Proof that the player is in a loop in the game

[Mesond]

Ayre asks "have we met before?" As if some part of her knows.

But then we have this.

Allmind at the start of the game.
PT1: Welcome back, Raven
PT2: Oh, you're Back Raven
PT3: Welcome back, Raven

They know. I knew it. Allmind knew the entire time. I KNEW it. The player could be in some kind of simulation perhaps. A simulation that does simulations.

Metal Gear 2 anyone? Raiden did talk about how he was trained in such a manner. For all we know the real player could be a brain in a jar and is hooked up to a machine. I'm not ruling anything out at this point.

[Skull of a Crowned Athlete]

The PCA are training us for the NEXT program by putting us in a simulation that simulates high speed AC combat. They will use the data from this simulation to engineer a NEXT that the next generation of augmented humans will be able to pilot without complications. All of this information was revealed to me in a dream.

[REBirthTheEdge]

Originally posted by QuackHead:

The PCA are training us for the NEXT program by putting us in a simulation that simulates high speed AC combat. They will use the data from this simulation to engineer a NEXT that the next generation of augmented humans will be able to pilot without complications. All of this information was revealed to me in a dream.

No, Walter, Arye, ALLMIND, you can't take them from me!!!

[Key]

Originally posted by Veldaz:

Originally posted by Yuki Terumi:

Yes, raven is a title - and the registered title holder (you know the guy who shows up talking about borrowed wings) - went MIA after causing a ruckus.

Wait... What if WE'RE the MIA? We never get to know the players real identity do we? So what if that's it?

Player beats game. Player somehow ends up as MIA regardless of ending. Player is replaced. That is totally something the devs would do. Have the player keep dying like that.

Ending 1 has the player survive but who's to say they don't head back? Ending 2 makes enemies as well. Ending 3? That one can be beating the system.

The real Raven, who was MIA, shows up in Chapter 3, his/her operator straight up refers to the player as "The merc that stole your license".

[Mesond]

Originally posted by Yuki Terumi:

Originally posted by Veldaz:

Wait... What if WE'RE the MIA? We never get to know the players real identity do we? So what if that's it?

Player beats game. Player somehow ends up as MIA regardless of ending. Player is replaced. That is totally something the devs would do. Have the player keep dying like that.

Ending 1 has the player survive but who's to say they don't head back? Ending 2 makes enemies as well. Ending 3? That one can be beating the system.

Not possible. You would have to have been on Rubicon to find and leak the coral to the corps before walter dropped you on rubicon.

If Allmind designs Walter as an AI (it's really hard to tell if they are or aren't TBH) then Walter is either a dummy (unlikely) or in on it (possible, considering they behave a lot like Ocelot from Metal Gear). It's possible Walter is faking being human. In which case this would be nothing like Carla's AI. This would be FAR more advanced. Much like Allmind.

We also have two different endings before the thrid one. Allmind doesn't say anything different in the third. So it's also possible the second greeting is a result of Allmind noticing the player is back after whatever ending those first chose. If BOTH were done then it would conflict. Which would explain why Allmind only says "Wellcome back" in the third playthrough. However, she can just be playing dumb there.

Something isn't adding up here. Carla can hack into the Allmind training. She's shown that. What if Carla is somehow behind it all somehow? If she can hack into Allmind of all things then she could be pulling the strings. Some hidden agender perhaps? There might be more to this then the coral itself. Some far away planet that might use it for something perhaps?

For all we know Carla and Walter wanted to stop coral because it could make more deadly nukes or something. They known each other a while. Lost a lot of people (one cutscene shows a list of names). There's got to be more to it.

Most likely the devs wanted to leave us guessing. Even Allmind is a puppet in the grand scheme of things. someone made them.

[Mesond]

Originally posted by Key:

Originally posted by Veldaz:

Wait... What if WE'RE the MIA? We never get to know the players real identity do we? So what if that's it?

Player beats game. Player somehow ends up as MIA regardless of ending. Player is replaced. That is totally something the devs would do. Have the player keep dying like that.

Ending 1 has the player survive but who's to say they don't head back? Ending 2 makes enemies as well. Ending 3? That one can be beating the system.

The real Raven, who was MIA, shows up in Chapter 3, his/her operator straight up refers to the player as "The merc that stole your license".

Oh yea. Forgot about that. Thought we found the dead merc with the mech we took the ID from. Looks like they survived when the mech was toast.

[Flavour Bun]

Originally posted by Veldaz:

Originally posted by Flavour Bun:

can i have some of what you're smoking, must be some good ♥♥♥♥

I'm not smoking anything. Wait, can we smoke coral?

... You're smoking coral now aren't you?

sssh don't tell anyone

[hoimingmissile]

Except NG+ is just a regular thing they've always done in Armored Core games so... don't overthink it.

[Mesond]

Originally posted by hoimingmissile:

Except NG+ is just a regular thing they've always done in Armored Core games so... don't overthink it.

Only idiots don't think.

[JackieTheDemon]

It would also explain Allmind retaining the information it learned across multiple playthroughs to evidentally create Mind Gamma.

Either Allmind is the only one who retains information from the loop, or the third playthrough his how the story truly begins and unfolds.

Because the missions involving Allmind is how they would go if the AI knew what was going to happen.

The BAWS arsenal, the Mining Ship, The Underground Exploration, even telling you that you're going to be ambushed by V.II Snail and where his hideout is.

[NecromancyBlack]

I suspect Allmind is actually just pulling everyone's strings without anyone knowing it, hence why they seem to know everything ahead of time.

Arye seems to know us but that's probably just due to coral acting like a hive mind/concious stream. Augmented humans like 621 are made using coral so there's probably a coral voice Ayre knew that was used to make 621.

[Roland]

I was wondering if anyone else caught how the endings can in theory feed right into the intros that follow.
It's a genuinely beautiful touch that I bet gets mostly overlooked.

[xxxGAM1NGFARTGOD69xxx]

Originally posted by REBirthTheEdge:

Oh naaww...I don't like this kind of "everything is a dream/loop" thing, it's massively overdone.

not a dream
matryoshka universe
aka sim theory
madoka magicka explores this concept best, eventually due to the looping madoka becomes god, and what is coral release but the "god" ending?

[Kain]

The Welcome back Raven is irrelevant, since you're reactivating an used credential. Ayris message though, that one intrigues me.

[Jay]

https://youtu.be/lWBAvOCC8aQ

[Smut Butt]

I think you're all forgetting a key point to ALLMIND. AllMind database keeps all your battle history to make its final product assessments. It never forgets the progress you've already made, even though you've looped. They recognize you as their top specimen for R&D, every time you come back. It's a little "off" seeing how the others don't act like anything ever happened after the "welcome back" but the database remembers you perfectly.

okay maybe not all of you forgot, some of you know.