UAs, Barnacles & More Thread 5 - The Canonn

[TFW Primus]

I can't hear any voices... Do you mean at 01:00 ?
Either way I didn't even know you could scan them like that! I just remember reading something about scanning not doing anything, but in my head that meant they weren't scannable so I didn't even try...

I was data scanning some this morning hoping to get some kind of response from it, but nothing Maybe they have to be scanned in the right order.

Has anyone tried data scanning an UA?

 

[CarnbY]

Yeah does having meta-alloys on your ship negate the effects of the UA's, has anyone tried this? Seems the easiest test to do at first.

I would myself if I had a UA.

People have tried no effect. This goes back to what I said earlier. It's not the mere proximity of meta-alloys that makes any difference, but they can be used in some undisclosed way that alleviates the problems UA's are causing.

 

[bitstorm]

Yes. Can you not hear voices ? Are they in my head ?

https://drive.google.com/uc?view=export&id=0B8ck-2ELKOuLeDFmSjlSZl9JQmM

That's the bit..

Dunno, maybe. =p

 

[TFW Primus]

No, the UA eats your ship regardless.

Yeah, but how many tonnes of Meta-Alloys did they have? Maybe they needed more. Maybe it's 12 Meta-Alloys to 1 UA ratio to block out the damage. I'm not sure we can say with certainty because nobody has really scienced it yet, have they? Just had some of both and no change. Hardly conclusive.

 

[Von Roerich]

I was data scanning some this morning hoping to get some kind of response from it, but nothing Maybe they have to be scanned in the right order.

Has anyone tried data scanning an UA?

I started at the 'entrance', that's where those two stone blocks are located ( see this near the end of clip ) I started on the right and did the outer circle first going in anti-clockwise direction. Then i scanned the center pieces.

 

[CarnbY]

https://drive.google.com/uc?view=export&id=0B8ck-2ELKOuLeDFmSjlSZl9JQmM

That's the bit..

Dunno, maybe. =p

That's the sound the scanner makes every time... isn't it? Sounds normal to me.

 

[Cynaqq]

Yes. Can you not hear voices ? Are they in my head ?

I think they are part of the standard data scanning sound effects. There definitely are voices in those sound clips but I don't think they are barnacle specific.

Edit: Ninja'd by CarnbY

 

[bitstorm]

Yeah, but how many tonnes of Meta-Alloys did they have? Maybe they needed more. Maybe it's 12 Meta-Alloys to 1 UA ratio to block out the damage. I'm not sure we can say with certainty because nobody has really scienced it yet, have they? Just had some of both and no change. Hardly conclusive.

Hmm the old "deploy 12 cannisters of X and a UA" experiments come to mind, where X is anything from SAP8s to fish.

Anyone tried this with meta-alloy?

Maybe the distortion field is suppressed.

 

[Nick87]

Just you wait, they're going to start producing thargoid copies of all the ships the UA's have scanned.

Explorcondas going against Tharcondas in deep space. There's a sight you don't see everyday.

 

[Makaan]

Hmmmm I wonder if there's something we could craft....

Maybe we'll have to wait until the crafting update hits to test this out I dunno.

 

[Jorge]

Question: Have we figured out any common characteristic about the places where barnacles have been found? Unless I've missed something, it seems like planet characteristics (like metal content) are not a factor. How about geography? From looking at the videos it seems all barnacles have been found in depressed areas (valleys and canyons, even if not very deep). Is this the case?

 

[Cortano]

There's a monster in our house, and I think we're feeding it:


So Obsidian Orbital recently started deteriorated, right? Much like the other stations we've sold UAs at. And like our ships when we have a UA too.


But giving it Meta-Alloys stopped the problems. So we've got to ask: why? What properties do the MAs have that stopped the problems. Surely we didn't use them to patch up the issues, we barely know what MA is, nevermind what the problems were, and even if we did how EXACTLY did MAs solve the issue anyway?


You know what I think? I think we simply distracted the problem by feeding it its favourite meal.


So let's work from the beginning.


The Barnacles are a growing outpost, sent by a race that's from LMC. They put their galactic symbol on it like we put our Solar system on our probes, only they sent these things to an entire other galaxy, not just to a local system, so what would be the point of putting their home-star on there, we wouldn't be able to cross reference and identify it. So they put the next best thing. Their galaxy.


These things are designed to draw out metals from the planets they're on and convert them into Meta Alloys, the chosen building blocks for the alien race we see. At the same time, they dispatch the Unknown Artefacts to disperse from the primary barnacle location to begin drawing out a border; the outer edge of a bubble territory they are planning to use and exploit when the outposts are finished growing. They don't fully expect to find sentient life, but the UAs are designed to report back any information that they find on their travels just in case, such as the local language used (mistakenly learned as morse from the loudest most predictable signals in the system: the nav beacons), the names the locals have given to the systems if there is one (which would also serve the purpose of showing the newcomers about any potential opposing territories and its subsequent size), and if necessary, the specs of the local life and their vehicles (the recent morse pictures of our ships (note this is likely only in morse so WE could see it as players, in game its likely to be sent back in the language of the newcomers, but how would we then see what they were doing?)).


These UAs are also spreading more barnacles to lay down a solid foundation for the newcomers so when they come out of witch space or whatever space they are using to haul ass from one galaxy to another, there is already home comforts and a firm foothold for them to begin their expansion across the milky way. After all, why would they move from one galaxy to another if it wasn't for more resources? Have they consumed all of theirs already and are now after a nice ripe Milky Way?


So the Barnacles launch the UAs from Merope mainly. The ones we find have been interrupted mid-travel, so when we find them they point themselves AWAY, not towards, where they've come from. And when they 'expire', that FSD like jump is them re-entering their travel? Maybe, either way, the important thing is we sell them to stations, and they now have exactly what they were looking for: high metal content! Well, not quite a planetary version, but metals galore none-the-less. So they begin entering their Barnacle stage of life, consuming metal and converting it into Meta-Alloys.


Eating a station is going to do bad stuff to it, right? So we see the problems arising. The stations are being consumed. We know Meta-Alloys 'cure' the problem, but how? Do we just 'patch up' holes with it? The station wasn't made of MA in the first place, how exactly is that going to help?


Well, what if it's not fixing the problem as much as it is now feeding the UA/Station Barnacles with the MA it needs to begin the next stage of its life: reproduction into more UAs. At that point, it's going to use the MA as food, not the station, which essentially makes the problem SEEM fixed.


But it's not fixed. There's still the problem of the UA/Barnacle growing within our stations. Within our bubble.


I think they're coming guys, and we're helping build their bases by giving them ours.


TL;DR? There's a monster eating the walls of our house, so we've fed it something else that it likes. That stops the monster from eating our house, but it doesn't stop the monster growing.

Excellent! Have some rep!

 

[ThoroughlyLostExplorer]

Hello Barnacles Experts,

Please forgive that I'm quoting myself, but the situation may be a lot worse than Nova Xeros thinks.

Maybe we are not just distracting the monster, but actually nursing and growing it. See my quote for a guess at how this is actually a trap.

 

[Von Roerich]

That's the sound the scanner makes every time... isn't it? Sounds normal to me.

This is Merope, nothing normal here. Thanks for the feedback, seems i need an early night.

 

[Cynaqq]

I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords and the subsequent human-thargoid hybrid ships

I'm naming my frst Cobron MKI 'Mr Tintacles'

Edit: I never thought I could use this meme in it's original form

 

[ThoroughlyLostExplorer]

Ooops, my bad.

I'm a bit tired. I think Nova Xeros actually did say what I was trying to say sorry

 

[AlexVII]

Dayum the noises these Barnacles makes....

With the in-game music turned on, there is even more creepy sounds.

 

[who?]

One of the main ways I plan on spending spare time is searching 130-150 ly around nebulas for UAs and looking for barnacles too. Many of our waypoints are at or around nebulas

Interesting idea. There might be other shells out there.

 

[Skunkworx]

Interesting idea. There might be other shells out there.

I suggested this a while back so I tired around the witch head and hind nebulae but didn't find much at the 130-150ly mark.


If as MB suggested there is an origin nebula then I am guessing they travel between nebulae via the ua's. When they find a nebula they grow new barnies and then send out a new shell of ua's to search for the next.


Therefore if i am correct there should be larger shells than the 130-150ly around the previous nebulae they where at prior to the one around meropoe. However they would much more disperse becuase they are much larger.


I think this is a recon /scouting mission collecting information about resources etc. Before the actual alien race that created them arrive.

Edit: it is an origin related nebula not an actual origin nebula as pointed out by yoda711

 

[Han_Zen]

So, just decided to pick up some of the materials that drop if you destroy the spikes before they fully "blossom."

I've just picked up Iron, Nickel, Germanium and Yttrium.

Iron - Has many uses in chemical production. It's also an important element in medical molecular engineering application services.

Nickel - Commonly used in various alloys and also for some bio-chemical processes.

Germanium - Used in optics and for semiconductors in electronics. Semiconductor detectors allow accurate radiological identification, and it is also commonly used in alloys.

Yttrium - Often used as a strengthening component for various alloys. It also has uses in medicines and superconductors.


That's all I've picked up and I'm not sure if this has been listed before. There's definitely a connection between all the materials being used to say the least.

Obviously we know they're making meta-alloys and that these said meta-alloys have cured Obsidian Orbital....

I believe the UA's and Barnacles are linked and made by the same "things." My question now is why do the meta-alloys cure the effects of the Unknown Artefacts?

Also, what pricks my attention is the thing about iron being a useful element in molecular engineering.....

Anything we can synthesize with this combo?