I can't see underwater: Let's play Subnautica blind

[JustKneller]

I've had this game on my steam wishlist forever. There have been a number of sales, but I was hoping for it to be available at GoG. I did some googling recently and I'm not optimistic it's getting to GoG any time soon. Meanwhile, there's currently a steam sale and a recent post from @m7600 was enough of a catalyst for me to impulsively buy it.

The basic premise of the game is that you're on a space ship, something happens, you hop in an escape pod, and then crash land on an ocean planet and need to survive. There's one really weird thing about this game that's different than any other game I've played. I think the best points of comparison for this are Terraria and Metro 2033. Terraria is kind of survival-light game in a minecraft-y kind of way. There are bosses to fight (or ignore), but there's no real goal or formal end game. You're in your world to build and live in indefinitely. You're not going anywhere and you know it. Metro 2033 is a survival horror kind of game, but there is a clear objective and an apparent end-game. Yeah, you need to "survive", but really you just need to follow a pretty linear bouncing ball until you get there. I don't have a sense of what kind of game Subnautica is, and I'm intentionally not googling to find out. Am I going to get rescued? Is this my new home indefinitely? What the hell happened to begin with? Are there even answers to be found? I bet the protagonist has the same questions, which interestingly makes it easier to identify with them and immerse in the game. Hopefully, I'll get us both some answers.

This isn't going to be so much of a typical this-is-what-I-did play report. It's going to be more of a stream of consciousness this-is-kinda-what-I'm-thinking-as-I-go report. I have played just a little bit so far and I'm restarting my game for the sake of this log. I really haven't figured out much. You start in a pretty shallow area with some non-hostile fish. There are some basic resources around. You can upgrade your gear a little. I have about an hour of depth in the game just puttering around the starting area. Outside of this, I know nothing.

Who am I? Why was I on the spaceship? Was the planet even our destination? WTF is going on? Here's the intro:



You now know as much as I do.

 

[m7600]

As per your wishes, I won't reveal any information about the game. All I'll say is that I'm super envious that you get to experience it for the first time, I wish I could erase that part of my memory so I can enjoy Subnautica again without knowing anything about it.

Luckily that's going to be the case with the third part of the series, to be published in 2025 hopefully : )

 

[WarChiefZeke]

Will be watching this thread, my kids and I had a great time with the first game. It keeps getting better as you go on.

 

[JustKneller]

All I'll say is that I'm super envious that you get to experience it for the first time, I wish I could erase that part of my memory so I can enjoy Subnautica again without knowing anything about it.

Made me think of this:



I'm hoping that presenting it focusing on thought process more so than events might bring back that first time feel.

 

[JustKneller]

The fire is out on the pod and my PDA booted up in emergency mode. However, the data is corrupted, so it's pretty sparse on details. There is a survival guide and the first two steps are to administer first aid and take an inventory of supplies and situation. The med station on the wall seems to be working. I took a medkit, used it, and it appears to regenerate new med kits in time. Otherwise on the pod, I have a fabricator to make things, if I have blueprints and materials, and a small storage locker. I actually can carry more on my person than I can put in storage. Note to self, don't hoard, I have nowhere to put it all for now. Just get what you need. In the storage, I have a couple bottles of water, a couple of "food blocks", and a couple of flares.

Ok, Maslow's heirarchy of needs. I can breathe. I have safe shelter. I need to figure out food and water. So, I need to figure out what I can eat and drink on this planet. The fabricator has specs for a scanner. I assume this will be important so I pin it to keep an eye out for materials. There are also some gear improvements like an O2 tank, flippers, etc. I have some of that pinned, too, but it's secondary priority.

Should I rush to the Aurora for supplies? I'm not sure. I don't have much with me, but the ship is kind of far away and really on fire. I don't think my emergency fire extinguisher is going to cut it. I think I'll wait/hope for it to burn out and for now I'll just focus on my immediate situation.

Spoiler: One small dive for a man...

I took my first dive and had a look around. The area was somewhat shallow, around 20m deep near the pod. Nothing springs out to eat me. So far so good. There are some mineral depots I can bash for titanium and copper. There are some mushrooms I can pick to make the battery. It doesn't take long to get the parts for the scanner, which I rush to build. Then, I spent the rest of the first day scanning everything I could.

Spoiler: You come for the crash landing, but stay for the sunsets

As the sun went down, I went back to the pod. I read through the notes on everything I scanned. Night swimming on an alien planet? No thanks. Most of the lore was not terribly useful, but a nice way to pass the time. Really, I was looking to answer two questions. What can I eat? What can eat me? The next day, I nab some of the various guppies. I eventually suss out that bladderfish are going to be my water supply and Peepers are my best bet for food, but they also seem to be the fastest. I can make do with a few other options, if needed.

I assume that the fish mate and reproduce so I probably have food and water sorted out, at least for now. I take a closer look at the fabricator, specifically the equipment and tools section. Most of it seems to require local ingredients so I set about to fill out my kit. I especially want a repair tool so I can fix the ship's utility panel and radio. I haven't seen cave sulfur or silicone yet. The fabricator says it comes from creepvine pods and I saw some vines growing a short distance away from the pod. I assume I need to find some caves for the sulfur.

I was right about the vines and surprised about the sulfur. Apparently, sulfur comes from these pods that house kamikaze exploding fish. I want to call bullshit on that, even for aliens. However, if I turn tail as soon as they launch, the damage is manageable and I have first aid kits to heal up. Then I can go back to collect the sulfur.

With a repair tool, I was able to fix the utility panel and radio. The utility panel doesn't seem to do much aside from turn on the lights and make everything stop sparking. The radio can only receive broadcasts and I can't change the station. It must be one of those Disney+ deals.

My PDA informs me that the Aurora is having radiological issues. I receive an automated broadcast indicating the the Aurora has received my pods distress signal and they are dispatching a crew to rescue me in either nine or 99,999 hours. I'm not banking on it what with the mothership being a little busy with being consumed in fire.

Another day ends and I consider my options...

 

[m7600]

Sunsets are really beautiful in this game. Almost everything in this game is beautiful, actually.

Do you want some small tips for where you're at right now, regarding some materials that you should collect to make your life easier, for example? Or do you prefer to go 100% blind through this run? I would advise the latter option actually, lol. But if not, I can give you a few non-spoilery tips.

 

[JustKneller]

Or do you prefer to go 100% blind through this run?

Definitely totally blind. But thanks for offering.

I'm actually a bit past the beginning stage now and have been writing it up. I've really tooled up and just trying to figure out what I want to do with myself. More to come.

 

[m7600]

You're doing a lot better than I did when I first played it! Since I left the scanner for the last (it didn't seem as urgent as the repair tool), I was surviving only on seaweed (i.e., creepvine). It took me a while to realize that I could eat some of the fish! Lol... In my defense, I didn't think that a human being could eat an alien organism (edit: but now that I think about it, creepvine is also an alien organism. I guess I just wasn't thinking straight!)

 

[JustKneller]

I continue to explore the immediate area and tool up. Better O2 tank, flippers, a survival knife, and so on. I also stumble across a number of fish with sharp teeth. I don't even consider going after them with the survival knife. Instead, I just recklessly maneuver around them so I can scan them and then get out of their territory.

The PDA informed me that the Aurora will have a quantum detonation in a couple hours. I'm not worried. What I remember from physics is that quantum things are small, so what's a small explosion in light of everything else that has happened lately?

The radio receives a distress beacon. Some recorded message from other crew people whose seaglide (basically a handheld diver propulsion vehicle) was damaged. Wow, they landed with a seaglide? I had to build one myself. But hey, it sounds like we're about to have some NPCs!

Or, so I thought. Something blasted out of the back of their lifepod and the crew is nowhere to be seen. I salvage an engineer's PDA, another electronic card thing, and some broken tech at the scene. I then head back to my pod to review the take.

I make it back just in time to catch a countdown on the quantum explosion.

Spoiler: [You're gonna need a bigger fire extinguisher]

If that's a quantum explosion, I'd hate to see a full sized one. I'm feeling pretty good about not rushing the ship. The wave of radiation from the blast made it as far as my own pod. The PDA decides this is a good time to share with me a schematic for a radiation-blocking dive suit. Was the PDA holding out on me? What the hell? I make a priority of looking for lead so I can suit up.

While all this is happening, I get a broadcast from a trade ship, the Sunbeam. They received an SOS from the Aurora and they are going to try and help us, (well, apparently just me, so far) out. They're a week out. I have a steady food and water supply and a place to stay. I also have a sneaking suspicion it's not going to be that easy.

I refer back to the PDA. The next step on the survival checklist is to build a habitat to be comfortable for a long term stay. Looking at the specs, building a base seems like a relatively resource hungry venture. And for what? What did I need? The pod has everything I need for survival. And, I might even have a rescue from the Sunbeam to cut my trip short.

Spoiler: [Secret Stash]

I do decide to build some waterproof storage lockers. I've inadvertently picked up a lot of surplus titanium and other materials and want to stash them away, just in case. The lockers a little annoying because I can't attach them to anything so they can get knocked around pretty easy. However, right by my pod is a coral tube tunnel. I set them up in there so they won't be disturbed. One of them is just packed with water extracted from bladderfish. I've noticed that I can pretty much grab a meal while working on other things, but I run through water pretty quickly and want to keep a supply on hand.

I'm really not sure what to do from here. I could start working on a larger habitat, just to have something to keep myself busy. We'll first see how the Sunbeam rescue pans out, I guess.

 

[m7600]

I'm really enjoying these reports! There's several things I could say, but I won't say anything, lol.

 

[JustKneller]

There's several things I could say, but I won't say anything, lol.

It must be torture. I appreciate the restraint.

 

[JustKneller]

I receive another lifepod distress beacon. This time it's Ozzy from the cafeteria. By the time I get there, I find another blown out pod. There is an interesting cave system near the pod that would take me deeper into the planet. This may come in handy later.

At this point, I'm mostly puttering in the waters around my pod. It's safe, there's food and water, and I can wait out the Sunbeam. Occasionally, I find bits of debris to scan, which expands my blueprint database for a habitat. I've also picked up specs for a few new gadgets like a grav trap and laser cutter, but nothing useful to me for the moment.

Spoiler: [Thar she blows]

I discover these interesting creatures. Fortunately, according to the scanner, they only eat plankton. So, basically they're alien whales. But wow, do I ever approach them carefully. I'm not looking to get swallowed whole. Upon closer look, I find that the barnacles on their back have some useful minerals.

The Sunbeam just sent me coordinates for their landing. It's only a klick away. Should I head out there ahead of time and scout it out? Should I watch at a distance? So far, I've been the only one to successfully land on this planet. Those aren't good odds. I'm considering taking another trip out to Ozzy's pod and poking around that cave system. There are some teethy fish in that neighborhood, but if the caves have anything of interest, it may be my plan B if/when the Sunbeam falls through.

Spoiler: [???]

Do you see that? It's subtle, but it's there. That's the landing zone for the Sunbeam. If you don't look too closely, it looks like another cloud in the distance. But, if you look at the edges, the horizon is past it. It's not a cloud, but some kind of fog. Why would the Sunbeam land in a place you can't see? I decide to meander towards the landing site. At the first sign of trouble, I will turn right back.

About a half klick away, the water became murkier. I don't care for the loss of visibility, but I soldier on. A few hundred meters away, I see the first dry land since crashing.

Spoiler: [Land ho!]

Maybe I could set up camp there instead of living underwater?

I start my approach and the PDA provides me my first sign of trouble, “Detecting massive energy signature in the area". That's when I turn around. If every sci-fi movie I've ever watched has taught me anything, “massive energy signature” means either super advanced aliens that want to kill you with laser weapons or something that will likely just explode. "Massive energy signatures" are never good news. I also now have an alert that another broadcast was received on the radio. All the more reason to return to my pod.

Back at base, I am hoping for an update from the Sunbeam, but instead am filled with dread. “Nine new biological subjects designated. Mode: hunting/analyzing”. There's another language as well, but it wasn't in English. In fact, it doesn't even sound human. Super advanced aliens with laser weapons it is, then.

 

[m7600]

Reefbacks are really cool. Sometimes it's a hassle to harvest the minerals on their backs due to the presence of Tiger Plants. But other than that, they're awesome.

 

[JustKneller]

One thing I haven't really figured out is if I need to "catch" what drops from barnacles and smashed stone. I believe I do, but it would be nice if it's just added to your inventory. The barnacles are tough because (especially if it's in grass), whatever drops gets lost and seems to drop "through" the reefback. I think I've lost some resources this way. I don't worry about the copper and titanium, but gold, silver, and a lot of the rest are too precious to lose.

But, reefbacks are super cool. They (especially the noise) is really frightening at first, considering you're on an alien planet. But, once you realize they are basically just whales, it's all quite relaxing.

 

[m7600]

But, reefbacks are super cool. They (especially the noise) is really frightening at first, considering you're on an alien planet.

Oh, if that's how you feel about the noises that the Reefbacks make, wait until you meet some of the other residents of that planet...

 

[JustKneller]

I don't have a way to warn the Sunbeam. And, were I to storm the island with just my survival knife, it would probably only get me killed. I have to sit this one out. I nervously putter around the pod for the next day or so and wait to witness Sunbeam's fate.

Spoiler: [Game over, man, game over!]

SEE!!! What did I tell you!? Killer aliens with lasers! It's always killer aliens with lasers. It's never aliens with lasers that want to help you. It's never aliens that want to kill you, but only have sticks and rocks. Aliens. Lasers. Kill you. Bank on it. If I had a dollar for every time it was killer aliens with lasers, I'd be retired now, probably spending my days lounging around the Restaurant at the End of the Universe sipping Pan-Galactic Gargle Blasters. But no, I'm here, on whatever this god forsaken mission is.

I need to think this one out. Is this what took down the Aurora? Probably. They speak English, but are clearly not diplomatic. According to the alien transmission, it looks like they detected the Sunbeam on approach. That means they're probably looking at space, not at what's already on the planet. It might just be a planetary defense system. I mean, with their technology, surely they would have spotted me if they were looking. Still, we gotta play this one safe. I don't want any unexpected guests.

Ok, to the north are the killer aliens with lasers. The nuclear dumpster fire of the Aurora is east of me. I may have misremembered physics, quantum mechanics, and explosions, but I'm sure I remember geometry. My pod is the vertex of an angle and the paths to both the aliens and the Aurora are the arms of that angle. Now, if I bisect this angle, that creates a new trajectory mapping the complete fucking opposite direction I want to be going. So, No Fucking Way is the the northeast which means I'll be heading southwest towards the Staying Alive Zone.

I think it's time to tuck a secret base deep into the sea, just in case. My pod, visible from a flyby and with a somewhat functioning radio may not be the safest place on a planet with alien hunters. I double check my beacons noticed that Ozzy's pod, with the potentially interesting cave system, is in that general direction.

I get another pod broadcast while I'm working this out. Some VIP. The system is already requesting burial services. I still decide to check it out, if only for the potential of new blueprints. I find the capsule having crashed in some kind of sea mushroom forest. That's new. I find some lithium ore. That's also new. At the pod, I just find the PDA of someone saying their final prayers. This capsule is also blasted out.

Spoiler: [Capsule]

But, I realize something. All the blasted out capsules I've found have been from the inside out. Not the outside in. I don't think this is the killer aliens. Instead, I think they were all attacked by stalkers. I've seen these shark-crocodile-like creatures playing with scrap metal so I expect these pods were just another chew toy. This would explain why their breaches were pulled outwards and why I've remained safe. I landed in a shallow area, floating on the water's surface, with no stalkers around.

I mention this because all these pods sent out emergency recordings and they were all breached. Part of me thought they were tracked by the killer aliens, but that seems unlikely now.

Why am I the only capsule that managed to float, though?

Spoiler: [Recon]

On the way back from the wreck, I stop by Ozzy's and take a few pictures of the lay of the land. There's a sand shark that patrols the area. I look over the pictures again at the pod. I'm not really liking my options. The cave is nice, but the sand shark ruins the good real estate. It's also pretty out in the open. No natural camouflage for the base. I refine my plan. Maybe I put the base somewhere between Ozzy's and VIP's pod? I'll have close enough access to two interesting areas, but won't be too close to either in case the killer aliens do start tracking radios. Still, I can find either easily thanks to their beacons still running.

Yeah, that could work. Time to plan another recon mission.

Side note and full disclosure, I cheated a little a this point. It wasn't clear to me how the mechanics of base-building work. The PDA had some very broad guidelines, but it didn't mention how to get oxygen, what I might need for an airlock, etc. So, I goofed off for a bit building random stuff under my lifepod to wrap my head around it all and then reloaded my game. It's a little weird that the base rooms are all tunnels and not actual rooms. But, I suspect more spacious/proper rooms will come in time.

 

[m7600]

Side note and full disclosure, I cheated a little a this point. It wasn't clear to me how the mechanics of base-building work. The PDA had some very broad guidelines, but it didn't mention how to get oxygen, what I might need for an airlock, etc. So, I goofed off for a bit building random stuff under my lifepod to wrap my head around it all and then reloaded my game. It's a little weird that the base rooms are all tunnels and not actual rooms. But, I suspect more spacious/proper rooms will come in time.

Nah, that's not cheating, it's all fine and dandy.

Fun fact: there's a mod that makes the game way more difficult by making the air unbreathable.

 

[WarChiefZeke]

Reefbacks are really cool. Sometimes it's a hassle to harvest the minerals on their backs due to the presence of Tiger Plants. But other than that, they're awesome.

I was mega disappointed that I couldn't build a base on top of one tbh

 

[m7600]

I was mega disappointed that I couldn't build a base on top of one tbh

In Subnautica: Below Zero you can build a base inside a Vent Garden Leviathan. You're not supposed to, but it can be done, lol.

 

[JustKneller]

Fun fact: there's a mod that makes the game way more difficult by making the air unbreathable.

What in the fifty shades of fucks are you supposed to do there? You're pretty much tied to your pod, right? Or you have to create little way stations to catch your breath along the way. However, that requires minimally six titanium, three quartz, and a copper (compartment, hatch and solar). No spoilers, please, but quartz hasn't been super easy to come by for me, at least not as easy as copper and titanium. I usually have to hunt a little for it.

Nevertheless, that sounds pretty fun, actually.