Crashed Anomaly

The Crash Site is what appears to be the remains of an alien craft that has crashed through a house and come to rest in a cliffside. It is noteworthy both for its uniqueness and for the similarly unique loot found in the vicinity. It is also the source of one of the Capital Wasteland's radio signals.

Locating the Site
Located southwest from Vault 92, the crash site is along a cliffside road, in a string of dilapidated houses. Other nearby landmarks include the bridge near the Greener Pastures Disposal Site. The crash site is very close to the point where the high-tension power lines cross the road. When within 5,000 meters of the crash site, a radio signal is located by the Pip Boy. This signal, the Recon Craft Theta Beacon, is an unintelligible language interrupted by bursts of static. The signal is on a loop, like an automated distress beacon. Thanks in large part to its limited range, a player can easily track the signal to its source.

Low-level radiation surrounds the crash site, so as the player draws near, the Geiger counter will begin registering very low activity, typically in the 1 Rad/sec range. Walking through the adjacent house will typically register Geiger counter activity, making the counter the last needed tool to home in on the crash site. Since exploration of the area takes very little time and the rad levels are very low, radiation precautions are not typically necessary.

Typically, anywhere from one to three Radscorpions will be loitering near the crash site.

The Wreck and Its Loot
Roughly twenty meters behind the house lies the wrecked spacecraft. It is badly damaged and leaking an unspecified yet slightly radioactive liquid. No access points are available to the spacecraft's interior. The only point of interest is at the front of the ship, the side opposite the ruined house.

At the front of the vessel, the cockpit dome has shattered. The pilot's body lays outside against a pile of rocks. In the cadaver's hand is a unique weapon, the Alien Blaster. This one-handed pistol is one of Fallout 3's superweapons. Although clearly an energy-based weapon, the Alien Blaster is used with the Small Guns skill, enabling most players to use it effectively. Main article: Alien Blaster

The ammunition for the weapon is also nearby, scattered about the body. Called Alien Power Cells, these small power packs are extremely rare and can only be found in a handful of locations in the world: the crash site, Fort Independence, the Anchorage Memorial, near Vault 106, in a derelict military convoy east of Fort Bannister, and a rare random encounter.

Due to the small size of the cells, they can be difficult to find. The cells are luminous, however, and can be located more easily at night using their glow.

Appearances
The Alien Crash Site appears in Fallout 3. However, crashed alien spacecraft are not new to the Fallout series. A crashed flying saucer appears in Fallout 1 as a special encounter. In the original encounter, it is clear that the spacecraft had been at least known to Earth, as it bore a "Property of Area 51" sticker. Like the Fallout 3 encounter, it was also the source for the unique Alien Blaster.

In Fallout 2, the Alien Blaster can be bought off a random encounter merchant provided the player has a high enough luck stat. No flying saucers or alien crash sites are part of the Fallout 2 game world, however. There is Federation_Crash_Site in Fallout 2.

Influences

 * The skidding crash at the edge of a cliff is reminiscent of the crashed Alien Fighter in the film Independence Day.


 * Close proximity of high tension lines may also be a subtle nod to the Disney film Flight of the Navigator, wherein an alien vessel is disabled and crashes after colliding with a high-tension tower