Fallout 4: Settlements Ideas - Selection of the Best

I have done some variations of build themes throughout Fallout 4, my final raider build will be uploaded tomorrow. I would like to hear some ideas from you guys/girls/wastelanders about possible themes? I was thinking a Sole survivor Mechanist lair settlement, with some handy robots and a few people (Nicky.V etc) and/or also a BOS or Minuteman Trading post at Oberland station realistically trading to Trains, trams and well other traders Feedback would be great thanks.

Settlements Ideas

I’m just going to kind of make a list. Also, do you use mods? Some of the suggestions I’ll give would require a few mods to really sell the idea:

Military

Forward operating base – self-sufficient, combat ready, CO, 2-3 civilians, rest are soldiers
Fire base – lots of artillery
Headquarters – very few guns, a command-type outfit. Everyone in fatigues and suits kinda vibe.
Training Facility – recruits live here with a few CO’s, firing range, obstacle course, exercise, mess hall, etc.

Industry

Food Production – farming, raising livestock, fishing
Manufacturing – guns, armor, vehicles, robots, even super mutants
Drugs – I especially like making a drug production place with a front business in the same location. Come to Sunshine Tidings for the fresh produce at the farmers market, stay because you’re too strung out on jet to move.
An arena, now that you can actually have people fight

Public Services

Hospital or drug-rehab facility (for all those jet addicts from Sunshine. Good lord.)
A Fire Brigade – I mean, lots of things are made of wood, there’s a lot of open flames around, and I don’t see anyone else handling this shit.
School
Jail/execution area/trial area – depending on your level of tyrannical severity
Some kind of charity, like a food bank maybe?
A waste management service. At this point, even someone handing out brooms would help. Jesus, settlers, pick up the litter.
Postal service
revive Red Rocket into a place that sells exclusively fuel, but if it powers something, they’ve got it.

Character Roleplay

A safe place for Shaun to stay, away from all the fighting
A place for Piper to expand her newspaper business
Cait runs a boxing gym / less lethal Combat Zone-style place
Nick expands his detective agency (now named Synth Sleuths)
Curie opens up a prostitution racket, now that she’s experienced life in a body (now named Synth Sloots)
Dogmeat finally gets the palatial mansion you know he’s always deserved.
Strong gets a nice cave at Coastal Cottage and a workshop filled with meat and milk

Faction Roleplay

Did one of the factions you kinda like get killed in the finale? Maybe they’ve restarted their faction with a few loyal survivors in one of your settlements.
Did the faction you love triumph? Then guess what, they’re expanding. Railroad comes above ground. Institute steps up its programs (synth production and infiltration, a ~~brain-washing camp~~ school for young students, recruitment to broaden the ranks of CIT). BoS does what it obviously does – they came with an airship and send you on missions to “procure” supplies – it’s pretty clear. And the Minutemen start to not suck.
If multiple factions survived that you like, maybe there are embassies set up to help iron out the differences and help plan a way forward for the Commonwealth.
Non-player factions can also be used in settlements – raiders, gunners, Triggermen, and Forged, and Rust Devils are pretty similar in that they have an established look.
The Atom Cats open up a new garage
The Pillars of the Community (that cult you shot up at the Charles View Amphitheater) makes a comeback, or a similar cult forms
Speaking of cults, the Children of the Atom expand and start to slowly irradiate new settlers in the settlement. So many radio beacons!

And I’m out of ideas. I’ve actually made some of these and posted albums of them – they should be easily found in my history if you’re interested. Hope it’s helpful.

NOTE: Here’s an older album that has just a few shots from most of my builds (like 8+ are in there, I think). Most of them are pretty wide shots; hopefully some ideas in there will be good enough to steal.

Settlements Ideas Album

More Like Fallout Chore’s High Lights

House on Spectacle Island

Making a cantilevered house is no joke with the limited build height variance – everything is either wall-sized in height or slightly-taller-than-wall-size. I’d like to try this again with Simply Modular Housing or one of Ethreon’s build sets.

The Market at Bunker Hill.

Warwick guard showing me how guns work, apparently.

Fish Pond and Water Purifiers at Warwick. It was a struggle to get things lined up and I was happy with how it turned out.

This sunset though.

The neon lights at night at the Taffington Boathouse of Ill Repute.

PC desk in first Home Plate.

First HP build living area.

Converted it to a workshop for the second build.

A modeling table in Home Plate’s second build.

Third Home Plate build involved me trying to be fancy and have a whale skeleton hanging from the ceiling.

I still kept the workshop theme for the third build though, covered up the metal roof in this build too.

Overview of Dalton Farm Fishing Community.

Some set dressing in the same build.

A capsule clinic at The Castle. The other side is much more decorated, but I still prefer this side. I think it’s the detail in the textures of the bench/gurneys/chair.

Some storage at The Castle.

A cabin built in the wilderness for Shaun, Preston, and MacCready.

Shaun’s room, but Preston sleeps in the small bed to stand guard.

The gym at the BoS Egret’s Finishing School.

Dorm at the same location. The split level design of this dorm was a pain to set up and cover any gaps and all that. I like how it turned out though.

The chemistry and armorsmithing classrooms at the BoS school.

The Swinging Ghoul Lighthouse – a Raider base.

Close up of the bodies; the chains actually look decent, even when not in heavy shadows.

They all just look so friendly.

The NCR gained a foothold at Sunshine Tidings – this is the result.

My favorite part of this shot is the NCR trooper creeping through the meat.

An obstacle course I built at Jamaica Plains. There are two turrets, a deathclaw, mutant hound, and 4 traps. You go through the course and pick up 4 toy soldiers on stools to carry across the finish line. Start on the right, finish on the left.