Vending Machine (Fallout 3)

Nuka-Cola vending machines are stationary elements of furniture designed to sell Nuka-Cola Corporation's beverages, in Fallout 3.

Overview
The Nuka-Cola Corporation aggressively marketed their flagship product ever since its introduction in 2044. Low-maintenance vending machines were a crucial part of the strategy, and the corporation's generous investment eventually led to a vending machine on almost every street in the United States by 2067, available in a broad variety of types.

Model
A large, imposing machine with a built-in monochrome monitor at the top for playing advertisements. The machine has been modified from the previous model to allow new bottles to slide into the trays, rather than being deposited mechanically and risking injury. As with the previous model, it's coin-operated with coin-changing functionality.

Variant

 * Pristine vending machine

Locations
In Fallout 3 there are 152 of them located throughout the Capital Wasteland, in metro stations and various buildings. The contents of a vending machine are randomly set the first time the player character enters a map cell and remain that way for the rest of the game. In all other respects, it is a standard container and can be used for long term storage throughout the game.

A fully stocked vending machine contains nine bottle caps, three Nuka-Colas and a Nuka-Cola Quantum, but it is an extremely rare occurrence. The minimum a vending machine will contain is a single Nuka-Cola with the rest being random. There are two chances (75%) for an additional Nuka-Cola. There is a chance (10%) for bottle caps (probably 11% for 9) and a chance (10%) for a Nuka-Cola Quantum. The odds (based on the above figures) for a fully stocked machine are 1 in 1,600 or 0.0625%. That works out to 1 fully stocked machine in 10 1/2 complete games (visiting every machine on the map).

Since the contents of a vending machine are set the first time the player enters a map cell, it is possible to "roll" for Quantums (save, enter the cell, check for Quantums, reload). In a map cell containing two vending machines, the odds are 1 in 100 of finding a Quantum in both of them. For three machines, it is 1 in 1,000 and so on.

A pristine Nuka-Cola machine can be bought for the house in Megaton or the suite in Tenpenny Tower from Moira Brown and Lydia Montenegro, respectively. Putting a regular Nuka-Cola into the pristine vending machine converts it into an ice cold Nuka-Cola, improving the health benefits (+20HP/+1RAD vs. +10HP/+2RAD). Once converted, they are no longer available for the Quantum Chemist perk. As with all other vending machines, the one in the house/suite is a regular container and can be used to store anything else in the game.

According to Ronald Laren, Nuka-Cola vending machines have a label on them reading "Warning: If you tamper with this unit you will have to answer to the Nuka-Cola Corporation."