Some ideas about randomness, fauna and combat.
Humboldt_Squid
Italy Join Date: 2015-07-13 Member: 206135Members
Italy Join Date: 2015-07-13 Member: 206135Members
First of all, this game even in this early state, fascinates me. It's something I've been waiting for quite some time and when one day I saw it on the Steam store page I knew it was just what I was looking for. I love it and this is the reason I registered on this forum, because I would like to give hopefully constructive feedback and help its developement.
Random Events and Encounters.
One thing right now the game does not have is a lot of variety. It's very predictable as to what you will find and where and every creature seem to have a very static and limited area to roam, making exploration feel maybe a bit boring. One optimal way to fix this, in my opinion, would be to introduce random events. Stuff like...
-A reefback migration. A pod of the beasts travel through the map (4-5 of them?) going through multiple biomes.
-A bleeder reproductive season. For a day or two, the sea swarms with the creatures, that rise out of their usual habitat (caves, I think?) and travel to the surface to mate.
-A gasopod being attacked by stalkers.
-Occasionaly, other species might migrate from their usual habitat for one reason or another. Like having a Reaper travel through the Safe Shallows, forcing the player to hide and potentially abandon their first base.
You get the idea, I think.
Related to this idea, the next suggestion I'd like to give is
More unique behaviour and interaction between species:
Right now, the only memorable behaviour is that Stalkers pick up scrap metal and carry it around and that Sandsharks bury in the sand. I'd like more of that for all the species.
-One way to do it would be to give each creature a variety of behaviours. Like the Sandshark could stay buried all the time until he manages to lure a prey, but occasionally they might fight eachother for territory. Stalkers could go hunting, acting visibly different like for example hiding (as their name would seem to imply they do) by standing still behind some cover until another smaller fish swims by. Maybe the creatures might not be aggressive all the time, but only when in hunting behaviour.
-In general interaction between species could be improved. For example, maybe Airsacks are greagarious and swim in large groups and shy away from other kinds of fish. Boomerang could be territorial, chasing away other kinds of fish when they get too close.
Little details like that would make interacting with the various creatures a lot more interesting and would make the world feel really alive. Of course what kind of behaviour applies to which creature is entirely up for debate, mine are only examples.
Finally, Combat.
I know the developers don't want the game to devolve in an FPS where violence is the best option, but at the same time, it's a bit frustrating when running is your only option.
What I would propose is that each creature might have some kind of weakness or bheaviour to exploit in order to defend ourselves from them.
For example.
-The Bone Shark could be dissuaded from attacking by standing still, its predatory instinct not triggering when faced with a prey that doesn't run.
-The Reaper Leviathan might be attracted by heat sources. Flares could distract him for a time and make him go away.
-If a universal solution to large aggressive creature should be implemented I suggest one simple feature: creatures don't fight to the death and simply run away or lose interest when you prove to be too much trouble. This would allow us to defend ourselves without making a massacre and it would be more realistic. A predator knows he has to save his energies and when a prey is too hard to take down they simply look for an easier target.
I hope my feedback and suggestions are useful and that this game will continue developement at a steady pace.
Random Events and Encounters.
One thing right now the game does not have is a lot of variety. It's very predictable as to what you will find and where and every creature seem to have a very static and limited area to roam, making exploration feel maybe a bit boring. One optimal way to fix this, in my opinion, would be to introduce random events. Stuff like...
-A reefback migration. A pod of the beasts travel through the map (4-5 of them?) going through multiple biomes.
-A bleeder reproductive season. For a day or two, the sea swarms with the creatures, that rise out of their usual habitat (caves, I think?) and travel to the surface to mate.
-A gasopod being attacked by stalkers.
-Occasionaly, other species might migrate from their usual habitat for one reason or another. Like having a Reaper travel through the Safe Shallows, forcing the player to hide and potentially abandon their first base.
You get the idea, I think.
Related to this idea, the next suggestion I'd like to give is
More unique behaviour and interaction between species:
Right now, the only memorable behaviour is that Stalkers pick up scrap metal and carry it around and that Sandsharks bury in the sand. I'd like more of that for all the species.
-One way to do it would be to give each creature a variety of behaviours. Like the Sandshark could stay buried all the time until he manages to lure a prey, but occasionally they might fight eachother for territory. Stalkers could go hunting, acting visibly different like for example hiding (as their name would seem to imply they do) by standing still behind some cover until another smaller fish swims by. Maybe the creatures might not be aggressive all the time, but only when in hunting behaviour.
-In general interaction between species could be improved. For example, maybe Airsacks are greagarious and swim in large groups and shy away from other kinds of fish. Boomerang could be territorial, chasing away other kinds of fish when they get too close.
Little details like that would make interacting with the various creatures a lot more interesting and would make the world feel really alive. Of course what kind of behaviour applies to which creature is entirely up for debate, mine are only examples.
Finally, Combat.
I know the developers don't want the game to devolve in an FPS where violence is the best option, but at the same time, it's a bit frustrating when running is your only option.
What I would propose is that each creature might have some kind of weakness or bheaviour to exploit in order to defend ourselves from them.
For example.
-The Bone Shark could be dissuaded from attacking by standing still, its predatory instinct not triggering when faced with a prey that doesn't run.
-The Reaper Leviathan might be attracted by heat sources. Flares could distract him for a time and make him go away.
-If a universal solution to large aggressive creature should be implemented I suggest one simple feature: creatures don't fight to the death and simply run away or lose interest when you prove to be too much trouble. This would allow us to defend ourselves without making a massacre and it would be more realistic. A predator knows he has to save his energies and when a prey is too hard to take down they simply look for an easier target.
I hope my feedback and suggestions are useful and that this game will continue developement at a steady pace.
Comments
I would like the sea floor, fish, fauna, predators, and everything to be randomly placed on the map.
Maybe with just a few exceptions. Like the Aurora. Or certain special things that must be in a specific place. But EVERYTHING ELSE should be very random.
Really didn't like your ideas for the defences, but I understand they're for educational purposes only
The details are really not that important, I'm sure that if the developers liked this concept they would come up with something cool.