# Fallout Shelter **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 20, 2015, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-shelter/722985 "2015-06-20T00:22:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2015, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-shelter/722985/1 "2015-06-20T00:22:43Z")
I can not be the only one playing the new Fallout Shelter game they released the other day. I just began about 3 hours ago, but it is quite cute and it does not seem to emphasize “pay to win”, at least not in the early game. I’m glad they realize that the free advertising the game is providing for Fallout 4 is well worth a simple little game like this being given away. I began by vastly underestimating how much water we need. My people kept(keep?) getting Rad poisoning, which apparently comes from them drinking impure water when they are thirsty. Anyway, anyone else playing? How is your shelter going? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2015, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-shelter/722985/2 "2015-06-20T01:26:13Z")
I’m at 48 people. I got lucky early on and got an Elder Lyons dweller from one of the lunchboxes they throw at you out of the gate, and he’s a really excellent character. As soon as you’ve got some stimpack/radaway manufacturing capabilities, start sending folks into the wastelands to explore. Not only do they come back with lots of good loot (and it gets better the longer they’re out), but it’s one of the only things that continues to benefit you while you’re not playing the game. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2015, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-shelter/722985/3 "2015-06-20T01:47:47Z")
I don’t do Apple devices. I wish I could but they are working on an Android app and said it’s a “couple months” out. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2015, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-shelter/722985/4 "2015-06-20T02:26:35Z")
> [@DinoR](#): > > I don’t do Apple devices. I wish I could but they are working on an Android app and said it’s a “couple months” out. +1 I whined the same in the Fallout thread. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2015, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-shelter/722985/5 "2015-06-20T02:49:51Z")
I just don’t know how long I can safely send out people into the Wasteland. I want to attempt to send someone out overnight, but I don’t know if 6-7 hours is ludicrous. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2015, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-shelter/722985/6 "2015-06-20T02:51:08Z")
Also, does sending people out into the Wasteland reduce the resource need on your shelter during the time they are out? ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2015, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-shelter/722985/7 "2015-06-20T04:05:19Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I just don’t know how long I can safely send out people into the Wasteland. I want to attempt to send someone out overnight, but I don’t know if 6-7 hours is ludicrous. Early game with good equipment but no supplies (stimpacks and the other one), I found 2.5 hours was pushing it. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2015, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-shelter/722985/8 "2015-06-20T12:53:04Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > Early game with good equipment but no supplies (stimpacks and the other one), I found 2.5 hours was pushing it. I just sent a wanderer out with 5 stimpacks and radaways. She has a shotgun and some basic armor. I’m testing out 2 hours right now. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2015, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-shelter/722985/9 "2015-06-20T13:34:17Z")
It’s fun, but I wish there was some clear way to pause it. I don’t want a game I have to nursemaid all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2015, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-shelter/722985/10 "2015-06-20T15:22:11Z")
> [@DinoR](#): > > I don’t do Apple devices. I wish I could but they are working on an Android app and said it’s a “couple months” out. What was even more disappointing is all the articles that mentioned the game that first day said it was available om iOS and Android. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2015, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-shelter/722985/11 "2015-06-20T15:32:27Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > It’s fun, but I wish there was some clear way to pause it. I don’t want a game I have to nursemaid all the time. The only real way seems to be to exit to the main menu. Good stuff will still tick (room completions, pregnancies, etc), but nothing bad will happen. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2015, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-shelter/722985/12 "2015-06-20T15:40:49Z")
I think my favorite thing right now is when my clinic gets a radroach infestation. I never get tired of watching my labcoat-clad vault dwellers pull out shotguns and go to town, smiles plastered on their faces. ---
**Author:** ![Unpronounceable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9de0a6/32.png) [@Unpronounceable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unpronounceable)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2015, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-shelter/722985/13 "2015-06-20T16:42:57Z")
You’re pretty much ok as long as you have caps. Send someone out overnight? Yeah, they’ll probably die at some point, but an infusion of caps should get them moving again, then you can recall them for all the guns and outfits they’re carrying. I had a really bad moment with a radroach invasion before I had any guns. There were at least 20 of the buggers, and probably 2/3 of the residents were dead by the end of it. A few hours and a LOT of caps later, and it’s all up and running. The thing I can’t figure out is the “Assign residents to the proper rooms” goals. Dropping a resident with only one high stat into a room that uses that stat should work, right? But it seems completely random. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2015, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-shelter/722985/14 "2015-06-20T18:30:53Z")
I played for about a day. The biggest problem I had was the interface. I’ll admit to being thick-fingered and to playing it on an iPhone screen… but I got so sick of grabbing the wrong person or missing someone altogether. I would have liked an alternative, maybe a menu option - click on person, click on menu, click on their new assignment. I know you can access a list of people from the clipboard in a room, but it doesn’t seem to tell you what they’re already doing, and it doesn’t work for responding to raiders or fires. It made the game more frustrating than fun for me. Hearing some of the stories here about exploring, I guess I just had terrible luck when it came to venturing outside. One guy was out there for two hours and came back with 50 caps. I know the luck stat is supposed to help - does it need to be 10+ or something? One tip I figured out: Rush things a lot. In fact, even if you’re at an 80% fail rate, keep rushing it. First, a failure still gives your dwellers extra experience. Second, the success reward in XP and caps gets higher as the failure rate gets higher. Third, you can make up for just about any shortfall in resources very quickly this way. On a more random note, I admit to a certain perverse enjoyment of having two male residents impregnate every female. Though there was a practical purpose, too; it’s easier to breed a second generation when I’d know that some males are unrelated to everyone. ---
**Author:** ![Unpronounceable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9de0a6/32.png) [@Unpronounceable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unpronounceable)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2015, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-shelter/722985/15 "2015-06-20T19:13:27Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > On a more random note, I admit to a certain perverse enjoyment of having two male residents impregnate every female. Though there was a practical purpose, too; it’s easier to breed a second generation when I’d know that some males are unrelated to everyone. It’s even easier once you have a radio room. Every time you get a new male resident, assign them to a bedroom, then cycle every single female dweller through the room. Huge population growth spurts. Downside: pregnant dwellers won’t fight, so you’ll want to arm the male dwellers first. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2015, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-shelter/722985/16 "2015-06-20T19:36:28Z")
Ugh, I just had the worst doom spiral. When I woke up my resources were low enough that my power started going out. It looks like rooms on the left unpower first, so I ended up having to build and upgrade a second water plant on the right side. Now everybody is irradiated, but I got out of the worst of it. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-shelter/722985/17 "2015-06-21T20:12:29Z")
Note: Ign says your vault dweller can NOT die on returning from their exploring. Good to know. I just sent my highest endurance dweller out into the wild for 7 hours and 30 minutes and they could have stayed out there hours more, but I want their stuff. I’m still pretty new to the game and she is a kind of low level character. The wild has not claimed her even once. Tonight, I’m sending her out when I go to bed and checking her status in the morning. > [@dracoi](#): > > Rush things a lot. In fact, even if you’re at an 80% fail rate, keep rushing it. First, a failure still gives your dwellers extra experience. Second, the success reward in XP and caps gets higher as the failure rate gets higher. Third, you can make up for just about any shortfall in resources very quickly this way. True, but am I right that leveling up does nothing except refill health? ---
**Author:** ![Unpronounceable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9de0a6/32.png) [@Unpronounceable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unpronounceable)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-shelter/722985/18 "2015-06-22T15:52:54Z")
Dwellers levelling also gives a number of caps = their new level. Which adds up, when you’ve got 100 people over level 20. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-shelter/722985/19 "2015-06-22T17:26:23Z")
> [@Unpronounceable](#): > > Dwellers levelling also gives a number of caps = their new level. Which adds up, when you’ve got 100 people over level 20. I have also seen that their health amount increases, making them more resilient to attacks. Otherwise, their stats do not increase. I wish every 10 levels, we could add a stat point. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2015, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-shelter/722985/20 "2015-06-22T17:52:39Z")
Once you build training rooms, you can pretty easily raise stats. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fallout-shelter/722985.md?page=2)