge and Sell. Maybe even steal. That's how i make a living in this world.

[@mrziiz6893]

It ain’t stealing if they’re dead!

[@chaosmkmk]

I can't believe there was no mention of the fact that Megaton can, you know, explode at any moment. Still, I'd pick that over Rivet City.

[@geraldwildbahn4425]

New Any Austin! The ending and several other moments absolutely sent me 13:44 in particular! 😂 I love it, plus what a great ad partner, misinformation is a serious threat!

[@arlom5132]

Possibly my favorite video so far. I love the job market analysis.

[@johnduffy4284]

I commend you for consistently making videos on things I would never even think about and yet I'm excited to watch them. Kudos good sir

[@kevincronk7981]

As someone who lives near DC, this sounds like a very generous depiction of the city

[@mrziiz6893]

A lot of the problem aspects disappeared along with the majority of the White House

[@kevincronk7981]

@mrziiz6893 nah the white house may be bad, but it's small fry. Congress is where the true evil is

[@harlster4163]

2:03 Never heard anyone say algoRIthms, it's definitely ALgorithms right?

[@bensnap1834]

I've heard both before, although ALgorithms is what I grew up with and use personally

[@lilg8017]

Asking the important questions

[@JoeRose8]

18:07 Austin are you okay? do we need to talk about this?

[@tuckerclement6712]

This deserves more views man, I love over evaluating things that are clearly not meant to over evaluate lol

[@p0obiscut]

I finally checked out your music! My favorite so far is I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my time and… I love it💯 also your videos are excellent so I genuinely appreciate you making all the content ❤️

[@Mindryon]

17:19 I live in the US, I'm already living in a police state!

[@pedroboblitz9409]

Bro you dont know what you are talking about, i live in Venezuela

[@BuckalloBill]

Maybe New York lol

[@test-subject_1342]

11:00 Bro speaks like the actual government

[@manguy01]

I'm surprised you didnt't mention the shockingly low % of children in Megaton. Which is not a good indicator.

[@milesperhour9256]

There's not a lot of children around the wasteland in general. It's fairly obvious why. Living standards are extremely low, food and water has to be rationed (especially Megaton before Broken Steel) and the lack of a sterile environment means infant mortality is probably back to medieval levels

[@Grim712]

Austin is well on his way to evolving into "Specific Austin"! Such interesting subject matter presented in an informative yet comedic fashion. I am always looking forward to what video is coming next!