Fallout

Im fairly certain China nuked first because the US was experimenting with bio weapons through FEV which was seen as a greater existential threat.

Was there ever any doubt about Sugar Bombs?

I had heard about the extruded vault suits before, turns out it's a Van Buren thing, it's specifically mentioned that the extruders in Vault 70 break as part of the experiments.

This might've been the original intention of the isometric games, but Tim Caine hasn't worked on the newer games and the sources that most imply China shot first are explicitly non canon. It's also less likely now given how newer Fallout has leaned into Vault Tech possibly the war.

This isn't to say the change is bad, just different. The older games were made in a post Cold War context, where powerful companies controlling our lives was comparably less relevant, while powerful empires controlling our lives was comparably more relevant. The villainous remnants of the old world are less often government elites, and more often capitalist elites.