OVERVIEW
Tibbets is a cold, sterile, steel-walled automated prison facility, run by technology so ancient it dates back to the years before the Great War - nearly two hundred years ago. It is a facility designed to hold and protect some of the world's most dangerous criminals (military and otherwise) before the war, and now the players are trapped deep inside its cell blocks, desperate to get out. They'll have to fight damaged and crazed robots inside and out, as well as deal with the split-personality machine intelligence within the prison, ULYSSES.

Not only is Tibbets where the players start Fallout 3, they will find themselves returning here over the course of the game, slowly unlocking more and more sections of the prison. As a result, the experience point totals and the strength of the opponents the players face will vary depending on when and where they leave or enter the prison.

Tibbets consists of the following maps (note that because the cell blocks are very much the same, it is quite easy to duplicate maps - once you've done one, you can do 15+ others):

Note: Should we do 01000 maps and give them five digits?

01000 Small Cell Block 13, 14, 15 and 13.15 Elevator
01010 Small Security Hub 13.31
01020 Small Cell Block 16, 17, 18 and 16.18 Elevator
01030 Small Cell Block 19, 20, 21 and 19.21 Elevator
01040 Small Cell Block 22, 23, 24 and 22.24 Elevator
01050 Small Cell Block 25, 26, 27 and 25.27 Elevator
01060 Small Cell Block 28, 29, 30 and 28.30 Elevator
01100 Large Service Level: Cafeteria, Kitchen, Loading Area, Contaminated Zones
01200 Med Waste Disposal and Chemical Treatment Areas
01210 Med Medical Treatment Area, Labs, and Genetic Sampling
01300 Large Service and Vehicle Depot Areas
01310 Med Mechanics Bay
01320 Med Robot Maintenance Bay
01330 Med Arsenal
01400 Med Cryogenic Cell Block 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12
01500 Small Cryogenic Cell Block 1, 2, 3
01510 Med Cryogenic Cell Block 0: ULYSSES Computer Core and Defense Tunnels
01600 Med Train: JOHN HENRY
01610 Med Train: THE GENERAL
01620 Med Train: EL LOCO

The goal of this area is initially to escape.

The secondary goal of this area, once you've escaped, is to fight your way back in.

The third goal of this area, once you've fought your way back in, is to make your way to the computer core and confront or destroy ULYSSES. When this occurs, the players will have finished two thirds of the game, and be ready to travel to the next third of the game.

The monsters to be fought in this area are robots in various stages of disrepair (during the initial escape, the players will fight damaged robots - when they return, many of the robots will be repaired and much tougher). Also, the player will find himself interacting with (and no doubt fighting) some of the escaped prisoners as well, who are either hardcore criminals or simply driven mad by confinement.

The playtime in the prison is an estimated 4 to 5 hours, total. It is intended the player spend no more than an hour escaping (for demo purposes), then when they return, they can explore more and more of the prison, slowly unlocking Tibbets's secrets.

AREA BACKGROUND
Tibbets is a maximum security automated prison run by a "divided" computer core, ULYSSES, which itself is a prisoner in the facility, attempting to escape East and return home - just like the players. The irony!

Tibbets prison has its roots in the Tibbets of today. It was always a military prison, holding some of the United States' most dangerous criminals - including the players. Over time, the prison became more advanced, utilizing robotic wardens and utility robots to maintain the structure, especially as the war with China in the 2070s and the annexation of Canada began to drain personnel from the United States. It was designed to hold 636 prisoners at full capacity. At the beginning of Fallout 3, it holds much more than that - but when the dust and ash settles after the catastrophic attack at the prison, there will be enough prisoners running from the shattered prison walls to pose a threat to the wasteland.

It was actually used as primitive isolation studies before the Vaults were established, except the subjects were prisoners, especially CODE'd to see if they could withstand the rigors of isolation for protracted periods of time. This was the time when the recycling systems and water purification systems were tested before using them in the Safehouse Project - any prisoners harmed during the procedure were tended to - not dystopian style.

In 2040, it was commandeered by the United States government in association with Vault-Tec and Poseidon Oil to tie into their Safehouse Project.

The United States Penitentiary (USP), Tibbets is located on 1,583 square acres with 22.8 inside the penitentiary walls. It is an all-male high security level facility committed to carrying out the judgments of the Federal Courts. It provides a safe, secure and humane environment for those offenders committed to its custody. Like all Bureau facilities, Tibbets adheres to a balanced philosophy that recognizes that punishment, deterrence, and incapacitation are all valid purposes of confinement. Opportunities for positive change are provided through work, education, training, and counseling for inmates motivated toward self-improvement.

The USP Tibbets came into existence through an act of Congress in 1895. Inmates from the military prison at Fort Tibbets were used in the early construction and were marched 3 ½ miles to the site daily, returning to the prison at the Fort at night. This continued until February 1903 when the first 418 inmates to occupy the prison site were moved into what now serves as a laundry building. Prisoners and supplies for the prison were handled via a rail line that passed through the prison to unload and load cargo.

In 1906, all federal prisoners from Fort Tibbets were housed in the new institution and the prison at Fort Tibbets was returned to the War Department. A milestone in the new penitentiaries' construction was reached in 1926 with the final placement of the dome overhead the rotunda - from which the penitentiary derives its famous nickname - "The Big Top."

On 5 April 2040, the Secretary of the Army made the decision to build a new Disciplinary Barracks, with a capacity for 456 inmates. A cost ceiling of $363 million in allocated construction dollars was set. The target budget year for funding this project was fiscal year 2041. Construction began in the Fall of 2042, with completion projected for the Fall of the year 2045.

In July 2042, discussions with Vault-Tec to determine space and functional requirements for the new facility. On 6 September 2042, the Combined Arms Center Commander was given a decision brief of the USDB project, and selected one of three design options for further development. He also requested the Corps of Engineers to research an alternate location for the placement of this facility, since the geological evaluation of the site adjacent to the Trustee Unit revealed unsuitable subsurface conditions. Discussions involving the possible movement of the prison and relocation projects were also discussed, leading to the three-rail system that exists today.

The planning process reached the 10 percent stage on 4 Oct 2042; the 35 percent stage on 27 March 2043; 65 percent stage on 19 January 2044; 90 percent stage on 3 May 2045; and 100 percent stage on 15 August 2046. The 100 percent Design Meeting was conducted on 16 October 2046.

In designing this facility we are applying state of the art design and equipment, as it exists today, borrowing heavily from the experiences that the Federal Bureau of Prisons and several state prison systems encountered when designing and building prisons.