The Eye Of The Universe And Its Mechanics Explained - Outer Wilds Ending Explained

In this video I touch on almost all of the core mechanics of Outer Wilds. Then I tie them together with the Eye Of The Universe. Its took a lot of thinking. And in game exploration. But I truly believe this almost fully explains the end game of the outer wilds! Though it is a tad bit outdated by now. But still , I hope the Nomai would be proud!!

[@vicenteisaaclopezvaldez2450]

I really like the idea of the quantum interaction being a promise to the universe; it's so romantic.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Not often I run into someone who knows the true meaning of romantic. glad to have you around bud. thanks for the kind words!

[@vicenteisaaclopezvaldez2450]

@@TheLoreExplorer Why, thank you. Same thing here.

[@DavideTonelli2705]

Hola Vicente! ¿Hablas español? me imagino que sí por tus apellidos, pero bueno, cuéntame, me llamó mucho la atención tu forma de describir lo romántico, ¿Serías tan amable de profundizar en ello? ¡me encantaría entender el verdadero significado del romance yo también! :)

[@droikidaz]

@@DavideTonelli2705 Español No sé si te sirva, pero aquí te dejaré mi forma de entender lo romántico. Creo yo que viene del Romanticismo, un movimiento cultural de hace algunos siglos, para mi, tiene que ver con la dedicación, la emoción y la importancia que se le da a las cosas, por eso, cuando uno se refiere a lo romántico, generalmente se relaciona con el amor, que tiene cualidades diferentes, aún así, no está siempre ligado a eso. Aún creo que me hace falta descubrir más, pero quizás ésto te ayude a ti y a quien lo lea en algo. English I Don't know if this is useful for you, but I'll show you my own understanding of romantic. I think it comes from the cultural movement called Romanticism, a few centuries ago, for me, it have something's to do with dedication, emotion, and the meaning you give to things, that's why often it gets tangled with love, although they have similar things, they are not always the same. I still have a lot to discover and to think about, but I hope that it helps you and anyone who read this.

[@DavideTonelli2705]

@@droikidaz Muchas gracias amigo! tener varias perspectivas de un mismo tema te abre muchas puertas, thanks!

[@waterbucketeer6975]

The entire ending of this game terrifies me.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Thats why this game is a masterpiece. The ending only shows you things youve seen before. for the most part. they scare the ever living hell out of you with smoke and a giant hole in the sky. Its amazing!

[@coffeeguyd]

I feel less terrified, more exhilarated or excited, and... reassured?

[@dylangreen192]

It was scary, up until the campfire reappears. Then it gets cozy again.

[@artuno1207]

What scares me is the fact that the ending will be something we have never seen before, or something we simply cannot comprehend with our simple human 3 dimensional mindset. They did a good job by making it weird and alien, especially at the quantum level.

[@CaptnKrksNippls]

first existential crisis? you get used to it

[@iga1691]

This game deserves SO much more recognition. It really got robbed by The Outer Worlds having such a similar name.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Ehh. Idk about that. Everyone who searched for outer Worlds most likely at least saw outer wilds too. I think it's the epic exclusivity. Along with it just being an indie title.

[@iga1691]

@@Cenodis I mean, you're watching lore explanation videos on youtube, you have no one else to blame but yourself for the story getting spoiled. This game is low-key enough for you to totally avoid spoilers unless you actively search for them dude.

[@slate5778]

@@Cenodis it was Annapurna who put it on epic and not steam, as they were the publisher. Mobius is not at fault.

[@pizzalover5921]

@@Cenodis this game is a game meant for you to not search up anything about it before you complete it.

[@youriricher1123]

I accidentaly downloaded outer wilds, thinking that it was Outer Worlds, and this was the best mistake of my life

[@cocojonny7226]

One thing I’ve always wondered is what if those weird voices we hear when we use our Signalscope on a quantum object are the people who sang their song to create this universe at the eye. If that’s the case then the bug people in the new universe would likely hear all the travelers instruments if they made a Signalscope and used it on a quantum object. Or the voices are just a really creepy thing.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

I never saw them as voices. Though i have put forward the motion that our song is what the next signal will be comprised from!

[@CausticFoil]

To add to this, each iteration of the universe will likely have a different perception on sound. The quantum object sound could easily be a relaxing song in a previous universe but suddenly become terrifying and alien to a new universe worth of creatures.

[@CausticFoil]

Holy crap, I just sped up the last few minutes of the quantum fluctuations song (uncertainty principle) by 10 times and it's a distorted version of the main theme.

[@kiwisareoranges6717]

@@CausticFoil you should post a video of it sped up!

[@KhadiPlays]

@@CausticFoil Does it tho? YOu piqued my interest so I did the same and it sounds nothing alike, not even distorted alike.

[@cpalonder30]

At the end with the cockroach pic, there is an animation of your scout flying across the screen. This happened with my play through today. It only happens if you fire it into the eye before you jump into it on the planet. Just thinking about it is awesome. You the player are what’s causing the next race to find the eye of the universe. That scout is older than the universe it exists in 😂

[@Epicawesomeness64]

I did the probe thing completely of my own accord, and I didn't know until afterward when I looked it up that the ending changed depending on what you had done. I was wowed by the attention to detail

[@tjmcdonald4747]

I am so dense. I did the probe thing but didn't realize the thing flying across the screen was my probe.

[@zoelio999]

Did that too. The fact that you can't get it back had me concerned for a bit

[@iTzNikkitty]

Wait a minute. Wouldn't that mean that the eye we meet could be the previous observer that created our universe?

[@MarkTomczak]

I personally imagined that the eye is the probe that the previous explorer launched. Your probe is the eye for the universe that was created by your observation.

[@Stinkuh69]

6:07 It's so interesting to see past theories once we have answers. The fact the owlks are the ones who stopped the eyes signal and the nomai picked up that signal in it's short duration is amazing. Also, the statue activating once the eyes coordinates were found was no coincidence, but rather designed that way. The statues were made to activate when the coordinates were found so a select few conscious entities would experience time loops.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

That’s not what I meant. It is what I say. But just cause it’s hard to deal with a split community. What I’m saying is. It’s a huge coincidence that the eye is found in the exact moment it is. Not loop wise or anything like that. If it were found 1 minute earlier Hal would have connected to it. 2 minutes later and hornfells would have connected with it. But it just so happened to be found at the instant it needed to for the hearthian best equipped to solve the mystery. Any other hearthian and this would likely have stayed a mystery forever.

[@Phantom_Knowledge]

@@TheLoreExplorer *MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE PLOT, IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED THE GAME, STOP* The Nomai probe was only to be sent once the Ash Twin Project were activated. They failed to power it and died soon after because of the ghost matter, so everything was kept in a standby state. Once the sun went supernova, the Ash Twin Project sent the launch command 22 minutes back in time, activating the probe and starting the time loop. Once active, the probe would be launched in a random direction and try to find the Eye. 22 minutes later, the sun exploded and sent back the data the probe acquired and sent the launch command again. It took the probe 9,318,054 tries to find the Eye, and once found, the ATP sent not only the probe data and the launch command 22 minutes back in time, but also sent the sync command this time, which activated the statues and paired both Gabbro's and the Hatchling's memories to be sent back when the ATP is activated once the sun goes supernova. The Eye itself didn't know when to be found, it was sending data that even the Owlks and Nomai could detect. It couldn't be found "1 minute" or "2 minutes" earlier/later, it was just chance; Outer Wilds is not about the Hatchling being the Chosen One or stuff like that, it's just... chance. That's the beauty of it.

[@astrosimon4216]

The lore in outer wilds is truly a mysterious and complicated thing. Glad we have someone exploring it!

[@tommapar]

I like your take on the ending. I didn't interpret it like you said though, The Eye being a black hole and sending the universe back in time to the begininng and all. I interpreted it more or less as the creation of a *new* big bang, a *new* universe. Totally unlike the last one. Like the Eye makes sure someone gets to it so the cycle can begin anew. Like taking all those quantum possibilities and by virtue of observing it giving it a set order until all of that information materializes into a new big bang. And that's the cycle, when the universe starts dying it, ensures a new beginning by using The Eye. The Eye that exists beyond the order of the universe, one that can only exist in a state of total quantum uncertainty... until a conscious observer comes and.. observes it.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

I mean. It is a new big bang. it is a new universe with new rules. taken from all the possibilities of the last universe. But I will say I think everytime we enter the atp its a different one so that may be why i see it like this! Also, thank you!

[@tommapar]

@@TheLoreExplorer You're welcome man, I always appreciate people putting out there how cool and complex vgames stories can be. Back on topic though, maybe I misunderstood but, isn't the ATP just sending you back in time? I thought it was always the same universe but 22 minutes before, since your memories are being sent to the past according to all the texts in the game.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Heres how i look at it. We know anything that gets sent into the black hole gets sent back in time. the whole universe doesnt go through the black hole. but then youd say well its the same universe just 22 minutes before the tranfer. but then if WE go through the atp, we end up duplicating ourself. In my mind, this means there is already a hearthian 22 minutes in the past, separate from us that usually receives our memories. Mainly i believe this because the inventor of the statues thought we are doing something different then rewriting time(ie sending our memories back, causing all the actions we took to gain the memories to never have happened.) To state it simply, if our memories get sent back, and we get sent back, who or what is receiving our memories at the campfire?

[@tommapar]

@@TheLoreExplorer But if everything was sent back to a different universe with a different Hearthian, wouldn't that mean that the experiments that led to the Nomai finding out that whatever you send through the hole came out the other side milliseconds earlier wouldn't have worked? I mean you could argue that in many many multiple timelines **not** universes Nomai are doing the same experiment at the same time, but that would mean it would be very unreliable since there are just to many variables to send something as sensitive as data back in time. For example you could have a timeline where instead of sending a packet of data through that said "Hi" they sent out a "Hello". I think it's not necessary for the whole universe to go through the hole to go back in time. That is because, and this is not too far off from actual physics, black holes are known to bend space _time_ so it's not impossible for it to not only send you instantly light years away, and maybe even possibly send you back in time as well, not rewind time mind you, but send an object or thing to a different moment in space/time. If that was the case and like you said The Eye was a black hole it would make sense to send you back to the big bang. A little detail that the more I think about the more it supports that theory instead of the new big bang/new universe one is the fact that if you launch your little scout into the eye you lose connection for ever, and in the after credits "scene" you can see the scout float across the screen. I like to think it was just a little joke from the developer though, lol. I think that the more I think about the more convoluted it gets

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Well, like you said. its all convoluted. and honestly, whichever theory is right doesnt change what we see in game. Anyway, think about it this way. All the quantum objects exist in all possible states at once. Im suggesting its the same for universes. All connected by the eye and other black holes(these are just the doors i guess). So, when we see a copy come out .00001 seconds before we send it in, its a different timelines quantum possibility coming out before you send yours in. Maybe because time doesnt happen at they eye? So, you cant send in a hi, and get hello out. but if you send in all possibilities(hi, hello, how ya doing, whats up?) you can get anything on the other side. Since anything is possible. Thats what we see with the new universe. Thats why they are different. I mean, we see they(the new and old universe) are different. Our scout can get there because the eye connects all "timelines" or universes. but the scout itself had to be entangled with the eye for that to happen. (ultimately i think the devs added this to show we can affect this other universe)

[@Yesnomu]

What a great interpretation! I never connected the dots on the black hole/white hole mechanic and the Eye. The phrase "a promise with the universe" is so profound. This game is so beautiful, with its messages about death and passing on to the next generation, and I think I appreciate it even more now. Thanks for this video!

[@TheLoreExplorer]

This just made my day. Thank you very much. And I agree death is a message in the game. But Im glad you didnt call it a theme! That sort of bugs me when people think its the main message.

[@Davesoft]

Crazy theory: the spacetime break and dark bramble look too similar to ignore, dark bramble may 'digest' spacetime to grow, hence it's unconventional interior.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Really? what similarities do you see?

[@grantsmotherman8450]

@@TheLoreExplorer he might be thinking of an older version of the spacetime ending, which had dark thorny vines resembling those in the dark bramble coming out of the probe instead of the blue cracks shown in your video.

[@NickSchoenfeld]

There is a real life expression that references quantum knowledge and observation: “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?” Trees are definitely a theme in this game. Especially with the ancient glade. It must be a reference.

[@Artymis_Kitty]

6:26 it's not a coincidence, the Nomai built the statues to only pair with someone and send back memories once the eye had been found that way they wouldn't have to live through and be aware of the 9million loops it took to find the eye. Basically the Nomai set it up like this. The tracking module would have a statue and be the only statue that was on, it was paired with the tracking module and sent back the probe date every loop. Once the probe found the eye of the universe the statue sent the coordinates back to the beginning of the loop and the receiving of the coordinates would cause the other statues to now turn on and pair with their Nomai, meaning the Nomai would only have to be aware of one time loop. Essentially to their perception they would turn on the loop and instantaneously have the coordinates, before the even turned on the loop for the first time.

[@benzosbenchmarks8145]

Wonderfully made video, I enjoy your passion and love for this game.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Thank you very much!

[@offtheradarfam174]

Sebastian Weber he definitely knows his stuff

[@MrCompassionate01]

Agreed, great video and I am very glad to have the ending explained (or at least a theory of it)

[@mint5438]

I wonder what the fabric of space time being destroyed feels like. Does it hurt? Is it just a tingling sensation then nothing? Guess we'll never know.

[@tomaslimer]

Maybe yes if an advanced alien does it

[@positronikiss]

New fetish 2020

[@nedyrb133]

it's perhaps an impossible question to ask. i personally don't believe anything caused from the creation of the universe has the ability/capability to affect it in such an incredible way

[@cautemoc4624]

@@nedyrb133 Most likely not. For this to be a problem matter would have to be able to go back in time. The current theory is that it's absolutely impossible to move matter backwards through time. We can theorize ways to send information backwards, but that shouldn't cause this kind of paradox.

[@gilotyna815]

ah well sorry everyone but i fucked up and we will know in exactly 15 minutes. again, sorry, it was an honest mistake ;_;

[@hassanshahid5832]

Just wanna say you're a champ you're the reason why I even played this game. Great work man !!!!

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Thanks Hassan. You the champ!

[@zndr9056]

I love all the Nomai’s different questions and theory’s on the eyes nature, as it is human-izes the Nomai as if the human race discovered a signal in the depths of space which is older than the universe itself, they would ponder the same questions.

[@muggs5574]

Ha! I didn't actually know you could break space time like that. Thanks for making this, I thought the ending was really profound but felt like I'd missed some pieces of how exactly it worked.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

You're welcome bud. The game deserves the attention!

[@MarkTomczak]

Try to leave that space time where you found it. I'm still using it!

[@joshlawson275]

My theory is you are the eye and you always have been the eye. Like your friend at the end says something about moving forward, but this time he feels it will be different. You create a new loop, with new beings similar to you, and although different events take place in that loop, they start and end the same way, just like every loop in the game.

[@InteractionImplants]

What a wild ride it was to watch this 10 part series you made! Thank you The Lore Explorer!

[@TheLoreExplorer]

No, thank you Bryle. Glad you enjoyed it! Hope you find my other videos interesting as well!

[@quintonjenks3741]

I really like this theory, and don’t really have any problems with it, but I do have my own theory that is very similar to yours. I think the reason why it’s called the eye of the universe is that it very literally is an “eye,” in that it views the universe, solidifying it as a singular possibility. Without it, the whole universe would be quantum and unstable, existing as every possibility at once. The smoke from the fire at the end is what the universe would be without the eye, and you observing it collapses it into the singular possibility that is a new universe, which the eye itself is now able to view and stabilize. Once that universe dies, someone will “fulfill the promise”, as you put it, and collapse the possibilities once again into a new universe. And the cycle would continue. Most of your theory could fit with this as well. Mostly I just like the idea that the term “eye” was used as a reference to observing quantum objects, and not just eye as in the core of something. Feel free to let me know if there’s any issues with it, as I haven’t been thinking about it nearly as much as you have.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

No. This is very similar to my theory! I dont see many problems. The only one I see is the fact some quantum objects remain. So if it was observing everything constantly idk why some quantum things still pop up. I tried to frame it as the eye is being portrayed in a literal sense. If its in all possible orbits, its likely around other suns as well(maybe?). So it could observe everything at once. I even believe thats what governs the "spacetime breaking" ending. The eye is whats policing that in my eyes! I do like the idea that the ancient glade is what quantum existence would be without a single set of rules dictated by as quantum observer. Then once we arrive, we observe the entire thing, all the possibilities. Which roles the dice and gives us our new rules. Ive kind of had this sort of thought. but never was able to put it to words. Would you mind if I made a theory video on it? idk if I will but I really want to now lol.

[@quintonjenks3741]

I definitely wouldn’t mind that at all! About the remaining quantum objects, I’m not quite sure about them. An important factor is quantum entanglement. Maybe the eye has the ability to purposely entangle itself with objects, like the quantum moon, and the rocks and areas around them are just an unintended side effect. The objects surrounding the rocks would be entangled with the rocks, and so, by proxy, be entangled with the eye. Not a perfect theory, but it could work.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Actually, now it makes sense why the quantum objects only do happen when they objects in the vicinity of a piece of the quantum planet. Those pieces cant contain their quantum "every statyness?" Though, I need to work out how black holes work into this. They seem to be inherently quantum by nature.

[@quintonjenks3741]

Are black holes quantum? I thought they were mostly separate in their mechanics, with the eye being pretty much a quantum black hole. I could be wrong though.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

They seem to do similar things. Two things existing at two different places at once.

[@finlal762]

One thing I think you got wrong is that eye "let the probe find it when you synch with the statue". It's vice versa - when the probe finds the eye, it sends a signal to ash project, which activates the statues 22 minutes in the past. You and Gabbro just happened to be around at a right time Otherwise, pretty interesting theory!

[@TheLoreExplorer]

I know how the atp works bud. Whoever was next to any statue would sync up. I think it's even loop wide. I forget if Alex answered that one. But... But I just don't think it's coincidence the new recruit (albeit 1000+ times before synchronization) who just invented a translator capable of solving the puzzle was near the statue. Especially since we are able to literally watch the probe launch, and sync up with the statue within minutes. So idk bud. Just my theory anyway.

[@brucemanly]

@@TheLoreExplorer some things happen for the sake of plot. You can't assume deep meaning in everything.

[@Yes-lm1lc]

​@@TheLoreExplorer some things are part of the game design, not logical, (requiring to press A to wake up at the beginning for exemple is only to not waste time, but not logical because how Can you chose when waking up? And why would it trigger the 22mi' counter once you do? Are we the time loop? Another exemple is that shuttle dont freeze on the interloper, although their did.

[@Yes-lm1lc]

​@@TheLoreExplorer thanks for the content bro ❤️‍🔥

[@AttentiveDragon]

This is a really interesting analysis. I agree that the Eye did things when it did them for a reason, and that there must have been some kind of previous consciousness at play. I don't know if the Eye itself is conscious, or perhaps a prior traveler's consciousness is present, or perhaps a combination of the two! But I think the Eye wanted to be found, and sent out its signal to the Naomi for that purpose. It needed someone to entangle with it in order to create the new universe, but also the Eye wasn't going to allow just anyone to access it until the time was right. There's a weird theory I've read that the Eye might have sent the Interloper, that the Eye wanted to stop the Naomi from reaching it 200,000 years too soon. There's no real proof of this in-game, but it is an interesting idea. Maybe that sphere shaped hole in the Eye might have been the core of the interloper. If this idea is true, it puts things in a far more sinister light. Either way, I do agree that the Eye definitely had an active hand in everything that happened, though which events were due to its influence, and which were just random chance, are hard to separate. And since every "random" thing might just be one possible state in which the Eye it can possibly exist if observed, perhaps there is no random chance at all! I do disagree with one thing you said: the Eye didn't "let the probe find it right when we synced with the memory statue." Rather: the statues activated because the probe had finally found the Eye after over 9000 attempts. The statues were designed to activate if the Ash Twin project either succeeded or failed. When the Project was finally activated by the sun's natural supernova, the first loop was created, and the command to fire the probe was sent 22 minutes back in time. The probe didn't find the Eye, and so the cycle repeated, over 9000 times without the player ever knowing it while the probe searched, over and over again. The player must have lived the day of their first flight 9000 times, and never remembered any of it. But, after over 9000 loops, the probe finally found the Eye, and the statues activated per their prior instructions because the project had succeeded. The intention was that one of the Naomi scientists would be next to a statue, so that their knowledge of the project's success could be sent back 22 minutes and they could stop the Sun Station from firing. Of course, the Sun Station never worked as intended, and the player just happened to be the closest living being to a statue at the moment of activation. BUT - this ties into your idea of a "promise to the universe!" The Naomi were going to create a paradox. They wanted information they could only acquire by destroying a star. They set it up so that once they got that information, they would never actually cause the destruction in the first place! That creates an ontological paradox, and one must wonder, again, if the universe itself rebelled against this. Perhaps the Interloper was the universe's desperate attempt to stop them from destroying the very fabric of space-time! And again - maybe the Eye was the one that sent it. If it wanted to save existence (by creating a new universe) the last thing it would want was someone to just rip it all apart before it could do so!

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Maybe I worded it wrong in the video. Cause this point keeps. Coming up. But think about it. 5 seconds earlier and Hal is synced with the statue. 1 minute later and hornfells is synced with the statue. It was found in the 30 second span when only we(the new astronaut of the bunch) was next to the statue. That could just be coincidence. But it seems a but egregious to me if so.

[@Drakonflare]

@@TheLoreExplorer Except that can't be right. The reason people get synced with the statues is not due to the Eye. Neither is the probe finding the Eye related to it. All of that is because of the Ash Twin Project. The Nomai planned to use the Sun Station to make the sun go supernova, use the energy to go back in time 22 minutes, during which they send out a probe. Repeat this as many times as you need to find the Eye (9.5 million times apparently), and send to the data back each loop through a mask. They also send back the memory of the those linked to the masks so they could stop the project once the Eye is found, or to stop repeating infinitely if something went wrong. The problem is that the Sun Station was not capable of making the sun go supernova, and soon after the failed test, the ghost matter from the Interloper wiped out all the Nomai in this star system. So the ATP was still primed to go as soon as the sun went supernova. Which it did. At the end of its lifespan. It is not unlikely for one of the characters to coincidentally stand next to a statue during the activation in one of these loops. In fact, as the looping would continue forever, it is all but guarantee if small changes are possible between loops. And if the new universe at the end is a time-reverse of universe before it. And if that new universe is different. Then changes to the time loop must be possible.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

@@Drakonflare what do you mean that cant be right? thats exactly how the lore works. You say its not due to the eye. but its when the eye gets found. And it may even be able to decide when to do so. but once the probe finds the eye. it sends back the coordinates and activates the statues. then, the next person to walk by the statue gets synced up. Thats just established fact. From there, we can say without a doubt the eye was found when we were talking to hornfells. Doesnt make much sense that it was found at the beginning of the loop. but thats what events are telling us.

[@Drakonflare]

@@TheLoreExplorer But those events are not enacted by the Eye but as a result of the work by the long gone Nomai in conjunction with the Sun dieing, right?

[@TheLoreExplorer]

The nomai did all the work. but its debatable whether or not the eye "enacted" the result. To me, the eye seems to be sentient. Even though its likely the last consciousness to entangle with it (like we did)that is the actual sentient being. Not the eye itself. There are way too many coincidences(revolving the eye) in the story for me to believe its all by chance.

[@Spaggot]

Marshmallow roasting maverick back at it again with another universe saved

[@MaxLebled]

The act of the universe "running" until it can be ended by the Eye can be interpreted as that old saying : "we are the universe observing itself"

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Im not sure the universe is ended by the eye. It ends naturally. And we make our way to the eye. But i think that phrase is directly connected to the eye. cause when we get there, we literally become the universe, observing itself. but yes. a very astute observation that went past me at first.

[@MaxLebled]

@@TheLoreExplorer the way I see it (no pun intended,) it is the Eye **OF THE** Universe. The Universe's Eye. And if it is shaping the next universe, then to some extent it must have a hand in ending it after heat death

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Thats interesting. See, I view it as a sort of natural object.(quantum black hole) The object consumes all data, essentially recording it and "seeing it" as it enters the eye. Then, during the very first universe, someone found the quantum black hole and entered it. and they entangled with the eye, their consciousness became entangled as well. so itd be able to do some very basic things. Like call out and communicate with those there.(through the heartian observatory, or whatever theyd project for other species). Though to be fair, I guess i do believe the eye is whats governing the spacetime ending. So, idk. its confusing lol

[@MaxLebled]

@@TheLoreExplorer I try to be wary of more literal interpretations like those, personally. After all, I can't quite remember the log and what it was about, but there's one where a Nomai talks about not fearing something anymore because they're not ascribing traits to it anymore. "It just is", as they wrote. And I think by trying to deduce specific intents and goals to broad concepts we may be losing the forest for the trees sometimes!

[@TheLoreExplorer]

"As a child I used to consider such unknowns (referring to the eye)sinister. Now, though, I understand they bear no ill will. The universe is, and we are. I am ready" But Im not sure what you mean by literal interpretations though. Yours seems to be the most literal interpretation. Its called the eye and it is the eye. Im just trying to explain what I see using logic and the preestablished rules of the universe.

[@ZephyrDaCrow]

And your characters technically isn’t dead yet, so you die from the insane temperatures of a newborn universe.

[@LincolnLoria-lh4fb]

the way that I understood how the eye entangles with your mind is when I first went to the eye before I explored the interloper and I got to the museum, and I looked at the exhibit with the nomai skeleton, and it said "we never found out how they died". then after I finished the game I explored the interloper and then when I found out that they died because of the interloper, I remembered the exhibit at the eye. so I went back to the eye and the exhibit said "They perished when the Interloper arrived, bringing with it the deadly substance we called ghost matter that flooded the entire solar system almost instantly and without warning". I then realized that the eye isn't the eye itself, but a projection of your thoughts.

[@enarum8785]

Now the DLC is out, the eye was always emitting the signal but blocked by the Owlks

[@TheLoreExplorer]

I mean , not always. But yes. This video needs a major update.

[@TheKaplox]

"Going through a black hole and changing the past, does a promise with the universe", I didnt get that ( ._.)

[@Jack22024]

You promise the universe you will create a copy of yourself. If you don't then your copy will not be able to exist when a copy does. So if it can't exist but does then spacetime breaks because nothing can exist without the possibility

[@drditup]

So then the eye of the universe is the black hole sucking up the entire universe and sending it back in time to the big bang, which is a white hole spewing out the universe. Since the universe was created before it entered the black hole, or eye of the universe, space time is broken if the universe isn't swallowed by the eye then? This is way beyond normal crazy, and I love it. Great video

[@Me-wx1mt]

I like to think that when something goes in a black hole, it is destroyed but a new version of it comes out of a white hole. although that might not be true since we don't die on brittle hollow

[@legithopecrew]

Hey man, I just wanted to say I love your channel. This playlist has been an awesome watch. Thank you for making these vids! Can't wait to see your channel grow!

[@TheLoreExplorer]

You're welcome. I'm really glad you enjoyed the whole series. Thank you for your kind words!

[@Arthus850]

SPOILERS FOR THE ECHOS IF THE EYE DLC BELOW: The Echoes of the Eye DLC did expand on the ending in a small but significant way. We learn that another alien race predating even the Nomai (referred to by fans as Owlks due to them resembling humanoid owls with elk antlers) actually discovered the eye of the universe first, but what they learned from it terrified them, and they attempted to hide all knowledge by using a probe to block its signal, destroy all the film reels related to it, and hide all the info they learned and are now stored in their brains by creating a simulated dream world based on their homeworld where they planned to live the rest of their days while their bodies rotted away, and thus nobody would learn what they know and nobody would find the eye. But one of them didn’t think this way. He believed in the endless possibilities that the eye could bring, and thus he woke up from the dream world and shut down the probe blocking the eye’s signal. It was brief though as the rest of the Owlks discovered what he did and restarted the probe imprisoned him in a vault where his body would die and his mind would live forever in confinement within the dream world. However, that brief moment was enough for the signal to reach the Nomai, setting the events of Outer Wilds into motion. If you finished the Echoes of the Eye DLC mission and meet the prisoner, then it unlocks a new ending in the Eye of the Universe ending. Now the prisoner is one of the friends you bring to the campfire in the eye, and he brings a unique instrument with him to add his own unique flare to the song. And 14 billion years later, we learn that along with the insect-like race, there’s also a new race carrying blue lanterns that seem similar but not completely the same to the Owlks in the new future.

[@joejoewilkywilks5729]

Really, great job. You make me appreciate this game so much more.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

I very much appreciate hearing that. Thank you Joe.

[@Darth_Insidious]

The eye itself could be a natural quantum "computer" containing all the possibilities for a new universe. Simply by observing it you collapse these possibilities down to one of the universes that will eventually loop an observer back to the eye. That's why I call it a quantum computer, because in a quantum computation all possible routes are tried at once and by being observed the computer collapses to a working answer. During the lifespan of the universe I don't think that the eye is conscious, but that the universe is simply following one of the many paths back to the eye. Or the universe could be in a superposition of states that lead to the eye, and by playing the game you are collapsing that superposition down to the timeline of your play through. The universe ending with an observation of the eye is a constant that bends the many timelines of the universe towards it. Just like how your deactivation of the ash planet project is a constant that will happen, whether it takes 20 cycles or billions.

[@tofolcano9639]

I believe that Dark Bramble plays a bigger role in the lore than it seems. Since the specimen of the angler fish is very tiny in the observatory, and since entering the core of Dark Bramble makes everything inside seem bigger than it is. Maybe that's because we shrink every time we enter one of those holes. And the fact that the spaceship is stuck deep inside of it makes me think that once we're in there we're very tiny, which means that once the spaceship goes in the black hole it probably comes out the white hole the same size it came in as, we probably keep being tiny because we never went back out of the core of that planet. Which means that the eye is probably also much tinier than it seems, perhaps that's what gives it it's quantum properties, its small size. (This doesn't explain what's the deal with the quantum moon) I have a different take on what the ending means: All matter has the potential of acting in a quantum manner under the right conditions. A tiny sentient being from another universe existed before the big bang and observed the universe pop into existence and disappear as well as everything else in between. Then another sentient being from that new universe found it and went inside of it. Then as all the stars turn off the only thing being observed is the eye itself as the new sentient being stands on the surface of the eye while for the eye everything becomes unobservable because all stars turn off. Then the sentient being jumps into the eye (which as we saw with the quantum moon, he's actually jumping out of the eye.) So as he jumps he stops being able to see the eye, so there's a brief instant where no one is observing nothing at all. That's what makes all matter, including the sentient being itself, become quantum. That's probably what what we see at 7:40 means. But then all memories from all he learned appears in the form of the observatory. Which means that from now on all matter cannot collapse into reality except that which is observed through the memories of that sentient being. (We know that we can collapse the quantum state of matter by watching a representation of it when we used the picture of the quantum moon to be able to land in it) Then that sentient being remembers himself, so he appears in front of himself. Then his friends and they appear in front of him (he remembers the music and their instruments first because he first heard their music before being able to watch them for the first time), then as they all play together a song they all remember the good times in their now disappeared universe, all of the matter from the previous universe (like for example when they remember looking out in the night sky and seeing all of the galaxies in the distance) and it appears in front of them in a ball. The ball is not just a ball of matter, it's a ball of the entire universe itself. And only once it's entered can it be experienced, and it is experienced from beginning to end when the protagonist jumps into this new universe. Becoming himself the eye of that new universe.

[@KalteAnalthermometer]

I enjoyed reading that. Thanks.

[@Zarith7480]

There is large angler fish fossil on ember twin though

[@XtReMz98]

The Eye didn’t happen to call us at that time, it is way more complex. Thanks to the DLC, we know the Eye stopped “calling” the Nomai because the people from the Stranger blocked it with their green crystal technology. They only got a brief window when the Prisoner woke up from the simulation. That one signal the Nomai clan picked up and rushed a teleportation sequence to get to. This is why the Nomai crashed their vessel in the first place and struggle to locate the Eye, requiring them to build the Ash Twin project. Failing to get the Sun to go supernova, the Ash Twin Project was then dormant. The Nomai get wiped thanks to the Interloper Ghost Crystal core (while our specie, the heartian, lived underwater thus protected from it). Fast forward thousands of years, the Sun goes its natural death, the Ash Twin project initiate and starts launching probes in random pattern every 22 minutes. On the 10 billion’eth attempt, the probe finally finds the Eye of the universe location, all the statues wake up and you happen to be back from getting the launch code every time during that loop and, voilà, you are synced with the Ash Twin project on the “last loop”, aka the loop where the Eye is finally located.

[@DanBorens]

So I think you're mostly right but ever so slightly over-thinking the lore here. You seem to personify the eye and assume that this has happened before (when perhaps this IS what happened before) you are at a place where time does not exist. This could be both the end and the beginning of the universe simultaneously. I'm not sure if there were other observers before yourself although perhaps you are right. I think the eye of the universe is conscious in the way that a virus is a living thing. It's kind of conscious but it needs a host to consciously observe/create/act. I like to think that the signal isn't actually a signal but reverberations of when the universe was first created rippling through multiple slices of time which signals to conscious beings the location of the eye which makes it sort of a purposeful signal/ cosmic coincidence. There is a lot of uncertainty that collapses into certainty.

[@florianbrill3613]

outer wilds eye of the universe is like gaster from Undertale you can quess a lot but you will never find a solid evidence how right your theory is

[@pjnathgaming]

"All of this has happened before and will happen again." Many permutations to this quote but the one from BSG sticks with me the most.

[@difoof]

Loved the video, what a pleasure to going back in this world ! Keep the good work

[@gavart4509]

A 22 minute loop contained with a 14 billion year loop Neat It sounds really sad, but comforting to know that the life persists regardless

[@TheLoreExplorer]

It really is a cool concept. And if you think about it the "big crunch" likely would of had sort of similar results. As in it would of created a new big bang and created a new universe. at least in theory.

[@CDMudd]

I really love your theory here and I think it's one of the most likely explanations for everything. The only thing I have issue with is that your link with the nomai statue wasn't an accident that required perfect timing from the original observer. The statues were programmed to link with someone as soon as either 1) the probe found the Eye or 2) there was a catastrophic system failure. When you go to the probe tracking module, you find out the probe was located after the 9000+ launch. The cannon only launches when the ATP tells it to, which it can only do during a supernova. So that means that before the game begins, the timeloop had already gone through over 9000 supernovas. Your connection to the statue only happened on the loop after the probe found the Eye, just as the nomai planned (though not with Hearthians in mind). The only random change and perfect timing an oirginal observer could provide is that when you enter the co-ordinates from the probe tracking module, the Eye is THERE. It stands to reason that like every other Quantum object, it is always in motion unless observed. So that means those co-ordinates should only be true for when the first probe found it, unless the co-ordinates + probe tracking statue + its mask counts as "an image" to lock it in place, except that both Lunar Ruins and Southern Observatory's Eye trackers still go heywire. The only other explanation is that the co-ordinates act as a random seed, like a dice roller, that's linked to the Eye's Quantum path in orbit around its star. Otherwise, warping to the star with those coordinates should have taken you to empty space. And if the co-ordinates don't help you lock onto it's Quantum signature, than the Eye would have to purposefully be at those co-ordinates just as you warp in order to observe it in that position, and that would require a conscious observer's input.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

So for the statue, yes its set to sync when the statue finds the eye. but the chances that happens the first day we start our journey? again innumerably low. As for the location of the eye. If its consciousness knows where its quantum possibility needs to be, it could show up and stay there. since its in all the positions at once. Hope this makes sense. edit*probe not statue

[@dimagamolya6084]

@@TheLoreExplorer | You wouldn't know this is the first day. The supernova happened 9000 times, you already launched 9000 times but had no recollection of it because time was rewinded. Your story starts on the first day the probe found the eye, since you would keep walking past the statue over and over until the day of detection would actually happen. Also, the probe could be like how you kept the quantum moon in place, except it held a form of abstraction of the image that was saved between cycles (Since Nomai could clearly transmit data through the loops)

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Even if we launched 1000 times before the loops first launch and got reset. It'd still be right when we get the launch codes to begin our journey being the second the eye is found. Any earlier and Hal would sync with it. Any later we'd of missed it. The coordinates in space shouldn't count as being consciously observed.(collapsing it to one location) Even the image the probe takes shouldn't do anything without it being looked at now that I think about it. But I could be reading it wrong.

[@dimagamolya6084]

@@TheLoreExplorer The picture is just one form of indirect observation. Another idea, think about it this way. An object can be in any of three rooms, and then without actually going in, you are told which room it is. When you enter the room, you would naturally expect the object to be there? (Your awareness of its location collapses the possibility) About the statue thing, yeah honestly I think you are correct. Even if it was only us walking through the hallway in those 22 minutes, why would it not trigger the first time you went through.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

I mean that makes sense sure. but it isnt what we see in game. or else once we visit the quantum moon tracker. itd stay in the location it showed us, as wed expect it to be there. yet by the time we get back to our ship, its already changed locations. Other than that though, does the logic of the video make sense to you?

[@zararule427]

Great video, I only have a problem with one bit: 6:20 The Eye didn't let the probe find it at the same time the memory statue synced with you, the memory statue only activated because the probe found it. Unless you're implying that it decided the _moment_ it was found to be the same as when you passed the statue.. But then why did the probe have so many other failed launches which didn't find the Eye, and the loop was only for the probe. Again, great video, just one little nitpick.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

My suggestion is mainly pointing out that we were right next to the statue as it activated. A minute before it'd be Hal synced up. A minute after it's likely hornfells. And neither of them could solve the mystery. I doubt that's a coincidence. But who knows.

[@vylbird8014]

@@TheLoreExplorer There's an easier explanation: The ATP activates when the sun goes nova, supplying enough power. 22 minutes before this, the ATP receives a signal from itsself that triggers the pre-activation sequence: Fire the probe, collect observation, store results for transmission on next loop. The statues remain inactive. Some thousands of iterations later, the probe finally finds the Eye. The result is transmitted back to the ATP, which then activates as normal when power is available. The next loop, the ATP receives a different pre-activation data transmission: One that includes the Eye coordinates. This causes it to activate the statues. These statues then pair up with the next person to be in their proximity. By simple luck, two of them happen to have people visit them within the next 22 minutes, triggering their link. Note that the link can be formed *during* the loop: When the player character gets 'reset' they go back a full 22 minutes, not to the point at which they encountered the statue. Now we are in the game-loop: The Eye is located, but the ATP continues in the search-sequence regardless until the actions of the player eventually break it, either by destroying the universe or removing a vital component. I would imagine that the ATP also sends a shutdown command to the Sun Station at this point. Though the game doesn't allow it, from a purely speculative perspective there would be nothing to stop the player character from grabbing another Hearthian, transporting them to one of the remaining functional but inactive statues (There's one on the sun station and one in the ATP) and linking them in as well.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

@@vylbird8014 The statues only work during the one loop in which they activates. At least when I asked Alex Beachum about when theyd pair he only mentioned that loop. Anyway what i was saying is, yeah, our statue was visited by luck and anyone could of sync up. but three hearthians visited it that day. And it just so happened to be the one marked to go to space with a translator capable of solving the mystery that was sync up. Seems like a bit too much of a coincidence to me. Im not sure how your explanation of how the atp works has anything to do with it.

[@michaelroberts4435]

@@TheLoreExplorer My take on the whole 'statue happening to pair with the player character' thing, is that it didn't HAVE to be you.If it were any other hearthian then they'd pair, gather memories, and eventually lead to them visiting the eye of the universe instead. There just wouldn't be much of a game if we weren't the ones allowed to learn and make the changes.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Yes. If it were any other hearthian they would pair with the statue. But call me crazy, but anyone else besides us, hornfells, slate, and gossan couldn't even attempt to go find the eye. They can't fly a space ship. With that in mind, Hal is near the statue right before us. Hornfells goes down after. The statues activated within the 1 minute or so time frame it needed to to scoop us up instead of them. Doesn't seem coincidental to me.

[@jvsng77]

great video! i've never considered this interpretation but i think it does make all sense. Great explanation. This only makes me love more and more this masterpiece of a game.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

That's really nice to hear. That was the intention when I created the channel. Thank you.

[@singinceil]

So you're saying that the whole outer worlds universe is basicaly an infinite loop of a marshmellow roasting hatchling recreating the universe by colapsing the innummerable quantum possibilities of the eye, basicly forcing them into a state which is the big bang? This game is truly amazing. Your video too!

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Yep! Thats my guess. but with one caveat. its not the hatching. itd be the bug people from the end slide that is the next species to find the eye. but i imagine its the hatchling version of the bug people. And as a bonus, Maybe, the signal they will hear when looking for the eye will the song we brought there. the song our friends play around the campfire. but thats just wishful thinking. Thanks for the kind words bud.

[@nowie4007]

thank you very much for your outer wilds videos, i loved them!you have a great way of story telling.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed them!

[@elchristo2588]

Maybe your friends sitting around the campfire playing music is the signal a future race will discover that leads them to the eye.

[@eal-ectric5196]

I like to think that the music the eye of the universe plays when it goes big bang is its addition to the travelers song,a grand finale even.

[@goob7020]

holy crap I just realized I never played with those things at the High Energy Lab because I thought I had to rearrange them just where they were. I even opened that other door and it still didn't click, oh boi.

[@ICountFrom0]

(1:00) and The Doctor gets VERY mad when you break spacetime.

[@39cluesfan]

one question id love to hear your thoughts on is about the high energy lab experiment results (and resulting consequences of breaking the space fabric). Assuming the lightning strikes are actually the effect of a massive amount of energy near the quantum black hole, would the resulting quantum big bang happen an X amount of time before the resulting input of quantum matter into the quantum black hole? If all the stars in the sky are going super nova through out our time playing because of the heat death of the universe, do you think there's another 'layer' to the game to be unfolded since our consciousness has already 'entered' the quantum black hole? For example: when we talk to our copy at the ash twin, why would our copy stay there? Wouldn't you leave and continue exploring? my guess is no, because your consciousness (present in the ash twin copy) knows the camp fire copy will go to the ash twin copy (since it technically already happened) to retrieve the core and enter the eye. so it stays to facilitate the transfer of info to the consciousness that enters the quantum black hole

[@TheLoreExplorer]

The only reason i dont think it happens before we observe the eye is the quantum nature of it. The stuff doesnt shoot out of the white hole until we observe the black hole. If it was a normal black hole then yes, the jump would happen before our universe, in a separate universe. but the result is basically the same, except our universe doesnt exist simultaneously in the instantaneous bang rather than the . Self is an interesting topic. if he is actually YOU from a past loop, then some weird things MAY happen if self dies. Not that we know for sure, but selfs decisions could alter ours since hes "from a past loop". but to note, once we take the atp core, there is no more memory transfers. So im a bit confused at that last bit.

[@lynkcrafter8923]

6:10 correcting this section with (I think) misconceptions and EotE info. The eye never stopped calling, its signal was suppressed by the Owlks, the Nomai just happened to catch its fading call. The eye also never "revealed" itself to the probe, nor did it intentionally choose to do this when the Hearthian syncs with the statue. This is all due to the Ash Twin Project; everything we see in game with the time loop and the probe is working exactly as the Nomai intended, except because the supernova is a constant, and not controlled by the sun station, the loop can never end. The loop starts with the first supernova and the Hearthian (and Gabbro) isn't pulled in until the probe finds the eye, after over 9 million iterations.

[@Xanji_San]

I’d love to see a redux of the eye explanation with the DLC info.

[@Fenixisreal]

watching this years after still love this edit: the prisoner in the ending also helps this promise theory, it was remembered along side the other travellers so a species similar to them is created

[@KingDerpy13]

I actually died the first time I was on the Eye, because I didn't realize you had to go through the Maelstrom, I was searching until my oxygen went all the way down and had to look it up. Just to realize, "Oh shit, that thing I never went over to" and by the time I got over to it, I died. I was about to give up completely, but thank god it saves when you first warp to the Eye.

[@misapheonix]

Sorry for the late watch man. This 'investigation' has come to a fruitfull end though. Defo the strongest theory craft of this game so far. Sorry if it sounds rude to move on so quickly after all these grand videos, but am curious where you think the dev can, or should, go from here? Is an expansion to Outer Wilds possible? A new game altogether? Or are we likely to get just a few content updates, like the one you outlined here?

[@TheLoreExplorer]

I don't really think an expansion makes much sense. I'm sure they will update it to add a bit more. But I wouldn't expect much in that regard. I do see them doing a prequel/sequel. Especially if this theory is true, it creates a perfect canvas for a very similar story. 14.3 billion years later(or previously) we can have new puzzles to find the eye. All based around exploration of the ancient nomai(or some similar species... I'd prefer the Nomai again though). But they'd face slightly different challenges for us to discover. That's what I hope to see anyway.

[@misapheonix]

@@TheLoreExplorer That's a good point! Wow a reshuffled universe, with new gameplay mechanics (still surrounding the theme of Quantum mechanics) would be a heck of a cool way to give new content. In a way, it would still mock the same sentiment No Man's Sky tried with it's universe reshuffling (nothing was noticably different lol)

[@Delta_2209]

An instrument for the protagonist. That's the only thing that is missing

[@misapheonix]

@@Delta_2209 omg, damn good point. The player could choose one, and listen to his friends play for inspiriation to make his own tune >< might even be dlc worthy!

[@FidgetTheMidget8P]

@@TheLoreExplorer we have different tribes of nomai.. maybe since this was so warp based the next one will be more focused on angles and changing planetary movement? Something mind boggling

[@ebonhawken574]

I wish I could forget everything about this game and go back and play it over.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Same. Especially with the new dlc coming out.

[@msc2127]

Maybe the important part of finding each of our friends to "fullfil the promise" is beacuse they all hold some knowledge that the eye needs to forge the new universe with the specifications it needs to loop back. So perhaps it also made sure that you met the necessary "requirements/people" first before you entered it. Riebeck is basically an archeologist, so it could mean that he holds the knowledge of the steps of how an inteligent species can achieve an advanced stage of civilization, and how that might be one of the necessary things to occur so that the eye/universe can loop again. Backing this up we have an possible ending were, if we do not meet Solanum, there is no one around a campfire after the credits. Maybe Solanum's knowledge could have been needed somewhat to make inteligent life "come into being" as a possibility and, if she is not around, that knowledge needed wasnt taken into account. (Maybe Solanum could have been some sort of knowledge about how evolution as a species needs to happen? after all, when the Nomaris/she was around, the main character's species was literally just a tadpole. Etc)

[@halkon4412]

It wasn't a coincidence that the statues first activated on the same loop the eye was found. The ATP was designed to only activate the statues once the project was a success; meaning, once the eye was found.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Yes. i know. What the coincidence is, is during that activation, we are the only hearthian that walks by it. 10 seconds before us and Hal is there. And 1 minute after us hornfells is there. If the eye was found at any other moment, we would not have connected to it, and another hearthian would of.

[@Stolasthegaybird]

The ending of the game never really hit me until the night after i had beat it. I beat it in the afternoon and just when I was about to fall asleep that night i started thinking about its meaning and everything else. I truly fell in love with this game that day.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

@@Stolasthegaybird outer wilds has a funny way of doing that. Sort of subconsciously telling you things. It took me a long time to figure it out lol. Looking back it seemed I got most of it after analyzing. But truly it took me four years to honestly and fully internalize it. I have a video about my conclusions called something like the hidden meaning behind the ending of outer wilds if you’re interested. I think you’d like it. ::D.

[@Stolasthegaybird]

@ I saw that video actually. Nice job on it! I had never realized it had those hidden meanings.

[@raurora]

Something I was a bit confused about: how did you duplicate yourself? Did you go into the blackhole inside the advanced warp core? If so, how?

[@TheLoreExplorer]

It was added in a recent update. if you go to the atp during the supernova, the black hole there activates. if youre close you get devoured at the same time time gets sent back the 22 minutes. The result is you waking up as normal. yet when you went through the black hole a copy came out of the white hole 22 minutes before that action. which happens to be the second you wake up.

[@seantaggart7382]

@@TheLoreExplorer Yeah which and if you dont complete the 22 mins loop by jumping through again you die And reality dies

[@TheLoreExplorer]

@@seantaggart7382 well yes. I thought the video made that clear lol.

[@seantaggart7382]

@@TheLoreExplorer yeah

[@MarkTomczak]

A small correction/clarification: I think when you step into the ATP black hole, nobody dies. What has happened is that you are sent back 22 minutes, and the memories stored in the Nomai statue are also sent back 22 minutes and overlaid into the mind of the you that is sleeping by the campfire in the past. The first time you do it, nobody dies. On subsequent loops, the you that went 22 minutes into the past and is standing in the ATP dies when the nova breaks down the ATP. It's interesting that white-hole you doesn't have the option of refraining from breaking spacetime by jumping in the black hole; I assume that's a limitation to avoid the annoyance of dealing with infinite recursion on a fun Easter egg. ;)

[@lezzdenden]

Damn. This would've been even nicer to listen to 4 years ago when the DLC wasn't out yet! Now I'm sitting here with new knowledge😅😅

[@ManoredRed]

What if the song we play towards the end is, somehow, the future signal? Or heck, even the past signal, since time is weird.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

I think I mention this in my first eye theory. Its a nice thought that kind of makes sense.

[@SandreXen]

(edit : I've seen that this was already told in another post, and that it was respondeds, so i will ad something going a little farther in the logic) I don't understand why you treat "the player synchronising with the statue" and "the eye being found by the prob" as independant event. It's stated that the statut will not synchronise with anyone until success or faillur of the twin project to prevent people living hundred of thousand loop for nothing. So, the statut synchronising with you on the loop juste after the eyes was found is by design of the nomaï (even if, of course, how it happen and who will synchronise was not planned.) The eyes don't have to do anything in this regard. I don't think that conflict with your main hypothesis here. A realy interesting one. In fact, the eye could be totaly unconscious and that could still work because of many world hypothesis. (the universe just need one version of itself where somoene find the eye to perpetuate itself... and with infinite version, there is alway one.) edit : That could also explain why we are the one entengled with the statue, and somoene who could do nothing : Maybee in 99% of version from this point, it's not us... But only a fraction of those version where it's us is enough. And then the eye doesn't need to be sentient or to do anything. One big question this hypothesis doesn't respond too is, why does the eye sent continuously a signal and then stoped.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Just because one event triggers the other, does not mean they are the same event. They are literally two separate events...And youre right. I no longer think the eye sort of planned our sync, but the reason I did is the timing and coincidental nature of it. If the eye were found 1 minute prior, according to the rules of the statues, hal would of synced with the statue. 2 minutes later and Hornfells would of been synced with it. But it was found in the exact short window that brought us nearest the statue at the right time. So it seemed either planned, or a really big coincidence that it was us, the one who was tasked with exploring space, that sync with the statue. But I have sort of since realized that yes, the many worlds interpretation is at play here. So we didnt specially get synced with the statue. we just see a universe that we so happened to be in the right spot at the right time, and not the infinite others where the time loop is kept hidden from us. Also, to be clear, i dont think the eye is independently conscious. Only that when we entangle with it, its able to access or use that consciousness its now one with. To hear more about it you can check out my latest video on the channel, regarding the many worlds interpretation.

[@SandreXen]

@@TheLoreExplorer to be fair, i bringed the many word because of your video ^^. (but i didn't take the time to watch it right now) also, some people made me realise i was wrong on my interpretation of when we sync. as you stated, it's when the eyes is found . the game just doesn't bother to be realy coherent about it to give a better experience, from what i understand. (some people pointed that the game give you infinite time before passing a second time past the statue. even if we see the prob launch at the start. making everything confusing if you search to understand the exact order of event) but i'm totaly fine with sacrificing a little coherence for better experience. edit : also, on my run where i rush the giant deep core, i also found they didn't bother to have the same trajectory on this run and on the canon first run. It seem it was due to technical difficulty. (you also can't follow the prob to find the eye é_è) Ps : when i stated one event, it was an abuse of language, i just wanted to say they are two event in a causality relationship. Because i imagined at the time that the statue didn't need to trigger right when the eyes was found, just when it detected somoene passing by after it was found.

[@lucaslucas191202]

1:30 you don't die. You get sent back in time, but so does your memories. And that is why there are two of you. The one you speak to is you from the earlier loop who never died, and you are playing a character whose body never went through any loops but only had his memories replaced with yours.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

i mean....this is what it looks like. and can be accepted at face value if you ignore a few key details. but the more i looked at it the more it looks less and less like time travel, and more and more like dimension hopping.

[@lucaslucas191202]

@@TheLoreExplorer Depends on your definition of the two. I'd agree it might as well be sending the memories to another universe that's exactly the same but 22 minutes behind.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

@@lucaslucas191202 well, itd send the memories back in time as well. but its not sending us back in time with the memories, and i think its a parallel universe since there is already an us there when we ACTUALLY DO time travel(creating self). so our memories would be sent back in time, and to another universe. Its all a bit philosophical and mixing terminology. so its fine if you want to see it at face value.

[@lucaslucas191202]

@@TheLoreExplorer I'm not sure I understand what you mean, but it's true that we should be able to see ourselves before we even enter the black hole to begin with. That doesn't happen for obvious gameplay reasons (it would break space/time every single loop you don't go into the black hole)

[@TheLoreExplorer]

So, the atp sends our memories back in time. Not us. We dont go through the atp. We do die every time we die. Our memories get sent back in time 22 minutes. To a hearthian already there, in their own slice of time.

[@carloz9225]

0:18 it’s looking at us...

[@vodacc11]

i feel like i became a rocket scientist after this video, thanks for the explanation!

[@jraombebsy5754]

and here I was just trying to get to the southern pole on brittle hollow. damn.

[@jraombebsy5754]

by the way brittle hollow is the best planet imho

[@Thunderbolt-Racing]

In my opinion, that's one of the most difficult places to reach in the solar system, second only to the high-energy lab on Ember Twin

[@lunoxis8371]

the thing about the eye knowing when the call out is false, the statues were only told to activate when the probe found the eye and not the other way around

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Yeah. This wording was horrid and way before I fully understood how the probe found the eye. And now we know for a fact it called out way before we ever couldve told it to(regardless if we meet them it calls to the owlks). And its not able to call out now at all. But even so, the eye did reveal itself to(or got found by) the probe at exactly the right time we(our entire universe) needed it to. Not loop wise. But time wise. This could be coincidence of the probe finding the eye in the exact right moment. And from what we see now this seems most likely coincidence. But what I was meaning to point out is how the statues work and activate. If the eye were found 1 minute before it was then hal would connect with the statue since they were near to it. And if it were found 1 minute after it were, then hornfells would be connected for the same reasons. The eye was found at the exact right moment within the loop for us to walk past the statue first while it was active. And keep in mind this theory was made when the number of loops was 9000 something and not 9 million something. So it felt like it being found so early, and at the exact right moment, was more than a coincidence. I still have a hard time saying the moment the statues activate was purely coincidence. But I have different viewpoints now and it likely was. This video needs remade. Oddly enough the quantum black hole and most mechanics stay the same in my theory. Just the evidence has evolved and is different.

[@illhark]

this is a really great theory, well done!

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Thank you muchly!

[@yunyunliisa9635]

I was hoping that maybe the eye signals were being sent from future survivors. I thought that if I could get to the eye, maybe we could all be saved, so I faced the scary fish again and again. So when I saw the ending, I felt indescribable. But now I think it's not so bad if the promise with the universe was kept.

[@colin-campbell]

I guess echos of the eye retconned much of the theories here.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Not really. It only changes "the eye used our memories to know when to call out" to "the eye calls out near the end of the universe on its own". The rest pretty much stays the same as far as I can remember. But I could be forgetting something. The vids pretty old.

[@josiah42]

I think you're right about interpreting it as a sort of cyclical causality in universes. There's probably multiple universes but the know my occasionally refer to "in this universe" as if they are aware of the fact of physics in multiple universes.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Thats an interesting thought. I cant say one way or the other. But I like the thought. It could easily just be a hearthian translation sort of thing,

[@tylersimmons6524]

The eye didn't let the probe find it at the same time as the statues synced with us. It was found by the probe long ago, but the tracking data could not be accessed until the sun's explosion powered the Ash Twin Project, and you, being the closest to that statue 22 minutes before the explosion, were paired with that statue just like Gabbo was closest to the statue on Giants Deep at the same time.

[@tylersimmons6524]

Also, if the eye is all knowing, sentient, and called to the Nomai purposefully; why call to them in a way that entangled them on Dark Bramble? Why call to them before the Interloper has come and spread death throughout the star system?

[@TheLoreExplorer]

The signal went through dark bramble and suffered from the duplicate signal phenom. Also, I don't understand your first comment. The sun exploded 9 million times before the eye was found. I did word it wrong. What it's meant to mean is the exact second the eye was found was when we got our launch codes. The way the statues work, if it was found a minute before Hal would by synced up with it. If it was found 1 minute after, hornfells would be synced up. It was found(or revealed) itself at just the right time. Also, the eye doesn't have any independence. It needs a conscious observer to entangle with it. Once that happens it has all the knowledge it needs to set in motion the events that lead us finding the eye. In other words, the eye doesn't know. We do and the eye uses that knowledge.

[@tylersimmons6524]

@@TheLoreExplorerOne of the scrolls says the statues won't work until the Ash Twin Project is activated, and the probe tracking data is being transmitted by the Project, which isnt powered unless there is a supernova. My thought was that the probe cannon fired off regularly, but the data wasn't transmitted until after the first supernova, 22 min after you pair with the statue. If there were 9 million loops and it were as if the cannon were firing off for the first time, why doesn't anyone comment on the thing around giants deep suddenly shooting something. Gabbo is the only one that mentions anything and he talks about the flash from the cannon failing. If the cannon was dormant for the known history of the Hearthians and suddenly shot off a probe, I'd think that would be a big point of interest.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

@@tylersimmons6524 the statues and atp are different. or rather the statues are one part of the atp. the atp activates when the sun explodes, and this has happened and reverted our timeline over 9 million times. during the 9 millionth odd loop the eye is found, and that is what activates the memory statues. As for why the hearthians dont comment on it, I have no idea. I once landed a nomai shuttle right in front of slate and they didnt bat an eye. Its probably more for gameplay reasons, as almost no one hints at what you should do. youre meant to see it explode and explore yourself.

[@tylersimmons6524]

@@TheLoreExplorer Okay, but the cannon not being active until the sun's natural death, but then needing 9+ million loops to be found would hint against it being sentient, no? I mean, you would be on your first flight with no knowledge gained between 1 and 9+ million loops. If it were sentient and all powerful, wouldn't it direct the cannon to find it first go? There would be no difference in the state of the universe between any loop, except knowledge gained from pairing with a statue. I'll have to go back and try again, but I feel like there was quite a difference between the number it was found on and the current probe number (but i could be wrong). Doesn't Gabbo act as if the time loop phenomenon is new to them?

[@datrandomdugggy5537]

so if i am under standing this though the 14 billion years the eye of universe is sucking up all the quantum energy like a black hole but than you end up finding it which it than expands via white hole creating a new universe and than you send a signal out to the new universe which prompts them to find the eye and this repeats infinitely and the single the nomie found was the signal sent out by the universe that came before.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

absolutely. or just the signal that calls the next universes species to find it.

[@datrandomdugggy5537]

@@TheLoreExplorer that actually makes a lot of sense i just finished this game and wow its good

[@MarkTomczak]

It has been said that we are a way for the cosmos to know itself.

[@centurosproductions8827]

"Let the probe find it exactly when we synced with our memory statue" Except the Nomai knew the Eye was in a finite region of space, they just had to make the sun go nova to get the energy to launch what is essentially infinite probes to pinpoint it. And they had failsafes in place to make sure the memory statues didn't activate *until* the sun went nova. Someone being there to get caught in the loop and solve the mystery could be seen as Fate, or some sort of design, but the probe narrowing down the Eye's coordinates wasn't something the Eye specifically did. In fact, I feel like the Eye was only *at* those coordinates through quantum waveform collapse after you observe the coordinates. Reminder that the Nomai have been dead for a *long* time. Had they arrived closer to the death of the star (and long after the Interloper released green death everywhere), it's likely they could have completed the journey themselves.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

reminder of how the statues work. They activate when the eye is found. Once activated they are meant to sync with the next person when someone is nearby. hal is near it just before us, and just after us hornfells goes down to check it out. Meaning the eye was found basically at the only time it could of been for us to be caught in the loop, rather than hal or hornfells. Hope that clears things up. It doesnt matter if its loop 100 or 10000000. youre right, its not fate that someone was caught in the loop. it could be fate that we, the only one thats about to go explore the universe, get caught in the loop out of everyone.

[@centurosproductions8827]

@@TheLoreExplorer Hm, could have sworn they were to be activated when the Project was activated, which was 22 minutes before it finally received enough juice to go back 22 minutes. After all, there needed to be one active to record every single probe until one finally managed to find the Eye.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

@@centurosproductions8827 thats the whole atp. the individual statues(and the sending back on memories) were only supposed to activate when the eye was found. that way the nomai didnt have to die 9 million times.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

heres a video explaining the atp. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rnfLfHecp8epa5o

[@chronos5940]

(Ofc what i say is just theory) My take is that you seeing yourself and receiving a quantum signal from your body means you quantum entangled with the Eye. You entangle with all the information the Eye absorbed. That is why the Eye 'shows' you everything, including seeing yourself, being entangled with the eye also means being entangled with the information it absorbed. The Eye doesn't 'show' the player things, but rather the character artificially shapes things to make sense out of it and shapes the new universe. It is stated that you can artificially shape some things that wouldn't naturally occur. I also think the player is expelled from the quantum white hole and dies as the game shows. Your helm cracks as it does when you die and your suits system fails. Just a normal death. I believe this indicates the character dies at the creation of a new universe. I have a different theory where his consciousness is not entangled with the Eye during the next universe, nor that the Eye is somewhat sentient luring a conscious being to it. The Nomai theorize a lot on why the Eye 'sent' the signal and why it stopped. One of the last records on the matter is about a Nomai thinking that maybe the signal just happened and didn't have a deeper meaning to it. Maybe it wasn't calling for them, but they just happened to receive it. This is what i based myself on. My take is that the Eye is always emitting its signal, as the player can receive the Eye's signal when he is seeing it. The signal didnt cease to be, it was always there. But it couldn't be received without being observed. Something happened that made it so the Nomai could receive the signal for a brief moment. It is kind of implied that the Nomai received a signal older than the universe, but they didnt receive the signal before (it wasnt always reachable) and they were afraid that if they didnt act fast they would lose the signal. My theory is that something happened that made the signal reachable from outside. Maybe the eye was observed by a conscious being (could be an anglerfish wandering space if they count) or a bramble seed made it into the Eye and duplicated the signal from Dark Bramble (my preferred option). The Nomai received the duplicated signal from Dark Bramble and warped into it leading to disaster. The seed got sucked completely by the Eye and stopped emitting. Hence, the signal stopped. That would explain why they received the signal for a brief moment but then they couldnt receive it anymore. Similar to when you throw a probe to the Eye it transmits for a bit and then you lose the connection. Moreover it is implied that the seeds carry signals (as they do with the harmonica). Moreover the recursion node could be the one that lost connection with the seed that made it to the Eye, hence it connects to itself. Nonetheless your theory is cool and explains a lot of things. I don't disregard your theory. The Nomai explore both possibilities with the Eye being somewhat sentient and not being sentient at all. So do we, all possibilities exist.

[@florianbrill3613]

maybe a seed landed on the Quantummoon and so the signal got doubled but a good theory so or so Edit: not a seed but maybe the Quantummoon was self the signal and they crashed into it and made it take another location because the moon does vanish if you try to enter it without taking a picture before entering and your own ship stays on the place where it was first in physical room if you change the location with the Quantummoon that is why it can't be a seed of dark bramble

[@TydeForseti]

Watching this video after the DLC released, and hearing that “the eye knows when to call out and when not to,” I then remembered the probe the Owlks made, you can probably guess how I feel about that.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Yeah. This was made years before the dlc came out. And later I even realized this wasn’t the case before the dlc released. But you do have to keep in mind. That the eye itself still does “know when to call out” in a sense. Just not like I thought it did back then. It still had to call out to the owlks. It still needed to reach out near the end of the universe to ensure an observer reaches it. So it’s not too wrong or unreasonable to say. Plus, in my defense , I’m not sure how anyone could’ve just guessed that a completely hidden and alien species would’ve travelled here and silenced the eye for very selfish reasons. With what we saw the idea that the eye sent messages through time made sense.

[@TydeForseti]

@@TheLoreExplorer Fair. I also didn't want to say "it made me cringe," because I still enjoyed the video.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Im glad you still enjoyed it! Thanks for the kind words. Its sort of upsetting to me because throughout this whole video thats one of the only things I personally think I got wrong. The majority of the stuff I say I still believe to be true. Years later and after the dlc. So now I have an explainer video with 1 major thing wrong and Idk if it worth redoing over

[@Deoix9877]

The eye didnt let itself be found right as our character linked with the statue, is kinda the other way around. The statues activated because the probe found the eye on the loop right before we linked with the statue The nomai programed the ash twin project so the memory statues would only activate once the probe actually found the eye, so they wouldnt be stuck reliving the same 22 minutes until the eye was found By the time our character links with the statue, the loop had been going on for over 9 million times Not to say the eye doesnt have a will , cause it's pretty aparent that it does, but it being found by the probe was not by it's own doing, the probe just finally got lucky and got shot in it's direction, wich caused the memory masks to activate and link with the people closest to them, in this case both us and grabbo, wich is why we start noticing the loop at the same time as he does

[@TheLoreExplorer]

I explain it better in my "are we the same hearthian video" So, 10 seconds earlier and hal is sync up with the statue. a minute later and hornfells is connected to the statue. The eye activated the statues, or reveled itself, at just the exact moment it needed to. It didnt activate the 9 million time loop. that was the nomai. it activated OUR loop. At the exact second it needed to.

[@TheZombiesAreComing]

@@TheLoreExplorer The problem with that is that the same 22 minutes looped 9,318,053 times without us before we were even made aware of it so I don't think that's fully the case. Perhaps the Eye decided it didn't want time to be stuck on a 22 minute loop for all eternity and decided to reveal itself.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

@@TheZombiesAreComing the atp is set up to find the eye, then activate the statues and make the nomai aware. the eye doesnt want anything. But when we entangle with it, since it exists out of time, we are able to tell it when to show itself to make this future happen. the eye exists outside of time and doesnt really experience these loops.

[@TheZombiesAreComing]

​@@TheLoreExplorer That still does nothing for your theory. Time had already looped 9,318,053 times before you was paired with a statue, 9,318,053 times that you died but will never remember 9,318,053 times that the probe either failed to find the eye or the eye hid from the probe. That said saying the eye chose to reveal itself seems kind of foolish. If that's the case, why no reveal itself in an earlier loop? Even the very first loop would have everything the same as the 9,318,053 loop [except the probe launch direction] and it's a good thing you don't remember all those loops else the Hearthian character would end up like Nagato of Haruhi who had to endure 15,532 24 hour time loops and had a mental breakdown as she remembered every last one.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

The eye wouldnt care which loop it was found in. It exists outside of time. And it didnt make the loop. It has no control over the loop or the loop. Nor which way the probe fires. So, why didnt it reveal itself in an earlier loop? Well, it didnt control the loop and had no reason to. The probe didnt find it until loop 9 million and something and that was natural. But during the loop the eye was found, it was found at the exact right time. Again, 10 seconds earlier and hal was connected to the statue. 1 minute after and hornfells was connected to statue. You can call it cosmic coincidence, but I think thats meaningful in some way. I think the eye existing outside of time and our consciousness entangling with it has something to do with it. And to be clear, there is nothing that can prove my theory. Im not trying to convince you or anything. Just explaining my thoughts and what I think.

[@jaked3328]

This video was really well made! I didn't think of the eye as a black hole before! Wouldn't this theory mean that the universe is technically running through the same set of 14.3 billion years? Seeing as the eye of the universe is collecting the power of the entire universe it should be capeable of sending you and all of the quantom posibilites back that far. The events of the universe don't loop exactly, because you are a new observer compared to the last one, and the next observer will collapse a different set of possibilties as well. But it's the same set of years right?

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Yes. Itd technically be the same 14.3 billion years. but its sort of interesting. if time is relative. and they all have different possibilities, is it really the same 14.3 billion years? In other words, it was sent back 14.3 billion years, but I still view them as different times. Since the eye lived through it all mostly. Time would still seem to pass for it. idk. its sort of philosophical.

[@jaked3328]

@@TheLoreExplorer that makes sense! Loving the rest of your videos!

[@TheLoreExplorer]

@@jaked3328 Thanks bud. Im glad you enjoyed it!

[@default2114]

Are you going to do more videos on the dlc that came out for the outer wilds?

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Absolutely!

[@Potato27777]

I’m a bit late, but a neat detail about the ruins around riebecks banjo slowly break, representing brittle hollow.

[@elbr3376]

Soo basically, like the warp core in the ATP sends you back 22 minutes to give you a chance to save the universe, the eye of the universe is a giant warp core meant to send the universe back 14.3 billion years to give the eye and the universe another shot at not ending through heat death. Basically, much like in our little microcosm of the solar system, either the promise with the universe can be broken and reality is shattered, the eye can be removed from the universe and eventually die of heat death, someone new can keep the promise and send out the new signal and activate the warp core of the eye, or potentially another way can be found out of the cycle

[@jUppers]

i thought we were gonna use the supernova's energy to create a black hole that sends you out of a white hole before the big bang and somehow create spacetime yourself

[@TheLoreExplorer]

I mean, that sort of happens. except a single supernova isnt enough to power it. thats what i think the eye is. a quantum black hole. and after we enter the smoke at the ancient glade we are meant with a brilliant light. I think thats a quantum white hole. So technically, we did create spacetime.

[@tofolcano9639]

1:18 We don't die after entering the black whole, he said that we come out of a white hole 22 minutes back in time in some other planet, I forgot where exactly but I think it was one of the twin planets. Then all of our memories from the point where the statue starts recording memories onwards (meaning that once you get in the black hole it's no longer recording your memories because you don't create new memories after that point in time, because the memories of what happens after coming out of the white hole is no longer memories of the future but memories of a time where there is already memories that got recorded in that point in time, and it's not going to record two memories at the same time) gets sent 22 minutes back in time and inserts into the new me. While at the same time the previous me didn't die, instead the real me actually traveled back in time and went back in there. Which is why there is two of me. And like in the case of the explorer, if you never go back in the black whole and travel back in time then you didn't go back in time, so nothing caused me to exit the white hole 22 minutes ago. It's exactly the same thing as the paradox of the explorer. Also, if you try to finish the game while having one of yas that traveled back in time then you'll have the supernova not create any black hole, which means that you couldn't have gotten in. And then the universe breaks once again.

[@tofolcano9639]

But I believe that is simply a limitation of the videogame. What should actually happen is that no explorer should come out of the white hole if we manage to turn off the black hole before it gets inside. If time travel was somehow possible in real life the same would happen as well. But since it's a videogame and there's no actual time traveling then it simply has to act as if it did get in, and then if it actually didn't then they just put a cool death scene and a game over screen.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

You are right about the first bit. We don't actually die when going through the atp. We end up inside the ash twin projects, 22 minutes earlier. But, from the perspective of the character we control, we get the same experience as dying, or activating the atp by avoiding death. Now the spacetime ending you conclude to be due to cause and effect doesn't seem to fit to me. Cause and effect is violated every time you use a black hole warp core. Regardless of time differential, cause and effect isn't being respected. This is what leads me to that conclusion. The scout coming out of the white hole couldn't be caused by the scout entering the black hole, since the scout coming out of the white hole happened first. We also can't really rely on characters in universe (such as self) to explain things to us, as the first thing they usually say is "I have no idea what's happening here. But maybe it's this". Now I could be wrong, but it seems likely there is a multiverse, and self or us just can't see it cause we are within one universe. Cause and effect, and the explorers paradox should both dissappear in this case, and what we see should make sense. We jump in the black hole in a separate universe, sending self(actually us who jumped into a black hole already) to our(actually another universes hearthian reicieving our mories via statue) universe. Cause and effect is maintained due to self actually maintaining their own path and cause in space. And spacetime would be destroyed due to the spacetimes future being altered too much. It's all confusing either way, so sorry if the wording I chose caused more of it. Usually I have to convince people we don't die. And self isn't just some magic black hole duplicate. So just casually saying that 1 minute in a video would lose most viewers.

[@somedude6833]

This video may or may not have made me have a long think and conversation (with myself) about consciousness, and may or may not have given me an idea to make a conscious computer.

[@sook-iii]

you probably shouldn't do that.

[@ManoredRed]

An interesting possibility to consider is that time *probably* does not exist within the eye of the universe, just as space technically doesn't. When you are is as quantum-uncertain as where you are. One character within the eye even alludes to this possibility in their dialog. However, events cannot happen without time. This means that the "journey" the player undergoes within the eye can only be purely mental. Everything that happens within the eye is the player's mind processing... well, everything. All that was, that is and will be. Its entire existence. This helps explain why the interior of the eye is made up of places and people that are familiar and comfortable for the player. It also explains why, in a game where you are always running out of time, time suddenly stops mattering once you enter the eye. The eye is the only place in the game where you can hang out indefinitely without eventually dying as a result. However, the player's observance and thoughts are also what collapses possibilities into realities. This means that the process of the player's mind figuring things out and the process of the player's mind creating the new universe are one and the same, inextricably linked, mirrored. In fact, the new universe is not created until the player's mind accepts its end and willingly surrenders itself to it to create the new universe. The characters even ask you if you're ready to go ahead with the process or not, in spite of the fact that there is nothing else to do. However, things can get even more mind-blowing than this. If time does not exist inside the eye, that means entering the eye means you have always been inside the eye, are there now, and will always be inside the eye. Which means that the eye's apparent intentional actions throughout the history of the universe were caused not by a previous consciousness, but by you. You sent the signal to the Nomai, and you stopped the signal later. You might not have necessarily intended to do this, but you did and it allowed you to enter the eye. Its essentially a closed time loop. Near the end of the the game you have to fetch your friends one by one and play a song together with them to ready the universe for creation. Once the universe is ready, the song stops. This is similar to what the eye's signal did. By calling the Nomai, the eye of the universe put in place all the pieces necessary for your entrance into the eye and by extension the universe's ultimate regeneration. Once the pieces were in place, the signal stopped. Also, your friends were in a circular formation around a campfire. That vaguely resembles an eye, which according to the Nomai was what the signal looked like. The moment when your character runs into themselves while exploring the eye might be meant to represent this. You think you just entered the eye but no, you were already inside, you always were. The ultimate meaning of all of this is one of oneness with the universe. Your character is just an individual, but the're also the god that created and shaped their universe. Every aspect of who and what they are shaped the universe, and the universe shaped them in turn. The game's journey is not one of salvation, but one of enlightenment. The protagonist understands everything at the end, and exactly for that reason they have no need to exist or be conscious any further. Better to let go of everything and see what the future brings. In short, shit be trippy. I don't think everything I said here is necessarily the interpretation the devs intended for the game, but I think its a valid interpretation. (Also sorry for being so verbose whoever was brave enough to read this far, I think it would be difficult to shorten this while still making my case as well as I feel I did here)

[@TheLoreExplorer]

I think solanum even says time doesnt exist there. But I disagree with one aspect. I think its sort of more poetic if each new universe, a new consciousness comes to pick up the torch. Because in the 14.3 billion years later slide, if we dont meet solanum, we dont see the new bug species. Our actions also affect the next universe. So i think there needs to be a new explorer each time in the new universe.

[@ManoredRed]

​@@TheLoreExplorer I agree that its probably not just one guy in an eternal loop. Each universe will have their own eye entrant. Since time does not exist inside the eye, one might argue all of them help shape all universes past, present and future. But they only see a tiny fraction of that, their own perspective.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

I think that's how some of the amazing things we see come about. Like brittle hollow and it's crusts intrinsic gravitational properties. If you haven't seen my email interview with the lead dev you should check the video out. It's mostly minor stuff but it's interesting.

[@djsyntic]

I know that this is an older video, but it does seem to be incorrect about many things. I'm not sure if this video game out before or after the DLC, but even if we ignore all information from the DLC, it still seems incorrect. The eye does not seem to have played an active role in anything other than sending out what was interpreted as an invitation by the Nomai who heard it. Likewise, it's not that the probe just happened to find the eye when the statue synced with the player (and Gabbro). The system was originally set up so that only the probe would be in the loop. Upon finding the eye, it would tell the rest of the statues to sync up with the Nomai stationed at them, and they would, in turn, stop the loop now that they were aware of it. Of course, the sun explosion program didn't work and they died before they could figure out what went wrong. Fast forward many years later when the sun exploded all on its own, this activated the loop. Once the probe found the eye, it sent the signal to the statues to sync up with the people stationed at them, but through random luck (both good and bad) only the player and Gabbro were near the statues when the time came. Bad luck was at play because there were other statues that never did get activated. It's entirely possible though that had the Hearthians not yet found the statue chamber and moved one to the museum, that NOBODY would have been synced up with statue. The probe would do its thing, eventually find the eye, and send that information back 22 minutes to never be heard by anyone. The universe would then end with nobody having reached the eye. Now if you consider the DLC in addition to the rest, we know that the Strangers blocked the Eye's signal. We know that because of the Prisoner the signal was unblocked for a short time before being blocked again, and that it was that short burst that the Nomai heard. From that, we see how much more luck was at play here. The eye was apparently sending out an invitation to everyone so that eventually someone would come and observe it. But the Strangers stopped that and almost prevented anyone from finding the eye. If the eye is sentient, it's entirely possible that it intentionally instilled fear in the Strangers to prevent them from visiting the eye to soon. They blocked the signal from the eye from leaving the system, but as the signal was still in the system it might have them manipulated the prisoner to release the signal so that another race might hear the signal. This then brought the Nomai who were then possibly influenced by the signal to set up all their tech so that someone COULD reach the eye, but again because it was still early it influenced events so that they would die before reaching the eye themselves. This for me leaves only a couple of questions that I'm curious about. If the eye is not sentient then we were just REALLY unlucky that the bramble seed entered this system, but also really lucky that one of the random seeds it launched out did not find the eye. As the bramble seems to only seek to grow and consume, it would have been really bad for a seed to get in the eye. If the eye is sentient though, we have to ask if it was just pure bad luck that a seed ended up in the system or if we grant the eye the ability to manipulate events, did it "invite" a seed into the system and why? Likewise, without sentient it's just bad luck that the interloper showed up and killed off the Nomai before they could figure out a different way to find the eye. But even with a sentient eye, I have to wonder if the interloper was part of the eyes plans or not. The interloper was not a living thing like the Strangers or Nomai (or even the bramble Seeds) so there is no reason to think that the eye's signal could manipulate it. Yet it does seem to have arrived at just the right/wrong time. Wrong time for the Nomai, but the right time to stop them because it was too early still to reach the eye.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

This video was made years before the dlc released. It is incorrect in a few areas such as the why and how but i still mostly stand by the mechanics explanation and what I think it is. As for me speaking about when the loop starts Im not speaking in terms of loops or when in that timeline we get into the loop. Im speaking in terms of time as in minutes and hours. If the probe found the eye 10 seconds earlier hal would likely be connected to the statue. And 30 seconds later would mean hornfells would be connected. The eye had to found literally as we are speaking to hornfells in our first loop as a player for us to have been the one to sync with it. And considering how important us being in the loop is it seemed meaningful. I do think its coincidence now. But considering how everything played out with the signal's timings andits revelation to us it wasnt too crazy to believe it purposefully chose when to send its signals out and when to reveal itself to the probe. We know now that it was a conscious choice to stop the eyes signals. Just not the choice of the eye(but rather the inhabitants). I also think the interloper falls in this same vein. So perfectly timed that you would be forgiven to think it was planned purposefully. But was almost certainly a coincidence. As for the bramble plant...id say its not really luck but mechanics. The idea is that the seeds would be sent out and go to other solar systems. As it travels the gravity from galaxies , suns , and other large gravitational things would guide its path. This would tend to go towards the larger gravitational objects and has a miniscule , literally astronomically miniscule , chance of hitting the eye.

[@hyperlogan3406]

Spoilers: In the dlc it is explained that the eye was being contained by another race to hide its discovery but one of them stopped the blocker.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Yeah, This video was made a few years before the dlc. Most of it holds up imo though. Still think its a black hole that requires observation and so it calls out. I dont think its entirely conscious anymore. But the majority of this video stays the same in my eyes. It does need redone though

[@prepmaloon8875]

Now that the dlc is out it shows the entire story

[@FreeHat7]

I came up with an interesting thought on the Ash Twin Project, specifically the probe tracking module from the orbital cannon inside the core of Giant's Deep that I would to hear feedback since I haven't heard or read anywhere else of anyone bringing this up. The thought/topic is: Is the probe tracking control module that the player finds in every loop in the Giant's Deep core the one that gets exploded in the beginning of every loop? If so, what are the chances (keeping in mind that the coordinates that the probe cannon fires from is different each time) that the probe tracking module that explodes from the cannon goes through the ONE tornado that sucks it down every single iteration that the player elects to go explore the core of Giant's Deep? Though perhaps, this may not necessarily be an oversight of the design team, but perhaps a way to make the game playable, rather than having the player finally figure out how to get to the core only to find nothing there...SOMETIMES (i.e. it's there sometimes but not all the time). Because going to the core the first time to find nothing, most players probably wouldn't return back there again, even though they actually unknowingly would need to in order to finish the game. Was curious if this reasoning made sense or if there is a fault in my logic somewhere. Thanks for your time!

[@TheLoreExplorer]

As for the first part, yes it is the one we see flying off. And that is an excellent point. There is no way its being sent down the same tornado every time. and it doesnt just go there when we choose to explore. it happens every single loop. Or the other modules could locate it.. The only thing I can think of is that the material its made of is so dense it doesnt need forced down. It outweighs the current. But that seems hard to believe after seeing the current. to address the second point. Yeah, there are a few topics in the game that just defy science or even common sense for the sake of the narrative. There has to be something down there for us to explore, or else the entire ocean world is sort of meaningless. so id just chalk this one up to a sort of oversight. same thing with the shuttle landing pad on giants north pole. Their shuttles only flew to the equators of planets

[@FreeHat7]

@@TheLoreExplorer Thanks for the reply! Another point that I can't think would have an answer to other than oversight/playability from the design team is, if the orbital probe cannon shoots off "exactly" at the beginning of every 22min loop, how does it have time to reposition to a different trajectory for the probe each time? Since it's positioning has to be the same as it was the first time, every time, in each loop, it just wouldn't have enough time to change trajectory to give the probe a different route to take for a rediculous amount of possibilities. You can even see how its positioning is vastly different sometimes when you wake up. I think in reality the nomai *would* have programmed it so the cannon has time to reposition before firing off each loop (though this might mean that they might have to give the advanced warp core they built for ATP more energy because that means they would have to have 23min loops (the extra minute being an arbitrary time it takes the cannon to reposition each time). I again only imagine this is for playability because otherwise, the player wouldn't see the orbital cannon shoot off in the beginning of each loop which is critical to see for the sake of understanding the game. Side note, I imagine that the nomai in...I believe the high energy lab.. were asked if they can produce a time dilation (or w/e the correct word should be used here) of 22min from their warp core technology. They specifically requested 22min because given the amount of power the orbital probe cannon was expected to produce (directly relating to the velocity of the probe being shot off), they knew that for the probe to locate the eye's signal, the probe would have to travel a specific distance. In the probe tracking module at Giant's Deep core, projections showed the estimated possible locations of the Eye. And they were all of equidistant from the center of the Hearthian's sun. That means they knew how fast and how long the probe had to travel to be able to pick up the signal of the Eye right?

[@TheLoreExplorer]

@@FreeHat7 so for point one, its a short sighted thought. the universe exists before we wake up. the cannon simply readjusts after it gets the order, but before we wake up. our memories takes longer than theirs. For point 2. Yeah. they knew how long the probe would need to travel to reach the eye since the southern observatory had given them its possible orbit.

[@FreeHat7]

@@TheLoreExplorer Ohhhh, so you're saying that when the player's memories are sent back to them 22min ago, that Hearthian is actually still asleep for what seems to be close to the exact time it takes the orbital probe cannon to readjust to new coordinates? If that is true, then technically, if I used a stop watch to record how much time goes by from when the player actually wakes up to when the sun implodes (or whatever time frame it is when the sun's implosion generates enough energy to the ATP), it should be a bit *less* than 22min, theoretically correct? In other words, the 22min period doesn't start when the Hearthian wakes up. It starts a bit before, while he is still asleep, yes?

[@TheLoreExplorer]

well, yes and no. like, the game doesnt account for the few seconds we receive or memories and the probe readjusts. but story wise thats when it all happening. as we get our memories the probe gets it orders and moves.

[@Yuti640]

If the Eye of The Universe is a Black Hole, it explains why collapsing the possibilities sends the universe back The eye of the universe has incredible amounts of collected energy, so going through the black hole sends you out of the white hole with a far bigger time difference

[@Elaiden]

Great video. Though I think I might disagree with one aspect of it. I don't think that failing to start a new universe will break space time. I think that's what you meant at least. The reason that i think that is because of one of the alternative endings. "the drifter ending" where you pick up the warp core from ash twin, breaking the loop. But then you drift off far enough so that the supernova doesn't kill you. You no longer have any chance of reaching the eye. What happens is that you continue drifting, until you die because of lack of resources. The fabric of time doesn't break. I guess the universe just sort of dies, and then that's it. Perhaps, in this case the fabric doesn't break until we die, so we don't see it happening. Or perhaps the eye has a second plan to create the new universe. Maybe there are more eyes, in other galaxies, with other conscious beings which can do what we failed to do.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Well, it wouldn't break until the universe ended. And no one was there to jump in the black hole. Just like if we take the atp, make self, then take the core and drift. Technically it's impossible for us to get back in time to jump in the black hole. But spacetime doesn't end until we die. Because only then is it truly impossible. I think the same would happen to the universe.

[@HaronYoungerBro]

So... Maybe the whole universe is quantum. And near it's "end", when all the stars go supernova, all the conscious creatures in it die. And once the last conscious observer of the universe is no more, the universe immediately expands into it's countless possibilities. That's why there's need for the Eye and a conscious observer in it - for them to outlive everyone in the dying universe and then collapse it's countless possibilities back to just one.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

I agree with just about everything here except one. I think it'd be more accurate to say the whole universe is one quantum possibility. Rather than saying it's quantum and in Flux. We can see the observation rules are sort of on a smaller scale than universal. Check out my "cause of quantum uncertainty' video if you're interested in the theory.

[@AlexNovakim]

This is so beautiful...I love that this game exists

[@TheLoreExplorer]

Some of this video is a bit outdated. It was made before we knew about the inhabitants. But it mostly holds up imo. The only thing to update is the eyes role in all of this. When this was made I thought it called to the nomai. Turned off its signal. Then turned it back on for the probe to have found it. But now we know it called out. Got found by the inhabitants. And was then silenced. So it didnt stop calling out or reveal itself. But how its a quantum black hole that needs observed is still true imo

[@AlexNovakim]

@@TheLoreExplorer Oh yes you are talking about Echoes of the Eye. Also i watched more of your videos and found out about the spacetime breaking endings and talking to your self and it blew my mind. What a brilliant game!

[@TheLoreExplorer]

The game truly is magnificent. A masterpiece really. Hope you can find other stuff you like here! Promise there is tons of content for even the most seasoned player!

[@AshaiTides]

Great video!!!!!

[@mithrilld]

My one issue with the video is that the Orbital Probe Cannon finding the Eye wasn't a miracle - it was a certainty. The loop begins by only tracking the cannon and when the sun explodes and the loop resets, the Cannon asks itself whether or not it found the Eye. If it did, it awakens all the other statues - if it didn't, it just waits to restart the loop, infinitely, firing in a random direction every time, until it finds the Eye.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

yes. You are correct. I worded it horribly thinking people would get that I wasnt talking about the right loop. Considering how the Nomai statues and the atp work, the exact time it needed to activate wasnt that particular loop. But rather in the exact right moment of any loop. The way the atp and statues work, if the eye was found 30 seconds earlier, hal would have been connected to the statues. And a minute after that and hornfells would be connected to them. Instead, it was activated at just the right very short time frame it needed to be found in for our character to walk past the statue while no one else is near so we are the closest conscious observer to it. Most people think that the statues wouldnt activate right away, and instead would activate next loop. But the probe tracking module dispells this for us. It tells us the first loop is also the loop in which the eye was found. And apparently, at just the right time during that loop.

[@UMAPeRsOn7]

wait. what i think is that: the interpertation of time the game offers is that time is quantum and as soon as we look at it throught the eye, time collapses completelly, making you see the end of the universe. and the only object that is left with is the observer, and then, a new universe starts, thats why the eye is older than the universe itself

[@TheLoreExplorer]

well, once we get to the eye, its outside of space and time. So we can see the ending and the beginning at the same time. but the eye will remain through it all since its not really a part of the spacetime its "in". At least I didnt get the impression they were making a statement about time and its quantum properties or even lack thereof.

[@UMAPeRsOn7]

@@TheLoreExplorer yes yes. But stay with me. Remember when you talked with solanum. He had a doubt to what would happen if a conscious observer would enter the eye. So it's left to us to think that there is something quantum that we are going to see as we get into the eye. And as soon as you fall through the that hole into the eye you see that weird thing. And in my opinion, that would be the inumerous possibilities that time could offer collapsing into one. And as the universe ends as soon as you enter there, it would be that the time is collapsing into one of it's possibilities. But it's my opinion. I didn't talked to devs or anything I am just a physicist that loved that game hahaha. Other thing. That smoke I think it's just smoke haha nothing more. And at the end it's a metaphor! That you are creating a new universe from smoke. But yes. That's my opininion

[@TheLoreExplorer]

The universe doesn't end as soon as we enter the eye. The universe lives on after heatdeath right? Probably millions of years of nothing significant happening. But it's still there. We just see the end right away because we are entangled with the quantum object that is the eye. And the eye is outside of time. Able to view or experience it all at once. Solanum doesn't doubt whatll happen if someone enters the eye. She openly wonders what would happen if someone entered the source of all quantum uncertainty.

[@UMAPeRsOn7]

@@TheLoreExplorer Yes Sorry. its really that. she wondered what could happen when you enter the eye. BUT. Lets look at quantum objects and the postulates of quantum mechanics, more specifically the superposition. When you measure a property, it collapses to one of its possible states at the time it is observed. And when you reach the eye, that is this object outside the universe that in theory can look(measure) the entire spacetime at once, you measure everything at all times, making everything (not only quantum objects) collapse to one state at its given time. so... yes. its the same thing you said. hahaha. And you can only see that cause you are entangled (the game's term) with the eye. So yes, my view of the ending is very similar to your's hahaha. You know evangelion. i think its the same thing here, they need to make a movie to explain this ending better haha

[@opasailor]

plot twist: the new universe that is created is our own and outer wilds is a simulation of what came before

[@TheLoreExplorer]

super plot twist. theres an infinite amount of our universes. and the 14.3 year later universe. and every single possible universe.

[@MageSkeleton]

is this before or after experiencing the DLC? because the DLC explains really amazing lore that was well crafted to explain the rest of the game and why "the eye" had only sent out a single signal for the noimai. However, it would be interesting if the noimai had never received the signal as the race your player character is potentially would had never known or had clues to follow. And i disagree with the home habitable planet and population.

[@TheLoreExplorer]

This was before. Not too much changes though. Just the “why did it stop calling”