Its more a guide line, but given how expensive everything is plus the possibility of needed to bride people I felt it was a reasonable amount. Spies would often be given large amounts of cash for bribery during the Cold War
@@user-bl7em8sx6o Are you stupid? The whole philosophy with the railroad is that they believe that the Synths are sentient enough to be people, and thus they believe it their duty to save these people from oppression by the institute. Thats literally their whole deal.
@@user-bl7em8sx6o the Gen 3 Synths aren't "just robots/AI" they are fully fabricated human beings callously being made for infiltration or for slave labour for the institute
-Griswold safehouse is mentioned when the SS is tasked to clear the Malden station route for one last run to evac H2-22 from the commonwealth. You run into Glory outside the station entrance where she mentions she was deployed at the request of Griswold. This is the only mention of it -Bunker Hill is a bottleneck yes, but not entirely due to the RRs actions. Liam Binet, aka Patriot, from the Institute was helping Gen 3s escape and he admits to giving them a map to Bunker Hill each time. RR has no way to communicate with Patriot prior to the arrival of SS meaning no way to coordinate dispersal of new arrivals.
Damn, I completely missed this quest. I did it like once in the past but I didn't get it this time as I breezed through in order to get the necessary footage. I think that is another problem with the RR, the fact that some much stuff is placed in non-essential side quests.
@@RNGTherapy Absolutely. There could have been an expanded mission chain to reestablish secure contact with each safehouse. The RR gor horribly short changed
@@RNGTherapy Griswold is also the name of a raider in the Monsignor Plaza, whose terminal appears in the Gun Store (where the new Makeshift Weapons DLC sends you), so I'm thinking Griswold is an ex-Railroad executive who let his station fall to shit, took the money, and ran. Someone else stepped up to put it back together, but Griswold is no longer actually running it.
Love this. Would be a great way to integrate the RR and MM while giving the RR a tangible presence during the game aside form the post main quest checkpoint occupation
Writing video games is a really difficult an niche skill. Whilst he has received criticism for some of his, at the end of the day he does answer to a boss and he may not have all the resources he needs. Its easier for me to say "here's what I would" because I'm not in a studio and having to juggle all the other parts like dialogue recording, character creation, etc. But thank you watching and I'm glad you enjoyed.
Absolutely love the attention and passion for detail presented here. I've been working on my own RR overhaul mod for the past couple of years and hearing these ideas for logistics and organization is very inspiring. A lot of my ideas revolved around adding ranks/ titles/ variations of personell along with actual job ideas for each one. Where they get their finances, where would they get food and water, would there be a specific job as concierge for recently liberated synths, and so on. One major thing I put into my head canon was a thing called The Great Loop, a circuit of rivers and other bodies of water you can circumnavigate the entire Great Lakes, Mississippi River, and Eastern Seaboard via boat. You can even travel to Chicago from Boston that way. It's kind of insane. Interestingly, even as different as my rank ideas are, they would still vibe near perfectly with yours, and that's just really cool to me. I've perused a lot of RR video essays here on the site, but they mostly just talk about mods instead of attempting to completely rework the faction while keeping what makes them the RR at their core. I really appreciate that. I could ramble on, but I might have to get in touch with you and pick your brain about what I have going. Would you be down for that?
Hi. That sounds awesome. Having additional ranks for concierges and an expansion of RR activities outside of the Commonwealth sounds excellent. Yeah, I'd love to get in touch. If you got a discord, drop a link to yourself here and I'll add you.
I know exactly what you mean. You play your characters chosen faction, then take a 1 hour detour to join the people with the cool jackets, get one and then never go back.
You need to team up with a modder and get this made into one. The railroad was my favorite faction in Fallout 4 and your ideas made into a mod would definitely make me play a 30th playthrough.
@@RNGTherapyPLEASE DO THIS. Not everything could in your video could be reasonably done by mods, but this would be sooooooo cool. I really like the railroad but there are just so many little things that make me so frustrated. I wish there were mods to make the railroad actually feel worthy of being a faction.
Yeah, It would have been lovely if she'd shown up (even if it was just temporarily) in FO4. She is an exceptionally accomplished agent to operate on her own, in the Capital Wasteland (which is far more hostile than the Commonwealth), with pretty much no support. Glad you enjoyed, thanks for watching.
P.S. Love what ya did with Glory. If anyone makes a mod from these ideas, please make Glory available to be a companion. Really wish they did that with the vanilla game. Glory was one of my favorite characters.
First and foremost, amazing video. It's very obvious how much thought and effort you put into this video. I'm a big fan of the RR despite their flaws in the vanilla game. But I feel like a lot of people misunderstand the RR and where they're at when we meet them in game. First and foremost, they're down to the last vestiges of their organization. I fully believe that the Institute is 100% aware of just about everything the RR is doing and the only reason they didn't search out and destroy the final pieces of the org is because the Institute just didn't think that the RR would be capable of doing anything more than being a mild nuisance and freeing the occasional synth. It's not until we as the Sole Survivor come along that the RR is finally able to actually do something significant for the first time in probably ever. The reason their org is so disheveled is because that's the point. They're supposed to be. the Institute JUST ransacked like 90% of their org and their capabilities. Who we see under the church (which is stated to be an emergency staging ground until they can regain some of their resources) is what's left. The fact that Ticonderoga still exists at all is a miracle considering all their other safehouses have been attacked and cleared out. They're meant to be on the backfoot. They're meant to be an underdog. Now, I'd like to think that in their heyday when the Switchboard was their HQ that they did in fact do something similar to what you've laid out in this video, just with non-settlement locations. I think there's one small change that needed to be done to the RR to help win more people over without any overhauls or anything: have them help ordinary people too. That's it. If the Institute is some great boogeyman and people are afraid of Synths infiltrating, then the RR needs to have people out there making genpop realize that synths in general aren't bad (I mean, just look at Nick; he should be one of the RR's greatest allies) and that it's /just/ the Institute making things bad. I think wanting to protect people from the machinations of the Institute as much as they want to free synths would go a long way to winning more people over both in-universe and irl.
This was fantastic! Exactly how the Railroad *should* have been, or at least how Bethesda thought it'd be. Wonder if you'll do other factions, because the Institute definitely needs this treatment
If it was me, I would have a conflict at the end of the questline. You are all in the Institute, and have just been handed the fusion pulse charge. But within the ranks there is a question raised - if synths are people, and the Institute is the only place they can come from, then why not just eliminate the leadership and take over? Do synths yet unborn not deserve the chance of a free life?
That is an idea I toyed with. But (in my opinion) it left too much risk. If scientists and coursers staged a carefully coordinated plan, they could shut down the teleporter and thus kick the Railroad out again, restarting the conflict.
This has always been my biggest problem with the railroad storyline. Destroying the Institute means no more new synths, which in turn means the RR is basically out of a job. I wish this aspect got a little more attention
I don't think the end of the Institute would put the RR out of a job entirely. They still have to deal with anti-synth bigotry and renegade institute synths squads. But I do agree the end 'after the end' element could have used some love.
@RNGTherapy not to mention the RR long-term goal isn't to continuously free synths, but to establish a democratic and free government in the commonwealth region. Saying "but they'll be out of a job if the institute is destroyed" is like saying "but if the nazis are defeated we won't be able to free anymore jews" - it's kinda the point. They want to be out of a job cause that means the threat they're fighting is destroyed. I'm sure Desdemona and friends would love to retire to some farm, comfortable in knowing they made the commonwealth a free and safe slice of the wasteland.
@@RNGTherapymaybe in an “After the end” story or wrap up, the RR and Minutemen combine/begin working together to defend and uphold the Commonwealth. Allowing RR resources to begin helping everyone AND integrated Synths. It would also allow you to do what’s best for the Commonwealth: rebuilding the Minutemen, and the best for synths and taking down the Institute: Helping the Railroad.
I like the video, always wanted to see more content for the Railroad! I think it's interesting that you didn't have the Railroad cooperating with the Minutemen, if they did, that would go a long way to reducing anti synth feelings among the Commonwealth's residents and boost the general support for the Railroad's actions. The Minutemen could serve as the manpower that the Railroad is lacking, with the Railroad providing intelligence for some operations.
One interesting thought I once had was to rewrite the Brotherhood and Railroad as a mixed up version of the F3 brotherhood and outcasts. So when Maxon reintegrates the Outcasts and returns the Brotherhood to its pre-lyons philosophy, a sectarian group split off and became the Railroad. They moved into the Commonwealth after having located the source of the Synths, and their goal is to get synths away from both the Institute and the Brotherhood. This way, you've not only constructed an interesting parallel, but also have the ability to justify the Railroad's industrial base - if they're ex Brotherhood with local recruits, that would explain why they are so technologically advanced. One major point would be to not give them brotherhood tech, i.e. no power armor suits. The suits are too valuable for Maxon to just let go, so they split off without them - their new speciality is stealth. I also don't think there should be a railroad ending. Instead, they should be an optional modifer for one of the other three endings. So in effect, there are now six: - Brotherhood, Railroad wiped out: A synth genocide. A totalitarian regime of technological knights purging all mutated and artificial life in the Commonwealth. - Brotherhood-Railroad alliance: A synth exodus. With the Institute taken over and its technology confiscated, the surviving Synths are altered by brotherhood engineers to be completely identical to regular humans, including a pre-set randomized expiry date of around 80 years. - Minutemen, Railroad exile: With the Institute nuked and the Railroad driven out of the Commonwealth, any remaining synths either assimilate into the population or are picked up by the fleeing Railroad agents as they move out to parts unknown. - Minutemen-Railroad alliance: With the institute taken and its technology controlled by Railroad agents, it is turned into a pseudo-religious site where synths go if they wish to reproduce. - Institute, Railroad wiped out: All rogue synths are recontained. Efforts to replace all figures of power on the surface proceed on schedule. - Institute-Railroad alliance: This one should be DIFFICULT, and only achievable by deliberately allying the Minutemen and Brotherhood against the Institute, which makes them agree to a temporary alliance that turns permanent when you become Director. With Railroad engineers and scientists joining the entrenched members of the Institute, there are many philosophical conflicts - eventually, the courser and synth programs are ended, with any remaining synths set free. Many stay with the Institute, just as real members instead of slaves. It's worth noting that any real rewriting of the Railroad would probably also need a rewrite of the Institute and the Synth lore. The game itself is confused on if synths are just very lifelike robots or cloned humans with a synth component in their brain, for example. Also, there isn't really a reason for why the Institute replaces people instead of just creating fake prospectors or adventurers from outside the Commonwealth.
There is a huge Proble, with your little "Lyons Outcast" Idea for the Railroad: The Railroad allready exists in FO3, infact they are second Option to finish a very intriguing Quest hiding at FO4.
I think that parts of this are excellent. Having pro-synth BOS members defect to the Railroad would be an excellent way to buff them/give them skills they don't have. (in a realistic setting) I do think that an Institute-Railroad Alliance wouldn't make much sense however. They are completely opposed in terms of goals and ideology and the issue with putting them together is it would just lead to one group choosing to oust you and go back to their old ways.
This is a criminally underappreciated channel. The sheer amount of effort evident in this video, even in just making the new rail road an idea, is mind-boggling. You've definitely earned my subscription, and I wait excitedly to see more from you.
Thanks for making this video, I loved it. Would be really cool to see how the player has to infiltrate and destroy the railroad with this setup as well.
holy crap balls THUS IS AMAZING! i hope you do more of this for the 4 main factions (and maybe even a mini episode on the gunners 👉👈). Whatever comes next im excited :D
really tremendous reimagining! not basing the railroad more on the Allied Resistance of WW2 always felt like a misstep to me - i know it's named for the underground slave emancipation network of the USA during the civil war but i think the WW2 Resistance networks are more fitting for modern Fallout's 40s-50s techno-societal attitudes and perspectives. regardless though, it does feel like Bethesda either under-studied or under-represented how such an organisation would function, and this does an amazing job at remedying that subscribing to hear more perspectives on the franchise from you!
Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Yeah, I can see why they picked a civil war era railroad for the basis with their whole focus on liberating the enslaved synths but I also felt that basing my interpretation of the Railroad off of the Dutch-Paris Line gave the group a more decentralised feel and thus more opportunity for content.
Though not as popular or considered heroic (With good reason) I would consider the post WWII rat lines as a source. They moved unwanted people, including escaped criminals, to new locations. Often hiding them in plain sight with a new identity and history. Others were kept moving until they were safely (Or so most thought) away from others who could hunt them down.
@@carlasghost656 That is a good comparison in terms of objective and practicality, I probably wouldn't have chosen that as in inspiration for obvious reasons.
@@RNGTherapy Would you be willing to do a video on reimagining the Minutemen and setting them up like a Settlement protection force with Rapid Response teams? I think it would be cool to see how a progression would go from turning them from a ragtag miltia to the governance for a Commonwealth government. I've always found the Minutemen to be an awesome faction that was horribly underdeveloped in game.
Excellent video and great ideas! I can envision the different (fixed) factions having their own game plans in a sort of dynamic world where they vie for control of critical infrastructure points and thus either accept of become hostile to the player character. This would be influenced by their respective strengths in numbers, equipment and the influence of the player, kind of like a mixture between S.T.A.L.K.E.R Clear Sky and Kenshi. This would open up or close off certain areas or questlines, maybe even completely during one playthrough. Bethesda is of course deathly afraid of something like this because they want the games to be more simplistic rides with little to no player consequence.
That sounds like an interesting idea. (I've never player STALKER Clear Sky or Kenshi but I have watched Kenshi gameplay so I'm familiar with how it works in that game). Thanks for watching.
Indigo Gaming laid out something similar in their own idea for a fallout game. Kenshi is a great example of both a game that has total freedom(world states and faction relations) and one that generates stories through random encounters as you play.
This is an amazing video. I love how you worked everything out and came up with new quests and storylines. You took a pretty underdeveloped faction and made them something as compelling as the Minute Men. Also, this video has higher production quality than most Fallout 4 videos I've seen. I would love if you did a reimagining of the other factions.
Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Getting the footage the images was tough, I was using so many console commands that the save file started to self-destruct towards the end.
A while ago someone made a video about what if fallout 4 was more brutal, and since then I'd have a bit of an itch for more content like that. Glad to finally have found something.
Personally, one of my biggest issue with the railroad are the mind wipes. Like, I get the idea that it allows the escaped synths to live without the trauma of their previous life and also serves as a form of security for the railroad by "erasing" their involvement. But at the same time, it also introduces several other issues, the main thing being they are effectively "killin" the person that they are before they escaped. I feel like a better option would've been to just erase selective memories but retain the knowledge that they are a synth. This way that when they do get hunted or they are suspected to be a synth by others, they can try to approach a railroad agent/tourist to get help, either in escaping and starting a new life elsewhere or just getting a new face. Admittedly, it's been years since I last played the game. I don't know if selective memory erasures are possible in fallout, especially the one that I'm suggesting since it's so specific.
It's one of my biggest issues too, but it is so utilitarian that I just felt I couldn't get rid it. I think keeping in my rewrite keeps a certain level of 'moral ambiguousness' that the faction needs. It is never stated that the memory wipe process can be selective so I'm under the impression that it's all or nothing.
This tourist system idea works great with the Stockton caravans. It makes sense for a large business to hire scavengers to handle these kinds of things, so there's a level of separation and a plausible cover
That's an excellent idea. I didn't want to have the tourists working with Stockton's caravans for security reasons but this seems like a sensible and plausible idea.
@@RNGTherapy Yeah, plus the general vibe from a lot of scavenging quests in fallout is 'go to the place, get the thing, and I'll give you money,' without much additional context needed. I also had an idea for how the Institute could have a similar sort of setup - turn the subway stations into trade stations that are entirely automated. The 'caravans' in this case would be repurposed automated subway cars that show up on a schedule. Scavengers show up when one pulls in and are given lists of objects from the old Boston MTA scheduling boards and a departure time for the train along with quantity needed and what they'll be bought for, usually in the form of medicine, clean drinking water, and ammunition. It incentivizes a mad scramble by the wasteland residents to be the one to hand over the requested items. This would create a neat parallel for the Institute and Railroad, showing their different philosophies in how they handle people from outside their organizations. The railroad employs wastelanders in a mutually beneficial kind of way, while the institute encourages a heavy handed 'divide and conquer' approach that keeps the people of the commonwealth constantly at each other's throats. Edit: it would also be a great opportunity for a reference to ZARDOZ, with a technologically advanced faction employing a mysterious and terrifying front to collect resources and distribute weapons "THE EMTEEAY SPEAKS TO YOU, HIS CHOSEN COMMUTERS!"
Nice video im subscribing. Im not a fan of fallout4 but this is great worldbuilding and an amazing improvement over the vanilla railroad. Im taking a lot of ideas from you for my fallout ttrpg railroad faction, althought a version on Capitol Wasteland that fights against human. And ghoul slavery. (Wich could shape it into a proper likeable faction
what an amazing and incredibly in depth re imagining of one of my favorite factions in the fallout series, idk if you have plans for more of these but i honestly think every fallout 4 faction could use some tweaking and would love to see something like that, nevertheless i will anxiously be awaiting future uploads.
absolutely fantastic video! the Railroad has always been my favorite faction in FO4, but it REALLY needs work. would you mind if I reposted this on tumblr? I frequently talk about fixing FO4 on there
On one hand I am all for realism, but on the other hand I don't love the idea of training a generation of gamers on how to build an effective something something organization. The compromise could be relying on well considered & flushed out internally consistent logic, but not informed by real life.
Yeah, I completely agree. Having every single game based in realism would just suck. Period. But half the reason the Railroad isn't liked as a faction is because they don't have an internally consistent logic. Oppose the Institute but don't help ordinary people, modelled like a spy ring but do almost none of the spy stuff, Desdemona is a prodigy of espionage but tells strangers how to find the HQ. I chose to base my ideal RR in realism in order to give the faction a new breath of life and have them take a big step away from what was seen in the game.
I'd really love to hear the version of the story where the SS is convinced by Shaun to turn on the Railroad. Or how if the SS doesn't like synths they might be taken in by the brotherhood and how infiltrating and destroying such a faction could take place entirely from an outside perspective with no insider infiltration at the start.
Slavery is alive and well in the north. What if the railroad fought all slavery and this station specifically deals with synthetics and are actually the black sheep of the railroad
The Railroad is mainly based out of the Commonwealth so it would be hard to justify them as a "rogue group" that only cares about synths. Interesting concept though.
@@RNGTherapy it would need a total rework of the faction. But considering one of the largest complaints about the faction is they do nothing for normal people who are also suffering. Having the railroad fight all slavery and maybe try and help them flee to an anti slavery south or even across the Mississippi river to the NCR. I think would fix that issue. It also has the added bonus of a railroad ending implying they turn Boston into an anti slavery city state in the north that the other railroad stations can send fleeing slaves from places like the Pitt and Ronto to
@@Wesley-1776 Absolutely. Would be an excellent twist. It could lead to the RR becoming very aggressive if other wasteland factions and generate other conflicts in other games.
@@RNGTherapy you could also have an internal conflict where an agent from a different station who is visiting the Boston station and saying they are useless. That they barely help anyone escape a place where as far as anyone is concerned there isn’t an active slave market. That the other stations can’t confirm that these “synthetics” are even real since they keep mind wiping them. While the Ronto station helped over 1,000 or more people last year. And you have to prove you are actually freeing slaves as part of a quest to get more resources for the assault on the institute.
@@RNGTherapy could also have a conflict where you have to convince an agent from another station that the Boston station is actually helping people and not robot hippies to get supplies for the assault on the institute from other stations
Wait a minute! You only have 300 subs? Wow man your channel is amazing, new sub man, love the way you reimagined the railroad, hope you can also do something like that for the other factions since all of the factions in FO4 lack depth. Anyway new sub man.
I think the biggest issue with the Railroad is more the changing of the lore for it. Back in the day when I first heard of it in Fallout 3, the idea felt more like that they tried to help Synths who already were sentient by nature to not be taken advantage of by humans. In this case the Railroad and Synths (In Fallout 4 I mean) vs the Institute more feel like the generalized story of "Anti-Slavery" vs "Slavery". Cause thats literally all it ends up being. Just that in this case the slaves are literally being created and being brought to the point of sentience. But then comes the problem of "If the Railroad didnt exist, the problem wouldnt either." Cause to the Synths they are just part of the collective that is the institute. Born for a purpose and thats it. Similar to children, if they dont learn of any oposite thought, they wont question the reality they are placed in. So in turn the Railroad itself made its purpose to free entities that didnt cling to freedom like they needed air to breath. They just kinda inserted themself into the matter and said "Hey you have a problem. Dont worry. We will fix it for you." while the Synths who never questioned their reality in the first place just sat there nodding along. Even the whole Synth uprising feels so out of place. What made them go "Yea lets end our creators!"? The Railroad. What made them pick up weapons? The Railroad. What made them crave freedom? The Railroad. If the Railroad wasnt present, none of these issues would ever have come to pass. Because the Synths are by definition not humans. Especially not those who came after Nick. They are just sentient humanoid machines following a directive. Capable of learning but ultimately if they only learn one thing, that will be the end of it. - While I think the idea to re-imagine the Railroad is a good one (and I will finish the video once I got some sleep today) I feel like the Railroad is a faction that will forever stay unfixable. At least with what Fallout 4 had done to it. But maybe the video will change my mind. We will see :o PS: I got a new keyboard. Any typos can be blamed on that.
I agree that the Railroads story is a bit simplistic. But I disagree that the Railroad created its own problem. If you speak with Liam Binet and Z1-14, you learn that synths become sentient on their own despite how they are raised by the Institute and some have to suppress their emotions/free will so long that it does irreparable psychological damage. Liam sent many synths to the surface just so they could escape, he had no knowledge of the Railroad or its operations, he just freed the synths that wanted to leave and the Railroad protected them from the SRB. The Synth uprising doesn't necessarily mean ending all the scientists, Z1-14 specifically says that any unarmed scientists would be allowed to flee through the teleporter unhindered. Synths being sentient by definition means they deserve free will, particularly given the threat they face if they remain in the Institute. Small essays aside, thanks for watching.
Dam it, now I’ll never be able to look at the Railroad in the same way again. There goes any chance at me joining the Railroad unless a mod based on this is put out.
Really good video, enjoyed every second of it!! Could you add chapters to it? I'd love to come back to this one in the future, and being able to navigate the video via timecodes/UA-cam's "chapter" system would be really handy Also, my own thoughts: I really wish Bethesda had taken more actual inspiration from the real life Underground Railroad. I can understand the hesitation due to wanting to avoid accidentally being offensive by conflating their fictional synths with actual historical slavery, but in its current state it feels worse, by implying that the Underground Railroad was a small group of disorganised people who meant well but were too clumsy to help in any real way. Like I'd even be happy if they just renamed The Railroad and drew from more points of inspiration, both historical and fictional
I like this video. But I just wanted to say, the railroad has old man Stockton, a very wealthy caravan owner, to back them financially. It explains the army of mercenaries and how they’re able to arm them, they simply pay for it using their wealthy connections. But again I want to say this video is great
@ I could be wrong, but I think desdemona explains to the Sole survivor that the heavies at bunker hill are mercenaries on the railroads payroll. I’m pretty sure if you fail the mission/sell them out to the institute this is when the dialogue comes up. Thank you so much for the response!
Stanwix safehouse is mentioned in a conversation between Dr Carrington and a female agent where it is said that it has 3 MIA and 6 dead. Both Desdemonana and Glory mention Dayton safehouse saying it was attacked by coursers so needed to be evacuated. In the quest Memory Interrupted, Glory states she got the job from Griswold safehouse. The agents at Railroad HQ mention that a runner is missing from Griswold safehouse. The agents state that Mercer is the first safehouse created since the Switchboard was attacked and that they are not sure whether to trust Augusta and Randolph safehouses as they could have been infiltrated by the Institute. Also, the Railroad have many times more quests than any other faction. If you are going to make videos like this, do your homework and know what you're talking about first.
Yes, someone did point out to me that Stanwix and Dayton get mention in npc dialogue and I did miss Memory Interrupted on my most recent play throughs, meaning I miss it in my discussion/analysis. It was a genuine mistake but I still feel that the other safehouses are under-utilised in the Railroad quest line.
I think the synths blur the lines between android and clones because they have mostly biological features. But clones is an excellent idea that I'm thinking about for an institute rewrite.
I don't feel that why. It's not like the RR is going to be going from settlement to settlement asking people to throw up their flag and fight for them. Plus the RR goal is Institute opposition and destruction, so if you've got a raider problem, they probably aren't going to help, but if synths target your settlement they will. They idea of the RR forming a provisional government at the end is in line with historical precedence like what happened in France, Belgium, the Netherlands when they were liberated from the Nazis in WW2. I wanted the RR to feel more powerful and have a bigger (albeit invisible presence).
Great video. However i think there should be no contact between safehouses to minimize risk of domino effect when one is deeply compromised. Just info from HQ about their jurisdiction, and in rare ocasions some coordination with larger operations reqireing more resources than one safehouse could provide. But even then you could prevent them from knowing each other by giving them distinct functions i.e. one safehouse is in attack duty, one as rear guard, one dedicated to safety of synths. Also i think there should be another step between safehouse and HQ. Local HQ with hightened security. Also in contact only with HQ and safehouses under its jurisdiction. This will create another step for enemies to overcome to uncover central HQ location/personel. Also it will provide personel and location on par with HQ proper that could take over immediatly if HQ is compromised. This will guarantee that Railroad will work non stop, even if HQ is destroyed. Also, doubling of all key positions in this local HQs will be good idea. In normal operation those people will be deputies on their respective roles. In case when one local HQ or main HQ will be destroyed those deputies will in one way or another take over full duties, so every position in surviving and rebuilt HQs will be manned by experienced personel. On other note. Consider another inspiration - Polish Resistance, I think it was largest in occupied Europe.
Those are some interesting ideas. I chose to have safehouses contact each other in order to be able to pass critical or time sensitive information to each other. I disagree with safehouses only doing 1 thing as that would make them overspecialised. Imagine if your attack duty safehouse was compromised and they other safehouses didn't have the knowledge/skills to amount offensive operations. That region would be a prime target for the Institute.
There are a few dozen overhaul mods for each of the factions but I didn't want to implement them into this video as they wouldn't necessarily fit with my vision and I didn't want to spend 3 months working out what does which thing and troubleshooting compatibility problems
What I like to do in my headcanon that after a minuteman victory, the railroad disband. Part of the group become a political group based around synth rights and another becomes part of a new commonwealth intellegence bureau, similar to Mi5 or the CIA or the fallout equivalent.
The Railroad just doesn't make sense because there isn't enough synths in the Commonwealth to make believable as the foundation for a while faction. There should have been an existing alliance of ghouls and supermutants living and using the subway tunnels, hence "Railroad." Once synths come onto the scene they are accepted into the Railroad as fellow outcasts.
Not only are they not used effectively, but they're not very well hidden at all. The Institute almost certainly knows about all of these places, including the HQ. If the Sole Survivor weren't around, the Institute would have probably just swarmed the HQ with synths or sent a couple Coursers in to deal with the Railroad. As far as I'm concerned, the two most competent members of the Railroad are Deacon and Tinker Tom. Maybe Carrington to a degree, but who is in charge? Desdemona. I never thought much of her. She doesn't seem to know what she's doing. If she were smart, she'd ally herself with the Minutemen, or use the fact that the Sole Survivor is the father of the leader of the Institute and future director to take over the Institute from within, rather than fighting what is very likely a losing battle*. Deacon might have been more open to that. I truly believe a Railroad run by Deacon would have been a lot more successful. *(I don't think any Institute defeat is a true defeat. Most of the scientists survive, and I'm about 99% certain the Institute has other facilities hidden away around the Commonwealth and possibly outside of it. There's no way they'd put all their eggs in one basket. Losing their central headquarters might set them back a bit, but it won't stop them. They'll regroup and come back even stronger. If CIT was really all they had, I think they would have put up a much, much bigger fight than they did. I interpret the resistance they offered as something more akin to a delay tactic while they evacuated their most important personnel, experiments, etc. If the enemy knows how to get into their central headquarters, then their central headquarters is no longer truly safe. If they can't crush their enemies quite yet, then their best strategy may well be to just abandon that headquarters, make the enemy think they've won, and then regroup later. After all, the Sole Survivor knows a lot about the Institute no matter what playthrough they choose. If they don't side with the Institute, then they know where the Institute's headquarters are located, and that alone is enough reason to let it be destroyed or even destroy it themselves.)
I think the problem arises from the fact that Desdemona is portrayed as being a prodigy of espionage in the lore but then doesn't act like it in game. Deacons not really the leadership type though, he just doesn't trust himself enough. The institute does put all in eggs in one basket though. Fort Hagen is Kellogg's crash pad and not really a Institute facility and Warwick homestead is just for testing their genetically modified melons. They do put up a fairly substantial fight in my opinion. I think if things were realistic the Institute would win no matter what because they have the ability to teleport.
Not 100% certain. I am talking with modders atm and looking at some of their work which is similar so its not impossible. As for compatibility with other mods. I don't know
I always hated the memory wipe aspect of the railroad. Maybe if it was just a wipe of railroad operation details it'd make sense but wiping away everything they were is asenine
I have a question is this before The minutemen fall or after the off Y The minutemen. Cuz if it's before the fall of The minutemen then I can imagine the minutemen and railroad butting arms and get into conflict. Now you may ask why. Because either a concerned settler or the institute get information to the minutemen about suspicious activity and the minutemen going and destroy it all and the railroad strike back creating conflict. Now I have a complaint.The ending makes the minutemen feel useless. So unless you have a way of fitting them in or explaining why they allow this that would be nice. Other than that I find the video pretty nice. I hope you do The minuteman one day.
This scenario is operating under the assumption that the Minutemen have been defeated at Quincy (like they did in game). The railroad would only help settlers if they are being attacked/threatened by the Institute. The ending is designed around what happened in France after WW2 ended where the Free French Forces / FFI formed a provisional government in order to organise elections. I'm currently working on another video but the Minutemen are on the list.
You didn't fix the worst part of the Railroad, in my opinion: the idiotic way they deal with the synths they rescue. They wipe their memories, basicly killing their entire being, and then send them to live with regular people. It's a tragedy waiting to happen. Synths don't age. People do. Someone will eventually notice that. And the synth will have no idea, so they will not plan for it in advance. It's gonna be a tragedy
Yeah the memory wipes is a bit of weird one. I agree that it kills who they are but it does make it easier for them to hide (to a certain-ish degree) my intention/imagining here was that those synths who do get memory wiped remain in the commonwealth whilst those who refused are smuggled out so they are beyond the reach of the Institute.
Yeah nice ideas. But it's all futile. Their motivation is beyond brainrot. Smuggling voice code controlled killer toasters among nuclear apocalypse survivors...? Joe Savoldi: 'Might as well go off and join the Deathclaw Preservation Society'. The Railroad's only positive aspect: Desdemona looks cute. The most tragic Railroad member: Glory, the brainwashed, heavily confused, homeless and lost girl who never had real friends. Your video is very well made, though. :)
I disagree. Synths are sentient and have a great capacity for good, like Valentine, Sturges and Magnolia. I don't think Glory is brain washed for wanting to fight for her freedom. Glad you enjoyed
I disagree personally. I think wanting to free synths makes them morally good as the Gen 3 synths are sentient and have been shown to have free will. Intellectually, I mean, sort of, they're a bit basic and reliant on Tinker Toms genius but that's not unique to the Railroad.
@@RNGTherapy is it a moral thing to forsake your fellow humans to free synths? Is it a moral thing to brainwash said synths? I would agree with you, that "saving" synths is a morally "good" choice, if it was happening in like modern setting or some cyperpunk setting. Not post apocalyptic one, where humans are barely surviving. The whole faction and its leading conflict is misplaced. Wrong game wrong time.
What a great video! Crazy underrated. I'll be sending this to all my friends
Thanks. It means a lot to get comments like this. Glad you enjoyed.
Same here, quality content deserves more views. It gives me Sublime_Light vibes
If it became known that railroad agents carry 1000 caps then they would become a huge target
Its more a guide line, but given how expensive everything is plus the possibility of needed to bride people I felt it was a reasonable amount. Spies would often be given large amounts of cash for bribery during the Cold War
so the railroads had a good idea, but they sucks at keeping themselves together... Great alternative timeline.
because wasting resources and lives on saving ai is totally logical lmao
@@user-bl7em8sx6o Are you stupid? The whole philosophy with the railroad is that they believe that the Synths are sentient enough to be people, and thus they believe it their duty to save these people from oppression by the institute. Thats literally their whole deal.
@@user-bl7em8sx6o the Gen 3 Synths aren't "just robots/AI" they are fully fabricated human beings callously being made for infiltration or for slave labour for the institute
-Griswold safehouse is mentioned when the SS is tasked to clear the Malden station route for one last run to evac H2-22 from the commonwealth. You run into Glory outside the station entrance where she mentions she was deployed at the request of Griswold. This is the only mention of it
-Bunker Hill is a bottleneck yes, but not entirely due to the RRs actions. Liam Binet, aka Patriot, from the Institute was helping Gen 3s escape and he admits to giving them a map to Bunker Hill each time. RR has no way to communicate with Patriot prior to the arrival of SS meaning no way to coordinate dispersal of new arrivals.
Damn, I completely missed this quest. I did it like once in the past but I didn't get it this time as I breezed through in order to get the necessary footage. I think that is another problem with the RR, the fact that some much stuff is placed in non-essential side quests.
@@RNGTherapy Absolutely. There could have been an expanded mission chain to reestablish secure contact with each safehouse. The RR gor horribly short changed
@@RNGTherapy Griswold is also the name of a raider in the Monsignor Plaza, whose terminal appears in the Gun Store (where the new Makeshift Weapons DLC sends you), so I'm thinking Griswold is an ex-Railroad executive who let his station fall to shit, took the money, and ran. Someone else stepped up to put it back together, but Griswold is no longer actually running it.
Love this. Would be a great way to integrate the RR and MM while giving the RR a tangible presence during the game aside form the post main quest checkpoint occupation
Yeah, having the RR do spying and targeted ops on enemies whilst the MM use their larger numbers to control checkpoints.
I wish videos like this were used as a blueprint for future railroad mod pack.
Thanks, I'm glad you think this is mod worthy.
Can you do a faction overhaul video for each group next being the minutemen but take your time.
@@brandonsecoy8940 Yes. The Minutemen are on my list of videos to do. It'll be the video after the one I'm currently working on.
If Emil Pagliarulo ever saw this he would just pat himself on the back for the attention instead of thinking critically about why this is so necessary
Writing video games is a really difficult an niche skill. Whilst he has received criticism for some of his, at the end of the day he does answer to a boss and he may not have all the resources he needs. Its easier for me to say "here's what I would" because I'm not in a studio and having to juggle all the other parts like dialogue recording, character creation, etc. But thank you watching and I'm glad you enjoyed.
Don't blame the writer, blame the Todd. He's the one who has his fingers stuck in everything.
Absolutely love the attention and passion for detail presented here. I've been working on my own RR overhaul mod for the past couple of years and hearing these ideas for logistics and organization is very inspiring. A lot of my ideas revolved around adding ranks/ titles/ variations of personell along with actual job ideas for each one. Where they get their finances, where would they get food and water, would there be a specific job as concierge for recently liberated synths, and so on.
One major thing I put into my head canon was a thing called The Great Loop, a circuit of rivers and other bodies of water you can circumnavigate the entire Great Lakes, Mississippi River, and Eastern Seaboard via boat. You can even travel to Chicago from Boston that way. It's kind of insane.
Interestingly, even as different as my rank ideas are, they would still vibe near perfectly with yours, and that's just really cool to me. I've perused a lot of RR video essays here on the site, but they mostly just talk about mods instead of attempting to completely rework the faction while keeping what makes them the RR at their core. I really appreciate that.
I could ramble on, but I might have to get in touch with you and pick your brain about what I have going. Would you be down for that?
Hi. That sounds awesome. Having additional ranks for concierges and an expansion of RR activities outside of the Commonwealth sounds excellent. Yeah, I'd love to get in touch. If you got a discord, drop a link to yourself here and I'll add you.
Well this is a interesting conversation
Cant wait to see your takes on the Minutemen
Thanks for watching. I'm adding it to list.
@@RNGTherapy nice
I always felt like I was joining a college club with the railroad. Anything for the ballistic weave... Interesting railroad concept! Very nice
I know exactly what you mean. You play your characters chosen faction, then take a 1 hour detour to join the people with the cool jackets, get one and then never go back.
You need to team up with a modder and get this made into one. The railroad was my favorite faction in Fallout 4 and your ideas made into a mod would definitely make me play a 30th playthrough.
Thanks. I think your the 3rd person to tell me I need to talk to mod maker. I'm gonna have to make a note so I can potentially do that.
@@RNGTherapy That would be awesome
@@RNGTherapyPLEASE DO THIS. Not everything could in your video could be reasonably done by mods, but this would be sooooooo cool. I really like the railroad but there are just so many little things that make me so frustrated. I wish there were mods to make the railroad actually feel worthy of being a faction.
This is a fantastic bit of worldbuilding. I especially love the nod to Victoria Watts in Fallout 3 - I'd forgotten she even existed!
Yeah, It would have been lovely if she'd shown up (even if it was just temporarily) in FO4. She is an exceptionally accomplished agent to operate on her own, in the Capital Wasteland (which is far more hostile than the Commonwealth), with pretty much no support.
Glad you enjoyed, thanks for watching.
P.S. Love what ya did with Glory. If anyone makes a mod from these ideas, please make Glory available to be a companion. Really wish they did that with the vanilla game. Glory was one of my favorite characters.
First and foremost, amazing video. It's very obvious how much thought and effort you put into this video. I'm a big fan of the RR despite their flaws in the vanilla game. But I feel like a lot of people misunderstand the RR and where they're at when we meet them in game.
First and foremost, they're down to the last vestiges of their organization. I fully believe that the Institute is 100% aware of just about everything the RR is doing and the only reason they didn't search out and destroy the final pieces of the org is because the Institute just didn't think that the RR would be capable of doing anything more than being a mild nuisance and freeing the occasional synth. It's not until we as the Sole Survivor come along that the RR is finally able to actually do something significant for the first time in probably ever. The reason their org is so disheveled is because that's the point. They're supposed to be. the Institute JUST ransacked like 90% of their org and their capabilities. Who we see under the church (which is stated to be an emergency staging ground until they can regain some of their resources) is what's left. The fact that Ticonderoga still exists at all is a miracle considering all their other safehouses have been attacked and cleared out. They're meant to be on the backfoot. They're meant to be an underdog. Now, I'd like to think that in their heyday when the Switchboard was their HQ that they did in fact do something similar to what you've laid out in this video, just with non-settlement locations.
I think there's one small change that needed to be done to the RR to help win more people over without any overhauls or anything: have them help ordinary people too. That's it. If the Institute is some great boogeyman and people are afraid of Synths infiltrating, then the RR needs to have people out there making genpop realize that synths in general aren't bad (I mean, just look at Nick; he should be one of the RR's greatest allies) and that it's /just/ the Institute making things bad. I think wanting to protect people from the machinations of the Institute as much as they want to free synths would go a long way to winning more people over both in-universe and irl.
Exactly, just having them help ordinary people out changes so much of the dynamic.
This was super satisfying to watch. Please keep making content like this.
Glad you enjoyed. Will do.
This was fantastic! Exactly how the Railroad *should* have been, or at least how Bethesda thought it'd be. Wonder if you'll do other factions, because the Institute definitely needs this treatment
Glad you liked it. I've got other Fallout content in mind but I'll definitely add the Institute to my 'to-do' list.
I love your reimagining! This is pretty awesome.
Thanks. Glad you enjoyed.
This would be a great mod that would expand the Fallout 4 story and world building by a lot
Thanks. People keep commenting that they wish this was a mod. I'm just happy that people think this interpretation is that good.
i really like this. you can tell a ton of time & effort went into making it
Thanks. Glad you liked it.
If it was me, I would have a conflict at the end of the questline. You are all in the Institute, and have just been handed the fusion pulse charge. But within the ranks there is a question raised - if synths are people, and the Institute is the only place they can come from, then why not just eliminate the leadership and take over? Do synths yet unborn not deserve the chance of a free life?
That is an idea I toyed with. But (in my opinion) it left too much risk. If scientists and coursers staged a carefully coordinated plan, they could shut down the teleporter and thus kick the Railroad out again, restarting the conflict.
This has always been my biggest problem with the railroad storyline. Destroying the Institute means no more new synths, which in turn means the RR is basically out of a job. I wish this aspect got a little more attention
I don't think the end of the Institute would put the RR out of a job entirely. They still have to deal with anti-synth bigotry and renegade institute synths squads. But I do agree the end 'after the end' element could have used some love.
@RNGTherapy not to mention the RR long-term goal isn't to continuously free synths, but to establish a democratic and free government in the commonwealth region.
Saying "but they'll be out of a job if the institute is destroyed" is like saying "but if the nazis are defeated we won't be able to free anymore jews" - it's kinda the point. They want to be out of a job cause that means the threat they're fighting is destroyed.
I'm sure Desdemona and friends would love to retire to some farm, comfortable in knowing they made the commonwealth a free and safe slice of the wasteland.
@@RNGTherapymaybe in an “After the end” story or wrap up, the RR and Minutemen combine/begin working together to defend and uphold the Commonwealth. Allowing RR resources to begin helping everyone AND integrated Synths. It would also allow you to do what’s best for the Commonwealth: rebuilding the Minutemen, and the best for synths and taking down the Institute: Helping the Railroad.
Definitely need more like this. Please and thank you 🙏🏼
Glad you enjoyed. Thanks for watching
I like the video, always wanted to see more content for the Railroad! I think it's interesting that you didn't have the Railroad cooperating with the Minutemen, if they did, that would go a long way to reducing anti synth feelings among the Commonwealth's residents and boost the general support for the Railroad's actions. The Minutemen could serve as the manpower that the Railroad is lacking, with the Railroad providing intelligence for some operations.
I completely agree. I wish there had been proper team up options rather than just a few lines of dialogue regarding the subject
Commenting to show the algorithm this is content worth recommending. It's awesome to see the thought and research you put into this! Subscribed!
Thanks a lot. Glad you enjoyed.
It just cracked 5k, congrats
One interesting thought I once had was to rewrite the Brotherhood and Railroad as a mixed up version of the F3 brotherhood and outcasts. So when Maxon reintegrates the Outcasts and returns the Brotherhood to its pre-lyons philosophy, a sectarian group split off and became the Railroad. They moved into the Commonwealth after having located the source of the Synths, and their goal is to get synths away from both the Institute and the Brotherhood.
This way, you've not only constructed an interesting parallel, but also have the ability to justify the Railroad's industrial base - if they're ex Brotherhood with local recruits, that would explain why they are so technologically advanced.
One major point would be to not give them brotherhood tech, i.e. no power armor suits. The suits are too valuable for Maxon to just let go, so they split off without them - their new speciality is stealth.
I also don't think there should be a railroad ending. Instead, they should be an optional modifer for one of the other three endings. So in effect, there are now six:
- Brotherhood, Railroad wiped out: A synth genocide. A totalitarian regime of technological knights purging all mutated and artificial life in the Commonwealth.
- Brotherhood-Railroad alliance: A synth exodus. With the Institute taken over and its technology confiscated, the surviving Synths are altered by brotherhood engineers to be completely identical to regular humans, including a pre-set randomized expiry date of around 80 years.
- Minutemen, Railroad exile: With the Institute nuked and the Railroad driven out of the Commonwealth, any remaining synths either assimilate into the population or are picked up by the fleeing Railroad agents as they move out to parts unknown.
- Minutemen-Railroad alliance: With the institute taken and its technology controlled by Railroad agents, it is turned into a pseudo-religious site where synths go if they wish to reproduce.
- Institute, Railroad wiped out: All rogue synths are recontained. Efforts to replace all figures of power on the surface proceed on schedule.
- Institute-Railroad alliance: This one should be DIFFICULT, and only achievable by deliberately allying the Minutemen and Brotherhood against the Institute, which makes them agree to a temporary alliance that turns permanent when you become Director. With Railroad engineers and scientists joining the entrenched members of the Institute, there are many philosophical conflicts - eventually, the courser and synth programs are ended, with any remaining synths set free. Many stay with the Institute, just as real members instead of slaves.
It's worth noting that any real rewriting of the Railroad would probably also need a rewrite of the Institute and the Synth lore. The game itself is confused on if synths are just very lifelike robots or cloned humans with a synth component in their brain, for example. Also, there isn't really a reason for why the Institute replaces people instead of just creating fake prospectors or adventurers from outside the Commonwealth.
There is a huge Proble, with your little "Lyons Outcast" Idea for the Railroad:
The Railroad allready exists in FO3, infact they are second Option to finish a very intriguing Quest hiding at FO4.
I think that parts of this are excellent. Having pro-synth BOS members defect to the Railroad would be an excellent way to buff them/give them skills they don't have. (in a realistic setting) I do think that an Institute-Railroad Alliance wouldn't make much sense however. They are completely opposed in terms of goals and ideology and the issue with putting them together is it would just lead to one group choosing to oust you and go back to their old ways.
This is a criminally underappreciated channel.
The sheer amount of effort evident in this video, even in just making the new rail road an idea, is mind-boggling.
You've definitely earned my subscription, and I wait excitedly to see more from you.
Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed.
Omg another vid, YES!
Thanks for making this video, I loved it. Would be really cool to see how the player has to infiltrate and destroy the railroad with this setup as well.
I'm glad you enjoyed it. I hadn't thought about how going against this Railroad would go down.
I'd probably side with the railroad if they were a fraction as cool as what you described in this video
Thanks. I'm glad you liked the video.
holy crap balls THUS IS AMAZING! i hope you do more of this for the 4 main factions (and maybe even a mini episode on the gunners 👉👈). Whatever comes next im excited :D
Thank you. I have got more Fallout content in mind for the future.
@@RNGTherapy heck yee! I will be waiting with baited breath :D
really tremendous reimagining! not basing the railroad more on the Allied Resistance of WW2 always felt like a misstep to me - i know it's named for the underground slave emancipation network of the USA during the civil war but i think the WW2 Resistance networks are more fitting for modern Fallout's 40s-50s techno-societal attitudes and perspectives. regardless though, it does feel like Bethesda either under-studied or under-represented how such an organisation would function, and this does an amazing job at remedying that
subscribing to hear more perspectives on the franchise from you!
Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Yeah, I can see why they picked a civil war era railroad for the basis with their whole focus on liberating the enslaved synths but I also felt that basing my interpretation of the Railroad off of the Dutch-Paris Line gave the group a more decentralised feel and thus more opportunity for content.
Though not as popular or considered heroic (With good reason) I would consider the post WWII rat lines as a source. They moved unwanted people, including escaped criminals, to new locations. Often hiding them in plain sight with a new identity and history. Others were kept moving until they were safely (Or so most thought) away from others who could hunt them down.
@@carlasghost656 That is a good comparison in terms of objective and practicality, I probably wouldn't have chosen that as in inspiration for obvious reasons.
Crazy! This is sick dude. I love this. Please do this with ALL the Fallout Factions. I would actually love the shit out of that.
Thanks man, I'm glad you enjoyed. I'm planning on doing more Fallout stuff in the future.
@@RNGTherapy Would you be willing to do a video on reimagining the Minutemen and setting them up like a Settlement protection force with Rapid Response teams? I think it would be cool to see how a progression would go from turning them from a ragtag miltia to the governance for a Commonwealth government. I've always found the Minutemen to be an awesome faction that was horribly underdeveloped in game.
Excellent video and great ideas! I can envision the different (fixed) factions having their own game plans in a sort of dynamic world where they vie for control of critical infrastructure points and thus either accept of become hostile to the player character. This would be influenced by their respective strengths in numbers, equipment and the influence of the player, kind of like a mixture between S.T.A.L.K.E.R Clear Sky and Kenshi. This would open up or close off certain areas or questlines, maybe even completely during one playthrough. Bethesda is of course deathly afraid of something like this because they want the games to be more simplistic rides with little to no player consequence.
That sounds like an interesting idea. (I've never player STALKER Clear Sky or Kenshi but I have watched Kenshi gameplay so I'm familiar with how it works in that game). Thanks for watching.
Indigo Gaming laid out something similar in their own idea for a fallout game. Kenshi is a great example of both a game that has total freedom(world states and faction relations) and one that generates stories through random encounters as you play.
Love the video can’t wait to see the next video you do!!
Thanks. Glad you liked.
This is an amazing video. I love how you worked everything out and came up with new quests and storylines. You took a pretty underdeveloped faction and made them something as compelling as the Minute Men. Also, this video has higher production quality than most Fallout 4 videos I've seen. I would love if you did a reimagining of the other factions.
Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Getting the footage the images was tough, I was using so many console commands that the save file started to self-destruct towards the end.
A while ago someone made a video about what if fallout 4 was more brutal, and since then I'd have a bit of an itch for more content like that. Glad to finally have found something.
Personally, one of my biggest issue with the railroad are the mind wipes. Like, I get the idea that it allows the escaped synths to live without the trauma of their previous life and also serves as a form of security for the railroad by "erasing" their involvement. But at the same time, it also introduces several other issues, the main thing being they are effectively "killin" the person that they are before they escaped.
I feel like a better option would've been to just erase selective memories but retain the knowledge that they are a synth. This way that when they do get hunted or they are suspected to be a synth by others, they can try to approach a railroad agent/tourist to get help, either in escaping and starting a new life elsewhere or just getting a new face.
Admittedly, it's been years since I last played the game. I don't know if selective memory erasures are possible in fallout, especially the one that I'm suggesting since it's so specific.
It's one of my biggest issues too, but it is so utilitarian that I just felt I couldn't get rid it. I think keeping in my rewrite keeps a certain level of 'moral ambiguousness' that the faction needs. It is never stated that the memory wipe process can be selective so I'm under the impression that it's all or nothing.
This tourist system idea works great with the Stockton caravans. It makes sense for a large business to hire scavengers to handle these kinds of things, so there's a level of separation and a plausible cover
That's an excellent idea. I didn't want to have the tourists working with Stockton's caravans for security reasons but this seems like a sensible and plausible idea.
@@RNGTherapy Yeah, plus the general vibe from a lot of scavenging quests in fallout is 'go to the place, get the thing, and I'll give you money,' without much additional context needed.
I also had an idea for how the Institute could have a similar sort of setup - turn the subway stations into trade stations that are entirely automated. The 'caravans' in this case would be repurposed automated subway cars that show up on a schedule. Scavengers show up when one pulls in and are given lists of objects from the old Boston MTA scheduling boards and a departure time for the train along with quantity needed and what they'll be bought for, usually in the form of medicine, clean drinking water, and ammunition. It incentivizes a mad scramble by the wasteland residents to be the one to hand over the requested items. This would create a neat parallel for the Institute and Railroad, showing their different philosophies in how they handle people from outside their organizations. The railroad employs wastelanders in a mutually beneficial kind of way, while the institute encourages a heavy handed 'divide and conquer' approach that keeps the people of the commonwealth constantly at each other's throats.
Edit: it would also be a great opportunity for a reference to ZARDOZ, with a technologically advanced faction employing a mysterious and terrifying front to collect resources and distribute weapons
"THE EMTEEAY SPEAKS TO YOU, HIS CHOSEN COMMUTERS!"
Nice video im subscribing. Im not a fan of fallout4 but this is great worldbuilding and an amazing improvement over the vanilla railroad.
Im taking a lot of ideas from you for my fallout ttrpg railroad faction, althought a version on Capitol Wasteland that fights against human. And ghoul slavery. (Wich could shape it into a proper likeable faction
Thanks for the sub. That sounds awesome.
what an amazing and incredibly in depth re imagining of one of my favorite factions in the fallout series, idk if you have plans for more of these but i honestly think every fallout 4 faction could use some tweaking and would love to see something like that, nevertheless i will anxiously be awaiting future uploads.
Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it. I'm planning to do Minutemen next but I've got another video in the works at the moment.
This was amazingly in depth! Awesome video!🎉
Thank you very much.
absolutely fantastic video! the Railroad has always been my favorite faction in FO4, but it REALLY needs work. would you mind if I reposted this on tumblr? I frequently talk about fixing FO4 on there
I don't mind at all. If possible, could you also include a link to my channel?
@@RNGTherapy of course! this is the only video of yours I've seen so far. but if all your content is half this good then you need 1000x more subs
On one hand I am all for realism, but on the other hand I don't love the idea of training a generation of gamers on how to build an effective something something organization.
The compromise could be relying on well considered & flushed out internally consistent logic, but not informed by real life.
Yeah, I completely agree. Having every single game based in realism would just suck. Period. But half the reason the Railroad isn't liked as a faction is because they don't have an internally consistent logic. Oppose the Institute but don't help ordinary people, modelled like a spy ring but do almost none of the spy stuff, Desdemona is a prodigy of espionage but tells strangers how to find the HQ.
I chose to base my ideal RR in realism in order to give the faction a new breath of life and have them take a big step away from what was seen in the game.
I'd really love to hear the version of the story where the SS is convinced by Shaun to turn on the Railroad. Or how if the SS doesn't like synths they might be taken in by the brotherhood and how infiltrating and destroying such a faction could take place entirely from an outside perspective with no insider infiltration at the start.
Yeah, I just wanted to focus on getting the RR ending right for the video as it was starting to get fairly long.
Slavery is alive and well in the north. What if the railroad fought all slavery and this station specifically deals with synthetics and are actually the black sheep of the railroad
The Railroad is mainly based out of the Commonwealth so it would be hard to justify them as a "rogue group" that only cares about synths. Interesting concept though.
@@RNGTherapy it would need a total rework of the faction. But considering one of the largest complaints about the faction is they do nothing for normal people who are also suffering. Having the railroad fight all slavery and maybe try and help them flee to an anti slavery south or even across the Mississippi river to the NCR. I think would fix that issue.
It also has the added bonus of a railroad ending implying they turn Boston into an anti slavery city state in the north that the other railroad stations can send fleeing slaves from places like the Pitt and Ronto to
@@Wesley-1776 Absolutely. Would be an excellent twist. It could lead to the RR becoming very aggressive if other wasteland factions and generate other conflicts in other games.
@@RNGTherapy you could also have an internal conflict where an agent from a different station who is visiting the Boston station and saying they are useless. That they barely help anyone escape a place where as far as anyone is concerned there isn’t an active slave market. That the other stations can’t confirm that these “synthetics” are even real since they keep mind wiping them. While the Ronto station helped over 1,000 or more people last year. And you have to prove you are actually freeing slaves as part of a quest to get more resources for the assault on the institute.
@@RNGTherapy could also have a conflict where you have to convince an agent from another station that the Boston station is actually helping people and not robot hippies to get supplies for the assault on the institute from other stations
Wait a minute! You only have 300 subs? Wow man your channel is amazing, new sub man, love the way you reimagined the railroad, hope you can also do something like that for the other factions since all of the factions in FO4 lack depth. Anyway new sub man.
Thanks. Glad you liked it, I'm working on other videos atm but the Minutemen are on the list.
I think the biggest issue with the Railroad is more the changing of the lore for it. Back in the day when I first heard of it in Fallout 3, the idea felt more like that they tried to help Synths who already were sentient by nature to not be taken advantage of by humans. In this case the Railroad and Synths (In Fallout 4 I mean) vs the Institute more feel like the generalized story of "Anti-Slavery" vs "Slavery". Cause thats literally all it ends up being. Just that in this case the slaves are literally being created and being brought to the point of sentience.
But then comes the problem of "If the Railroad didnt exist, the problem wouldnt either." Cause to the Synths they are just part of the collective that is the institute. Born for a purpose and thats it. Similar to children, if they dont learn of any oposite thought, they wont question the reality they are placed in.
So in turn the Railroad itself made its purpose to free entities that didnt cling to freedom like they needed air to breath. They just kinda inserted themself into the matter and said "Hey you have a problem. Dont worry. We will fix it for you." while the Synths who never questioned their reality in the first place just sat there nodding along.
Even the whole Synth uprising feels so out of place. What made them go "Yea lets end our creators!"? The Railroad. What made them pick up weapons? The Railroad. What made them crave freedom? The Railroad. If the Railroad wasnt present, none of these issues would ever have come to pass. Because the Synths are by definition not humans. Especially not those who came after Nick. They are just sentient humanoid machines following a directive. Capable of learning but ultimately if they only learn one thing, that will be the end of it.
- While I think the idea to re-imagine the Railroad is a good one (and I will finish the video once I got some sleep today) I feel like the Railroad is a faction that will forever stay unfixable. At least with what Fallout 4 had done to it. But maybe the video will change my mind. We will see :o
PS: I got a new keyboard. Any typos can be blamed on that.
I agree that the Railroads story is a bit simplistic.
But I disagree that the Railroad created its own problem. If you speak with Liam Binet and Z1-14, you learn that synths become sentient on their own despite how they are raised by the Institute and some have to suppress their emotions/free will so long that it does irreparable psychological damage.
Liam sent many synths to the surface just so they could escape, he had no knowledge of the Railroad or its operations, he just freed the synths that wanted to leave and the Railroad protected them from the SRB.
The Synth uprising doesn't necessarily mean ending all the scientists, Z1-14 specifically says that any unarmed scientists would be allowed to flee through the teleporter unhindered.
Synths being sentient by definition means they deserve free will, particularly given the threat they face if they remain in the Institute.
Small essays aside, thanks for watching.
Dam it, now I’ll never be able to look at the Railroad in the same way again.
There goes any chance at me joining the Railroad unless a mod based on this is put out.
Thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Sorry for ruining the in game faction.
Really good video, enjoyed every second of it!! Could you add chapters to it? I'd love to come back to this one in the future, and being able to navigate the video via timecodes/UA-cam's "chapter" system would be really handy
Also, my own thoughts: I really wish Bethesda had taken more actual inspiration from the real life Underground Railroad. I can understand the hesitation due to wanting to avoid accidentally being offensive by conflating their fictional synths with actual historical slavery, but in its current state it feels worse, by implying that the Underground Railroad was a small group of disorganised people who meant well but were too clumsy to help in any real way. Like I'd even be happy if they just renamed The Railroad and drew from more points of inspiration, both historical and fictional
Thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'll add time codes to it now.
I like this video. But I just wanted to say, the railroad has old man Stockton, a very wealthy caravan owner, to back them financially. It explains the army of mercenaries and how they’re able to arm them, they simply pay for it using their wealthy connections. But again I want to say this video is great
Thanks. Glad you liked the video. Using mercenaries is an interesting idea.
@ I could be wrong, but I think desdemona explains to the Sole survivor that the heavies at bunker hill are mercenaries on the railroads payroll. I’m pretty sure if you fail the mission/sell them out to the institute this is when the dialogue comes up. Thank you so much for the response!
Stanwix safehouse is mentioned in a conversation between Dr Carrington and a female agent where it is said that it has 3 MIA and 6 dead. Both Desdemonana and Glory mention Dayton safehouse saying it was attacked by coursers so needed to be evacuated. In the quest Memory Interrupted, Glory states she got the job from Griswold safehouse. The agents at Railroad HQ mention that a runner is missing from Griswold safehouse. The agents state that Mercer is the first safehouse created since the Switchboard was attacked and that they are not sure whether to trust Augusta and Randolph safehouses as they could have been infiltrated by the Institute. Also, the Railroad have many times more quests than any other faction. If you are going to make videos like this, do your homework and know what you're talking about first.
Yes, someone did point out to me that Stanwix and Dayton get mention in npc dialogue and I did miss Memory Interrupted on my most recent play throughs, meaning I miss it in my discussion/analysis. It was a genuine mistake but I still feel that the other safehouses are under-utilised in the Railroad quest line.
I think the other problem is that the institute shouldnt have used android, but used clones.
I think the synths blur the lines between android and clones because they have mostly biological features. But clones is an excellent idea that I'm thinking about for an institute rewrite.
Is it just me, or does this re-imagining basically make the minutemen redundant?
I don't feel that why. It's not like the RR is going to be going from settlement to settlement asking people to throw up their flag and fight for them. Plus the RR goal is Institute opposition and destruction, so if you've got a raider problem, they probably aren't going to help, but if synths target your settlement they will. They idea of the RR forming a provisional government at the end is in line with historical precedence like what happened in France, Belgium, the Netherlands when they were liberated from the Nazis in WW2.
I wanted the RR to feel more powerful and have a bigger (albeit invisible presence).
Great video. However i think there should be no contact between safehouses to minimize risk of domino effect when one is deeply compromised.
Just info from HQ about their jurisdiction, and in rare ocasions some coordination with larger operations reqireing more resources than one safehouse could provide. But even then you could prevent them from knowing each other by giving them distinct functions i.e. one safehouse is in attack duty, one as rear guard, one dedicated to safety of synths.
Also i think there should be another step between safehouse and HQ. Local HQ with hightened security. Also in contact only with HQ and safehouses under its jurisdiction.
This will create another step for enemies to overcome to uncover central HQ location/personel. Also it will provide personel and location on par with HQ proper that could take over immediatly if HQ is compromised. This will guarantee that Railroad will work non stop, even if HQ is destroyed.
Also, doubling of all key positions in this local HQs will be good idea. In normal operation those people will be deputies on their respective roles. In case when one local HQ or main HQ will be destroyed those deputies will in one way or another take over full duties, so every position in surviving and rebuilt HQs will be manned by experienced personel.
On other note. Consider another inspiration - Polish Resistance, I think it was largest in occupied Europe.
Those are some interesting ideas. I chose to have safehouses contact each other in order to be able to pass critical or time sensitive information to each other.
I disagree with safehouses only doing 1 thing as that would make them overspecialised. Imagine if your attack duty safehouse was compromised and they other safehouses didn't have the knowledge/skills to amount offensive operations. That region would be a prime target for the Institute.
Someone should make a mod to rework the story and factions
There are a few dozen overhaul mods for each of the factions but I didn't want to implement them into this video as they wouldn't necessarily fit with my vision and I didn't want to spend 3 months working out what does which thing and troubleshooting compatibility problems
bro NEEDS to do this for the other factions
Minutemen are next but I've got one video to do before that.
Good video foreigner, great job. I'll probably subscribe to this channel, I'm looking forward to watching a video about the Institute.
Thanks. glad you like the vid
Earned a subscriber.
Thanks, glad you like it.
good video keep up the work
Thanks, will do!
Do you have a discord?
Same as my channel name.
I believe that on a fundamental level they're vilains as they put synth lives before humans and deserve to be wiped out for it.
I don't think they're villains that deserve to wiped out. I think they're just willing to sacrifice too much for too little.
What I like to do in my headcanon that after a minuteman victory, the railroad disband. Part of the group become a political group based around synth rights and another becomes part of a new commonwealth intellegence bureau, similar to Mi5 or the CIA or the fallout equivalent.
I tend to think of the same thing. MM being the army/police and RR being their intelligence gathering group.
The Railroad just doesn't make sense because there isn't enough synths in the Commonwealth to make believable as the foundation for a while faction. There should have been an existing alliance of ghouls and supermutants living and using the subway tunnels, hence "Railroad." Once synths come onto the scene they are accepted into the Railroad as fellow outcasts.
Not only are they not used effectively, but they're not very well hidden at all. The Institute almost certainly knows about all of these places, including the HQ. If the Sole Survivor weren't around, the Institute would have probably just swarmed the HQ with synths or sent a couple Coursers in to deal with the Railroad.
As far as I'm concerned, the two most competent members of the Railroad are Deacon and Tinker Tom. Maybe Carrington to a degree, but who is in charge? Desdemona. I never thought much of her. She doesn't seem to know what she's doing. If she were smart, she'd ally herself with the Minutemen, or use the fact that the Sole Survivor is the father of the leader of the Institute and future director to take over the Institute from within, rather than fighting what is very likely a losing battle*. Deacon might have been more open to that. I truly believe a Railroad run by Deacon would have been a lot more successful.
*(I don't think any Institute defeat is a true defeat. Most of the scientists survive, and I'm about 99% certain the Institute has other facilities hidden away around the Commonwealth and possibly outside of it. There's no way they'd put all their eggs in one basket. Losing their central headquarters might set them back a bit, but it won't stop them. They'll regroup and come back even stronger. If CIT was really all they had, I think they would have put up a much, much bigger fight than they did. I interpret the resistance they offered as something more akin to a delay tactic while they evacuated their most important personnel, experiments, etc. If the enemy knows how to get into their central headquarters, then their central headquarters is no longer truly safe. If they can't crush their enemies quite yet, then their best strategy may well be to just abandon that headquarters, make the enemy think they've won, and then regroup later. After all, the Sole Survivor knows a lot about the Institute no matter what playthrough they choose. If they don't side with the Institute, then they know where the Institute's headquarters are located, and that alone is enough reason to let it be destroyed or even destroy it themselves.)
I think the problem arises from the fact that Desdemona is portrayed as being a prodigy of espionage in the lore but then doesn't act like it in game. Deacons not really the leadership type though, he just doesn't trust himself enough. The institute does put all in eggs in one basket though. Fort Hagen is Kellogg's crash pad and not really a Institute facility and Warwick homestead is just for testing their genetically modified melons. They do put up a fairly substantial fight in my opinion. I think if things were realistic the Institute would win no matter what because they have the ability to teleport.
You should do a reimagining of the Minutemen, since the main game didn’t really expand much on how they operated.🐱
I've already put it on my list of videos to do.
I wonder how this would be implemented as a F4 Mod along with similarly built up Faction Reimagined Mods
Not 100% certain. I am talking with modders atm and looking at some of their work which is similar so its not impossible. As for compatibility with other mods. I don't know
I always hated the memory wipe aspect of the railroad. Maybe if it was just a wipe of railroad operation details it'd make sense but wiping away everything they were is asenine
Yeah. It's definitely one of (if not) their worst aspect.
Are you going to do similar videos for the other factions?
Yes, I'm planning to do the minutemen after the next video I do.
@ Cool just always remember there are militia not a army I really don’t like the Militarized Minutemen mod for that reason
@@thegradyfiles They're definitely still going to be a militia but they're will be some big organisational changes.
For an organization that likes secrecy, they sure don't wear any form of masks.
I know. That's why I featured a few shots of people wearing masks in mask in my "reimagining" section.
I have a question is this before The minutemen fall or after the off Y
The minutemen. Cuz if it's before the fall of The minutemen then I can imagine the minutemen and railroad butting arms and get into conflict. Now you may ask why. Because either a concerned settler or the institute get information to the minutemen about suspicious activity and the minutemen going and destroy it all and the railroad strike back creating conflict.
Now I have a complaint.The ending makes the minutemen feel useless. So unless you have a way of fitting them in or explaining why they allow this that would be nice.
Other than that I find the video pretty nice. I hope you do The minuteman one day.
This scenario is operating under the assumption that the Minutemen have been defeated at Quincy (like they did in game). The railroad would only help settlers if they are being attacked/threatened by the Institute. The ending is designed around what happened in France after WW2 ended where the Free French Forces / FFI formed a provisional government in order to organise elections.
I'm currently working on another video but the Minutemen are on the list.
You didn't fix the worst part of the Railroad, in my opinion: the idiotic way they deal with the synths they rescue. They wipe their memories, basicly killing their entire being, and then send them to live with regular people. It's a tragedy waiting to happen. Synths don't age. People do. Someone will eventually notice that. And the synth will have no idea, so they will not plan for it in advance. It's gonna be a tragedy
Yeah the memory wipes is a bit of weird one. I agree that it kills who they are but it does make it easier for them to hide (to a certain-ish degree) my intention/imagining here was that those synths who do get memory wiped remain in the commonwealth whilst those who refused are smuggled out so they are beyond the reach of the Institute.
Yeah nice ideas. But it's all futile. Their motivation is beyond brainrot. Smuggling voice code controlled killer toasters among nuclear apocalypse survivors...?
Joe Savoldi: 'Might as well go off and join the Deathclaw Preservation Society'.
The Railroad's only positive aspect: Desdemona looks cute.
The most tragic Railroad member: Glory, the brainwashed, heavily confused, homeless and lost girl who never had real friends.
Your video is very well made, though. :)
I disagree. Synths are sentient and have a great capacity for good, like Valentine, Sturges and Magnolia. I don't think Glory is brain washed for wanting to fight for her freedom.
Glad you enjoyed
You've lost me right at the beginning with "makes it a good faction". Not only Railroad is intellectually bankrupt, but morally as well
I disagree personally. I think wanting to free synths makes them morally good as the Gen 3 synths are sentient and have been shown to have free will. Intellectually, I mean, sort of, they're a bit basic and reliant on Tinker Toms genius but that's not unique to the Railroad.
@@RNGTherapy is it a moral thing to forsake your fellow humans to free synths? Is it a moral thing to brainwash said synths?
I would agree with you, that "saving" synths is a morally "good" choice, if it was happening in like modern setting or some cyperpunk setting. Not post apocalyptic one, where humans are barely surviving.
The whole faction and its leading conflict is misplaced. Wrong game wrong time.
@@mylittledota4653 I completely agree. That's why I added helping Humans to their list of priorities in my interpretation.