Hi, first of all I'd like to thank the devs, this game looks awesome so far! However, I noticed a (seemingly) major inconsistency which needs to be resolved.



From the Sower bio: "One of the few that were directly created by the Endless, The Sowers are a mechanical race. They were first engineered by the Virtual Endless as tools to develop the planet on which they had been placed – a barren rock lacking any sort of breathable atmosphere."



From the Universe thread: "Schisms in the society developed between the “Virtuals", who sought electronic immortality, and the "Concretes", who viewed that idea as undesirable or repugnant. For several decades both sides sought to prove the superiority of their ideals, while problems grew over decisions of how and where to invest and develop science. While one side saw no need to invest in biology research and terraforming as the body was no longer necessary, the other clearly sought further breakthroughs in these areas."



So we are told that the Virtual Endless were not interested in terraforming, and yet, they created a race for the sole purpose of terraforming?

I think it might be a typo since they already said the Virtuals created the Cravers so why would they have a second race created by the Virtuals and not one created by the Concretes.

Maybe, but I don't think so. It's mentioned twice.

Will anyone answer this?

Hmm, I never noticed that before. It would make more sense for them to have been created by the Concrete. Or, seeing as there were some Virtual/Concrete Endless that opted for co-existence instead of wiping each other out, the Virtual may have created them to help their Concrete friends.



Just a theory of my own, though.

From the Universe thread: "Appreciators Focused on understanding both the physical and immaterial realms, the Appreciators sought to discover all new forms of art and expression, being particularly interested in a susceptible to any experience that came in wave forms." Maybe they considered it art?

rikugo1 wrote:
Will anyone answer this?

I've reported that to the devs in the VIP section of the forums, and we are still discussing the pros and cons of it.

Nice plot hole found.

VieuxChat wrote:
I've reported that to the devs in the VIP section of the forums, and we are still discussing the pros and cons of it.

Thanks! Is that a hidden section? I can't find it.

This did seem a bit odd to me as well

rikugo1 wrote:
Thanks! Is that a hidden section? I can't find it.

It's a hidden section for the Vips.

Maybe they created the Sowers before getting to that point of Virtual vs Concrete and they were so busy arguing and fighting each other that the Sowers were left on auto pilot across the galaxy and forgotten in their sacred quest. It would be a cool twist to their storyline.

TheVulture98 wrote:
Maybe they created the Sowers before getting to that point of Virtual vs Concrete and they were so busy arguing and fighting each other that the Sowers were left on auto pilot across the galaxy and forgotten in their sacred quest. It would be a cool twist to their storyline.

Yep there's nothing more comedic like leaving your home to chill out with your mates and forgeting that you left the oven on while trying to bake the universe... lol

Dr_Mox wrote:
Yep there's nothing more comedic like leaving your home to chill out with your mates and forgeting that you left the oven on while trying to bake the universe... lol

QFT [10characters]

Hi rikugo, & thanks for the interest! As the resident writer/lore guy for the Amplitude team, it is my job to reply to this and (hopefully) explain our thinking.



The concept for the Sowers is based on the idea that colonization for the Virtuals would be more difficult than for the Concretes. The latter drop down, open the doors, put on a breathing apparatus if necessary (yeah, those last two steps should probably be reversed), grab a shovel/hammer/chainsaw, and start colonizing.



But the Virtuals, having chosen electronic immortality, couldn't do that -- or, more accurately, they couldn't do it with their hands unless those 'hands' were in fact robots. But they did still need an infrastructure because though they had no bodies, they required electronics as they existed in the form of pulses of electricity or computer memory. The Virtuals live in the wires and in the systems, not just floating in the air.



Therefore, to visit a planet, it had to be 'wired' for the Virtuals to visit it. If the Virtuals wanted to travel they would need some form of plane or probe, which would require fuel, construction, and maintenance. Even if they wanted to travel electronically, the most beautiful parts of the planet would need 'scenic viewing points' that were wired and had optics and audio so the planet could be appreciated. If a Virtual scientist wanted to study the planet, it would require lab equipment, energy infrastructure, tools, robots, etc. etc. If the Virtuals want to plumb the ocean depths, or watch the aurora borealis, or see the view from the highest peak... all of that would require infrastructure because without energy the Virtuals can't survive. And the infrastructure would have to be everywhere on the planet, because things like temperature and humidity and altitude don't bother the Virtuals, and it would have to be powered and maintained.



The Sowers were created to fulfill that terraforming role, but one better. Rather than having to slog through the mud inside a machine, the Virtuals figured they could leave the hard work to the Sowers and take off and do whatever they wanted while they were waiting for their order to be filled. Then, when it was done, they would receive their equivalent of a text message saying "Your Planet Is Ready." Except nobody ever responded to that message, which left the Sowers wondering what to do next... And as certain Sowers would have been vehicles/golems for the now-absent Virtuals, that loss would have been keenly felt.







P.S. The sentence with "terraforming" has been changed in that passage, as it was misleading.

Thanks, that makes sense. If I may, there's one other question I have about the Sowers. Why didn't the Virtuals just use Dust? Is it that Dust was deemed too unsafe to allow to operate on its own? This would make sense, as I don't believe I've seen any mention of Dust operating without a user.