The Sacrifice

Archive WT Thoughts & Theories
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So, time and time again theres allusions to what we sacrifice, once crossing the portal. For a while I’ve been thinking this but never really discussed it, but the story from the latest dicoveries inside the mercury process have me thinking it might actually be very possible.

Sorry I’m no good at resourcing quotes and my times kind of limited right now, so let the paraphrasing, BEGIN!

Artemis comments on the silence of the universe, how theres only the great triad and not much else.

It seems the update is introducing a new race, now, the simulation as it stands, each star system is owned or occupied (Depending how you want to flavor your lore) by either one of the three. Introducing a fourth would be quite erruptive to distribution. I think this is one, of several things, coming this update that will upset the layout of the simulation in a big way.

In recent months we, as a community, have gone to great lengths to catalogue and preserve this great simulation of ours. We have created large galactic communities, each with their own ideals and goals but with the ever common ground of exploration and charting and expanding their territory.

I don’t think the Atlas Foundation want to disturb what we have created. It must remain preserved.

I think, beyond the portal will lie the simulation as we know it, but rejigged with whatever new systems are introduced to the algorithm, the new race with its own territories, and whatever else may lay in store for us.

Which sadly, leads us to the conclusion of my little thought and theory, the one that lay dormant these past few weeks as a passing thought but now has bloomed into being as loop16 wakes from hibernation.

The bad news.

The Sacrifice.

The Cost.

If we want to see what lies beyond the portals. We leave everything we’ve created behind.

It’s a one way ticket, at least, initially (who knows what community backlash might change).

We start fresh in a brand new universe, we rebuild all that was lost, we make it better.

Some will choose to upload the old simulation saves to a cloud, like an old memory or a dream they can revisit, some travellers, like ghosts now, will remain within, afeared of what terrors may lie beyond the portal. Others, too proud or stubborn to give up what they consider home in favour of new adventure.

POST-EDIT HYPE-TRAIN CONTROL
By new processes/systems going into algorithm, i would not mean this to expect huge leaps in animal behaviour or ai, planets spinning on axi and orbiting suns, sean murrays god damn chest hair in an envelope, exploding babies, a reality where tv shows never get spoiled on you, etc etc. Try keep expectations reasonable, dont get too worked up and most importantly; always wear shoulder pads

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I’ve always assumed the same, that we’ll end up leaving the old simulation behind when we step through the portal. I’d hate to lose my ship, I’ve grown quite attached to it, but worth it to step through that portal!

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I think I’ll probably wait a while before I do it on my PC save as thats fairly new. But my launch day PS4 save I’ve restarted every time a new updates come out so I have no problem gunning through that portal soon as. Plus my ps4’s been neglected lately with all this ARG madness

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That’s true love man… for the game that is…and smart. Wish I had thought of that. You should definately get an Atlas 4 pass

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I will not hesitate one second to enter one. I’ve never grown attached to much in NMS. Always kept the same save, but constantly dismantled bases, setting up in new places, replacing ships (sometimes for pure aesthetic reasons). This attitude always served me well since the Mercury Process would always send something more interesting, more beautiful, more intriguing my way.

My girlfriend asked me not too long ago how I would feel if I had the chance to become a Mars colonist tomorrow, but then I would die on another planet and I would have to leave everything. I couldn’t muster up the force to be completely honest because a big part of me would seriously consider it, and a part of me believes I would ultimately be ready to do it.

The good thing with the Mercury Process, is that i’m allowed to follow these impulses. I do intend to cross this portal, no matter what happens.

To boldly go where no interloper ever went before.

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I don’t have a source for this readily available, but I’m pretty sure I remember hearing something a long time ago about how you would not be able to take your ship with you when you went through a portal. I’m not sure if that was before or shortly after the game came out.

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It was before, can’t remember the exact source but early on and one of the few times portals were discussed. The idea I grasped from his description back then was, portals were two way so you could go back through to your ship with the goods beyond the portals. same as @DuckDuck mentioned above me

It seems their purpose was in constant question during development among the team, constantly changing what they would ultimately do. I guess their final idea was so grand , they had to leave it out at launch and wait a year just to give us all of this :smiley:

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I will follow the Portal Travellers progress from my comfy little pose near the centre.
I’ll continue to explore and document my local systems and maybe one day you will return and stumble over my little slice of heaven.
Perhaps one day I too will step through the threshold. We shall see.

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Well my theory is Forth fit confy enough inside stations… And that portals will zip you to desired destinations based on some coordinate input.

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If they do spring this mad scheme on us, there had better be one hell of an update on the other side or I’m not doin’ it. For alien space babes… mebbe. :kissing_closed_eyes:

Or I could start up a Free Build save and do it with that to see what the fuss is all about. But I have amassed a small fortune and don’t intend to leave that behind forever. So… yeah, better be pretty awesome stuff over there. Maybe a quick dream list…

NOT awesomes:

  • Multiplayer :imp:
  • Extreme weather :rage:
  • Extreme dangers and hardships :japanese_goblin:
  • PvP combat and base raiding :face_with_symbols_over_mouth:
  • Planetquakes :face_vomiting:
  • Extremely rare items and events :japanese_ogre:
  • Mind melting puzzles :tired_face:

WAY awesomes:

  • Alien space babes :heart_eyes:
  • Cities, at which you can at least visit little mini-malls :grinning:
  • NPCs with interesting histories which will give you tasks with nice rewards :crazy_face:
  • Greatly expanded Lore which is much more involved in the universe and our progress :face_with_monocle:
  • Activities which have a great effect on the universe: unlocking ruins with special treasures and technology, clues to further exploration, rewards for discoveries, helping resolve conflicts, etc :male_detective:
  • Uhm… MORE INCREDIBLE STUFFS! :rofl:

And just WHY all this couldn’t be in a regular old update? Yeah… I remain skeptical that this would be the incredible out of left field goody Sean and the team came up with. Particularly as the last message at the end of Phase 1 was

Input from the Mercury Subroutine will pave the way toward new experiences in version 1.3 of a familiar universe.

So I’m counting on portals being side deals, not something that completely rips you away from what we know in the Sim. But, as with all things No Man’s Sky, we shall see. :nerd_face:

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Ah, a true single player pioneer like myself. Good to see we’re still out there, fighting the good fight against MOBA-kind.

Yeah after my post, I started thinking “Portals would be kinda wasted if they were just single use, one way entry points to a new universe”.

Though previous theories or desires I’ve had for portals can be melded in with my current one.

They could work as multi purpose devices, updated to suit whatever HG needs em for.

E.G, at some point HG are going to need to see a return profit again after all these free updates, they can’t keep it going forever. Portals opens up new avenues they can use to keep afloat and still deliver free core content updates.

They could use portals as access points to more structured linear areas, mythical places mentioned in the lore, home planets of the races, that kinda thing, with lore and mission packs introduced as paid for DLC, but these would be side stories that don’t really effect the overall narrative, I think to keep everyone happy it would be within their best interests to deliver free mission/level/area content as well with the core updates that would be kinda “main” quests. That way those who choose not to pay for additional content aren’t missing out on the bigger picture.

Another way to keep afloat and still deliver free core content updates would be through “stuff packs”, new stuff for your base or cosmetics/decals etc if they introduce better ship customization options (or give us avatars eventually)

I look to Digital Extremes, and how they handle Free To Play with Warframe. I mean, that is the PERFECT model, and the passion they put in to those updates, how that game has evolved over the years, if Hello Games can deliver the same sort of evolution and passion (as I’m sure they will) then everyones a winner. Obviously NMS is not free to play, but the content updates have been free so thats where I draw the comparison. Don’t let the “free to play” moniker scare you, warframe is one of the very very few examples where, it was done right.

I know nobody wants to hear about paid content for NMS, but we have to be realistic. We want HG to keep delivering content and put all their focus on NMS for at least a good while. It’s an inevitablitity we have to come to terms with if we want our little cosmos to keep growing.

Sean said so much himself in the months leading to release. That they would support the game long after release with free content updates on a regular basis, but that at some point they will have to look in to introducing paid content

(in this same interview he also alludes to his plans for building towards a “no mans sky: online”. hopefully within a year after launch. Seriously, he said that. I really wish more people SEEN that interview so, on launch, they didnt absolutely lose all of the nanners AND marbles.)

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I agree with part of that, also I’m glad you used as Warframe as your reference ( the only game that I can kick ass online) but I do believe that paid content would rub people the wrong way, things like side missions need to stay free as other games like skyrim and dragon age provide lots of quests outside the main game for free as part of the game, I know we live in the era of DLC I get that I’m not over looking it and I know NMS needs money to come in but I just don’t see this as being the best way however things like decals and maybe even skins for ships and things like that would be alright, Minecraft to me is a game that also does paid content pretty well things such as skins and textures cost money but the content updates are always free and to me No Mans Sky should be no differnt, I know that portals and what what they will bring is a huge talking point right now and if it does offer some kind of online experience (don’t expect to) that would be amazing I would love for that to happen but I do hope it doesn’t become like some marketplace or something I dunno truth be told I’m hoping 1.3 will bring awesome things and I can’t wait I already love this game and having more to do in it is just icing on the cake

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100% agreed, perhaps I shouldve been more clear, I didn’t mean for ALL side quests to be DLC, just that if they are to introduce more structured narrative areas through portals and if some of that is to become DLC, it should only be side stuff, stand alone type adventures that aren’t vital so nobody feels like they’re missing out.

Minecraft, another great example, though I sense a change in the wind with MS at the helm, i mean the “4k” skin/lighting update for pc/consoles isnt coming to the ps4 version, not initially anyway, who knows whatll happen down the line. Heres hoping I’m dead wrong and they continue to let Mojang do Mojang.

I kinda just wanna sit here and talk warframe with you now haha XD I’m not a big PVP guy at all with any game but I love me some collaborative PVE fun :slight_smile: It’s crazy how much that game has evolved, can’t wait for the semi-sandbox areas they’re bringing to the experience :smiley:

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I’m totally fine with paid DLC mixed in with free goodies. Split free/pay DLC like that would be dandy. I seriously want The Sim to be the focus of HG for years. It’s a stunning platform on which you can hang all sorts of Christmas ornaments. I suppose there could be cheapie packs of things like decals and decorative things, but I would prefer their focus to be on well endowed expansions, as was provided with Fallout 4. And HG could sell Atlas Passes which provide all or a lot of it for a discount.

I remember well the mention of NMS: Online and how that was a down the road goal of his. That’s another thing that should be a separate paid game. MMOs aren’t cheap to run and maintain, and people need to get over their entitlement mentality that HG “owes them” something. Seriously, selling games is how game companies stay in business, duh, and unless you want them to wander off into other categories like Guerilla Games did with Horizon ZD, which I’m not a fan of, then they need to keep making NMS stuff we’ll pay for. It’s much too cool a game for them to leave it as is to pursue other ways to make money. I dearly want to see the universe they made expanded upon for years to come. Until it absorbs this one anyhow… :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

By the way, yup, big time single player guy here. :sunglasses:

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THIS! That is all :slight_smile:

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I know we like to keep it fanboyant in here, but, To be fair, they own themselves to their very words, more than anything…
Clearly they take no PR advise, but it would be hell again if they don’t match self-promoted expectations before moving into paid DLC territory.
The game was one of the best sold titles of last year… Yet a lot of “clients” tried and left.
They made enough revenue to fund this ARG, that likely costed a small fortune…
This is my favourite game of all times, don’t get me wrong… But without mods (community created extra-content) I would have moved on…
Also I find Fallout4 a great example of a predetermined expansion-span, with season pass scam included, of pre-release content left out for cash-grab, and no real value beyond what you could get for free out of the Nexus.
Truth be told, I would get said DLCs based on my support for Mercury, but would feel let down if it included features hinted during peech/development.
Stuff we were told would not be in the game, like base-building, we got for free… Those are the kind of features that could have been left out for latter paid expansion. Just my two entitled cents…

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I had this same thought, for many of the reasons you give, but with the added possibility that the update includes changes of a kind that, for software engineering reasons, preclude the old save files being compatible with the “new” universe.

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Okay, as customers of software, we do have expectations of what we’re getting. But listen, hardly anyone keeps certain key points in mind with their games they drool over.

  • “Preliminary game features and specifications are subject to change. Preliminary gameplay, demos and videos may not match the final product.” These disclaimers often get ignored by fans, and they were ignored by those waiting on NMS big time. Most game buyers shrug off changes and omissions they were expecting. A lot of NMS buyers threw tantrums, and most of those tantrums were about things discussed early on by Sean Murray years ago. This game did take a few years to build, after all. Some things, they just couldn’t do. Some work was destroyed in the office flood, and had to be redone by hand, some of it they had trouble reworking in the ever shorter time available. Some things fell by the wayside because they ran out of time and money. And poor Sean was getting death threats with a delay of a few weeks.
  • “The game was one of the best sold titles of last year.” Yes, but it was also heavily flamed by people who expected the game based on that vision of years ago. I’ve seen just months ago people harping that Sean DEFINITLY SAID that multiplayer would be in. That giant sandworms would
    DEFINITELY be in, that portals would DEFINITELY be in… etc. There were a LOT of refunds issued to furious buyers. SONY published the game and the publisher always gets a big cut of the pie. Hello Games had to deal with lawsuits. They didn’t become billionaires from all this.

I forget the “Lie list” because it doesn’t matter to me. See, I came in a little late to all the hyping. I scoured the net for interviews and videos a couple of months before the E3 prior to release, and Sean was discussing even less than we got. Now I did expect that the Lore would have more involvement in the galaxy, that there would be more to discover than a proceedural trail of Knowledge Stones, Ruins and Monoliths. I thought portals would be working too, but I wasn’t about to be the first to step through one. And when they begin working, I’m not jumping in until I get word that they’re not one way pearly gates with no way back.

They have put a LOT of work into the game, and they have put a LOT of gaming goodies into the game, for free. But look, those old employees and those new employees have to be paid with real money, and I’m not hearing that new copies of the game are flying off of shelves. Which means that they’re paying their bills and funding this ARG and all the work they’re doing on NMS on what they made a year ago. How long are they supposed to keep making stuff for free that is really expensive to make? Let’s make it personal: how long could you live without a paycheck? Me, a couple months if I’m lucky, and if I couldn’t draw unemployment, I’d be hosed.

We have to be sensible and realistic about this. If a company is going to survive, it has to sell something. If you want Sean and the team to keep producing stuff for NMS, at some point it will have to cost money. And like I say, I want this game to be their focus for a couple of years if possible. I don’t want another Joe Danger or some other game from them. I may be selfish, but this game is a dream come true for me, and I want this dream to grow as much as it can over the coming year(s).

This is their job. It’s how they make a living. They have to make money or Hello Games ceases to exist. I don’t think I can make it any plainer.

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I agree, mostly… I just think that they are on the path of winning back a good chunk of the player-base they lost… Having won those back, you sell your next thing like candy…
Now that things are looking so bright, would hate it to go sour. I was just doing a polite thoght experiment on the things you would be reading. It’s not criticism, in that I think everything was done better than expected on my wildest dreams… Those two updates we got, had a lot of potentially paid dlc worthy features.

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