No Man Sky: Plus Ultra

The Truth is out There!

Controversial game No Man Sky continues to hold more than a few secrets…

…Maybe a meta game will help us go further beyond.

This is a continuation of a previous article on portals within No Man Sky. As usual, possible spoilers ahead. Also this is a slightly longer read than intended/usual. Apologies.

MrUnnoticed (Reddit , Twitter) has put monumental effort into testing and deciphering No Man Sky. He always brings ground breaking work is the owner of Tape 3/16. Unfortunately, he has recently been in an accident. It would be awesome if Mr Unnoticed woke up to some love for being the No Man Sky Pioneer that he is. Please send him a tweet or visit this page dedicated to him.

Plus Ultra

The previous article on this subject ended on two notes, what is and how to engage in the infinite, and an allegory. No Man Sky just so happens to have gained a lot of inspiration from Greek Mythology. Most notably, the primary storyline of No Man Sky involves the player retrieving stones, that look remarkably like apples, for a an ominous presence named Atlas. This is mirrors the most notable story of Atlas in Greek mythology who, in short, tried to trick Hercules into retrieving golden apples, amongst other things, for nefarious purposes. No Man Sky lore has a character named Hirk. Atlas in Greek mythology was a Titan who, after battling Zeus, was forced to hold up the celestial skies for eternity. Not unlike how Atlas in No Man Sky holds up the simulation. Atlas in Greek mythology has children. 3 of their names just happen to be that of galaxies and dimensions of No Man’s Sky.

Most importantly and most relevant: The currently dormant portals in No Man’s Sky are two pillars tall enough to carve out the sky. This is not unlike the Pillars of Hercules at the Strait of Gibraltar. These two tall pillars that carve out the sky were said to have marked the edge of the known world and is a portal to another, unknown one.

How could an elusive structure, created of 0s & 1s, generate a cult following,

Pillars seen holding up the sky and planets

The subject of the article in March 2017 was how could we possibly prove the existence of a proverbial needle (activation of portals) in an infinite haystack (procedural generated dimensions/galaxies). It seems No Man Sky producers may have had similar concerns. Somewhat ironically, No Man Sky creators Hello Games worked with another company Alice & Smith, to introduce an “Alternate Reality Game” called Walking Titan. The references to Greek Mythology continues…

Hmm… of course, such things are contrivances like so much here. For the sake of appearances.

-Merovingian

Waking Titan

Wikipedia defines an Alternate Reality Game (ARG) as “an interactive networked narrative that uses the real world as a platform and employs transmedia storytelling to deliver a story that may be altered by players’ ideas or actions.”. To explain the irony, Hello Games has developed an additional reality, in reality, order to hopefully explain how the reality they created (No Man’s Sky) has a reality underneath it. Facinating .In Greek mythology, the Titans were members of the second generation of divine beings, descending from the primordial deities and preceding the Olympian deities. Atlas is a second generation Titan.

Waking Titan ARG gained significant traction within communities when a select few devout No Man Sky fans and community administrators received a package, mostly of signed merchandise. The plot revolves around a number of corporate websites advertising futuristic technology, a few leaked documents and some antagonists . The dates used with Waking Titan seem to strongly suggest a story of how Atlas of No Man Sky “woke” or came to be. It is also worth noting that mythology continues to be referenced. Orion, Hyperion, Mercury, myriad are all passwords, keywords or titles used within the ARG. Most of the interactions so far have been around decoding strings of data using increasingly complex methods and working collaboratively . In some cases this ARG requires individual, unique and separate inputs from hundreds of users. So far this has included: surveys, pictures of percussion instruments and individual translations. This has been a slight departure from other ARGs where only the quickest or the smartest get to participate fully. In extreme cases individuals have had to interact with characters The collective prize: another clue towards completing Waking Titan and/or clues regarding impending changes and current secrets of No Man Sky. Individual prizes: The chance to receive physical merchandise (A Level 4: Atlas Pass) and a digital license key (For Mercury Subroutines). Attributing to the concept of singularity can be a prize or punishment, dependent on the person. Users are defined by scientist-ids and various communities, the creators of this ARG have cleverly coerced most into groups and required them to either think more critically or provide manpower. More so, they have caused many to engage and theorise in places that can correctly log these mental exercises (i.e ETRAC Forum and not reddit, YouTube and not Discord)

A Waking Titan “leaked” PDF. It seems players are being analysed. But for what ends?

A cassette that was receieved by Hello Games

Imagery is also decoded as a part of this ARG

The final image. Could this ship posibly contain the mythical Odvskino Drive?

But one word merely gives acknowledgement, not an end. Waking Titan shows we are yet to understand the secret language or glyphs.

A single prize for the collective who participated. A clue for the next phase.

Game Detectives logs all information and updates regarding this ongoing Alternate Reality Game.

Yes, of course, who has time? Who has time? But then if we do not ever take time, how can we ever have time?

-Merovingian

Agitating Atë

The alternate reality game “Waking Titan”, similar to most of this era, is not without its observers, joyriders and leeches. Instructions and solutions can be found pinned on the No Man Sky Discord or subreddit comment section mixed in-between “What is new”, “How do I do x” and “What is the answer to y”. It seems, while Waking Titan has garnered interest of gaming media and reinvigorated observer’s interests, many people engaging in Walking Titan have little interest in the game itself. Case in point: towards the end of Waking Titan: Phase a code was deciphered (013d:0078:0724:0056). A code easily observable to No Man Sky players as coordinates; but lost on many within ARG discussion. An image of a ship unlike any other was also found. Many hypothesized that this ship could fit into a portal. But anyone who has visited a portal, or flown a ship in No Man’s Sky for a significant amount of time would know, ships cannot fly that low and portals have rings that wouldn’t allow a ship to fit. Steam Game Stats show only a slight bump in PC average players which pails in comparison to bumps seen with game updates.

It would be hypocritical to previously conclude “Do what thou wilt” with No Man Sky and lambast those that choose to interact with this game, or not, in a particular way. Especially since I have deemed myself too stupid to figure out the riddles of No Man Sky, yet smart enough to chronicle them. But within the context of acknowledging portals and other secrets, will any parts of Waking Titan help towards it’s discovery? Can the inquisitive mindsets acquired for Waking Titan be transferred to No Man Sky? What does any of this have to do with the game itself?

But this is not a reason, this is not a “why”. …[its] very nature, is a means, it is not an end, and so, to look for [it] is to be looking for a means to do… what?

-Merovingian

Hermes: Messenger of the Gods

Ultimately, there should be a round of applause to Hello Games & Alice & Smith. After the backlash recieved nearly 12 months ago, they have managed to create a marketing package that moulds players of the Walking Titan ARG into the mindset that is lacking somewhat from No Man Sky…for whatever reason. Critical thinkers, theorist/tinfoilers, scientists and tinfoilers have merged with the casual to create an immersive and welcoming experience with lower barriers to entry than most other Alternate Reality Game. They can also simulatiously generate hype for the free 1 year aniversary update. The drip feeding of clues and elusiveness of the protagonists help to prevent overhyping and focus expectations. All can feel they are contributing equally. Again the phrase “Do what thou wilt” is still ring in my ears, but I can’t help but fear that this will not translate into more people interested in the lore and story of No Man Sky; let alone help to unlock secrets bringing the story to completion.

Thank You for Reading

A redditor , consistently finds the specific constellation on the galactic map and system skyboxes.

–

INCOMING TRANSMISSION… SOURCE: UNKNOWN… You are not – kzzktt – alone – Please, identify yourself. I’m – kzzkttk – . Race Fourth – ID mercury.

It would seem that Atlas has a habit of creating races. Could a fourth break the cycle?

There are a lot of references to species that we have not seen yet.

Gek notes that you are not a member of No Man Sky’s three races/species. What are you?

Abandoned Buildings speak of an ancient race. One that keeps crystals (similar to night crystals) under their skin.

Most likely not another race. Another Titan prehaps?

There are plenty of references in No Man Sky to species that we have not yet seen. To an impending war that has not yet started. To abominations not yet released. One thing Waking Titan does confirm for us is that another visible race is coming…from Atlas. But with that it brings a few questions: Is Atlas the only Titan? Waking Titan ARG utilises many Titans names as keywords. Is the player the fourth race? No Man Sky identifies the player as “traveller” a person unlike the other three races litered throughout the infinite gallaxies/diamensions of No Man Sky. Are you a child of Atlas? Waking Titan speaks of Atlas creating life. In the previous article I spoke of the laws infinite and Atlas existing for an impossibly long time. Could this conformation of a new race help to break this endless endless loop seen in so many aspects of No Man Sky, bringing an end to Atlas’ suffering? Better yet, what makes this time/loop any different.

A poignant video message that is a part of Waking Titan that uses the Superlumia communications technology within Waking Titan lore. This technology (a play on the the word Superluminal meaning faster that light) has the ability to send transcend time and space. Waking Titan lore also contains Echo System , a technology used to recall memories, dialect and information of the deceased. Similar technology is [subsequently?] used by the Korvax race within No Man Sky lore in the form of “Korvax Echos” to transfer information to the collective. I have previously stated and remain confident that “controversial game No Man Sky holds more than a few secrets”. Due to time and resource constraints, I wish to base my investigations and analysis around one in particular. Primarily because I do not know if it will ever be solved, revealled or given the respect it is due.

Neo: You know the answer to that question.

Merovingian: But do you? You think you do but you do not. You are here because you were sent here, you were told to come here and you obeyed. [Laughs] It is, of course, the way of all things. You see, there is only one constant, one universal, it is the only real truth: causality. Action. Reaction. Cause and effect.

Noderpsy reaches an elusive system. One with a dying sun, 3 planets, one being green with two moons.

To highlight the complexity of this mystery, Hello Games hid the same message in identical cassette tapes.

To decipher the cassette tapes needed to be converted to a digital format

Once digitized, the file had to be sent through a spectrograph to reveal this code.

…and then that conversion required further translation.

Dependent on the definition of glyphs, all monoliths, plaques and language stones have them. This monolith resembles the updated Big Ball “glitch”

Portals, monoliths, plaques, all contain distinctive carvings.

A tinfoiler, /u/fritz2 , attempts to carve meaning from an innocuous puzzle.

As previously mentioned particular devout members of the No Man Sky community recieved a package from Hello Games themselves. Identical cassette tapes. All came with the same tracklist on A-side.

Red Parallax
Supermoon
End of the World Sun

This is a clear reference to Abandoned building lore. Both the lore and the cassette owners “analysed the message in its own curiosity and revealed another layer beneath the audio component. ” This place, “located inside the Haze Zone” shows “a red giant star in the final stages of collapse remains.”; an “End of the World Sun” if you will. Furthermore the lore speaks of a “A visual of a world with green skies and an obsidian moon.”; a “supermoon” prehaps? A Red Parallax would suggest the fabled 3 by 3 system….which is viewed as red from the galactic map.

The analysed message on the B-side? After using a spectorgraph , a ROT13 and Hex-to-ASCII decoder, a single word is given: “portal”. It would appear that this proverbial needle exists and can be activated after all. Hurrah! But this is not enough. Abandoned building lore also alludes to being stuck in a loop (loops being a common theme of No Man Sky and Waking Titan). Also within Abandoned Building lore the chilling realisation that the message recieved is from him/itself, backwards in time. A warning. Similar technology is used within the Waking Titan ARG lore: Superlumia communications technology . As far as we know that person became/becomes stuck. But what is preventing us from encountering the same fate? Prehaps monoliths. They are recognised as markers for inteligence both within No Man Sky and outside of it. We have been told we do not know of their secret language yet.

Morpheus: Everything begins with choice.

Merovingian: No. Wrong. Choice is an illusion, created between those with power, and those without.

MrUnnoticed (Reddit , Twitter) has put monumental effort into testing and deciphering No Man Sky he always brings ground breaking work and is the owner of Tape 3/16. Unfortunately, he has recently been in an accident. It would be awesome if Mr Unnoticed woke up to some love for being the No Man Sky Pioneer that he is. Please send him a tweet or visit this page dedicated to him.