The Alterra Science Boffins did it again!
Coranth
Join Date: 2015-06-02 Member: 205160Members
Just received a new patch for my PDA software this morning from the folks at Alterra Science...
We can only use one Tank, now - so it's Normal, High-Cap, or Plasteel - not all of 'em at once, but that's not the point; point is, it's part of the paper doll, so inventory space is freed up! Also, an additional patch has been added to our Fabricators:
As you can see, our Tanks will cost a few more resources to make, but they hold a minute of air, instead of 30 seconds. Sweet!
We can only use one Tank, now - so it's Normal, High-Cap, or Plasteel - not all of 'em at once, but that's not the point; point is, it's part of the paper doll, so inventory space is freed up! Also, an additional patch has been added to our Fabricators:
As you can see, our Tanks will cost a few more resources to make, but they hold a minute of air, instead of 30 seconds. Sweet!
Comments
To get 5 minutes of oxygen with ordinary tanks, it would take 4.25 tanks with the new system, but 8.5 tanks with the old system. To get 5 minutes of oxygen with High Capacity tanks, it would take 2.125 tanks with the new system, but 4.25 tanks with the old system. So with the new system, it would require 3.25 ordinary tanks in your inventory or 1.125 High Capacity tanks to get 5 minutes of oxygen.
It is still a lot less inventory being wasted on tanks compared to before. After all, it is the difference between 4 High Capacity tanks in your inventory and 1 High Capacity tank in your inventory to get almost 5 minutes of oxygen.
Gloves
As regards the change, I think this is nice, though I'm still not sure it's sufficient for the wreck changes. Assuming they end up moving all the fragments into the wrecks, then you're stuck exploring the wrecks. They've reduced the speed, and made them very tight, and it's exceedingly difficult to get through some of the larger ones to where the fragments are with less than a pile of tanks currently, especially if you have to use the tediously slow laser cutter. I guess if the ability to swap out for a fresh one is maintained it will still work, as you can gear yourself for exploration, but that feels very much like an unintended feature, like when the solar panels worked on the Cyclops.
Not sure about all fragments, but the Seaglide and Solar Panel fragments seem to be around the Life Pod and inside a small wreck that is very close to the Life Pod. It is likely there to give a taste of wreck exploration without getting confused and lost. The more exotic fragments like Nuclear Reactor fragments might be confined to large wrecks.
Hopefully, the devs don't change it so that you can't switch air tanks. Personally, I would find it unrealistic if they don't allow it since it is possible to switch air tanks underwater in real life.
And why did they drop the tank slot for the glove slot when the only gloves in game are the rad gloves? Once equipped you'll never need to take them off again - ever. Crazy, isn't it? We got the tank concept dumped for a useless glove slot.
But there is an advantage of a hand slot already in place. Maybe (if we never get other gloves and those gloves get dropped) we could use that slot for having an equipped weapon or tool that will not speed us down if equipped and get taken out of inventory too.
But the gloves concept - I really don't understand this decission. Could someone explain to me why we need gloves if there are only 1 type in the game? Why we couldn't just skip the gloves, thinking they simply belong to the suit. Or do we get some revolutionary power gloves in some new update?
Maybe we'll be able to upgrade our suits soon so we can get a max of 4 tanks to equip.
I hope so. I'd love to see what they'd do
As already mentioned this cut every free decision from the player how to explore this game. I hate paternalism. And I hate the actual stupid state (O2Tank) of the game.
???? How does this cut anything???
If the player can use only one tank with a max. capacity of 165sec its cuts the free decision of the player to store more tanks instead of space in the inventory to have more time to explore the game. I'm a player who like to explore everything. So I've 6 HC tanks (405sec) in my inventory.
The new system allows me one tank. So I've to play the game in an other way. Not like I want. The new system dictated the direction. What I really loved at Subnautica was the free decision how to play the game. But this is for my kind of gaming this game a GAMEBREAKER.
BTW: The main char is able to use a fabricator, habitat builder, fly from planet to planet and stuff like that. But its impossible for him to connect some airtanks. Great logic !!! Thumbs up !!!
Wow...
Nothing is really broken, only made more realistic so try to calm down a little, perhaps? Devs made the decision to introduce this change and no amount of tantrums is going to change it, especially considering that the game is in early access. Also, you still have plenty of choices how to play your game, and if free, unhindered exploration is your preferred thing, then creative mode has got you covered.
You can use more than one tank to get a maximum capacity of over 165 seconds, but it causes more work. You can store 5 different tanks in your inventory and 1 in your air tank slot. Once the first air tank slot is used up, you just switch to the next air tank in your inventory. Haven't tested how it works on filling up air tanks at the surface, but someone said that you had to switch between each air tank at the surface to fill them up. There is a lot more work involved with carrying 6 HC tanks, but you do get 765 seconds of air instead of 405 seconds as compensation.
My main concern with Subnautica diving is that no diver would use an air tank that can only store 2 minutes of air. Although, that could be explained through each day of Subnautica is less than an hour long. So 2 minutes could be an hour on Subnautica.
Maybe its also a good idea: You can use the exosuit only on land because the salt water will corrode the joints and the main char can't handle an oiler.
And two minutes in game are two minutes of acting with the char. The world time on the planet does not matter. There is no time lapse...
But anyways,i feel that you should be able to equip multiple O2 tanks.Maybe you can craft 2 O2 tanks together to get an O2 pack that gives double the oxygen.Or,you could craft some sort of device that gives 1-2 more slots for you to put your O2 tanks in.
I feel that for the first idea,it would work for HC and Plasteel tanks as well.Maybe instead of giving 120 O2,it could give a small bonus,like 135.
Either way,i look forward for some more changes
Why not? I'm not one of them hide their opinion. I've played now over 100 hours and this is the ..... idea have to be ingame.
That said, I think having the tank in the paperdoll makes a lot more sense. I feel the same is true about equipped items. Maybe if there was some sort of visual indication in the inventory grid of what was equipped, that would at least be better. Yes, you can just look down at the bar and see; but I feel that most UI's should stand alone. I also don't like the fact that adding and removing items has a tendency to completely reorganize your hotkeys. I want my scanner in slot 2. I don't care if my knife breaks, I still want it there.
I too have put in lots of hours, almost 300 of them into the game. While I'm not excited about it, I understand that the Devs are still working on the idea since it was just put in. I'm not gonna be lashing out and throwing a tantrum because the devs implemented something that's not quite what I expected yet. Just calm down and trust that devs like @Max @Obraxis @Squeal_Like_A_Pig @Hugh and @Flayra are all working hard to bring us a quality game. If we don't trust them with what they're doing then why should they continue to update this game? Give them time to tinker with it. Remember, there was a time when the seamoth steering was an issue, but the devs acknowledged it and are working on it, just like they'll work to fix this.
Well,there is a difference between hiding your opinion and expressing it rudely.It is fine to show your opinion and it is fine to publicly express it but doing it in a rude aggresive way is not going to help anyone.
In fact,i actually share the same opinion with you,except that i express it without any aggression and i suggest ways to improve it.The best way to get the devs to notice your posts are to post suggestions and not just angry rants.
And keep in mind, the current system is still subject to change. There might be things in place later on where you can efficiently swap out tanks and have it display their current O2 content—much like it would be nice to have all items display their current energy charge level in % when inspecting them in the inventory, sooner or later.
IMHO, there's no point in moving backwards. Making the air tank fit into an equipment slot was a good idea because it frees up a lot of inventory space for most players and also opens up a margin where lightweight tanks can gain significance. Your playstyle can probably be enabled again without reversing the system. But for now you'll have to contend with the change, that's the nature of an early access game.
In the long run, the change is a step in the direction of adding to the range of options for players.
Right now the devs decided to force you switching the tanks, creating a micromanagement hazzle for the players that use more than the old 2 tanks.
My 2 simple suggestions:
Then we could all be happy. Pros like me would dive with a single plasteel on his back and his ultraglide fins, jetting around sharks, or using no tanks at all with the help of brain corals, while others that like tons of tanks could enjoy the same gamestyle as ever. As soon as a tank gets empty it gets autoreplaced from inventory, relieving from the pain of going through the PDA. And the disadvantages of lots of tanks simply means less speed as it should be.
EDIT:
Forgot that stupid, useless glove slot for the only gloves in game. That should be replaced with being able to put one big (2x2) tool or weapon into a hand/tool slot. Thus relieving you of one big tool from the inventory.
What I've learned over the years: If the community want any changes from the devs they have to address problems straight away. If the devs disable one kind (maybe yours) of playing this game you have to say your opinion. Straight away. Not like sissy's.
If a player want to add 12 HC tanks in his inventory to spend the night in a coral tube so let him do this. Especially in an open game like Subnautica. Withou any restriction...
They had the idea for the game quite some time ago too. But it didn't just magically pop into existence. Stuff takes time to do
It could be as simple as not being important enough to do straight away. Or maybe they weren't sure until recently exactly how they wanted to do it. Or maybe it was more efficient to wait until now to do it because of planned code changes.
1. Two tanks, one on paper doll, one in inventory.
2. Once a tank is 'used' it immediately auto-returns to your inventory, then the full tank is switched into the paper doll; this is done automatically.
3. Whilst they still have O2 inside you can surface to 'top up' but it doesn't totally refil; it gives you a decent amount though. ???
4. Once a tank hits ZERO O2, that's it; no more surface top-up; then you need to put the totally empty tanks into an O2 tank station back at base to refill them. O2 station can hold and refil two tanks; so you have: one on doll, one in inv, and two in the station back at base for your next mission out.
5. The O2 Station uses power or draws from your base O2; the amount used is determined by the O2 in your tank, so make sure you have enough juice before you fill those empty Hi-Cap Tanks.
6. O2 Station Recipe: Titanium x4 (housing), Airsack x2 (filters), Brain Coral Sample x2 (brain coral generates O2), Lubricant x1 Computer Chip x1 (to regulate / control the thing). ?????
Focus on KISS (Keep it simple stupid) or Occam's razor (cut everything not needed and take the most simple solution). People complain about micromanagement hazzle. So autoswitch is all you need.
Want more realism later. Get an O2 refilling device into the game to recharge tanks. Nothing else.