New and immersive ways to exploit the world of Subnautica
DeepBlueSkoog
Glasgow Join Date: 2016-03-26 Member: 214848Members
Glasgow Join Date: 2016-03-26 Member: 214848Members
Hello there! To who ever wants to give this a read:
Been loving Subnautica so far; im sure we can all agree its some of the most immersive world building in a video game in a very long time. But what would raise it to a new level in my opinion is an expansion of the ways we could interact with the various creatures and plants to add to our base/arsenal of equipment/defenses. Let me explain:
One of the best things in the game for me is the ability to 'train' stalkers and exploit their love of peepers/scarp metal i.e. feed a stalker a peeper to get it to retrieve you some scrap/use scrap to distract an aggressive stalker/fill an aquarium with stalkers and scrap to harvest their teeth for enameled glass. This is hinted fro you in your PDA under the 'advanced'* tab and is very well implemented in to the game, which is why it surprises me that there aren't similarly deep ways of interacting with any of the myriad other creatures Subnautica has to offer.
By expanding upon the stalker idea I think you could give the player a feeling that they weren't just surviving in spite of the game world but through it, learning from the entities we discover and exploiting their unique traits.
Some examples of what I mean:
- Needing to use a rubber handled knife/insulated suit to cut off some of the shockers 'pylons' in order to build the Seamoth's electro-defense system/power extender.
- Feeding the Sand Shark Spadefish to get it to dig up quartz for you. Perhaps its ability to dig would let it find whole chunks of glass that had been compressed beneath the ocean floor.
- Needing the fang of a lava lizard to build the heated knife. Perhaps you would need to use a titanium ingot rather than just scrap and be faced with the need to retrieve it from a now very angry lizard.
- Being able to build small aquariums to keep bio-luminescent fish/plants as a power free/snazzy way of lighting your base (youd need to add a power requirement to lighting your base of course, or you could just use them as groovy mood lighting)
- Being able to shoot Crash/Floaters using the propulsion cannon to make things go boom/float (I saw this posted somewhere else so full credit to that person for the idea)
- Putting the Tiger Plant around your base as a primitive defense system before you unlock the turrets UW want to add (potentially impractical) or needing to plant them in an aquarium/research them to unlock the turrets in the first place.
- Perhaps the Bone Sharks shed their old exoskeletons in some dangerous cave lair, and you need to track them to it in order to retrieve it and use to construct the armored dive suit or the stronger hull for the Seamoth. Maybe you would be faced with the (terrifying) job of fighting one with the diamond knife to damage its shell, then following it back to its lair where it would lick its wounds and shed its valuable damaged skin.
- Once the Warper is added, needing to use it in some way to research or build the stasis rifle.
- Use the Reefbacks as large sentient planters. Perhaps they allow certain rare plants to grow more quickly/in greater numbers.
- Rearing your own friendly neighborhood Gasopod defense squad who could be trained over time to consider you a friend.
- Carrying a mesmer on you to distract an aggressor
-I've also thought of a creature with a unique digestive tract that compresses what you feed it ( i.e give it enough fish and it S**** diamonds!) and a creature with magpie like tendancies who would catch you fish if you brought it your excess silver/gold. Im not sure which fish this would best be applied to though.
I could keep throwing out ideas until the cows come home. Obviously these are just ideas and are more to illustrate my point than 'essentials'. Unknown Worlds probably have their own plans but I hope the spirit of my suggestions gets a consideration! If you enjoy anything you read here or have your own ideas for how the player could get that true survival feel from Subnautica then do leave a comment!
Cheers.
Been loving Subnautica so far; im sure we can all agree its some of the most immersive world building in a video game in a very long time. But what would raise it to a new level in my opinion is an expansion of the ways we could interact with the various creatures and plants to add to our base/arsenal of equipment/defenses. Let me explain:
One of the best things in the game for me is the ability to 'train' stalkers and exploit their love of peepers/scarp metal i.e. feed a stalker a peeper to get it to retrieve you some scrap/use scrap to distract an aggressive stalker/fill an aquarium with stalkers and scrap to harvest their teeth for enameled glass. This is hinted fro you in your PDA under the 'advanced'* tab and is very well implemented in to the game, which is why it surprises me that there aren't similarly deep ways of interacting with any of the myriad other creatures Subnautica has to offer.
By expanding upon the stalker idea I think you could give the player a feeling that they weren't just surviving in spite of the game world but through it, learning from the entities we discover and exploiting their unique traits.
Some examples of what I mean:
- Needing to use a rubber handled knife/insulated suit to cut off some of the shockers 'pylons' in order to build the Seamoth's electro-defense system/power extender.
- Feeding the Sand Shark Spadefish to get it to dig up quartz for you. Perhaps its ability to dig would let it find whole chunks of glass that had been compressed beneath the ocean floor.
- Needing the fang of a lava lizard to build the heated knife. Perhaps you would need to use a titanium ingot rather than just scrap and be faced with the need to retrieve it from a now very angry lizard.
- Being able to build small aquariums to keep bio-luminescent fish/plants as a power free/snazzy way of lighting your base (youd need to add a power requirement to lighting your base of course, or you could just use them as groovy mood lighting)
- Being able to shoot Crash/Floaters using the propulsion cannon to make things go boom/float (I saw this posted somewhere else so full credit to that person for the idea)
- Putting the Tiger Plant around your base as a primitive defense system before you unlock the turrets UW want to add (potentially impractical) or needing to plant them in an aquarium/research them to unlock the turrets in the first place.
- Perhaps the Bone Sharks shed their old exoskeletons in some dangerous cave lair, and you need to track them to it in order to retrieve it and use to construct the armored dive suit or the stronger hull for the Seamoth. Maybe you would be faced with the (terrifying) job of fighting one with the diamond knife to damage its shell, then following it back to its lair where it would lick its wounds and shed its valuable damaged skin.
- Once the Warper is added, needing to use it in some way to research or build the stasis rifle.
- Use the Reefbacks as large sentient planters. Perhaps they allow certain rare plants to grow more quickly/in greater numbers.
- Rearing your own friendly neighborhood Gasopod defense squad who could be trained over time to consider you a friend.
- Carrying a mesmer on you to distract an aggressor
-I've also thought of a creature with a unique digestive tract that compresses what you feed it ( i.e give it enough fish and it S**** diamonds!) and a creature with magpie like tendancies who would catch you fish if you brought it your excess silver/gold. Im not sure which fish this would best be applied to though.
I could keep throwing out ideas until the cows come home. Obviously these are just ideas and are more to illustrate my point than 'essentials'. Unknown Worlds probably have their own plans but I hope the spirit of my suggestions gets a consideration! If you enjoy anything you read here or have your own ideas for how the player could get that true survival feel from Subnautica then do leave a comment!
Cheers.
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