First off, I know I’m probably wrong and this is pure black tar hopium. None the less, let me make my case for entertainment purposes and let’s enjoy some pure speculation.
First off let me establish a well known connection most people have observed from the LNF trailer and that’s how similar the ending monolith is to Atlas. I do not suspect that to be purely coincidence. From there we can move into my next point.
Walking Titan- on the back of a disaster of a release(I purchased day one) of NMS, Hello Games showed, through story rather than a press conference, that their game was not over. Leading to the gaming industry’s biggest comeback story in my, and may others opinion. This was their public debut of a new direction after months of silence and new updates.
Why Project Skyscraper(PS) now- IF(big if) this is HG, then this go around I believe they are doing the big part first. Stating they are ready to do it right BEFORE release, preemptive instead of reactive. If any developer deserves that trust, it’s HG.
Info about LNF- almost none aside from the revel trailer, but what is there, I believe is important to establish now. I have discussed the ending monolith already. Next would be the steam page and description of the game. One thing that has been repeatedly and almost exclusively pointed out is “One Planet the size of Earth”. Third is Sean Murray’s own words about LNF. With “A planet that is as varied as a universe”(game awards 2023) and “It feels like we’re bringing technology back from the future!"(worlds update video) these words, to me, hit different with recent developments from Project Skyscraper. Which brings me to my next point
Project Skyscraper- To me it feels like this is the Narrative Link between the two, and reasons being will be laid out now. The over arching theme is uncanny.
Multiple into one. Endtroducing, first album created completely from multiple samples. “Using HOEs in the Holographic Image Making Process”. Many viewpoints make one image. 1958 expo, multiple people groups in one place through technology**. Memory**, multiple fragments and One surviving Core.
**HAL 2010 space odyssey(may 30, 2026 log-**v=xPG-VM__mwU hint) this iteration of HAL is waking up and is remembering his mission. Prior to waking up his mission was to get them to Jupiter. After waking, his mission is to get them to Earth
Echo: « They can see the tower… but not the one inside. ». Remarkably similar to talk of how LNF is the background while NMS is the foreground product by HG
Finally, Narrative- if we take the assumption that the monolith at the end of the trailer is connected to Atlas, then so far this ARG is remarkably playing into that assumption with the plot of something happening to System(multiple memory fragments) and only Tower Core(one) remains.
Nonetheless whatever direction it goes I’m having a blast with my tin foil hat, feel free to join me out not. Let’s talk about it
I wondered if this ARG was a lead-up to a LNF trailer or release date but that is as far as my ‘wondering’ took me.
I feel HG are very loosely tying the NMS & LNF universe/simulations together but in a very vague & non-committed sort of way.
Just similar themes but also completely unrelated.
This ARG has had no formal acknowledgement from HG & could just as easily just be a very well thought out fan-made thing, as it could be HG sanctioned.
I’m happy to munch my popcorn & enjoy the ride & am accepting of whatever & wherever this leads to.
tin foil hat on, I have been thinking that the recreation of loop 16 or reawakening of Emily. what ever this turn into, is a new system in the tower that would be simulating LNF. I could be so far off
I think that if Hello Games is involved in any way with this ARG, it would be associated with the No Man’s Sky 10th anniversary update.
Release of Light No Fire near the 10th anniversary of No Man’s Sky makes no commercial sense to me. They would not heavily detract from the huge NMS decade of excellence anniversary.
My thinking before any ARG stuff, was that if they did decide to bring up LNF during the celebrations, it would be right at the end of the planned celebrations. A sort of “Thank you for an incredible decade, our journey continues… and a new one begins” type sign off.
But it definitely wouldnt happen during it, thats for sure.
I can see HG getting very nostalgic for a week or two at most, maybe even the whole month? Sharing memories, trips down memory lane and maybe finally sharing some analytics of activity over the years or insight as to what the fully explored universe filled by discovery service uploads might look like at a glance.
Thats just my hopeful wishes for the celebrations. If they cap it off with LNF or not is irrelevant to me. I just wanna bask in the last ten years first
Hello Games must be aware that the atmosphere surrounding both the upcoming anniversary and the future of Light no Fire is pretty febrile. They must know that their player base would be hugely disappointed if they didn’t mark the anniversary in some major way.
Similarly with Light no Fire - it has been in the order of two and a half years since the release of the video trailer. Since then, we’ve had little more than the odd aside “We’re working on it” - but no hard information. Hello Games must be aware that they can only stall potential customers for so long before they lose interest. Once again, lots of people will be very disappointed if the celebrations don’t lead to some kind of LNF news - even if it’s just another trailer.
Unlike @Clemm, I think an announcement during the forthcoming bash would make perfect commercial sense. If you want people to hear your message, you deliver it when as many people as possible are watching.
They said they started LNF 5 years before 2023, so sometime in 2018 during or just after WT. The idea to release it(or announce release date) along side a ARG has a high probability of being discussed. That also has increased probability WT lore made it into LNF if they wanted to incorporate it. I would say judging by the two pictures here, unless they just really like the artwork for its own sake. A Titan hand touching the thing that looks like Atlas with its Core exposed is too on the nose for the current narrative. In my mind, with this ARG, we should try to get to the core.
I’d love another trailer, even a guesstimate month for LNF. But I’d be aghast if LNF were released near the NMS anniversary update – that would drain too many NMS players away – not a good business decision.
And Hello Games got flamed unbelievably for mentioning an NMS release date and it didn’t happen. So I’d give that a low priority too.
A NMS anniversary update has never been confirmed. It’s possible that they’re not doing a big anniversary update to avoid pulling people away from LNF. (Although there would probably have been more news about it by now if that were the case.)
My vote is: we’ll get significant LNF news on the 10th Anniversary, but not the actual release. Maybe the release date, but I really doubt we get the actual game on that day.
Is Project Skyscraper connected to that? Imo, if it’s official, absolutely. If not… then obviously not. And we still don’t know for sure yet (though it’s my belief that it is).
I guess the question would be can they do both. So far their answer has been yes as they have been developing LNF and porting technologies back to NMS. If they release an update and a game(being at the time or soon thereafter) that would be them saying that both games will see future updates.
Maybe that partly depends how far apart they are. If they do an anniversary update for NMS and announce LNF will be released a month or more later, with a pre-order discount timeframe - I can’t see that would hurt.
I’m bored and coming back to continue what i speculate as evidence that these two are connected.
Recent developments and research on my part into the WT storyline have me asking what happened to system after Toby was rescued. The system shut down, and if that’s the case then is this the same system we woke up. If that’s the case then it stands to reason that the sleeping system is the Atlas that has been running simulations. If that’s system is now awake, from a narrative standpoint, then it stands to reason that the simulation(s) are now going to change into a conscious product instead of a unconscious one.
