The Snag Rifle - A Multipurpose Tool

MrNature72MrNature72 North Carolina Join Date: 2015-03-28 Member: 202682Members
So I heard all these ramblings about a harpoon gun, and I have to say, I have to agree with the devs on this one. You give something that's a straight-forward, balls-out underwater assault weapon and people will abuse the tits off of it. It'll turn our fantastic little ocean into a slaughterhouse where people roll around just harpooning everything in sight.

No more chasing fish. No more dealing with Stalkers. No more pants-destroying terror when those 3 bone sharks are tearing your Seamoth apart while you make a beeline to your Cyclops.

And that would blow so hard I wouldn't have to worry about the leaves on my front lawn for years

But at the same time, sometimes I feel kind of gimped when it comes to my defenses. It's not too bad right now, considering I can generally throw on my flippers and be a mason whenever a nasty fish goes up, because I'll be brickin' it. But when I see things that make my glorious Cyclops look like a toddler, I get a little worried.

So I started scheming. And so, the Snag Rifle was born.

The Snag Rifle is a long, white piece of machinery, much like the rest of our tools. It has a long revolving, five round chamber on the bottom of it, and a sleek, thin barrel. On the top are five lights, which stay off for the most part, but serve a very unique purpose. And one other note: this baby doesn't work off of Batteries, it works off of Snag Rotaries.

So here's how the Snag Rifle works. You point it at something, and click a button. Pretty simple start right? But now's the part where it gets interesting.

This isn't a straight forward point-and-click adventure. When you pull the trigger, it fires a single Snag Line, which is basically a spear with a nice little claw on the end. If it slams into something, it'll stick to it. And now your options start to expand.

You can either click the RMB button to start reeling your target in, which won't use up the Snag Line (so let's say you snagged a peeper. The Snag Rifle doesn't do any damage, so don't go expecting it to straight up murder things), or, and this is the run part, hit LMB again to launch the other half of the Snag Line, which can connect to any other object. It the floats at the distance it was set too, and can be either be reeled towards the target (say, you strapped a Peeper to a rock), loosened up (say, you strapped a Peeper to a rock), or set to lock or loose (say, you guessed it, you strapped a peeper to a rock). Finally, there's the Spring setting, which is a halfway point. It can expand, but only to a certain limit, and tries to return to its original length! This means you can treat it somewhat like a leash.

This also activates one of the lights on top of your Snag Rifle, which starts of green. Snag Lines slowly decay over time, or once you get too far away, but they can also be damage. This can be done when you snag a particularly large creature. Don't go thinking you strap a Reefback to the sea floor with just one measly little Snag Line. As they pull against it, it will do damage to the snag line, and the light will shift from green, to yellow, to orange, to black, at which point it will switch to a red X, signifying it's permanently broken. The damage depends on the size of the creature, and the setting of the snag line. For example, if you have it on loose, where it can freely expand, not as much damage will be done to it. But say you're trying to drag a Stalker towards a rock, that shit will get damaged right fast.

Clicking R will use a single Snag Rotary to reload all of your broken Snag Lines, but won't let you go above 5 deployed Snag Lines. Be careful!

Later, maybe you can upgrade it to hold more Snag Lines!

Changing the settings on the Snag Rifle is easy, too! Just click (T), and your mouse is now a multitool! Roll the Scrollwheel back to pull in, forward to give all the Snag Lines slack! Click it to change modes, from lock to loose! Press (T) again to return to the general quick-select menu, and continue on your day!

So now you have an interesting multitool. Here, let's discuss some of the things you could do with this!

1) Strap a couple stalkers to a floater rock, then strap the floater rock to your Seamoth. Mobile base of angry fish!

2) Hop in your Seamoth, find a herd of Reefbacks. Strap your Seamoth to one, set it to Spring, and now you're in a Reefback Chariot!

3) Do the same thing, but with a Cyclops. Who needs a power supply when you have the power of WEIRD GIANT WHALES!

4) Use it in combination with Seaglide for rapid movement, and work to strap a Leviathan to the sea floor, then start retracting it to pin it down. Hope you brought a bunch of spare Rotaries, because that thing isn't too keen to you or your stupid tools!

5) Use it to haul awesome things out of caves! That Seamoth is now your local underwater U-Haul!

6) Or use it to pull peepers in. You know, if you're boring.

Comments

  • MrNature72MrNature72 North Carolina Join Date: 2015-03-28 Member: 202682Members
    Also, quick addition.

    On each Snag Line, both on the center (where the rope would 'expand' and 'contract', like a two way reel), and on each of the clawed tips, there would be a highly visible light that would show the health, same as on the Snag Rifle.

    That way, at a glance, you can tell what lines will need replacing soon, and which ones are still holding up strong.
  • SangmerSangmer Miami, FL Join Date: 2015-03-29 Member: 202722Members
    I think that it's way too powerful with it's reload. It should take longer to deploy lines (more in tune with a single shot spear gun), but no limit on deployed lines. That way it's not a jack of all trades, but you don't have to worry as much when managing lines.
  • MrNature72MrNature72 North Carolina Join Date: 2015-03-28 Member: 202682Members
    Sangmer wrote: »
    I think that it's way too powerful with it's reload. It should take longer to deploy lines (more in tune with a single shot spear gun), but no limit on deployed lines. That way it's not a jack of all trades, but you don't have to worry as much when managing lines.

    I understand your viewpoint, but I think that's overpowered. Then you could just reload and constantly strap down a dozen Leviathans.

    The reload mechanic simply makes it so you can't have infinite lines. Also, the fire-rate isn't semi-automatic. It would be a charge mechanic, so you'd fire once ever 2-3 seconds with max charge, and even that wouldn't be infinite range.

    How do you think it's too powerful with its reload?
  • AutochtonAutochton Sweden Join Date: 2015-03-20 Member: 202358Members
    I just gotta say, I love this idea. It's very effective as a hunting tool or for self-defense ("Oh no, Mr. Stalker, those rocks there are what you should be close to. While I swim hell for leather!") or for a number of other uses, as you describe, but it's not any kind of weapon per se. It fits really well with the style and ethos of the game, I'd say.
  • TartarinTartarin France Join Date: 2015-03-15 Member: 202162Members
    good idea indeed

    But instead of claw, why not a web with burdens ? Or will it be a possible upgrade to enhance the grip/area of the grip ? (dunno if " grip " is the right word this, sorry).
  • MrNature72MrNature72 North Carolina Join Date: 2015-03-28 Member: 202682Members
    Autochton wrote: »
    I just gotta say, I love this idea. It's very effective as a hunting tool or for self-defense ("Oh no, Mr. Stalker, those rocks there are what you should be close to. While I swim hell for leather!") or for a number of other uses, as you describe, but it's not any kind of weapon per se. It fits really well with the style and ethos of the game, I'd say.

    Exactly! Also, with things coming up like the DNA scanner, I imagine they're constantly going to give us (increasingly questionable) reasons to get nice and close to things that would much rather be eating us than letting us poke around with their genetics.

    As such, it also makes a fantastic way to subdue larger creatures, without having to just say 'zap it with the stasis rifle'. Like honestly, you think a Sea Emperor, Warper, Rock Puncher or Leviathan would stop for your measly little stasis rifle? Because I don't.

    It makes it a much more interesting experience subduing larger creatures. It's no longer just a point-and-click adventure, it's a dangerous expedition of trying to sneak up on a massive creature, and strapping it to the sea floor. You need to lure it there, and work around it. Then, once it's tied up, get close to its tail and get the DNA sample, or whatever.

    You could also use it defensively. Like, strap a boulder an entrance of a tilted cave. Loosen it to let it drop, and reel it in to close the cave.

    Better yet, you could use it for extreme fishing. Tie a bunch of peepers to your Seamoth, sit that thing on the sea floor, and wait for the sharks.

    But hopefully not bonesharks.

    F**k those things.
    Tartarin wrote: »
    good idea indeed

    But instead of claw, why not a web with burdens ? Or will it be a possible upgrade to enhance the grip/area of the grip ? (dunno if " grip " is the right word this, sorry).

    I think what you're trying to say is the hit detection of the 'claw', so it wouldn't have to be such a direct grip. While yes, a web would provide a much wider hit detection range, I also doubt it could fly as far as a harpoon-esq claw on the end of a titanium rod.

    Maybe, however, you could upgrade it to a tri-rod system, where each shot fired from 3 barrels (but still only used 1 ammo), and the three Snag Lines would be connected to a single (stronger, due to the triple weave) rope, and have a significantly wider hit radius, combined with a stronger reel, spring, and general strength.
  • SeldkamSeldkam Join Date: 2014-01-01 Member: 191213Members
    SO just cause 2's grapple in a nutshell :P

    This seems overpowered IMO, but it could work and its a cool idea...
  • MrNature72MrNature72 North Carolina Join Date: 2015-03-28 Member: 202682Members
    Seldkam wrote: »
    SO just cause 2's grapple in a nutshell :P

    This seems overpowered IMO, but it could work and its a cool idea...

    May I ask what makes it, in your opinion, overpowered?

    I enjoy discussing the features of the Snag Rifle, as I doubt it's perfect in its current iteration. And the best way to go about getting it perfect is to discuss it with the people who'd use it. The players!
  • SeldkamSeldkam Join Date: 2014-01-01 Member: 191213Members
    not in the sense of "this makes the player invulnerable" but it seems out of place underwater... Equipment that uses cords are used underwater, I get that, but something that seems to be more for a fast action packed game won't really do a lot here... It will be powerful, but only for a few very specific things

    I think it needs a tweak to the mechanics to make seem less designed for a twitch game... That's all
  • MrNature72MrNature72 North Carolina Join Date: 2015-03-28 Member: 202682Members
    Seldkam wrote: »
    not in the sense of "this makes the player invulnerable" but it seems out of place underwater... Equipment that uses cords are used underwater, I get that, but something that seems to be more for a fast action packed game won't really do a lot here... It will be powerful, but only for a few very specific things

    I think it needs a tweak to the mechanics to make seem less designed for a twitch game... That's all

    I believe you're looking at it wrong. It isn't a twitch mechanic at all! I know the devs of this game don't want some twitch-heavy, fast-paced shooter style weapon.

    So the Snag Rifle is made more for slowly subduing a creature. You can't randomly pop a leviathan, and pop him again, so on and so forth. Let's say you want to string a Leviathan up like a nice pork roast. Here's what you'd have to do.

    1) Safely find a leviathan, while keeping your distance.

    2) Use a seamoth to lure the leviathan into some kind of crevasse, with close enough walls to string it up.

    3) Get far enough ahead to have enough time to safely get out, and fire a snag rifle at a nearby wall. When the Leviathan gets to a close enough distance, fire it at the Leviathan, and get back in your seamoth. Have it set to spring.

    4) Pull away from the seamoth, repeat step 3, but make sure you're doing it in a proper pattern so you're restricting the Leviathan from all degrees of movement. Once you have all the Snag Lines out, and at least above 75% health, get to a safe distance. Move on to step 5.

    5) Get out of your seamoth, and set the lines to retract. Ones they're nice and taut, and the Leviathan is subdued, set them to lock to hold it in place. Then you can safely go the rear of the Leviathan to procure DNA.

    6) Make sure to replace near-broken lines before too many break.

    7) Get in your seamoth and leave.

    As you can see, I've built it to require a lot of work, but not to such a degree it's not fun! I honestly think it's less twitch-shooter esq than the Stasis Rifle, which, let's all be honest, is fairly simple to use. Point, lead the target, fire. You don't even need to get a direct hit to completely stun and neuter creatures!

    What makes you say, in case I missed the point, that it's more of a fast-paced weapon? The reason it utilize a re-loadable rotary chamber is to make it use something besides batteries, and to give it a different mechanic. It would be super boring if you could just mass-produce batteries like you do now and have a huge supply. No, snag lines should be a tad more resource-heavy, using Titanium, Kelp and Silicon to produce a full Snag Rotary.
  • SeldkamSeldkam Join Date: 2014-01-01 Member: 191213Members
    Frankly, it seems finicky-- and just overpowered every other use

    As you said, aim it at a peeper to grab it and it'll basically have to use some crazy auto aim, or, again, you have to have some kind of twitch skills for it to work-- both of which I'd rather not have in game

    Aim it at a leviathan and you should be eaten, period-- a gun the size of a blunderbuss shouldn't be able to subdue a creature that large, because there is no way in hell a creature that large would allow itself to be entangled 1 by 1 by lines of (whatever material those lines are made of) ... it makes no sense to me... if an ant started shooting lines of a very strong material (from the perspective of an ant) and tried to tie you down, I REALLY don't think it would work...

    Furthermore, WHY? It seems just overcomplicated, why would I want to spend the time either A) wrapping up a Leviathan or B) catch a peeper when I could just either respectively A) hide in one of the many smaller crevices and caves all over the map, or B) just make a seaglide or even fins (There is a trick to moving as fast as peepers do even with fins, and it makes it quite easy to catch them) and you have a tool that is just more versatile than the Snag Rifle

    Again, I don't think it's a BAD idea, I just think it needs a different mindset behind the creation of it so to speak for it to work and be useful
  • TartarinTartarin France Join Date: 2015-03-15 Member: 202162Members
    I agree with Seldkam

    The tool isn't fit for catch very big creature, but can be of some help to catch small, average size species like the stalker or even the bone shark. And my idea of a net with bolders (or a bola) add this possibility in mind. I also think about a possibility to use it a recovering tool for hevay package on the bed of the sea, but i don't really think it's a good idea ever.
  • whobottwhobott Join Date: 2015-03-15 Member: 202193Members
    I like the idea it's great, but it's just a bit out of place maybe tweak this idea to fit the game better.
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