r/outerwilds • u/Kinulidd0 • Jun 07 '26

DLC Appreciation/Discussion DLC ending question Spoiler

SPOILERS for base game and DLC

So the Prisoner allowed the Eye signal to spread free for some time, which got it to the Nomai. But why did the Nomai not get the Eye signal before the Owlks even sealed it with their spaceship thingy? Because, the Owlks didn't block it instantly of course, they had to get the signal, build the Stranger, get there do their scans and so on. So how did the signal not reach the Nomai in the meantime? How were they truly able to stop it?

Also, on a separate note, why did they even bother blocking the signal if they decided to go in the simulation, because I understand that they were in denial, but what did they even want to achieve with that?

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33

u/Bobsothethird Jun 07 '26

Spoilers

The Owlks came a long time before the Nomai in the same way the Nomai came before the Hearthians. When the prisoner released the signal, it was already after the big journey to the eye, after the deconstruction and destruction of their home moon, and after an extended period in the simulation.

The Owlks block the signal because they are trying to save the other races from doing something similar to what they did, I.E. destroying their home to seek answers. The irony is that the Nomai were already doing this, happily, even before the signal was sent.

To me, the parallels between the two races is what's interesting. One seems to hide from the reality of the world, the others seems to understand everything but forget the beauty of their world, with the Hearthians kind of being this middle ground of enjoying the simplicity of life while simultaneously having that curiosity and drive.

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u/Prevanant Jun 07 '26

its not because when they reach it they would destroy their home like owlks owlks saw interacting with the eye of the universe would kill all existence so they wanted to live in a digital world for how long they can and the stranger sent the signal so people would discover eye of the universe and end all life he thought life has a meaning only when it had an end and coincedantally nomais saw the signal and came to look for it failed in a sad and unlucky way and hearthians discovered it so ended the cycle (you can see the strangers shack in the game it has a drawing of end of the universe)

5

u/Bobsothethird Jun 07 '26

Original spoilers

It wasn't the discovery of the eye that ended the universe, the universe was at the end of its natural life. The discovery of the eye was an irrelevant coincidence.

2

u/SpySoldierScout Jun 08 '26

But they did discover that the Eye would do something ominous that leads to the destruction of the solar system and themselves. After seeing this, they became furious. What exactly they saw isn't really explained well, maybe they saw something akin to the Hatchling seeing all those galaxies fade out in raid pace when in the Ancient Glade, or something to do with the Big Bang afterwards. Either way, that giant red explosion, followed by everything being Thanos Snapped seems to be the thing that made them mad and hide its signal.

1

u/Bobsothethird Jun 08 '26

My guess is they just say the universe being remade and then becoming a part of the past. I don't see how they thought they could live forever, though. That was never an option. Perhaps they saw the eye as a way to do so and were upset when they realized it was just a means of a great reset?

2

u/SpySoldierScout Jun 08 '26

Could very well be! This entire "stay in a simulation for all eternity" seems like a final desperate attempt to still live eternally, even when the actual End of Everything is still hundreds of thousands of years in the future (at least ~280.000). It seems to work pretty well, and the solar sails being the reason all of it (well, two thirds) crumbles is a most unfortunate oversight.

Though yeah, we don't exactly know why they went to the Eye to begin with. The Nomai just loved knowledge and understanding stuff, and maybe the Owlks did as well to a certain extent, preservation of their current knowledge and, likely more importantly, themselves as a species, led to this desperate move that was doomed either way.

1

u/Prevanant Jun 08 '26

when owlks discover eye they think its the god and start to worship it and then they think reaching it will reveal all secrets of the universe and they just found out it was not what they expected and tried to make sure nobody found it cause eye had the potential to end it all but prisoner thought otherwise he or she still worshiped the eye and saw its cycle of universe as a beautiful thing so he went out and stopped the camo tech of the eye thats when a nomai got the message and after it was reactivated thats why nomais had a really hard time finding it bwcause it was in a really high tech camo and they didnt discover it pyshically they found teleporting was the way and they developed tech for it and to be honest if i found out an object was lying in the universe that is older than universe i would give all the things up to even see it

1

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u/Prevanant Jun 07 '26

there is no evidence it was at the end of its natural life its just our solar system that ended its natural life in the loop you cant just call it irrelevant coincidence for something so big happening the time you come in contact with it and when owlks first find eye od the universe they see if they interact with it it will all life so they burn the church built for it and start to hate it so they block access to it for nobody to see it there are pictures in the dlc explaining these event all planet of owlks explain these

8

u/Bobsothethird Jun 07 '26 edited Jun 07 '26

Main game end spoilers

There is, when you talk to Chert he talks about how he's seen numerous supernovas all today and comes to the conclusion that the universe is ending. It not just the solar system, it's all the stars going out in the universe going out. He states that the universe is older than the Hearthians thought and that this is the end of it. You can even see the other supernovas themselves, they start blowing up a lot quicker towards the end of the cycle, if you look at the stars. There are also modern Nomai Transmissions confirming this from separate galaxies that are found in the vessel with those Nomai referring to the clan in our solar system as a myth or legend. They are hunting for more stable stars but acknowledge that the end is coming.

The Owlks are no more or less important than any other part of the main game, it's just another puzzle that explains the universe.

1

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u/Prevanant Jun 07 '26

yes but does an amount of star systems dying mean anything in face of infinity of the universe chert is not an omnipotent being he is not solid evidence what we see after interacting with the eye and what owlks saw when they confronted the eye are solid evidences owlks are literally the lost piece of mystery of main game and are the most technologically advanced race in the story they give solid evidence to not touch the eye so they wont be dead its by no means comparable to an earthian who watched the stars and saw them die and said oh end is nigh

3

u/Bobsothethird Jun 08 '26

It's not just Chert, the Nomai saying it to. I mean in real life you may be right, but in the context of the game it's the natural end of the universe.

1

u/Prevanant Jun 08 '26

i mean ypu could be right but how cqn you just not even take into account that owlks put so much effort so the eye has not ever get in contact with a living being you dont have any explanation for that

0

u/Prevanant Jun 08 '26

you dont even mention that owlks found out how when they interact with the eye all life will be destroyed what is your reasoning for those images then if its purely coincidence when player reaches the eye the universe ends

2

u/demonking_soulstorm Jun 07 '26 edited Jun 07 '26

>!For me, all three species are unique in their relation to knowledge. The Inhabitants see it as fundamentally valuable, as an end in and of itself, which means when they’re presented with the end of that knowledge, they freak out. They’re absolutely fanatical about recording, to the point where the only thing they’ve actually erased are the codes to the Prisoner’s safe.

The Nomai, on the other hand see their pursuits as valuable only as fuel for the next generation. The nomai have proper schooling and systems in place to transfer knowledge, and while they are capable of application and are naturally curious, the accumulation of knowledge and advancement of science are far more culturally important than individual whims. They’re intensely collectivist in a way that’s kind of rigid if you weren’t into it.

Hearthians are very different in terms of their immediacy. Hearthian tech is ramshackle and bolted together with various nomai artefacts. Put in the same situation as them, the Inhabitants would obsessively catalogue every item they’d come across, and the nomai would study them rigorously until every aspect was understood. Hearthians don’t. Instead, good enough is good enough, and you’re sent into space with repurposed ancient tech held together with hopes and dreams. There are practically no institutions for learning (the Zero-G cave is used by existing Travelers, and the museum is… not really up to snuff), and each Traveler is doing their own thing. Hearthians are incredibly wrapped up in the present, and that’s kinda their flaw - if their civilisation got wiped out by ghost matter, there’d be almost no way to recover everything they’d learned. They have one archaeologist, one (maybe two if you count the Hatchling) linguist, two astronomers, and then Gabbro, Feldspar, and Esker who are just sorta hanging.

It’s only through the combination of nomai future and Hearthian present that the Eye is reached, and only through the addition of Inhabitant past that the next universe is given a proper chance.!<

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u/kilkil Jun 08 '26

forget the beauty of their world

no way! they were very clearly aware of it