Research, and its implications.
djrodw
US Join Date: 2016-05-08 Member: 216515Members
US Join Date: 2016-05-08 Member: 216515Members
First, Subnautica is beautiful... And it's way better than I had a right to expect. That said, I know it can be better and I want to help.
Research! A simple concept that can make the game much more engrossing than it already is.
Currently, in order to get blueprints for everything, the player has to go out exploring for 2-5 fragments to unlock a given object or vehicle/upgrade. I propose you change that system into a system of data collection and player driven research.
The idea is for the player to explore the ocean, scanning everything to gain data (data points). Every new game starts the player with a scanner and a simple research station for this to work. The points go into a research pool that stores the points, something like a science station/room/console. The player can then "spend" these points in order to unlock the dif tools/vehicles/upgrades in any way they see fit. The things you research would be of varying costs in points, the Cyclops could be like 200 points while the flippers would be cheaper, like 20 points. More complexity = more cost. The beginning research station (ie. in the escape pod) is limited in point capacity, so the player cannot start by skipping the lower tier items and going for the end game tools from the start. A bigger, more powerful station (Sea Base addon/multi purpose room filling station) needs to be built in order to handle late game research.
The scanner is used to collect research data, ie. scanning the environment plants/animals/debris and works as it currently works (you start scanning and it fills a meter). For example, the player can begin scanning a new form of coral worth precious few points, get interrupted by a bleeder before the scan is complete, but still get a fraction of the data before being interrupted. the points go into the research pool. the player goes back to the research station where they interact with it, A new UI pops up showing a 4x type of research tree. The player will then apply the points to a given item from tier one (ie. basic flippers), and the research station then begins its work. The station researches slowly (meaning it takes time) and requires a specific amount of constant electrical power to complete its task... The player, while the station is working, is free to go back out gather food/water/resources, scan for more science, explore the world or just wander aimlessly without care. but given enough time, when the player comes back to the station, he has a new set of flippers available for 3d printing. More complex items = more time + electrical power + the full cost in points to even begin the research.
The first implication of this system being a function in the game is the most interesting. It will encourage a slow methodical expansion in knowledge of the environment, rather than the current "B-LINE it to the the biome that the wiki said contains the Cyclops blueprint, and wreak havoc on the sense of exploration that the game is clearly all about."
You do not have to continue reading further from here if you have already flat out rejected this idea, my point is said, but I do have more thoughts on implications for this system below if you are interested.
Yes I am detail oriented and long winded, but my mind is strong in the force!
Touching more on the first and best implication "slow methodical"
Every creature, plant, geological feature, crashed Aurora debris in the game would become a potential source of science points for the player to expand his knowledge of the environment in the game, as well as gain the tools to expand his/her own infrastructure while exploring the environment. Every new discovery is then made a potent motivator for further exploration. But also a limiting influence to stay close to your base of operations and not go too far too soon. Tempting the player further from his/her base for bigger research payoffs but making it more dangerous unless proper precaution is used.
A player will not swim to a rare plant species to scan it for that big research reward located under the nose of a kraken, if all they have are a pair of basic flippers with which to flee from said kraken! They can stay closer to home, taking a detailed look at the immediate surroundings and gaining as much knowledge from it as they can. Then using that knowledge to construct the seamoth, before venturing to the underbelly of the kraken.
Research can only be done using the basic research station in the escape pod (ie. tier 1 tools) or a seabase structure/console (tier 2 and beyond). Also the main fabricator for anything beyond tier 1 has to be in a sea base. No longer could a Cyclops, construct everything it needs to construct another Cyclops. Anything other than the research station and fabricator in a sea base would be limited to tier 1 basic supplies and a few specific tools, like the welder/scanner/constructor/food/water/batteries/power cells/containers/seaglide/flare's etc. This would encourage longer, detailed expeditions into new biomes/areas in the game. Then a long overdue return to the safe space of home to reap the rewards of the effort.
Research point rewards could vary based on rarity. a common coral scan could be worth 2 points, where as a mutated, one of a kind coral scan might have a bonus attached to it to bring that reward up to 12 or 20. Distance from home, or biome location could be a bonus factor as well. Steam achievements for 100% biome scans anyone?
The map room could be changed as well to make it flow side by side with the theme of slow and methodical exploration. As the player explores visually, the map is revealed (fog of war style) and the map is stored in and appears as a new PDA tab in the UI, taking that data back to the mapping room and "uploading" it to the map rooms console rewards the player with Toggle-able GPS markers for possible rare plants/fish/cave openings/geological formations/biome borders etc. The mapping can "unlock" in the same way that the research unlocks! Also keeping everything outside of the range of the map room's capabilities a mystery until it's investigated properly. Then consider the possibilities for the radar and it's upgrades for the Seamoth and Cyclops (ie. wider mapping range). Tier 1 mapping provides the players visual cone of range, tier 2 (sonar imaging) provides a general area for hidden treasures (200 m range for a possible one of a kind coral worth a huge science bonus) up to tier "whatever" that provides a big scan range with pinpoint accuracy on a cave opening.
Another idea - Aurora radiation!
give it more complexity. I will do this in the sexy AI voice right after the initial explosion "ATTENTION: The Aurora is leaking potentially hazardous radiation into the surrounding area. Effects of exposure (UN-quantifiable). Estimation of complete UN-inhabitable environmental degradation in t - ?? days. Recommend repairing the leak immediately, or likelihood of death by exposure increases to 100%"
From that point a barren sandy waste begins spreading from the Aurora, deleting plant/animal game assets that could have been scanned for research points (potential save-game deleting fail condition here). once the leak is repaired, the environment begins to reconstitute slowly. Maybe, given enough in-game time, to be taken back over by the environment and building up to and unnatural overgrown ruin to be explored in Subnautica 2, where the goal could be to somehow finally inform earth of your castaway existence, your reluctance to leave your new home, and the colonization efforts of a new human inhabitable ocean planet with MANY MANY more depths to plunge into!
Subnautica has a HUGE potential in story telling, and exploration. And its already amazing in its current form, and not like the "run of the mill" exploration games with a slew "more of the same". It is seriously beautiful and mysterious and I want more of it. if you don't like these idea's... that's cool. But if you do like them, then by all means reply so they can be noticed and potentially implemented into the game... my ideas are free for life, take them they're yours!
P.S. Collective Brainstorming FTW!
Research! A simple concept that can make the game much more engrossing than it already is.
Currently, in order to get blueprints for everything, the player has to go out exploring for 2-5 fragments to unlock a given object or vehicle/upgrade. I propose you change that system into a system of data collection and player driven research.
The idea is for the player to explore the ocean, scanning everything to gain data (data points). Every new game starts the player with a scanner and a simple research station for this to work. The points go into a research pool that stores the points, something like a science station/room/console. The player can then "spend" these points in order to unlock the dif tools/vehicles/upgrades in any way they see fit. The things you research would be of varying costs in points, the Cyclops could be like 200 points while the flippers would be cheaper, like 20 points. More complexity = more cost. The beginning research station (ie. in the escape pod) is limited in point capacity, so the player cannot start by skipping the lower tier items and going for the end game tools from the start. A bigger, more powerful station (Sea Base addon/multi purpose room filling station) needs to be built in order to handle late game research.
The scanner is used to collect research data, ie. scanning the environment plants/animals/debris and works as it currently works (you start scanning and it fills a meter). For example, the player can begin scanning a new form of coral worth precious few points, get interrupted by a bleeder before the scan is complete, but still get a fraction of the data before being interrupted. the points go into the research pool. the player goes back to the research station where they interact with it, A new UI pops up showing a 4x type of research tree. The player will then apply the points to a given item from tier one (ie. basic flippers), and the research station then begins its work. The station researches slowly (meaning it takes time) and requires a specific amount of constant electrical power to complete its task... The player, while the station is working, is free to go back out gather food/water/resources, scan for more science, explore the world or just wander aimlessly without care. but given enough time, when the player comes back to the station, he has a new set of flippers available for 3d printing. More complex items = more time + electrical power + the full cost in points to even begin the research.
The first implication of this system being a function in the game is the most interesting. It will encourage a slow methodical expansion in knowledge of the environment, rather than the current "B-LINE it to the the biome that the wiki said contains the Cyclops blueprint, and wreak havoc on the sense of exploration that the game is clearly all about."
You do not have to continue reading further from here if you have already flat out rejected this idea, my point is said, but I do have more thoughts on implications for this system below if you are interested.
Yes I am detail oriented and long winded, but my mind is strong in the force!
Touching more on the first and best implication "slow methodical"
Every creature, plant, geological feature, crashed Aurora debris in the game would become a potential source of science points for the player to expand his knowledge of the environment in the game, as well as gain the tools to expand his/her own infrastructure while exploring the environment. Every new discovery is then made a potent motivator for further exploration. But also a limiting influence to stay close to your base of operations and not go too far too soon. Tempting the player further from his/her base for bigger research payoffs but making it more dangerous unless proper precaution is used.
A player will not swim to a rare plant species to scan it for that big research reward located under the nose of a kraken, if all they have are a pair of basic flippers with which to flee from said kraken! They can stay closer to home, taking a detailed look at the immediate surroundings and gaining as much knowledge from it as they can. Then using that knowledge to construct the seamoth, before venturing to the underbelly of the kraken.
Research can only be done using the basic research station in the escape pod (ie. tier 1 tools) or a seabase structure/console (tier 2 and beyond). Also the main fabricator for anything beyond tier 1 has to be in a sea base. No longer could a Cyclops, construct everything it needs to construct another Cyclops. Anything other than the research station and fabricator in a sea base would be limited to tier 1 basic supplies and a few specific tools, like the welder/scanner/constructor/food/water/batteries/power cells/containers/seaglide/flare's etc. This would encourage longer, detailed expeditions into new biomes/areas in the game. Then a long overdue return to the safe space of home to reap the rewards of the effort.
Research point rewards could vary based on rarity. a common coral scan could be worth 2 points, where as a mutated, one of a kind coral scan might have a bonus attached to it to bring that reward up to 12 or 20. Distance from home, or biome location could be a bonus factor as well. Steam achievements for 100% biome scans anyone?
The map room could be changed as well to make it flow side by side with the theme of slow and methodical exploration. As the player explores visually, the map is revealed (fog of war style) and the map is stored in and appears as a new PDA tab in the UI, taking that data back to the mapping room and "uploading" it to the map rooms console rewards the player with Toggle-able GPS markers for possible rare plants/fish/cave openings/geological formations/biome borders etc. The mapping can "unlock" in the same way that the research unlocks! Also keeping everything outside of the range of the map room's capabilities a mystery until it's investigated properly. Then consider the possibilities for the radar and it's upgrades for the Seamoth and Cyclops (ie. wider mapping range). Tier 1 mapping provides the players visual cone of range, tier 2 (sonar imaging) provides a general area for hidden treasures (200 m range for a possible one of a kind coral worth a huge science bonus) up to tier "whatever" that provides a big scan range with pinpoint accuracy on a cave opening.
Another idea - Aurora radiation!
give it more complexity. I will do this in the sexy AI voice right after the initial explosion "ATTENTION: The Aurora is leaking potentially hazardous radiation into the surrounding area. Effects of exposure (UN-quantifiable). Estimation of complete UN-inhabitable environmental degradation in t - ?? days. Recommend repairing the leak immediately, or likelihood of death by exposure increases to 100%"
From that point a barren sandy waste begins spreading from the Aurora, deleting plant/animal game assets that could have been scanned for research points (potential save-game deleting fail condition here). once the leak is repaired, the environment begins to reconstitute slowly. Maybe, given enough in-game time, to be taken back over by the environment and building up to and unnatural overgrown ruin to be explored in Subnautica 2, where the goal could be to somehow finally inform earth of your castaway existence, your reluctance to leave your new home, and the colonization efforts of a new human inhabitable ocean planet with MANY MANY more depths to plunge into!
Subnautica has a HUGE potential in story telling, and exploration. And its already amazing in its current form, and not like the "run of the mill" exploration games with a slew "more of the same". It is seriously beautiful and mysterious and I want more of it. if you don't like these idea's... that's cool. But if you do like them, then by all means reply so they can be noticed and potentially implemented into the game... my ideas are free for life, take them they're yours!
P.S. Collective Brainstorming FTW!
Comments
What about...
1. If you scan an Acid Mushroom with the Scanner, basic data is given in your PDA.
2. If you CUT the object with your knife, more added to PDA entry, plus basic fabricator recipe?
3. If you PICK the Mushroom, more data is added; the entry is expanded; better fabricator formula; basics for special equipment to FARM = basic growbox, slow growth or chance plant might not grow.
4. If you ANALYZE the Mushroom in your Specimen Analyzer (not the hand-scanner) advanced data is added to your PDA; advanced Fabrication Recipes for the Mushroom; advanced FARMING methods = faster growth.
5. If you take the time to FARM the Mushroom and grow more, the BEST, most advanced results are given; highest tier recipes, advanced farming equipment/mini environment-dome = fast, excellent growth.
Like scattered/degredated Engineering schematics (ie. broken data storage device) that contain the blueprints, that then require Research points to reconstruct the data into a usable blueprint. Narrative could be debris from the aurora crash.
@Coranth
Basically- Levels of info based on Tier of scanning equipment used, that also raise the tier of the tools used in a given aspect of the game. For example -
1. Hand scanning an air sack reveals that it naturally filters water to enable the player to make a 16 oz water bottle of filtered water.
2. Then cutting the air sack (dissecting) reveals a membrane in the fish that can be used in the water filtration machine for the same 16 oz filtered water.
3. Scanning the Air sack further in the science room's "specimen analyzer" reveals the membrane can be synthetically made, and be more efficient in that it supplies more water at a faster rate.
This point based system would be easier to implement, and could have differing point values depending on the rarity (or difficuly to obtain) of the object scanned.
One downside I see to this idea is that there isn't much to keep a player from "turtleing". Basically just staing in the starting area and keep scanning the things there to build up reseach. A possible coutermeasure would be to have each successive scan of an object give fewer research points (for example, the first scan of table coral giving 10, second giving 8, then 4, then 1) Overall this would make a Great gamemode for those who dislike resource management, as once an item is researched, it could be made using just energy, though inventory management would still be used as you would have to bring things back to base to be scanned more thuroughly.
As far as the "turtleing", I don't think it would create that problem at all. If you scan a boomerang fish once, scanning it again with the hand scanner would yield nothing... basically you would "scan out" the entire biome reaching a sort of 100% knowledge of that biome forcing you to venture further away from home to get more points. but the dif levels of scanning would be viable as a simple hand scanner might not be sufficient to get all the details out of something. This way, you would not be scanning the same thing more than once with a hand scanner... maybe a small UI indicator telling the player "no more info" on something scanned already... or maybe "advanced scanner required to get more info" or something along those lines.
The turteling issue (copied the name from an unpopular RTS statagy) comes from the Research pool mentioned in your main post, as it would mean that every scan would add to the global research pool, and players could fill up on points in the main area.
Useing a single scan for each object sounds good in theory, but it has a few downsides, firstly, you would have a strict limit on how many points could be gained, leading to a Hard level cap for research, meaning if you have more researchable items than points, a player would be locked out of some researches. Secondly each scan would only need to be done once, so a player could just go to a biome, scan everything once, and probably never return, except to grab any objects that would need an in-depth scan (ala research station as in your main post) whereas having multiple points available from scanning would tempt a player to hang around and explore a bit more. Perhaps having each individual creature scannable only once is what you meant, in which case, please ignore the earlier parts of this paragraph.
Perhaps for the different levels of scanning, perhaps you could have 3 tiers;
Tier 1: Basic scanner ( Starting item)
Tier 2: Advanced Scanner (upgrade) and Research station (room/Machine)
Teir 3:Advanced Research station (upgrade)
with each sucessive level also unlocking the prior levels.
mainly I was thinking of suggesting this as an alternative game mode, where instead of survival, you would be focused on exploring and finding new thingss (hence the removal of resource management). Perhaps a better varient of the idea would be to have reasearch pools from which anything can be scanned to add points, but require the player to scan different things to unlock different research avenues? (IE have the player build up points scanning around their base, but require them to find different things to enable different effects to be researched)?
I may be rambling abit due to lack of sleep though
The hard cap on gaining points also is good in my opinion as well. It gives the devs more fine control over how fast/much a player can build up. and is a good marker to remind players that they have already scanned a given flora/fauna. If a coral could be scanned multiple times, even for diminishing returns, a player might sit there in a safe spot repeatedly scanning that coral. The point in my opinion is to keep the player moving and exploring.
Example: Limestone - only ever gives 5 points and increases your "materials" knowledge by 5, as does titanium, and copper, and quartz, and so on. You have Biology (Food, Rubbers, etc), Geology (Alloys, Resources), Physics (Energy), Engineering (Machines) for knowledge types.
Assign "research synergies" which make it faster to research similar things (or free if you have enough of them).