Loop

This article is about the location in Submachine 3 and does NOT refer to the entire loop dimension as a whole. For other uses, go here.

Loop

Type	Location
Region	Loop (dimension)
Layer	None/other
Coordinates	None

“But didn't sub3 destroy that nice image of the structure? I mean, timeless, spaceless and stuff?”
— Mateusz Skutnik, Thursday, March 22, 2007 7:42 am

The Loop is an "anti-location" in Submachine 3: The Loop.

Note: It may be useful to refer to the Loop from Sub3 with a capital "L" to distinguish this specific location from others in the loop dimension.

Structure[]

The Loop is an infinite^[1] location found while teleporting between the lighthouse and the rooftop. It is described by Murtaugh to be timeless and spaceless.^[2]

The Loop appears to be a dimension of its own. This why it can be described as timeless, as the concept of time is different on that plane. The spacelessness of the location seems to refer to other concept of space than the three-dimensional concept of it.^[3]

The Loop has also been mentioned to be located underground.^[2] The Loop is divided into certain levels that have different wall colours. A connection to a new layer can be found only by solving the puzzle situated on that particular level. It would appear the amount of levels is infinite, as the Loop has no beginning or end.^[2] Therefore the Loop in Sub3 may be making use of infinite sublayers to store puzzles.

Loops have been compared to black holes, although the analogy is a bit unclear.

Function[]

The main function of the Loop is to store an infinite amount of puzzles. As the player progresses through more puzzles, it is said that the player is going deeper into the Loop, which might mean that the player becomes harder to find. Eventually, if the player does not stop solving puzzles then they die of thirst.^[4] This is why it was described by Murtaugh as the worst place to end up from the lighthouse.

In the HD version of Submachine 3: The Loop, it is implied that these puzzles occur in cycles, and further, that these cycles reset every other time the Player visits them. The exact meaning of this term is unknown.

Each level ends in unlocking a new connection, after solving the puzzle. This opens the passage-machine found in each level, making it available to click. This works as a mean of transport within the Loop.

A machine well know from here - the compass - is in fact not native to the loop. It was put there by someone else. Yet most explorers have encountered this device in the loop. All of the puzzles in the loop can be solved without the coordinates the device displays; although they are in a key role in many of the puzzles, none of them is unsolvable without the display of the coordinates as they are fairly easy to calculate. There is a map to help this at most locations.

The known way to escape from the Loop is to take the green leaf onto the pedestal located at coordinate (-12,9) of the level 11. This somehow breaks the Loop, probably because the leaf is organic.^[5]^[6]

Architecture[]

Level 1 graph — A map display, found on most levels.

Each room of the Loop has two doors with an arching top. Each room also has a lamp and a ladder. The player stands on a ledge of some kind.

It would seem that the Loop is a series of bridges between infinitely long walls.

All the levels are colored with a slightly different color, ranging from pink to yellow and green. At the center of each level is a passage-machine that open as the player solves each puzzle.

History[]

The Loop is a submachine-generated location, which was created by the machine, from scratch.^[3]

It is known that Murtaugh visited it and that he left a note to the location to help people get free from the never-ending loop of puzzles. He or someone else also left a compass, that is used to give a longitude and latitude inside the Loop.

An explorer has mentioned that he has used the aforementioned device in the past, and thus he must have visited this location.

The player is the latest known person to visit, and escape from the loop.