No Man's Sky Archaeological Project

Andrew Reinhard, 2019. https://doi.org/10.5284/1056111. How to cite using this DOI

Digital Object Identifiers

Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) are persistent identifiers which can be used to consistently and accurately reference digital objects and/or content. The DOIs provide a way for the ADS resources to be cited in a similar fashion to traditional scholarly materials. More information on DOIs at the ADS can be found on our help page.

Citing this DOI

The updated Crossref DOI Display guidelines recommend that DOIs should be displayed in the following format:

https://doi.org/10.5284/1056111
Sample Citation for this DOI

Andrew Reinhard (2019) No Man's Sky Archaeological Project [data-set]. York: Archaeology Data Service [distributor] https://doi.org/10.5284/1056111

Data copyright © Andrew Reinhard unless otherwise stated

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Creative Commons License


No Man's Sky Archaeology logo

Primary contact

Andrew Reinhard
No Man's Sky Archaeology

Send e-mail enquiry

Resource identifiers

Digital Object Identifiers

Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) are persistent identifiers which can be used to consistently and accurately reference digital objects and/or content. The DOIs provide a way for the ADS resources to be cited in a similar fashion to traditional scholarly materials. More information on DOIs at the ADS can be found on our help page.

Citing this DOI

The updated Crossref DOI Display guidelines recommend that DOIs should be displayed in the following format:

https://doi.org/10.5284/1056111
Sample Citation for this DOI

Andrew Reinhard (2019) No Man's Sky Archaeological Project [data-set]. York: Archaeology Data Service [distributor] https://doi.org/10.5284/1056111

Available archives:

A total of 30 archives have been added to the No Man's Sky Archaeological Project. These can be accessed below.

Image from Lennon (Old Galactic Hub Capital) Lennon (Old Galactic Hub Capital).
Authors: Andrew Reinhard
The planet of Lennon was founded as the capital of the Galactic Hub in 2017 by Hub leader Syn1334 after a vote taken by early Hub citizens. Once a Paradise-class planet, the Atlas Rises cataclysm reset the planet's topography and climate to a rugged wintry waste, renaming it Drogradur NO-425. The capital is noteworthy not because of any settlements left behind, but rather for the massive inscriptional evidence left in the form of communication stations by dozens of players. These inscriptions are a mix of those left by Lennon's departing citizens, by other Hub residents who attended a "portal party" marking the exodus of the Legacy Hub for the new Hub, and from heritage tourists, players who make the pilgrimage to the original capital to pay their respects. These communication stations change over time, later ones replacing earlier ones. Those recorded early in the No Man's Sky Archaeological Project are now gone, replaced by more recent inscriptions. This site record contains visual proof of this phenomenon. This site record was the 1st prepared by Andrew Reinhard, and as such includes the first attempts at collecting planetary data, writing a site narrative and related report, and in mapping communication stations and other constructions throughout the planet. These approaches would be refined over time, but the original attempts have been uploaded here as-is for insight into the archaeological process of documenting a synthetic space for the first time.

Released: 30 August 2019
Collection doi: 10.5284/1056109
Image from Pepper Dusk (Peaceful Pepperbase and Cave of Forgotten Dreams) Pepper Dusk (Peaceful Pepperbase and Cave of Forgotten Dreams).
Authors: Andrew Reinhard
Syn1334 is the founder and chief executive of the Galactic Hub, and Pepper Dusk was his original homeworld and site of Peaceful Pepperbase. The Pathfinder-era settlement became a spot for heritage tourists who came to pay their respects to the Hub's founder, most of them leaving communication station inscriptions of thanks and admiration in a nearby cave later dubbed by the Hub as the "Cave of Forgotten Dreams" after the Werner Herzog film. Over 60 inscriptions were left behind, and included descriptions of the original landscape, of the base and its racecourse. Some included dates when they were placed, and others contained addresses and invitations to visit other settlements in the Hub and elsewhere. Syn1334 himself left a station with a forwarding address post-Atlas Rises. This is the 2nd site visited by Andrew Reinhard for the No Man's Sky Archaeological Project, and continued his creation of survey and excavation methodology, plus reporting style, that would evolve over the investigation of the remaining 28 sites chosen for the project. In surveying and excavating Pepper Dusk, every excavation of communication stations was filmed. "Stakes" were placed to mark test pits. Remote sensing took place. And after a system crash, Peaceful Pepperbase itself was moved halfway across the planet in a fully restored state. After the old Hub's capital planet of Lennon, Pepper Dusk and its base and inscription-filled cave is the second most important Legacy Hub site.

Released: 06 September 2019
Collection doi: 10.5284/1056110
Image from Bluegrass Moon (Dwrigger-Drle Outpost) Bluegrass Moon (Dwrigger-Drle Outpost).
Authors: Andrew Reinhard
The Bluegrass Moon orbits the Bluegrass Planet and marks an instance where one player settlement in a shared system likely overwrote another. Based on the dates of the waypoints discovered on each world, both were settled at roughly the same time, with the Serenity Villa built first on the planet, followed later by Dwrigger-Drle Outpost on the moon. The moon outpost is a typical human settlement and is neither farm nor memorial. A handful of communication stations surround the base, with others placed next to two additional unclaimed base units indicating intent to settle (although none did). One feature unique to Bluegrass Moon is a "natural" rock formation in the shape of an "e", which one visitor marked with a communication station, the first time in this project that a Hub player marked a natural feature as opposed to anything created by a fellow human player. This is the 33rd site investigated by Andrew Reinhard for the No Man's Sky Archaeological Project, conducted side-by-side with the 32nd site of Serenity Villa on the nearby Bluegrass Planet.

Released: 04 October 2019
Collection doi: 10.5284/1056619
Image from Bluegrass Planet (Serenity Villa) Bluegrass Planet (Serenity Villa).
Authors: Andrew Reinhard
The Bluegrass Planet was so named for its lush fields of blue grass in the Pathfinder era, later turned to wintry wastes by the Atlas Rises update. The Paradise-class planet hosted player SilfenPath's Serenity Villa, a Galactic Hub b&b advertised on the No Man's Sky subreddit as a place to visit and relax. Guests came in droves in response to the ad, many leaving behind communication station inscriptions of thanks and about the villa. Many of these inscriptions were left by "regulars", well-traveled citizens of the Galactic Hub community. Archival photos show a modest, well-designed home with b&b amenities and an underground pool accessed via stairwell. At some point the villa was replaced by a generic central base unit, possibly by the creation of another player settlement on the Bluegrass Moon nearby. In the Pathfinder era it was possible to overwrite settlements by other players with a settlement of one's own in the same system. Andrew Reinhard visited this site in May 2018 near the beginning of the No Man's Sky Archaeological Project, but found nothing to investigate despite archival photos and oral histories found online. Returning in July at the conclusion of the project, the Bluegrass Planet and its moon both displayed evidence of occupation and became the 32nd and 33rd site documented (only 30 of these sites turned out to be exclusively Hub-related).

Released: 28 October 2019
Collection doi: 10.5284/1056620
Image from Holly's Blue Moon Paradise (Dancing Bear Base) Holly's Blue Moon Paradise (Dancing Bear Base).
Authors: Andrew Reinhard
The player hollyworks is one of the Galactic Hub's charter members and is renowned throughout the Hub community for her enthusiasm and generosity. One example of this was her Dancing Bear Base pearl farm, so-called because of the Grateful-Dead-appearing giant dancing bears that No Man's Sky procedurally generated on her Paradise-class world, Holly's Blue Moon Paradise. After the Atlas Rises cataclysm, hollyworks returned to her farm in order to dismantle it for resources prior to moving to the new Galactic Hub home system, leaving behind a hole in the landscape surrounded by dozens of communication stations with inscriptions of either greetings or thanks. She created a modest replacement base nearby in order to complete some basic mission-level quests in the Atlas Rises version of the game prior to departing for her permanent home, leaving behind a monument to commemorate her post-Atlas Rises departure. The communication stations are either buried or are floating so high above the landscape that a starship is required to read their inscriptions. They are largely organized in a ring, some edges of which mirror the original footprint of the base. Archival photos of Dancing Bear Base show a lush grassland and high water table. When combined with Atlas Rises-era photos, one can see where the base was positioned and how the landscape changed after the 1.3 update. This was the 5th site visited by Andrew Reinhard for the No Man's Sky Archaeological Project, and the first in which a base had been moved/deconstructed by the original builder in order to recycle resources.

Released: 28 October 2019
Collection doi: 10.5284/1056621
Image from Abundance (Abundance H.Q.) Abundance (Abundance H.Q.).
Authors: Andrew Reinhard
Abundance H.Q. was the 3rd base investigated by Andrew Reinhard for the No Man's Sky Archaeological Project. It is noteworthy for being the first glitched base to be documented levitating above the Atlas Rises-era planet's topography. Communication stations are both buried under bedrock out of reach, in topsoil, and suspended 5-20m above ground-level. The settlement is also the first to be documented relocating and rebuilding itself after player interference. The published site report was read by the base's architect, himshieland, who was able to add to the history of Abundance, complementing the archaeological record. The base was also temporarily missing because of a nearby squatter, something made possible by game mechanics in an early iteration of the Atlas Rises update.

Released: 04 October 2019
Collection doi: 10.5284/1056622
Image from Hova Rises (Bez-Harr Embassy) Hova Rises (Bez-Harr Embassy).
Authors: Andrew Reinhard
The Bez-Harr Embassy is a civic building in the shape of an inverted glass pyramid created by player art-nik. Despite the fact that this is another example of a buried, glitched base that relocated and rebuilt itself between the first visit by Andrew Reinhard in 2017 and final visit post-Atlas Rises in 2018, the site is of extreme significance to the early history of the Galactic Hub player enclave. In 2017, KingJamesHova created the so-called Empire of Hova, which encroached on Galactic Hub space resulting in escalating hostilities between Hova and the Hub. Communication station inscriptions placed in a cave adjacent to the original site of the embassy contain messages of both threat and compromise. A monument erected by KingJamesHova and THEKINGSNAKE hint at peacemaking, which would ultimately be signed by treaty in the Legacy Hub's Serenity system. This was the 6th site visited by Andrew Reinhard for the No Man's Sky Archaeological Project, and the 2nd example marking his return to Legacy Hub sites visited prior to embarking upon the survey formally. This record includes a detailed site report and history, plus research questions, as well as videos, photos, and a manifest of communication station inscriptions.

Released: 28 October 2019
Collection doi: 10.5284/1056623
Image from Pr (Kogiirouk Outpost) Pr (Kogiirouk Outpost).
Authors: Andrew Reinhard
Andrew Reinhard's discovery of the buried Kogiirouk Outpost base in the old Galactic Hub after the Atlas Rises Cataclysm in 2017 was what inspired the No Man's Sky Archaeological Project to study human settlement and abandonment in a digital space. What set this base apart was its ironic simplicity, the fact that its base identifier was glitched, and that ultimately everything was buried under bedrock ranging from the settlement itself to dozens of communication stations, the inscriptions of which could only be read for some. In the game players can rename the places they visit, and one player renamed a waypoint after a bitcoin agency, an example of natural world advertising intrusion into a synthetic environment. This site was both the 1st and 31st site investigated by Reinhard. He returned on 20 June 2018 to the original dig site he established on 1 October 2017 to see what, if anything had changed. Site report, images, and video accompany this record.

Released: 21 November 2019
Collection doi: 10.5284/1056624
Image from Hesperides (Beecham's Pearl Island) Hesperides (Beecham's Pearl Island).
Authors: Andrew Reinhard
Beecham's Pearl Island used to be sited on a literal island on a lush, watery world. After the Atlas Rises cataclysm, the pearl farm was relocated several meters in the air surrounded by a ring of communication station inscriptions left by players to express both thanks for the crop and admiration for the base's construction. Upon Andrew Reinhard's arrival, the first visit yielded communication stations only in a floating ring. The second visit saw the farm appear suspended in mid-air. The third and final site visit witnessed the base relocate to ground-level several kilometers away in a completely reconstructed state reflecting the very sensitive and glitched nature of these Pathfinder-era settlements. This was the 7th site investigated by Andrew Reinhard for the No Man's Sky Archaeological Project, which includes videos and images of the farm past and present, plus maps and photogrammetry, as well as a manifest of communication station inscriptions and a history of the site and description of its major glitched behaviors.

Released: 21 November 2019
Collection doi: 10.5284/1056625
Image from Onsifi (BotFodder's Base) Onsifi (BotFodder's Base).
Authors: Andrew Reinhard
BotFodder's Base is unique in the old Galactic Hub of No Man's Sky because of being double-glitched. In the Pathfinder era, the player BotFodder2 snapped an image of his base suspended in mid-air, a rare occurrence pre-Atlas Rises. Once the update occurred in August 2017, the elevated base found itself perched atop a procedurally generated trading post populated by several NPC's. This new positioning, unique as far as the Galactic Hub is concerned, is much like an apartment above a shop in either Roman or modern times, and provides instant access to commercial activity. Although a central base unit icon was present under the trading post, it was unable to be discovered through excavation. This site was the 20th visited by Andrew Reinhard for the No Man's Sky Archaeological Project and includes archival and Atlas Rises-era photos and video, site report, and manifest of communication station inscriptions.

Released: 11 December 2019
Collection doi: 10.5284/1056626
Image from Red Death (Radar Rat Race) Red Death (Radar Rat Race).
Authors: Andrew Reinhard
The settlement on Red Death (the planet's Pathfinder-era name earned because of its red desert and extreme heat, changed in Atlas Rises to an extremely cold and icy world) is not known for the base created by player tragedyfish, but because of its Galactic Hub-famous, diabolical racecourse, Radar Rat Race. All that remains of the track are 8 communication stations mentioning its presence, how difficult (and fun) it was, along with course completion times. Radar Rat Race is one of a handful of Hub settlements that included a racecourse for visitors to enjoy, but the track is long gone after the v1.3 update. As for the base itself, it appeared only after the second NMS Archaeology visit, the first time only a generic base unit was present. Both are illustrated in this site record. No Man's Sky's 'Online Discovery Services' connected players with central servers to ensure that people could see what others had discovered, named, and built. Notoriously glitchy, these services, when inactive, allowed for planets and entire settlements to be overwritten. When active, players can see old bases, inscriptions, etc. Online Services for NMS remain in a constant flux of up or down in the Beyond era, August 2019. This site was the 15th visited by Andrew Reinhard for the No Man's Sky Archaeological Project and includes, videos, archival photos, a site report, and manifest of communication station inscriptions.

Released: 21 November 2019
Collection doi: 10.5284/1056627
Image from Verikondor (Sanctuary) Verikondor (Sanctuary).
Authors: Andrew Reinhard
Sanctuary is 1,080 light years from Lennon, capital of the old Galactic Hub, in an area of space called the 'huburbs.' Remote and not named according to Hub convention, it remained largely undiscovered, and is only briefly noted in the No Man's Sky Gamepedia wiki. The base unit occupies a flat, grassy patch of ground, and to its right is a two-tiered stack of decorative Trade Terminals, three on the top row and seven on the bottom. Adjacent to the base unit is a signal booster. The most notable feature of the base is a floating platform consisting of eight domes and a landing pad accessed via a long ramp. It would appear that the base rested on a floating platform of rock, but with the v1.3 reset, that platform is gone (although there is another, higher rocky plinth hovering above and behind the base). The base unit is plain and simple containing a base ID ('Sanctuary') and Korvax vendor. Outside the base unit and next to the ramp is a single comm station welcoming travelers. This site is the 16th visited by Andrew Reinhard for the No Man's Sky Archaeological Project.

Released: 21 November 2019
Collection doi: 10.5284/1056628
Image from Sojainnedy Kibits (Binoscopes Pad) Sojainnedy Kibits (Binoscopes Pad).
Authors: Andrew Reinhard
Binoscopes Pad, built by player sunaru2 on the planet Sojainnedy Kibits during the Pathfinder era, is an echinocactus farm. Unlike other farms that use hydroponic technology, sunaru2 opted to plant several rows of cactus, which could be harvested every hour as a cash crop to be sold via galactic trade terminal. The crop is sustainable, and is an example of communal farms open to the public to share wealth and resources. Communication stations with words of thanks occupy the original site of the farm several hours' walk distant. This farm is unusual in that after the Atlas Rises cataclysm the planet turned into an 'exotic' one with strange geological formations and atmospheric bubbles, unable to sustain life, yet the crops continued to grow. A monument also exists on-site to commemorate the meeting of sunaru2 with another player in a time when human player meetings were very rare and difficult to achieve, also dating to the Pathfinder era. This is the 19th site visited by Andrew Reinhard for the No Man's Sky Archaeological Project. Upon first arrival, the farm site was occupied only by a central base unit, but no farm. Restarting the game made the farm appear, half-buried, which required excavation. Most communication stations remain buried under bedrock, unable to be excavated and read.

Released: 21 November 2019
Collection doi: 10.5284/1056629
Image from Horner ( Horner ("Tohoulvaldou"-Außenposten).
Authors: Andrew Reinhard
"Tohoulvaldou"-Außenposten is one of the rare player constructions that can be identified as a tomb. It is an astonishingly intricate construction hinting at the level of creativity No Man's Sky players could achieve. Six communication stations rest in a row, buried by the Atlas Rises update. The tomb itself was buried halfway by the cataclysm. Halfway through the exploration of the site, a system crash repositioned the tomb halfway across the planet, restoring it to its full height. No Man's Sky legacy structures are quite fragile, and player agency and glitches can have adverse effects. In this case the restored base allows one to see it in its original state. One other thing to note about the tomb is that its underground architecture caused the game interface to stutter and glitch offering a new method of remote sensing, the lag produced by unseen complexity of a large player construction. This is the fourth site excavated by Andrew Reinhard for the No Man's Sky Archaeological Project.

Released: 08 November 2019
Collection doi: 10.5284/1056630
Image from GlassShop (Hiviehale Outpost) GlassShop (Hiviehale Outpost).
Authors: Andrew Reinhard
The planet GlassShop in the Legacy is both paradox and contradiction: paradox because the same base unit exists in two places at once, and contradiction because a cold-weather crop currently grows on a hot-weather planet, albeit underground. One remarkable thing about the base of Hiviehale Outpost is that both the base-as-located and the generic base unit that marks the original outpost's location have the same name in their Base ID unit: "Hiviehale Outpost." Typically the original base ID will follow the base if it gets moved from one place to the next because of player agency or other means, but in this case the same name exists in two places. Even though the Base ID names are the same, however, the vendors within the bases are different (in both name and appearance). Linguistics come into play when confirming what changes took place and when. In the example of GlassShop the planted crop currently displays as "frostwort", which yields frost crystals for glass-making. The comm stations, however, indicate the presence of "coryzagen." In version 1.2 (Pathfinder) and earlier, "coryzagen" is the term for this cold-weather crop. Version 1.3 (Atlas Rises) changed the names of natural resources; "coryzagen" became "frostwort." Had we not known about the universal reset, this linguistic clue would have told us that the Outpost was from a previous, older version of this planet, much like finding inscriptions in older versions of a language. Speaking of communications, Comm Station No. 2 indicates that the current location of the outpost is not its original home. This is proven by the cluster of comm balls located on the far side of the planet, which marked the first site of the base. How (and when) the base moved will never be known, although it most certainly happened after the release of v1.3 in August 2017. One final observation: based on a photo of the original base (see below), there used to be either a two-story building or greenhouse at the end of a walkway from the ground-level airlock door. No evidence of this structure remains, which might be a result of the builder removing it for resources prior to leaving for the new Galactic Hub. This is the twenty-first site investigated by Andrew Reinhard for the No Man's Sky Archaeological Project, and includes archival and Atlas-Rises-era photos, videos (including films of excavation), manifest of communication stations, and a history of the farm.

Released: 14 October 2019
Collection doi: 10.5284/1056631
Image from Lajodanssysl (ButterBase 1.3) Lajodanssysl (ButterBase 1.3).
Authors: Andrew Reinhard
ButterBase 1.3, created by ButterForTheKing (BFTK), one of the Galactic Hub's earliest settlers, was built post-Atlas Rises after the cataclysm wiped out his prior, Pathfinder-era base on a nearby planet in the same system, destroying his 'Temple of the Sun'. As a stopgap prior to moving to the new Galactic Hub, BFTK created a modest base on a lush world in his home system, ultimately leaving to join his community and leaving a farewell communication station to indicate as much. He recreated his temple in the new Hub, perhaps the first example of heritage reconstruction by a player in an open world video game. This is the 10th site visited by Andrew Reinhard for the No Man's Sky Archaeological Project, and includes current and archival photos, videos, synthetic text, and other evidence for the move to the new Hub.

Released: 08 November 2019
Collection doi: 10.5284/1056632
Image from Sosashibukay (Heart of Sosashibukay) Sosashibukay (Heart of Sosashibukay).
Authors: Andrew Reinhard
The Heart of Sosashibukay created by player Jen1892 is a farm notable for its ruined features created after the Atlas Rises v1.3 cataclysm. Immediately noticeable is the levitating crop of star bulb plants hovering meters above the surface, the planter lost in the update. Secondly, the base was half-buried in the landscape because of Atlas Rises, a feature which would have gone unnoticed had it not been for an archival photo showing the full height of the structure. Excavation proved that the full elevation was preserved, albeit half of it underground with the lowest ramp and airlock submerged underwater. One communication station remains next to the planet's portal, while a cluster of four surround an unoccupied central base unit one hour's walk from the surviving base. This was the final player settlement surveyed by Andrew Reinhard for the No Man's Sky Archaeological Project, and includes photos, videos, synthetic text, archival and photogrammetry images, and manifest of communication stations and their inscriptions.

Released: 21 November 2019
Collection doi: 10.5284/1056633
Image from Eslachlan Kayham (Panda's) Eslachlan Kayham (Panda's).
Authors: Andrew Reinhard
Panda's base on Eslachlan Kayham was built on 27 August 2017, although the Legacy Hub planet had been discovered by Galactic Hub second-in-command AndyKrycek on 10 December 2016 and further explored by him in March, April, and August 2017, although he never built there. This is a rare example of a planet being discovered, visited, but not settled by the original player, instead inhabited by another Hub member months after the discovery. The base itself is agricultural with a bi-level hydroponic farm containing rare plants for anyone to harvest. Two sources of delight also make Panda's Legacy Hub base noteworthy. First is the presence of an alpha-class Explorer-type ship, wrecked in the deep desert, marked by a floating communication station indicating an ancient topography. Another comm station marks where a beta-class Hauler-type shipwreck used to be, but the ship is either long-gone or long-buried thanks to the v1.3 update. The second oddity is the Sentinel trapped in the botany bay of the base, something not encountered previously by Reinhard during the NMS Archaeological Project. This is the 24th base investigated by Andrew Reinhard for the No Man's Sky Archaeological project and includes text, photos, videos, and a manifest of communication station inscriptions.

Released: 14 October 2019
Collection doi: 10.5284/1056634
Image from Meridian (Meridian Village) Meridian (Meridian Village).
Authors: Andrew Reinhard
In the Pathfinder era, Meridian used to be a forested world hosting the Meridian Village Grand Prix race track. Now the planet is stripped of trees, its name has changed, and the Meridian Village player-base has relocated itself an hour's walk away, the original site buried and ringed by nine submerged communication stations. This is yet another example of a movable base in No Man's Sky with the original building site still marked by inscriptions. This base is one of a handful of farms growing sustainable cash crops for use by the base owner and free for visitors to collect. It was owned by Ryder_E-E, one of the Galactic Hub's most well-traveled players whose communication stations appear on several other worlds within what is now known as the Legacy Hub. This is the 28th site visited as part of Andrew Reinhard's No Man's Sky Archaeological Project.

Released: 11 December 2019
Collection doi: 10.5284/1056635
Image from Marvel (Mr McDillard's Pad) Marvel (Mr McDillard's Pad).
Authors: Andrew Reinhard
Mr McDillard's Pad, the player base on what used to be called Marvel in the Pathfinder era (called Salatzeno-Ozy Arvire in Atlas Rises), occupies a commanding overlook onto the desert floor far below. It is the last base standing after the v1.3 update, completely abandoned and also completely intact. Two generic base units are elsewhere on the planet, marked with communications stations. It remains unclear (at least to me) where the other two bases went, and why Mr McDillard's Pad was the one to remain. Were the other two bases wiped out by v1.3, or were they disassembled or even migrated to a nearby system. Based on the physical evidence, it is impossible to tell what happened, although we know for sure that these bases were present once upon a time. This settlement is notable because it is one of the few where its architect chose to comment on the original site report published on archaeogaming.com. Mr McDillard wrote about his Pathfinder-era base: "As a quick info drop: This planet was once a lush, temperate, water-rich paradise. The vast ocean was dotted with large continental land masses, forming many island chains. High mountains climbed dramatically out of the deep oceans, creating a breathtaking landscape. "After the update, the planet was transformed into a harsh wasteland, but with equally beautiful geological formations. As you know, our bases were all wiped after the update, but we had the option to reload our bases if we were able to find a base computer. I was committed to keeping my original base on the original planet it had been established, even if the landscape had changed. I spent weeks trekking across the planet, until I happened upon a Base Computer atop the overlook where it stands today. I couldn't be happier with the new location, although I do still miss the oceans." The other thing to note about this base is that it was the one Andrew Reinhard chose to experiment with for photogrammetry and 3D printing, which was successful. This was the 23rd site visited as part of Reinhard's No Man's Sky Archaeological Project, and this record includes videos, images of the base past and present, a site report, plus an image of the 3D-printed base.

Released: 11 December 2019
Collection doi: 10.5284/1056636
Image from Langley_83_Alpha (Gemini Outpost) Langley_83_Alpha (Gemini Outpost).
Authors: Andrew Reinhard
Gemini Outpost on the planet Langley_83_Alpha (the name changed to Molshoy Hutoud in the Atlas Rises cataclysm) was created in the Pathfinder era by player SirDannyMacFinn. What remains is a classic set of ruins, which were abandoned by its creator, creating a textbook site for seeing the aftereffects of a major No Man's Sky software update. Atlas Rises not only buried the settlement under a hillside, but changed the climate and landscape from temperate and green to a hostile, snow-covered wasteland. The base exists in a ruined state, missing key components such as a central base unit, rooms, and connecting ladders and corridors (as evidenced from a 2017 archival photo). Three communication stations remain, one of which was placed by the builder stating that he used to live here but has since relocated to the new Galactic Hub in Hilbert. The landscape itself is glitched, and excavating allowed Andrew Reinhard to view the underbelly of paper-thin, procedurally created ground. Evidence also remains of Atlas Rises being an extinction-level event: Langley used to host 21 species of fauna, but now none remain. This is the 26th site investigated by Andrew Reinhard as part of the No Man's Sky Archaeological Project, which includes videos, photos, site report, and manifest of communication stations.

Released: 11 December 2019
Collection doi: 10.5284/1056637
Image from Caoimhe (Paddy's Paddock) Caoimhe (Paddy's Paddock).
Authors: Andrew Reinhard
The site of Paddy's Paddock was created by player Crispy Chrisu on the planet formerly known as Caoimhe in the Pathfinder era. The abandoned settlement is notable for two features: 1) a large billboard featuring the thumb logo from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and 2) the base has moved from its original building site, likely because of a glitch or player agency prior to the arrival of Andrew Reinhard for the No Man's Sky Archaeological Project. Four communication stations mark the base's original location. This site was the 29th to be investigated for the NMS project. It includes flyover and walkthrough videos of the settlement, plus images, manifest of communication stations, and site report, plus archival photos from 2017 before the Atlas Rises update.

Released: 14 October 2019
Collection doi: 10.5284/1056638
Image from Nohash Patieme (Neptune Acquisitions Inc) Nohash Patieme (Neptune Acquisitions Inc).
Authors: Andrew Reinhard
The settlement on Nohash Patieme, Neptune Acquisitions Inc, created in the Pathfinder era by player DudeofNeptune, is not in and of itself unusual, but the surrounding landscape is. Abandoned after the Atlas Rises update, the planet is now toxic. The base is an intact tower but nearby are two unclaimed central base units within brief walking distance, something almost never seen in other areas throughout No Man's Sky's universe. Upon arrival, the base was invisible and then popped into view, as opposed to gradually appearing on the horizon as one approaches. Also, a rectangular plot of land seemed to be glitched, a textureless swatch of color on the landscape. This is the 13th site investigated as part of the No Man's Sky Archaeological Project by Andrew Reinhard. Videos, pictures, and site report accompany this site record.

Released: 11 December 2019
Collection doi: 10.5284/1056639
Image from New Athena (Grand Castle of Hova v1) New Athena (Grand Castle of Hova v1).
Authors: Andrew Reinhard
Grand Castle of Hov v1 is one of KingJamesHova's earliest builds, created a little over two weeks after the Pathfinder update (March 8, 2017) enabled public base-sharing. The castle is quite large and elaborate when compared to other Legacy bases, taking over a minute to walk around and consisting of three levels topped by a dome. The base is oriented at the cardinal points of the compass with the main entry (and primary entrance to the encased base unit) to the south. A few communication stations ring the outside of the base's perimeter, and other stations lie in the distance. Comm station No. 9 is an hour's walk to the southwest just outside of an observatory complex. Its message, however, hints at the sole predatory animal on the moon, a creature which no longer seems to exist post-Atlas Rises. Roughly half of the comm stations were placed by Hub players, two of whom have built bases visited for the NMS Archaeogical Project (hollyworks and art-nik). In the case of art-nik, his comm station throws down the gauntlet of resistance to the Empire of Hova at Hova's own castle. Art-nik's base is the Bez-Harr Space Embassy where KingJamesHova built a monument with THEKINGSNAKE, whose comm station on New Athena pledges unity with Hova. Base on the dates of the comm balls and identified Waypoints, these pre-date the coming Harsh Buds War between the Galactic Hub and the Empire of Hova, and mark an escalation in tensions between the two Hub regions. Andrew Reinhard conducted his survey of New Athena on 23 May 2018 creating a site report and map while recording videos and images of the base, which was later completely destroyed by the No Man's Sky: NEXT update in August 2018.

Released: 04 October 2019
Collection doi: 10.5284/1056640
Image from Asphodel (The Birdcage) Asphodel (The Birdcage).
Authors: Andrew Reinhard
Asphodel and its only surviving base have changed between its founding in April 2017 and the Atlas Rises cataclysm in August 2018. The Birdcage, created by player gcderrick, once shared a planet with other player bases, as well as a system densely populated in the Galactic Hub. The update changed all of the planet names (as scanned from space), and the other bases (including Elysium) have all disappeared. Asphodel itself was a paradise planet when it was discovered in December 2016, and the v1.3 change affected by the patch made the planet gorgeous in an entirely different and synthetic way, paving it in gold a white tiles. The base as discovered in May 2018 differs from historic photographs taken and shared by players in April 2017 indicating the common practice of settlers revising their initial habitations until abandonment. Five communication stations are near the base, some of which indicating past residency and evacuation to the new Galactic Hub post-Atlas Rises. This site was the 9th visited (of 30) by Andrew Reinhard for the No Man's Sky Archaeological Project documenting abandoned Galactic Hub settlements. Data includes photos, videos, map, and site report.

Released: 14 October 2019
Collection doi: 10.5284/1056641
Image from Arpinsarypov (Mother Base) Arpinsarypov (Mother Base).
Authors: Andrew Reinhard
The single thing that makes Mother Base in the Legacy Hub stand out is the fact that it is completely ordinary in every way. It is the first such Legacy Base (22/30) that did not float, was not buried, did not glitch, did not exist in two places at once, was not half-deconstructed, and remained in its original Pathfinder-era location. There is absolutely nothing "wrong" with this base, which of therefore makes it an anomaly in No Man's Sky post-v1.3 update. There is nothing odd about the base except the fact that its normal behavior is odd. The base could be treated as a control to the other bases that contain unusual phenomena. Despite its ordinary nature, Mother Base's homeworld did suffer a change from the Atlas Rises cataclsym, changing from a lush planet to a barren moon literally overnight. Although no images survive of Mother Base in its original landscape, a post to the Galactic Hub subreddit on 26 May 2017 by player ykssnamo indicated that they had stopped for a visit during their search for the Hub capital of Lennon. Mother Base's creator, Solid_Luigi, replied the same day to say that he "had not been there in a while" and to "mow the grass." Ykssnamo's message stated that they had found rigogen on Mother Base's planet, which was called Shadow Moses at the time. This clue reveals not only that the planet's name had changed (and it had become a moon), but that it was grassy and had water. Rigogen is an underwater plant. Mother Base was the 22nd site surveyed by Andrew Reinhard for the No Man's Sky Archaeological Project.

Released: 07 October 2019
Collection doi: 10.5284/1056642
Image from Ahibahcal Anai (Onsen Portal Observatory) Ahibahcal Anai (Onsen Portal Observatory).
Authors: Andrew Reinhard
Despite player morgvom_org's base on Ahibahcal Anai being called a "portal observatory", there is no longer a portal on this world because of the planet's frozen state after the cataclysm of the Atlas Rises update. The base is not an observatory. Instead it is a colossal model of Deep Thought, the computer from Douglas Adams's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, broadcasting the answer to life, the universe, and everything: "42", on a decal on the front interior wall. Evidence of a racecourse remains, but the course itself is lost. This construction is interesting because it is of a type that commemorates popular culture outside of the game and is illustrative of other "real world" monuments created by players in more recent game updates post-Pathfinder. In a game where one can create anything at all, some players choose to honor what they know and love. Oddly, no communication stations were present during the survey. After the NMS: NEXT update, the base no longer exists. One photo survives of the original base from 11 June 2017, showing Deep Thought situated in a field of pink flowers. The Onsen Portal Observatory is the 30th Galactic Heritage site documented by Andrew Reinhard as part of the No Man's Sky Archaeological Project.

Released: 07 October 2019
Collection doi: 10.5284/1056643
Image from Inuya (Mortham base) Inuya (Mortham base).
Authors: Andrew Reinhard
Mortham base was built by player ZeusJones in May 2017 in the Pathfinder era on the planet Inuya in the original Galactic Hub system of HUB-G-142 Noemia. This base is somewhat unusual for a few reasons: 1) the system it occupies was discovered by another Galactic Hub citizen, Ryder_E-E, yet ZeusJones was the first to settle here; 2) there are no communication stations left by the architect or by visitors; 3) planet Inuya was not untowardly affected by the Atlas Rises update, changing from one paradise planet to another while not ruining the abandoned base at all. Pictorial evidence shows the landscape once had trees and red grass, and that Mortham base was originally missing a front porch, later added. Andrew Reinhard visited the site as part of the No Man's Sky Archaeological Project on 22 May 2018, one year after the base was built and three months before the 'NEXT' update destroyed the abandoned settlement.

Released: 21 November 2019
Collection doi: 10.5284/1056644
Image from Vaguileochi (TEC FLB Valhalla) Vaguileochi (TEC FLB Valhalla).
Authors: Andrew Reinhard
The Galactic Hub base, TEC FLB Valhalla, was built during the Pathfinder era in July 2017 by player damon8r351, a member of the Alliance of Galactic Travellers (AGT). Ruined by the Atlas Rises update, the base hung in midair where the landscape used to be before the 1.3 update changed the terrain. This is a good example of disarticulated, suspended ruins. The base's architect left it abandoned in situ not bothering to deconstruct the base for resources. Crops continued to grow inside their hydroponic domes. Archaeological survey and a failed excavation of a communication station ran from 3-4 July 2018 one month before No Man's Sky: NEXT deployed and wiped out all remaining Legacy Hub ruins, including Valhalla. This site is part of the No Man's Sky Archaeological Project, which documented abandoned human settlements within the synthetic environment of the game No Man's Sky. This base was part of the original Galactic Hub, now known as the Legacy Hub, a place special to the original community, to the community of players at-large, and to the lore and history of this digital built environment.

Released: 04 October 2019
Collection doi: 10.5284/1056645
Image from Elebor (Longitude Base) Elebor (Longitude Base).
Authors: Andrew Reinhard
The Longitude Base at Elebor is another good example of the instability of digital heritage in No Man's Sky. With these ruins, the eighth to be explored for the NMS Archaeology Project, one first encounters a glitched site, one that literally expelled the archaeologist from ground-level back into orbit. Upon reloading, the ruins had moved, reconstituting themselves partially for documentation and allowing for photogrammetry to be conducted against with photographs of the original construction. Throughout the course of this investigation, placenames given by the game continued to change, as well as the names of those people who had discovered this world and the places in it. Reinhard's presence as a human agent continued to glitch the site and landscape, but it remains unclear why this site was so fragile when compared to most of the others studied.

Released: 14 October 2019
Collection doi: 10.5284/1056646

ADS logo
Data Org logo
University of York logo