The Island, formerly known as Mount Desert Island, is a location in the wasteland and serves as the setting of the Fallout 4 add-on Far Harbor.
Background[]
Pre-War[]
In the time before the Great War, Mount Desert Island, situated off the coast of the state of Maine was home to Acadia National Park,[1] and also hosted an experimental wind farm on the mountainside intended to serve as a "clean" alternative to nuclear power; the project was set to be shut down and dismantled at the end of October 2077 due to the threat that wind power presented to its nuclear-based parent company.[2][3] The Cliff's Edge Hotel was also used as the surface structure below which Vault 118 was constructed to house its affluent residents who turned themselves into robobrains.
Post-War[]
Following the nuclear apocalypse, the island's landscape was permanently changed. The nuclear fallout resulted in the landscape being perpetually blanketed in a thick, radioactive fog; over 200 years of exposure has resulted in nearly every species on the Island being severely mutated while only a few areas are still habitable by humanity.[4]
By 2287, three major factions inhabit the island: the residents of the port town of Bar Harbor, now called Far Harbor; a local chapter of the Church of the Children of Atom operating out of a pre-War military submarine base called the Nucleus; and Acadia, a refuge inhabited by runaway synths escaping the Institute.
The main conflict sprouts from friction between Far Harbor and the Children of Atom; the Children of Atom welcome and encourage the radioactive Fog to consume the island, believing it to be the will of Atom,[5] which is conversely not in the best interests of the coastal town. As a result of the Fog's encroachment, Far Harbor's inhabitants has literally been pushed to the edge, with the docks being the only habitable area safe from the Fog while also losing friends and family to the radiation or the mutated wildlife encouraged to dwell where the Fog lies. In response to this, several residents of Far Harbor have been hostile toward and even killed many of the cult's missionaries over the years out of a belief they are directly helping the Fog spread, which only encouraged the Children to spread their gospel with increased fervor.[6][7]
Meanwhile, Acadia is the "third wheel" in this conflict, having been established only a short time after the hostilities between Far Harbor and the Children of Atom began.[8] Many of the Harbormen are suspicious of the synth refuge to the south, as with all outsiders, even after Acadia provided Fog condensers to help prevent the town from becoming an irradiated ruin, an act which also angered the Children as they saw it as an affront to Atom. Against their hopes, the synths of Acadia have been roped into the conflict, despite efforts to peacefully reconcile the hatred between Far Harbor and the radioactive zealots to the west.[6][9]
Layout[]
Access to the Island from the Commonwealth is entirely restricted to the use of a boat that is either equipped with automatic guidance systems or manned by an experienced crew, as anything else risks being run up against the jagged rocks or colliding with the numerous shipwrecks surrounding its shores. The player character can find a boat moored at the Nakano residence in the northeast corner of the Commonwealth.
The Island itself is quite large and features over forty-five marked locations. The climate is cold and wet, dark and dreary, accented by rolling pockets of radioactive fog and frequent radioactive thunderstorms in thick wooded areas. These radstorms are especially frequent on the southern end of the Island.
The three faction hubs found on the Island include Far Harbor on the northeast side; Acadia closer inland and to the south of Far Harbor, and the Nucleus, situated in the swamplands on the western side.
The Island also features a few pre-War factories, a pre-War mill called Echo Lake Lumber, two hotels, some National Park campgrounds and buildings, a drive-in movie-theater called Eden Meadows Cinemas, Beaver Creek Lanes bowling alley, an Oceanarium, a ruined church, Waves Crest Orphanage, and a variety of dilapidated pre-War houses, farms, and structures, many of which are now inhabited by gangs of trappers or super mutants, in addition to feral ghouls and various irradiated creatures.
A semi-completed Vault-Tec vault, Vault 118, is located beneath the Cliff's Edge Hotel just north of Acadia. There is also Brooke's Head Lighthouse on the southern coast of the island, which features prominently on the picture promoting the Far Harbor add-on. Towards the center of the island is the wreckage of Horizon Flight 1207, presumed to have crashed there during the War.
There are many ruined watercraft and small islands dotting the coastline of the main island. Some of these are inhabited by creatures, trappers or other factions, while others are uninhabited.
Instead of Nuka-Cola, the residents of the island preferred their own locally produced soda brand known as Vim!, even before the War, and it can still be purchased in Far Harbor and found throughout the island. There remains a Vim! Pop factory on the southern part of the island where the beverage was produced prior to the War, now inhabited by super mutants.
Appearances[]
The Island appears only in the Fallout 4 add-on Far Harbor.
Behind the scenes[]
Many of the roads shown on the in-game map of the Island correspond to the carriage roads on the real Mount Desert Island built by John D. Rockefeller Jr.[Non-game 1]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Far Harbor loading screens: "Once home to a popular national park, the island surrounding Far Harbor is covered with the now dead woods and irradiated creeks that the prewar government originally sought to preserve."
- ↑ Far Harbor loading screens: "Before the Great War, the island surrounding Far Harbor was the site of an experimental wind farm, a 'clean' alternative to nuclear power."
- ↑ Wind farm maintenance terminal entries
- ↑ Far Harbor loading screens: "The island surrounding Far Harbor is covered in a radioactive fog, making all but a few places uninhabitable."
- ↑ Far Harbor loading screens: "The Children of Atom believe the radioactive fog is a gift from Atom, and it will cleanse and purify the island."
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Far Harbor loading screens: "The people of Far Harbor distrust outsiders, but particularly hate the Children of Atom, a cult who worships the radioactive fog that's slowly killing the island."
- ↑ Far Harbor loading screens: "Many Children of Atom missionaries have been exiled or killed by the people of Far Harbor over the years. The bloodshed has only succeeded in making the Children more militant."
- ↑ The Sole Survivor: "If this thing involves the whole island, then you need help. I can be your problem-solver if you let me in."
DiMA: "I suppose there's something to be said about refusing help even when it's offered and you're in need. There's a conflict that's been brewing on this island, shortly after we built Acadia. Between Far Harbor and the Children of Atom."
Chase: "Simply put: They want to kill each other, and each side wants us to help them."
Faraday: "We've tried to stay neutral, but Far Harbor was going to be wiped out by the Fog, so that's when we built the Condensers for them."
DiMA: "And I was friends with the previous leader of the Children of Atom, Confessor Martin. I even gave them their headquarters, the submarine base they named the Nucleus."
Chase: "Which was a mistake, because Martin is gone and the new Confessor, Tektus, is completely insane."
DiMA: "He's been threatening us, to force us to choose a side. I left behind something very important in that submarine base I gave them."
Faraday: "DiMA's earliest memories are stored in the military computer banks in that base. The prewar security systems and Confessor Martin's good will were supposed to keep them safe."
Chase: "But now Tektus is in charge, and he's after DiMA's memories. We don't even know what's in them."
DiMA: "But we do know that I spent nearly a century on this island, alone. Whatever's in there is too dangerous to allow Tektus to get his hands on them."
(DiMA's, Chase's, and Faraday's dialogue) - ↑ The Sole Survivor: "You're keeping Far Harbor safe, is that it?"
DiMA: "Not exactly. They're fiercely independent, but the Fog was starting to choke more and more of the island, so I proposed a trade. We would give them the technology to keep the Fog at bay, in return for them being a lifeline to the outside world. A safe dock and a place to buy supplies. Unfortunately, the Children of Atom view the radioactive fog as a holy portent, and their bloodied history with Far Harbor puts us at odds."
(DiMA's dialogue)
Non-game
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