The Ark (Next Update talk/theories)

I am inclined to agree with this.

 

Starbound writer DemanRisu on reddit 2 weeks ago: "novakids just sorta appeared though, they don't give much of a shit about anything"


It seems like a lot of you haven't seen these yet, so just a reminder, I made sure there are detailed wiki pages for everything Ark related.
http://starbounder.org/Ark < You can click on any of the "Biome Related Objects" to see their racial descriptions
http://starbounder.org/Ancient_Plaque
http://starbounder.org/Tentacomet

I also recently posted the text of all tentacle related codex entries here.

And here are the most recent decodings and cipher key:
<< Note: There is a tentacle eye below this plaque...





I also decoded the challenge gates in the first Dev Roundup video, but they weren't exactly spoiler heavy:

Entrance:


Exit:

I think that Chucklefish may have a usable font in the Ark language already. Maybe we'll be able to convince them to let us have that later on?

If not, I plan on making one. Would you like one so soon though? It would have placeholders for the 6 missing letters, all symbols, and 8 numbers..

 

I most certainly have seen everything except that first Reddit post. (I'm aware that you're referring to everyone)
Well, all DemanRisu says is that they "just sorta appeared". This says nothing to indicate that they came in to being specifically after the Ark was created, just that they're simply beings that appeared, not the descendants of the Protector. I highly doubt that they appeared after the Ark was created, because as I said, how could they be listed on the gates? If there had only been 7 races when the gate was designed, then the placing of the slots would likely be a bit different, and if people think this means they appeared after the Precursors were destroyed, then there's the extra evidence of the unlikelihood that someone else would go to the trouble of carving their faces out of ancient stone and adding them to every gate.

 

Maybe the eye that was in the eigth slot before represents the Progenitors (or Precursors, I don't know what to call them) because they are all-seeing. How else would they know what the Novakids were unless they found them on their own? It would take a long time to look through the entire universe.

 

So you're saying that unlike all the other faces, the eye didn't represent the Precursors themselves, but instead some sort of omniscient capability they had? Also, what are you saying about "finding" the Novakids? I'm not sure I understand what you mean.

 

Well, if the Novakids just appeared, then the Precursors didn't create them, meaning the only way they would've known about them was just by either finding a Novakid settlement or village, or by some kind of power that enables them to watch over everything.

 

There's nothing to indicate that the Precursors ever created any other races (except the Glitch), they're just another race themselves. You seem to be a bit confused between the Protector (the faceless/masked being shown in the first and third holograms) and the Precursors (the 8th race who built the Ark). Also, it's a common misconception that the Protector created the universe, but certain race descriptions show that the hologram is supposed to depict it protecting and helping planets, hence my name for it. Not to mention that a creator being wouldn't A: Have created something to destroy what it had made, and B: Partake in a "cataclysmic battle" (as the Avians call it) with this creature, instead simply smiting it with the power it would wield as a creator.

Yes, my theory is that none of the lore we've seen has to do with the actual creation of the universe, just the events within it.

 

Ah. I guess a better way to put it would've been 'aided' the other species. The Precursors created the Glitch, gave intelligence to the Avians, and possibly more. I'm interested to see if the Apex play a part in this, as we know almost nothing about their actual past.

 

I still don't understand you. Earlier you said that because the Precursors didn't "create" the Novakids, they would have had to find them using some sort of omniscient ability, which seems nonsensical in itself. Then you said that you meant "aiding" the other race (or making them what they are today), which meant they would have to find every races anyway. I'm not grasping how the Novakids are any different to the Hylotls or the Apex if you only meant aiding existing species, simply with the Novakids being born a while after the universe was created and during the Precursor age, since we know that they existed during the Precursor age due to their presence on the gate.

 

I misunderstood the previous discussion. I thought that the Precursors created or molded the other races into what they are today. My mistake.

What I don't understand is a. how each race obtained a key and b. why they have no records of the Precursors or anything. Wouldn't Greenfinger have at least some knowledge of them?

Finally, in the Lunar Base mission, above the area where you find the cat are two strange symbols similar to the ones on the gate. Not sure why, though. I'll try to translate.
Edit: I translated the Lunar Base symbols, and they just say '12'. This is kind of disappointing, but maybe it means something.

 

• Yeah. I don't think we can draw any conclusions about the creation of the Starbound universe without a word like "creator" or "beginning" being mentioned somewhere.
• The Precursors must have somehow distributed the keys to the races, most likely the leaders of the races. Perhaps they sent non-Precursor agents to deliver it in order to preserve their anonymity.
• It's quite possible that Greenfinger might know about them. He seems to keep a lot of secrets. We don't even know what race he is. (he's described as Greenfinger of the Florans, and he always talks about Florans as though he wasn't one of them)
• I'm sure you saw Varixai's post above. The symbols above the door are believed to be the numbers "1" and "2" in the Precursor alphabet. (keep in mind that the symbols believed to be 1 and 2 appear EXCLUSIVELY in the lunar base, the assumption that they're 1 and 2 is based purely on their appearance there)(also, the cat isn't there any more. It's been replaced with a message that, when translated, reads "IT WILL RETURN", assumedly referring to the Destroyer)

 

Those symbols representing 1, 2, and 3 are conjecture on my part, yes. I do have some information that supports it though:

1. They are identified in the game files as Secret Symbol 1, Secret Symbol 2, and Secret Symbol 3. Most duplicate objects are given identical names, not differing numbers.
   
2. The 2 in the lunar mission act as signals for 2 levers
3. All of the symbols on the gate meant 1 character, there aren't many options for 1 character letters to signify 2 levers other than digits, and they don't match any previously used symbols.
   
4. The glitch description on symbol 3 (link above) literally says "Theorising. I wonder if this sigil represents a digit."

As for my own theorizing.. Tiy has always said that the core missions in this game will be vital to unraveling the main storyline and lore of the game. He also reiterated very recently that pretty much all of the missions and especially the associated dialogue are placeholders. When he first teased the Ark he said: "The image posted is the start of the final (non-placeholder) Starbound plot. In the end I'm glad we didn't compromise and rush to 1.0 with something less than this. The lore, characters and events will be epic."

With that in mind.. I am guessing that there will be 6 missions, each rewarding a "key" to open the black hole. Each one will be related to one of the 6 races in the hologram on the Ark. Where the Novakid will fit into this, well, that is one of the big unknowns. It is quite possible their creation is in some way tied to the first time the giant protector guy fought and entombed the giant tentacle monster.

As for requiring you to play each race to get each key, I don't think that will happen. It definitely could, but I think it will just be the themed missions instead. Requiring completion on each race would be quite restrictive/forceful in a way that I think Starbound has, for the most part, avoided thus far.

 

It's stated in the Novakids' introduction that they were "Forged aeons ago in the fusion furnaces of a now-dead star". This sounds more like the result of a natural phenomenon than a clash between demigods.

 

Wait, does it say 'it will return' where the cat was? Because maybe it's just referring to the cat. Also, it seems that specific cat has been removed entirely, as all seven on my ship were killed.

 

while that is entirely possible it is also unlikely thanks to the introduction of pets from the start.

 

I think we've been asking ourselves the wrong question with the black hole.

We've been asking what is it on the other side, precursors. the monster?

I think we should be asking why. Why would the precursors leave keys?assuming it's them monster on the other side. If the beast was truly completely evil, why would they let the door be opened so it could destroy the galaxy? Common sense tells us than that it couldn't be completely evil, maybe the precursors wanted the six races to bring the monster back too it's senses.

Or alternatively, what if the precursors locked most of themselves(some couldn't have been based on the slab in the mine) inside with the creature to keep it at bay, and are waiting for the other races to help them finish off the creature, something they currently can't do on their own.

 

First of all, I think the reason why everyone's been asking "what" instead of "why" is because in some cases we care about the gameplay we'll be experiencing a teensy bit more than the lore.

Well, the "IT WILL RETURN" plaque in the lunar base (if it is indeed talking about the Destroyer, otherwise, yay cats) could indicate that it might break free on its own at some point. It could be that the keys are for when some worthy hero (such as the player) who can destroy the beast before it can shatter its prison comes forth, so they can get rid of it before it becomes a problem. I don't think that opening the black hole would let it out immediately, because the player is going to fly their ship through it, implying that the Destroyer waits on the other side.

As for the Precursors being in there, I think you're forgetting how the Destroyer was sealed away in the first place. The Precursors didn't do it. The Protector, the colossal masked figure we see in the holograms and on the left of the Monolith Gate as a statue, did. After the fact, the Protector likely created a less-detailed version of the Monolith Gate that served to keep the black hole closed, then he bestowed the six keys to the Precursors to hold on to when the Destroyer returns. Then I suppose the Precursors built the Ark around the Monolith Gate and added all the fancy touches to the gate itself. Considering the Destroyer was not locked away peacefully, but rather during a cataclysmic battle between it and the Protector suggests that the Precursors wouldn't have been able to enter the black hole even if they wanted to, if we can assume that it was closed as soon as the Destroyer was pushed in. Also, if the Precursors were capable of "keeping the creature at bay", then they could have theoretically done so whilst the Protector finished it off. I don't know why the Protector didn't stick around to stop the Destroyer when it returns, but it could be for the same reason that the Precursors no longer exist.

 

Maybe the Ark Ship is a key. When you get the six keys, you unlock the black hole. But you have to fly the Ark Ship into the black hole and into some sort of docking station to actually unlock the tentacle beast.

 

That seems like a bit of a stretch. People keep calling the final upgrade the "Ark Ship", which makes it sound like there's some sort of Precursor technology at work, but in reality it's just been upgraded with the "ultimate ore" that you find in nebulas so it can safely fly through black holes. That's the whole purpose of the final upgrade, to be able to safely enter the black hole. In that way, I suppose it's a metaphorical key, since it's the only thing that can let you access whatever's on the other side of the black hole without being stretched in to spaghetti by the intense gravity.

 

I'm thinking that perhaps this massive protector being sacrificed itself to trap the Beast, or is still trapped with it in the pocket dimension the Ark Gate leads to.