Luminance Fugue - this one scene

[Cr41g]

So I keep coming back to this from the trailer...and I obsess how it is going to fall into the storyline... given the aurora's...now the capture isn't the greatest so you may have to re-watch to pick it out....but what is this object that is sitting in the background... I think it is a telescope...but would like to hear what others think. A telescope on Great Bear would make sense due to low light pollution...

[ajb1978]

That's my take on it--that it's an observatory.  A telescope in the background, and racks of equipment to process the imagery collected.  

[MarrowStone]

SPOILERS 

Also a working computer AND a new character!

Theres also a face on the computer. 

Also a shot after this shows a broken photo and if you look closely it is Will and Astrid with a baby. Confirming the theory that they had a kid before leaving each other, and also strengthening the possibility of said child's death causing them to break up.

i dunno how to make spoilers black and require a click to reveal.

[Cr41g]

And where would be the best place for an observatory.. somewhere mountainous... with a lack of human interference or structures which could cause light pollution.. say on a butte.. 

[Fuarian]

WAAAAAAY back when this scene was first introduced in a teaser I literally scanned this image for hours trying to figure out what that thing was. I immediately thought it was a telescope so it must be. Although my first reaction was that this place was the radio control hut. But I guess one of our new locations will be an observatory! My favorite!

[ThePancakeLady]

Hmm. The broken Bridge in DP... goes uphill a bit, along a coastline that the very old world map had shaded for future Wintermute Episodes.

The world map has changed, but there is still an area between Desolation Point and Timberwolf Mountain, that would be ideal for an observatory, in my mind.

That area to the right of Pleasant Valley, mountainous, coastal, not much good ground to develop a townsite, but possibly ideal for a remote star-gazing station. The blocked railroad tunnel at the top of Coastal Highway could possible become a connector to that region. Connecting to DP as well would be nice, but hopefully (my preference) would be to NOT restore the Broken Bridge, but add a climbing or caving route up to the roadway on the other side.

 

Lots of speculation. Good fun to think about.  Interested to see what Hinterland gives us, and it any of us have been even remotely close.

[Cr41g]

I haven't been around nearly as long as some here.. but has there been a case where an initial iteration of a map was changed in a later build? .... the whole reason I got back thinking about this scene again was this pic posted by dead frozen dude... I thought what an awesome place for an observatory...

 

[ThePancakeLady]

It would be, except... HRV has no roads, just lots of hiking-type goatpaths, and climbs. Getting the materials in to build an observatory, back when, would have likely needed roads, a railroad, a shipping port or airport not too far away, to get all of the specialized building materials, and telescope pieces and parts in. In the game, if you pay attention, all points of industry, commerce, science, communications- all found near roadways, tracks and waterways.  I can't imagine an observatory, that would need maintenance, staffing, repairs, utilities, and supplies for the person or people manning the station, would be found in a complete wilderness area, with no vehicle access in and out. Though I could be wrong.

The Anunnaki may have been beaming stuff in, for decades.   

[Cr41g]

No I don't think it could go there either... its too small a footprint for starters compared to the trees as scale...it just got me thinking of it..

[FunkyFuggerson]

So a researcher is trying to understand the aurora? Im speculating episode 3 or 4 is when we meet her. Maybe 5? Probably not

[ThePancakeLady]

3 minutes ago, FunkyFuggerson said:

So a researcher is trying to understand the aurora? Im speculating episode 3 or 4 is when we meet her. Maybe 5? Probably not

Doubtful. The Aurora on the scale we have it in the game, for sure is a no. Norhtern Lights and the stars, solar winds, solar system in general, with no idea a massive geomagnetic event is about to happen... sure. Observatories and planetariums all over the world who do just that every day right now, in real life.  But, IMHO, a bit of a stretch to think we had a massive world-ending geomagnetic disaster, and one of the very few survivors on the Island just happened to be an astronomer, who happened to be in the observatory. 

Honestly, I'll be a bit disappointed in the storytelling if such a predictable and unimaginative thing takes place. No, really. I hope for better story telling in upcoming episodes. A hobbyist, perhaps, I can accept that. Or someone who has never studied the stars, but finds themselves there, with nothing but time to read and look at everything there. But a full fledged astronomer... that is just too "perfect" and convenient to feel good to me. Just my 2¢. Your Mileage May Vary. Widely.

[JErosion]

Yeah the Area south of Timberwolf and North of Desolation point is large enough for a new region... although do consider that it would be where the railroad from the Coastal Highway would run to if it wasn't for the collapsed tunnel, so we could see some sort of industrial or logistical region sandwiched in there. We can also speculate there there was/is a region to the North of Broken Railroad, since there use to be a hidden gate up, but that disappeared after they made the path to the upper levels of the map accessible without trying to mountain goat your way up there

[ajb1978]

15 hours ago, JErosion said:

Yeah the Area south of Timberwolf and North of Desolation point is large enough for a new region... although do consider that it would be where the railroad from the Coastal Highway would run to if it wasn't for the collapsed tunnel, so we could see some sort of industrial or logistical region sandwiched in there. We can also speculate there there was/is a region to the North of Broken Railroad, since there use to be a hidden gate up, but that disappeared after they made the path to the upper levels of the map accessible without trying to mountain goat your way up there

I had similar thoughts.  If the gate ever makes a reappearance, it could lead to a new region directly north of BR, and due west of MT. 

However that assumes that the regional maps are oriented to the cardinal directions with North at the top.  That may not be the case.  Mystery Lake is a great example--the railroad runs more or less north/south through most of Mystery Lake on the regional map, but if you look at the world map, it runs primarily east/west.

[JErosion]

8 hours ago, ajb1978 said:

However that assumes that the regional maps are oriented to the cardinal directions with North at the top.  That may not be the case.  Mystery Lake is a great example--the railroad runs more or less north/south through most of Mystery Lake on the regional map, but if you look at the world map, it runs primarily east/west.

well Pleasant valley the sun did set in the east, I suspect the valley will get updated when episode 3 hits, the Farmhouse needs a look at since the chimney pops out in the wrong place and then windows on the building dont make a lick of sense