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[Subnautica] Below Zero Launch on May 14th

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Posts

  • Ninja Snarl PNinja Snarl P My helmet is my burden. Ninja Snarl: Gone, but not forgotten.Registered User regular
    The only full base I build is down at the end of the
    Lost River, by the fumeroles looking out towards the giant tree.

    That's the base where I put in everything, including a big glass-paneled bedroom with a view. And I like to live dangerously, so I pack the Cyclops with lockers for literally every usable resource type in the game to do an absolute minimum of backtracking anywhere ever. I build one minimal base before that just to get the tech I need to get down to that depth, and end up stripping much of that base for materials for the main base.

    Gathering resources for basebuilding, up to and including literally having to pile everything in your own inventory to build things, got to be too tedious for me to want to do much of it. The game really should've let you pull resources from all nearby containers for construction, and I really would have liked an automated way to gather resources (particularly annoying ones like teeth).

    Being able to go out and explore and return to a base that replenishes its own stores via drones would've been pretty nice. Then the game would've had a built-in way to let the player get creative with bases without consoling in a bunch of materials or not playing story mode.

    Yeah with the copper issue I very much found myself wishing i could build some kind of shoddy drone that just scours the shallows for limestone chunks instead of doing it constantly.

    There are some creative ways they could've done this. A little crawling automining drone you task to an area via the scanner bay, with a retrieval drone that zips out to pick them up once the drone is full. Have something like 4 drones per scanner room and the drones have something like 4x4 storage, with rarer materials obviously taking longer to fill up a drone.

    On top of seriously cutting down on backtracking and shuttling materials back to base, it would've added a nice little touch to be able to go out and see your drones searching for stuff to mine. And if a player really wanted to, they could just build several scanner rooms to provide an unlimited supply of basebuilding materials. Very little of it would ever occur where the player can actually see the mining, so there would be no problem with exhausting the supplies from an area (it would all mostly be done offscreen anyway, no need to despawn anything).

    On that note, a way to transfer materials between bases without manually shuttling them around would also be nice. Even if it involves something like a transport drone that takes time to travel between bases, waiting a couple minutes for a delivery is a lot better than a 20-30 minutes slog back to a prior base because you forgot some vital material there.

  • Commander ZoomCommander Zoom Registered User regular
    VoodooV wrote: »
    You don't even need much kyanite to build all the things you need to build that require it if I remember right.

    But hey, subnautica isn't about need. It's about exploring and building bases and vehicles and other crazy fun things that aren't strictly required.

    "WHO DARES TRESPASS UPON FORTRESS OCELOT ALPHA?"

  • HandkorHandkor Registered User regular
    The only full base I build is down at the end of the
    Lost River, by the fumeroles looking out towards the giant tree.

    That's the base where I put in everything, including a big glass-paneled bedroom with a view. And I like to live dangerously, so I pack the Cyclops with lockers for literally every usable resource type in the game to do an absolute minimum of backtracking anywhere ever. I build one minimal base before that just to get the tech I need to get down to that depth, and end up stripping much of that base for materials for the main base.

    Gathering resources for basebuilding, up to and including literally having to pile everything in your own inventory to build things, got to be too tedious for me to want to do much of it. The game really should've let you pull resources from all nearby containers for construction, and I really would have liked an automated way to gather resources (particularly annoying ones like teeth).

    Being able to go out and explore and return to a base that replenishes its own stores via drones would've been pretty nice. Then the game would've had a built-in way to let the player get creative with bases without consoling in a bunch of materials or not playing story mode.

    Yeah with the copper issue I very much found myself wishing i could build some kind of shoddy drone that just scours the shallows for limestone chunks instead of doing it constantly.

    There are some creative ways they could've done this. A little crawling automining drone you task to an area via the scanner bay, with a retrieval drone that zips out to pick them up once the drone is full. Have something like 4 drones per scanner room and the drones have something like 4x4 storage, with rarer materials obviously taking longer to fill up a drone.

    On top of seriously cutting down on backtracking and shuttling materials back to base, it would've added a nice little touch to be able to go out and see your drones searching for stuff to mine. And if a player really wanted to, they could just build several scanner rooms to provide an unlimited supply of basebuilding materials. Very little of it would ever occur where the player can actually see the mining, so there would be no problem with exhausting the supplies from an area (it would all mostly be done offscreen anyway, no need to despawn anything).

    On that note, a way to transfer materials between bases without manually shuttling them around would also be nice. Even if it involves something like a transport drone that takes time to travel between bases, waiting a couple minutes for a delivery is a lot better than a 20-30 minutes slog back to a prior base because you forgot some vital material there.

    If not automining I'd like an explorer mode for the game or next DLC. A cross between normal and creative. Plays like normal but all resources are infinite once you find them. You can still die and need to craft and look for stuff and find blueprints. So basically it allows you to play the game without grinding.

  • IanatorIanator Gaze upon my works, ye mighty and facepalm.Registered User regular
    If anyone's dropped off of actively following Trello, be advised that the devs have moved to Favro.

    As always, beware of spoilers!

    steam_sig.png
    Twitch | Blizzard: Ianator#1479 | 3DS: Ianator - 1779 2336 5317 | FFXIV: Iana Ateliere (NA Sarg)
    Backlog Challenge List
  • HandkorHandkor Registered User regular
    I like the dates that I'm seeing on that board though.

  • KarozKaroz Registered User regular
    When is that expansion coming again?

    I sometimes get the itch to return to the sea.

  • 3cl1ps33cl1ps3 I will build a labyrinth to house the cheese Registered User regular
    Karoz wrote: »
    When is that expansion coming again?

    I sometimes get the itch to return to the sea.

    Early access this December, full release next October is the current timeline.

  • SatsumomoSatsumomo Rated PG! Registered User regular
    So I had been eyeing this game for more than a year now, and was just about to pull the trigger to buy it when Epic gave it away.

    Started playing last weekend and it hits all the right spots, I just love this game, it's definitely a "Survival-lite" game which you can get through in less than 30 hours. I'm at about 15 hours and just built the Cyclops, which was a complete surprise to me just how damn big it is, I fell in love with it.

    Though I did just start to get some mods yesterday, because the game does feel a bit barebones in some areas.

    I just wanted to share them here, just in case anyone's getting into the game just now that it was free, as I consider these only give QoL changes and don't negatively affect your experience.

    Midgame Batteries: Just an additional tier for batteries and power cells that use higher tier materials, fit perfectly with the game.

    Resource monitor: Let's you craft a monitor that let's you see a resource count of your base's storage.

    Cyclops Sonar: Don't know why the Cyclops doesn't have this by default, it's similar to the one on the SeaGlide, just to see what's near you.

    Prawnsuit Volumetric lights: More of a bugfix, the Prawnsuit doesn't have volumetric lights like all the other vehicles.

    Custom Beacons: Let's you change the color and icon shape of beacons from your PDA.

    More quickslots: Instead of 5, you now get 12! (This is one is a must have)

    Whitelights: Your vehicle lights are now white. This is just a personal preference.

    Databox scanner fix: Databoxes you've already discovered no longer show up in scans.

    Better power info: Allows you to see the power production and draw from your base with detailed stats, great for planning around your base's energy needs.

    Note you will need to install both QMods and SMLHelper for these to work, but it's really easy.

  • Ninja Snarl PNinja Snarl P My helmet is my burden. Ninja Snarl: Gone, but not forgotten.Registered User regular
    Wow, that resource monitor one works for both bases AND the cyclops.

    Geez, that one would've been such a huge headache-saver to have in the base game.

  • SatsumomoSatsumomo Rated PG! Registered User regular
    I wanted to play Subnautica today, but hey, since of course Fornite is hosted on the Epic Games launcher, my 22 year-old email exists in a bunch of databases out there so apparently someone tried to login to my account too many times.

    And Epic in their infinite wisdom thought that the best way to handle this is to block your account for 2 hours, with absolutely no way to bypass that, unless I add 2-step verification, which I can't do right now because my account is locked.

    So yeah, stay away from the Epic game store.

  • Sir CarcassSir Carcass I have been shown the end of my world Round Rock, TXRegistered User regular
    Satsumomo wrote: »
    I wanted to play Subnautica today, but hey, since of course Fornite is hosted on the Epic Games launcher, my 22 year-old email exists in a bunch of databases out there so apparently someone tried to login to my account too many times.

    And Epic in their infinite wisdom thought that the best way to handle this is to block your account for 2 hours, with absolutely no way to bypass that, unless I add 2-step verification, which I can't do right now because my account is locked.

    So yeah, stay away from the Epic game store.

    I was having problems with that several months ago, as well. Every once in a while I would get an email saying my account was locked after too many unsuccessful login attempts. I otherwise never remembered there even was an Epic launcher. I eventually remembered while it was unlocked and turned on authentication, and the emails thankfully stopped.

  • SatsumomoSatsumomo Rated PG! Registered User regular
    Yeah that's what I'm going to do, but it was silly I still had to wait two hours even though I have access to my email etc.

  • BladeXBladeX Registered User regular
    Finally beat Subnautica and want to jump back in. Might give some of those mods a shot now that I've played "vanilla" so thanks for posting them!

  • SirialisSirialis of the Halite Throne. Registered User regular
    edited January 2019
    I just booted this up again yesterday and was sucked in once more.

    Just got the Cyclops and was planning on using it as a mobile base like I did a year ago, seems like they made it worse? Is there seriously not a way to keep it powered that isnt tedious as fuck?

    They nerfed the old tricks.

    Sirialis on
  • MuddBuddMuddBudd Registered User regular
    edited January 2019
    I am also starting a new run, this time with mods. Mostly UI stuff and crafting/storage solutions, but also some decor and improvements to vehicles.

    So far the Easycraft mod that pulls from nearby containers is my favorite. Eventually I will have auto-sorting lockers too but that takes more specialized resources.

    Also got one that pins blueprints to show the items needed. That has been super helpful early game.

    MuddBudd on
    There's no plan, there's no race to be run
    The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
  • SatsumomoSatsumomo Rated PG! Registered User regular
    Sirialis wrote: »
    I just booted this up again yesterday and was sucked in once more.

    Just got the Cyclops and was planning on using it as a mobile base like I did a year ago, seems like they made it worse? Is there seriously not a way to keep it powered that isnt tedious as fuck?

    They nerfed the old tricks.

    There's a mod for that!

    It adds new modules for the Cyclops that allows you to for example use solar panels, or even reactor rods to power your sub. There's also some additional mid-game stuff, and the best part is you can individually disable some of these upgrades, to keep it more in line with the vanilla experience.

  • SirialisSirialis of the Halite Throne. Registered User regular
    edited January 2019
    I’m playing this on Xbox. :?

    Any vanilla game related options to make the Cyclops more enjoyable? They went way overboard with energy drain on a lot of things.

    Sirialis on
  • MuddBuddMuddBudd Registered User regular
    edited January 2019
    Sirialis wrote: »
    I’m playing this on Xbox. :?

    Any vanilla game related options to make the Cyclops more enjoyable? They went way overboard with energy drain on a lot of things.

    Energy management is going to be an issue, which is really part of the challenge of the game, honestly. Here's some tips.
    • Eventually you will get thermal conversion for the hotter areas of the map, which will help.
    • Certain things can drain power through the hull. A pulse of the shield will knock those off.
    • Always keep a few backup power cells on hand, if not a whole locker of them.
    • Run slow speed travel to reduce power usage, and reduce sound.
    • Restrict use of the shields, silent running, and sonar to when you need them most.
    • Build small bases all over the map. Use Solar Panel farms, thermal reactors, bioreactors, etc... with a power cell charger in a small hallway or multipurpose room. That way you can quickly recharge drained cells.
    • If you are leaving the cyclops for a significant portion of time to explore, consider removing the power cells entirely so they don't drain.
    • There is a reduced energy use mod for the cyclops available.

    MuddBudd on
    There's no plan, there's no race to be run
    The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
  • HandkorHandkor Registered User regular
    I got to try this using a GearVR and ALVR. Floating around looking down is so cool and zen. I then swam down to the Lost River and my son wanted to see so he got his face eaten.

    One of those sharks did give me a jump scare though, I turn around and boom, in my face.

    Can't wait for the expansion.

  • LucascraftLucascraft Registered User regular
    I got this for free on the Epic games store a few weeks back and have been casually enjoying it. As a total newcomer to this game, I'm somewhat stuck right now.

    I've got the oxygen tank that holds 130 capacity, and I have the plans to make the bigger one. Unfortunately, I do not have the plans for the Modification Station that is required to craft the bigger (biggest?) tank, so I feel like my ability to explore is being hampered by not having a Modification Station.

    I have scanned 2/3 parts for it, and I just cannot for the life of me find another part to scan.

  • MuddBuddMuddBudd Registered User regular
    Lucascraft wrote: »
    I got this for free on the Epic games store a few weeks back and have been casually enjoying it. As a total newcomer to this game, I'm somewhat stuck right now.

    I've got the oxygen tank that holds 130 capacity, and I have the plans to make the bigger one. Unfortunately, I do not have the plans for the Modification Station that is required to craft the bigger (biggest?) tank, so I feel like my ability to explore is being hampered by not having a Modification Station.

    I have scanned 2/3 parts for it, and I just cannot for the life of me find another part to scan.

    Keep looking. You might be able to go back to the wreck you found that in and find a third piece. Or another wreck, or around the same zone you found them in. Like, if you found them in the Mushroom Forest, you should be able to find the third bit there. Also, a lot of surface biomes have multiple regions, so you could try another Forest area.

    Generally, the rule of thumb is if you feel stuck, start exploring areas you haven't been to yet. Look for lifepods and wrecks. Build vehicles to help you explore, repeat.

    There's no plan, there's no race to be run
    The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
  • SatsumomoSatsumomo Rated PG! Registered User regular
    Remember you can carry multiple oxygen tanks and swap them when one runs out.

  • GarthorGarthor Registered User regular
    Satsumomo wrote: »
    Remember you can carry multiple oxygen tanks and swap them when one runs out.

    Note that this tanks your swim speed, though. Penalty is doubled for any you're carrying vs. wearing.

  • NEO|PhyteNEO|Phyte They follow the stars, bound together. Strands in a braid till the end.Registered User regular
    Lucascraft wrote: »
    I got this for free on the Epic games store a few weeks back and have been casually enjoying it. As a total newcomer to this game, I'm somewhat stuck right now.

    I've got the oxygen tank that holds 130 capacity, and I have the plans to make the bigger one. Unfortunately, I do not have the plans for the Modification Station that is required to craft the bigger (biggest?) tank, so I feel like my ability to explore is being hampered by not having a Modification Station.

    I have scanned 2/3 parts for it, and I just cannot for the life of me find another part to scan.

    If you don't already have one, get a rebreather made, you would be surprised at how deep you can safely reach from the surface. Beyond that, good advice has already been provided, if you recall where you found the first few fragments and they weren't lodged in a wreck, keep poking through that biome. Also be sure to dig into any wreck chunks you find, they tend to have goodies.

    It was that somehow, from within the derelict-horror, they had learned a way to see inside an ugly, broken thing... And take away its pain.
    Warframe/Steam: NFyt
  • MuddBuddMuddBudd Registered User regular
    edited January 2019
    There is some overlap on fragments too, so other wrecks might have what you need.

    Also when exploring wrecks I highly recommend the pathfinder tool.

    MuddBudd on
    There's no plan, there's no race to be run
    The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
  • KarozKaroz Registered User regular
    The updated air pipe system really does help early on. Fully recoverable too so you can just keep reusing the same one.

  • SirialisSirialis of the Halite Throne. Registered User regular
    Cyclops should have had a “Recharge while in sunlight” mod like the one I just got for my Seamoth.

  • MuddBuddMuddBudd Registered User regular
    Sirialis wrote: »
    Cyclops should have had a “Recharge while in sunlight” mod like the one I just got for my Seamoth.

    It kind of did, for the longest time in early access.

    Except apparently you weren't supposed to be able to build solar panels on it.

    The thermal charger is still super useful for where you need to take it, but tooling around on the surface I generally build power outposts. (although this playthrough I am using the mod to use nuclear for the cyclops)

    There's no plan, there's no race to be run
    The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
  • 3cl1ps33cl1ps3 I will build a labyrinth to house the cheese Registered User regular
    For me the cyclops was never really important except for very deep dives, at which point the charger module you can make for it becomes useful. For anything in shallower waters I just used a Seamoth.

  • SirialisSirialis of the Halite Throne. Registered User regular
    edited January 2019
    I liked using the Cyclops as a main portable base, just filled it to the brim with lockers and all the fabricators etc. I did just that a year ago before they nerfed it.

    All it needs to shine is a non tedious way of recharging the 6 Power Cells, a solar panel roof or an internal generator seems like an obvious futuristic choice... Yet its “Pull them out and recharge at a base” which seems needlessly cumbersome.

    My Seamoth can dive to 900m already and can selfrecharge in sunlight.

    Guess I should try to find that Thermal Module at least, I havent gotten that before since I stopped my first game abruptly just after building the Prawn to wait for full release.

    Sirialis on
  • SatsumomoSatsumomo Rated PG! Registered User regular
    There really is something special about stopping the Cyclops right above an abyss, and getting on the Prawn to plummet down 600m into the dark. It's really well done to give you that feeling that you're in The Abyss.

  • MuddBuddMuddBudd Registered User regular
    I wish there was a way to build vehicles underwater.

    I'd love to keep a Seamoth (with the modded depth modules) parked down in the lost river, but I also need a prawn down there. I don't want to have to take two trips.

    There's no plan, there's no race to be run
    The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
  • SirialisSirialis of the Halite Throne. Registered User regular
    There is a thermal vent in the Shallows, can you get far down through that vent, using the Prawn?

  • MuddBuddMuddBudd Registered User regular
    Sirialis wrote: »
    There is a thermal vent in the Shallows, can you get far down through that vent, using the Prawn?

    I don't believe so. There are like 2-4 specific entrances I know of to the river. I'll probably end up just doing two runs with the Cyclops. It would just be nice to keep the Cyclops down in the river as a mobile base and then shuttle back to the surface with a Seamoth.

    Spoilers for end-game:
    Eventually it won't matter as there is the gate hub in the final facility that you can take a PRAWN through.

    There's no plan, there's no race to be run
    The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
  • SirialisSirialis of the Halite Throne. Registered User regular
    The thing about the disease actually having a timer to kill you is bogus, right?

  • SatsumomoSatsumomo Rated PG! Registered User regular
    Sirialis wrote: »
    The thing about the disease actually having a timer to kill you is bogus, right?

    Yeah I don't think so, I've been mucking around for hours with no sign of it advancing. I think it's just linked to certain events?

  • MuddBuddMuddBudd Registered User regular
    Sirialis wrote: »
    The thing about the disease actually having a timer to kill you is bogus, right?

    Spoiler:
    The disease will never kill you. But you can't leave the planet and beat the game until you cure it.

    There's no plan, there's no race to be run
    The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
  • SirialisSirialis of the Halite Throne. Registered User regular
    I’ve gotten further than my old game at this point so everything is new, got to the lava area only to realize all my vehicles cant go further down than 900m, I even brought the Prawn that I thought could go 1000m+ but nope, good thing I built a ton of lockers filled with minerals inside the Cyclops, I should be able to build another moonpool down here with that console addon so I can now build depth upgrades for the Prawn (with newly found nickel) without having to go all the way back to my base in the Cyclops just for that.

    Also found those sulphur things, guessing Kyanite is further down.

  • MuddBuddMuddBudd Registered User regular
    I am liking this autosort mod a lot.

    Also the mid-game batteries mod, which was one of my biggest complaints about the vanilla game. Upgraded battery tech came way too late to be useful.

    I've started a base on that outcropping of shallows between the southern Redgrass Plateaus and the Southern Mushroom Forest. There's also a kelp forest bit nearby and pretty easy access to the Blood Kelp. I am liking the spot.

    There's no plan, there's no race to be run
    The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
  • SniperGuySniperGuy SniperGuyGaming Registered User regular
    Apparently the cold expansion thing is coming to Early Access on the 30th! Looks like it'll be 20 bucks. Not sure if standalone, but it's a separate campaign that takes place in a different area.

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