No More TERRAFORMER & DIGGING?!
SubnauticaUpd8
San Diego Join Date: 2016-05-17 Member: 216842Members
San Diego Join Date: 2016-05-17 Member: 216842Members
Please add it back.
Comments
We also plan to remove it on PC as well, because the terraformer breaks the feel of the world (you can destroy it completely). It also works against the idea of gating, because you can just dig your way anywhere.
We're still thinking about the exact changes we need to make, but this is one case where the XB1 is "ahead" of the PC version...
maybe you can make the terraformer creative mode only
Please, don't remove it on PC. PCs can handle it and if someone wants to destroy his/hers world, why should we care? I'm using Terraformer just for base building and some things like Moon pool sometimes needs some terraforming under and around them to be usable. And if you really want to do something with Terraformer, what about set a distance from player placed blocks where they can be used?
It wouldn't be the same as terrain deformation, but it would at least fill that urge to "paint" and express yourself.
I concede that the Terraformer had to be removed from Xbox One for performance issues. That can't be helped.
But isn't this exactly what Creative mode is for?
Why not restrict the Terraformer to and make its crafting blueprint unobtainable outside of Creative Mode? Survival mode is gated with good reason: it wouldn't be much of a game without barriers to get around. Players in Creative mode aren't held to those same limits; they're just getting creative building their bases free of restriction. The Terraformer is just another tool of that trade
You can't save the Terraformer for XB1, but maybe you can save it for PC; just restrict it to Creative mode. "Painting plants" isn't enough.
I still feel like a better solution would be to allow terraforming only a 1 meter (or whatever) layer of sand and dirt, and disable it for rock.
This way it lets the user edit terrain for base building, but prevents destroying the world.
This right here. This should also allow it to be used on xb1.
It does let you build into the land, however, when reloading the save the land glitches back into your structures. I had to remove an entire section of my base/aquarium and relocate due to this.
It's not about the PC being able to handle it it's about being fair I think. Xbox1 players wish they could terraform to build bases but if should be both or neither. And it does break the general point of the game personally I think it should only be in creative mode.
1. Maybe the most important part would be the heavy immersion breaking annoyance of unforgiving terrain. Very critical that if we run buildings into terrain and it removes the terrain, that it stay gone as long as we have a base there. I realize you all already want this but I suggest not removing digging/terraforming from the PC users (I am a Xbox One user for this game) until you fix the fact terrain returns and makes parts of bases impassable thus forcing them to scrap and redesign. They will be far more furious no longer being able to dig/Terra form their way out of the games lack of persistent terrain removal from base building while not fixing the problems first that made them come to rely on such tools.
2. In real building as you are well aware, it makes sense that builders flatten out and level the terrain they put a foundation on and this game should not be different given the high technology or even if it was fairly low technology really. If a foundation is placed, the ground immediately under it assuming it's within say 2 meters of the floor should be dropped so it's even and all vegetation and spawns under the foundation should be killed until the base is demolished. It is annoying to build a foundation and corridor or room with knee high vegetation waving back and forth inside the building as if it's still interacting with the ocean currents. As an Xbox user this means I have to just find another spot to build that is kinda flat and sans vegetation if I don't want to deal with that. I make due because that would annoy me to and I have no tool to fix it so I search for places where terrain cannot come back to haunt my base and vegetation will not live on growing through my solid floor despite being smothered to death by my titanium sun blocking foundations.
3. Seduce gamers with beautiful potential build spots. Maybe we will come across them in our own explorations or maybe you drop some signals our way in loot from previous explorers who comment on a potential build site they think has great benefits, pretty, potential easy access resources, flat clear ground of a nice shelf cut into a cliff, or a massive cave so big the cyclops can navigate it and come up into a pool and inside this giant air pocket cavern is its own luminescent fungus that lights the cave up, a few blind alien species of fish and alien lobster-like thing, some sort of cave fungus food source, maybe a fresh water waterfall inside a person can harness for power hydroelectric and set up some sort of freshwater system from it. I'm sure you get the idea of my intent.
If there was at least one of these in each major zone, I think people would spend time just finding these sweet spots to build and the further out of the way they are from safety, the more difficult they should be to get to or build at. They should have one or more challenges, lacks a good food source, dangerous predators frequent the area, lacks material resources, maybe earthquakes due to instability occasionally damage the hull of especially weak base builds both above water or underwater in that area, maybe the beautiful cave I mentioned occasionally has debris fall from the ceiling and potentially damages weak hull bases. People like to fix things as long it's not a continuous chore running base to base trying to keep ahead but long neglect most gamers might find it fun to get their old long abandoned base running again.
Anyways just some thoughts on losing digging/Terra forming that might cushion the blow somewhat. Nothing more annoying to a gamer then losing something they felt was a good workaround to a situation and the game developers pull the workaround without fixing the issues first that they know is why the gamers rely on it so heavily. I realize digging/Terra forming is used for other reasons as well but they are not essential. We can and will get over it or play something else I suppose if we were that married to it and throw a fit but to me using it as a workaround for things like I mentioned above and the having to live with the terrain and vegetation in your base forcing redesign, abandonment, or hoping one day it will be fixed months, years, or never would be infuriating.
One more vote:
I feel the same way. I loved the terraformer. I'm on PC (IMHO, the only way to play games, because I can't use a controller.)
At least leave it in creative mode.
I get why you had to save all the data. That makes sense. I used to make caves to hide in to get away from the monsters because there is no way to kill them.
@Flayra Hey, I'm sure there were other reasons, but why not just queue terrain saving a few steps behind what the player is doing? i.e., build foundation, build base, build hatch (XB1/PC saves foundation), build solar panel (XB1/PC saves base segment)?
Then when you leave it only has to save the last couple of things. I'm sure there's a reason why this wouldn't work, but I"m all ears if you've got the time. Of course, it's you guys' decision.
Its pretty buggy and any alterations to the terrain seem to reset after loading a save or moving too far away but hey its a bit of fun to play with. Also causes the game to crash and slows the fps but as the devs have said at this point they might completely remove it from the game so its obviously not gonna be fully functional.
Or would that still drag performance down too much?