Starfield Lore- The Swarm horror of the abandoned mining rig 

So more starfiled content, just like a I promised :) Hope you enjoy it, and as always, any support you can offer really helps the video.

That is some real Doctor Who-level “keep the ice monsters sealed in their frozen tombs” horror going on.

When I killed the swarm praetorian, I was immediately disappointed by the lack of entrance to the swarm lair. I really wanted to avenge the mining crew.

I found my Abandoned Mining Platform on Hyla VIII-a, a dead moon with no atmosphere and temperatures below -210c. This made the entire encounter even more disturbing, because here's a highly aggressive alien species that seems to have absolutely no requirement for air of any kind. I do wish there was a mini-quest tie in with the Colander, or vice versa. That would've made the whole experience even worse - You find evidence of a ship that possibly escaped the carnage, but when you go track it down, there's no survivors, only another nightmare to contend with...

This rig is absolutely one of the best cases of environmental storytelling I've seen from Bethesda. It's intense, depressing, and chilling to think about. It reminds me of the Marines clearing Hadley's Hope in Aliens, or Master Chief descending into the Forerunner facility in the swamp in Halo: CE. Whether you compare them to xenomorphs, the flood, or the zerg swarm, these creatures are similarly terrifying to me. I hope we get more of this story at some point. Honestly, this whole thing could be a story in and of itself, like the plot of a sci-fi horror movie. What really gets to me, every time, is seeing how people went down. You see people clearly caught off-guard right at the start, dead at their stations or in their living quarters. You see armed security, though not many of them, who put up a fight and tried to save as many people as possible. You see efforts to band together and maintain a last stand, all unsuccessful. Then you see people who were trapped, alone and only sometimes armed, those who likely died in unbelievable horror as they were hunted down one by one, cut off from everyone else. There are a couple side effects of Bethesda's RNG system here, so not everything will be exactly the same for everyone. For me, Suzanne's body wasn't there, only a pool of blood and a swarmling, with the slate nearby. The woman in the crate with the broom had a suit on. Also, it seems like the spacesuits worn by everyone are random, not specific to crew, security, workers, etc.

I feel like you forget people can move. When you see one body and a bunch of dead it is *totally* possible that they were in a fighting retreat and that was the one guy who wasn't able to fall back in time. Looking at the trajectory of the fight, it looks like they were trying to retreat to high ground and the narrowest chokepoint. But not everyone made it.

Just remember alongside frying pans, the broom is a formidable weapon. She didn’t have a space suit because if she did she would have been able to single-handedly beat every swarm

Regarding drinking: For a society which spends a great deal of time in vacuum environments, some means of bringing fluids into a vacuum suit would be a necessity. In Real Life, US Army gas masks have a built-in valved drinking straw which connects to a valved port in the lid of a standard issue canteen bottle, so that soldiers under gas attack can safely drink fluids. i would expect a similar system to be developed by a spacefaring society. Probably a standard-format bayonet-plug which can connect to a matching receptable on a sealed container and provide both positive pressure to the container and a tube for the suit wearer to drink from.

10:52 I've been saying this since Fallout, but coffee cups are really suspicious. I always find them lurking around the scenes of disaster and dead bodies.

You should check out the Colander, it has a named swarmling, it has a lot of health and killed the crew of the derelict vessel.

I remember finding a facility just like this one a few days ago. Was going around in Alpha Centauri jumping between the planets & moons and doing 100% surveys on all of them, when I then landed on one of the moons surrounding the gas giant Olivas. At first I was surprised at how big the facility was, and I thought to myself there would be a lot of salvage to be found there. (Btw thanks for showing the swarmling’s awful face >.>).. they were creepy enough as it were. Oh how I was not prepared for the horror that was that facility. At the bottom of the stairs before the front door, I found the first two "swarmlings" over the overseer’s body. The fact of their namesake was not understood just then, until I entered the facility, and fought more, and more, and more.. there were several dozen within the facility. And when I eventually reached the topside of the place, I was genuingly shocked when my radar got smothered in enemy markers. Then I saw how the floor itself practically writhed with those "swarmlings". Soon after that, Vasco was overwhelmed and I had to kill them all with a shotgun on my own. I honestly got a bit frightened when I saw the "swarm sisters", and more so when I had to kill the "swarm mother". Good grief, if that location had been on a planet with standard-ish gravity, I’d have died so many times trying to clear them out. That might’ve been the first time in Starfield that really made me feel uncomfortable..

I stumbled across a derelict ship that had 10 swarmlings in it. There was one dead human inside the cockpit. That was my only moment seeing these things so far

I'm so excited to see Starfield lore.

If they are underwater creatures, the sister's eye looking things could be a type of sensory organ for water use. Maybe the sisters do the location and direct the swarmlings, they get the prey and take it back to the queen. The sisters and queen wouldn't need speed then, and the swarmlings don't need anything but speed and killing stuff

There is a ship called the colander I believe. There is a swarmling there called the interloper. And the swarm sisters look like the interloper from fallout 76. I wonder if it's all related.

Hands down of the best(possibly best) random encounters in the game by far! I've put over 100 hours into Starfield so I'm hoping for more contenders :3 Great video!

My first thought when I came across this place was that I hope you make a video on it. When you announced you were making starfield content I wanted to recommend it but couldn’t remember where it was. I’m glad you came across it and made one anyway.

Definitely will be sharing, your vids help me get immersed in the universe even further I used to listen to your fo4 ones all the time

Would've been awesome if once you reached the loot box at the top it triggered a "Swarm" of these things that never stop spawning. All you could do is fight for your life, run, and escape.

Man, the starfield Lore and enviroment telling is really good. Love ur videos

Broski I'm so glad your doing Starfield, missed your lore vids.

Huh. I’ve literally just been helping Barrett out, and I had to deal with some green ‘n’ slimy versions of these little sods. The ones I found were, apparently, capable of mutating via cannibalism. They’d eat their dead and transform into a higher form. Wonder if they’re the same species, or related at least? They are bastids, I concur. Brooms, right up the arse. Swat ‘em. Anther triumph - good work!

Good to see you doing lore again.

Oh Starfield Lore excellent. Respect and keep up the epic work.

Dude I seen your first starfield video and was like is he back? And then seen this video today and was like HELL YEAH HES BACK BABY! Keep up the classy work my good man, you've been missed

im so glad your back and doing starfield lore. i love your fallout 4 videos and would love a video on the terramorph

Touch early for a nap but it's my off day anyway, enjoy the view enth, keep up the great work.

You should make a video on the Ryujin Industries rogue vessel that contained a sentient A.I that killed one of its own scientist. The ship spawned randomly for me but it says in the game that its a top secret military project.

Damn am I early Good to see you still uploading man, I subbed years ago and haven't caught a vid in a while

THIS IS THE CONTENT I WAS WAITING FOR

Great job, subbed.

This was great!

Excellent. A thenthapple lore deep dive. I’ve missed these since the fallout ones!

Keep the fire going my guy 🔥🔥🔥🔥

hello thenthapple NOICE! I haven't got there as yet this game is Huge and i am looking forwards for more of your eggcellent deep dives in the Universe of Starfield

Love the Starfield lore vids!

I finally have more lore videos to watch as I fall asleep!. Can't wait for way more lore videos. I loved your fallout series. Keep it up King!

Something to look forward to. Exploring since day one for something just like this.

I was hoping you’d do starfield!!! Let’s f’n goo!

HOLY SHIT YOU'RE STILL ALIVE, dude awesome I remember watching your Fo4 Content, and looking forward to what you do for starfield loredumps

My guess is that those orange things are actually eggs rather than eyes. The swarm sisters/mother are similar, they could be elders or like with ants a different caste, the breeding caste. As you said, given their origin, eyes don't make much sense and their odd placement would also be a negative sign for them as eyes. A reproductive organ in this case wouldn't need to have a similar organ present on the swarmlings.

You re the best and i love your content. Ok. Im goa watch your vid now.

Love your content, even if I haven't played starfield yet lol

Loving the Starfield content!

Very good ideea, like a story well spoken.

To those thinking "I wish we could go into their lair and fight them", well, that lair is likely literally beneath an enormous subterranean ocean, and by all accounts, the drill exploded when it broke through the bedrock separating it from the creature's lair. As a result, that lair is flooded, filled with water at extreme pressures too strong for a spacesuit (Designed for lack of atmospheric pressure, not overabundance). Besides, that lair is likely empty, since that flood would have destroyed it, causing the swarm. Think about it: The underwater ocean is devoid of life, and these creatures swarmed to the surface instead of heading into the water. There's no indication they're amphibious, so when the drill broke into their home, they had nowhere else to go but up. And so they did, and like ants that had their anthill stepped on, they immediately attacked anything nearby. With their lair destroyed and likely no other life on the surface, these creatures attacked and ate the only food source available, the crew of the rig. In a very real way, this was as much a horror story for the swarm as it was for the crew of the rig. Imagine, you're chilling in your home and suddenly a drill breaks through your ceiling and your home is flooding with freezing water. Your only way out is to climb the drill before you drown, so you do along with as many others as can make it. But then the horror really starts. As soon as you reach the surface, you're in an incomprehensible place where nothing makes sense, surrounded by screaming monsters that shoot pain and death at you. Scared, injured, in pain, you and your fellow survivors fight back and eventually overcome these monstrous invaders and try to get your bearings in your new home. Then... it comes. A strange thing from the sky, and out from it comes one or two more monsters. They're much stronger than the others, and they begin wiping out your people with almost contemptuous ease compared to the creatures you just killed. Within minutes, everyone you've ever known is dead and you're about to join them. To them, the player is like a fusion of Jason, the Predator, and the Terminator. An evil demon from beyond that brings nothing but death in its wake. To them, you are the monster of this horror movie.

I love the more eerie locations in this game :D

Just came across this location earlier next to a facility with a bounty target. As soon as I saw the first swarmling I knew I was in for some dark stuff. A bit let down that there wasn't any kind of conclusion or quest to the whole thing but they did a good job giving you that horror movie atmosphere.

keep up the good work

I came across these quite early on,absolutely terrifying, but also after I'd completed the mission operation starseed in the charbois system ( the mission with the clones), I decided to explore and scan the native critters and these things were everywhere and oh boy when they swarm they really swarm

You can find about 6-8 swarm sisters when following the main story that seem to be passive with one of them that looks like it’s leading you to the artifact.

Got to give it to Suzanne's VA. That is some quite convincing panic acting.

Found myself a new favorite channel. Starfield is the chosen game to bring the Elder Scrolls and Fallout lore masters together.

5:10 so nature does some odd things with legs sometimes the front legs are really short ones that look like pincers the legs so this thing has got eight legs so yeah it’s an arachnid, certain species of centipede do a similar thing with there front set of legs they actually turned them into poisonous mandibles (things I wish I could unlearn).

2 videos in 2 weeks. Feels like the good old days

Maybe these Swarm creatures were native to some sort of subterranean underwater cave ecosystem of some kind. Enough water in such tunnels to make them evolve to swim whilst retaining an ability to walk on land like most Crustaceans can. When it comes to their physical differences, maybe the Swarm have something akin to a Metamorphosis phase in their reproduction system. Where a Young Swarming goes into a hibernation-like state to transform into a fully-grown Swarm Sister. Much like how a Caterpillar can turn into a Butterfly. A biological feature that is unique to this species that isn't shared by most species in this galaxy.

i found one of these creatures on a drifting ship called the collander. gave huge deadspace vibes going through that ship.

We missed you man

Is this a completely random encounter? I’d love to find this. Also, glad you’re doing more videos. I’ve watched your Fallout videos for years :)

Return of the king

It was an interesting thing to find, I had a hard target that made quick work of the swarmlings. One shot for most of them. Having a bit more of a boss fight would have been fun

I've heard that water cave environments seem to exert similar pressures to the ones that cause deep sea gigantism in ocean life. it's only a guess, but I'm assuming something similar is happening on this ice world

i found this Mining rig today as i was searching Chlorisin. Damn, i was glad i bring Lydia, i mean Andreja with me. We both fighted back on back, and she saved my Ass twice with her Magburst. (play on very hard) A real great envivorment Story telling by Beth. Yes, it was like a good old Xenophobia Movie, with a good amounth of Horror, as it was darkest Night out there. Those Xenos was no joke, they scared me really. And i was felling so sorry for those poor Miners. (i could even understand Suzanne after we went true those beasts: there was nothing left she could really do for her buddies. At the end, those poor miners open a Gate themself with the mining drilling: deep down, where those old Creatures was living: so they floodet out of hundrets) Such a strong Story telling! Very well played out by the Devs, this is what make Starfield to a real Gem. Beth find back his Roots: For me personaly, Starfield is even better then Fallout or Morrowind. (i like both Games a lot) Thank You for the nice and immersive Video, this is absolut great Stuff you do Dude. I like the clear analyse you do of the Xenos, and how deeply you look into this Envivorment Story. Kudos and Abo

I ran into this place the other day was super cool.

holy crap I haven't seen your videos in years!

A tougher version of the Swarmling can be found on the Colander which since this platform's event can be randomly encountered how one got onboard the Colander might be worth looking into.

Just know the nth apple for many years I have watched your progress, and one day I know the world will see everything you have to offer. May the rest of humanity never know what hit them.

man I really missed you and your videos. Hope you've been well brother

You know it's so odd how I don't realize these little details when I play these levels, as I feel is the case for most players. I'm completely missing the point of going throught these places besides leveling my character (but at that point I might as just customize a face and have a bar increase with increasing numbers under it to the side) whenever I leave these perceptions in my subconscious. Thanks for bringing them into the light!

I juat finished this one just now. Can't wait to see how what I missed.

The drinking part is easy as it seems like most drinks types in game come in a package with a straw, and i can see spaces suits having a ports where you can even plug normal bottles in given how they're pretty much every day attire.

Remember finding this planet suitable for an outpost: I mean, snowy landscape, breathable atmosphere, but changing my mind immediately after exploring this location

There's a low grav planet with lvl 75 hardness that contains a bunch of overly large versions of these. They're bigger than some of the static ground vehicles

the Swarm Sister has some commonalities with the Terramorph, the face tendrils and the growths as well as the six legs.

The Abandoned Mining Platform seem to spawn on icy planets, at least for me anyway but what makes it weird is that no matter what galaxy it's in, the names of the bodies are always the same.

*Return of the King*

I found similar creatures labeled as swarmer gliders on Charybdis III, as well as a very high level one labeled Interloper on a derelict in the Schrödinger system.

thenthapple ❤️❤️❤️❤️

These videos remind me of watching Aliens, the movie. I like how you create suspense and horror.

hes back!!!! :)

An excretion? "Yeah but excreted from what?" "Nobody touch nothin" And if the Swarm Sisters are the grown state and are specifically stated as female... I'd suggest those red growths are eggs

The 1st time I came across this platform, none of the swarmlings were anywhere to be seen. So I went through the building, wondering why everyone was dead and disappointed that there were no slates or pc entries that gave a clue about what happened until I went our one the upper deck and all of the swamlings were there 😱

More Starfield lore lets go!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There is the one in that one ghost ship that they were experimenting on. Very interesting

I really liked coming across this place. The only problem that I had was there was a small settlement within rock throwing distance of this place that was completely untouched, and they made no comment on the rig getting wiped out.

I came across a derelict ship in a high level area, I don't remember the name, but it was a horror show. the crew was apparently searching for rare(likely dangerous) aliens speciments on a planet and apparently a juvenile alien hitched a ride on their ship, they found it and realized it was growing and evolving very fast but it was too late, it killed the whole crew and one of the people on the ship trapped it in a room with himself. 1 single alien took down a whole ship that was looking for dangerous aliens!

Yess yesss your back come back do more elder scrolls and bio shock locations do more biologys

Immediately reminded me of the Alien Swarm video game that flew under the radar many years ago.

I found this yesterday after my first Unity jump. Never found it in Universe one. What a thing! I even started screaming like a banshee while defending myself from the sisters. One thing: in my case the place was also full of Fleet people dead. I thought that the fleet opened something but I found the note about the food and other things like in this video. Maybe the fleet arrived later after the attack and found a juicy party to crash. Not for long tho.

Reminds me of the chaurus and the chaurus hunters. some scary shit playing in first person walking around a dark cave.

They dug too greedily and too deep. I’ve been watching this channel for over a decade now and this really took me back to the OG fallout videos 🔥 hopefully you do more Starfield videos but I’ll never turn down a fallout video either

on one hand i love the xploration this game gives me. on the other hand the guys in charge of creating every single enemy in the game was tapping into my nightmares because every single animal i see i shoot it, even if it's friendly i take no risks.

I missed your video’s something awful. Welcome back.

Too often we gamers will rush through a scenario and not smell the roses because we are either rushing or too focused on defense to pay attention to the roses. But every event in this game has a story. And odds are it didn't have a happy ending for anybody. it is refreshing to see somebody take the time to look at a event and treat it like a crime scene. To break it down to describe the events in the order in which they happened. Like a body surrounded by multiple first aid kits. Yeah .... call it a panic reaction if you will but that is probably the most logical thinking person in the room who decided that the best chance of personal survival was to screw over everybody else and snag each first aid kit as they came across them as they fled.

I'd guess the creatures are something like this... The swarmlings are essentially nymphs or larvae. At some point, they will maybe cocoon or otherwise metamorphize, becoming the adult version, the swarm sister. The swarm mother is essentially the queen, and a colony will only have one. It's likely that the majority of swarmlings don't survive to become adults. Maybe some other species feeds on them. It's also possible they may cannibalize each other, which could explain the small number of swarmling bodies.

Say what you want about Starfield, but the abundance of interesting fauna/creatures is pretty awesome. The "weirdness" of them, is very reminiscent of Oblivion and Morrowwind.. which makes sense. Also, the Swarmlings reminded me of John Carpente's The Thing.. or at the very least, the Theatrical Version. Admittedly, it's been decades since I watched it though. Edit Fixed grammar

I encountered this the other day, very strange.

*Sees nth apple posted.. likes video.. watches video...* So glad to see some content from you again man! I've missed your videos!

I personally feel like the mining crew punching through that barrier could’ve been them busting right into the nest, agitating the swarm which caused them to attack

I am sure this was supposed to spawn on ocean worlds only, possibly be part of a questline that was cut but they decided this was too good to not use. Maybe in future dlc we will see it sorted out, but as of right now I’ve had three of these pop for me and I’m not even NG+ yet.