You can use two items that are seldomly used in the original, unmodded version: the pipes and the floating air pumps! The floating air pump would transform the toxic air above water into oxygen (or at least that would be how one could headcanon it).
Later on, you travel between your bases with your usual submarines, which have oxygen generators built into them. I don't think I'm spoiling too much if I tell you that you can build submarines in this game, you probably already know it by now : P
There's also a type of run that some YouTubers do, in which the challenge is that you have to hold your breath IRL whenever you're swimming underwater.
Lol. Wow. I wouldn't even bother upgrading my tank if I did that challenge. I doubt I can hold my breath for 135 seconds. I just tried it now. 52 seconds.
Subnautica is one of the best games to experience in VR. I said "experience", not play. Controls are a little too clunky for my tastes, but it is truly breathtaking to see certain scenes underwater, or even to explore your base, provided you have lots of windows of course.
Works with the vanilla game too, no need to buy a separate version like with Skyrim or Fallout.
That would be their main intended use, yes (players have discovered some hilarious unintended uses, but I won't mention them yet, lol).
But yeah, they're kinda unnecessary in the vanilla game. By the time you need to explore that deep, chances are that you've already built a seamoth.
Lol. Wow. I wouldn't even bother upgrading my tank if I did that challenge. I doubt I can hold my breath for 135 seconds. I just tried it now. 52 seconds.
I forgot to address this. In that case, you can hold your breath twice or three times in a row. Just divide your current tank's capacity by 52 and round it up.
A realization hits me as I'm heading out to scout the new location. There's a planetary defense system that will shoot down a rescue ship. Nobody can come rescue me. Even if I somehow manage to get transport off the planet, I'll likely get shot down as I leave. I can't leave until that laser is neutralized. If I ever want to get off the planet, I need to take care of that weapon and probably face the killer aliens with lasers. Ladies and gentlemen, this is what we in the biz call “A Call to Adventure”. Our hero now has a journey.
No more sunbathing and sipping bladderfish coladas. I need to sort out this base and figure out how I'm going to tool up for aliens. Do I hide safely away for now? Maybe I need to set up closer to the Aurora so I can salvage it for technology?
This is an area I find in Staying Alive Zone. It's shallow enough that solar will work (one point) but the rock complex will provide some camouflage (two points). If I build it right, nobody will even be able to see the base unless they're right on top of it. Additionally, because of the distance from the Aurora, there's no radiation (three points). So, I can use my rebreather for deeper dives without putting myself at additional risk.
Afterwards, I explore a bit towards No Fucking Way, veering towards the Aurora. I'm desperate for gold since I need it to build another fabricator and I'm hoping to find some scanning station wreckage, too. I stumble across a pod floating upside down in the water. No survivors, of course. However, there is a PDA recording that talks about some hostile creature in the area called a Reaper. Of course there is. However, this person might have actually survived. They mentioned heading towards safe shelter in the Aurora. I hope he wasn't there for the explosion. Then again, this pod is so close to the ship, odds are he's toast anyway. Come to think of it, what's to say the Aurora isn't bound to have another quantum shit fit?
I do find gold in the area, but no scanning station. I work out the blueprint for a potential weapon, though. It's a propulsion cannon. It's not a alien death ray, but it sounds like it could smack around a target a bit. Also, from the Reaper survivor pod, I have a schematic for some kind of creature lure device. That's my defense strategy, for now.
I circle around the back of the Aurora looking for wreckage and see something there. It's bigger than a stalker and moves so fast in and out of my murky horizon that I can't even take a picture. It looks dangerous. Is that a Reaper?
So, that's three points for Staying Alive Zone and zero points for No Fucking Way, home of the Reaper and possible nuclear death. Looks like we have a winner.
I receive some more great news from my PDA on this excursion. I've contracted an infection. I feel fine, but I don't have any kind of antibiotics so a decline in my health is probably right around the corner. I see two possible solutions. One, I set up the new base, explore the new area, and hope I scavenge some useful medical equipment that can cure me. If I can work out a scanning station, that probably ups my odds. Two, rush the still flaming and radioactive Aurora and hope there's a medical station not on fire where I can salvage some meds.
For fuck's sake, an eclipse!? As if I need an ominous sign on top of everything. I get it! The shit has hit the fan. Thanks, universe, for making sure I got the memo. It's in this moment I realize that I don't know what day it is, or even exactly how long I've been here. I bet it's a Monday, though. This feels like a Monday.
Anyway, I decide on the safety base. It's a crap shoot either way, but this is the less risky option. I probably want a cutting torch to get around the Aurora and I don't have the materials to make one. Plus, who knows what else is on that ship? Maybe the killer aliens are hanging out there. Maybe these Reapers found their way on board. I want to be as tooled up as possible before chancing it, hopefully with something better than some gravity gun. Might as well just give me a crowbar and send me on my way (Half-Life 2, anyone? ) But, if Plan A pans out, I might not even need to bother with the Aurora.
I watch another sunset and wonder how many more I have left.
Fun fact: if you press F1 during the game, you can see some technical details, including the name of the biome in which you're currently at. For example, what you call the Staying Alive Zone is the Safe Shallows, the areas with creepvine are the Kelp Forests, the murky waters of the Aurora site is the Crash Zone, and the place where the Sunbeam was supposed to land is located in the Mountains.
Not yet. I mean, I know I can cure fish with salt to preserve the food, but hunger hasn't been terribly time sensitive for me, so I just cook all my fish fresh and eat it. I'm guessing more uses will eventually come up, though.
I'm really trying to avoid hoarding and scooping up everything. I already have a nasty compulsion to scan everything scan-able, which has resulted in an abundance of titanium (scanning broken tools for which I already have the blueprints, which then turns the scrap to titanium). I'm tempted to build a titanium storehouse somewhere near my base, just so I can keep my base uncluttered.
Not yet. I mean, I know I can cure fish with salt to preserve the food, but hunger hasn't been terribly time sensitive for me, so I just cook all my fish fresh and eat it. I'm guessing more uses will eventually come up, though.
Right, I knew about the bleach, but then forgot about it. The disinfected water is better, but you also need to harvest coral tube and it becomes much more of a project than just plucking bladderfish out of the water.
But, this game is really starting to get creepy for me. I'm doing dives to 100-150m and it's dark, and the surface is far away, and when you add the spelunking in caves and wrecks on top of that, it's really harrowing. I don't think I'm prepared for this depth. I still have no real weapons, and some of the critters I'm seeing (from a distance) look rather large and rather hungry. Like, I know in my head that it's just a game and I'm only looking at pictures on a screen, but I still feel like I'm there.
I will have the base picture in my next entry. But don't get your hopes up. I'm somewhat of a minimalist.
But, this game is really starting to get creepy for me. I'm doing dives to 100-150m and it's dark, and the surface is far away, and when you add the spelunking in caves and wrecks on top of that, it's really harrowing. I don't think I'm prepared for this depth. I still have no real weapons, and some of the critters I'm seeing (from a distance) look rather large and rather hungry. Like, I know in my head that it's just a game and I'm only looking at pictures on a screen, but I still feel like I'm there.
I work out what I want to have in my base. Two compartments, a hatch, a solar panel, a fabricator, a med kit station, a battery charger, and a locker. This is enough to get me started. I'm intentionally not installing a radio. I may set up a satellite base with one or just occasionally pop back to the pod to collect recorded broadcasts. I work out the materials needed and if I can lug it all with me. I have 48 units of personal storage. The materials will take 27 units of storage. The seaglide takes six, my rebreather takes another four. My knife, flashlight, scanner, and emergency flare takes four, as well. I also carry a medkit and a couple waters for another three. I should set up a beacon, not at base, but somewhat nearby, just in case. Oh, I can't forget the habitat builder. That's 19 units in gear, 27 units in materials, so 46 total. Room to spare.
I double check both my blue prints and inventory. My loadout is accurate. I'm ready and I go.
When I get to the Staying Alive Zone, I survey the area again and plan ahead. I want the tunnels to be able to loop through the rock formations as I expand to keep things as inconspicuous as possible. I'm not planning a huge base, but want to make sure I use the space well. I find a great spot to start. There's a natural stone arch with some depth. It's a bit fussy to fit, but I'm able to build two chambers under the arch with just one end peeking out for solar. I find some quartz in a nearby shallow cave and add an observation chamber on the other end. It really helps open up the space.
Before:
After:
View from above:
View from the beacon:
Front view:
Inside views:
It's about as covert as a base can be. You can't see it from the beacon I set up about 100m away. But if I go straight west from the beacon, I know what to look for to find it. You can only see the ends from above and would really have to be looking in the rocks to find it. It's a simple design, but it really checks all the boxes for me, so I'm happy.
I spend the next couple of days ferrying all my supplies from the pod to my new base, adding additional lockers to store everything. I then collect all my floating storage lockers and store them away in the pod. When everything is sorted, I have a weird feeling as I head back to my new base. I no longer feel like a traveler waylaid from my intended destination. I'm now a resident of this world, albeit a (hopefully) temporary one. I head home.
I familiarize myself with the neighborhood while scavenging for the materials for the gravity gun. This “weapon” is quite a boon. At the very least, it makes fishing so much easier. I get a little cocky and end up swimming a little at night. I get less cocky when I have trouble finding my way back home in the dark.
There's also a rather large wreck to the southeast of me, near Ozzy's pod, but it seemed a little maze-y when I peeked in to the breach so I made a pathfinder tool. Additionally, I notice at this depth that, even with the rebreather, my oxygen doesn't last terribly long, so I scavenge for some silver to make another O2 tank.
I run into this guy when I'm looking for the silver and he takes a hearty bite out of me. I don't even think of my scanner. I just turn tail and run back to base. It's further than I thought. I must of wandered a little to far from base following the cliff. I make a note to myself.
I did get the silver, though. So, I build my backup tank. While I'm there, I add an extra solar panel to the end of the base. I don't use a lot of power, but I often use the night hours to prep provisions and build other things which drains my reserves quickly.
I head back to the wreck. I believe this is in Staying Alive Zone, aside from a sand shark a relatively safe distance away. I'm nervous as I enter. If I run low on oxygen, I can't just seaglide straight up. I have to budget my air and make sure I don't get stuck too far in. Hopefully, the pathfinder tool will keep me from getting lost inside. I make a deal with myself. Three quarters of my main tank is for exploring, the rest and my backup tank is for getting out.
I have a close call and completely run out of oxygen before I can get to the surface. I can barely hold on to my seaglide as my vision starts to darken and fade (the fade out when suffocating is brilliant design). But I just make it to the surface and gasp to catch my breath. I navigate the twisted wreckage and find part of the blueprints for a modification station. I also find a perfectly preserved poster, a PDA, and a data log. The venture was not as profitable as I had hoped, but it wasn't a waste of time.
I return to my base with my nerves on edge. I decide to give myself the next day to just hang around and collect myself. I lackadaisically collect bladderfish and store up my water supply. I could explore Ozzy's caves, but I really need to find more wreckage. I need more tech. I want that scanning station. Otherwise, I feel like I'm just wandering around aimlessly.
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