Increase predators aggressiveness in Subnautica Below Zero
Milkshake
Romania Join Date: 2019-01-30 Member: 249782Members
After playing the original game for a while, the player will usually notice that the predators will cease chasing after swimming away for a bit, and also usually stop attacking after biting the player once. Even the Reaper leviathan is easy to escape after he strikes you once. And the Seadragon leviathan was very underwhelming, as you would usually swim by him with ease without even getting attacked (or sometimes attempting an attack that most likely misses).
Once the player realizes that they can reach any place simply by casually swimming/driving past the predators, most of the thrill of the game is taken out and the challenge aspect of the game feels very lackluster.
Please consider making some of the predators more aggressive in Subnautica Below Zero, especially in the aspect that they don't easily cease chasing the player.
Once the player realizes that they can reach any place simply by casually swimming/driving past the predators, most of the thrill of the game is taken out and the challenge aspect of the game feels very lackluster.
Please consider making some of the predators more aggressive in Subnautica Below Zero, especially in the aspect that they don't easily cease chasing the player.
Comments
In all my playthroughs of Subnautica I never died to a reaper, simply because he wouldn't attack a second time after attacking once. In fact, I've watched countless reaction videos of players encountering the reaper and don't remember ever seeing anyone die to it. It is true that he starts chasing you from far away, but he will give you a huge window of time to escape after attacking once. If he is supposed to be so terrifying, I think it should require things like the stasis rifle to escape him alive, not just swimming/driving. The only predator that ever managed to kill me was the warper. Aside from that, every single predator seemed harmless once you figure out that you can just swim passed them and receive only one bite at best.
Was it different in your experience?
Any suggestions for avoiding them if they attack you (sense they're faster than a seamoth, i can't out run them) would be nice.
There are two simple ways to avoid this:
First of all, if you hear the reaper roar, move away from the direction of the roar. They will make that sound from very far away, before you are close enough to be chased by it.
Second advice, keep your seamoth repaired to 100%. When the reaper grabs it, don't get out of it, just wait patiently until he lets go, and you will usually drive away with your seamoth on low health (I don't think he ever killed it for me).
It is also useful to know the locations to avoid if you don't want to encounter it. Those are mainly behind the Aurora and in the dunes. But there is also an area just outside of the blood grass biome and possibly more (check a map that has the reaper locations).
A little advice on the side: if you find yourself low on titanium, simply check areas around large wrecks, there is always a lot of metal salvage to be found.
They mistake you for food or attack because of a territorial defense impulse, but wouldn't waste energy by chasing an intruder that tastes like a mouthful of plasteel. And there is often easier prey around than the player.
That's good gameplay. Not every game benefits from being "souls like". And the scare worked, didn't it?
That's imo the reason for the usual group of "too ez" players and why combat/stealth games often have a "nightmare" mode. I see the point, but I prefer them as separate play modes instead of increasing the normal-play underwater-stealth/combat levels so they will still satisfy the veterans.
Play on hardcore, don't use medkits, don't use the repair tool, then go cuddle with the sharks and leviathans and see how long you can practically ignore them.
I try to stay away from anything super aggressive, as my deep sea fears really bother me the closer I get to the edge of the map.
I agree with this, Subnautica followed a good game design in creature behavior. IMO, Below Zero is overly congested with predators to the point that it's annoying and common place. Reaper roars still made me nervous even in the end game of Subnautica, now everything roars like they are in a choir.
I'm not asking for a souls-like game, but simply for predators to pose a threat similar to the other threats. It is far more common for players to die from suffocating in a shipwreck than from being killed by predators, and that is a very anti-climactic game design. There should be challenges to going into deeper areas, but the only real challenge is the psychological fear you might have when you are not aware that the creatures can't kill you. There is no legitimate reason to fear them. When I play below zero, I will hardly feel any thrill unless I notice that I actually have to worry about predators in this one.
I posted a suggestion about adding a creepy void in below zero, leave your idea there please
https://forums.unknownworlds.com/discussion/156166/simple-but-effective-void-idea-for-subnautica-below-zero/p1?new=1
This, however, doesn't remove from the scariness from the game. We are not scared in Subnautica because the game is hard, but because the creatures are terrifying. When you force combat with these creatues it removes from the terrifying feelings of it. It's like Five Nights At Freddys, the more you get scared the less scary the game becomes, and the more you would die in Subnautica the less good the game would be.
Unknown Worlds did an amazing job with this in Subnautica. The creatures remain constantly scary because you are almost never interacting with them, and if you are, you have a high likelihood of surviving. The reaper leviathan grabbing your seamoth isn't that dangerous in reality, it just feels like it is.
If anything; you should reverse this statement. In Below Zero, creatures are very aggressive and you get constantly attacked. I almost never feel scared in Below Zero, and it is disappointing. I picked up the game not too long ago and was driving around my Snowfox on some snow island and I was CONSTANTLY getting attacked by the Ice Worm Leviathan. It was not scary after the first 3 times because it just kept happening over and over again.
Even if it sounds bad, Subnautica Below Zero should be an easy game as it makes the game 100x more terrifying and 100x more fun to play.