I've always been under the impression that the Fallout universe was the same as ours, or at least up until the 1950s where it diverged into the realms of science-fiction as portrayed in movies at the time. However, I was reading the Wiki and noticed that it said about divergence as early as the 1600s. So, when does divergence actually happen?

I believe that the Fallout universe was the complete same as ours up until the early 21st century because in New Vegas Caesar talks of Ancient Rome so it of course had to exist. The only evidence I can find that I know of off the top of my head showing that in the 21st century things were different was because of the resource wars and the Great War with China but now I'm confused I don't know if the Great War was in our 1900's or the Fallout universes 21st century because there is a huge time gap . I wish I could of helped you more but I'm sure someone will come along that knows more than I do about this stuff and help you. But this is an extremely dead area of the forums.

Sincerely,

Prizrak

http://fallout.gamepedia.com/Divergence. Any differences earlier than that are irrelevant, it's the point where it went in a completely and utterly different direction that matters. Here's the source quote, from Chris Avellone:


Bethesda has not contradicted it so far, barring minor lapses that bear no relevance to the timeline. Both World Wars still happen, Hitler still shoots himself, and millions still die.

Minor lapses? Has Bethesda actually broke any canon of the old games, cause I haven't noticed it?

I was referring to stuff like Toshiro Kago or the old cowboy dude. They're pre-Divergence, but they're irrelevant. Not unless Kago's abduction triggered changes that warped the very fabric of history beyond all recognition.

As for Bethesda's handling of canon, let's not go there. I'll put it this way: I respect the amount of research they put in and all the little nods to continuity, but it seems they missed the big picture. Like the Enclave making a comeback despite the bulk of their forces and power base going up in smoke. I like most of their original contributions, though, like Ashur (<3).

The Enclave are like the evil villain in cheesy actions movies that will simply never die. Haha.

http://youtu.be/HlUyqxmv2DA?t=2m46s

The Resource Wars took place throughout the 21st century (2000s).