Best Of
Re: Lithium Walls
All you would really need to prevent the alloy from corroding, is to leave a thin layer of pure titanium on the surface. With how fabricators and builders work in Subnautica, it should be rather easy. I'm not sure, if it would be neccesary - TiO2 layer could shield the alloy just fine. (I might be wrong here)
About the rust on Degasi bases, it could be explained by them using steel instead of titanium, since TiO2 looks totally different. Or the devs simply made a mistake
Re: Lithium Walls
...or maybe it's not rust, but some microscopic organism that we are unaware of that is coating the base and eating the titanium.
Re: Companies Called Alterra
I guess you can say...
They are all terra...
o/
They are all terra...
o/
A mapping system
There is maybe one thing that I think Subnautica is needing the most. A mapping system. Yes you can open the debug panel from f1 and get x, y ,z courdiantes, and you can search on google for locations etc. The problem with this is that it breaks the immersion of the game. Having the temptation of lookong up locations online is also taking away something from the exploration of the game. A mapping system would not fix this problems completely, but It may mitigate and reduce them.
Taking the scanner room as an example, it is the closest to a map function in Subnautica, and to be honest it does a good job. It shortcomings makes it in my oppinion redundant. The information it gather is limited to your base (or bases) only. Yes it is possible to study the topography of your suroundings, and the memorize how to get the desired location, but the other alterantive to just travel at random is more effective (if the desier location is a resource, and the whole area is not completely scavanged). This kinda makes the scanner room useless.
The solution:
Having a mapping section in your PDA could be a solution to both problems above. This i think should not work as in The elder scolls games where the whole map is preloaded on starting a new game, but an empty grid system, with N, S, W; E directions and a coordinate grid. In my oppinion it should not update the area around the player when you are traveling, but needed to be synched with a Scanner room to get the topography, and information in the area. It would be cool to make beacons visible to the map, but have the option to make them only visible on the map.
This would also make it so that the player is challanged to build bases other places than the safe starting area, this area it at the center of the map so having bases other places is less practical. Many will do it since it is cool looking, fun etc, but you do not have a real benifit of doing so. With the ability to update the map by having a scanner room, you would make players build bases various places to synch with the map, building on the exploration aspect of Subnautica.
Another thing that would be cool is to be able to place scanned spieces to areas to manualy map Subnautica fauna to different biomes.
I a mapping system would tie a lot of gameplay mechanics together in a nice why. Happy exploring
Taking the scanner room as an example, it is the closest to a map function in Subnautica, and to be honest it does a good job. It shortcomings makes it in my oppinion redundant. The information it gather is limited to your base (or bases) only. Yes it is possible to study the topography of your suroundings, and the memorize how to get the desired location, but the other alterantive to just travel at random is more effective (if the desier location is a resource, and the whole area is not completely scavanged). This kinda makes the scanner room useless.
The solution:
Having a mapping section in your PDA could be a solution to both problems above. This i think should not work as in The elder scolls games where the whole map is preloaded on starting a new game, but an empty grid system, with N, S, W; E directions and a coordinate grid. In my oppinion it should not update the area around the player when you are traveling, but needed to be synched with a Scanner room to get the topography, and information in the area. It would be cool to make beacons visible to the map, but have the option to make them only visible on the map.
This would also make it so that the player is challanged to build bases other places than the safe starting area, this area it at the center of the map so having bases other places is less practical. Many will do it since it is cool looking, fun etc, but you do not have a real benifit of doing so. With the ability to update the map by having a scanner room, you would make players build bases various places to synch with the map, building on the exploration aspect of Subnautica.
Another thing that would be cool is to be able to place scanned spieces to areas to manualy map Subnautica fauna to different biomes.
I a mapping system would tie a lot of gameplay mechanics together in a nice why. Happy exploring
Companies Called Alterra
Just a few companies called "Alterra" in real life. I was bored.
And the piece de resistance
Re: When balancing goes wrong
Oh, yeah, as of my last playthrough I can definitely agree that marblemelons are OP as hell. XD I have two small pots of marblemelons and I never need to get food or water from anything else unless I'm going on a trip. A single marblemelon should probably take up an entire small pot.
The nuclear reactor is a great example of something that is lacking in verisimilitude. The game describes is as the ultimate power source, capable of powering an entire colony by itself... and the game mechanics don't support that description at all.
Personally I like how drilling works right now for the most part, because it completes the exosuit's role as the ultimate mining rig. I like the feeling of power of sitting there slowly tearing apart those resource nodes that have been laughing at you all game, and watching them break apart piece by piece. That said, I agree that fishing on the ground for resources is the unfun part of drilling and could use some iteration. Also, some resource nodes are placed in areas where it is annoyingly hard to get at them to drill them, like up on walls. Maybe I just need to bring a grappling arm for those.
I'm not sure how I feel about O2 limits on vehicles. I think a lot of the range limits on vehicles are already accomplished by the various depth limits, and I think an O2 limit on the PRAWN in particular is a bad choice for the late game. Also the cyclops doesn't need something that drains its power passively unless we get the ability to attach power generators to it of some kind.
I do think that the Mk3 pressure module should be harder to make, as in require a different set of resources rather than just more resources. Currently, once you get the mod station, it's just "farm until you can get the Mk2... then why stop there, immediately upgrade to the Mk3 since it takes all the same resources".
The nuclear reactor is a great example of something that is lacking in verisimilitude. The game describes is as the ultimate power source, capable of powering an entire colony by itself... and the game mechanics don't support that description at all.
Personally I like how drilling works right now for the most part, because it completes the exosuit's role as the ultimate mining rig. I like the feeling of power of sitting there slowly tearing apart those resource nodes that have been laughing at you all game, and watching them break apart piece by piece.
That said, I agree that fishing on the ground for resources is the unfun part of drilling and could use some iteration. Also, some resource nodes are placed in areas where it is annoyingly hard to get at them to drill them, like up on walls. Maybe I just need to bring a grappling arm for those.I'm not sure how I feel about O2 limits on vehicles. I think a lot of the range limits on vehicles are already accomplished by the various depth limits, and I think an O2 limit on the PRAWN in particular is a bad choice for the late game. Also the cyclops doesn't need something that drains its power passively unless we get the ability to attach power generators to it of some kind.
I do think that the Mk3 pressure module should be harder to make, as in require a different set of resources rather than just more resources. Currently, once you get the mod station, it's just "farm until you can get the Mk2... then why stop there, immediately upgrade to the Mk3 since it takes all the same resources".
Re: When balancing goes wrong
@Squeal_Like_A_Pig
Awesome, glad to hear that a full balance pass is definitely in the plans.
On the topic of balancing power, here's a few of my thoughts on the subject:
In general, I would prefer that power systems follow their real-world counterparts as much as possible with the same sort of tradeoffs. Try to link energy units to a real-world value (kWh?) and use that to calculate approximate energy usage for components rather than using arbitrary numbers.
I would like the option to selectively toggle power for base components, so I can easily turn off high-drain equipment when not needed.
Rather than having each power source provide storage, I would prefer to have something like craftable power cell banks for seabases. Maybe even two tiers, with an early game version about the size of a Tesla powerwall and a late game high capacity bank with much higher energy density.
Solar right now is a bit OP in the sense that it works down to 200m. In reality, water absorbs the light wavelengths primarily for solar power quite effectively, to the point that a specially designed underwater solar panel at just 9m only produces 7 watts per square meter, but a readily available commercial solar panel could easily produce 200 watts per square meter (newatlas.com/underwater-solar-cells/22896/). My suggestion would be to make solar panels only effective at the surface or in very shallow water (for the sake of gameplay, maybe down to 50m at most so they'll work pretty much anywhere in the safe shallows and similar locations).
It also feels like we're missing a reliable power source that doesn't require a multipurpose room. For small seabases with just corridors, the only power options are solar or thermal. I would like to see a third option that is functional regardless of where the base is located. Maybe some sort of generator or fuel cell (or even just the ability to use power cells) that doesn't necessarily provide full power independence, but at least lets me turn the lights and O2 production on without having to string a ton of power transmitters.
Bioreactors are a neat idea, and as long as the cost and output values are balanced appropriately relative to everything else they work as a reliable mid-game power source. Their current role as a reliable power source with modest output seems appropriate, although I wouldn't mind an unlockable upgraded version that could produce energy at a faster rate as well.
Nuclear reactors need a lot of love. The biggest problem I see is that they run through fuel way too fast to be worth the hassle. In real life, reactors only need to be refuelled every decade or so. I would like to see them rebalanced as an end-game power source that is functionally similar to a thermal vent in that it provides steady, unlimited power (although I would also be ok with having to refuel it very infrequently as well, no more than every one year of game time). To balance this, they could be very expensive to craft and require a LOT of uranite (in reality, less than 1% of uranium is the U-235 isotope suitable for reactors).
Thermal generators are a great idea, but the way they work now doesn't make any sense. Just being in a hot place doesn't mean you can generate energy, to actually generate energy a thermal gradient is required so that the heat is flowing from the heat source to a sink. In simple terms, maybe thermal generators could require an unoccupied thermal vent to be placed, and could "snap" to the selected vent rather than players just spamming a ton of generators around a hotspot (or wherever they please in the lava zones).
Energy usage is all over the place in terms of being internally consistent, much less realistic. The fabricator uses 10 energy (half a battery) per item, regardless of what it is (different items should probably have different energy costs, it makes no sense that cooking a fish requires the same amount of energy as forging advanced metal alloys). The habitat builder can build a sizeable seabase on one battery charge, with even just one corridor section being much larger than what the fabricator produces.
Oxygen production is free as long as there's power, but water filtration and external floodlights use ridiculous amounts of energy. In reality, it should be the other way around. Creating oxygen from seawater requires electrolysis, which takes a lot of energy. In fact, it's approximately the same amount that would be gained back if you burned the hydrogen and oxygen, which is commonly used as rocket fuel so there's a LOT of energy there. A bright floodlight (like would be necessary underwater) would need a decent amount of power, but no more than a few hundred watts for a really bright light (I'm assuming that all lights in the future are LEDs and not inefficient halogens). Reverse osmosis water purifiers are actually reasonably efficient and a commercial unit that can purify 150 gallons per day only uses 0.65 kW (multiply by 24 to get the energy usage for a full day). You wouldn't get the salt from them however (they don't boil the water completely).
The vehicle energy systems are all over the place as well. Sonar and lights should use a negligible amount of energy (10 units per sonar pulse is insane). Movement would require a lot of energy, but nowhere near as much as it does now. As mentioned in the above paragraph, oxygen generation would require a lot of energy. Maybe subs could have very large O2 tanks, with the oxygen generator being a system that is only turned on when needed to refill the tank. Otherwise subs could have their oxygen refilled at the surface or in bases.
That ended up being a little longer than I planned, but hopefully there's some useful suggestions in there for balancing the energy systems.
Awesome, glad to hear that a full balance pass is definitely in the plans.
On the topic of balancing power, here's a few of my thoughts on the subject:
In general, I would prefer that power systems follow their real-world counterparts as much as possible with the same sort of tradeoffs. Try to link energy units to a real-world value (kWh?) and use that to calculate approximate energy usage for components rather than using arbitrary numbers.
I would like the option to selectively toggle power for base components, so I can easily turn off high-drain equipment when not needed.
Rather than having each power source provide storage, I would prefer to have something like craftable power cell banks for seabases. Maybe even two tiers, with an early game version about the size of a Tesla powerwall and a late game high capacity bank with much higher energy density.
Solar right now is a bit OP in the sense that it works down to 200m. In reality, water absorbs the light wavelengths primarily for solar power quite effectively, to the point that a specially designed underwater solar panel at just 9m only produces 7 watts per square meter, but a readily available commercial solar panel could easily produce 200 watts per square meter (newatlas.com/underwater-solar-cells/22896/). My suggestion would be to make solar panels only effective at the surface or in very shallow water (for the sake of gameplay, maybe down to 50m at most so they'll work pretty much anywhere in the safe shallows and similar locations).
It also feels like we're missing a reliable power source that doesn't require a multipurpose room. For small seabases with just corridors, the only power options are solar or thermal. I would like to see a third option that is functional regardless of where the base is located. Maybe some sort of generator or fuel cell (or even just the ability to use power cells) that doesn't necessarily provide full power independence, but at least lets me turn the lights and O2 production on without having to string a ton of power transmitters.
Bioreactors are a neat idea, and as long as the cost and output values are balanced appropriately relative to everything else they work as a reliable mid-game power source. Their current role as a reliable power source with modest output seems appropriate, although I wouldn't mind an unlockable upgraded version that could produce energy at a faster rate as well.
Nuclear reactors need a lot of love. The biggest problem I see is that they run through fuel way too fast to be worth the hassle. In real life, reactors only need to be refuelled every decade or so. I would like to see them rebalanced as an end-game power source that is functionally similar to a thermal vent in that it provides steady, unlimited power (although I would also be ok with having to refuel it very infrequently as well, no more than every one year of game time). To balance this, they could be very expensive to craft and require a LOT of uranite (in reality, less than 1% of uranium is the U-235 isotope suitable for reactors).
Thermal generators are a great idea, but the way they work now doesn't make any sense. Just being in a hot place doesn't mean you can generate energy, to actually generate energy a thermal gradient is required so that the heat is flowing from the heat source to a sink. In simple terms, maybe thermal generators could require an unoccupied thermal vent to be placed, and could "snap" to the selected vent rather than players just spamming a ton of generators around a hotspot (or wherever they please in the lava zones).
Energy usage is all over the place in terms of being internally consistent, much less realistic. The fabricator uses 10 energy (half a battery) per item, regardless of what it is (different items should probably have different energy costs, it makes no sense that cooking a fish requires the same amount of energy as forging advanced metal alloys). The habitat builder can build a sizeable seabase on one battery charge, with even just one corridor section being much larger than what the fabricator produces.
Oxygen production is free as long as there's power, but water filtration and external floodlights use ridiculous amounts of energy. In reality, it should be the other way around. Creating oxygen from seawater requires electrolysis, which takes a lot of energy. In fact, it's approximately the same amount that would be gained back if you burned the hydrogen and oxygen, which is commonly used as rocket fuel so there's a LOT of energy there. A bright floodlight (like would be necessary underwater) would need a decent amount of power, but no more than a few hundred watts for a really bright light (I'm assuming that all lights in the future are LEDs and not inefficient halogens). Reverse osmosis water purifiers are actually reasonably efficient and a commercial unit that can purify 150 gallons per day only uses 0.65 kW (multiply by 24 to get the energy usage for a full day). You wouldn't get the salt from them however (they don't boil the water completely).
The vehicle energy systems are all over the place as well. Sonar and lights should use a negligible amount of energy (10 units per sonar pulse is insane). Movement would require a lot of energy, but nowhere near as much as it does now. As mentioned in the above paragraph, oxygen generation would require a lot of energy. Maybe subs could have very large O2 tanks, with the oxygen generator being a system that is only turned on when needed to refill the tank. Otherwise subs could have their oxygen refilled at the surface or in bases.
That ended up being a little longer than I planned, but hopefully there's some useful suggestions in there for balancing the energy systems.
Re: When balancing goes wrong
A few things about realism, immersion, consistency, etc.:
It's mainly immersion-breaking things or inconsistency that annoys me and not being not realistic enough. Games can't be real and only use comic versions of reality. But for example the builder tool as the only one not using ion batteries is inconsistant for the sake of balance. The consistency was sacrificed, because the devs wanted to make it harder for the players to build.
Another thing that is annoying most, is the complicated usage issue or usage being awefully to handle. Like the drilling that isn't fluent gameplay. Even if you have managed to have only one drillarm and the other a normal pickup arm and are equipped with a scanner HUD chip and a scanner room near that is tuned to the resource you drill, so you can easily see and pick up the results, there is still the bad and boring drilling time for usually far less than a dozen ore pieces. Add to this the fact, that you need a long walk to your ore pile even if you see its direction on the HUD and than another long walk to the next and piles of the same ore type aren't too much clustered, then it's a pain to do it. And gaming shouldn't be a pain. If you compare drilling directly with getting the same through ore stones, then you realize that it's faster to gather ore with the Seamoth and knocking ore from stones, than drilling with the Prawn. Because usually stones are far more visible and with higher cluster density than ore piles that are much too meager and take too long to drill and pick up. So I think the drilling usage has to be more polished.
The nuclear reactor is something I mainly consider an unused opportunity and badly to use considering it against the other power sources. Being not so much immersive (no radiation or that you expect nuclear power to last long and be powerful) is only secondary to me.
So I think the main factor for a good game is usability first and immersion/consistency second. Balancing should never try to make things less usable or break immersion/consistency, but rather go in harmony with usage and immersion/consistency. I hope the development soon gets to a point, where the devs can concentrate more on polishing and listen to the community a bit more. It looks like that will soon happen. And I also hope the devs might try to adjust their balancing more to usability, immersion and consitency and not so much against it.
It's mainly immersion-breaking things or inconsistency that annoys me and not being not realistic enough. Games can't be real and only use comic versions of reality. But for example the builder tool as the only one not using ion batteries is inconsistant for the sake of balance. The consistency was sacrificed, because the devs wanted to make it harder for the players to build.
Another thing that is annoying most, is the complicated usage issue or usage being awefully to handle. Like the drilling that isn't fluent gameplay. Even if you have managed to have only one drillarm and the other a normal pickup arm and are equipped with a scanner HUD chip and a scanner room near that is tuned to the resource you drill, so you can easily see and pick up the results, there is still the bad and boring drilling time for usually far less than a dozen ore pieces. Add to this the fact, that you need a long walk to your ore pile even if you see its direction on the HUD and than another long walk to the next and piles of the same ore type aren't too much clustered, then it's a pain to do it. And gaming shouldn't be a pain. If you compare drilling directly with getting the same through ore stones, then you realize that it's faster to gather ore with the Seamoth and knocking ore from stones, than drilling with the Prawn. Because usually stones are far more visible and with higher cluster density than ore piles that are much too meager and take too long to drill and pick up. So I think the drilling usage has to be more polished.
The nuclear reactor is something I mainly consider an unused opportunity and badly to use considering it against the other power sources. Being not so much immersive (no radiation or that you expect nuclear power to last long and be powerful) is only secondary to me.
So I think the main factor for a good game is usability first and immersion/consistency second. Balancing should never try to make things less usable or break immersion/consistency, but rather go in harmony with usage and immersion/consistency. I hope the development soon gets to a point, where the devs can concentrate more on polishing and listen to the community a bit more. It looks like that will soon happen. And I also hope the devs might try to adjust their balancing more to usability, immersion and consitency and not so much against it.
Redone Suggestion: Sunbow Eel
A small translucent eel-like creature that uses solar energy.
Type: Fauna.
Attitude: Defensive.
Biome: Lost River, Mushroom forest, Kelp forest, Active lava zone, Bulb zone, Grand reef, Jelly shroom cave, Inactive lava zone, Blood kelp zone.
Resources: Sunbow scales, Sunbow Eel eggs.
Damage. Bite: 12 damage, Light shot: 20 damage, Tail slap: 9 damage.
Physical features: Eel-like body, Crescent moon tail end, four red eyes, Visible endoskeleton, Visible organs, Yellowish translucent body.
1. Absorbs light through its skin & stores the solar energy in a special organ.
2. Shoots the energy from its mouth in a sphere that explodes on contact with anything.
3. Can be tamed by any type of cooked food.
4. After it’s tamed, the Sunbow Eel will follow you & use its projectiles to fend off dangerous fauna.
5. Sunbow Eels are best at fending off Night stalkers until night time.
6. Sunbow Eels are an energy efficient source of light in dark areas.
Prey: All herbivore fauna.
Predators: Crabsquid.
Assessment: Useful for Night stalker infested areas.
(Note 1: This is the V3 of the Sunbow Eel)
(Note 2: Here is the Original: https://forums.unknownworlds.com/discussion/143128/suggestion-sunbow-eel)
Type: Fauna.
Attitude: Defensive.
Biome: Lost River, Mushroom forest, Kelp forest, Active lava zone, Bulb zone, Grand reef, Jelly shroom cave, Inactive lava zone, Blood kelp zone.
Resources: Sunbow scales, Sunbow Eel eggs.
Damage. Bite: 12 damage, Light shot: 20 damage, Tail slap: 9 damage.
Physical features: Eel-like body, Crescent moon tail end, four red eyes, Visible endoskeleton, Visible organs, Yellowish translucent body.
1. Absorbs light through its skin & stores the solar energy in a special organ.
2. Shoots the energy from its mouth in a sphere that explodes on contact with anything.
3. Can be tamed by any type of cooked food.
4. After it’s tamed, the Sunbow Eel will follow you & use its projectiles to fend off dangerous fauna.
5. Sunbow Eels are best at fending off Night stalkers until night time.
6. Sunbow Eels are an energy efficient source of light in dark areas.
Prey: All herbivore fauna.
Predators: Crabsquid.
Assessment: Useful for Night stalker infested areas.
(Note 1: This is the V3 of the Sunbow Eel)
(Note 2: Here is the Original: https://forums.unknownworlds.com/discussion/143128/suggestion-sunbow-eel)
Re: Cyclops Battery and Powercell Chargers now use power at a 1:1 ratio on Experimental Build
Well, this is my 4th SN game, and i played all 4 games from scratch until i have a comfortable base and until Ion tech level. And all 4 games (survival mode) i played a bit different. One example: my current, 4th game i am playing only with my main base, without any secondary base, because i set my focus to use the Cyclops as my secondary and mobile base, no need for another secondary solid base. So my gaming style was different in all my 4 games and that's the point: to play SN is a very personal experience and so my post was a very personal opinion. In this case i assumed nothing and i don't said that the changes will like all players. But I like the changes.
See... no offense, but that right there kinda feels like you shot yourself in the foot in regards to your argument; "this is my 4th SN game, and i played all 4 games from scratch until i have a comfortable base and until Ion tech level." In other words, you already know where all the secrets are - you already know exactly what you need to do beforehand. For someone who's playing through this the first time, how is any of this going to be accessible to balance out the early-game need for reliable power?
I'm sorry, but I honestly feel that you are making a very big set of assumptions, because it seems your entire example literally hinges on the fact that you already have unlocked all the endgame-content from base upgrades to Ion Cells, completely ignoring the fact that anybody who doesn't have every single item already unlocked and built is going to be screwed over. Anyone first starting the game, or anyone who's not gotten to the same point you were when new changes were put in - how are they going to know they have literally no choice but to do things a spicific way, thereby destroying any ability to create their own personal experience? Likewise, I admit this might be an assumption on my own part, but it honestly feels like your liking the changes is more because you're looking at it from the perspective of a post-game vet rather than a casual player or newcomer.
Good gameplay is for me (examples):
- To have much as possible freedom. I don't like games which say to me constantly "You must do this, then this and then this.".
- To have challenges. Hard, but not unfair. For me planning and preparation is part of the gameplay and i like it.
- To have a believable world. Sure, this game is totally fictional und we have fictionally technology. But a charger which can "produce" more energy than it will need for charging is completely nonsens. With the new SN version we will have a charge ratio of 1:1. This is also not realistic but a lot more believable than the current ratio of 1:5.
Again, I'm sorry if it sounds argumentative, but I really can't agree with that list myself.
- If you cannot use the Cyclops for anything but endgame stuff, nor run it practically without being forced to build secondary bases everywhere, how is that not being all but implicitly told "you must do this, then this and then this" - because honestly speaking, it feels like the game is saying "you must get the shield upgrade, than build these secondary bases, than get these ion crystals, than always use only silent running in this area" ... and that you're saying this is okay.
- But many people already feel that the game has crossed that line. Heck, @zetachron made several posts detailing how he feels the Sea Dragon alone crossed that line in how it hones in on the player with unparalleled accuracy if you're not in a silent-running Cyclops. That's a do-or-don't situation - where is the planning and preparation in that? Same with pretty much needing Ion Cells to get through the LR and ILZ without either (a) taking too much damage or (b) losing too much energy to make it back.
- That part is kind of faltering too, in my opinion. @Rezca made rather detailed explanations for why things like the ILZ corridors existing tied into both gameplay (discovery and reward for exploring off the beaten path) and story (explaining how the Sea Dragons hunt Reaper Leviathans, since a lava-zone creature going through the freezing waters of the LR makes little sense). And yet, Cory Strader has basically been pushing to have them all closed off for the sake of forcing the player to visit the LR for story-purposes rather than that being optional/trusting the player to want to explore on their own - he even flat-out said "more options doesn't always = better." Furthermore, I feel compelled to point out that, last I knew, the net-gain on the Cyclops only happened after the Energy Efficiency Module was installed - now that module's gone, replaced with the Engine efficiency module. Simply put, it wasn't "completely nonsense" - it was better tech/more advanced capacitors. Plus, we're dealing with a universe where warpgates, 3D flash-printing and molecular manipulation of materials exist, so IDK if arguing realism is the way to go tech-wise, even without (again) the fact it had an explination in-game with the energy efficiency module (before it was axed).
To make a long story short... even by your own examples, it feels like the game's not matching the criteria you're setting for it.
The Cyclops is a midgame/endgame device. At this point it is no problem to build enough Power cells for the Cyclops. And i don't need Ion power cells or Ion battery, but i like it.The Ion tech give you simple one advantage: to have the same energy with much less inventory slots. Or to have more energy with the same inventory slots, whatever. There is no real need for the Ion tech, but it's simply fun to have it. Some time ago there was no Ion tech and so i simply had more Power cells. There are more than enough resources to build enough Power cells and enough chargers. In the ILZ and ALZ you have infinite energy if you use a exosuit with the thermal generator upgrade. There are lot of spots with 60 grad celsius or more to have a fast charging also for the Ion PCs.
But that feels contrasted by the sheer number of larger predators that exist throughout the game, as well as the depths you need to often go just for the surface areas. Seamoth can't even reach that deep and is the most fragile of them all, and the Prawn both is very slow-moving and lacks vertical movement until you get the Jump-Jet upgrades (for which you need ILZ materials to do). It literally feels like you need the Cyclops just to guarantee you're able to explore the Aurora safely, let alone anything beyond the shallows and plateaus.
Furthermore, I think you're making a mistake about the Power Cell issue - building them isn't necessarily the issue; maintaining them all is. Unless you have power chargers going 24/7 and have them spread out over a dozen different bases, you're not going to guarantee you'll have them ready on-hand for when you run out of juice - especially in the Lava Zones with the lava larva. Between the larva and the possible need for shields if the Sea Dragon attacks you, you're pretty much going to need the Ion Cells just to have any guarantee of not running out in a bad situation, let alone make it all the way back up to the surface.
At that point, it becomes a necessity to have - no matter how many resources you have to build cells and chargers with, it's all useless if you can't do anything with it on-hand. To use a morbid example, it's like having all the wood you need for a fire in the winter, but being surrounded by a pool of gasoline - the stuff's useless if you not only flat-out can't use it where you are but also have no way to get to any place it can be useful in. Infinite energy only applies to the Prawn, and since you need a moonpool to construct those upgrades, you'll have to go to the ILZ for the resources and truck it back to a base to build it - no matter how you slice it, you're not able to pick and choose how you want to do things anymore; you're basically forced to make multiple runs to accomplish something rather than having options on how or what to do or what you do or don't want to play it with.
And btw, nearly every update will force you to adapt your gameplay a bit. But for me this is also part of the SN-early-access-experience. Sure, there are changes in the past i don't like. As example i started with SN at a point where the "Power Generator" and the "Accumulator" was already removed and i would really like it to have them back. In the future i would like a docking port for the cyclops with a slow charging option. And a solar module like the one for the Seamoth. And a... well, yeah, we will see what will happen in the future. ^^
Again, I'm sorry if this feels like I'm being argumentative... but that feels like a strawman argument; that an update will force one to adapt their gameplay is academic, but limiting, restricting or even outright axing one's playstyle options and forcing them down a single linear one is another thing altogether. The issue was never whether or not the devs' changes would alter gameplay - it was about whether or not said changes potentially crossed the line into impeding player enjoyment of the game at any point. As it stands, IDK if you heard, but base pieces are going to be changed to draw power passively (lights, oxygen production, ect), so people will lose their net-gain from Solar Panels because there'll be a passive energy drain at night-time just for a base-piece existing - what happens if that kind of change gets put into vehicles as well (hell, it already seems to for the Seamoth, since it seemed to lose power even just while idling).
To make a long story short, I'm just not sure that the power balancing that's been done thus far is really as beneficial to the game's long-term as you think, let alone am confident the future balancing will be any easier to approach.
