Wondering About PROJECT WALRIDER

[ultimaterainbowphase]

So what's the deal with this? I'm clear on the fact that it was a swarm of uber powerful nanomachines. The patients were just crazy and thought it was a ghost or deity. Got it. But how did the whole thing go? The point of taking over Mount Massive was so they could use the patients to create a working Walrider experiment, likely for profit by selling it to the military.

Wernicke experimented back in Nazi Germany with madness and the subjects got some weird lead tumors, internal bleeding or whatever. So here's where it gets confusing. The Walrider, Morphogenic Engine, insanity required, the dream therapy, the muatations caused by it. It's so inconsistent and it makes no sense.

What was the point of the dream therapy? I know Billy was able to "control" it with his self-directed lucid dreams. Was the therapy training for learning to control the dream states? Was the therapy what summoned the Walrider? Or both? Wernicke said that through psychosomatic direction they were able to engineer the precise molcules necessary. The molecules of the Walrider? Was the body of the patient what created it? And if so, why did it only work with some of them?

They only used insane patients for the dream therapy. It seems like Chris Walker, Billy, Frank Manera and Eddie Gluskin were all experimented on with dream therapy. But Eddie was put in the room that Billy was with the huge orb of technology in center that I'm assuming was the Morphogenic Engine. Were he and Billy more suitable candidates? Is that why they were placed there rather than in the crappy small ones like Waylon and the other two patients were?

Also the brings up the question, do you have to be insane to have any changes physically? The Variants were given super strength and screwed up bodies after going through the therapy.(also unsure why that happened) Some of them were unaffected appearance wise though but still got super strength. Billy wasn't affected at all physically. Nor was Waylon. My question is why did Waylon not get super strength and weird body features? Am I missing something? So many plot holes.

More about the actual Walrider. What does it need? A host who is crazy? A host who has witnessed horror? An immobile host? A host that has gone through dream therapy? It didn't seem to work on anyone except Billy who was only different from the others in that he didn't get mutated and could control his dreams.
Billy hadn't seen much horror compared to Miles. He was too busy getting experimented on.
Miles wasn't crazy. Not like Billy. But he had seen horror. He hadn't done dream therapy and wasn't immobile or linked to the the Engine in any way. This makes me think the Engine is only needed for the original summoning of the Walrider.

Wernicke said that only a person who had witnessed enough horror could activate the engine. What about being generated from the body? Is it the engine or the host that creates it?

I also can't quite tell. Can the Walrider control its host or is it the other way around? Or is it kinda back and forth? I don't see why Billy would go and kill his fellow patients and just do it randomly like that especially when he spared Miles but killed Chris Walker, then chase Miles around later. Nor why Miles would specifically kill Jeremy and only go after Waylon once he got in the car. Second option, if the Walrider was in control, why would it do those above actions? Also, why would it just randomly kill people in the asylum? Why would Wernicke act like it can't leave since it's guarding him yet try to destroy it so it can't escape even though it could have SO easily while it was flying around out in the Courtyard?

Another question. How is the Walrider sentient? We know that it is because it intentionally possessed Miles after Billy had died (though its not clear why it would beat the crap out of its potential host before entering his body) so it is clearly intelligent despite its pointless killing of random people who mean nothing to it. I get why it or Miles, whoever was in charge, would kill the soldiers but not just randomly like seen in the sewers or elsewhere. Is it really not supernatural? Does it have a collective AI that allows it to function like a normal creature? Or is it somehow a ghost even though Wernicke said the exact opposite. It's just that there are so many conflicting events, quotes from characters, things seen and documents and notes read that it's impossible to piece together. If someone can patch all these together...

You are a genius. PLEASE EXPLAIN! Someone!

[Archdeacon Monseigneur]

that's the point... did you speedrun? because if you did, you missed out on the story... speedrun-proof game if you want any fun with it... kind of a brilliant move on the developers side.

[ultimaterainbowphase]

No I have done a speedrun but I've tried going through it and paying attention to everything. Got 100% completion too. But it still is unclear. I know it's supposed to be mysterious. If they could have stuck with one way that this all went down, sure. Leave it mysterious and make them think. But don't give hints towards a thousand different possible outcomes. Make up your mind Red Barrels.

[ultimaterainbowphase]

I've enjoyed the horror and mystery and just utter confusion and immersion of this game. It was amazing, one of the best games I have played horror or otherwise. But now that I can play through it clear-headed, not terrified of turning each corner, a lot of story errors show up. either they're just inconsistent or not well explained enough. I got the scares, now I want the story. But I just can't put it together.

[bronze age pervert]

Miles has control of the Walrider, because if he didn't, then why would he spare Waylon Park.
As payback, Miles killed everyone in the Asylum.
Also, Walrider can revive damaged cells, which is what he did to Miles.

[PoisonSix]

I'm not actually 110% certain, but I think Miles may only have PARTIAL control of it. It appears at the very end where you escape our lovely Mansion of Maddness that he's either observing you - after which he promptly either attacks you, or purposely scares you away to hasten your escape.

There are certain vaguenesses in the game; how exactly do you define horror and suffering? It could be either physical, mental, or both - some people who have experienced such may still be able to be seemingly functional and not walking nutcases. Different things affect different people - Maybe in order to truly control or at least have partial control of the Walrider is that you have to be at least for the most part sane, but understand suffering and horror. Sometimes in the game you come across a psycho who talks coherently, doesn't attack you, and doesn't seem to be rubbing his vienna sausage over guts smeared on walls. Some attack the guards while leave you completely alone; and so on.

There could be a plethora of reasons why - if Miles has control or even partial control of himself as the Walrider I don't actually think he'd slaughter -EVERYONE- because some of the poor residents in the Asylum were "innocent". Meaning they were mentally sane before being forced into their care. There is strong reason to suspect this because both players find documents stating how this and that poor soul was forced into "psychiatric care" for some made up reason. It may also hint towards that the Walrider when under Miles control or vice versa has a conscience and can in some blurred way comprehend what's good and bad. As the poster above me mentioned, he can also revive damaged cells, which I suspect he partially did to Waylon Park - he seems to walk with bit less of a limp and I think his stab wound was partially healed, too.

But towards the end as I said, the game hints at two possibilities: That Miles HAS control of it, or has PARTIAL control of it. We do not know which. It would be quite awesome if they made a game where you play as him being the Walrider somehow - as powerful as it is, it isn't omnipotent. Lastly... well, y'know. Game science and all. Some things are better left to the imagination - but, it DOES explain an awful, awful lot. Gives a lot of detail on most things while it leaves an iota of the details in the dark.

Oh and I effing enjoyed this. It was so much more messed up too than the original outlast, holy heck's bells XD

[Kitty]

Originally posted by Tentatension:

I'm not actually 110% certain, but I think Miles may only have PARTIAL control of it. It appears at the very end where you escape our lovely Mansion of Maddness that he's either observing you - after which he promptly either attacks you, or purposely scares you away to hasten your escape.

That was my thought, that Miles just spooked Waylon to make sure he left the asylum. I think the hosts have some level of control. Wernicke mentions Billy seeing him as his father so it's possible that's why he was still alive. Billy didn't kill him...or at least could keep the Walrider from killing him. If the Walrider can repair cells like is suggested then it could be why Wernickes lived past what he normally would have. Billy was keeping him alive.

I wondered if the Walrider itself was killing everyone and it was just the hosts intervention that could prevent it. Near the end of whistleblower when the Walrider kills Jeremy we see it in the form we did in Outlast, as a kind of ghost, yet when he's outside the asylum and has the opportunity to kill Waylon and doesn't...we see him in the form of Miles' body. So it made me wonder if there was a clash between the Walrider and hosts "personalities" so to speak. I'm not sure if wording it coherently lol.

As for what the Walrider actually is...I could never quite figure it out. Was it man-made and became sentient? Or was it something supernatural that the scientists thought they could control? Some people in the asylum are whimpering about "If you showed a caveman technology he'd say it was magic and if you showed modern man magic he'd say it was technology, we have faith in all the wrong things and it will destroy us" (Something like that.) So was the Walrider something "modern man" thought could be controlled through their work and it backfired?

They did mention about people who had seen a lot of horror being useful. So could the patients collective horror somehow have molded the extremely aggressive nature of the Walrider or formed it entirely? Some patients mention something was "waiting" for them in the mountains. I personally like to think it was supernatural, but I'm willing to admit I'm wrong.

[TMAC Blade]

Originally posted by Rawr:

Originally posted by Tentatension:

I'm not actually 110% certain, but I think Miles may only have PARTIAL control of it. It appears at the very end where you escape our lovely Mansion of Maddness that he's either observing you - after which he promptly either attacks you, or purposely scares you away to hasten your escape.

That was my thought, that Miles just spooked Waylon to make sure he left the asylum. I think the hosts have some level of control. Wernicke mentions Billy seeing him as his father so it's possible that's why he was still alive. Billy didn't kill him...or at least could keep the Walrider from killing him. If the Walrider can repair cells like is suggested then it could be why Wernickes lived past what he normally would have. Billy was keeping him alive.

I wondered if the Walrider itself was killing everyone and it was just the hosts intervention that could prevent it. Near the end of whistleblower when the Walrider kills Jeremy we see it in the form we did in Outlast, as a kind of ghost, yet when he's outside the asylum and has the opportunity to kill Waylon and doesn't...we see him in the form of Miles' body. So it made me wonder if there was a clash between the Walrider and hosts "personalities" so to speak. I'm not sure if wording it coherently lol.

As for what the Walrider actually is...I could never quite figure it out. Was it man-made and became sentient? Or was it something supernatural that the scientists thought they could control? Some people in the asylum are whimpering about "If you showed a caveman technology he'd say it was magic and if you showed modern man magic he'd say it was technology, we have faith in all the wrong things and it will destroy us" (Something like that.) So was the Walrider something "modern man" thought could be controlled through their work and it backfired?

They did mention about people who had seen a lot of horror being useful. So could the patients collective horror somehow have molded the extremely aggressive nature of the Walrider or formed it entirely? Some patients mention something was "waiting" for them in the mountains. I personally like to think it was supernatural, but I'm willing to admit I'm wrong.

to start te walrider is just a machine that is created though the collection of many nanites. this machine might as well be outlasts version of the terminator because it sure as hell acts like one; it must have some extremely intellegent AI for it to locate and possess a host without a person to control it with. i would assume the walrider is an attempt to bring about some form of a man/machine hybrid. if you played the game and listened you will know that in one of the documetns, they mention something about how the walrider will become sentient but doesnt seem to be happening. why are they trying to make a machine sentient? were they trying to put a billy's mind in the walrider? it sure sounds like it. perhaps they needed a sentient mind in the walrider for it to function beyond its pre-programmed peramiters. something tells me this whole thing with the walrider might have to do with the fact that the old incapacitated guy in the wheel chair was an ex-nazi.

ALSO ONE BIG FREAKEN QUESTION: WHY IS THERE A BIT OF THE WALRIDER NANITES IN A WASHING MACHINE? WHAT DID THAT SERVE?

[ultimaterainbowphase]

I thought Miles had some if not total control over it since the Walrider wasn't completely killing mindlessly. Here's something I just thought of. Maybe the more sane you are, the better you can control it. Clearly, Billy was off the wall loopy. But he has seen enough horror to be able to be its host. Miles on the other hand had only slight sanity slippage but had seen and felt the same if not worse experiences. Perhaps explaining why when he was its host he wasn't killing everyone like Billy was. Or maybe Miles is just talented, who knows. But this still brings up this question. Was Billy actually in control and just killing for the hell of it? Or if my theory is correct and had its own free will while hosted by Billy why is the Walrider a naturally malicious being and killling everything. It's a machine. Machines function off of cold hard logic. Why would it kill so randomly? No logic in that. Maybe it's a demon supported and manifieted through nanotechnology, serving as a bridge to this world, hence "Project Walrider is a gateway." Alright, starting to get the speculative brain juice going here lol. Also if the thing about insanity is true, it makes sense that they would choose crazy people for the experiment despite the fact that they wouldn't be able to control it. First, they've seen a crap ton of horror. Eddie with his mommy and daddy issues. Chris with his trauma in the army. Frank with...well whatever his issue is I don't think he ate people before being admitted but I could be wrong. And second, their delusions mix well with the experiments being done so if they escape to tell the truth no one will believe them, that is if they can even speak coherently. Still though, how the eff did Waylon not get mutated?

[professional seal clubber]

what the idea of the morphogenic engine is, is to alter genes to create cells or organ or in this case nano factories witch could then be controlled in a self directed lucid dream