Subnautica

[PlanktonSideburns]

giving this a go, survival mode, lights off, big telly and monitors. i want immersion!

will contunue the wille thorne mythos also

[PlanktonSideburns]

loading cyclops!?

there better not be a cyclops in this game. terryfying prospect

[ASFTSN]

loading cyclops!?

there better not be a cyclops in this game. terryfying prospect

It's something you can build, not an actual cyclops, worry ye not.

Subnautica was "my lockdown game" before it turned out lockdown lasted for fucking ages and is going to make a comeback. I honestly can't remember being this enraptured by exploration in a game for years, I thought it was flippin' brilliant and the storyline was surprisingly great. Could have done with a bit more actual danger instead of implied danger but I suppose that's what the ironman mode is for.

[ASFTSN]

giving this a go, survival mode, lights off, big telly and monitors. i want immersion!

will contunue the wille thorne mythos also

If I could give a new player one bit of advice it would be to look up absolutely nothing about it before starting, it's all about the discovery!

[Blue Jam]

Anyone tried this in VR yet? Considering getting an Oculus Rift but I like lots of horrible scary games and would probably too much of a wuss to try it.

[PlanktonSideburns]

If I could give a new player one bit of advice it would be to look up absolutely nothing about it before starting, it's all about the discovery!

good shout! loving this so far

[PlanktonSideburns]

fucking hell, just had a MASSIVE sense of panic and dread brought on by the sheer scale of this. had to turn it off a minuite. then got attacked by a land crab

how do you kill a land crab? can i stab it?

[Blue Jam]

how do you kill a land crab? can i stab it?

Have you got the

Spoiler alert

repulsion gun

[close]

yet? I had a lot of fun using that to pick up land crabs and smash them against rocks like a hungry bastard seagull.

There is also

Spoiler alert

an upgrade available for the knife

[close]

. And a

Spoiler alert

freeze gun

[close]

, but no proper FPS-style guns. That just makes it all the more fun.

[PlanktonSideburns]

ah cool, thats good to know!

i arrived on the rescue island in the dark, and the buggers were attracted to my searchlight. crouched in the dark until the sun came up, and then saw the

Spoiler alert

MASSIVE FUCKING SPACE OBELISK

[close]

in the morning, which made me do a massive fucking shudder. what a game! not had this sense of awesome yawning despair since starting an arts based masters in 2020 playing shadow of the colossus

[Blue Jam]

WILLIE THORNE ISLAND!

Yes, the first time you see that in the game is quite a moment. It's just a beautiful game to explore, the world really drives you to keep developing your tech so you can go further and deeper and see more of it.

[PlanktonSideburns]

i think it was your talking here about it that inspired me to get hold of it, and im glad i did.

going to stop playing it for now, and start playing it with the wife i think, - feels like a fun game to play together

[Blue Jam]

The bit where you find out what

Spoiler alert

The Massive Space Obelisk

[close]

actually does is a particularly cruel and  unusual moment. I absolutely loved it.

[evilcommiedictator]

The bit where you find out what

Spoiler alert

The Massive Space Obelisk

[close]

actually does is a particularly cruel and  unusual moment. I absolutely loved it.

I love watching streams of Subnautica when this is about to happen and being all over the misdirection, it's such a cool moment

[MojoJojo]

I have been convinced to get this. I got it on PS4.

I don't know if this is just a PS4 issue or what but the "grab fish" button is X which is a pain since you need to get close to fish to catch them, then take your finger off the camera joystick to press X which makes it a frustrating experience. As a gameplay mechanic it probably mimics the frustration of actually trying to grab fish quite well, but I can't hep thinking I'm missing something.

[PlanktonSideburns]

sounds silmilar, if slightly less annoying on PC

there are things available to make fishing less frustrating in the future it seems tho

[Blue Jam]

Yes, the key is to keep exploring and to always have your scanner to hand.

[PlanktonSideburns]

i am in

Spoiler alert

willie thorne's shed

[close]

Loving this so much

[MojoJojo]

I'm getting close to being able to build a base - does it matter much where I put it? It's going to have to be fairly close to Lifepod 5, but that seems a bit of a waste (since lifepod 5 is already there). Should I just join it up to lifepod 5 for simplicity and to save me the cost of a fabricator? Is it worth building up a big base or am I going to have to fuck off to the other side of the planet and leave it behind?

I struggle with base building games - I had the same problems with No Mans Sky before i discovered how teleporters worked. I worry I'm going to commit a lot of time and effort to an area and then be forced to leave it behind.

[Blue Jam]

I put my first base on some rocks near Lifepod 5 because it seemed relatively safe (those farting manatee things aside) with a plentiful food supply nearby, and being partly above the water I figured I wouldn't have to worry about pressure causing structural damage (but I don't think depth really matters). Looking this up later it seemed lots of people build near Lifepod 5 and it's generally regarded as a good idea. The literally central location also turned out to be very handy.

Here's a handy hint: If you die you respawn in the last base you visited, and minus all the stuff you picked up since your last visit to a base. It's therefore useful to build extra bases so you can duck into them and secure your stuff. I built one on Willie Thorne Island when I was scavenging materials there, and it was handy because if I died I didn't wake up near Lifepod 5 and have to travel back out to the island. I built a few very simple bases in the depths later in the game. This is also handy for other reasons which I won't spoil.

Also you can always dismantle a base and get the materials back so don't worry about wasting materials. Some people even carry the materials for a simple base around with them so they effectively have a portable base, but I never went that far.

A base can be as simple or elaborate as you like, but remember that the more complex it gets the weaker it gets, and adding windows will weaken the walls. An observatory and an alien aquarium are for the truly decadent... but it's fun to be decadent in this game. Just have fun with it!



I could give you more base-building tips but I'd be spoiling the game a bit, I'd rather just leave you to discover what you can add to your base, and why. Just keep scanning...

[Blue Jam]

You're all making me want to load up an old save and see if I can build a stupidly large and decadent base now. I'm going to go full Barry Homeowner and put in a square front lawn and a coffee machine and a house sign that reads "Serendipity"

Spoiler:

Spoiler alert

You actually can add all of the above to a base!

[close]

[PlanktonSideburns]

do you ever stop getting the absolute SHITS about the massivness of the sea in this?

just made a Cyclops. i was expecting it to be bit, but fuck!

[Blue Jam]

"Oxygen supply offline!"

The voice of the Cyclops is a bit sassy.

do you ever stop getting the absolute SHITS about the massivness of the sea in this?

You've just made a Cyclops. Just wait until you see how deep the sea is...

What has everyone named their bases, subs etc? My bases were Excalibur Cottage, Classic House and The Cinnamons. My Seamoths included RONALADO and Kloppo, my Cyclops was The Penetrator and my

Spoiler alert

P.R.A.W.N suit

[close]

was LEGEND GARY.

[PlanktonSideburns]

Yea did not like that there's a different voice in that thing.

How deep can it go?

[Blue Jam]

I like being greeted with "Welcome aboard, Captain". It reminds me of when I used to get Siri to address me as "Your Highness".

As with the Seamoth, you have to install depth upgrades in the Cyclops. When you see how deep it can go you'll shit brix.

[ASFTSN]

do you ever stop getting the absolute SHITS about the massivness of the sea in this?

Not for ages mate. I will say there's a couple of areas that aren't as big as they seem and have a slightly artificial feeling "end" to them, but then in turn I'd finished 95% of the game before I discovered a whole new route into an area I hadn't known about before.

What has everyone named their bases, subs etc? My bases were Excalibur Cottage, Classic House and The Cinnamons. My Seamoths included RONALADO and Kloppo, my Cyclops was The Penetrator and my

Spoiler alert

P.R.A.W.N suit

[close]

was LEGEND GARY.

I called my Cyclops "Determination" and completely totalled it 5 minutes into its maiden voyage due to a rather unfortunate encounter with...something. The next one was called...."Determination II".

[ASFTSN]

If you can get over the fear of piloting an extremely slow and fragile sink of resources around, Cyclops is ace to be used as a mobile base. You can build things inside it the same way as a normal base, lockers, furniture etc! Plus it has a horn for no reason whatsoever!

How deep can it go?

If I remember correctly this is shown alongside the depth monitor at the top when you're piloting it.

[Blue Jam]

Alright, the Cyclops can go to a depth of

Spoiler alert

1,700m

[close]

. Brrrrrrr.

Cyclops tip: The first upgrade module you'll want to install is the Fire Suppression one. Just trust me on this.

[ASFTSN]

I must have overlooked that, didn't even know that existed. I just played the whole game assuming I was 5 seconds away from writing it off.

[Blue Jam]

Did you find the coffee machine though?

Spoiler alert

It only does decaf, alas

[close]

.

[Kryton]

I really need to try this game again. I bought it, played about twenty minutes and somehow forgot about it.