Megaton

 is a sprawling settlement south of Springvale and west of Grayditch, set in a crater and surrounded by impenetrable walls. It features a sliding front gate - guarded by a sniper named Stockholm and a Protectron named Deputy Weld - and is one of the two largest civilian settlements in the Capital Wasteland.

Megaton should be the first populated town the player encounters after leaving Vault 101. Its proximity to Vault 101, its distinctive silhouette, and the relatively straight route make it extremely difficult to miss, and it will very likely be the first trace of civilization the Lone Wanderer encounters.

Origin and history
Megaton was built by a large group of people who originally planned to seek shelter in Vault 101 but were denied access. So without shelter, they sought refuge in a large crater made by a large commercial plane crashing into the ground, probably as a result of the electromagnetic pulses generated by a nuclear detonation. They then constructed a place to call home out of pieces of metal/aircraft found nearby at a decimated air station. They were aided by the Children of Atom, who worshiped the undetonated bomb in the crater they were building around.

The plane
The large plane still can be seen in pieces throughout the town. The cockpit and nose cone are built into Craterside Supply apparently housing inaccessible living space to Moira. The main section of the fuselage is used as the armory, and the rear end of the plane is on the roof of Lucas Simms' house providing an extra sniper nest and speculated residence to Stockholm. You can get there via a trap-door in the ceiling of the Sheriff's house. The wings make up the two large "fins" that are symmetrically aligned next to Megaton's main gate, and the two engines are separated. One is used to work the pulley mechanism for the main gates, and the other one is above the path to the common house providing breeze.

First Contact with Vault 101
In February 2241, a expedition party sent by the Overseer of Vault 101 contacted the residents of Megaton. Initially, the residents were cautious with these strangers before they eventually accepted and welcomed them into the settlement. Two Vault residents, Agnes and Lewis, were appointed as Vault ambassadors to Megaton by the expedition leader Anne Palmer. A record of this expedition was archived in the Overseer's terminal.

Boppo's Raid into Megaton
In 2277, a gang of Raiders established a base camp at Springvale Elementary School, with the purpose of mining their way into Vault 101. Some of these gang members, led by Boppo attempted a raid into Megaton. The attack ran afoul of Megaton's defences and her determined defenders. The town's sheriff, Lucas Simms, killed the leader of the raiding party.

Location layout
Megaton is roughly circular, with a central plaza around an atomic bomb resting in a puddle of radioactive water. Starting in the north and proceeding clockwise, the plaza is ringed by The Brass Lantern, Mister Burke's House, Children of Atom, and Megaton Clinic. Pathways lead from the plaza to the gate of Megaton, Craterside Supply and the Common House. A major attraction of the plaza are the sermons of Confessor Cromwell.

Around the central buildings, a ring of buildings is built higher up in the crater. The Water Processing Plant and Moriarty's Saloon can be found here along with most of the inhabitants' private houses.

Destroyed Megaton
If you choose to destroy the town in The Power of the Atom, Megaton will be nothing but rubble.

You can find Moira Brown here; she apparently survives the explosion, as she was out in Springvale, but the massive amounts of radiation from the explosion turned her into a ghoul. You can later find Moira in Underworld. Strangely, Deputy Weld also partially survived, but is buried and only his head is visible. He can speak to some extent, and claims that the bomb in Megaton is "perfectly safe".

The explosion also has an effect on the surrounding area in another way - while it is strangely not very radioactive, the massive amount of dust in the zone kicked up by the nuclear blast more or less permanently fogs the area with a green hue. The closer to the center of Megaton you walk, the more radiation is encountered. Radiation peaks at strangely low value: 23 rad/sec.

The shattered remnants of Megaton itself are normally inaccessible. On the PC, it is possible to use console commands to again access to the the remains of Megaton. Fast travel to Megaton Ruins, then enter the console command, then go into the ground, you should see a drainage grate that says it goes to Megaton. Enter this and you will be taken to the version of Megaton as it was before the detonation of the nuke. An alternative method to do the same thing is to type and that brings you to Megaton also. If you do this then the only NPCs you will encounter are a few settlers near the bomb and a Brahmin.

Also you may find some survivors from megaton in the Wasteland(confirmed on Xbox 360, PS3 and on PC in multiple areas), they are hostile against the PC.

Related quests

 * Following in His Footsteps The central storyline of Fallout 3.
 * The Power of the Atom - Can be started by talking to Lucas Simms or Mr Burke.
 * The Wasteland Survival Guide - Moira Brown, the owner of the local general shop Craterside Supply gives this mission.
 * Treatment - Talk to Walter to start this mini quest.
 * Walter's Scrap Metal
 * Church Donations
 * Leo's Drug Habit
 * Blood Ties - Lucy West will ask you to deliver a letter to her family in Arefu.
 * The Replicated Man - Moira Brown has a holotape and be asked for it or it can be taken.
 * Holy Water - Talk to Scribe Bigsley at the Jefferson Memorial (Broken Steel)

Notable loot

 * Bobblehead - Strength - inside Lucas Simms' House, on a desk in a bedroom on the second floor.
 * Pre-War Book - Four in Billy Creel's house: 3 downstairs on a table in a box, and one more upstairs.
 * Grognak the Barbarian - in Jericho's house.
 * Chinese Army: Special Ops Training Manual - on a shelf in a ruined house (at the top of the hill between Megaton and the Super-Duper Mart, next to a rusty, domed silo).
 * Sniper Rifle - the Hollowed-Out Rock outside the south-southwest edge of Megaton (also contains a Sniper Rifle, ammo, Stealth Boy, Stimpacks and a note from "E" to "S" entitled: "As Requested").
 * Nikola Tesla and You can be found in your Megaton home after buying the Science Theme from Moria.
 * Lying, Congressional Style can be found in your Megaton home (In your room) when you buy the Romance (Love Machine) Theme from Moira

Trivia

 * The power of nuclear weapons are measured in megatons.


 * Megaton is likely based on an "old west" theme. Many elements of this are observed in the town such as a sheriff (with a cowboy hat) and deputy, a saloon, a general store, and many outlaws and brahmin (cattle) ranchers.
 * If you use TCL command on the console which turns off the clipping, and go (air-walk, I guess) to the sniper on the catwalk above the door leading out of Megaton, he will ask, "How the hell did you get up here, anyways?"

Bugs

 * There may be a random spot on the Megaton gate from the inside where blood is shown to be gushing as though you were shot. If you fast travel or travel back to the location, it will still be there. (Confirmed XBox 360)


 * There is a bug where the praying Confessor Cromwell will die unexpectedly. His death does not affect any quest. (confirmed PC)


 * If you bring a follower into Megaton and start jumping from level to level, there is a possibility that they will also jump and fall to their deaths (confirmed XBOX 360).


 * There is also a glitch where if you kick a metal barrel at a NPC, he or she will die unexpectedly and will also hurt you. This doesn't do anything to karma though if you talk to any of the megaton settlers, they will treat you as though you have bad karma. (confirmed xbox 360)


 * Sometimes when entering Megaton for the first time Mr. Burke will be found near the atomic bomb. He floats in the sitting position moving toward the walkway leading to the saloon. Once he passes the post holding up The Brass Lantern's canopy he reverts to the normal walking animation. You can talk to him normally and even receive the Fusion Pulse Charge from him needed for The Power of the Atom. If you immediately give this charge to Simms before Burke gets to the saloon Simms runs over to the saloon, passing Burke. He enters, leaves, and finds Burke, but as soon as he starts the conversation he simply falls down dead. (Confirmed XBox 360)


 * Sometimes all the characters there will have their weapons drawn but act normally. (Confirmed 360)

Megaton Bug Fixes (Patch 1.1)

 * As of the December 15th, 2008 (PS3) and January 13th, 2009 (Xbox 360/PC) releases of the Fallout 3 patch, the issues regarding unexpected NPC disappearances and deaths have been fixed. Upon entering Megaton, if they haven't died previously, you should now be able to find all of your missing NPCs including the biggest offenders, Walter, Billy Creel, Colin Moriarty, and Andy Stahl.

Japanese version
In the Japanese version of Fallout 3, the quest to blow up Megaton has been completely removed due to its "parallels to real historic events" quotes Official Xbox Magazine. They are referring to the atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

Gallery
Мегатонна Megaton Megaton