Hey, thanks for the comprehensive response, i really enjoyed it and i'll take a look in the Omphalos Rift following the sources you recommended.

I was playing the game and i noticed another strong clue that adds to the point we were discussing, that is Guardians being related to Raxxla and human creation or at least our tech development. The three are combined here:


Can you see it? Talk about occam's razor. Isn't it interesting how context gives a whole new interpretation to what's been under our nose for so long?
Happy to help :)

Yeah the ship loading hexagon is pretty compelling! It's hard to ignore that one of the few hexagram-symbols other than the Raxxla logo has been present in every single one of our experiences since the very start...

Over the years folks here have collected other hexagram examples to compare with the Raxxla logo. It's probably reductive to assume that all hexagons are associated, but equally this isn't real life where similarities occur because of the chaotic nature of billions of people doing stuff; so there's at least the possibility that similarities are intended to be hints at an inter-related theming.

Examples:
  • Raxxla Logo is a hexagram of 6 smaller hexagons around a negative space hexagon.
  • Mycoid Logo found on INRA bases is three hex-icons on a hexagon.
  • Scrivener's logo from the Dredger is a hexagram made of six circles within a hexagram made of six joined circles
  • Azimuth Biotech logo is three hexagons with pie-slices removed.
  • Engineers are all depicted as hexagons with a circle in the centre.

I'm pretty sure the Engineer icon represents a bolt or nut though - so it's likely this is a coincidence... maybe they all are??!

... we have to acknowledge Fdev does update/change things, and without any confirmation either way directly from the dev team, we cannot assume (or discount) the same original game mechanic/requirement is still being used now to access Raxxla as it was (potentially) at game launch.

... we cannot assume that the activation/discovery process has not "evolved" since launch and that newer items/mechanics could be required...

Also, I still have a theory that Raxxla actually moves. I've had people jump down my throat previously for even suggesting that, saying it wasn't possible,
Good points.

Raxxla Moving?​

IMO Raxxla could easily have moved in the same way as everything large pre-odyssey did - simply "jumps" on the weekly reset, like megaships and stations have ever since the days of Jaques. There's no question that could have been done.

The reason I don't personally love the moving Raxxla solution is that Drew Wagar used it in his Oolite books, which I think means Fdev wouldn't do it by default. I'm sure they had their own ideas.

Raxxla has been updated?​

On one hand, we know Fdev has changed things to reflect new technology before; the Zurara is an example of this. However, developing assets for a game is a big process involving quite a lot of people. If Raxxla were being updated every few years, I'm 100% positive there would have been a leak by now from somewhere in the process, even accidentally.

On the other hand, we also know many of the permit locks were added to the game after launch. The Barnard's Loop area was only locked 7 years ago. Triton was locked at a similar time (this video is from 7 years ago). That also means that Raxxla could easily be within one of the 'new' permit locks and they are planning to update it to whatever the latest tech is at some point in the future as a full development. This could also explain the mythical "Raxxla has been visited", that could have simply been pre-permit lock (idk when that was said). We also know that Drew claimed there was a major course-change regarding content plans at some point in the past - we don't know what that change involved.

On the other...first...hand again though, no no, different hand.... if they knew it's locked 7 years ago, why bother with the Raxxla Codex entry at all? So, to me, that means it's not permit locked (or not without a key) and it is discoverable... probably. Drew said that as far as he knew only Brookes and Braben knew anything about Raxxla. This explains why there's not been a leak, so few people know. Presumably the secret has been passed on to the new producers now, but still no leaks!!

I do however fully agree that the path to Raxxla (whatever that means) has very likely been evolved and changed as the game has evolved. I assume the Codex was written by Brookes to replace/supplement/illuminate whatever 'path' existed before - Fdev didn't need to add Raxxla or the Dark Wheel to the Codex, everyone was surprised to see it. I think they did it because there's content in the game that's already been developed that no-one has found yet, it's a LOT easier to add a Codex page than build/fix/update any sort of mission-system clues, etc.

but again, just a theory and no good idea of where to even start...

I often go back on this thread and read posts from years back. There's so many great ideas and great theories... yet nothing seems to have come of any of them and all the hours of searching... yet!

Some of those great ideas may simply have not been checked, or maybe it was the right idea but some minor detail was wrong, etc.

I'm pretty sure that it was confirmed that Raxxla was in the game from the start and could be discovered. with that in mind I don't think that Raxxla will be linked to carrying cargo that was introduced later in the game.
That... is a good point indeed! I honestly hadn't ever considered that before.

If Raxxla hasn't been changed, then that does actually remove any Guardian and Thargoid artefact (except maybe the UA's?) at least, from being a trigger object - but... it's still possible that the path to Raxxla (whatever that means) might have been updated/changed after launch, which might require stuff.

Edit: You know what? That could also be extended to mean that Raxxla probably isn't Guardian or Thargoid either, since neither had assets in-game at release (for 2-3 years?). At least in the way we think of as being Guardian or Thargoid... 🤔
 
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Reading Tales of the Frontier (the re-released version with new stories for Elite Dangerous) and Reclamation during vacation has got me thinking. I am working on an alternative pathway to finding Raxxla by finding The Dark Wheel itself. The 🌴 stations found so far appear to be the Nostrum starports built by Merritt Group mentioned in the Brewer Corporation codex entry. While important these are still newer mid-3200s. The Tales from the Frontier appears describe a torus station that was abandoned and much older known only as Citadel. There are two Orbis-esque Citadel stations and a number of Fort and Fortress stations that served as Galactic Navy sites in 2800s - 3200s (all these are again Orbis-esque). Further we have Coriolis stations with Ring in the name as well as Gateway. Additionally, the Coriolis we know and love isn't the first iteration which was more like an Isohedron (they were known as Ico station).

We'll see if this idea bears fruit when I return in a few days. Though, I am hopeful, as I know there are Coriolises where Fort is the first part of the name as well as Mining. At this point, with the word games, I wouldn't rule out something where part of rumors is there to throw the overly curious off the trail.
 
I believe Trinkets have been in-game from the outset, but that is a fair point- it makes sense that Guardian artefacts were a later addition and might be excluded from the Raxxla Quest on those grounds. MB set us this puzzle & I think he played fair.

It's possible that the old, deleted, E/F missions were solely intended to highlight the Trinkets in this context; it is also possible that they were intended as obfuscation and Trinkets aren't required...I don't think there's anything in the Codex that implies their requirement & we have no indication of the mechanism that will reveal Raxxla though an "Omphalos Rift" is hinted but with no hint as to how to find or open it. IIRC the "data crystals" that were the subject of those old E/F missions were supposed to contain a map...logically we should need to obtain and decode that map...."for those with eyes to see". I only remember Trinkets as cargo containers with an ID number on the outside that was the same as the SAP8 containers, and I never got any sound from it though others claimed to have.....and I could see no way to open the container. The only possibility I can see is that they should be taken to a Thargoid "map room"-it's the only location/mechanism I can think of that pertains to maps, but I'm sure that has been tried.

Seem to remember someone posting a pic of a container containing 3 orbs...was that a Guardian object?
 
I believe Trinkets have been in-game from the outset, but that is a fair point- it makes sense that Guardian artefacts were a later addition and might be excluded from the Raxxla Quest on those grounds. MB set us this puzzle & I think he played fair.

It's possible that the old, deleted, E/F missions were solely intended to highlight the Trinkets in this context; it is also possible that they were intended as obfuscation and Trinkets aren't required...I don't think there's anything in the Codex that implies their requirement & we have no indication of the mechanism that will reveal Raxxla though an "Omphalos Rift" is hinted but with no hint as to how to find or open it. IIRC the "data crystals" that were the subject of those old E/F missions were supposed to contain a map...logically we should need to obtain and decode that map...."for those with eyes to see". I only remember Trinkets as cargo containers with an ID number on the outside that was the same as the SAP8 containers, and I never got any sound from it though others claimed to have.....and I could see no way to open the container. The only possibility I can see is that they should be taken to a Thargoid "map room"-it's the only location/mechanism I can think of that pertains to maps, but I'm sure that has been tried.

Seem to remember someone posting a pic of a container containing 3 orbs...was that a Guardian object?
This is an integral element to be conscious of, which @Jorki Rasalas has identified perfectly.

I too interpret the Codex doesn’t advocate nor advertise any specific object nor mechanism is needed towards finding Raxxla.

Certainly I believe there are a great number of allegorical references (very Miltonian) but at most these relate to spacial information, potentially identifying ‘where and what’.

Considering all the evidence we’ve uncovered to date, and remembering this is a game, not some obscure historical mystery lost to the ages; a ‘dungeon master’ has to provide the player with the tools to play, and inspire that player towards exploring certain opportunities when presented. Not undertake postgraduate esoteric research.

On the face of it, currently - to a new player, none of those historical clues matter, nor are they presented to them, many don’t physically link to the game, or evidently were actually removed.

The Codex - is the only clue in game.

If the Codex were to indicate Trinkets as a key element, then as Jorki establishes the Codex ought to provide some clear contextual examples, or advocate at most some fixed location where they could be obtained, and logically that ought to ‘flow’ - driven by logic or environmental factors to present us those tools and say ‘here try these’… but it doesn’t.

I like the idea of trinket’s historically, and I believe they used to have a purpose - within the larger narrative, and agree ultimately it very likely could have been Guardian related, but we know they were linked to the DW missions, we know there was a bug, we know nothing happened for a period of time, and we know the Codex happened afterwards… IMOP I see the Codex as a fix, the Trinkets ought to have been removed too but I think they were left in either because they caused no harm and were cool to have, or they’re intended purpose had not been injected, so it was just easier… or maybe FD thought it better to simply ‘pause’ that narrative and re-use them at a later date?

Currently the only theme in game which directly identifies Trinkets, is either by the Cmdr accidentally falling over them (if you know where to look, and having the right tools to do so before hand, with no indication in game that’s how you do so!) or it’s via the Brookes Tour… but IMOP it’s still too wide, because if an international clue, it only could advocate the player looks towards Artemis, but what might be there - is an unknown.

Right now, I feel Raxxla potentially exists in one of a number of finite areas, identified via the discovery of the Lost Realms zone via codex.

Directly - I feel it points us towards the Lost Realms zone, that the term ‘omphalos’ in the Codex advocates those systems linked to the historical Delphi - in that area. Eg Axis Mundi etc because when we overlap all the identified zones, there is a clear focal point there?

Indirectly - if not within this zone then potentially further down. Or alternatively higher up in the upper celestial area near the Norns and the ceiling of heaven, or someplace in-between upon some common alignment along the Shibboleth!

Either way, based upon the historical comments made by Brookes, I suspect some of our understanding has been (necessarily) inflated, I think it’s probably very simple, but because none of us knew the actual context (due to intentional over obfuscation - or poor implementation / communication) we have been forced to over think this problem.

Raxxla is likely in a standard system, but like Generation ships is far off the orbital perimeter… it may be hidden in a persistent POI, disguised as something very ordinary…

I do think we’re incredibly close…

Sadly I’m not in game, not for the foreseeable future due to a house renovation. But I’m still enjoying this contextual journey, and still able to map systems outside the game…
 
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Jorki Rasalas:​


DB video “ED has a story that "embraces all the players"
m.youtube.com/watch?v=gDh9G1gDgMU
he talks about invitation to join a secret organisation as being an event that happens at a certain point in a player’s progression/journey through the game.
At 7:35 he said “now we’ve got the beta, we’ve got the house & now we’re adding the story, the furniture that makes it a really rich game. At 8:20 it does have a story, but it’s not a single-player threaded “rescue the princess” style story, it’s a story of your progression through the game, we will have things that happen to you at certain stages through the game, you’ll get invited to join things, if you get invited to join a secret organisation that’s a thing that can happen to lots of players, if you don’t get that invitation you’ll think to yourself why? I did kill that policeman the other day maybe I need to get my reputation higher”.


Q: Do I understand the context correctly, “The player can be invited to a secret organization”? Has anyone been invited to join the secret organization since release? I remember different missions were offered, but I never saw the invitation. Does the game count the number of minor factions with which I have good relations?
 

Jorki Rasalas:​


DB video “ED has a story that "embraces all the players"
m.youtube.com/watch?v=gDh9G1gDgMU
he talks about invitation to join a secret organisation as being an event that happens at a certain point in a player’s progression/journey through the game.
At 7:35 he said “now we’ve got the beta, we’ve got the house & now we’re adding the story, the furniture that makes it a really rich game. At 8:20 it does have a story, but it’s not a single-player threaded “rescue the princess” style story, it’s a story of your progression through the game, we will have things that happen to you at certain stages through the game, you’ll get invited to join things, if you get invited to join a secret organisation that’s a thing that can happen to lots of players, if you don’t get that invitation you’ll think to yourself why? I did kill that policeman the other day maybe I need to get my reputation higher”.


Q: Do I understand the context correctly, “The player can be invited to a secret organization”? Has anyone been invited to join the secret organization since release? I remember different missions were offered, but I never saw the invitation. Does the game count the number of minor factions with which I have good relations?
That was an interpretation of what DB said in a vid. I did ask Allen Stroud about it...
See: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/the-quest-to-find-raxxla.168253/post-9617507

Things may have changed between the design intention and implementation. Factions "invite" you to " join" them by completing missions for them...however to myknowledge nobody has ever reported receiving a Dark Wheel "secret membership invitation" as hinted by the Codex, which IMHO increases the probability that is pure obfuscation...it may have been part of MB's "personal journey" (I suspect e.g. play through game, get Elite status, get Shinrarta permit, solve puzzles there (e.g. disparate original tourist beacon spellings of PF implies multiple factions, find the Real Dark Wheel, get hidden ability test and membership invitation, get some clues from them about Raxxla), however I suspect that "personal journey" was deleted along with the old E/F missions to "simplify" the whole process...

Of course I may be wrong!
 
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Batteries are running very low this close to the ninefold gates…

I’m currently in the process of mapping the gates of hell, I believe I have finally uncovered the boundary between heaven and hell….

Lights don’t seem to be working, emergency power enabled… going to have to shut down to bypass certain systems. I hope to have my discoveries mapped during this outage, found some candles in the cargo hold…
 
Alliance chiming in here. We make dreams and prevent space madness (a.k.a. Wilbron's Psychosis). The Alliance's Research & Development groups are based out of the Nebulas.

P.S. - I am fully aware this means the biggest peace groups are solidly INRA. Funny how that works.



f862a7b923b0e68685010ffea8267b7e.jpg
 
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Batteries are running very low this close to the ninefold gates…

I’m currently in the process of mapping the gates of hell, I believe I have finally uncovered the boundary between heaven and hell….

Lights don’t seem to be working, emergency power enabled… going to have to shut down to bypass certain systems. I hope to have my discoveries mapped during this outage, found some candles in the cargo hold…
Watch out for the Asp!!
 
A long time ago, in my youth, I played MechWarrior on a 286 computer. I don't remember exactly, but there I was doing various missions, buying robots, advancing further. And so I played until I was retired.
There are not many games, and I played like that many times.
But one day I started reading the dialog in the bar, etc. and began to perform not any missions, but those that were in the story. And the game ended in victory.
 
A long time ago, in my youth, I played MechWarrior on a 286 computer. I don't remember exactly, but there I was doing various missions, buying robots, advancing further. And so I played until I was retired.
There are not many games, and I played like that many times.
But one day I started reading the dialog in the bar, etc. and began to perform not any missions, but those that were in the story. And the game ended in victory.
As much as everyone loves simple solutions, this doesn't seem to be one of those cases. We didn't know which Universe this was (or was it the same Universe as prior games), we receive a ship and perpetual insurance from an Unknown Benefactor, we are told we are part of The Pilot's Federation (but even they are secretive). There are groups with secretive agendas. Our past is deeply obscured. We appear to be something somewhere between hired mercenaries or gods.

If anything, this is something more like a "choose your own adventure" story.
 
A long time ago, in my youth, I played MechWarrior on a 286 computer. I don't remember exactly, but there I was doing various missions, buying robots, advancing further. And so I played until I was retired.
There are not many games, and I played like that many times.
But one day I started reading the dialog in the bar, etc. and began to perform not any missions, but those that were in the story. And the game ended in victory.
This is very close to the original intent I believe. Braben did say once “we got it wrong” and that originally missions ought to have driven players around the galaxy, if they got to know the small factions. But players were driven by grind and money, or they chose to explore far and wide.
 
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