Anomalous Findings

Please note: This post is about things on the Singularity “Sisi” test server May 7-9, 2015 and as pre-release items might be considered spoilers. If you are sensitive about reading such things before they hit Tranquility, then you might want to not read further. Please also be warned that I do this all the time, so if you don’t like such things you might have to skip a lot of my stuff. Thank you.

It’s funny that I never used to have to have a disclaimer. I suppose that is because until last October, all 15 of us who actually cared about lore mystery hunting already knew and wanted to know more. I had someone ask on Twitter whether it was “ethical” to post Sisi items. Let me be blunt: It has nothing to do with ethics. No one has to read, no one is harmed, there is no favoritism because the entire playerbase has access to Sisi and this stuff will make me $0 and 0 ISK when it hits Tranquility. Don’t want to know? Don’t read it. I’m thrilled that the pool of people interested in lore has exploded, but don’t expect those of us who have been writing this stuff for years to stop because you don’t want to know and can’t stop yourself from reading. It’s just like a movie review, for Bob’s sake.

OK, rant over. On with the post.

The Claw, Vidette. Click to Enlarge.

As you likely have heard (if not, check out Neville Smit’s excellent post at Crossing Zebras), on the latest build of Sisi there is a lore bombshell of a new feature – you can now enter the Unidentified (Drifter/Circadian Seeker) wormholes. And on the other side lie five brand new systems. Each boasts a unique beacon with a maze-like PVE run that has to be done by a minimum of two players – in practice it will likely to be at least several more, and if crazy stuff like 500 Drifters in a site make it to Tranqulity, maybe a full-on fleet.

I however am terrible at PVE and generally experience Sisi solo or in a group of less than five, so I have not personally seen the interior of any of these mazes beyond the first room.

That said, each of these five systems has five Combat Anomalies. On Sisi, they are mostly abandoned but get the occasional Seeker or Drifter visitors. These are directly warpable without scanning, although they do not have a systemwide beacon on the Overview. After multiple visits in some case, I am now certain that these Anomalies are individually placed and unique to the system they are in, spawning nowhere else in the game. Today on Sisi, they have no unique flavor text or info, they are just pretty to look at and have some interesting commonalities. I hope and currently believe that before these Anomalies hit Tranquility, they will be fleshed out with lore-impacting Show Info windows and popups on warp-in.

CCP is playing very cagey with these new systems, and deleted the wormholes entering these systems after two days, eliminating the way in the front door (simultaneously hiding the answer to the question of whether they will be one way holes as well). However, I moved quickly the first two days and thanks to Gentleman Gamer (@etnannarac on Twitter) who had a key to the proverbial back door to Sentinel and Drackarn of Sand, Cider and Spaceships, who had one for Redoubt, I got in to finish my survey of these Anomalies, and those of you who are not ethically offended by such things get to reap the lore benefits and start folding the tinfoil along with me.

For each site, I will list the system name & data (both the J-sig and the name of the unique system beacon, plus the system effect and entry wormhole type), the name I have made up for the anomaly so that I can keep track of all of them (these are my made up names, NOT CCP official in any way and likely to be replaced as flavor text shows up) and some thoughts on what we might be seeing and how it might bridge to other anomalies and systems.

Each photo can be enlarged by clicking on it for greater clarity and detail.

J055520 (Red Giant, S877) – Sentinel

The Sentinel system was the first one found, and one of only two where the central beacon site was completed before CCP closed the entry holes and spawned 500 Drifters in it. Most of the pictures of the Hive structure come from this system. It is also potentially home to the destroyed Sleeper Enclave shown being pilfered of corpses in the Emergent Threats trailer.

Photo & Name	Notes
The Morgue	I have not ever seen a destroyed Enclave before anywhere in w-space. This shattered enclave appears to be nearly identical to the one in the Emergent Threats trailer, but the corpses are now gone. It pulsates and glows with heat. It looks like a destroyed version of the Functional Sleeper Enclave site in Redoubt.
The Rings of Power	A crazy combination of items, each of these structures is made of a ring of Sleeper construct items around a Particle Accelerator, which is wrapped around a Spatial Rift.
HoleHenge	As originally highlighted way back in the Odyssey marketing material and appearing in several Sleeper sites, the “henges” (boringly named “Rock Formation”) make for some cool but spooky scenery. Several of these are found in the new anomalies. A violent wormhole dominates the center of this one as its unique feature.
The Geodes	Another dominant feature of the new sites are “Crystal Asteroids” – blue and orange. Not sure why, but it is a theme throughout the new space.
The Sentinel Monolith	This monolith and the one in Conflux, below, are the only two sites that are functionally identical. Rather than being black, they are highly reflective – you can see the nebula in its surface. Monoliths are very common in the new systems – they in fact dominate some of the entry rooms of the new mazes. Make sure to look at this one from the sun side up close, and you can see that it is a massive reflecting mirror to redirect the solar energy, a giant glowing sphere shows in its side.

J110145 (Cataclysmic Variable, B735) – Barbican

The Barbican was also successfully run before the closure and Drifter repopulation, so if you see a Hive picture that’s not Sentinel, it is likely Barbican (it’s the one shown in the photo overrun with red icons of Drifters that’s making the rounds).

Photo	Notes
Wrecking Yard	Complete devastation is a common site in the new systems this particular one has a heavy emphasis on ship wrecks but is small compared to some of the others.
Crystal Dust	Continuing the Crystal Asteroid theme, this one is a cloud of dust dominated by a lone Orange Crystal Asteroid.
RiftHenge	Another “henge” Rock Formation, this one is identical to its sister site HoleHenge in Sentinel, except for the fact that this one has a Spatial Rift at its core.
RiftHole	This one is a bizarre combination, enough so that I’ve posted a picture with the interface for people to read and consider. It is called an Unstable Wormhole but is clearly a Spatial Rift. The description states: “Your sensors show readings of the chart when you aim them at this peculiar phenomenon. From what little information you can gather you surmise that a stabling mechanism of some sort is needed for it to be safe to venture through the wormhole. But the readings also seem to indicate that this wormhole might not be a totally random natural phenomenon, but rather something that was created. When or by whom is impossible to tell and where it leads is an even bigger mystery.”
The Battery	The only thing of its like in w-space, this site is a cube of 24 Inactive Sleeper Sentry guns around a Spatial Rift. Hopefully on TQ they will not be Active, or it’s gonna get ugly in there.

J164710 (Magnetar, V928) – Vidette

The Vidette system appears to have been heavily damaged in comparison with the others, with only one of them (The Grid) seeming to be in good repair.

Photo	Notes
The Claw	This is a top-down view of the site shown in the header, above. It is very similar to The Functional Sleeper Enclave in Redoubt, but is centered on an Engineering Station rather than an Enclave.
The Asteroid Temple	Another “henge” but this time it is anchored by Cloven Red Asteroids and Orange Crystals, while a Ghost ship floats silently nearby.
The Treehouse	This is perhaps the strangest of the sites anchored by a Sleeper Enclave. Why is it wrapped by this “coral” structure? And how? And what’s with the unusual red cloud?
The Grid	I can’t help but think that when this goes live this site will have some very interesting flavor text. It is a wholly unique structure that suggests some sort of power grid or experimental portal generator.
The Debris Field	The future of New Eden? Almost nothing recognizable remains, but it is implied that this cloud of debris, dust and random parts might once have been a station.

J174618 (Wolf Rayet, R259) – The Redoubt

In counterpoint to The Vidette anomalies, The Redoubt anomalies seem to be in the best repair. Given its seemingly robust anomalies along with the fact that it is a Wolf Rayet system, many in the lore community think it is a prime candidate for the location of Hilen Tukoss, who mentioned the light of a Wolf Rayet where he was being held prisoner.

Photo	Notes
Coral Graveyard	A massive coral structure, dotted with ghost ships. It almost feels like a wall of thorns, something designed to keep intruders out, despite that even with its size it is too small to do so in space. Be sure to zoom in and listen to the haunting flow noise emanating like wind from the structure.
Functional Sleeper Enclave	An absolutely perfect Sleeper Enclave. It’s actually rare to find one this nice looking and simple (most are either broken or far more complicated) even in normal w-space. It appears fully operational.
The Crystal Ball	Probably the most-noted structure other than the Hives, this very spiky Sleeper structure encloses a violent wormhole. It appears to be a significantly more robust version of The Lidless Eye, below.
The Wheels	Sleeper Engineering Stations attached to an array of Particle Accelerators that are feeding – or feeding off – Spatial Rifts. More structures that imply power generation or use.
The Asteroid Interface	One of two anomalies (the other being the Mining Colony, below) that seems to have an actually viable mining colony on board the hollow asteroid. The Sleeper Engineering Station appears poised to take the colony’s output.

J200727 (Pulsar, C414) – Conflux

Conflux has also gotten a good bit of explorer view, if you’re seeing pictures on Reddit that are not from Sentinel they are probably from Conflux. Conflux is also interesting in that it is the only one that is not named after a French fortification, so there is some question around why that might be the case.

Photo	Notes
The Shipwreck	The first ghost ship found by most of the current sources was this one – a lonely submarine-looking ship floating beside a lonely blue crystal asteroid at the event horizon of a violent wormhole.
The Mining Colony Image credit: zaqqsinternetgaming on Reddit	Alongside the Asteroid Interface, above, one of two sites that appear specifically able to support a mining colony of some sort. It is not clear whether these colonies are peopled by live beings, drones, or simply abandoned with all the lights still on. I unfortunately messed up the screencap of this site but thankfully it was already posted on Reddit.
The Superaccelerator	The most advanced and in depth of all the particle accelerator sites, this one is long enough to create space to support six Sleeper Engineering stations. If you find this, make sure to zoom in and listen to the deep, vibrant thrum of the massive array of interlinked accelerators.
The Lidless Eye	One of my personal favorites, it is simplistic yet haunting when you see it in person.
The Conflux Monolith	Much like its counterpart in Sentinel, this Monolith is a bright, gleaming thing. It is regularly attended by Circadian Seekers, who probe it for secrets, whatever they might be.

That’s all 25. Stay tuned for more developments.