The Islands should be removed
JudgeRhadamanthus
The Internet Join Date: 2015-10-01 Member: 208246Members
The Internet Join Date: 2015-10-01 Member: 208246Members
TLDR at the end (but people here seem to have brains in their heads so I’m hoping it is not needed)
The islands in the game detract from the games atmosphere to such a large extent that in my opinion subnautica would be improved by their complete removal. It is not about their usage, design or location, so simply ignoring them in a playthrough would not fix the issue they cause. Their existence, and knowledge of their existence is the issue.
Subnautica offers a unique atmosphere. A feeling of isolation paired with the excitement of the unknown but with the trepidation that same unknown brings. An environment that is not just alien in its fauna and flora but also in its nature as an environment we are not equipped for. We cannot move quickly, breath, hear or see well in water. There is a sense of trepidation when you venture into the ocean. What lies beneath? It is an environment where threats can come from below or above which feels all the more frightening because we cannot move quickly to escape or easily fight back. Simply being in the water too long can leave you dead.
Land is familiar. It feels safe. When I first stepped onto the islands beach I felt a sense of safe harbour. The land feels comfortable, less alien, safe. Even with predators or other threats that feeling of familiarity would remain. Gone was the feeling of uneasiness being in subnauticas waters brings.
The sea bases we can build now are the perfect solution. You get a feeling of safety inside, but you are still underwater, separated from the dangers by thin creaking metal. Safe, but not too much so.
TLDR
Land feels too familiar. Less alien and weakens the atmosphere of alienness, isolation and discomfort being in the ocean brings. Knowing there is a place familiar to escape to detracts from the whole games atmosphere.
The islands in the game detract from the games atmosphere to such a large extent that in my opinion subnautica would be improved by their complete removal. It is not about their usage, design or location, so simply ignoring them in a playthrough would not fix the issue they cause. Their existence, and knowledge of their existence is the issue.
Subnautica offers a unique atmosphere. A feeling of isolation paired with the excitement of the unknown but with the trepidation that same unknown brings. An environment that is not just alien in its fauna and flora but also in its nature as an environment we are not equipped for. We cannot move quickly, breath, hear or see well in water. There is a sense of trepidation when you venture into the ocean. What lies beneath? It is an environment where threats can come from below or above which feels all the more frightening because we cannot move quickly to escape or easily fight back. Simply being in the water too long can leave you dead.
Land is familiar. It feels safe. When I first stepped onto the islands beach I felt a sense of safe harbour. The land feels comfortable, less alien, safe. Even with predators or other threats that feeling of familiarity would remain. Gone was the feeling of uneasiness being in subnauticas waters brings.
The sea bases we can build now are the perfect solution. You get a feeling of safety inside, but you are still underwater, separated from the dangers by thin creaking metal. Safe, but not too much so.
TLDR
Land feels too familiar. Less alien and weakens the atmosphere of alienness, isolation and discomfort being in the ocean brings. Knowing there is a place familiar to escape to detracts from the whole games atmosphere.
Comments
off topic: the island and the mountain are visible now from all around the map. Was that always like that, or is that only recent?
I addressed that in the OP. The world itself seems far more alien and hostile with no land. Imagine being lost at sea. just you and you scuba gear; but you know there is an island within reach. Now imagine floating in deep waters and knowing there is no land anywhere. That's the feeling subnautica captures best, and my opinion is that the land shatters that atmosphere.
For example, on last nights episode of Dual Survival, the 2 guys were stranded in the open ocean. They were worried about the sharks beneath them and paddled hard to the first landmass they saw. It turned out to be a barren stretch of rocks that offered nothing to aid in their survival. Getting there actually destroyed their inflatable dinghy, and they were lucky that there was a better island (had trees) only 1 mile away (a pleasant swim through shark infested water with a few open cuts on their legs from the rocks). The point is, land doesn't always mean safety if there is nothing there to use.
There is talk of putting edible fruit on the trees, or pools of potable water, but once the Devs add a weather system and dangerous land/air animals, being above the surface might be more hazardous than being under the waves.
I see the islands as a way of luring unsuspecting or desperate players to their doom.
If they are kept small, distant and extremely few, I don't think the "atmosphere" will suffer.
I do agree with this. If there is to be land, I'd prefer it to be far off and become a great secret you found after much exploration. Crawling out of your life pod and seeing water in every direction as far as the eye can see sets the perfect stage and feel for this game. To give them land and familiarity, as Judge has pointed out, that early takes away from the mystery and tension. Let it be a pleasant reward for distant exploration for those who want it. Those who don't can keep on swimming.
I think this seems a good balance. From the responses so far there seems good support for land but with a few cavetes attached. Having land visible from the pod lessens the feeling of remoteness, of the "oh crap! we are in trouble!" feeling. But as several have pointed out it does add a strong dimension to the choices a player can make.
Perhaps we could make land offer something special, but at great cost. The water is our home now. We should learn to embrace it; but if we are determined to stick to our land based legacy in this new world our backward thinking should cost us.
>"I think this should be removed!"
Lol no
You appear to be a poorly expressive troll, but I shall use your lack of meaningful contribution to make a point to those suffering from the same disadvantages as you. Alpha is a stage of software development where the addition and removal of gameplay elements is expected. Discussion of those elements that the player-base deems successful, and thus worthy of inclusion, or unsuccessful and thus considered for removal is a large part of an alpha stage.
The developers have expressed their desire for feedback, and that the feedback be phrased constructively. I feel that I have complied in that respect. I have made no demands, or unsupported criticism. I genuinely believe the points I present in the OP are made with the game and its players best interests in mind, and I phrased them in a respectful manner.
If asking a community what it thinks of a game it loves and presenting my opinions are "LOL" worthy to you, then perhaps you might reassess your reasons for playing an alpha game.
>"You must be a troll!"
Oh god stop I'm gonna have a kek attack.
Protip: If you're gonna demand something be removed from an in-development game, it better be actually broken and ruin gameplay completely.
But they are demands.
"Remove this because this!" is a demand.
A hilarious one at that, for an early alpha game.
Might as well remove the Safe Shallows because they're safe, and being able to quickly go to the surface to breathe is "too familiar".
I do concede you spelt breathe better than I did.
An ocean planet is one where the ocean to land proportions are vastly disproportional. Also the only way for an ocean planet to realistically have absolutely no land above sea level would be to not have any volcanic activity which the game already shows is present. Finally even in the pacific ocean, the largest ocean of our planet, there are quite a few islands and island chains all over the place. Read on tales of old sea voyages like that of the 'Bounty' or of the WWII pacific campaign and you will see there is a lot more in the seemingly barren stretch of sea.
As for this game, one of the two islands is not natural forming, it's being held up by floaters. The same floaters that hold up a chain of islands underwater over a deep chasm. Because of this I actually would like to see more of these islands since it not only makes a break between swimming and walking but also adds a level of mystique to the game. If there were solid land going from floor to surface it might be irritating to have to keep dodging the land mass walls. But a floater island you can go right under if you wish, or surface and explore. Heck I would love to have an in game event where suddenly floaters lift a chunk of the sea floor to make a new island...with you on it if you don't vacate the area.
Keep in mind it also is a great opportunity to add another danger for risk/reward since the subs can't go on land, you can't recharge gear while on land (flippers don't recharge on walking), and I doubt the Exosuit would function well on land either. So not only does it break up and reinforce the fact you ARE in the middle of an ocean, but ironically you are probably the most vulnerable while on land since you can't hide behind the armor of a sub or exosuit.
I think they are a great feature. I visit and build on them regularly.
They seem alien enough to me.
The floater with its florescent plants, unusual trees, and a bottomless ocean pond.
The fixed island with its intricate undersea cave system and mountainous sea floor to explore.
I would request more features on these. (not less)
* Would love to have the floating island movable. Have it drifting slowly around from day to day so you would have to go find it, if you were away long enough.
* Would love it so that the undersea floating islands, could be raised by bring floaters to them and letting them attach themselves, so that you could make you own private island rise up from under the ocean and watch it grow its own florescent plant life.
Just my added 2 cents)
Maybe, the devs could allow it where the terraformer only works to a certain altitude. This way, the player isn't able to build artificial islands.
That just seems like an unnecessary limitation on players.
I'd like it better if you could cause the floater island to exist over time. Trigger the growth of floaters with DNA infusions, that cause a huge chunk of mass to raise to the surface as an island, on which dormant organisms will evolve into the flora and fauna it has once they have been exposed to unfiltered sunlight and air. This would fit the aggressive terraforming aspect that's been discussed in the past, representing how the player character is altering the planet to make it more habitable for humans. Or alternatively, have it very far out, not within a distance that can be easily seen, but a strange place that has to be discovered first somehow, especially paired with some people's suggestions to gradually build sensory equipment which would pick it up on scans.
Also lol people saying the Mountain Island is a "Safe haven" when its infested with Cave Crawlers and guarded by a Reaper Leviathan.
There are sessile organisms that latch onto rocks of various sizes, making them float. Some large Floater colonies may even be the size of a small island.
Islands happen. Deal with it.
There is no possible way that anyone could convince themselves that they are diving on the Great Barrier Reef or the deeps off Eleuthera.
This world is perfectly alien, and dangerous enough to give any sensible person pause before heading out for a swim. According to the posts and YouTube clips of other players, it's quite the cool and groovy thing to head out and play 'tag' with various predatory life forms or spawn 100 Reapers 'just for teh Lolz'. Go figure.
In the case of those of us who didn't grow up (or completely failed to) watching Jackass, some folks do prefer to enter the water with a little more caution.
Subnautica is supposed to be a survival game, after all.
Just trying to keep with the spirit of things, I guess.
Also, bear in mind that a radical rework of the game, such as removing those offending island(s) constitutes a serious job of work for the Devs... Not forgetting that such a request negates all of the original effort invested in creating the islands in the first place.
Please, tell me that this suggestion is merely an idle whim. Change for the sake of change alone.
not a suggestion on a whim. Islands are progressing in development and having played with them I though I would pass on my feelings about them.
Some agree with me. Some do not. I paid for this game because of the unique underwater gameplay. It shines in that arena. The land I feel is a weaker part of the game. The gamplay pulls me out of the world rather than immersing me in it. I think I presented a less than surface level reasons for my opinion, as have others who agree.