The first time I got to the quantum moon I crashed into one of the Solanum corpses and I thought for a second I actually killed one of the last living Nomai
Funny enough, you can tell Riebeck about how the Nomai died. When you do, he will comment about how it was lucky the Hearthians hadn't evolved to live on land when ghost matter blanketed the solar system.
@@TheLoreExplorer i love talking to them, if you talk to chert in different periods of time you can see their worry for the supernovas theyre spoting around the sky, if you talk to them after the final song kicks in they are aware that the sun is about to go supernova and you can even tell them abt the timeloop in an attempt to comfort them, rlly nice touch tbh
@@TheLoreExplorer When I finished the ship's log, visiting every member of the Outer Wilds Ventures and telling them everything I know was the first thing I did. Especially Gabbro.
3:41 I always questioned the purpose of putting that tunnel in the game. It just leads to the same place as the other path and is way more obscure, and you already have Bramble Island on Giant's Deep to teach you about ghost matter. This just made me realize that path is the only place in the whole solar system where you can go through ghost matter underwater. They hinted at how the Hearthians survived the explosion with all species being aquatic, and if you ever want to test the theory, there's a convenient path right there for you. These developers are goddamn geniuses.
Conversely, that tunnel actively damaged my playthrough, because I found it fairly early on, and it made me adamantly believe I was at some point gonna get some kind of tool to deal with the ghost matter. As a result I stopped bothering to try to find ways around it, until I learned the truth much later.
@@mattandrews2594 I thought so too for a bit, but most patches I saw were clearly designed around finding a way past them, so I figured it wouldn't happen.
@@mattandrews2594 I also thought that there might be some device that lets you go through the ghost thing, but quickly realised that based on how the game functioned, I already had all the tools, maybe I didn’t have the knowledge on how to go through somewhere, but at any point I could
I actually recently made a post on reddit asking how the nomai died while the hearthians lived. I love incredibly subtle details that answer questions like "the ghost matter cave is safe under water". One of the many reasons I love this game.
you can use the river in the expansion to stay safe from ghost matter without using the camera. you can also flood the caves with the ghost matter then swim through and theyre all safe suddenly.
In the new DLC this is made a lot easier to discover as there is an area with ghost matter, but once the dam breaks and is underwater, that area is safe to traverse.
A little addition to Solanum: I believe that even if she (or the player character after a certain ending) wanted to leave the sixth location, she couldn't. Since there is no alive version of herself in any of the other QM locations, entering the tower and turning the light off would just make her end up on the sixth location again and again, never at any of the other ones.
The thing with quantum phenomenon in the game is that, you never know before you observe. The moon could as well be going to locations other than the 6 we know of, but we do not know since we never observed it. And the time in the Eye is detached from the Heartian Solar System time. In the eye, universe exists in all states. That is how I interpret it anyway and it is all fantasy.
@TAP Physicist here - I partially disagree, quantum mechanics in Outer Wilds doesn't work as it does in real life. To match real-world physics, going in the towers would assume each quantum version of yourself goes to the towers at the same time. Instead how Outer Wilds explains it is when you touch a quantum object you move with the quantum object when you don't observe it (the quantum objects physically move location, they don't remain in a superposition). You might argue that Solanum being dead in the other QM locations works because these laws of quantum mechanics are only how they appear to you. However, if you think about it it doesn't actually make sense. How could you explain how Solanum is traversing using the towers from our perspective? Well, she must split into six versions of herself when she enters the tower and turns the lights off, but why would all of those versions reach and die at the south pole? Wouldn't they keep trying to reach the sixth location? Why can't we access any quantum versions of the locations that Solanum left? (We know that moving doesn't duplicate you, both from the Nomai in the cave who got teleported by the rock and our own quantum antics) So Solanum being dead in the other QM locations doesn't actually follow the mechanics of the game, but it does follow the physics of our real world. Hence why I partially disagree.
The saddest part of the game is talking to Chert. He has different dialogue depending on when you talk to him (right away, mid game, late, and right when the explosion music starts to play). He lets you know that he has seen some supernovas in the sky tonight. (you can actually see this as well. If you just watch the stars in the sky slowly and slowly they all start to explode and by the end of the 22 min only a few are left in the sky.) Right before the sun explodes he freaks out saying "hundreds of stars are dying!!! ours is next!! I wish i didn't know! It's my fault for wanting to update the star charts". And he asks you to sit there with him as the universe dies.
They are upset at themselves because they didn’t notice. They were out studying the stars while the universe was dying and it slipped past them. But they don’t blame themselves. At least I don’t think.
@@TheLoreExplorer I do think they have a little line where they get mad at themselves like "Why did I decide to update the star charts, I would have preffered not to know!"
My first loop have ended with the discoveries of our sun death by chert. I was speechless and just stare at the sky, see some last supernova and watch our sun. This game have too much great way of having coincidence with event inside the time loop.
the first time i had talked to them (i think it was my third loop) i only seen this dialogue so i thought this is the only thing he says until more of later loops when i wanted to try and say to him everything i had found
One interesting thing i like is that since the Eye reads to the Nomai as being older than the universe itself, that imples there have been universes before ours, maybe hundreds or thousands. If you combine that with how Solanum's presense allows for life sentient life in our new universe, that means in most, if not all these previous universes, someone somehow makes it to the Eye.
I don't think it's so simple. The universe still has a lot of time left in it while we observe the eye. Just, while at the eye, time doesn't matter. So we see it end instantly, while it likely took millions of years.
After entering the eye the player character falls through a tunnel and then into a strange space full of smoke pillars. If all those pillars are other tunnels seen from the outside, then perhaps there are multiple parallel universes. In this view, the Nomai/Hearthian's universe is one of a long line of universes where some kind of observer made it to the eye and was able to dream a new universe into being. Consequently, there are other universes with eyes of their own. And in some of them, no one ever made it and that line of universes died out.
@@TonkarzOfSolSystem Ive seen youve watched a few of my older videos and commented. Im genuinely curious and dont mean to sound rude. Did you come up with that on your own or did you get it from a video? I believe that to be 100% correct. Thats what I call "the strange chamber". This is exactly where ive claimed is an infinite amount of portals or gateways to every single other universe. The interesting thing about this is we look at them sequential. But to the eye, which is quantum and also exists outside or is unaffected by time, itll likely be in all of these multiple universes while we are there. Lore wise, there may even be a way to jump to one of those like our scout did in the 14.3 billions years later. Maybe not us but the copy(or another quantum possibility) could experience this(dlc??)
@@TheLoreExplorer Lee Smolin is a real life theoretical physicist with some exotic theories including the "fecund universe" hypothesis, which in short posits that black holes are the birthplaces of new universes with slightly different properties from the parent universe. Additionally the "strange chamber" vaguely resembles a simplified version of "brane theory" diagrams. Brane theory posits (among many, many other things) that universes are the result of extra universal structures called branes colliding with each other. (as an aside: In this view, the "strange chamber" would be a space between universes and the eye of the universe would be a hole in reality itself) I know I've seen a few Outer Wilds videos in the past as well, but I don't really remember exactly what was in them. What I posted above was a combination of those two theories, the comments I was reading, probably some input from videos I don't remember since they've undoubtedly influenced my thoughts, and of course my own thoughts.
My thoughts on Solanum changing the end-slide, were that Solanum's presence in the Quantum Glade symbolised the Nomai's academic and scientific culture. Where the Travellers were just singular explorers, seeking answers individually, the Nomai were a people who sought answers collectively. Where the Travellers went to observe, the Nomai actively experimented. Solanum's little puzzle in the Glade depicts a group of Nomai forming a tower with their bodies, that ultimately transforms into a Nomai shuttle that you ride to find Solanum. I think this represents how all science is built on the collective work and knowledge of all those who came before us. That's why the forest in the end-slide is dark. Without the Nomai to represent intellectual institutions within the new universe, the bug-people lack the capacity to pass on the knowledge and wisdom that they gain over the course of their lives. There's no fire, because no bug-person ever discovered fire. Or if they did, they never passed on the knowledge of how to reproduce it. In a sense, the Travellers are not enough for a society. It's not enough to just be individually curious, to enjoy life as it happens. A society needs to concern itself with legacy. With passing on knowledge to future generations. With creating structures, be they material or social, that will outlive individuals. Solanum and the Nomai she represents, are the missing piece of the new universe.
Im not the best at finding meaning in things. But I do agree with what you say and its well put But Solanum being there in the ancient glade at all is due to our memories being projected by the eye. Its not really her. But our memory of her. Which is what I was trying to say. But again, well said friend!
the whole hearthian race knows that there were other life forms more advanced than they were. it really didn't make sense for him to say that but everything else was fine.
To state it simply, solanum and her clan isnt in our memories. we may remember their buildings. their technology. But we dont remember them. And so the eye doesnt have anything to work with.
@@TheLoreExplorer i mean as the player we have seen their language, their religion, their culture and how some of them act with one another. we know them to be real and how they were as a people. i don't know how talking with one of them in the same way we have been understanding them changes anything. i'm also not assuming i know why i'm saying that i don't think you or tbot's reason is the answer
you dont understand how seeing someone can give you memories of them? The eye needs to recreate life capable of making it to the eye again. not the black hole warp cores or the nomai language. So if we get there having never met that life, how could the eye recreate it?
My favourite detail is when you jump into the Quantum Moon version of the Eye, you end up back on the Timber Hearth Quantum Moon, like how when you go through the _actual_ Eye of the Universe, you end up on a quantum version of Timber Heath's museum.
I never really put too much meaning into that but thats actually brilliant! I simply thought it somehow knew and "took us home". But no. Its still just reflecting the eye. Thanks for sharing! I cant wait to beat the dlc and think about this game its entirety!
I'm not sure I understand what you're saying. What is the "Quantum Moon version of the Eye" ?? Wouldn't you rather mean the "Eye version of the Quantum Moon" ? Because otherwise I truely don't understand what you just explained, and it's a shame because it sounds really cool. Edit : Nevermind nevermind I got it. You mean like the projection of the eye on top of Solanum on the moon ? When you jump through it ?
I thought the exact same thing but I didn’t think it was hinting at the museum I thought it was hinting at the ancient glade. The eye changes depending on who enters it so the ancient glade looks like timber hearth to a hearthian.
My interpretation of why the Vessel ended up in Dark Bramble is that the Nomai were rushing to warp to the Hearthian star system as quickly as they could before the Eye's signal disappeared. Hence, they didn't have the eye's exact coordinates, and they instead basically just jumped to a random point in the star system. Since space is big and planets are small, the Nomai assumed they would most likely pop out somewhere in interplanetary space, after which they could re-assess the situation. However, Dark Bramble contains an extremely large warped space inside it, so it turns out unlike most areas of space, in the Hearthian system 99.9% of randomly chosen points are *inside* Dark Bramble, not out in space. So, that's where the Vessel ended up with their warp to a randomly chosen point. Essentially, Dark Bramble's warped interior space acts as a trap for incoming warps that don't have a precisely specified destination (unlike the warp pads used to travel between planets, which always have a well-defined destination point).
My only issue with this is exactly how far away the eye is from dark bramble. Its really far away. If you were trying to target the coordinates of the signal. Bramble , even with extra dimensions, probably shouldnt stretch out that far. Where it would make sense. Is if the signal entered , and then bounced through, bramble.
@@TheLoreExplorer hi, 11 months late sorry, while this is a fair point, they clearly didnt have the eyes exact coordinates (or else they wouldn't need the orbital station and probes), so they most likely just warped closer too within the solar system instead of far out, assuming it'd be there, then they get trapped with dark bramble as a result
My theory is that Dark Bramble "Echoed" the signal from the eye, like it does with our probe and with fieldspar's harmonic or the vessel signal. So when they were locking onto the eye signal, they accidentally warped into the source of the bramble echo.
@@TheLoreExplorer i think you vastly underestimate how big and spacious "space" really is. we're talking distances amounting to years of light travelling constantly. the fact that the nomai managed to warp that close to the solar system in the first place is a testament to their technology.
2:23 -- My impression -- from watching various streams of OW -- is many people don't make the connection that the "Legend of Escall's Clan" the more recent Nomai are discussing refer to the clan in the Hearthians' system. Also, I think it's important to note that the other Nomai clans not only never knew why Escall's Clan vanished, but as far as we know, they never knew that such a thing as the Eye of the Universe ever existed!
They do not know about the Eye, and there are multiple parts of the game that reference this. First off, from the Vessel, you find out that Escall rushed the warp to the Eye, and said they could tell the other clans after they arrived. But of course, they became trapped in Dark Bramble, and the Nomai that escaped couldn't get in contact with the other clans without the Vessel. Second, there is at least one Nomai writing that reveals the signal has disappeared, which is why they built the Ash Twin Project, Sun Station, and the Probe Launcher in the first place. And 3rd, the DLC reveals why the signal from the eye was lost, and why only Escall's clan heard it, and only very briefly.
@@connordervoncyberlifegesen8529 It doesn't seem to match with the icy structure of the Interloper, so part of me wonders if it was an experiment from a species in another solar system that went horribly wrong and they sealed the resulting ghost matter in the comet to get it away from them. That would be beautifully tragic if by accidentally creating ghost matter and sending it away they inadvertently caused the extinction of nearly all life in an entire solar system elsewhere. It's probably better off as a mystery though.
The hinting that a new comet (the interloper) had entered the system too, and me already knowing what that did to the Nomai made it really sad for me as well.
For me, it was the escape pod at Dark Bramble. You find texts that the Nomai are desperate to find the mother ship, but he signals coming from two locations. They end up leaving for the closest signal because they don't have the supplies the reach the other one. Following their trail, you find their bodies floating around a bramble node. They had chased an echo signal and had to wait for a slow death. What got me was that some of them were holding each other. After death and hundreds of thousands of years, they still wouldn't let their partner be alone; whether they were strangers, friends, lovers, or family,
@@kyletimmons2940 It was heartbreaking finding out about the Nomai especially the writings about the Interloper entering the solar system. I didn't think it could get any sadder and then you find those Nomai in the Dark Bramble ):
When I read the wall that talked about the Sun Station not firing I was confused, and then when I saw the device say that the sun was reaching the end of its natural life cycle i actually thought "bullshit! this is bullshit! how the fuck are you gonna tell me i cant DO anything about it after i busted my ass getting here?!"
@@noble300000 for some reason it didn’t really hit me till I talked to chert later, and he freaked out about all the other stars exploding too. That’s when I realized there really wasn’t any stopping it. It was the end everywhere.
6:00 I always figured the canon reason for the backer satellite being in game was that the Voyager made it to the eye of the universe and to the next universe, just like our probe does when you fire it there as well. Canonically then, this would be the universe after humanity.
Imagine if the probe found the eye literally 3 minutes later, and paired with a random hearthian that didn't have access to the only spacecraft on the planet
I chuckled a bit at the irony of that the AshTwin project started to work right before all the universe started to die. A road to all possibilites opened right when all current ones started to die
@@android19willpwn thats why the nomai wanted to end the suns life manually, they actually comment on how they might need to wait for the end of the universe
@@android19willpwnactually, the probe finding the location of the eye is what starts the ash twin project(it's when the statue absorbs your memories). The coincidental supernova is what sends the memories and the coordinates back in time.
@@gumz4183 Incorrect. The Ash Twin Project is what triggers the probe, not the other way around. When the sun goes Nova, the ash twin sends the launch signal back in time, along with the direction the last probe was fired and if it found anything. The probe finding the eye is what activates the statues, yes, but that's just when the Ash Twin brings people into the loop that it's already been running for thousands of iterations.
@@gumz4183 it's insane how you're writing this in the comment section of a video that explicitly mentions how your statement is a common misconception.
One good explanation ive heard for the founder satelite is just that humans were in the last universe and launched it into the eye like you can do to your probe at the end. Even the quantum signal is a very human sounding choir.
YUH, figured that out after 15 mins of exploring and then blasting out of the geyser. I was so confused about why there was no saving until I hit the first loop 😂
@@zeisssyeah, i took the core out and accidentally flew straight into a angler's mouth on the way to the endgame. I was PRAYING the game would let me reset after I saw the credits roll.
I imagine someone accidentally getting this ending on the very first run, and thinking "Well, this game isn't as good as people say, but at least it's short."
@@JM-us3fr I played the dlc and remembered from the first game that ghost matter doesn't work underwater, but I have no clue where I learned it from. Weird!
Silly to say that humans exist in the OW universe, which is clearly not our own, as it follows different laws of physics. Clearly, humans were in the PREVIOUS universe, and humans made it to the Eye then, creating the Hearthian universe ;)
@@derekcapri8899 Even with it being an easter egg, it'd be an interesting perspective if the voyager was like the little scout in The Eye. Sent by a previous, human, observer who wanted to make an effort in ensuring the next universe would have the spark of a new society at the ready.
I think the theory that the Voyager is left over from a past Universe makes sense, that would assume that it reached the Eye of the universe itself in our universe tho. And if you talk to Chert at the end before you finish with the eye, he says “The rules are about to change” cause while some of the laws will stay constant (I imagine quantum mechanics would since the eye operates based on them) with a new universe may come differing Laws of Physics. For instance after the 14.3 Billion years it seems a lot of planets have formed like a stable version of brittle hallow with a sun at its core. This is likely impossible in our Universe or the Nomai/Hearthian Universe, but in a new one it may not be.
Excellent. I had never considered how an observer actually occupies all orbits of the quantum moon simultaneously and that those dead Nomai on the south pole were actually Solanum from the ghost matter explosion, and you share her fate by being in the sixth location during the supernova. Just a really consistent game with incredible Lore to Explore.
Very good theory at 8:01. My previous hypothesis is that the Nomai warp engine has a (normal) error range when teleporting. The strange thing with the solar system is that Dark Bramble stores a huge amount of "compressed" space within it. As a consequence, when the warp engine "samples" a random landing point in the solar system, it had a high probability of landing inside Dark Bramble.
It's sad to think that if you never found Solanum she would still be there on the 6th Location in a timeless purgatory. Makes me so happy we brought her to the Eye with everyone else.
We didn't really bring her though. Just our memories of her. You are actually alone in the glade. As Gabbro will tell you if you talk to him before the end.
@@thomasfrazer8934 What are his exact words because I just finished it a week back and I don't recall him saying anything like that. In fact, the others basically say or imply that they are physically there with you.
@@dave_the_slick8584 you think I remember his exact words when I beat the game three months ago? Go look up TH-cam playthroughs on TH-cam it's on their somewhere if you want exact words.
5:14 -- More specifically, I wrongly assumed for a long time that the third mask was paired with Daz, since they're the only Nomai that was ever paired with a statue, as so I thought Daz must still be alive, and maybe in suspended animation or something. Now it's obvious that Daz is as dead as the others, and the indicators of that is the fact that the statue they paired with in the Workshop closed its eyes again, and one of the masks at the ATP has fallen off the wall.
I think the fallen mask in the ATP isn't necessary Daz's one. It would be weird for masks to fall after their previous linked person died. I believe it just fell bc it's old.
I definitely believed for a while that the Interloper's collision into the sun is what triggers the supernova. I figured it had something to do with any remaining "super-dense" matter. It just seemed so coincidental that it would orbit for so long and then collide only minutes before the event. However, knowing that the sun is already starting its expansion is the key bit of missing information to explain why the sun station and interloper get gobbled up when they do.
Same here as well dude. But the Sun Station confirms that it was able to pinpoint the Sun's death way before the Interloper went into the Sun so it pretty much confirms that the Interloper had no effect on the Sun.
I don't understand when the interloper actually exploded? Clearly it exists during our gameplay, so when does it ready with the Sun and spreads ghost matter everywhere?
@@riebeck1986 It exploded 281,042 years ago. The Interloper at the time had not become part of the star system, the expedition team sent to it were on it while it was approaching the star system. When the Interloper got close enough to the Sun, the increase in temperature and in turn pressure within the core resulted in the ghost matter within being released. The GM explosion enveloped the entire star system, penetrating every surface. That's how the Nomai got killed, and why Poke and Pye refer to it being spherical, because it only ruptured a short while afterwards. Did you not see the core being ruptured? There's a whole log dedicated to it in the ship log. The Interloper itself didn't explode obviously.
Another clue that helps explain that the ghost matter doesn't effect those underwater is in the observatory where next to the Nomai skeleton it says they lived "exclusively on land". I took that as a clue that they all died but the fact Heartians survived was because they were underwater.
"We don't even know intellegent lifeforms in other forms are a possibility, we only know Hearthians." Except for the muliple planets worth of ancient space faring civilisation artefacts.
we only know their culture, but since we haven't seen them in person we don't know much about them, we don't really know what they look like so our assumption on what they looked like meant that in the end of the game, when the assumption got used it made a different creature from when the reality is used
Wanted to mention an extra detail of where to find out who the third mask is, even if I am 3+ years late. When you enter the ATP, the text by the masks tells you where its receiving data from. In it it tells you, "Probe Tracking Module", "Giant's Deep memory statue", and "Timber Hearth memory statue". When I went there I read it and didn't register that fact. I only saw it later watching others play through the game. (cursed to forever want more outer wilds content)
I never even thought about Dark Bramble manipulating the Eye's signal. It never really made sense to me why the Vessel landed there, I always assumed The Eye had done it 'On Purpose' somehow, but that makes so much sense. You're a genius.
The cosmic dread when I realized the Ash Twin project only succeeded literal MINUTES before the end of ALL the universe, you’re literally replaying it over and over and realistically you can’t do anything about it, the game kinda baits you into thinking you can by deactivating Sun Station or TAP, but as a matter of fact, the time loop is happening out of sheer coincidence out of our star naturally dying. Only thing we have left to do is finish what the Nomai started and enter the eye, as the first observant
I was trying to sleep last night and she came and laid down on my pillow next to my head. and laid her head on my shoulder next to mine. it was adorable lol.
6:48 "The Outer Worlds universe" It is a common misconception that this game is named Outer Worlds. In fact, this game is NOT named Outer Worlds. The true name of this game is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, "Outer Wilds"!
It does explicitly say in the ship log that the vessel's transmitters are broken, however the receivers aren't. This, and the fact that the whole 'Universe is dying' thing is happening all the time around you as you play, makes me think that the Nomai you hear of are more modern, last century at the earliest. Also when speaking to chert he can say this: 'You mean to say there are modern Nomai out in other parts of space? And they believe the universe - all of it, the whole thing - is dying? Currently? ...Right now?'
About the sun going supernova being a natural phenomena: I think what really nailed it into my head is all the supernovas happening to other stars far far away. I talked with Chert and they said they noticed more supernovas than normal (their dialogue changes as the cycle goes, btw; they realize the sun will go supernova a few minutes before it does). But I didn't actually look up and see what Chert saw. Only much later I found out you can zoom in at the stars and see them go out, one by one, all of them, until nothing is left. Actually, that made one player think that the Nomai went out to all others and exploded them as well :D They lacked info, though; it's quite clear these Nomai never contacted back with the other Nomai so the natural conclusion that remains is that all the stars in the universe are naturally reaching the end of their life cycles.
That was something that made me originally believe that the interloper was the cause of the nova, as similar matter could be blowing up other stars as well
You can also tell him about the Message on the Vessel (whcih the ship's log and Chert's reaction make explicit are _modern_ nomai, not just "recent" nomai) and watch him have a panic attack over the meaning of their words.
I think he's wrong about the supernova being natural. The sunstation says the sun is aging naturally to destroy the station, which is natural. Old stars become red giants. But stars usually live as red giants for longer than they were yellow, not a few minutes. However, by aging and becoming a red giant, it gobbles up the ghost matter interloper, poisoning the star and triggering a supernova.
Time and size scale are a bit off in outer wilds. The supernova being natural is literally told to us by the eye of the universe. That's one of the only reliable sources of information in the game. Plus, the devs have come out and stated the interloper collision did not cause the supernova.
The realization that the sun station was not the cause of the sun exploding was honestly one the most unsettling and troublesome twists in in any game / movie. We were very clearly set up to latch on to that goal. And even after I realized the sun station was faulty, it was still several loops before I even started coming to terms that stopping the sun exploding might NOT be possible. A very somber and gut wrenching realization, I held out hope that there would be another answer, but you just keep following the steps of inevitability to the end sequence, where you must face what you already know and what you've been denying. I can honestly say it's the most spiritual experience of my life, and one of the most emotional and thought provoking.
My little headcanon is that the human satellite is actually from the universe BEFORE the one we play in the game and that the satellite somehow ended up in the EOTY and moved onto the next universe, the same exact way as the little scout probe did.
I think the nomai messages on the vessel being modern is fairly obvious. For one, it outright says they're modern if you talk to chert about the. It also outright says "My clan's *ancestors* searched for *Escall's clan* [the one that was in our star system] for a long time."
It would have been a neat hint to find archaeological evidence of Nomai who survived the ghost matter explosion on the “far side” of Giant’s Deep, or in a submersible or underwater habitat, since they would have been blocked from the blast by a planet’s-worth of water, but it’s understandable to assume the ghost matter wrapped around the planet in orbit, or they were exposed as the planet rotated.
my thought with the scout always was that maybe because the scout entered the eye it took part in creation of the universe (like how having solanumn and the prisoner participate changes it a bit too) that that causes scout like beings to be naturally occuring, like birds
I thought the third stored memory was Feldspar. He was the only person to go to the center of Giant's Deep, and he didn't explore the only Nomai tech that made it through the current? Afterall, the only statue with open eyes are the ones in the observatory, the one in the statue maker's shop, and the one in the probe tracker. I thought it also explained his reluctance to return due to his realization that the solar system was ending in 22 minutes. But the probe tracker itself being connected makes so much more sense.
This is so helpful, thank you! I really did jump to conclusions and assume it was the nomai's fault for the sun explosion. It's smart that they do make us think it's something we can prevent & the drive to keep wanting to learn and explore, but it's all just inevitable sun death.. which is kind of sad looking back at! but so well done. thanks so much Lore :D
Youre Welcome Lisa! Its impressive game design to flip self drawn conclusions on their head. I think it was risky putting so much emotional weight behind it. cause yeah. its sad to find out we cant stop the boom boom. Its still kind of bitter we cant save our friends. The little cuties we play hide and seek with. So on. But I guess they trust wed be invested in the gamer for other reasons by then.
4:14 Honestly, did anyone actually think that shutting down the ATP would cause the space-time to shatter? It's clear that it's not the case. On the contrary, everything would just move on after it's disabled.
Absolutely. I still have this argument to this day. Frankly there is contradictory stuff in the game. The game shows us that self shows up at the atp if we jump in the back hole. And if we dont jump through again, spacetime shatters. The nomai tell us this is due to cause and effect. Well, weve been sending memories back in time through a black hole. And ending the loop would prevent us from sending our memories back in time again. To many people the noami are right, and there is no real logical distinction between the two scenarios(scout and atps self vs memories). Yet they have different outcomes. If sending things back in time without a cause is the problem, then memories should end spacetime. But I agree with you. Thats just not how that works.
I think the 14.3 billion years later slide is just to show you that you succeeded in creating (or maybe just witnessing the creation of) another universe. After the heat death of your own universe, there’s nothing left. But by traveling to the eye of the universe (something older then the universe itself) you were able to create or witness another Big Bang. It’s likely that this is the purpose of the eye: to create another universe once the previous one dies. That’s why it was repeatedly explained that the eye was older then that particular universe.The slide, then, is just to show you that your efforts were s successful and life in the new universe might be able to explore the way you did, hence there scout flying overhead!
7:43 - 7:48: the nomai vessel didnt teleport inside the dark bramble, it came to our solar system looking for the eye and got captured by the dark bramble. you can see 3 murals describing this in the temporary settlement before the hanging city in brittle hollow
that mural is depicting the escape pods trying to flee dark bramble from already inside dark bramble. 2 got free. 1 got caught by its vines. you can find logs in the vessel describing the warp.
@@TheLoreExplorer I went back to check the murals just to be sure, the ship log states that the murals (from left to right) depict: "A mural of a Nomai vessel encountering a signal" "A mural of Dark Bramble ensaring the Nomai vessel" "A mural of three escape pods evacuating the Nomai vessel" with the 2nd mural that depicts the vessel becoming ensnared showing what looks to be the outside view of Dark Bramble which would seem to suggest that rather than warping inside Dark Bramble they warped somewhere within the solar system and as you stated in the video more than likely followed a duplicate signal of the eye from the Dark Bramble only to then be ensnared.
@@hdzk3336 yes. two escape. one gets caught. go to the vessel. go up the ramps. and read escalls emergency call for help. the vessel only had enough juice for one jump. they jumped and as soon as they arrived the vessel began "fusing with the vines"
That was never under question. What’s under question is “did they teleport directly into vines, or did the vines attack”. You could say the dlc proves they just warped. But then it’s also proves that the nomai use white holes to teleport and black holes to exit from. It’s not to be taken literally.
I'm glad we share the same opinion on why the Vessel ended up inside Dark Bramble. It's the only thing that makes sense and some people (and Nomai's) assumption that the Eye is sentient and deliberately put this all into motion goes against the nihilistic message of the game. The truth the game presents is that the universe doesn't care about us, but our lives still matter. They matter immensely in fact.
To be fair, aside from being Older than the Universe and that quantum uncertainty is warped around it, there isn't much about the eye itself that's explicitly known.
I didn't get that message at all, i got the message that life is about the journey not the destination, and when you reach your destination, it's just the beginning of someone else's journey, even if you're not there to see it, so look forward to what comes next and to never dwell on the past or the end of things.
Yep. I agree with most of this. I'll add I think it also has messages about how the future builds on the past. And how each step on that climb to the future mattered and shapes us as a species.
@@TheLoreExplorer i can see that strongly through the nomai now i think about that, although they were more set on the destination than the journey, many Nomai were very important and their individual journeys led to the progression of their species and goals, up until their untimely end of course.
My personal theory on Solunum is that the Eye is sapient, though not sentient, and wanted a way to communicate with us as it knew the universe was dying. So it probed our mind, trying to find something it could use to communicate with us - it wanted something impactful but still feasible, so that we would open up to it, rather than be afraid. So instead of choosing a Hearthian (which would have confused and scared us), it chose to project the image of a Nomai, something we've been tracking and following, and finally, we found one, in an impossible place where the impossible might not be so impossible. The Eye would have probed Solunum's mind as well, when she traveled to the 6th Location, so it had an imprint of her ready to go. This ties in with the Quantum Glade at the end of the game. Talking to the fellow travelers, they talk about how they're not really there, and about the sun going supernova. Its a very cute and touching 'reunion' but there's no way they could actually be there. They're very much dead, swallowed by the supernova. But the Eye can feel you hurting, and still needs you to perform a task - so it creates imprints from your memories of your traveling partners, to give you the strength to carry on to the final ending. Which FINALLY makes sense if you never met Solunum on the Quantum Moon in the 6th Location. The Eye had no reason to communicate with you at that point (because you never went there), so never needed to make a Solunum for you to talk to, therefore you don't have a connection to her for the final Glade scene.
My view about the scout in the ending scene is that it is a new scout created by the new alien species. It feels like this helps to show that they are following in the same footsteps as the hearthians, and will go on the same adventure to explore the eye of the universe, letting the cycle continue.
what if its not our scout because the new species reversed engineered our actual scout, and are using it to scout the planet ???? probably not correct but kind of funny imo
I think the bugs show up when Solanum is present at the eye simply because the extra perspective creates a universe that is just that much richer in possibilities than it might otherwise be.
@@vVAstrAVv The Solanum in the eye isn't any less real than the one on the quantum moon because the other travelers appear in the eye due to a collapse in unlimited quantum uncertainty. They aren't the same travelers we've met previously, but they aren't merely memories or images either - in fact they are as real as the new universe which is dreamed into being in the same way.
@@TonkarzOfSolSystem she is less real. She speaks hearthian at the eye. Which she admits on the moon she cant do. The people on the eye arent there thanks to some collapse Theyre there because you need them to be. The entire eye sequence is the eye reflecting your characters coping with the futility of their actions and imminent death.
I thought I was just being dumb but turns out many misconceptions I had were purposely thrown in there. Specially the reason for the sun exploding, I only truly understood what happened days later. There's still one thing I don't understand, if the loop has been going on for a while, why does the statue pair with us at the time it did? Other Harthians discovered it and took it to the museum, other people were near it since then. What is the event that makes it pair with us, the player, specifically? EDIT: nevermind I understand now, the statue only got activated when the probe finally discovered the coordinates to the eye, we just happened to be the closest being near the statue at the time it happened.
There's a few things in the story that lead to these misconceptions. First, its a game so you expect to have a victory condition. You learn about the experiments and think the Nomai are responsible for the supernova. Even when you learn their project failed, I still did a butterfly effect in my head and though they reported only small ripples, I thought they still accelerated the process. Even when speaking to Chert and learning the other stars were exploding, I tried for a bit to rationalize how the Nomai were able to run their experiments on other stars as well. You eventually accept what you suspected the whole time but weren't willing to say it out loud. But before that, you also find a dark bramble seed on Hearth, and even when you reach Feldspar, he says you gotta figure out how to deal with that. So there is not just stopping the sun from exploding, you have to stop the seed or your planet is still doomed. I haven't seen any videos mention this, but that being in the game adds just enough to keep you hopeful that there is a solution to these problems. Of course it doesn't come up much in the story, so we all forget about it at the end, but it was more than just a way to introduce you to the weird space rules of the Bramble. It planted expectations of success in your mind. Finally, the story says the statues activate in the case of success or failure. As you read the story, its quite clear to you that the Nomai did not succeed, so you start forming your interpretation of events around some catastrophic failure starting the loop. There is the one Nomai comment of 'we could wait for a natural supernova' to clue you in. Otherwise, this game gives you so many reasons to believe the complete opposite of what really has happened at so many points in this story.
The lore in this game was so hard for me to piece together I felt pretty lost most of the time. I totally missed all the cool details you described here. Really cool the creators thought through all that. Thanks for explaining!
I think my favorite detail in the game is that you can look at quantum things forever (or, well, 22 minutes) without them ever moving because the hearthians have 4 eyes so they can just blink with 2 at a time and never lose sight of them like its a really small thing and they never even give you a reason to consider this but it makes total sense once you think about it
Even with two eyes, humans could lock a quantum object in place by simply winking. At least until something distracting or exhaustion kicks in, which would also apply to a Hearthian.
The real most common misconception is that the probe tracking module was the part that accidentally sank to the core of Giants Deep while the Nomai were constructing the orbit probe cannon. It was a different small segment you can find in the core along with the tracking module. Most people I watched playing never found it.
You should update this based on the Echoes of the Eye DLC, it explains fully why the Nomai were able to find the signal of the Eye, then they ended up warping into Dark Bramble, then couldn't find the Eye despite being literally on its doorstep.
It's kind of odd that the devs intended for the information at the sun station to be a revelation, but most players will take quite a while to get there and at some point notice that the rest of the universe is also dying, either because they looked at the stars themselves or because Chert pointed it out. But maybe they expected it to unfold this way for only a minority of players and were fine with that
I think this is more like how the Sunless City, Old Settlement, _and_ the Hanging city all have a mural to the Eye of the Universe describing the same thing. There's a fair amount of redundant sources of information throughout the game, allowing you to put 2x2 together with different sources of 2.
It's "a" revelation not "the" revelation, everything in Outer wilds has at least 3 clues pointing at it. It's an old trick from TTRPG mysteries. Of coerce for any players that missed the other clues it'll be "the" revelation.
Good explanations. But the anglerfish lives in minimal atmosphere, not water. The museum lore says so. So how did they survive the big interloper explosion of ghost matter? And the trees, plants, brambles, cacti, etc? Like for example, the trees the Nomai uses for oxygen are not living in water, yet still alive. ?? Also, how did a jellyfish get stuck on Giant's Deep, and an anglerfish within Ember Twin?
Also, the ghost matter went everywhere in the solar system in an instant. Didn't matter the shielding (except the interloper shell), the rocks, even completely enclosed places. So it should have also been there even where there was water; it's just not toxic when you "touch" water at the same time. And as plants, Hearthians, and Nomai are composed of some water, the water/air explanation is full of holes. Anyone got a better one? Maybe the ghost matter only interact with high level processes, just like the Eye does. In other words, maybe the more advance and complex you are the more you are affected. This leaves the plants and low lifeforms barely affected or not at all. That would in effect kill the Nomai and the Owldeer, but leaves tadpoles, jellyfish, and anglerfish alive. I would even go to posit that the Nomai and the Owldeer were killed at the same time by the ghost matter.
Kind of like an "invisible sky" civilization researching the past. But if you could not receive light from other stars, you wouldn't know they existed.
One thing to clear up, when the player wakes up, the lore says that the time loop has been happening over 9 million times, but if you get the launch codes and get out of the observatory without meeting the statue, the actual time loop doesn’t start for that game until you meet the statue. You can fly around forever but there’s a lot of events that dont start, certain things don’t spawn.
@@TheLoreExplorer Oh yes I completely agree. I said it silly. The lore is the lore, I was just saying you can technically hop out of the observatory and a force skip the statue, but that of course is not lore, just breaking the game. I learned that from your channel I think anyway. I freakin love your vibe. Definitely a fan for good. Lookin forward to more games you do that I’m interested in.
Considering you have to glitch to get past it without triggering the statue, it's obviously not intended as anything other than a way to not have the game end before you ever reach the beginning.
@@potatosordfighter666 that’s basically what I said it my comment, I even went further explaining it in a second comment. Thanks for being present.. I was explaining a technicality when the author was talking about the time loop in the video. I was stating that technically you can skip it but it is breaking the game, not lore……….
Thankfully the many word walls in the ATP have copies of the info you might've missed at places like the Sun Station. So I guess people should figure that one out. Well done on this summary. I think you hit all the main points of confusion and explained them well.
Lore Explorer. I had seen your videos floating around before finishing OW, but after just finishing the game, I quickly rushed to several of your videos to catch up and recap everything that happened with the Nomai. It was difficult to mentally track everything chronologically in the game, so I really appreciate the timeline you made. I felt like meeting Solanum was really the climax of the game. Since the game is so rich with Nomai history and literature, you really grow a stronger connection with the Nomai than even your Hearthian friends. Because of this, meeting a live Nomai was the light of this game for me. I do notice that you make reference to Solanum not really existing, or being somewhat of a ghost? I do agree with Solanum in that she questions whether she is really alive, since 5 out of 6 of her versions are in fact dead. However, there's a piece of evidence I'd like to refer you to that I'm sure you've read several times, and that is "Observing a quantum object; observing an image of a quantum object. These are the same." The fact that Solanum has a current consciousness and can reflect on the fact that she may be dead, proves very much to me that she in fact not just an image, but fully alive and existent, only on the 6th location obviously. The whole observing an object and an image of the object was pretty mind blowing for me. It really deals a lot in absolutes (even though the nature of actual quantum mechanics and the Eye from OW is shrouded by extreme changeability). It enters into a God-like realm of infinite knowledge and possibility that constantly dodges our understanding of how existence works, but exists in its own perfect way by its own perfect standards. Alright, I think I'm going to go back to Earth for a while and let my brain rest.
Solanum and images dont really go together. like, going to see her bones isnt viewing an image of her bones. Just as going to see her "alive" body isnt going to see an image of her. So, the way ive been looking at it is those are 6 quantum possibilities. In 5 of which solanum died on the moons. In 1 of which, she survived. but you have to remember 200,000 years has past since she arrived there. Shed like be dead due to aging. instead of seeing that, the moon shows us a memory of her. just as it shows us a memory of the past of the planet it orbits. now, lets say for all intents and purposes, that projected memory IS solanum. Then shes alive right?. Well, she doesn't experience time. She cant move off of the 6th location. and the only other person she will ever see is you. Not exactly dead. not exactly alive. But most related(imo) to ghosts.
@@TheLoreExplorer But since the Eye has quantum effects on its peripheral surroundings, it makes normal objects into quantum objects, so Solanum essentially is a quantum object. I see that you're taking the quote from the Nomai to mean that a quantum image (from your scouts camera) is the same as a quantum object. I'm not convinced that's necessarily true and I think considering Nomai technology is far more advanced than the Hearthians, their idea of an image could mean an in-life projection. It just seems like the Nomai would not be making a big deal about captured photographs on a screen, even though this rule does also apply to that as well. But still, if the moon only showed a memory of her, and not her in the current state 200,000 years later, why does she mention that she might be dead? In that case, is a memory able to project with current thought patterns about her current state (thinking she may be dead). It seems like if the moon remembered anything about her, it wouldn't be much since she wasn't there for long (judging by her proximity to the space ship). Anyways, it's interesting conversation.
@@Hayrange what do you mean she wasnt there for long? shes been there for 200 thousand years. and the second we enter the qm we entangle with it so we become one. this is how we gets the solanums fate ending. And0 Im not saying an image of an object and an object are the same thing. Im saying this is a quantum being, not a projection or image. shes been there the whole time, whether we go to view her or not. but shes only been kept alive by the qm/proximity to the eye. and time hasnt progressed for her. and so on. and so i call her a memory. a ghost of her former self. im not really sure how you can debate with that. or maybe im misunderstanding something
@@TheLoreExplorer Well what I meant was she wasn't there for long in the other 5 locations. She died very quickly after leaving the ship from the Interlopers ghost matter rupture, correct? So when she landed on the QM, does that instantly entangle her in all 6 locations? For that matter, is her ship visible on the 6th location or only her? But maybe I'm missing something, because how did the 6th location shrine get on the QM? I never noticed her ship there, but maybe I didn't spin around enough to notice it. I'm kind of new to all this. I'm realizing pretty quick that I'm probably not understanding everything going on. I'm not trying to prove you wrong or anything. Just trying to use the very limited understanding I have of all this to pick your brain a little. I just started the game 3 weeks ago and beat it last night, and I've literally read nothing about quantum physics or anything related.
Yes, it entangles her instantly(and us). And yes, her ship is on the qm for us to find. The game is quite complicated. I have a whole set of videos explaining the game and the nuances of it, hopefully they can help you out. first id suggest the quantum moons ghostly companion.
well, they are just adding something to the solar system. Itll still be in the same time frame of the 22 minute loop. If anything, itll probably explain the last universe and what happened.
7:45 Whoa! I never considered that a signal traveling through Dark Bramble would end up delayed and distorted due to bouncing between the seeds. This would give the appearance that the signal is fading, rather than being cut off by the stranger, increasing the urgency the Nomai felt, and leading them to warp to the point it was last heard. Bravo for this conclusion!
I finished the game before getting to the sun station, which sadly made the ending less impactful for me. I had heard there were multiple endings, so I assumed that there was another good ending in which you turn off the sun station and prevent the sun from exploding. So it was a bit underwhelming when I got to the sun station afterwards and there wasn't that much there, and I realised I'd already seen everything. I just wish I'd gone there first, as it would have made the ending so much more impactful! It's really cool that the story telling is so non-linear that things like that can happen though - I can't think of any other game in which you can reach the end without having realised the ultimate goal of the game/story!
I'm just impressed you had the guts to take out the core before you were 100% sure you saw everything lol. I got the You Died ending before connecting with the statue--and it kicks you to the credits and then makes you start a new game. So I was operating under the assumption that if I got a loop-breaking death, it really would be final lol.
@@Romanticoutlaw fortunately the game keeps the save from the start of your last loop, I finished the game and was still able to load the save after the credits and go hunting for missed achievements. Imagine the frustration if you got eaten by an anglerfish while carrying the advanced warp core and had to start the game all over including the tutorial and then have it happen again.
There’s a pretty cool potential Easter egg at the Eye of The Universe, where, if you just stay on the eye’s surface and keep looking up at the sky (using the trees in the lightning storm to refuel oxygen), there’ll be a few stars in the sky that stay a few minutes longer than the rest That may be the Nomai at their final home But those stars, like the rest, go supernova, and afterwards the sky is black, apart from the small green light from Echoes of The Eye spoilers
The moment when I realized the connection between ghost matter and the disappearance of the nomai was like an explosion in my brain. Here are these two mysteries that we are heavily invested in, and suddenly, they are fused together, and they explain eachother. It gave me this idea that what actually happens when we have a eureka moment is a kind of fusion that releases mental energy that feels like a brief surge of euphoria. As if our brains are like networks of ideas, and when we learn how two ideas are connected, and if that removes uncertainty and answers questions, there is a surplus of energy.
For the last one at 10:00 it doesn’t make sense because they still know the nomai existed from outside our universe, so they know there is other life out there. Even without Solanum.
I wouldn't say the end of the universe was natural. Natural end of the universe wouldn't have the stars dying quite as quickly but that was for gameplay reasons. That said, I vaguely remember the incoming logs on the vessel mentioning it as being weird but I don't quite remember and can't find the logs written anywhere online sadly. That part about not meeting her meaning we don't know intelligent lifeforms in other forms is possible is a bit of a stretch lol. We find their remains and their ruins and we know we didn't make them so it's not like the pc would just no know aliens exist.
Just finished the game and came back to watch this video. I saw you in the ending credits and remembered that I visited this channel on TH-cam! (I have VA mod installed). And this is you! The community around this game is wonderful! Thanks for VA. I'm glad I played the game with this mod, it really enhanced the experience.
Thank you for the great content, it’s very obvious that you have put a lot of thought into this game and I appreciate you taking the time to share your findings.
Excellent video, Lore Explorer! This is the first of your videos I’ve seen, and even after 100% completing the archaeologist achievement/the journal, I still gained new insight by watching. Also lovely to have such a diverse group of perspectives from other players in the comments, so much to be gained.
@@TheLoreExplorer I think it’s both, Outer Wilds has a very linear story with a clear beginning and clear ending, that’s what they meant by specific. (Linear is def not the right word, what I meant is it’s a very well defined story) But yeah with the new Universe and new life, they def have the foundation to make a sequel with the universe resetting
@@vincentdeluca4485 Yeah. The story of the characters in the game is over. Its well told. But the Universe of the game is wide open and can be expanded upon almost indefinitely. They drew a lot of the locations and mechanics of the game from actual science. And that has no end of potential for interesting settings/events. It just probably shouldnt be the hearthians again.
@@TheLoreExplorer real question is, does the bramble persist? Seeing as it's kinda extradinensional id love to see it again as a kind of eternal force and maybe have it explained
Thank you for taking the time to assemble the lore and story for this game. I personally found the game way to aggravating to play or get anything done in due to what I found to be really finicky controls and mechanics and being able to come to your channel to find out all the stuff I wasn't able to discover is cool
Do I address that in this video? I suppose some people have had problems with controls. But I feel like that's either due to people using keyboards or mistaking gravity and physics effects to be "unresponsive". If i dont address it in this video I do in another! But either way. Glad you enjoy the channel bud!
@@TheLoreExplorer On PS4 I had issues with jetpack acceleration lagging. I don't mean overcoming interia, more the jetpack would not activate for a number of frames after hitting button. Maybe it's my control.
If you hit your jetpack button itll fire immediately. It will however take a second or too to lift you or propel you. Things at rest like to stay at rest. On a more hardware aspect of it, all games take a few frames for the input to be reflected on screen. its called input lag and can get bad and noticeable in some conditions. Either way it was a honor to allow you to experience the game!
The only one of these misconceptions that I had was the idea that there was a third person who was connected to the Ash Twin project. I feel kinda dumb that I never realized until reading a comment about that. I think the reason that people fall into the misconception is because you assume that the Ash Twin project doesn't need a mask and that the masks only connect with living entities. I never knew about the human life Easter eggs or what happens if you finish the game without meeting Solanum.
didn't even realize that all those bodies were solanum but it makes so much sense. does that mean there are multiple versions of you when you go but you'll never see the m because the possibility of you observing yourself is impossible... but thats exactly what happened inside the eye. so maybe its possible just not likely
Its hard to say. I think most people would say no. But Im not most people. And I believe differen things than most people. So, to me, yes. Thats what it means. This is how we are able to teleport between the moons. We arent really teleporting. We are becoming one of the versions of ourself that was already there. I think this game is perfect for an "outer wilds iceburg" video. Cause boy can we dig almost just as deep as we would for our own universe
@@TheLoreExplorer Awesome thanks for the reply. feels good to talk and speculate about this game and thats a great observation on you. most things I got first time around because I took my time to find everything but still missed a few details
When i took a picture of living-ish solanum then looked at her skeleton, it wouldnt change what skeleton position was. Though im not 100% sure of this, since i didnt do a 360, just looked to the right until she was out of view, and i know the view “hitbox” is a bit weird for her quantum skeleton
Strange. How do you take a picture of the living solanum and go to another quantam moon? Wouldn't the photo prevent you from going to a different version?
After the ending of echoes of the eye, it’s possible the rules of this universe are different to ours in other ways: stars don’t go supernova that fast, either the eye sped things up or the rules of the universe give stars a shorter lifespan
There is a room underneath the warp core in the Vessel that describes how Escall denied an order to send out a transmission about finding the Eye's signal before attempting to warp to the Eye because "we need to act quick or the signal might be lost". One of the other Nomai on the Vessel points out how they probably won't have the power to make it all the way there, to which Escall responds by basically saying "close enough is fine, we'll just recharge and warp again". I think the Vessel just ends up in Dark Bramble out of sheer bad luck from not having enough power to make it further into the solar system.
Naw. They said. "we are ready to warp. But once we do we will be low on power." how the vessel works its all or nothing. It may have engines to help move it along. But they mostly travel in one jump/warp.
One thing to clarify about the probe launcher. It was the original time looper. So on other words, the sun went supernova 9 million times and we died 9 million times in the Perspective of the probe launcher. Remember, the ATP was also designed to work in case finding the eye failed.
Im pretty sure I mention this. Its not the probe launcher in the loop. Its the probe tracking module specifically. Which is in the center of giants deep. Im pretty sure I go down there and show the statues eyes open and everything. And the failsafe would be alerting the nomai that something went wrong(who would also be connected since loop one, just not aware of it, like we are").
@@TheLoreExplorer if you did then I apologize for redundancy. The Probe Tracking Module was always one of the most confusing ones for me because I never understood how that loop took place 9 million times even when it broke and on a 22 minute cycle. Until I realized theirs no telling how far that loop actually goes back for.
technically the probe tracking module breaks off of the cannon at the beginning of every loop when the cannon explodes. So its not like it broke before the loop began. Its still a fully in tact and functional thing as far as the atp is concerned as well. And we actually do know how long the loop has been running. If you go to the probe tracking module on your very first loop itll tell you what loop youre in. Or maybe Im just misunderstanding. Sorry if thats the case.
8:10 -- WARNING: "ECHOES OF THE EYE" DLC SPOILERS * * * * * I recognize that this video was made prior to the DLC coming out, so I'll add that that my headcanon that it was a terrible twist of misfortune that the other Owlks captured the Prisoner and reinstated the block on the Eye's signal just as the Vessel was warping to the Eye. (I'm assuming the Vessel was programmed to follow the signal, not a set of coordinates, or else the Nomai would have had the coords all along and wouldn't need the ATP.) And so, since the signal stopped mid-warp, the Vessel's navigation systems got thrown off course, and Bang! They wound up in Dark Bramble.
This is actually a really decent explanation. The Nomai didnt really find it as the prisoner turned it off though. Its just the prisoner only turned it off for such a short time. So when the signal finally reach the Nomai(many many years later) the signal wont last long. Like i said though, I totally thought it was because the signal dupe phenom(which the dlc essentially disproves unless there is an art mistake). And a lot of people tend to think it has something to do with the dimensional mess that is bramble. But honestly i love(and never even really thought about) the idea that they followed a signal that stopped calling out before they warped. And the computer just did its best to calculate where it came from. Or just was forced into an unsure warp.
huh, I never really notice the Interlooper disappear. I enjoyed playing this game so much though, I just never noticed the Interlooper getting consumed by the sun. At first yeah i see it but then I just forget about it
There’s a lot that goes easily missed! I never noticed (minor spoiler ahead) that the magma levels on Hollow’s Lantern gradually fall throughout each loop as it all gets ejected into space (and into the surface of Brittle Hollow) by the volcanoes.
Ohhhhhh, the loop started the second the sun went super nova. so that whole day happened 9 million and a half time ish before it actually found the eye of the universe. AND THEN the statues activated! okkkaaaaaaayyyyy that makes so much more sense
The first time I got to the quantum moon I crashed into one of the Solanum corpses and I thought for a second I actually killed one of the last living Nomai
That must've been quite an "oh fck" moment😂😂
Shit I’m laughing hard
LMAO that’s awesome
Everyone crashes into the corpse. You always land on the south pole, and the body is always on the south pole.
@@Dorraj yeah but usually you crash near it not ontop of it, or just not crash in general
Funny enough, you can tell Riebeck about how the Nomai died. When you do, he will comment about how it was lucky the Hearthians hadn't evolved to live on land when ghost matter blanketed the solar system.
REALLY???? I never knew that...grrr. the hearthian text seems to be the bane of me. I have a hard time remember to go chat with them all.
@@TheLoreExplorer grr
@@TheLoreExplorer you're not alone lol
@@TheLoreExplorer i love talking to them, if you talk to chert in different periods of time you can see their worry for the supernovas theyre spoting around the sky, if you talk to them after the final song kicks in they are aware that the sun is about to go supernova and you can even tell them abt the timeloop in an attempt to comfort them, rlly nice touch tbh
@@TheLoreExplorer When I finished the ship's log, visiting every member of the Outer Wilds Ventures and telling them everything I know was the first thing I did. Especially Gabbro.
3:41 I always questioned the purpose of putting that tunnel in the game. It just leads to the same place as the other path and is way more obscure, and you already have Bramble Island on Giant's Deep to teach you about ghost matter. This just made me realize that path is the only place in the whole solar system where you can go through ghost matter underwater. They hinted at how the Hearthians survived the explosion with all species being aquatic, and if you ever want to test the theory, there's a convenient path right there for you. These developers are goddamn geniuses.
Conversely, that tunnel actively damaged my playthrough, because I found it fairly early on, and it made me adamantly believe I was at some point gonna get some kind of tool to deal with the ghost matter. As a result I stopped bothering to try to find ways around it, until I learned the truth much later.
@@mattandrews2594 I thought so too for a bit, but most patches I saw were clearly designed around finding a way past them, so I figured it wouldn't happen.
In the DLC, there's a house that can only be explored after it is flooded because it clears the ghost matter that was there.
@@math9172 Yeah I realized that later on. Still before the DLC this was the only way.
@@mattandrews2594 I also thought that there might be some device that lets you go through the ghost thing, but quickly realised that based on how the game functioned, I already had all the tools, maybe I didn’t have the knowledge on how to go through somewhere, but at any point I could
I actually recently made a post on reddit asking how the nomai died while the hearthians lived. I love incredibly subtle details that answer questions like "the ghost matter cave is safe under water". One of the many reasons I love this game.
This is incredible attention to detail from the devs; so much love went into this game.
you can use the river in the expansion to stay safe from ghost matter without using the camera. you can also flood the caves with the ghost matter then swim through and theyre all safe suddenly.
Discovery requires experimentation.
In the new DLC this is made a lot easier to discover as there is an area with ghost matter, but once the dam breaks and is underwater, that area is safe to traverse.
A little addition to Solanum: I believe that even if she (or the player character after a certain ending) wanted to leave the sixth location, she couldn't. Since there is no alive version of herself in any of the other QM locations, entering the tower and turning the light off would just make her end up on the sixth location again and again, never at any of the other ones.
The thing with quantum phenomenon in the game is that, you never know before you observe. The moon could as well be going to locations other than the 6 we know of, but we do not know since we never observed it. And the time in the Eye is detached from the Heartian Solar System time. In the eye, universe exists in all states. That is how I interpret it anyway and it is all fantasy.
Well if we were observing her while we warped she might
However after the sun goes supernova, all of the dead versions of her are destroyed, leaving only the living one and freeing her, right?
@TAP Physicist here - I partially disagree, quantum mechanics in Outer Wilds doesn't work as it does in real life. To match real-world physics, going in the towers would assume each quantum version of yourself goes to the towers at the same time. Instead how Outer Wilds explains it is when you touch a quantum object you move with the quantum object when you don't observe it (the quantum objects physically move location, they don't remain in a superposition).
You might argue that Solanum being dead in the other QM locations works because these laws of quantum mechanics are only how they appear to you. However, if you think about it it doesn't actually make sense. How could you explain how Solanum is traversing using the towers from our perspective? Well, she must split into six versions of herself when she enters the tower and turns the lights off, but why would all of those versions reach and die at the south pole? Wouldn't they keep trying to reach the sixth location? Why can't we access any quantum versions of the locations that Solanum left? (We know that moving doesn't duplicate you, both from the Nomai in the cave who got teleported by the rock and our own quantum antics)
So Solanum being dead in the other QM locations doesn't actually follow the mechanics of the game, but it does follow the physics of our real world. Hence why I partially disagree.
@@tap5263 You can't observe her if the lights are off, which is essential to warp
The saddest part of the game is talking to Chert. He has different dialogue depending on when you talk to him (right away, mid game, late, and right when the explosion music starts to play).
He lets you know that he has seen some supernovas in the sky tonight. (you can actually see this as well. If you just watch the stars in the sky slowly and slowly they all start to explode and by the end of the 22 min only a few are left in the sky.)
Right before the sun explodes he freaks out saying "hundreds of stars are dying!!! ours is next!! I wish i didn't know! It's my fault for wanting to update the star charts". And he asks you to sit there with him as the universe dies.
They are upset at themselves because they didn’t notice. They were out studying the stars while the universe was dying and it slipped past them. But they don’t blame themselves. At least I don’t think.
@@TheLoreExplorer I do think they have a little line where they get mad at themselves like "Why did I decide to update the star charts, I would have preffered not to know!"
My first loop have ended with the discoveries of our sun death by chert. I was speechless and just stare at the sky, see some last supernova and watch our sun. This game have too much great way of having coincidence with event inside the time loop.
I just beat the game, I was wondering if any of the NPCs would react to the supernova.
the first time i had talked to them (i think it was my third loop) i only seen this dialogue
so i thought this is the only thing he says until more of later loops when i wanted to try and say to him everything i had found
One interesting thing i like is that since the Eye reads to the Nomai as being older than the universe itself, that imples there have been universes before ours, maybe hundreds or thousands. If you combine that with how Solanum's presense allows for life sentient life in our new universe, that means in most, if not all these previous universes, someone somehow makes it to the Eye.
Yeah reaching and observing the eye is the endgame of the universe lol, once someone makes it that far it hits the reset button
I don't think it's so simple. The universe still has a lot of time left in it while we observe the eye. Just, while at the eye, time doesn't matter. So we see it end instantly, while it likely took millions of years.
After entering the eye the player character falls through a tunnel and then into a strange space full of smoke pillars. If all those pillars are other tunnels seen from the outside, then perhaps there are multiple parallel universes. In this view, the Nomai/Hearthian's universe is one of a long line of universes where some kind of observer made it to the eye and was able to dream a new universe into being. Consequently, there are other universes with eyes of their own. And in some of them, no one ever made it and that line of universes died out.
@@TonkarzOfSolSystem Ive seen youve watched a few of my older videos and commented. Im genuinely curious and dont mean to sound rude. Did you come up with that on your own or did you get it from a video? I believe that to be 100% correct. Thats what I call "the strange chamber". This is exactly where ive claimed is an infinite amount of portals or gateways to every single other universe. The interesting thing about this is we look at them sequential. But to the eye, which is quantum and also exists outside or is unaffected by time, itll likely be in all of these multiple universes while we are there. Lore wise, there may even be a way to jump to one of those like our scout did in the 14.3 billions years later. Maybe not us but the copy(or another quantum possibility) could experience this(dlc??)
@@TheLoreExplorer Lee Smolin is a real life theoretical physicist with some exotic theories including the "fecund universe" hypothesis, which in short posits that black holes are the birthplaces of new universes with slightly different properties from the parent universe.
Additionally the "strange chamber" vaguely resembles a simplified version of "brane theory" diagrams. Brane theory posits (among many, many other things) that universes are the result of extra universal structures called branes colliding with each other. (as an aside: In this view, the "strange chamber" would be a space between universes and the eye of the universe would be a hole in reality itself)
I know I've seen a few Outer Wilds videos in the past as well, but I don't really remember exactly what was in them.
What I posted above was a combination of those two theories, the comments I was reading, probably some input from videos I don't remember since they've undoubtedly influenced my thoughts, and of course my own thoughts.
My thoughts on Solanum changing the end-slide, were that Solanum's presence in the Quantum Glade symbolised the Nomai's academic and scientific culture. Where the Travellers were just singular explorers, seeking answers individually, the Nomai were a people who sought answers collectively. Where the Travellers went to observe, the Nomai actively experimented.
Solanum's little puzzle in the Glade depicts a group of Nomai forming a tower with their bodies, that ultimately transforms into a Nomai shuttle that you ride to find Solanum. I think this represents how all science is built on the collective work and knowledge of all those who came before us. That's why the forest in the end-slide is dark. Without the Nomai to represent intellectual institutions within the new universe, the bug-people lack the capacity to pass on the knowledge and wisdom that they gain over the course of their lives. There's no fire, because no bug-person ever discovered fire. Or if they did, they never passed on the knowledge of how to reproduce it.
In a sense, the Travellers are not enough for a society. It's not enough to just be individually curious, to enjoy life as it happens. A society needs to concern itself with legacy. With passing on knowledge to future generations. With creating structures, be they material or social, that will outlive individuals. Solanum and the Nomai she represents, are the missing piece of the new universe.
Im not the best at finding meaning in things. But I do agree with what you say and its well put But Solanum being there in the ancient glade at all is due to our memories being projected by the eye. Its not really her. But our memory of her. Which is what I was trying to say. But again, well said friend!
the whole hearthian race knows that there were other life forms more advanced than they were. it really didn't make sense for him to say that but everything else was fine.
To state it simply, solanum and her clan isnt in our memories. we may remember their buildings. their technology. But we dont remember them. And so the eye doesnt have anything to work with.
@@TheLoreExplorer i mean as the player we have seen their language, their religion, their culture and how some of them act with one another. we know them to be real and how they were as a people. i don't know how talking with one of them in the same way we have been understanding them changes anything. i'm also not assuming i know why i'm saying that i don't think you or tbot's reason is the answer
you dont understand how seeing someone can give you memories of them? The eye needs to recreate life capable of making it to the eye again. not the black hole warp cores or the nomai language. So if we get there having never met that life, how could the eye recreate it?
My favourite detail is when you jump into the Quantum Moon version of the Eye, you end up back on the Timber Hearth Quantum Moon, like how when you go through the _actual_ Eye of the Universe, you end up on a quantum version of Timber Heath's museum.
I never really put too much meaning into that but thats actually brilliant! I simply thought it somehow knew and "took us home". But no. Its still just reflecting the eye. Thanks for sharing! I cant wait to beat the dlc and think about this game its entirety!
I'm not sure I understand what you're saying.
What is the "Quantum Moon version of the Eye" ?? Wouldn't you rather mean the "Eye version of the Quantum Moon" ?
Because otherwise I truely don't understand what you just explained, and it's a shame because it sounds really cool.
Edit : Nevermind nevermind I got it. You mean like the projection of the eye on top of Solanum on the moon ? When you jump through it ?
@@math9172I think so
I thought the exact same thing but I didn’t think it was hinting at the museum I thought it was hinting at the ancient glade. The eye changes depending on who enters it so the ancient glade looks like timber hearth to a hearthian.
My interpretation of why the Vessel ended up in Dark Bramble is that the Nomai were rushing to warp to the Hearthian star system as quickly as they could before the Eye's signal disappeared. Hence, they didn't have the eye's exact coordinates, and they instead basically just jumped to a random point in the star system. Since space is big and planets are small, the Nomai assumed they would most likely pop out somewhere in interplanetary space, after which they could re-assess the situation. However, Dark Bramble contains an extremely large warped space inside it, so it turns out unlike most areas of space, in the Hearthian system 99.9% of randomly chosen points are *inside* Dark Bramble, not out in space. So, that's where the Vessel ended up with their warp to a randomly chosen point. Essentially, Dark Bramble's warped interior space acts as a trap for incoming warps that don't have a precisely specified destination (unlike the warp pads used to travel between planets, which always have a well-defined destination point).
My only issue with this is exactly how far away the eye is from dark bramble. Its really far away. If you were trying to target the coordinates of the signal. Bramble , even with extra dimensions, probably shouldnt stretch out that far. Where it would make sense. Is if the signal entered , and then bounced through, bramble.
@@TheLoreExplorer hi, 11 months late sorry, while this is a fair point, they clearly didnt have the eyes exact coordinates (or else they wouldn't need the orbital station and probes), so they most likely just warped closer too within the solar system instead of far out, assuming it'd be there, then they get trapped with dark bramble as a result
My theory is that Dark Bramble "Echoed" the signal from the eye, like it does with our probe and with fieldspar's harmonic or the vessel signal. So when they were locking onto the eye signal, they accidentally warped into the source of the bramble echo.
@@leolen8029 But the Dark Bramble echoes signals only when they are inside it, isn't it?
@@TheLoreExplorer i think you vastly underestimate how big and spacious "space" really is. we're talking distances amounting to years of light travelling constantly. the fact that the nomai managed to warp that close to the solar system in the first place is a testament to their technology.
My theory on the backer satellite is that it's from a previous universe just like our scout in the new universe.
Matpat is searching for you
Voyager 1
If the universe reset more than 200000000000000000 times there is 1% chance humans apeared
@@marsaans That's not how probabilities work
@@marsaans no
2:23 -- My impression -- from watching various streams of OW -- is many people don't make the connection that the "Legend of Escall's Clan" the more recent Nomai are discussing refer to the clan in the Hearthians' system. Also, I think it's important to note that the other Nomai clans not only never knew why Escall's Clan vanished, but as far as we know, they never knew that such a thing as the Eye of the Universe ever existed!
They do not know about the Eye, and there are multiple parts of the game that reference this.
First off, from the Vessel, you find out that Escall rushed the warp to the Eye, and said they could tell the other clans after they arrived. But of course, they became trapped in Dark Bramble, and the Nomai that escaped couldn't get in contact with the other clans without the Vessel.
Second, there is at least one Nomai writing that reveals the signal has disappeared, which is why they built the Ash Twin Project, Sun Station, and the Probe Launcher in the first place.
And 3rd, the DLC reveals why the signal from the eye was lost, and why only Escall's clan heard it, and only very briefly.
Ghost matter being harmless when in water makes a lot of sense since it was all originally frozen in a comet.
,and the fact that the hearthians didn't die from it fie to them being an aquatic species at the time.
That's actually completely irrelevant and unrelated 😅
I wonder where the comet even came from
@@sourdew3415 you a dev?
@@connordervoncyberlifegesen8529 It doesn't seem to match with the icy structure of the Interloper, so part of me wonders if it was an experiment from a species in another solar system that went horribly wrong and they sealed the resulting ghost matter in the comet to get it away from them. That would be beautifully tragic if by accidentally creating ghost matter and sending it away they inadvertently caused the extinction of nearly all life in an entire solar system elsewhere. It's probably better off as a mystery though.
Honestly, going into that sun station was the saddest moment in the game for me.
The hinting that a new comet (the interloper) had entered the system too, and me already knowing what that did to the Nomai made it really sad for me as well.
For me, it was the escape pod at Dark Bramble. You find texts that the Nomai are desperate to find the mother ship, but he signals coming from two locations. They end up leaving for the closest signal because they don't have the supplies the reach the other one. Following their trail, you find their bodies floating around a bramble node. They had chased an echo signal and had to wait for a slow death. What got me was that some of them were holding each other. After death and hundreds of thousands of years, they still wouldn't let their partner be alone; whether they were strangers, friends, lovers, or family,
@@kyletimmons2940 It was heartbreaking finding out about the Nomai especially the writings about the Interloper entering the solar system. I didn't think it could get any sadder and then you find those Nomai in the Dark Bramble ):
When I read the wall that talked about the Sun Station not firing I was confused, and then when I saw the device say that the sun was reaching the end of its natural life cycle i actually thought "bullshit! this is bullshit! how the fuck are you gonna tell me i cant DO anything about it after i busted my ass getting here?!"
@@noble300000 for some reason it didn’t really hit me till I talked to chert later, and he freaked out about all the other stars exploding too. That’s when I realized there really wasn’t any stopping it. It was the end everywhere.
6:00 I always figured the canon reason for the backer satellite being in game was that the Voyager made it to the eye of the universe and to the next universe, just like our probe does when you fire it there as well. Canonically then, this would be the universe after humanity.
Imagine if the probe found the eye literally 3 minutes later, and paired with a random hearthian that didn't have access to the only spacecraft on the planet
I chuckled a bit at the irony of that the AshTwin project started to work right before all the universe started to die.
A road to all possibilites opened right when all current ones started to die
the two are connected, though. The universe dying is what causes the sun to go nova, and the sun going nova is what starts the Ash Twin Project
@@android19willpwn thats why the nomai wanted to end the suns life manually, they actually comment on how they might need to wait for the end of the universe
@@android19willpwnactually, the probe finding the location of the eye is what starts the ash twin project(it's when the statue absorbs your memories). The coincidental supernova is what sends the memories and the coordinates back in time.
@@gumz4183 Incorrect. The Ash Twin Project is what triggers the probe, not the other way around. When the sun goes Nova, the ash twin sends the launch signal back in time, along with the direction the last probe was fired and if it found anything. The probe finding the eye is what activates the statues, yes, but that's just when the Ash Twin brings people into the loop that it's already been running for thousands of iterations.
@@gumz4183 it's insane how you're writing this in the comment section of a video that explicitly mentions how your statement is a common misconception.
One good explanation ive heard for the founder satelite is just that humans were in the last universe and launched it into the eye like you can do to your probe at the end.
Even the quantum signal is a very human sounding choir.
Makes you wonder if the bug people in the new Universe will hear the travellers' music as the signal of quantum fluctuations.
If you die before you link with your statue in the game, the credits roll.
If you take the warp core our of the ash project and die, the credits roll too. I thought this was the end first :D
YUH, figured that out after 15 mins of exploring and then blasting out of the geyser. I was so confused about why there was no saving until I hit the first loop 😂
@@zeisssyeah, i took the core out and accidentally flew straight into a angler's mouth on the way to the endgame. I was PRAYING the game would let me reset after I saw the credits roll.
I imagine someone accidentally getting this ending on the very first run, and thinking "Well, this game isn't as good as people say, but at least it's short."
3:54 HOLY SMOKES you can go through ghost matters under water? The devs really thought of everything for this game!
Wow...even that had a use lol
That is astoundingly forward thinking of them.
I didn't realize that until I played the DLC. XD
@@floreroafloreril1458 Same!
@@JM-us3fr I played the dlc and remembered from the first game that ghost matter doesn't work underwater, but I have no clue where I learned it from. Weird!
Silly to say that humans exist in the OW universe, which is clearly not our own, as it follows different laws of physics. Clearly, humans were in the PREVIOUS universe, and humans made it to the Eye then, creating the Hearthian universe ;)
But why can you find Voyager around the edge of the solar system then
Never mind i watched the video LOL
@@derekcapri8899 Even with it being an easter egg, it'd be an interesting perspective if the voyager was like the little scout in The Eye. Sent by a previous, human, observer who wanted to make an effort in ensuring the next universe would have the spark of a new society at the ready.
I think the theory that the Voyager is left over from a past Universe makes sense, that would assume that it reached the Eye of the universe itself in our universe tho.
And if you talk to Chert at the end before you finish with the eye, he says “The rules are about to change” cause while some of the laws will stay constant (I imagine quantum mechanics would since the eye operates based on them) with a new universe may come differing Laws of Physics. For instance after the 14.3 Billion years it seems a lot of planets have formed like a stable version of brittle hallow with a sun at its core. This is likely impossible in our Universe or the Nomai/Hearthian Universe, but in a new one it may not be.
In a way you're technically right, considering OW was created by a human development team...
Excellent. I had never considered how an observer actually occupies all orbits of the quantum moon simultaneously and that those dead Nomai on the south pole were actually Solanum from the ghost matter explosion, and you share her fate by being in the sixth location during the supernova. Just a really consistent game with incredible Lore to Explore.
Very good theory at 8:01. My previous hypothesis is that the Nomai warp engine has a (normal) error range when teleporting. The strange thing with the solar system is that Dark Bramble stores a huge amount of "compressed" space within it. As a consequence, when the warp engine "samples" a random landing point in the solar system, it had a high probability of landing inside Dark Bramble.
@@something63421 are you referring to some dlc content? I haven't played.
I think they are confused cause you used the word strange. That has something to do with the dlc.
Spoiler warning for the dlc!
I’m pretty sure it’s because the owl species in the dlc turned it off as they were warping to the eye
It's sad to think that if you never found Solanum she would still be there on the 6th Location in a timeless purgatory. Makes me so happy we brought her to the Eye with everyone else.
We didn't really bring her though. Just our memories of her. You are actually alone in the glade. As Gabbro will tell you if you talk to him before the end.
The main menu explains that you are alone ;)
@@thomasfrazer8934 What are his exact words because I just finished it a week back and I don't recall him saying anything like that. In fact, the others basically say or imply that they are physically there with you.
@@dave_the_slick8584 you think I remember his exact words when I beat the game three months ago? Go look up TH-cam playthroughs on TH-cam it's on their somewhere if you want exact words.
you did, but I didn't >:) hope she enjoys limbo
5:14 -- More specifically, I wrongly assumed for a long time that the third mask was paired with Daz, since they're the only Nomai that was ever paired with a statue, as so I thought Daz must still be alive, and maybe in suspended animation or something. Now it's obvious that Daz is as dead as the others, and the indicators of that is the fact that the statue they paired with in the Workshop closed its eyes again, and one of the masks at the ATP has fallen off the wall.
I think the fallen mask in the ATP isn't necessary Daz's one. It would be weird for masks to fall after their previous linked person died.
I believe it just fell bc it's old.
I definitely believed for a while that the Interloper's collision into the sun is what triggers the supernova. I figured it had something to do with any remaining "super-dense" matter. It just seemed so coincidental that it would orbit for so long and then collide only minutes before the event. However, knowing that the sun is already starting its expansion is the key bit of missing information to explain why the sun station and interloper get gobbled up when they do.
Same here as well dude. But the Sun Station confirms that it was able to pinpoint the Sun's death way before the Interloper went into the Sun so it pretty much confirms that the Interloper had no effect on the Sun.
i agree! I had thought this too!
I don't understand when the interloper actually exploded?
Clearly it exists during our gameplay, so when does it ready with the Sun and spreads ghost matter everywhere?
@@riebeck1986 It exploded 281,042 years ago. The Interloper at the time had not become part of the star system, the expedition team sent to it were on it while it was approaching the star system. When the Interloper got close enough to the Sun, the increase in temperature and in turn pressure within the core resulted in the ghost matter within being released. The GM explosion enveloped the entire star system, penetrating every surface. That's how the Nomai got killed, and why Poke and Pye refer to it being spherical, because it only ruptured a short while afterwards.
Did you not see the core being ruptured? There's a whole log dedicated to it in the ship log. The Interloper itself didn't explode obviously.
@@BlappetureCO yeah, I confused myself with the exploded thing
Another clue that helps explain that the ghost matter doesn't effect those underwater is in the observatory where next to the Nomai skeleton it says they lived "exclusively on land". I took that as a clue that they all died but the fact Heartians survived was because they were underwater.
"We don't even know intellegent lifeforms in other forms are a possibility, we only know Hearthians."
Except for the muliple planets worth of ancient space faring civilisation artefacts.
we only know their culture, but since we haven't seen them in person we don't know much about them, we don't really know what they look like so our assumption on what they looked like meant that in the end of the game, when the assumption got used it made a different creature from when the reality is used
@@tyeevans4790 they have orange skin
Wanted to mention an extra detail of where to find out who the third mask is, even if I am 3+ years late.
When you enter the ATP, the text by the masks tells you where its receiving data from. In it it tells you, "Probe Tracking Module", "Giant's Deep memory statue", and "Timber Hearth memory statue". When I went there I read it and didn't register that fact. I only saw it later watching others play through the game. (cursed to forever want more outer wilds content)
I never even thought about Dark Bramble manipulating the Eye's signal. It never really made sense to me why the Vessel landed there, I always assumed The Eye had done it 'On Purpose' somehow, but that makes so much sense. You're a genius.
Well thats very kind of you to say! Glad I could help!
The cosmic dread when I realized the Ash Twin project only succeeded literal MINUTES before the end of ALL the universe, you’re literally replaying it over and over and realistically you can’t do anything about it, the game kinda baits you into thinking you can by deactivating Sun Station or TAP, but as a matter of fact, the time loop is happening out of sheer coincidence out of our star naturally dying.
Only thing we have left to do is finish what the Nomai started and enter the eye, as the first observant
Solanum is so cute (the kitten one)
I was trying to sleep last night and she came and laid down on my pillow next to my head. and laid her head on my shoulder next to mine. it was adorable lol.
6:48 "The Outer Worlds universe"
It is a common misconception that this game is named Outer Worlds. In fact, this game is NOT named Outer Worlds. The true name of this game is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, "Outer Wilds"!
It does explicitly say in the ship log that the vessel's transmitters are broken, however the receivers aren't. This, and the fact that the whole 'Universe is dying' thing is happening all the time around you as you play, makes me think that the Nomai you hear of are more modern, last century at the earliest. Also when speaking to chert he can say this: 'You mean to say there are modern Nomai out in other parts of space? And they believe the universe - all of it, the whole thing - is dying? Currently? ...Right now?'
About the sun going supernova being a natural phenomena: I think what really nailed it into my head is all the supernovas happening to other stars far far away. I talked with Chert and they said they noticed more supernovas than normal (their dialogue changes as the cycle goes, btw; they realize the sun will go supernova a few minutes before it does). But I didn't actually look up and see what Chert saw. Only much later I found out you can zoom in at the stars and see them go out, one by one, all of them, until nothing is left.
Actually, that made one player think that the Nomai went out to all others and exploded them as well :D They lacked info, though; it's quite clear these Nomai never contacted back with the other Nomai so the natural conclusion that remains is that all the stars in the universe are naturally reaching the end of their life cycles.
That was something that made me originally believe that the interloper was the cause of the nova, as similar matter could be blowing up other stars as well
i originally thought the other novas were simply star clusters, and possibly even reachable with enough dedication
You can also tell him about the Message on the Vessel (whcih the ship's log and Chert's reaction make explicit are _modern_ nomai, not just "recent" nomai) and watch him have a panic attack over the meaning of their words.
I think he's wrong about the supernova being natural. The sunstation says the sun is aging naturally to destroy the station, which is natural. Old stars become red giants. But stars usually live as red giants for longer than they were yellow, not a few minutes. However, by aging and becoming a red giant, it gobbles up the ghost matter interloper, poisoning the star and triggering a supernova.
Time and size scale are a bit off in outer wilds. The supernova being natural is literally told to us by the eye of the universe. That's one of the only reliable sources of information in the game. Plus, the devs have come out and stated the interloper collision did not cause the supernova.
The realization that the sun station was not the cause of the sun exploding was honestly one the most unsettling and troublesome twists in in any game / movie. We were very clearly set up to latch on to that goal. And even after I realized the sun station was faulty, it was still several loops before I even started coming to terms that stopping the sun exploding might NOT be possible. A very somber and gut wrenching realization, I held out hope that there would be another answer, but you just keep following the steps of inevitability to the end sequence, where you must face what you already know and what you've been denying. I can honestly say it's the most spiritual experience of my life, and one of the most emotional and thought provoking.
It hadn’t occurred to me that the dead nomai on the quantum moon was the same nomai that really blew my mind
My little headcanon is that the human satellite is actually from the universe BEFORE the one we play in the game and that the satellite somehow ended up in the EOTY and moved onto the next universe, the same exact way as the little scout probe did.
theory at 4:54 is actually easily debunked by checking the terminal next to the mask nexus, it doesn't require any serious exploring or thought.
I think the nomai messages on the vessel being modern is fairly obvious. For one, it outright says they're modern if you talk to chert about the. It also outright says "My clan's *ancestors* searched for *Escall's clan* [the one that was in our star system] for a long time."
It would have been a neat hint to find archaeological evidence of Nomai who survived the ghost matter explosion on the “far side” of Giant’s Deep, or in a submersible or underwater habitat, since they would have been blocked from the blast by a planet’s-worth of water, but it’s understandable to assume the ghost matter wrapped around the planet in orbit, or they were exposed as the planet rotated.
my thought with the scout always was that maybe because the scout entered the eye it took part in creation of the universe (like how having solanumn and the prisoner participate changes it a bit too) that that causes scout like beings to be naturally occuring, like birds
I thought the third stored memory was Feldspar. He was the only person to go to the center of Giant's Deep, and he didn't explore the only Nomai tech that made it through the current? Afterall, the only statue with open eyes are the ones in the observatory, the one in the statue maker's shop, and the one in the probe tracker. I thought it also explained his reluctance to return due to his realization that the solar system was ending in 22 minutes. But the probe tracker itself being connected makes so much more sense.
Feldspar visited giant's deep core before the loop started and therefore before the probe module fell down into the core
@@admiralgeneralnn and he had no translation device therefore even if he did the whole thing would seem confusing
This is so helpful, thank you! I really did jump to conclusions and assume it was the nomai's fault for the sun explosion. It's smart that they do make us think it's something we can prevent & the drive to keep wanting to learn and explore, but it's all just inevitable sun death.. which is kind of sad looking back at! but so well done. thanks so much Lore :D
Youre Welcome Lisa! Its impressive game design to flip self drawn conclusions on their head. I think it was risky putting so much emotional weight behind it. cause yeah. its sad to find out we cant stop the boom boom. Its still kind of bitter we cant save our friends. The little cuties we play hide and seek with. So on. But I guess they trust wed be invested in the gamer for other reasons by then.
4:14 Honestly, did anyone actually think that shutting down the ATP would cause the space-time to shatter? It's clear that it's not the case. On the contrary, everything would just move on after it's disabled.
Absolutely. I still have this argument to this day. Frankly there is contradictory stuff in the game. The game shows us that self shows up at the atp if we jump in the back hole. And if we dont jump through again, spacetime shatters. The nomai tell us this is due to cause and effect. Well, weve been sending memories back in time through a black hole. And ending the loop would prevent us from sending our memories back in time again. To many people the noami are right, and there is no real logical distinction between the two scenarios(scout and atps self vs memories). Yet they have different outcomes. If sending things back in time without a cause is the problem, then memories should end spacetime. But I agree with you. Thats just not how that works.
@@TheLoreExplorer thanks!
I love revisiting just how good this game was.
the fact that being aquatic is what protected the rest of life in the solar system is one of the coolest details that I didn't know! So clever too.
I think the 14.3 billion years later slide is just to show you that you succeeded in creating (or maybe just witnessing the creation of) another universe. After the heat death of your own universe, there’s nothing left. But by traveling to the eye of the universe (something older then the universe itself) you were able to create or witness another Big Bang. It’s likely that this is the purpose of the eye: to create another universe once the previous one dies. That’s why it was repeatedly explained that the eye was older then that particular universe.The slide, then, is just to show you that your efforts were s successful and life in the new universe might be able to explore the way you did, hence there scout flying overhead!
solanum is basically stuck in limbo on the quantum moon. also that detail about ghost matter becoming inert in water is actually a really cool detail
7:43 - 7:48: the nomai vessel didnt teleport inside the dark bramble, it came to our solar system looking for the eye and got captured by the dark bramble. you can see 3 murals describing this in the temporary settlement before the hanging city in brittle hollow
that mural is depicting the escape pods trying to flee dark bramble from already inside dark bramble. 2 got free. 1 got caught by its vines. you can find logs in the vessel describing the warp.
@@TheLoreExplorer I went back to check the murals just to be sure, the ship log states that the murals (from left to right) depict: "A mural of a Nomai vessel encountering a signal" "A mural of Dark Bramble ensaring the Nomai vessel" "A mural of three escape pods evacuating the Nomai vessel" with the 2nd mural that depicts the vessel becoming ensnared showing what looks to be the outside view of Dark Bramble which would seem to suggest that rather than warping inside Dark Bramble they warped somewhere within the solar system and as you stated in the video more than likely followed a duplicate signal of the eye from the Dark Bramble only to then be ensnared.
@@hdzk3336 yes. two escape. one gets caught. go to the vessel. go up the ramps. and read escalls emergency call for help. the vessel only had enough juice for one jump. they jumped and as soon as they arrived the vessel began "fusing with the vines"
@@hdzk3336 Echoes of the eye confirm the vessel tp'd into DB
That was never under question. What’s under question is “did they teleport directly into vines, or did the vines attack”. You could say the dlc proves they just warped. But then it’s also proves that the nomai use white holes to teleport and black holes to exit from. It’s not to be taken literally.
I'm glad we share the same opinion on why the Vessel ended up inside Dark Bramble. It's the only thing that makes sense and some people (and Nomai's) assumption that the Eye is sentient and deliberately put this all into motion goes against the nihilistic message of the game. The truth the game presents is that the universe doesn't care about us, but our lives still matter. They matter immensely in fact.
Heyyy! The only other person I met that didnt think the message of the game was "death is inevitable"! Well done bud. I agree with you 100%
To be fair, aside from being Older than the Universe and that quantum uncertainty is warped around it, there isn't much about the eye itself that's explicitly known.
I didn't get that message at all, i got the message that life is about the journey not the destination, and when you reach your destination, it's just the beginning of someone else's journey, even if you're not there to see it, so look forward to what comes next and to never dwell on the past or the end of things.
Yep. I agree with most of this. I'll add I think it also has messages about how the future builds on the past. And how each step on that climb to the future mattered and shapes us as a species.
@@TheLoreExplorer i can see that strongly through the nomai now i think about that, although they were more set on the destination than the journey, many Nomai were very important and their individual journeys led to the progression of their species and goals, up until their untimely end of course.
My personal theory on Solunum is that the Eye is sapient, though not sentient, and wanted a way to communicate with us as it knew the universe was dying. So it probed our mind, trying to find something it could use to communicate with us - it wanted something impactful but still feasible, so that we would open up to it, rather than be afraid. So instead of choosing a Hearthian (which would have confused and scared us), it chose to project the image of a Nomai, something we've been tracking and following, and finally, we found one, in an impossible place where the impossible might not be so impossible. The Eye would have probed Solunum's mind as well, when she traveled to the 6th Location, so it had an imprint of her ready to go.
This ties in with the Quantum Glade at the end of the game. Talking to the fellow travelers, they talk about how they're not really there, and about the sun going supernova. Its a very cute and touching 'reunion' but there's no way they could actually be there. They're very much dead, swallowed by the supernova. But the Eye can feel you hurting, and still needs you to perform a task - so it creates imprints from your memories of your traveling partners, to give you the strength to carry on to the final ending.
Which FINALLY makes sense if you never met Solunum on the Quantum Moon in the 6th Location. The Eye had no reason to communicate with you at that point (because you never went there), so never needed to make a Solunum for you to talk to, therefore you don't have a connection to her for the final Glade scene.
My view about the scout in the ending scene is that it is a new scout created by the new alien species. It feels like this helps to show that they are following in the same footsteps as the hearthians, and will go on the same adventure to explore the eye of the universe, letting the cycle continue.
Its not though. If we dont shoot in our scout it doesnt show up in the end slide.
@@TheLoreExplorer Oh, I never noticed. Thanks. Another misconception clarified :)
youre welcome! : )
what if its not our scout because the new species reversed engineered our actual scout, and are using it to scout the planet ????
probably not correct but kind of funny imo
I think the bugs show up when Solanum is present at the eye simply because the extra perspective creates a universe that is just that much richer in possibilities than it might otherwise be.
The solanum at the eye isnt the real one tho. So the only extra perspective is your own. Widened after the encounter on the quantum moon
@@vVAstrAVv The Solanum in the eye isn't any less real than the one on the quantum moon because the other travelers appear in the eye due to a collapse in unlimited quantum uncertainty.
They aren't the same travelers we've met previously, but they aren't merely memories or images either - in fact they are as real as the new universe which is dreamed into being in the same way.
@@TonkarzOfSolSystem she is less real. She speaks hearthian at the eye. Which she admits on the moon she cant do.
The people on the eye arent there thanks to some collapse
Theyre there because you need them to be.
The entire eye sequence is the eye reflecting your characters coping with the futility of their actions and imminent death.
@@vVAstrAVv They didn't just magically appear for no reason, that's impossible.
@@TonkarzOfSolSystem less impossible then them really being alive after they already died. I already explained what it is and how its not magic btw.
6:48
Something is wrong. I can feel it.
Yeah, I noticed it too
Wait what is?
@@feliperuiz4884 He said "The Outer Worlds."
huh. i didnt even notice this. i mustve subconsciously had it on the mind cause im thinking of restarting that series lol
I thought I was just being dumb but turns out many misconceptions I had were purposely thrown in there. Specially the reason for the sun exploding, I only truly understood what happened days later.
There's still one thing I don't understand, if the loop has been going on for a while, why does the statue pair with us at the time it did? Other Harthians discovered it and took it to the museum, other people were near it since then. What is the event that makes it pair with us, the player, specifically?
EDIT: nevermind I understand now, the statue only got activated when the probe finally discovered the coordinates to the eye, we just happened to be the closest being near the statue at the time it happened.
There's a few things in the story that lead to these misconceptions. First, its a game so you expect to have a victory condition. You learn about the experiments and think the Nomai are responsible for the supernova. Even when you learn their project failed, I still did a butterfly effect in my head and though they reported only small ripples, I thought they still accelerated the process. Even when speaking to Chert and learning the other stars were exploding, I tried for a bit to rationalize how the Nomai were able to run their experiments on other stars as well. You eventually accept what you suspected the whole time but weren't willing to say it out loud.
But before that, you also find a dark bramble seed on Hearth, and even when you reach Feldspar, he says you gotta figure out how to deal with that. So there is not just stopping the sun from exploding, you have to stop the seed or your planet is still doomed. I haven't seen any videos mention this, but that being in the game adds just enough to keep you hopeful that there is a solution to these problems. Of course it doesn't come up much in the story, so we all forget about it at the end, but it was more than just a way to introduce you to the weird space rules of the Bramble. It planted expectations of success in your mind.
Finally, the story says the statues activate in the case of success or failure. As you read the story, its quite clear to you that the Nomai did not succeed, so you start forming your interpretation of events around some catastrophic failure starting the loop. There is the one Nomai comment of 'we could wait for a natural supernova' to clue you in. Otherwise, this game gives you so many reasons to believe the complete opposite of what really has happened at so many points in this story.
Solanum is the perfect name for a cat! Put her in a box and she exists in state where she is neither dead or alive!
1:02 - holy heck, how did they get to the sun station 50 seconds into the time loop?
Mods are epic
The lore in this game was so hard for me to piece together I felt pretty lost most of the time. I totally missed all the cool details you described here. Really cool the creators thought through all that. Thanks for explaining!
“Death is only the end if you think the story is about you.”
The Hearthian on Ash Twin will also observe that the universe is ending naturally. They actually get quite upset about it.
Chert!
I think my favorite detail in the game is that you can look at quantum things forever (or, well, 22 minutes) without them ever moving because the hearthians have 4 eyes so they can just blink with 2 at a time and never lose sight of them
like its a really small thing and they never even give you a reason to consider this but it makes total sense once you think about it
Even with two eyes, humans could lock a quantum object in place by simply winking. At least until something distracting or exhaustion kicks in, which would also apply to a Hearthian.
@@ShaimingLong yeah, but heartbians would maintain depth perception
I mean you act like we cant blink ONE eye at a time lol
@@vVAstrAVv technically we *can* but its really hard to never mess up and blink with both eyes specially in that much time
forever if you do it in the eye
The real most common misconception is that the probe tracking module was the part that accidentally sank to the core of Giants Deep while the Nomai were constructing the orbit probe cannon. It was a different small segment you can find in the core along with the tracking module. Most people I watched playing never found it.
Finally someone else found it and didn't think the probe module is the one that sank
You should update this based on the Echoes of the Eye DLC, it explains fully why the Nomai were able to find the signal of the Eye, then they ended up warping into Dark Bramble, then couldn't find the Eye despite being literally on its doorstep.
It's kind of odd that the devs intended for the information at the sun station to be a revelation, but most players will take quite a while to get there and at some point notice that the rest of the universe is also dying, either because they looked at the stars themselves or because Chert pointed it out. But maybe they expected it to unfold this way for only a minority of players and were fine with that
I mean stars super nova all the time, you could just assume (as I did) that it was just random chance, as all stars eventually die.
I thought Chert was mistaken for a while.
I think this is more like how the Sunless City, Old Settlement, _and_ the Hanging city all have a mural to the Eye of the Universe describing the same thing. There's a fair amount of redundant sources of information throughout the game, allowing you to put 2x2 together with different sources of 2.
It's "a" revelation not "the" revelation, everything in Outer wilds has at least 3 clues pointing at it. It's an old trick from TTRPG mysteries. Of coerce for any players that missed the other clues it'll be "the" revelation.
Good explanations. But the anglerfish lives in minimal atmosphere, not water. The museum lore says so. So how did they survive the big interloper explosion of ghost matter? And the trees, plants, brambles, cacti, etc? Like for example, the trees the Nomai uses for oxygen are not living in water, yet still alive. ??
Also, how did a jellyfish get stuck on Giant's Deep, and an anglerfish within Ember Twin?
Also, the ghost matter went everywhere in the solar system in an instant. Didn't matter the shielding (except the interloper shell), the rocks, even completely enclosed places. So it should have also been there even where there was water; it's just not toxic when you "touch" water at the same time. And as plants, Hearthians, and Nomai are composed of some water, the water/air explanation is full of holes. Anyone got a better one?
Maybe the ghost matter only interact with high level processes, just like the Eye does. In other words, maybe the more advance and complex you are the more you are affected. This leaves the plants and low lifeforms barely affected or not at all. That would in effect kill the Nomai and the Owldeer, but leaves tadpoles, jellyfish, and anglerfish alive. I would even go to posit that the Nomai and the Owldeer were killed at the same time by the ghost matter.
Kind of like an "invisible sky" civilization researching the past. But if you could not receive light from other stars, you wouldn't know they existed.
I always thought that the sun station DID cause the supernova, just really late
One thing to clear up, when the player wakes up, the lore says that the time loop has been happening over 9 million times, but if you get the launch codes and get out of the observatory without meeting the statue, the actual time loop doesn’t start for that game until you meet the statue. You can fly around forever but there’s a lot of events that dont start, certain things don’t spawn.
That’s just a mechanic for the tutorial. It’s not something that should be taken as lore.
@@TheLoreExplorer Oh yes I completely agree. I said it silly. The lore is the lore, I was just saying you can technically hop out of the observatory and a force skip the statue, but that of course is not lore, just breaking the game. I learned that from your channel I think anyway. I freakin love your vibe. Definitely a fan for good. Lookin forward to more games you do that I’m interested in.
Considering you have to glitch to get past it without triggering the statue, it's obviously not intended as anything other than a way to not have the game end before you ever reach the beginning.
@@potatosordfighter666 that’s basically what I said it my comment, I even went further explaining it in a second comment. Thanks for being present.. I was explaining a technicality when the author was talking about the time loop in the video. I was stating that technically you can skip it but it is breaking the game, not lore……….
Oh my god. Solanum is Schrodinger's cat!
Thankfully the many word walls in the ATP have copies of the info you might've missed at places like the Sun Station. So I guess people should figure that one out.
Well done on this summary. I think you hit all the main points of confusion and explained them well.
Lore Explorer. I had seen your videos floating around before finishing OW, but after just finishing the game, I quickly rushed to several of your videos to catch up and recap everything that happened with the Nomai. It was difficult to mentally track everything chronologically in the game, so I really appreciate the timeline you made. I felt like meeting Solanum was really the climax of the game. Since the game is so rich with Nomai history and literature, you really grow a stronger connection with the Nomai than even your Hearthian friends. Because of this, meeting a live Nomai was the light of this game for me. I do notice that you make reference to Solanum not really existing, or being somewhat of a ghost? I do agree with Solanum in that she questions whether she is really alive, since 5 out of 6 of her versions are in fact dead. However, there's a piece of evidence I'd like to refer you to that I'm sure you've read several times, and that is "Observing a quantum object; observing an image of a quantum object. These are the same." The fact that Solanum has a current consciousness and can reflect on the fact that she may be dead, proves very much to me that she in fact not just an image, but fully alive and existent, only on the 6th location obviously. The whole observing an object and an image of the object was pretty mind blowing for me. It really deals a lot in absolutes (even though the nature of actual quantum mechanics and the Eye from OW is shrouded by extreme changeability). It enters into a God-like realm of infinite knowledge and possibility that constantly dodges our understanding of how existence works, but exists in its own perfect way by its own perfect standards. Alright, I think I'm going to go back to Earth for a while and let my brain rest.
Solanum and images dont really go together. like, going to see her bones isnt viewing an image of her bones. Just as going to see her "alive" body isnt going to see an image of her. So, the way ive been looking at it is those are 6 quantum possibilities. In 5 of which solanum died on the moons. In 1 of which, she survived. but you have to remember 200,000 years has past since she arrived there. Shed like be dead due to aging. instead of seeing that, the moon shows us a memory of her. just as it shows us a memory of the past of the planet it orbits. now, lets say for all intents and purposes, that projected memory IS solanum. Then shes alive right?. Well, she doesn't experience time. She cant move off of the 6th location. and the only other person she will ever see is you. Not exactly dead. not exactly alive. But most related(imo) to ghosts.
@@TheLoreExplorer But since the Eye has quantum effects on its peripheral surroundings, it makes normal objects into quantum objects, so Solanum essentially is a quantum object. I see that you're taking the quote from the Nomai to mean that a quantum image (from your scouts camera) is the same as a quantum object. I'm not convinced that's necessarily true and I think considering Nomai technology is far more advanced than the Hearthians, their idea of an image could mean an in-life projection. It just seems like the Nomai would not be making a big deal about captured photographs on a screen, even though this rule does also apply to that as well. But still, if the moon only showed a memory of her, and not her in the current state 200,000 years later, why does she mention that she might be dead? In that case, is a memory able to project with current thought patterns about her current state (thinking she may be dead). It seems like if the moon remembered anything about her, it wouldn't be much since she wasn't there for long (judging by her proximity to the space ship). Anyways, it's interesting conversation.
@@Hayrange what do you mean she wasnt there for long? shes been there for 200 thousand years. and the second we enter the qm we entangle with it so we become one. this is how we gets the solanums fate ending. And0 Im not saying an image of an object and an object are the same thing. Im saying this is a quantum being, not a projection or image. shes been there the whole time, whether we go to view her or not. but shes only been kept alive by the qm/proximity to the eye. and time hasnt progressed for her. and so on. and so i call her a memory. a ghost of her former self. im not really sure how you can debate with that. or maybe im misunderstanding something
@@TheLoreExplorer Well what I meant was she wasn't there for long in the other 5 locations. She died very quickly after leaving the ship from the Interlopers ghost matter rupture, correct? So when she landed on the QM, does that instantly entangle her in all 6 locations? For that matter, is her ship visible on the 6th location or only her? But maybe I'm missing something, because how did the 6th location shrine get on the QM? I never noticed her ship there, but maybe I didn't spin around enough to notice it. I'm kind of new to all this. I'm realizing pretty quick that I'm probably not understanding everything going on. I'm not trying to prove you wrong or anything. Just trying to use the very limited understanding I have of all this to pick your brain a little. I just started the game 3 weeks ago and beat it last night, and I've literally read nothing about quantum physics or anything related.
Yes, it entangles her instantly(and us). And yes, her ship is on the qm for us to find. The game is quite complicated. I have a whole set of videos explaining the game and the nuances of it, hopefully they can help you out. first id suggest the quantum moons ghostly companion.
HOLY SHIT I DIDNT EVER GO TO THE INTERLOPER HOLY FUCK THATS HOW THEY DIED
With the new DLC ‘Echoes of the Eye’ coming out later this month I think it’ll explain the new universe and what happened
well, they are just adding something to the solar system. Itll still be in the same time frame of the 22 minute loop. If anything, itll probably explain the last universe and what happened.
7:45 Whoa! I never considered that a signal traveling through Dark Bramble would end up delayed and distorted due to bouncing between the seeds.
This would give the appearance that the signal is fading, rather than being cut off by the stranger, increasing the urgency the Nomai felt, and leading them to warp to the point it was last heard.
Bravo for this conclusion!
I finished the game before getting to the sun station, which sadly made the ending less impactful for me. I had heard there were multiple endings, so I assumed that there was another good ending in which you turn off the sun station and prevent the sun from exploding. So it was a bit underwhelming when I got to the sun station afterwards and there wasn't that much there, and I realised I'd already seen everything. I just wish I'd gone there first, as it would have made the ending so much more impactful! It's really cool that the story telling is so non-linear that things like that can happen though - I can't think of any other game in which you can reach the end without having realised the ultimate goal of the game/story!
I'm just impressed you had the guts to take out the core before you were 100% sure you saw everything lol. I got the You Died ending before connecting with the statue--and it kicks you to the credits and then makes you start a new game. So I was operating under the assumption that if I got a loop-breaking death, it really would be final lol.
@@Romanticoutlaw fortunately the game keeps the save from the start of your last loop, I finished the game and was still able to load the save after the credits and go hunting for missed achievements. Imagine the frustration if you got eaten by an anglerfish while carrying the advanced warp core and had to start the game all over including the tutorial and then have it happen again.
@@Romanticoutlaw same for me and that's what i thought too
There’s a pretty cool potential Easter egg at the Eye of The Universe, where, if you just stay on the eye’s surface and keep looking up at the sky (using the trees in the lightning storm to refuel oxygen), there’ll be a few stars in the sky that stay a few minutes longer than the rest
That may be the Nomai at their final home
But those stars, like the rest, go supernova, and afterwards the sky is black, apart from the small green light from Echoes of The Eye spoilers
The moment when I realized the connection between ghost matter and the disappearance of the nomai was like an explosion in my brain. Here are these two mysteries that we are heavily invested in, and suddenly, they are fused together, and they explain eachother. It gave me this idea that what actually happens when we have a eureka moment is a kind of fusion that releases mental energy that feels like a brief surge of euphoria. As if our brains are like networks of ideas, and when we learn how two ideas are connected, and if that removes uncertainty and answers questions, there is a surplus of energy.
For the last one at 10:00 it doesn’t make sense because they still know the nomai existed from outside our universe, so they know there is other life out there. Even without Solanum.
I wouldn't say the end of the universe was natural. Natural end of the universe wouldn't have the stars dying quite as quickly but that was for gameplay reasons.
That said, I vaguely remember the incoming logs on the vessel mentioning it as being weird but I don't quite remember and can't find the logs written anywhere online sadly.
That part about not meeting her meaning we don't know intelligent lifeforms in other forms is possible is a bit of a stretch lol. We find their remains and their ruins and we know we didn't make them so it's not like the pc would just no know aliens exist.
I just realise that the Escall´s clan, that appear in those messages in the vessel, may be the nomai clan that were in our solar system
Yes. It was Escalls vessel that heard the signal and warped to our system. Sadly they die shortly afterwards
The solanum mask one caught me out I'll admit.
Me too! I was exited to see who it would be! But it never happened...
Just finished the game and came back to watch this video. I saw you in the ending credits and remembered that I visited this channel on TH-cam! (I have VA mod installed). And this is you! The community around this game is wonderful! Thanks for VA. I'm glad I played the game with this mod, it really enhanced the experience.
Thank you for the great content, it’s very obvious that you have put a lot of thought into this game and I appreciate you taking the time to share your findings.
My pleasure! Glad you enjoy it!
Excellent video, Lore Explorer! This is the first of your videos I’ve seen, and even after 100% completing the archaeologist achievement/the journal, I still gained new insight by watching. Also lovely to have such a diverse group of perspectives from other players in the comments, so much to be gained.
Idk man, that 14.3 billion years ending is making me crave for an Outer Wilds 2...
Me too, but the premise of Outer Wilds is too specific for a sequel.
The premise of outer wilds is an infinite multiverse where anything can happen. Not sure how that's specific.
@@TheLoreExplorer I think it’s both, Outer Wilds has a very linear story with a clear beginning and clear ending, that’s what they meant by specific. (Linear is def not the right word, what I meant is it’s a very well defined story)
But yeah with the new Universe and new life, they def have the foundation to make a sequel with the universe resetting
@@vincentdeluca4485 Yeah. The story of the characters in the game is over. Its well told. But the Universe of the game is wide open and can be expanded upon almost indefinitely. They drew a lot of the locations and mechanics of the game from actual science. And that has no end of potential for interesting settings/events. It just probably shouldnt be the hearthians again.
@@TheLoreExplorer real question is, does the bramble persist? Seeing as it's kinda extradinensional id love to see it again as a kind of eternal force and maybe have it explained
Thank you for taking the time to assemble the lore and story for this game.
I personally found the game way to aggravating to play or get anything done in due to what I found to be really finicky controls and mechanics and being able to come to your channel to find out all the stuff I wasn't able to discover is cool
Do I address that in this video? I suppose some people have had problems with controls. But I feel like that's either due to people using keyboards or mistaking gravity and physics effects to be "unresponsive". If i dont address it in this video I do in another! But either way. Glad you enjoy the channel bud!
@@TheLoreExplorer On PS4 I had issues with jetpack acceleration lagging. I don't mean overcoming interia, more the jetpack would not activate for a number of frames after hitting button. Maybe it's my control.
If you hit your jetpack button itll fire immediately. It will however take a second or too to lift you or propel you. Things at rest like to stay at rest. On a more hardware aspect of it, all games take a few frames for the input to be reflected on screen. its called input lag and can get bad and noticeable in some conditions. Either way it was a honor to allow you to experience the game!
The only one of these misconceptions that I had was the idea that there was a third person who was connected to the Ash Twin project. I feel kinda dumb that I never realized until reading a comment about that. I think the reason that people fall into the misconception is because you assume that the Ash Twin project doesn't need a mask and that the masks only connect with living entities.
I never knew about the human life Easter eggs or what happens if you finish the game without meeting Solanum.
didn't even realize that all those bodies were solanum but it makes so much sense. does that mean there are multiple versions of you when you go but you'll never see the m because the possibility of you observing yourself is impossible... but thats exactly what happened inside the eye. so maybe its possible just not likely
Its hard to say. I think most people would say no. But Im not most people. And I believe differen things than most people. So, to me, yes. Thats what it means. This is how we are able to teleport between the moons. We arent really teleporting. We are becoming one of the versions of ourself that was already there. I think this game is perfect for an "outer wilds iceburg" video. Cause boy can we dig almost just as deep as we would for our own universe
@@TheLoreExplorer Awesome thanks for the reply. feels good to talk and speculate about this game and thats a great observation on you. most things I got first time around because I took my time to find everything but still missed a few details
When i took a picture of living-ish solanum then looked at her skeleton, it wouldnt change what skeleton position was. Though im not 100% sure of this, since i didnt do a 360, just looked to the right until she was out of view, and i know the view “hitbox” is a bit weird for her quantum skeleton
Strange. How do you take a picture of the living solanum and go to another quantam moon? Wouldn't the photo prevent you from going to a different version?
@@AaditDoshi It seems you should be correct, but it was missed by the devs.
Bro, you and your channel are awesome! Thanks, this is great content to binge after finishing the game for the first time!
After the ending of echoes of the eye, it’s possible the rules of this universe are different to ours in other ways: stars don’t go supernova that fast, either the eye sped things up or the rules of the universe give stars a shorter lifespan
This was a cool video to watch right after finishing the game, to succinctly confirm all the small things I wasn't sure about
very glad you enjoyed it and found it succinct!
There is a room underneath the warp core in the Vessel that describes how Escall denied an order to send out a transmission about finding the Eye's signal before attempting to warp to the Eye because "we need to act quick or the signal might be lost". One of the other Nomai on the Vessel points out how they probably won't have the power to make it all the way there, to which Escall responds by basically saying "close enough is fine, we'll just recharge and warp again". I think the Vessel just ends up in Dark Bramble out of sheer bad luck from not having enough power to make it further into the solar system.
Naw. They said. "we are ready to warp. But once we do we will be low on power." how the vessel works its all or nothing. It may have engines to help move it along. But they mostly travel in one jump/warp.
One thing to clarify about the probe launcher. It was the original time looper. So on other words, the sun went supernova 9 million times and we died 9 million times in the Perspective of the probe launcher. Remember, the ATP was also designed to work in case finding the eye failed.
Im pretty sure I mention this. Its not the probe launcher in the loop. Its the probe tracking module specifically. Which is in the center of giants deep. Im pretty sure I go down there and show the statues eyes open and everything. And the failsafe would be alerting the nomai that something went wrong(who would also be connected since loop one, just not aware of it, like we are").
@@TheLoreExplorer if you did then I apologize for redundancy. The Probe Tracking Module was always one of the most confusing ones for me because I never understood how that loop took place 9 million times even when it broke and on a 22 minute cycle. Until I realized theirs no telling how far that loop actually goes back for.
technically the probe tracking module breaks off of the cannon at the beginning of every loop when the cannon explodes. So its not like it broke before the loop began. Its still a fully in tact and functional thing as far as the atp is concerned as well. And we actually do know how long the loop has been running. If you go to the probe tracking module on your very first loop itll tell you what loop youre in. Or maybe Im just misunderstanding. Sorry if thats the case.
8:10 -- WARNING: "ECHOES OF THE EYE" DLC SPOILERS
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I recognize that this video was made prior to the DLC coming out, so I'll add that that my headcanon that it was a terrible twist of misfortune that the other Owlks captured the Prisoner and reinstated the block on the Eye's signal just as the Vessel was warping to the Eye. (I'm assuming the Vessel was programmed to follow the signal, not a set of coordinates, or else the Nomai would have had the coords all along and wouldn't need the ATP.) And so, since the signal stopped mid-warp, the Vessel's navigation systems got thrown off course, and Bang! They wound up in Dark Bramble.
This is actually a really decent explanation. The Nomai didnt really find it as the prisoner turned it off though. Its just the prisoner only turned it off for such a short time. So when the signal finally reach the Nomai(many many years later) the signal wont last long. Like i said though, I totally thought it was because the signal dupe phenom(which the dlc essentially disproves unless there is an art mistake). And a lot of people tend to think it has something to do with the dimensional mess that is bramble. But honestly i love(and never even really thought about) the idea that they followed a signal that stopped calling out before they warped. And the computer just did its best to calculate where it came from. Or just was forced into an unsure warp.
14 Bilion years, same amount of time here in our universe.
I think we are at about 13.8 billion while the game is at 14.3. So there is about a 500 million year difference.
huh, I never really notice the Interlooper disappear. I enjoyed playing this game so much though, I just never noticed the Interlooper getting consumed by the sun. At first yeah i see it but then I just forget about it
There’s a lot that goes easily missed! I never noticed (minor spoiler ahead)
that the magma levels on Hollow’s Lantern gradually fall throughout each loop as it all gets ejected into space (and into the surface of Brittle Hollow) by the volcanoes.
I discovered this the hard way by standing on it too late into the cycle lol
Ohhhhhh, the loop started the second the sun went super nova. so that whole day happened 9 million and a half time ish before it actually found the eye of the universe. AND THEN the statues activated! okkkaaaaaaayyyyy that makes so much more sense
Glad I could help!