



The subject of this article is from the Pathfinder update.

The information from this article is up-to-date as of 10 August, 2017.

The information from this article is up-to-date as of 10 August, 2017.

The Pilgrim's Path is a journey document.

The following is the complete 12-part tale of Interloper Steam-bot's (or Reddit user St3amb0t) historical pilgrimage across the planet Dudenbeaumodeme of the Starfall system, as documented by himself in Reddit posts written between August 27th and September 11th 2016.

Part 1 [ edit | edit source ]

I've decided to find something new to do so I'm walking across an entire planet. I chose a random "O" class star and settled on a planet with a little, but not too much water. The atmosphere was cold with ample flora and moderate fauna.

There has been a constant complaint leveled at NMS: you only need to spend a few minutes out of your ship to see everything a planet has to offer. This journey has proven the opposite to me so far. I'm regularly surprised and delighted by every horizon this planet has thrown at me: towering mountains (so cool when I got to the top!), deep valleys, wide lakes with large predators prowling for a meal (made me think twice about shortcuts across water!), cool yellow days and icy purple nights...

It’s actually kind of fun trying to navigate the terrain and move in a consistent direction. Something that has proven difficult is going in a straight line. The best I'm able to do is try to keep my spaceship behind me and try to orient myself at dawn and dusk. Im hoping that eventually my ship will be in front of me and it will get a little easier. I've spent about two hours tonight and my ship is only slightly below the horizon.

Edit: The planet is called Dudenbeaumodeme (Dood-In-Bo-Mode-Me) and I took a few pics : http://imgur.com/a/iAQjB

Part 2 [ edit | edit source ]

Hooo boy, I may have bitten off more than I can chew folks. I'm currently 4 hours from my ship and really have no idea how much further I have to go.

Some of the wonder has rubbed off since last night, but I'm still having a pretty good time. I can't stress how vital it is to have upgrades for your sprint and jetpack before attempting this.

A few observations:

The icon for the ship isn't dropping below the horizon like I thought it would. It's actually moving higher into the sky.

Maybe it's the massive scale of the planet, but the planets in the sky above me don't seem to be moving at all. This makes me very nervous.

I'm one creature away from 100% and I can't find it anywhere.

Here's a smaller album of the night's travel: http://imgur.com/a/f6Fge

Part 3 [ edit | edit source ]

I really wanted to quit tonight. It all started when somebody posted a video of themselves flying their starship through a canyon earlier today. I couldn't get that image out of my head as I loaded up the game and started walking. I missed my ship so bad. I missed it like an ex-girlfriend.

Then I came across a language stone. The word was 'leave'. I kid you not. The game wanted me to throw in the towel too. Unbelievable.

Not long after I came across an outpost, and there, with the welcoming glow of a campfire in a dark forest, was a device to call my ship. I had the iron and the plutonium with me to make a bypass chip. I could summon the 'Warpspace Drifter' with a few buttons and go. Nobody would fault me. Maybe I could travel further into the galaxy or work on my trophies?

But I remembered you guys. I've gotten a lot of encouragement during this sisyphean undertaking and it's been greatly appreciated. Lots of tips, too. I even found the last creature thanks to somebody’s tip about the discoveries tab. Thank you. You guys are amazing and the best thing about this sub.

I'm 5 hours from my ship

I've named the system 'The Pilgrim Star' and there are three other undiscovered planets if anybody wants to come claim their own epic pilgrimage

I hate mountains. I swear every one of them is like the mountain in Journey.

http://imgur.com/a/W7Xy9

Part 4 [ edit | edit source ]

Once again I was inspired from all the wonderful replies I received on my last post. I felt confident as I set out today and am now 8 hours from my ship. The icon is starting to get pretty high into the sky depending on my elevation.

I can also now confirm that the other planets in space ARE moving across the sky, meaning I'm actually moving across the surface of a sphere, as opposed to the sphere rotating under me as I and some others speculated earlier. When I started paying attention to them they were directly over my head but now they're pretty far behind me, just above the horizon.

Thanks for the continued love and support, fellow space-pilgrims!

Instead of a gallery tonight I thought I'd give you guys a video of a pretty average 10 minutes running across Dudenbeaumodeme. https://https://youtube.com/watch?v=314dXZw9SRg

Part 5 [ edit | edit source ]

I only played for a little while tonight as I wanted to get in a few rounds of Overwatch (which turned into a dozen). Currently 10 hours away from my starship.

A few random musings:

I'm getting pretty tired of blindly falling down pits and cliffs. There are areas of this planet that are like swiss cheese. Water logged swiss cheese.

What is up with getting attacked by insectivores? Is the player a giant, space-faring bug? How Kafkaesque.

It's so hard to resist exploring some of these caves I come across. Even though I know exactly what I'll find they're just so damn mysterious. This cave for example, looks like the den of some exiled sorcerer: http://imgur.com/Er9n2fC

The wildlife has really grown on me. I spent 20 minutes the other night naming all the creatures while I uploaded them. I'm thinking about making little field guides for them in upcoming posts

Once again, thank you so much to everybody following this journey and thank you for your encouraging words. People that have been replying and sending me messages have been remarkably un-shitty and that's awesome! It's reassuring to know that there are still so many people out there that love this game.

Part 6 [ edit | edit source ]

It's been a pretty run of the mill night. Jumped some canyons, climbed some mountains. I'm actually kind of curious how many of both I've crossed so far. 50? 100? Who knows.

Three other planets of the Pilgrim Star have now completely receded over the horizon. The sky is now empty and I feel just a little bit more alone.

Im now 11 hours from my ship. I tell you folks, the moment I hit the half way point and my ship icon pops up in front of me will be such sweet relief.

A few new pics too! https://m.imgur.com/gallery/be0rb

Safe travels, space-pilgrims!

I wrote a little story fictionalizing my decision to undertake this journey that you gentle-folk might enjoy.

The Pilgrim of Dudenbeaumodeme and the great schism of faith: [ edit | edit source ]

In the beginning the Travelers knew not what awaited them in the center of the galaxy. Dreams of treasure-planets and lost fleets filled their waking thoughts. Speculation and wild rumor owned the day, as they often do in uncertain times.

When the truth was discovered, it spread like a fire storm. There was nothing in the center. There was no closure, there were no answers.

Many Travelers despaired. Some cast aside their exosuits and vanished. Others became radicalized apostates, shouting at the stars "God has abandoned us! The Atlas is without meaning!". Their heresy was infectious and they called themselves the Prophets of Truth.

During this time, before he became the Pilgrim of Dudenbeaumodeme, he was but a humble vagabond, traveling in search of adventure and fortune. He heard the rumors and listened to the Prophets shout from the now desecrated temples. Their words cut him to his core.

He watched so many walk away from the Travelers path. Rows of rusting derelict starships became like tombstones dotting mass graves. He became dejected too. "What's the point off all this?" he thought as he gazed at the stars.

His heart was heavy yet he refused to give in. There was meaning out there, he was sure of it. The gods had to still be out there, watching. He wanted to show them that there were still Travelers that believed.

So he studied the old words and spoke with the forgotten priests, now in hiding, and came upon a long abandoned act of faith: the pilgrimage. A journey of faith. He decided then that he would walk the length of an unknown world.

Trading what meager possessions he had, he took his starship to orbit, selected a random star and activated his warpdrive. The pilgrim had never felt so free.

Part 7 - The End? [ edit | edit source ]

I had a big post composed about tonight but my browser crashed and I lost the whole thing. That has been the theme of tonight.

I was very excited to play tonight, however after resuming the game something felt off. I kept screwing up my melee/jetpack. The snowstorms that were once a minor nuisance were now full-blown annoying. I felt a sense of boredom and frustration I seldom feel with this game.

Then the game crashed. The first crash I've had since before I started this. Another bad omen.

I can't trust anything either as the waypoints seem to be moving around now. From what some of you have told me this is expected behaviour. Nothing seems to line up like it used to and without the other planets in the sky I'm rudderless for most of the time. I feel hopelessly lost out there in the dark.

I'm not sure I have it in me anymore, folks. I yearn to stand on a different planet and look at a different sky. I miss my ship. I miss the Gek. I miss Nada and Polo. I miss the stars...

This was a noble journey, but a fool's journey too.

Im going to sleep on things tonight, pilgrims. I'll decide tomorrow whether or not to continue. I hope that if this pilgrim falls, another will come to take the path.

Thanks for all the support and once again: safe travels, space-pilgrims...

http://imgur.com/sqdqyRQ

Edit: This pilgrim is going to take a few nights off but I WILL be back. I decided that I still want to finish this, but I need a break so I dont burn myself out.

Part 8 - Back in the Proverbial Saddle [ edit | edit source ]

I took some time off and returned energized. It felt good, jetpacking over the canyons of Dudenbeaumodeme. It felt good to be back :)

For this entire journey a single issue has vexed me more than any other: how do I travel a straight line without a compass or a waypoint in front of me? The answer has been in front of me this whole time. I should have been following the sun rather than faffing about lining up waypoints that were behind me. I mean, I named it "The Pilgrim Star" after all. I was walking in a northwestern direction but am now heading directly east. I'm sure I've wasted quite a few hours but that's life, I guess.

Things have gotten pretty screwey with the time on my ship's waypoint marker too. Shortly after hitting 15 hours the clock began counting down even though I was still walking away from it. It is now down to 10 hours but is still behind me. I've been told that this is normal and that when it counts down to 0:00 I will be at the actual half way point. This potentially means I have a lot of walking left to do. In for a penny, in for a pound.

I've gotten over my fear of the large predators in the frequent waterways and have begun swimming to quickly cover ground. It kind of makes me wish I had picked a water-world.

Something else really cool happened this weekend that I can hopefully tell you folks about very soon. Sorry to be so vague, but I was very excited about it!

Safe travels, space-pilgrims! https://m.imgur.com/wYTDHtL

Part 9 - Half in the bag, full on the pedal [ edit | edit source ]

The impossible became possible tonight: I've finally, actually, seriously, for-realsies made it to the halfway point of my walk across Dudenbeaumodeme.

After watching the timer on my ships waypoint count up to 15 hours than back down to 1, I approached a moment I had been dreading. Some people trying this same thing reported a crazy control issue near the halfway point (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fg8DflbquO8 watch the last few minutes and see)

Pilgrims, I'm happy to report that contrary to that video title, it IS possible to walk across a No Man's Sky planet! At least for now. My faith continues to be rewarded.

I don't know if I did something different or if it was the latest patch, but I never had any problems with my controls. My ship's waypoint marker never counted all the way down to 0:00 but it slowly slid across the horizon before coming to rest in front of me.

That's right, my ship's waypoint marker is now in front of me!

Things seem so much more certain with my ship finally in front of me. I still don't know how long this is going to take but my goal seems so much more achievable now.

Never give up Pilgrims! Never lose the faith!

Here's 14 minutes of me reaching the halfway point. Near the end you can see the ship finally move in front of me: https://https://youtube.com/watch?v=Lb5FlTCdaqg

Part 10 - The Long and Winding Road [ edit | edit source ]

I was feeling sick this morning so I stayed home from work. I figured I would make the most of my time on the couch so I knuckled down and played for nearly 5 hours and made fantastic progress.

I've started listening to podcasts while I play and that really helps the time go by. I listened to a few episodes of my favorite podcast "How did this get made?".

I'm confident that I'm going to see the other three planets of the Pilgrim star begin to appear on the horizon very soon. I can't wait to see them again.

The game is still coping fine: no crashes and that bizarre control issue hasn't cropped up either.

Something I noticed about the alien races in this game: they're all a bunch of litterbugs, leaving containers strewn across every planet in the universe. Wasteful too! Every one of those containers has plenty of good plutonium left. Their mothers would be mortified.

Well that's all I have for you tonight folks.

Safe travels, space-pilgrims!

Oh, and please enjoy a new gallery: http://imgur.com/a/QKTAU

Part 11 - Ships on the Horizon... [ edit | edit source ]

It's getting so damn close now. After another marathon play session while nursing a cold, I'm now just 6 hours or so away from my ship. This is actually happening!

The three other planets of the Pilgrim star have also finally returned to the sky! It was actually really exciting seeing one after another come over the horizon. http://imgur.com/rZcnZeK

It's definitely going a lot faster now. During the first half of the trip the timer on the ship's waypoint went up to 15 hours before counting back down, this time it started counting back down after only 13 hours.

So the "cool" thing I teased a few posts back was the Kotaku article that came out today. I've been reading Kotaku for years and was pretty excited to hear from them. Here's the link: http://kotaku.com/one-mans-maddening-quest-to-walk-across-an-entire-no-ma-1786416880

That glitch mentioned in the article actually happened to me today! It scared the hell out of me but I remembered some advice I had received earlier. I hobbled to a save point, walking backwards most of the way, saved and reloaded. Everything was fine after this point. It seems like this glitch happens if you've been walking a long time in one session.

This is my last update until I finish my journey so next time I see you folks it will be in orbit. I'm hoping to be done by early next week. Once again: HUGE thanks to everyone that's followed along with this! It's been way more fun than I thought it would be!

I'll see you on the other side, space-pilgrims!

Part 12 - All Good Things… [ edit | edit source ]

It's finally over. After two weeks of running and jumping across Dudenbeaumodeme I finally returned to my ship. My heart was pounding during those last few minutes as I made my way over one final mountain. It was still where I left it, resting in the snow. I took a final victory lap around the ship before leaping in. I didn't even look back until I had left the atmosphere.

I decided to broadcast the last hour of my walk as it has been frequently requested in my previous posts. I thought maybe one or two people might check in for a few minutes, but at the end there were over 130 people watching and cheering me on. Incredible! Thank you all for watching, I'm glad you were there to see it.

The facts:

I’m not sure exactly how long this took. I didn't use any sort of timer, other than the in-game waypoint marker for the ship which is not even close to exact. My best guess is about 40-45 hours all together. I've been making this journey over the last 2 weeks, playing for a few hours every night. I wish I had checked my number of steps before I started, but they are now at 650k+ on the discoveries tab. I played on PS4. No mods, no cheats. I made excellent use of the melee/jetpacking trick. The Pilgrim Star and Dudenbeaumodeme are officially uploaded to the NMS server. The other three planets are up for grabs if you can find them. It was fun at times, but if you are looking to do something similar, I recommend walking across a moon. I didn't find a single blueprint that I didn't already have. I am also mostly fluent in Vy'keen now. I read the entire story of Hirk and his Vy'keen war against the Sentinels. Twice. The Pilgrim Star is located 166451.2 light-years from the center and is in Ocopadica region of the Euclid galaxy.

I still can't believe I made this journey and I still can't believe how excited and supportive you have all been. When I started I was doing this for me, as a way to process my long-simmering obsession with the game. However, as things went on, I realized I was really doing it for you guys, the fans and the true-believers. I can't tell you what a pleasure it's been updating and interacting with you all. The internet can be a really cool place, sometimes.

I'm relieved to be finished, but it's bittersweet. In a way, I'm going to deeply miss Dudenbeaumodeme, but I never want to see it again. It was my home. It was my prison. It was my destiny.

It's time for this pilgrim to hang up his running-shoes and move on. Keep the faith fellow travelers, and for the final time:

Safe travels, space-pilgrims!

One final Imgur album: http://imgur.com/a/ogTeo

The full stream of my last hour: https://youtube.com/watch?v=toywOu8oxmI