Looking at files some more, and cut dialogue, Gabbro edition! (Under the cut) (Beware: major spoilers here)
There is a total of six files for Gabbro's dialogue, to accommodate for all the different times you meet them, but it seems to be a somewhat later addition. The file for meeting Gabbro on the first loop has cut dialogue that would have been triggered on later loops.
When talking to them on loop 3+, we get "TimeLoopExplanation":
I was hoping you’d be back. Don’t freak out or anything, but I think we might be stuck in a time loop.
> Seems to be the case.
> I KNEW it!
Cool, you’re taking this pretty well.
See, I was sitting on this island after you left, thinking about what happened, when the sky suddenly goes all bright. Brighter and brighter, until I can’t see anything at all. Then I open my eyes...
And I’m right back here. Bright light is gone, everything’s normal.
For exactly 20 minutes, everything’s normal. I timed it. That’s how long it is between those bursts of brightness.
There are following responses after that:
> That’s super weird.
Right? And speaking of weird...
> Does anyone else know?
Well, about that...
> So... now what?
I dunno. And here’s the other thing...
All of which lead to this:
I don’t think anyone on Timber Hearth is aware of the loop, ’cause I tried to ask ground control about it and everyone thought I’d gone crazy. And then later, they didn’t remember me asking in the first place.
So I guess it’s just you and me who know, time-buddy. Maybe because we were the only ones who saw those statues while they were glowing.
Kind of nice to not be alone, though. I’m glad you came by.
The next part of the dialogue is described as "This is Gabbro’s menu that comes up once the player has chatted with Gabbro and discussed both the memory statues and the time loop, regardless of which loop or loops this happened in."
First time talking to them in a loop gives:
Hey, hey, my time-buddy’s back!
Both of which lead to the conversation menu:
With the following questions available (similar to what we have in game, but not identical!):
> What are you doing out here?
Well, what are any of us doing here, truly?
...Nah, I’m just kidding. I’m out here exploring our solar system, same as you.
But I tell you what, outer space really gives you room to think. It’s quiet and peaceful out here, except when a cyclone comes by and lifts my little island paradise clean out of the water. Then: less peaceful.
Right now, I’m mostly thinking about what’s going on with this time loop.
> Where should I explore on Giant’s Deep?
Have you been to Statue Island? That’s what I’ve been calling it, what with it being an island covered in statues and all. It’s a must-see!
I found the Nomai statue that started glowing at me and replaying my memories on the beach there, but there are loads more where that one came from.
Here’s something else you might like - at the start of every time loop, I can see something flash in the sky. No idea what.
Whatever it is, I think it might be in orbit around Giant’s Deep.
> What’s up with this planet?
Haha, I know, right?
...Oh, you meant, like, tell you more about it? I gotcha. Giant’s Deep is massive, and mostly water. No surprises there.
As for land masses, I’ve counted four islands, including this one. There’s also one that’s covered in Nomai statues. Pretty sure that’s where I left my ship.
You’ve seen the cyclones? Yeah, they’re hard to miss. They’ll toss up everything in their path, islands included. Little tip - if you get picked up, try to land in water. Less likely to kill you.
There’s also this big, sweet-looking mega-cyclone somewhere on this planet, so you’ll want to keep an eye out for that thing.
> I’ll see you later.
Sure thing. You know where to find me.
The last part is marked as "TO ADD ONCE WE HAVE THIS FUNCTION AVAILABLE"
> I have a question for you.
Cool, let’s hear it.
> How many time loops have we experienced?
> What’s up with Statue Island?
> Alright, here’s the deal with the time loop...
> Actually, nevermind.
There is no more dialogue in this file, and none of these options lead anywhere.
The files for meeting them at different times are mostly clear, or at least don't have anything that isn't included in the dialogue tree you get after meeting them when it's already been 3+ loops. So let's look what we've got there:
The file starts with a comment:
TO ADD: New Gabbro writing from summer/fall 2017 (has conditional option to tell Gabbro you’re turning the time loop device off, etc.)
TO ADD: Gabbro calling the player "time pal," "time buddy," "time loop bud," etc.
IDEA FOR LATER: Have Gabbro ask player about the ways they’ve died (or too macabre?).
IDEA FOR LATER: Have Gabbro ask player where they think the worst place to start a time loop would be!
After this, we get this conversation:
My time pal’s here! Hey, time pal. Good to see ya.
So, tell me - where do you start each loop at?
> At Slate’s campfire.
Nice one! That’s a good spot. Slate’s a Hearthian after my own heart - always fully stocked up on mallows. Pretty sure they eat them burned, though.
Yeah, I thank dumb luck that I start out a short walk from my campfire. Saves me the effort of building a fresh one every time I feel like eating a mallow. It can be tough to get a fire going in this weather, you know
Ha, imagine if the time loop had started while this island was being picked up by a cyclone! That’d be pretty troublesome.
Anyway...
> Near the launch tower.
Nice one! That’s pretty convenient. Get up to your ship and get out here quick, huh?
I thank dumb luck that I start out a short walk from my campfire. Saves me the effort of building a fresh one every time I feel like eating a mallow. It can be tough to get a fire going in this weather, you know?
Ha, imagine if the time loop had started while this island was being picked up by a cyclone! That’d be pretty troublesome.
Anyway...
This would have led to the GabbroMenu we have in the game as is. There's nothing cut from it, but! There a few fun comments for FoundSomethingMenu. Most options there come with the text you get first time you tell them something (what we get in game now), and text you would have gotten telling it to them the second time.
The second-time options are commented out in the main version of Gabbro's dialogue tree, but, interestingly, are actually still fully there in some configuration of meeting them earlier--but the conditions that would led to these options are never set, as far as I can see, so despite being a part of the file, they can never actually come up during gameplay. They cut Gabbro's ability to remember things v_v
> I reached the inside of Statue Island.
Right, right, the cavern inside Statue Island is where the memory-recording statues were made, I remember.
So your memory statue is the one in the museum back in the crater, and mine’s the one I found on the beach. I kinda dig having my own personal memory-friend.
If you come up with any hunches about what the Nomai wanted to record memories for, feel free to run them by me! You know where I’ll be.
> I found the source of the time loop.
My head’s still all full of scenarios for what would happen if you turned off the time loop. I’ll probably notice if you decide to mess with it, though, right? Seems like something I’d notice.
This is all pretty wild.
> I found Nomai masks inside the Ash Twin Project.
Right, you told me earlier that the point of the statues is to send memories back in time. Which I guess makes sense, considering we both have our memories of every loop we’ve gone through.
I thought about it some more, and I think that means our minds have gone through all these loops, but we haven’t actually gone through them ourselves.
Meaning we’re receiving memories of things that technically will never happen to us. Cool, huh?
> I found what happened to the Orbital Probe Cannon.
So the cannon breaks apart right after it launches, huh. Explains what I’m seeing fall from the sky every loop.
I’m still surprised the Nomai built something that isn’t holding together, you know? Them being genius crafters and all.
On the other hand, maybe we should be impressed they made something that could last until modern day in the first place. And it looks like the cannon is still firing successfully at the start of each time loop.
And it's not actually cut content, but I find it very interesting that the question about satellite is the one they actually remember you asking.
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