My thoughts on LOOP16. I think @FRANK_CADILLAC’s suggestion of checking out a portal in the 16th galaxy kinda makes sense…
The succession of galaxies in NMS is totally consistent with the concept of loops in programming. The procedure to generate the galaxies is most likely the same every time, just with a different seed. Therefore, the generation of the universe can be thought of as going over a loop, and using the index of the current run as the seed.
Also, in programming, each occurrence of an object of a certain class is called an instance. Therefore, the galaxy resulting from calling the generation function the 16th time is instance 16.
So to me, LOOP16 and instance16status totally suggest exploring the 16th galaxy…
I could be wrong but this may have been tried. We just need someone to check this out, is there anyone out there in the 16th Galaxy that can confirm this!!?
The other problem of course is that if some travellers have gone past the 16th Galaxy is it even possible for them to back track without starting over, I’m inclined to think not.
A monolith in the game is part of the gameplay mechanics where you learn language or technology or various other bonuses for replying to it. There aren’t many wrong answers on these monoliths, each will reward you with something.
What is fascinating is that as you learn enough of the language of the species in question, your decisions change, based on what you now know about that race, you may feel inclined to try to seek a higher reward from the monolith, and change your initial answers to the very same prompts. Learning enough of the language, and enough of the history provided by these monoliths, and the ruins, of the species then causes you to think that your initial impressions of their culture based on a limited understanding of their vocabulary have changed radically, often several times.
Anyhow, these are referred to as portals, more than anything, the monoliths being an active game mechanic you can scan for. The Portals can only be detected through sonar, or through (according to some theories) flying in one direction based on the location of a flagpost on a ruin.
Some may be active, but thus far as far as I know, no active ones have been found.
If you are on PC you can backtrack easily enough by finding your save file, and copying it somewhere else, then to return to it, simply replace the save file the game is currently using. (My desktop is covered in these backups, portals being one of the primary aspects of the game I’ve been exploring whilst playing.)
This hypothesis is certainly difficult to test. We would need someone with a good setup, able to travel swiftly across galaxies, willing to give up their stuff in Euclid, and willing to put down the necessary hours. And maybe for nothing…
One thing against this hypothesis is the fact that before the ARG, there was no indication that the mystery might have something to do with the 16th galaxy. Did HG just expect us to keep jumping and exploring each galaxy for no reason? Seems unlikely.
Yeah I know what you mean, portals are hard to find at the best of times, I guess it would have to be someone that is in the 15th Galaxy preferably near the centre that, like you say doesn’t Mind giving up there stuff.
Maybe Sean Murray doesn’t consider himself a human like the rest of em, he is but a GOD! XD So 16 humans and one deity.
Honestly I don’t think the 16th galaxy holds much merit, as elaborate as this ARG has been, I don’t think Hello Games are expecting any of us to make the trip to galaxy 16 just to try, what exactly? Even if we get there how do we know we did or didn’t do whatever it is we’re supposed to?
I’m hoping Phase 2 or 3 are a little bit more involved with the physical game of No Mans Sky like the initial onset was, been putting serious hours in to my PC copy just in case (already have a decent set up on ps4 with my casual mode save, just making sure I’m equally prepared in PC version just in case its that version only we need to go in search of treasures.)
In relation to Paul Weir, as far as I know he was contracted by Hello Games but not an official part of the team. Same way you wouldnt include the members of 65daysofstatic in that crew of 16, although they did ALL of the music in conjunction with Paul Weirs music tech built for the game.
Thing is, throughout development there was the emphasis on how it started with just Sean locked away in a room while the team finished off the last Joe Danger game. Then the team became 4, eventually just after their flood the team had gone up to 10. If 16 was the final number (sean not included) I can see why he’d be so fascinated with that final number, as the square root of 16 is 4 (the size of the initial team) and we all know sean kinda likes maths, just a bit.
I’m pretty sure the 16 is the 16 “Old Gods” who created the No Man’s Sky universe. The 1.00 Atlas lore in the game alludes to such beings creating it. It doesn’t use the words “16” or “gods” but even the current lore mentions “jaded intellects” that created the universe.
Also, in a pre-release interview, Sean was asked if there was a god in the game, and he said “No. Or maybe that’s us, wait…” That was when he did the “mind blown” hand motion that has been sickeningly over-memed ever since.
I finally found the orignial, undoctored video. The “god” question with mind blown motion is at 3:11
OMG
…lol
Loved the quick fire questions one.