I probably just missed the explanation, but I never really understood what the opening simulation was supposed to be testing and why Morgan volunteered to do it.
They discovered how to use Typhon abilities with neuromods. Morgan volunteered to test them in order to study the Typhon further as well as to understand the Coral that was starting to spread (Morgan suspected it was a neural network). Edit: Study is probably secondary to the fact that the Yus want all the glory for themselves. Morgan and Alex believed that Typhon neuromods were the future of mankind so it's possible that Morgan simply wanted to be the first.I probably just missed the explanation, but I never really understood what the opening simulation was supposed to be testing and why Morgan volunteered to do it.
I think the personality changes were a side effect from so many neuromod wipes.I think it had to do with testing the effects of memory loss and personality changes after removing an implant
They discovered how to use Typhon abilities with neuromods. Morgan volunteered to test them in order to study the Typhon further as well as to understand the Coral that was starting to spread (Morgan suspected it was a neural network).
It seems that, as humans, they were only able to install a handful of neuromods at a time, which necessitated an extended testing period. But, as you know, neuromod removals mean the deletion of all memories from when they were installed. So In order to get the best possible test results they decided to revert back to the first day Morgan EVER installed neuromods - hence, the apartment and getting ready for his first day on the job.
I think the personality changes were a side effect from so many neuromod wipes.
you probably didn't look at a computer that was in the bridge
I enjoyed how the game ended up being mostly played straight.
The reveal of December and January destroying him is meant to play off Shock veterans' paranoia that there's a SHODAN twist coming, so the realization that all sides are telling the truth - just a different truth based on a different Morgan - was actually neat.
Who knows if Morgan even did die, she/he has a penchant for sticking themselves into scientific testing, could have likely done the same from behind the scenes alongside Alex in that ending sequence.
Unless I missed the line where they outright say he's dead.
Oh, and I got baited hard by the Luther Glass quest in the Trauma Center, see I didn't realize he was already dead, so I thought that every time I was spotted trying to take out the Military Operators, Luther was executed-- I mean they play a voice sample when you walk into the room (not that I realized it was a sample at the time), so I reloaded a save right before that encounter dozens of times, trying to save Luther.
I couldn't save Luther.
First thing I checked on my second playthrough.
I forget what was said in the ending by Alex when you are out of the simulation and being judged, but it definitely infers Morgan is no longer around.
That actually makes a lot of sense, thank you.
Edit: That said, I'm still not sure why Morgan would personally take the risk.
I created my own jump scare after starting the self destruct countdown and just wandering around the bridge area, unexpectedly running into the fake cook in an escape pod and reflexively wrenching him in the face. Is there any other reason for the game making you wait out that countdown in real time?
Skimming this thread it looks like I missed out on some interesting stuff by accidentally killing Igwe. I thought maybe hacking that keypad on his cargo container would fire some thrusters or something...
But yeah, one of January's first lines of dialog made me suspect the simulation aspect. He tells you about how there's more than one way to complete an early objective, then comments on how you do it, as if he's observing you in a simulation! It wasn't until the later I started to suspect that you weren't the real Morgan, but the first time you have one of those visions where characters refer to you as an 'it' makes it pretty obvious.
I guessed the whole "you're a typhon with a human mind" thing pretty early, after the logs about placing human neurons in Phantoms.
Then I was kinda disappointed when it didn't play out.
Then the post-credits scene happened.
Probably the heartless assholeWas there any background as to why Alex and Morgan's father orders Dahl to kill everyone on Talos 1 including his children?
Or are we just to assume that the Yu parents are heartless assholes?
Probably the heartless asshole
The thing is, we have no idea how much of the simulation was REAL, and how much was programmed as a test. Besides Alex, any of the characters could have been fictional, or any of the dramatic events. The entire Dahl storyline could have been fictional considering your actions towards Dahl were used as evaluation criteria at the end
I know Alex says the simulation was based on Morgan's memories, but since neither ending scenario can actually be what happened (the Typhon weren't destroyed because earth is infested, and the station wasn't destroyed since Alex is alive), it's not a genuine memory. It's tough to draw any conclusions about the events and what did/didn't happen
Ya it's really tough to determine what part of the story actually happened to the real Morgan or how much was the simulation. In some ways it undermines the player impact; none of your decisions had any impact whatsoever on the station's fate (if the station ever existed at all...). But I've played enough games where I single handedly saved a world I didn't care about. Viewing the game as simply an exploration of cool ideas felt worth the money for me, and the ending was just another cool idea on topI haven't yet gone back to try this, but do you have the option to save Alex if you decide to destroy the station? There's a conspicuously empty fourth seat on the shuttle (the other three seating Elazar, Igwe and Ilyushin. From what I can tell, you can let Alex destroy January and then press the self-destruct anyways. In that scenario, it might be possible for the station to blow up while still keeping Alex alive. The Typhon could've just hitched a ride on the shuttle.
Alternatively, the nullwave device might not have worked as well as Morgan and Alex hoped, so the real Morgan might have seen the original plan through, only for it to be the wrong choice.
Since it's a simulation, it's less interesting, but I was really hoping for some kind of ending that acknowledges you did everything possible to contain the spread of the Typhon (though I personally screwed this up on my playthrough so maybe there actually is one!). You would've had to, at minimum:
1) kill Dahl, so no one can use his shuttle to escape;
2) fail the sidequest where two people are trapped in an escape pod and need you to open the exterior station hatch;
3) destroy the outbound shuttle remotely in the captain's nest on the bridge;
4) destroy the station;
5) sacrifice yourself.
I think they reward anyone who feels like the ending was disappointing by letting you murder everyoneWow, that ending..that's just too abrupt. I need more than that, especially if new shit comes to light.
I get what they were trying to go for, but the execution was really lacking. Too many new questions and a complete lack of denouement of the plot and the characters that I was invested in. The Leave ending with the shuttle with everyone being saved I sweriiusly thought was bugged because it ended so abruptly.
Kind of disappointing to be honest to an otherwise entertaining game with some decent sidequests.
It's also funny to see so many people I've talked to blazed through the final part of the game and just speedran all the areas. I thought I was the only one who just got tired of cleaning areas but I guess not.
As Revolutionary said, i think Morgan is constantly testing Typhon neuromods and unwriting them.I probably just missed the explanation, but I never really understood what the opening simulation was supposed to be testing and why Morgan volunteered to do it.
Wow, that ending..that's just too abrupt. I need more than that, especially if new shit comes to light.
I get what they were trying to go for, but the execution was really lacking. Too many new questions and a complete lack of denouement of the plot and the characters that I was invested in. The Leave ending with the shuttle with everyone being saved I sweriiusly thought was bugged because it ended so abruptly.
Kind of disappointing to be honest to an otherwise entertaining game with some decent sidequests.
It's also funny to see so many people I've talked to blazed through the final part of the game and just speedran all the areas. I thought I was the only one who just got tired of cleaning areas but I guess not.
Yes, but in a limited form. I don't know exactly what plot state she'll be available in, but there's a large pool adjacent to the fitness center (Crew Quarters, right?) where you can bang a window a few times and she'll come over and say hi. Iirc, there was a quest that breadcrumbs you over to the window?I never met Danielle either. Is she physically in the game?
She sends her girlfriend a message saying where she is and to bang on the window. Her girlfriend's body is in the freezer in the kitchen, murdered by the cookRe: Danielle. Yeah, there's definitely a string of emails or audiologs that takes you to that window. In fact, it might have been an actual sidequest, because I think there was a quest marker for it. It's essentially pointless, except that it alerts you to the cook in Crew Quarters, and then the Danielle operator uses that as a judgement criterion during the ending. But otherwise, it's really just there so you can finally meet this person whose voice logs and notes you've been digging into for an hour or two. Also, because it was essentially the first contact you have with a human being in the whole game, and because she's essentially doomed and can't help you out there, I found that whole section weirdly touching. I wonder if you can find her body out there.
Did you not play the post credit scene at all? The post credit scene is a huge part of the ending. The earth being infested is a big dramatic reveal where he turns your chair around and shows you all the video screens of earth. It's the entire reason your character exists...You can take Alex's hand in the post-credits scène. I played through the two endings but didn't realize you could do this.
Also, I must've missed the fact that the Earth was typhonized because I didn't notice until I read this thread. Bit of an unsatisfying ending.
Did you not play the post credit scene at all? The post credit scene is a huge part of the ending. The earth being infested is a big dramatic reveal where he turns your chair around and shows you all the video screens of earth. It's the entire reason your character exists...
Just the typhon sitting in the chair, with Alex and the three human operators. Alex said something in the lines of "start over" and then it fades to black and goes to the main menu.
One thing still eludes me - who is/was October?
You're supposed to think it's an Operator created by Morgan from a "reset" prior to when he/she created January. But really it's a test in the simulation to see if you're an empathetic Typhon or not.
I brought this up in the other thread, but is there any reason to think the Talos 1 incident has basis in the fiction's "reality? As I see it the whole idea of the station could've been created by Alex for his Typhon test.
I brought this up in the other thread, but is there any reason to think the Talos 1 incident has basis in the fiction's "reality? As I see it the whole idea of the station could've been created by Alex for his Typhon test.
Got a little annoyed at the end, went to blow up the station and it started a countdown, the quest marker was on the chair, which I assume you would just sit in and watch it explode, but I couldn't interact with it at all, so I just had to wait like 7 minutes for the game to end.
My impression is that October is an Operator that was closer to the original personality of Morgan. Early on the tests, she decided to make the Operator in case she suffers from memory losses during the tests. You can see the disassembled the Operator and it's audio output on the workstation in Morgan's cabinOne thing still eludes me - who is/was October?
I was also putting together puzzle pieces that weren't actually part of the puzzle -I had an internal theory that the operators Morgan built for herself were based on the date when she was running through tests and smiulations. October, then December, then January, all created by different iterations who had different philosophies and personality traits that developed during their testing. Equivalent to Planescape's Paranoid/Good/Practical incarnations.
Turns out tho, that project Blackbox was about the military operators mounted with Q-Beams, not the simulation(s).
The simulation is actually called Project Cobalt, by the way. It's even mentioned as the backup plan on the whiteboard at Alex's safehouse.
The simulation is actually called Project Cobalt, by the way. It's even mentioned as the backup plan on the whiteboard at Alex's safehouse.