I finally started playing this again the last two nights after getting distracted by Monkey Balls for nearly a week. Going to collect all my thoughts to jot down my current leads. Wall of spoiler text incoming! But first, allow me to laugh at my former, oh so naive self:
StartTheMachine posted...
I also saw a living one of the as-of-yet unidentified new species (that I'm guessing is tied to the post-credits scene of the base game) roaming around in Starlit Cove. Gotta find a way to that guy!
Well that did NOT go how I originally thought! The first one I actually encountered was the Shrouded Woodlands guys though. It wasn't until I went back to watch some videos of slide reels I'd recorded (smart move) that I figured out how to extinguish the lights in the middle area of Starlit Cove to get to the well.
Aaaaand fuck Starlit Cove. I eventually got getting to the well itself down to a science - shine your light, draw out the pursuer, when he looks to the left side dart for the well - but I could not for the life of me get to that last elevator past the three pursuers guarding it. (And I know those guys are nicknamed pursuers thanks to an achievement I got). I guess I could have activated "Matrix vision" and studied their routes longer, but it's kind of hard to make use of that when you can't shine your artifact to see them. Speaking of which, are you invincible from them when that Matrix vision is activated, or if you get reaaally close will they still nab you? It seems like you're completely immune.
But anyway, out of spontaneous curiosity to see the effects that I thought would be purely visual, I turned off frights when going for the well elevator for the billionth time, and, whoa, suddenly the pursuers' vision is nerfed like crazy.
I felt bad about "cheating" to finally get there after what must have been hours of just attempting that, but the Hidden Archive was disappointing anyway. Was hoping that area would help me put all the pieces together as I have almost everything that's popped up in my ship log completed. The new slides didn't help much, though I now know these creatures can survive bodily death with the artifacts, and it appears like a communication error happened with some between their minds and the artifacts and they got left behind in these dark/dream worlds. I'm guessing the ones that are pursuing me got left. And others were able to exit their stasis to...go somewhere? I really have no idea about that part.
There was also a container there, which had one of the symbols on it from the sealed vault, but there was nothing inside it. It almost looked like a burned slide. Right before the loop ended, I noticed I could move the elevator up and set down my artifact on the black floor there where Matrix vision is normally activated. But it didn't seem to activate there and I got flooded like 20 seconds into trying. I'll just ask, is it worth going back there right now? Or maybe I need to bring something else with me instead to put inside that container.
In the Shrouded Woodlands, I've learned to get to that fireplace area where the creepy ass music is coming from, but I couldn't get past the fireplace part when inside. There's a guy immediately on the right keeping guard, though I did see past him is another dock area to continue forward (that all the other pursuers are marching toward). I guess getting there is one of my remaining leads. Hmm, if it leads to another one of those symbols and containers like the Hidden Archives had, then I'll basically know I need to bring something with me to each of them.
The Endless Canyon has been less interesting so far. I activated the bridge with the vision hole, went downstairs and found the mural that looks like a door, but I don't know what to do past there. I did, however, gain a vantage point where I can see a little alcove underneath the area I came into the dream world from. Perhaps that is my destination here.
Putting all my clues together, my speculation is that each of the dream world areas leads to a vision hole thing, each activating one of the seals on the sealed vault. It makes sense that opening that would be the endgame just based on my ship log clues. I know all the dream worlds are connected through rafts too so...my god putting this together might be a mental nightmare. I hope my remaining leads offer some big clues.
My biggest leads now are probably getting past the fireplace area in the Shrouded Woodlands and figuring out an interface I found in the Hidden Gorge. It's another one of those with five symbols on it. The other one I did had the clue right by that you simply used a scout to find. Come to think of it....I MIGHT have recorded footage on my Xbox somewhere with the right symbols. I feel like I found a slide reel or something that had different symbols from the one I used on the first interface. But honestly, I could totally be imagining that.
New species origins speculation: My original theory was that these guys are from a parallel universe - not simply another solar system, but the same solar system in a parallel dimension. This is based on one of the slides I found real early on. I think that's still accurate, but I'm less sure now that they're the same creatures you see come to life in the new universe at the end of the base game. Not to mention, the parallel universe theory makes sense since the Eye of the Universe contains all possible quantum phenomena of all universes (to me, the Eye is essentially a panentheist interpretation of God, but I wonder if that will remain my interpretation by this DLC's end).
And one last cool thing: I took an artifact back to Timber Hearth to see if anyone had anything interesting to say about it. They say nothing, but trying to use it at a regular campfire got me a secret achievement. That was hilarious. Oh, and yes, I talked to Hal there.