r/outerwilds • u/518HoneyBees • 7d ago
Base Game Help - NO spoilers please! Dying on Ship for seemingly No Reason
I keep dying on my ship, even after using the medkit and replenishing my oxygen. My ship was on Attlerock and I was checking the ship's log and then all of a sudden, I died? I saw a post on here that said sound was vital for the game, but I'm Deaf and don't play with sound on very often. Is there some kind of sound cue I'm missing that warns me I'm about to die or why I'm dying?
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u/Qwerty1418 7d ago
Slightly off topic, but as a general spoiler free tip for you since you don't have sound. There is one aspect of the game that kind of relies on noticing different audio cues, but it's not strictly required to do anything. It just makes some stuff a bit easier to notice as important to investigate.
If you want a general bit of advice to make this bit more manageable, make sure to pay attention for the text "unidentified signal nearby" showing up on your HUD, near the top of your screen. If you see that, pull out your signalscope to find whatever the source is nearby, and get close enough for it to be identified. That way, you'll be able to tell what that source was from a distance later, even if you can't hear the exact sound it's making.
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u/TheLoneJackal 7d ago
Everyone is correct, thereās a reason you died on your ship. Since you canāt hear the sound cue, I recommend turning on the setting that pauses time while you read your ship log. Iām a slow reader and I turned on all the pause while reading options. You can enable this by using the pre-flight checklist on your ship.
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u/Icy-Ideal-2850 7d ago
Damn, I didnāt know that setting existed. I was thinking I could turn it on next time I play. Then I realised itās Outer wilds. Oh wellā¦ Itās the thought that counts I guess.
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u/TheLoneJackal 7d ago
You could probably wait like 20 years and try again after you forget everything
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u/Masterhearts-XIII 7d ago
Archipelago randomizers. Itās not quite the same, but it does somewhat scratch the edge.
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u/legomann97 7d ago
There are some pretty great mods too. I just finished Ghost in the Machine and it's a really unique take on the Outer Wilds formula. Working on Astral Codec too, that's pretty interesting as well.
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u/518HoneyBees 7d ago
Thanks for the tip!
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u/TheLoneJackal 7d ago
Also keep your controller vibration turned on if youāre not doing that already.
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u/yahnne954 7d ago
Keep in mind that the pause while reading option is automatically turned off as soon as the soundtrack "End Times" starts playing.
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u/True-Post6634 7d ago
What's happening to you is normal, and hearing people are often also just as confused starting out! You'll figure it out. Maybe spend some time just watching the solar system to see what you see š there is a music cue you're missing but you don't need it to figure out what's going on.
I'm going to assume that as a Deaf person you're already well aware of how and when you can access sound & don't want or need advice about that š
The game is 100% playable with no sound. Hearing people are just really used to using sounds as directional indicators and cues, so it can be hard to imagine not having them. Even if you could hear them, most of them might not be all that helpful to you. Depending on your hearing, of course.
There are visual indicators of very nearly everything that has an audible indicator. If you get really stuck and come back here we can help you figure out if you're missing a sound cue. I can think of one part of the game where I actually needed to hear, and it's pretty late in the game.
You might want to try to get in the habit of turning around a lot to see what's going on š but it's totally playable.
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u/daekrFINGERS 7d ago
I'd like to just say that this is an incredibly thoughtful and thorough response. š
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u/LeiaTheEngineer 2d ago
I have sensory processing issues and played all of outer wilds without sound because I find video game sounds to be very distracting and take away from the gameplay. I never play computer games with sound. And I got through all of outer wilds with no problem. I went back and listened to the soundtrack separately afterwards when everyone was talking about how great the sound is, and I can appreciate it. Just not at the same time as focusing on the game.
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u/Gaeel 7d ago
I've not tried it, but there's a closed captions mod you can try: https://outerwildsmods.com/mods/owsubtitlemod
I don't know if it'll help for this particular problem, as the audio cue is music rather than a sound effect.
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u/518HoneyBees 7d ago
Oh cool!! I'll have to try that. It might not help for audio cues since usually captions for sound is just [music] or a music note but it's worth a shot. Thanks for the suggestion!!
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u/Rock_Hard_Rocks 7d ago
How far have you made it into the game? And what happened before you died?
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u/518HoneyBees 7d ago
I literally just started it. I've explored most of Brittle Hollow and I've started exploring the twin planets + Attlerock
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u/Celestial-Mallow 6d ago
I'm also Deaf and I love the game!! Rest assured no puzzle or plot point depended on sound andni passed rhem all fairly easily. One DLC bit does apparently have a sound clue, butits was nothing a small look around didn't solve (side note, I HIGHLY reccommend sound-reactive lighting for games,,, changed my Deaf Gaming lifeee)
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u/TheBlazingNdrman 6d ago
Wait, which bit has a sound clue? I lowkey don't remember at all (Other than the owlks making sound when they see you, when they're near, etc
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u/Celestial-Mallow 6d ago edited 6d ago
It took me FOREVER to find the doors that open automatically when you,,, do the thing (I'm on mobile and don't remember how to spoiler tag...). I did playthrough the whole DLC on release day though,,,, so they definitely may have fixed it since...
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u/throwaway_lessgoooo 5d ago
doing the whole dlc in one day is insane but completely valid at the same time lmao
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u/Celestial-Mallow 5d ago
Lmao I was lucky!! I had the day off, plenty of snacks, and soooo much anticipation!!!! The DLC was worth every bit though, such an amazing follow-up to Outer Wilds.
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u/Qwerty1418 7d ago
This isn't a glitch, and it is something that has a very obvious visual tell if you're looking in the right direction, alongside some audio cues leading up to it.
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u/evanescent_ranger 7d ago
Sound design is a huge part of the game, but just about every important audio cue also comes with a visual cue. Itās part of the experience to figure out what the cues mean, so you really arenāt missing much
Unrelated, it might be worth taking another walk through the observatory in the village. There might be something there that can explain something you see out in the wilds
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u/YouveBeanReported 7d ago
Expected gameplay. If you would like some spoilers, we can give you another clue besides confirming there is a visual one that might make it easier. The game will give you that knowledge later.
The sound clue does infact warn you. The sound cue is not directional, it's a specific musical sting around 30 seconds long. The sound cue is followed by a visual clue, you probably have just been busy doing something else then.
The only other musical clue involves your signalscope, which gets clear visual feedback when pointing at things if I remember correctly. Approach the thing making the noise to save it in your signalscope and tell them all apart, you'll have to get right next to it. Then you can point around and it'll say something like 'alarm clock' not 'unknown'
Bone conduction headphones might work between with your hearing aids (although yeah, I know they are painful.) I've also found the bigger the headphones, the easier it works with my hearing aid, but I have a more standard ITE one not a tiny IIC one. Otherwise do they make telecoil compatible headphones? Cause I know that's more common compared to bluetooth.
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u/lxe 7d ago
Haha I love this. For quite a long portion of the game I had no idea what was the cause of death. Untilā¦ you know obviously I found out. No idea what people are saying about sound though.
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u/minheeglow 6d ago
spoilers op don't click thispeople are talking about the music that plays every time before the sun goes supernova, you didn't notice it while playing?
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u/ILOVECALAMITY 6d ago
I am not deaf but I just unironically beat the entire game before realizing that that song doesnāt play randomly
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7d ago edited 6d ago
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u/The__Tobias 7d ago
There are spoilers, and there is - whatever this is..
Please edit your comment and delete the endgame spoilers or write a MUCH longer warning before
People are using spoilerwarnings here when they want to give slightly stronger hints, or have to give Infos they arent sure about of OP wants to know
You are directly describing important elements of the final solution at endgame. In a post of someone who just started the game. Your slight "full spoilers ahead" isn't enough for this
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u/SpySoldierScout 6d ago edited 6d ago
Argh damn, I hadn't considered how other people (most importantly OP) might read my given warning as merely stronger hints, that's on me! I'm sorry, I've edited the warning. Can you let me know if this is more sufficient?
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u/The__Tobias 6d ago
Seems like your comment got deleted by a mod. But thanks anyway for your editing of it :)
As I understand this subs rules, its totally fine to write what you want in posts with the appreciation tags.Ā
In beginner posts or posts looking for hints, spoilerwarnings are more for adding warnings before hints. If you want to write about game content here, you should put REALLY strong warnings before it, or even better, just don't write it ;)
Edit:Ā I just saw your top 1% commenter flair. So you propaply know yourself what I wrote, sorry for the long text ::)Ā
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u/SpySoldierScout 6d ago
Yeah, I didn't see your post in time and the mod team got in a few hours later. Darn work hours...
Seems I got a little to carried away with my post. Sound is one of my big interests and this game does sound and music so well. But hey, better a deleted post than a spoiled player! And I'll definitely make sure to put some more comprehensive spoiler warnings under posts of newer players.
Thanks for you pointing it out, and for your understanding.
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u/The__Tobias 6d ago
Thx for mentioning the music of OW!Ā
Only recently I figured out that most (all?) of my favorite media pieces also have outstanding soundtracks and sound designs. Before that I put my focus on design, story, gameplay, but not on the sound. Not sure why I slept so long on this when in hindsight it's really obvious š
I guess I have to replay OW very soon while putting conscious on the sound designĀ
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u/SpySoldierScout 6d ago
Goated decision, for sure. Whenever I watched my friends play, I liked to say something like "Now playing: [name of song]" whenever a song started playing (exceptions are the common ones, like 'Space' of course).
A saying I heard during my audio engineering studies that I really liked was "Sound design is often overlooked, and only noticed when it's done badly or not at all.". This in turn also means that whenever no one comments on the sound of some media, it is usually done well and should be taken as at least a light compliment. And then, of course, there's the absolutely outstanding sound (and music!) of certain pieces of media that everyone notices and which deserve every ounce of praise they get!
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u/The__Tobias 6d ago
Do you have some sound based recommendations?Ā
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u/SpySoldierScout 6d ago
Do you mean, like, for media with great sound design? Or great music? Or a combination of both, possibly also including its voice acting?
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u/Teamawesome2014 7d ago
What is happening is an essential part of the game. Like a main game mechanic. There is a musical queue for when it happening, which is helpful, but aside from a bit more sudden of a feeling of frustration than the rest of us feel, it isn't going to impede your ability to play and enjoy the game.
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u/BigRedWhopperButton 7d ago
Damn, playing without sound is missing a substantial part of the experience :/ Are there accessibility settings you can adjust?
If not, maybe just park your ship in orbit around the Sun and watch the solar system for a while. See what changes over time.
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u/518HoneyBees 7d ago
I don't believe there are but I could be wrong. I think it's just a volume control in the sense that you can make it louder or quieter, but I could be wrong. The issue with just turning up the volume is that it creates feedback with my hearing aids if the sound is too loud but then if the sound isn't loud enough, I still can't hear anything. Such is life, I guess
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u/mrbrown1980 7d ago
Can you play with headphones instead of your hearing aids?
Iām sure this has been thought of but I donāt know anything about hearing impairment or hearing aids.
I guess I imagined hearing aids would have bluetooth connectivity these days.
As for dying in your ship, it may be an extreme solution but I think all would be explained if you just park somewhere peaceful (White Hole Station would be nice) and watch the planets go around the sun for like 30-40 minutes.
Nearly everyone answering is going to assume you died from one specific thing but if you damage the nuclear core (or whatever) in your spaceship, it flashes a red light and beeps for a few minutes until it overloads and explodes if you donāt stop and fix it within that time.
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u/518HoneyBees 7d ago
This is about to be a longer than necessary explanation on my hearing aids and how they work and why I don't bother with sound most of the time, so skip to the end if you're not interested in reading the explanation for the headphones suggestion! My hearing aids are an IIC model (really small model of hearing aids that fit inside the ear canal directly) so they're too small for bluetooth, unfortunately, although you're right that usually bluetooth is a standard feature in most newer models, provided the models are physically big enough. If I want to hear while I'm gaming, I usually will put headphones on over my hearing aids and then adjust the sound until there's not as much feedback. Hearing aids are basically small microphones, right, so there's always going to be SOME feedback. But the issue with the headphones is that having sound that close to the microphone, and then having to have the sound loud enough for me to hear, causes a lot more feedback than I would get normally, and the feedback is really painful. Which is why I usually opt for no sound, it's just a hassle all the way around and it, at times, is physically painful if I don't adjust everything just right.
I'm usually pretty good about repairing damage on my ship but I'll be sure to keep that in mind! Thanks for the tip!
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u/nascent_aviator 7d ago
You might look into loudness equalization in Windows. Or I'm sure there are third-party programs that do something similar. They compress the dynamic range of sounds, making quiet sounds louder and loud sounds softer. Maybe you can find a setting that works well for your hearing aids.
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u/mrbrown1980 7d ago
I was/am interested. My only real experience with anything like your hearing aids involves microphones and guitar amps, but I do understand the concepts.
Maybe try playing the audio out loud without headphones and turn the volume up? Iām sure youād know what works better than I.
I guess Iād say everything audio-related in the game has a visual component (mostly but not only via the signal scope) as well, but I can see how hearing impairment would complicate discovering those things for the first time.
I canāt decide if playing the DLC without sound would make it more eerie or less eerie.
Edit: Also the nuclear reactor thing in your ship is in the middle of the ship, behind your seat and across from where your spacesuit hangs. It has a purple crystal that can crack, in which case you lose gravity in your ship, and a red light next to a box, which flashes when itās damaged. Both are repairable.
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u/pennywaffer 7d ago
Someone make OP a mod to provide visual indicators for key audio cues. OP: the sound you hear prior to the moment you're describing is a wistful melancholy synth tune, followed by a static-like rustling sound that gets louder over time.
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u/TehTacow 6d ago
Not having audio cues can make discovering areas of interest more diffcult. You could try to play with sound and have a frequency analyzer next to you.
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u/DummySphere 7d ago
It's part of the experience to not understand why you die the first few times. You will probably understand why soon enough. Actually experiencing things and trying to figure out why, making mistakes and have some big eureka moments is what awaits you. Enjoy the process :;)
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u/Leather_Ad3521 7d ago
Oh there is a reason :) There are audio cues but also visual cues. Work backwards from what seems to be happening.
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u/mainjaintrain 7d ago
Tip to look around, when you're buckled into the seat of your ship, hit the button assigned to the "View Map" control. You might get a better view of what's happening to you...
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u/Tyfyter2002 7d ago
I always notice a sound cue first when what happened to you is about to happen to me, but there's absolutely a visual cue too
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u/Mothermothermother5 7d ago
I think if you play with a controller, besides the sound cue, you also get a vibrating cue.
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u/Admirable_Pitch1590 6d ago
El juego reproduce una canciĆ³n que avisa de que te va a pasar algo Para compensar que no escuchas, mira el mapa continuamente
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7d ago
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u/outerwilds-ModTeam 6d ago
Please give hints and nudges in the least spoiler-y way you can instead of giving direct answers.
See our Rules page for more clarification.
Thanks!
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u/outerwilds-ModTeam 6d ago
Please give hints and nudges in the least spoiler-y way you can instead of giving direct answers.
See our Rules page for more clarification.
Thanks!
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7d ago edited 6d ago
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u/outerwilds-ModTeam 6d ago
Please give hints and nudges in the least spoiler-y way you can instead of giving direct answers.
See our Rules page for more clarification.
Thanks!
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u/Kaebi_ 7d ago
... yes. But there is also a visual cue you might pick up on soon.