Unknown Artefact (or artifact) Community Thread - The Canonn

[Yaffle]

Welcome to the new Unknown Artifact (or artefact) thread!

The old one reached an event horizon where the forums would no longer cope with it, so we have a lovely new thread for you with plenty of room.

The old thread is here - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=141038

There's another thread on it here - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=142106

There is also wiki - http://elite-dangerous.wikia.com/wiki/Unknown_Artefact

Now over to Arcanonn who will be your host...


yes it's spelled canonn here, as a nod to Arcanonn who started this...

 

[Arcanonn]

11/08/15 Supberb visual summary which really captures it.....Awesome Simulacrae.

I was out exploring near Azaleach ... I checked out a WSS and there was a wrecked Mk III cobra. While salvaging I found this:........Had to pry it out of the unfortunate pilots cold hands ...

View attachment 54830

04/08/15 ANNOUNCEMENT: THE CANONN, LIFE AFTER THE UA.....SIGN UP.

Hi all,

As some of you are already well aware "The Canonn" intends to continue after the UA in some form or another.

I will keep this as brief as possible.

There are several players here that have been the heart and soul of this community, I have it in my mind that some of them should form a council which should in effect govern The Canonn moving forward.

For me the ultimate aim would be to become a minor power/faction through CG's....but it would be up to the council to decide what The Canonn became and what it's goals should be. With luck more content aimed at our field of expertise is on the way!

First things first though, although I have had some pledges of support privately already from some of you guys, I have no idea how strong the desire to be involved is.

With this in mind would ALL PLAYERS WISHING TO EXPLORE THE FUTURE OF THE CANONN FURTHER PLEASE PM ME WITH THE SUBJECT/TITLE "CANONN".

This will allow us to gauge if the Canonn will go on to be a small secretive bunch of crack pots lurking in the shadows.......or an army prepared to sweep all before them in the name of science. (Other options also available)

I am very much aware we still have a job to do, so at this stage please simply register your interest and a PM mailing list will be created from there with more information at some point shortly after the dust settles on our current.......escapade.

Thank you.

See the post following this one for latest news.

FOR INFO ON TRIED/UNTRIED TESTS PLEASE SEE THE WIKI: http://elite-dangerous.wikia.com/wiki/Unknown_Artefact

03/08/15 Following a post or two from Kerrash it now seems highly likely that we are working to a deadline of the announcement at Gamescon 2015 which leaves us only a few days............Clock is ticking!

23/07/15 With the players currently only possessing one UA the keeper of it has posed this question.....Please do vote...

Right so I wanted to see what you guys (whoever is looking at the thread) thinks we should do with the UA so I have made a poll and will be linking it, in about.....48 hours I will look at the resualts and then make a decision which may or may not be what was voted on depending on how many voted for what. So the decision made is my own, FINAL.

link: http://strawpoll.me/5007282

15/07/15...Given the recent amount new theories in regards to further testing of the UA, it has been suggested that we set out some form of procedure for suggestions in testing. With UA's in short supply Mrtree and Ratking15 are struggling to keep up with and keep record of the requests.

With this in mind it would be greatly appreciated if those wishing to put forward ideas (which we are in no way trying to discourage) would be kind enough to try and stick to the following guide lines.

• Feel free to Private Message Ratking15 with ideas for tests, but please cross reference with the wiki in advance to ensure they have not already been tried, or aren't involving the destruction of the UA (which seems to be particularly popular at the moment ^^)
  
• The Wiki is also suitable to post about tests if CMDRs are not sure as to if the test has been completed or if they want others to see the suggestions as opposed to just Ratking15 (it may take longer for Ratking15 to respond via this route).
  
• Please don't ask for UA holder's to do tests purely via the thread because, as it is far to fast moving and things often get missed.
  
• Please do discuss tests on the thread though so that others can have a broad awareness of what's being suggested.
  
• Avoid Pm'ing Mrtree tests unless it's best to do so as he prefers the wiki!

I hope this makes sense and we would all like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for there suggestions and continuing interest


Below is a brief summary of the discovery of the Unknown Artefact and the search to solve its meaning/purpose. A rough timeline with dates can be found on the wiki linked to above.



David Braben makes an offhand comment about there being non celestial things to discover in game that have been there since 1.2
This prompts me to start this thread asking if anyone has info. After a few posts the Unknown Artefact is put forward then something unusual happens…
Elite’s Executive Producer Michael Brookes randomly jumps into the thread a few hours later with…… “Have you listened to them?”
It turns out no one has ever seen this new item despite in having been in game since 1.2, it also transpires later that this item is featured in the actual “Wings” trailer.
And so began the hunt for the UA, accompanied in the end by a rather large player funded reward of 17 Million credits.
At first many doubted it existed at all, (until someone went into the game files and put the skin of the UA over a toxic waste canister). Despite a few hoaxes (and plenty of nay sayers) the UA was located and recorded for “study”.
Despite huge effort by the community no sense was made of the audio……..and to compound the confusion the audio seems to have been changed at the release of 1.3 for reasons unknown.
The Good…
The UA hunt itself was one of the most engaging gaming experiences I and many other have ever enjoyed. Even many not involved followed the progress with great interest…..It even made PC Gamer News
The UA is the only known alien or human/alien technology item in game to this point (that we know about). And theres no denying it’s an intriguing object and the sounds MAY be alien.
The Bad…….
We are now stuck with more questions than answers, and perhaps with FD at full stretch in other areas no more clues, and no clue as to what to do next.
It is possible that it was just “have you listened to the alien noises” and that there is no more. Although comments from DB that this story is not over seem to contradict this.
The Ugly……..
Anyone who doesn't understand the value of “The Good” even if “The Bad” is that there is no more……

Over the last few days comments have been made from FD and those close to FD leading us to believe that the UA mystery is solvable, and there has been suggestion that attempts have been "over thinking" the problem. With this in mind old theories are being re examined and with luck we will find something......soon.

If you have a theory please try to test it or get confirmation from another CMDR involved in this that they will/have tried it. The biggest problem we face is tracking all of the ideas and exactly what has been tried out.

I will attempt to collate some form of list of attempted solutions but it will be extremely difficult and make take some time to complete.

 

[Arcanonn]

COMMANDERS STILL WANTED: We have at last secured a UA post 1.3, huge congratulations and thanks to CMDR mrtree and in his own words....

WE HAVE UNKNOWN ARTEFACT. Timocani, just outside Seega, in Mobius group.

View attachment 48947View attachment 48948

we do however still require additional participants in the search for extra test subjects. Anyone who could spare some time please do jump into the conversation and get direction on what are considered current best practices in locating/retrieving UA.

*Latest Developments - Updated 06/07/15*

Courtersy of Jmanis who been hard at work on the audio....

Below are cuts taken from various recordings, which are believed to comprise the "alphabet" of the chittering.

Massive thanks to Wishblend, who provided more than half of the recordings needed to collect all the different symbols.

It seems to be a highly stylised version of morse, so for example, where "5" is normally "dit dit dit dit dit", the cut will sound more like "wip wip wip". Note, non-alphanumeric symbols don't seem to be transmitted.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

For clarity regarding the , I extracted the "O" sound twice, once from a He Bo recording, the other from a Ross 154 recording.

Ross 154 "o"
He Bo "o"

They're only very slightly different.

It's worth noting that between transmissions, symbols can vary in pitch and frequency slightly, lengthening and shortening on occasion, but structurally identical to each other, so the sound of recordings may vary slightly to what's here.

Notes
- The "Z" sample is very weak and hard to hear. This is because it was the first letter of the recording, which is always hard to hear due to an overlap with the UA's "Wail" when the chittering begins. If someone can find a celestial object with a "Z" in the middle and get a recording, I can cut and replace.
----

Want to help?
This is my "smoking barrel" shot. I've just created this audio cut, which I believe spells out EKURU A 1. To emphasise, this is not a recording of a UA, it is audio generated by me. If I'm right, and you have a UA, go to the EKURU system, outside EKURU A 1, and record the UA audio. I'm willing to bet they'll be almost the same.

.................................................................................................................................................................
Theories still abound in regard to the UA, however at present efforts are being focused on the Morse code seemingly present in the audio. Below is a good summary by Lord Zoltan (thank you Lord Zoltan) which covers things nicely.....further updates will be posted as they happen.

What we're saying is that, whilst some recordings do/might contain a clear Morse signal from local bodies, e.g. nav beacons, stations, etc (and these morse signals are very clear when you know what to listen for in-ship), the (seemingly compelling) theory is that the UA is emitting a kind-of corrupted Morse signal too, which seems to identify the nearest body with an 'identity'?

Very nice. More importantly: simple. Further supports the idea of hybrid human/alien tech, too - which creates an interesting future story angle.

The question is, though,: if that's what it does, then why is it valuable enough to warrant the kind of convoy it's found in; and why would anyone want it in the first place? There's got to be more to the function of the thing.

If this is confirmed beyond reasonable doubt, then getting a UA to a previously unexplored system, as suggested earlier, to see what it broadcasts, would be very interesting indeed - perhaps the alien name for the System? Although, I doubt they'd use the Latin alphabet, and therefore Morse, for their own names for things(!)

I think to the people asking why it would degrade ships and expire in space; I think simply to make them harder to carry and harder to keep around.

And @TopGear201 might just have identified a UA convoy in the current version, which would mean there still more out there, which would be excellent news.

 

[who?]

I was about to suggest the UAs were relaying the morse code signal from the systems' nav beacons, but the nav beacons broadcast their *system* names, whereas the UAs seem to be broadcasting station names.

A bit worrying, if UAs are alien nav beacons, but rather than directing craft into a system near the primary star, they're guiding them directly to a human station. If so, no wonder the powers that be have been scooping them up and transporting them away into deep space...

 

[Jmanis]

Well, I whipped this up in response to the recent findings: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=101801&p=2487887&viewfull=1#post2487887

I wrote it a little Patreus-centric because I'm a Patreus pledger, and I made the claim about the morse a fair while back but it got received poorly, so I left it a while. But, I tried to write it in a neutral way that also nods to all the other work by people out there.

PS I'm no writer, so it's probably rubbish anyway

Anyways, so, anyone reckon there's more to it possibly?

- - - Updated - - -

I was about to suggest the UAs were relaying the morse code signal from the systems' nav beacons, but the nav beacons broadcast their *system* names, whereas the UAs seem to be broadcasting station names.

A bit worrying, if UAs are alien nav beacons, but rather than directing craft into a system near the primary star, they're guiding them directly to a human station. If so, no wonder the powers that be have been scooping them up and transporting them away into deep space...

It's the nearest celestial body, so not just stations but yeah,, that's an interesting train of thought.

 

[who?]

It's the nearest celestial body, so not just stations but yeah,, that's an interesting train of thought.

Ok, thanks for the correction. That's a lot less ominous!

I think I read that previously, the nav beacons transmitted their location in a system, rather than the system name. So perhaps the UAs are older 'legacy' alien nav beacons.

 

[Arcanonn]

Thats all cool Would be great if you could fit "The Canonn" in somewhere.....it would fit with previous multiple Galnet articles, and also we/I am still hoping to get some sense from FD on something in game following the story line around the group..........once the patching of 1.3 stops (This isn't really important would just be helpful.)

As for what the Morse code means......So are we looking at hybrid alien/human technology. I mean that must make the most sense?

 

[LordZoltan]

I might be missing something but I thought the Morse idea was shelved a while back because if you happen to be near a station you'll hear the name for that station being broadcast in morse as part of your ship audio?

There was a guy early on, on Reddit I think, that also had a skilled Morse listener, who successfully decoded a station name from 1.2 audio, without having been given the context of the audio itself.

(By near, that could mean at least 20k out, too)

Very very happy to be wrong, lads and ladies, as otherwise it's a very promising angle.

Very keen on the hybrid human/alien tech possibility...

 

[Cody]

Typo in the title, Yaffle?

 

[Jmanis]

I might be missing something but I thought the Morse idea was shelved a while back because if you happen to be near a station you'll hear the name for that station being broadcast in morse as part of your ship audio?

(By near, that could mean at least 20k out, too)

Yes, it was shelved as you mention.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say they were wrong.

Having listened to these other recordings tonight and hearing exactly what I expected to hear, it's going to have to take someone presenting a video recording of the UA's noise (in order to verify the physical location at the time) which doesn't match up with the nearest orbital body to get me to loosen on the idea.

Also, as mentioned, it's not just station names that are being heard (when they are closest); also planet names. Planets don't "emit their names in morse".

*Also*, from the thread post i linked, is the quote:

There are many recordings taken in different locations and the 'chitters' are the same in all of them.

This has recently been disproven.

 

[slashgoh]

I put the UA sound into a correlation heuristic solution finder but the result is always the same: random noise with random repetitions.
I don't know how to proceed.

 

[nikos]

Yes, it was shelved as you mention.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say they were wrong.

I suppose the control test is to record audio without a UA in, say, an uninhabited system without NAV beacon and see if in the background noise you can detect morse-code ramblings...

 

[Arcanonn]

Typo in the title, Yaffle?

No typo. "The Canonn" is the group referred to in the Galnet News stories about the UA over the last couple of months.

I should get them in the wiki actually.

*edit of course you could be meaning the miss spelling of Artifact?

 

[AveMe]

maybe we should destroy one? or hit him by plasma?

 

[Cody]

Ah, I see now - damn, I went and reported it too! What was that you said about misspelling artefact?

 

[smokingrabit]

has it been confirmed that it make certain noises in certain places or is it always making the same noises? has it been to a black hole? maybe its a massive bomb so take it to sol? i analyzed the waveforms and looked for mathematical patterns, no signs of encryption although i am sceptical that its something inaccesible like that anyway.

nothing truly alien can be deoded without a rosetta stone, i suspect the artefact makes noises to home in or triangulate/quadrangulate, is anyone doing more unusual experiments with it?

 

[Arcanonn]

Ah, I see now - damn, I went and reported it too! What was that you said about misspelling artefact?

Well there's two spellings depending on which side of the pond you are on Artefact/Artifact .......it's right for me but thought you may have meant that.

In fact looking at the wiki we are using BOTH spellings

 

[who?]

p.s. congrats to all on the new thread! May I suggest one of the "sticky" posts be a summary and/or timeline of the UA enigma, while the other is a latest/current developments post.

The timeline would be updated sporadically; whereas the "latest news" one would be updated every time we make progress. I.e. once in a blue moon!

 

[Cody]

<chuckles> Yeah, I'm on the right side of the pond too! I rarely, if ever, flag-up typos, but in the title of such a thread, I had no choice. Canonn, it is!

 

[Arcanonn]

p.s. congrats to all on the new thread! May I suggest one of the "sticky" posts be a summary and/or timeline of the UA enigma, while the other is a latest/current developments post.

The timeline would be updated sporadically; whereas the "latest news" one would be updated every time we make progress. I.e. once in a blue moon!

Good idea, I will do exactly that.