If you haven't played Outer Wilds or its associated DLC "Echoes of the Eye," please do NOT watch this video (or any other) until you have. Outer Wilds is a game of discovery in the most rewarding way. Once you have that knowledge, a core part of the game can never be experienced again. It's such a blast to play, and I guarantee you'll thank yourself for doing so.
With that out of the way, welcome to my Archipelago Randomizer challenge! The aim is to complete all 87 of the randomized checks scattered throughout the solar system and then warp to the Eye of the universe to finish it off, all in one session! These 87 checks cover virtually every location within the base game. To clarify, the items/abilities obtained from the checks are random, but the locations of the checks are not (e.g. a random item/ability is always found* when reading the second scroll in the Construction Yard on Giant's Deep).
*There can also be traps laid in a check, such as sudden ship damage or a suit puncture.
So, what's an Archipelago Randomizer? From the mod page:
"Randomizers in the Archipelago sense—which are sometimes called 'Metroidvania-style' or 'progression-based' randomizers—rely on the base game having several progression-blocking items you must find in order to complete the game. In Outer Wilds progression is usually blocked by player knowledge, so to make a good randomizer we take away some of your starting equipment (Translator, Scout, Signalscope, etc), and turn much of that player knowledge into items (using warp platforms now requires a 'Nomai Warp Codes' item, using the special GD tornado now requires a 'Tornado Aerodynamic Adjustments' item, etc). These 'items' are then placed at randomly selected 'locations' while ensuring the game can still be completed."
To make this challenge more exciting, I'm also incorporating the rules, "no map, no hints, no ship log, no autopilot, no meditation, no sun warping, and no match velocity (except one glaring point around the middle of the challenge that I didn't notice during the playthrough)." I'll also have specific mods applied, such as a certain "strange" large structure now visible in the sky so I don't accidentally run into it (again), and the "Timber Hearth Forest" mod that adds trees and atmosphere to our beloved home world, making some locations there just a bit more difficult to locate.
Finally, a big thank you to the great minds at Mobius Digital for developing such a stellar game and to the many contributors in the modding community for creating the perfect excuse for me to revisit the fun physics of this clockwork solar system! Check out the links below for more info on the game and mod:
Outer Wilds - Steam Store
https://store.steampowered.com/app/753640/Outer_Wilds/
Outer Wilds - Mobius Digital
https://www.mobiusdigitalgames.com/outer-wilds.html
https://outerwildsmods.com/mods/archipelagorandomizer/
