My Suggestions 50+ hours in 26/10 - Vehicles - Tools - Bases/Flora/Fauna - The Void
ookasmcplookus
Join Date: 2016-10-22 Member: 223300Members
Join Date: 2016-10-22 Member: 223300Members
Intro: (TL;DR great game, much fun, suggestions after 1 play through rather than more so I don't loose interest and move on before getting around to it)
I just recently got on board with subnatica and would like to say it has been great fun to play. Now having accumulated 50+ hours I would say I am getting close to being done with my first survival play through. I am not really sure if it is the sort of game that has much replayability. Considering everything is handcrafted, I don't really expect any new experiences until it is updated and new content is put in; so at risk of loosing interest and moving on I'd like to make some suggestions at this point. Don't get me wrong; I don't think it being handcrafted is a bad thing and I wouldn't claim procedural / random generation of terrain, events or creatures would make it better or worse. I just find games that don't use these methods of mixing things up amazing for the first play through because everything is new, challenging and frightening or surprising since there is that extra attention to detail that comes with handcrafting; but on subsequent play throughs you already know what to expect and know exactly how to get around the challenges. Anyway I digress, making the game procedural / random is not at all my suggestion; it is just my reason for making a post containing my suggestions now and not 5-6 play throughs later if that even comes to pass. Another reason to make suggestions after 1 play through is that often when you start going though more, you forget that early experience and the difficulties / excitement you had then; you start to want to streamline things forgetting about the early game / wanting to bypass it as quickly as possible and focus on adding more content etc for the end game. I will likely come back to this post if anything else comes to mind / to my attention.
I expect people not to read the whole thing so I have tried to section it up as much as I can allowing reading of what is most important to each individual. A consequence of this is there will be some fairly repetitive suggestions where the suggestion applies to multiple sections.
I have tired to make all these suggestions consider the entire game and each other so that they work with one another and what already exists, this could mean some make little sense without others being implemented. In these cases I have made a point of what other suggestion it is reliant on, but also given reasons why It could be implemented regardless of whether or not the other is.
Vehicles:
Tools:
Bases/Flora/Fauna:
The Void:
Revisions upon community feedback:
I just recently got on board with subnatica and would like to say it has been great fun to play. Now having accumulated 50+ hours I would say I am getting close to being done with my first survival play through. I am not really sure if it is the sort of game that has much replayability. Considering everything is handcrafted, I don't really expect any new experiences until it is updated and new content is put in; so at risk of loosing interest and moving on I'd like to make some suggestions at this point. Don't get me wrong; I don't think it being handcrafted is a bad thing and I wouldn't claim procedural / random generation of terrain, events or creatures would make it better or worse. I just find games that don't use these methods of mixing things up amazing for the first play through because everything is new, challenging and frightening or surprising since there is that extra attention to detail that comes with handcrafting; but on subsequent play throughs you already know what to expect and know exactly how to get around the challenges. Anyway I digress, making the game procedural / random is not at all my suggestion; it is just my reason for making a post containing my suggestions now and not 5-6 play throughs later if that even comes to pass. Another reason to make suggestions after 1 play through is that often when you start going though more, you forget that early experience and the difficulties / excitement you had then; you start to want to streamline things forgetting about the early game / wanting to bypass it as quickly as possible and focus on adding more content etc for the end game. I will likely come back to this post if anything else comes to mind / to my attention.
I expect people not to read the whole thing so I have tried to section it up as much as I can allowing reading of what is most important to each individual. A consequence of this is there will be some fairly repetitive suggestions where the suggestion applies to multiple sections.
I have tired to make all these suggestions consider the entire game and each other so that they work with one another and what already exists, this could mean some make little sense without others being implemented. In these cases I have made a point of what other suggestion it is reliant on, but also given reasons why It could be implemented regardless of whether or not the other is.
Vehicles:
I would like to first make a note about common requests I have seen along the same line that I disagree with. I know many people ask for the sea moth to be able to go deeper, or the cyclops to carry torpedoes/ have offensive capabilities, or add a deployable that has the function of the prawn suit drill arm; i disagree. I see the sea moth as your early-mid game solution for mobility, oxygen, safety, scavenging and low-mid depth exploration as well as open ocean exploration. If it could go deeper, there would be little reason to start using a cyclops and then beyond that, a prawn suit. People don't like these other options due to mobility ,i'll get to the prawn suit later, but i see the cyclops as a mobile base which works in combination with the other two vehicles increasing the range they can be used. If you start making something completely capable of everything you obsolete the other things. This means they never get used and people complain about the lack of meaningful variety / content on the basis that, "sure there are 101 things you can use but everybody will only ever use the 1 OP thing". The other risk is making everything almost equally capable which then you fall down the path of No Man's Sky where "sure you have near infinite things to choose from but the choice is superficial as they are all basically the same thing in the end, none of them provide a unique experience or offer any pros/cons in relation to the other options". Subnatuica already manages this fairly well; each vehicle for each its own purpose, making them all actually worth having around. I do say early, mid and end game in the following suggestions; but do not interpret that as meaning vehicles are no longer used at later times in the game or not used around earlier encountered areas. It is more an indication towards progression.
- Sea Moth:I interpret the sea moth as your early-mid game solution for mobility (small size, speed, maneuverability), safety (speed, hull strength, offensive abilities), scavenging (can be given inventory spaces and enables faster gathering trips) and low-mid depth exploration (lights, depth limit, oxygen restoration point for deeper than dives from the surface, open ocean and small cave compatible, ability to restore power through sunlight).
I honestly have next to no suggestions for this thing. I think it strikes the right balance between difficulty (health, power, acquisition etc) and capability (upgrades, depth, speed etc.); it fulfills the role I believe Unknown Worlds had for it.
The suggestions that I do actually have:
1 - [cumulative storage inventory, storage access inside vehicle]This applies to the sea moth and prawn suit; please make the storage modules contribute to one cumulative inventory rather than multiple separate ones and allow access to that storage space from any of the compartments that are attached externally to the vehicle's hull, as well as by hitting tab (PDA) while inside the vehicle. I understand this may not be as realistic as the current set up, but it's a game and the current set up is more of an annoyance then an addition to game play. Also in regard to realism; the prawn suit doesn't have separate compartments, it just expands the one it does have; it is apparent the capability to make at least part of this happen exists since the torpedo storage on the sea moth works this way.
2 - [torpedo storage accessible inside vehicle]Please make the torpedo storage accessible from inside the sea moth by pushing tab while a torpedo upgrade is selected with 1-4.
3 - [PDA access inside vehicle, alluded to in suggestion 1]This applies to the sea moth and prawn suit; please make it possible to interact with your PDA / the inventory while piloting. It allows you to have something to do while your oxygen replenishes or while you are heading in a straight line on the waters surface on your way to a beacon etc
4 - [an extra upgrade slot specifically for pressure compensator]This applies to the sea moth and prawn suit; please provide a separate slot or external compartment for installing the mk 1,2 or 3 pressure compensator upgrade. The main reason for this is the pressure compensator and the capability it grants to descend deeper feels integral to the progression of the game and therefore the vehicle. It is unlikely a player with this upgrade will find themselves ever switching it out, because at the point in the game where they have acquired it, it's likely they are only going to be looking to go deeper. There is no sense in taking it out for solar charging to extend your expeditions if you can't actually dive down to the things you are yet to explore; no sense in putting an inventory slot for gathering if you are looking to go to the depths which are still bountiful in resources or the only place that contains the resource you need; not much sense swapping it out for offensive or defensive systems, although you can encounter dangerous predators above 200m, I personally feel at the stage of the game where you have this upgrade you will be having more dangerous encounter below 300m... essentially what i am getting at is that what ever you put in to replace it is almost rendered useless because you can no longer go to where that replacing upgrade would be useful. The other upgrades seem like optional bonuses that allow you to slightly tweak your sea moth to be suited for either gathering, exploration, or "combat". The pressure compensator is far more mandatory, I don't see it as an optional upgrade.
5 - [swap power cell charger fragment locations inside wrecks with bioreactor fragment locations inside wrecks]Acquisition of the sea moth through its fragments is reasonably well done, due to them being located in the grassy plateaus / aurora. This is very likely to be the 3rd biome visited by the player since these biomes almost surround the starting position. This means that before the player is going out to explore further / deeper they will have come across the almost necessary tool that enables that. It is much the same as having sea glide fragments in the kelp biomes. The problem comes about with recharging it and upgrading it. I understand that you can't really turn the terrain into some kind of ring structure going out from the starting position to perpetuate the aforementioned method of progression, although, i acknowledge your placement of fragments does try to achieve this. My suggestion would be to swap power cell recharge fragment locations inside wrecks with bioreactor fragment locations inside wrecks: the same places as the sea moth fragments. This will stop people from having depleted sea moths with no way and no idea how to charge them (unless it is your intention to force people to make power cells upon power cells for a while).
6 - [acquisition of upgrades]The moon pool fragments are located in smart biomes; having a depth starting at 150 meters and decending past the 200m limit of the vanilla sea moth. This means the player will likely come across them as they are trying to go deeper, therefore being presented the means to achieve that when encountering the need for it. However they are located only in wrecks, only 1 of which is above 330m deep (it is 250m deep). Also the vehicle modification station fragments which are required for upgrades are found in the outermost biomes, 2 of which have reapers in abundance, and all the wrecks they are in are below 330 meters. I would suggest having the vehicle modification station fragments be near the moon pool fragments and perhaps attempt to have both of these within 250 meters of the surface. Having to go 130m beyond the capabilities of the sea moth and then also having to explore a wreck (cutting doors, welding panels, not getting lost) all on normal tanks (modification station fragments are also 330m+ deep) seems a bit much. - Cycops:I interpret the cyclops as your mid-end game solution for safety (stubbornness is about the only thing that can kill you in this machine, guarantees passage through reaper zones unabated), gathering (we're no longer scavenging in this thing, can be filled with storage space) range of exploration (you do not explore in this, this enables you to explore with the other 2 vehicles further out from your established base, it is a mobile sauce of power, sustenance, med packs and storage).
I am glad the cyclops has not been given the ability to add a vehicle modification station or alien containment, please never do this. As I said before, things should not obsolete other things and the cyclops comes close to giving the player no reason to return to their base or even make one at all. With regard to offensive capabilities, it is again a matter of not having to much cross-over with vehicle functionality (you won't be using a prawn suit and sea moth at the same time, you will however be using a cyclops with both of these. More than that though; the cyclops is invincible, if you are going to battle a reaper or sea dragon it should feel like a battle and not a cake walk of beating the helpless creature into submission.
Suggestions:
1 - [restrict base modules]This suggestion i am not certain about, open to discussion. Please remove the ability to add a fabricator, communication relay and modification station to the cyclops interior. The cyclops is so close to giving the player no reason to return to their base once their vehicle upgrades are done. In fact the only reasons I can see are to collect and breed fish in an alien containment or to make a cool looking base. To me the cyclops should give the player access to limitless range and extended time of exploration / gathering (again not actually exploring in it, just using it as a launching pad for the other vehicles). For this it needs to provide sustenance, health replenishment, oxygen, storage (flora and fauna included, hence aquarium and grow bed), a means of recharging batteries and power cells, and a means of recharging vehicles. The base/s should be where the player returns to progress the games story (communication relay) and progress their capabilities (modification station, vehicle modification station). The fabricator is tricky because it is necessary for cooking fish and crafting water as well as making new knives and beacons (unless a thermal knife is used or they are eaten raw); however I think the grow bed bypasses the sustenance needs and knives do last a long time and consume little inventory space. Why I think a fabricator should be restricted from being built in a cyclops is because it goes a long way to progressing a players capabilities in terms of tools and refining materials which in turn allow a player to build interior modules on their cyclops without having to return to base like they would for upgrading other vehicles; in this way the fabricator is the cyclops's modification station.
2 - [add a unique fabricator for it]If the above is implemented and the normal fabricator is removed, why not give it a fabricator that is capable of cooking and making water bottles (bleach too), beacons, torpedoes (for the other 2 vehicles, this does not add to the players capability) and repairing knives.
3 - [allow it to be damaged]"NOOOOOO" right? Well let me start with; please don't let it be destroyed. The cyclops takes so long to acquire materials for, 1 of the upgrades is once per game, and imagine loosing all the modules you built in it and the items in some of them. Letting the cyclops get destroyed is just going to be extremely frustrating for people, extreme frustration or even anger should not really happen in a game like this i think. Why let is get damaged at all then? Mainly because it is OP and once you have it you can waltz right through the most dangerous and powerful creatures in the game without fear of consequence; said creatures loose almost all your respect for them. Also, it will encourage people to be smarter with it and try to park it in a safe place then continue with their more in-depth exploration in the vehicles intended for in-depth exploration. No more bashing it around through small cave passages where you probably should be using a sea moth or prawn suit just because it can survive almost all manner of physical impact. My suggestion then is to give it a health limit like the other vehicles; but rather than exploding when it gets to 0, it springs a leak or 2, the health goes back to 100 and subsequent depletion yields additional leaks. Repairing is the same as the other vehicles, and also the same as it currently functions when the leaks appear from going below its crush depth. That is, the actual leaks can be repaired from outside or inside the cyclops with a welder, but the health it has must be restored from outside. This will encourage people to prioritize getting it into / returning it to a safe zone first, before attending to fix the damage. This may require some additional work on the agro ranges of reapers and such so there is actually somewhere safe to park it when a player explores the aurora for example. Like the crush depth, it should only be there to punish people for being stubborn: continually smashing it into cave walls to fit it somewhere other vehicles are more appropriate or letting a reaper / sea dragon ram into it over and over again with no regard for the threat they are suppose to pose. Does this mean I take back what i said about offensive capabilities? No, I expect it to take damage but not as readily as the the other 2 and it would likely return it to being OP.
4 - [easier access to upgrades on docked vehicles]Please rearrange the docking method in some way so that the upgrades of vehicles can be accessed while they are docked. Having to put the upgrades in your inventory, launch the vehicle, get out, install the upgrade, get back in, then either re dock or go on your way is convoluted.
5 - [solar charger and thermal charger upgrade whilst removing ability to recharge power cells without net less with the cyclops]I am sure you are aware that the cyclops currently has the capability to essentially create energy from nothing? A power cell charger inside the cyclops will fully charge a power cell or 2 without getting close to depleting a single power cell out of the six the cyclops uses to run the charger. This should be removed because once again the cyclops is suppose to be the launch pad the other 2 vehicles rely on so that they don't have to go all the way back to some actually established base. At the moment the player can pilot the cyclops for as long as they want and park it where ever they want without having any incentive to start using the other 2 vehicles for doing the actual exploring; and getting out of the comfort zone that is this impenetrable fortress. If there was actually a risk of it running out of energy and therefore movement and oxygen shutting off, people would be far more inclined to leave it on the surface for the solar charger or next to a vent for the thermal charger, then the rest of the exploring in the other, more expendable vehicles. Again, this is a push for the player to use the sea moth and prawn suit as the actual scouting / exploration / mobility vehicles and the cyclops as the launch / replenishment / inventory dump pad. Also again, this is to keep that that sense of vulnerability that these 2 smaller vehicles offer when exploring rather than that "honk honk, get out my way, I've got leviathans to ram" sense of indestructibility that the current cyclops offers.
6 - [teleportation gateways placed externally around bases that only teleport the cyclops]I believe you are going to add teleporters into the game to enable easier navigation of the map between bases? If so, please do not add it as an internal module for the bases. Instead, implement it as an external structure or even unique room, that must be close to at least a power source (even a single multi purpose room with nuclear reactor). Have it only teleport the cyclops when the cyclops is driven through what I would imagine would resemble something off stargate. If you allow teleportation between bases from inside the bases, I feel as though this will greatly reduce the usefulness of the cyclops as the mobile base. Instead why not have there be an upgrade module for the cyclops (probably found near something to do with warping on the aurora) that then enables it and all its contents (docked vehicle, player, plants, aquarium and storage included) to jump between gateways. This will enhance the cyclops as a mobile base as now it provides warping capabilities. I imagine someone having a gate set up at their main base, then carrying the materials for another external gate / gate room and a very rudimentary base to be built purely for powering the gate; finding a new location they want to establish a second base at; building the gate and powering structure /system which then enables them to warp back and forth transporting supplies with the cyclops. - P.R.A.W.N suit I interpret the prawn suit as your end game solution for mobility (small size, maneuverability, dual grappling arm) safety (hull strength superior to sea moth, offensive abilities superior to sea moth), scavenging (extra inventory available, drill arms) and cave/deep exploration (lights, furthest depth limit, grappling arms and walking/jumping movement suitable for cave environments, ability to restore power through heat vents)
This vehicle is likely going to be the most difficult to implement my suggestions for. I will add more later.
1 - [cumulative storage inventory, storage access inside vehicle]This applies to the sea moth and prawn suit; if you ever intend to allow more than 1 upgrade being useful for the prawn suit please continue to make the storage modules contribute to one cumulative inventory, rather than multiple separate ones, and allow access to that storage space from any of the compartments that are attached externally to the vehicle's hull, as well as by hitting tab (PDA) while inside the vehicle. I understand this may not be as realistic as the current set up, but it's a game and the current set up is more of an annoyance then an addition to game play.
2 - [PDA access inside vehicle, alluded to in suggestion 1]This applies to the sea moth and prawn suit; please make it possible to interact with your PDA / the inventory while piloting. It allows you to have something to do while your oxygen replenishes or when you are on your way to a beacon etc
3 - [an extra upgrade slot specifically for pressure compensator]This applies to the sea moth and prawn suit; please provide a separate slot or external compartment for installing the mk 1,2 or 3 pressure compensator upgrade. The main reason for this is the pressure compensator and the capability it grants to descend deeper feels integral to the progression of the game and therefore the vehicle. It is unlikely a player with this upgrade will find themselves ever switching it out, because at the point in the game where they have acquired it, it's likely they are only going to be looking to go deeper. There is no sense in taking it out for thermal charging if you can't actually dive down to reach the thermal vents; no sense in putting an inventory slot for gathering if you are looking to go to the depths which are still bountiful in resources or the only place that contains the resource you need; not much sense using the jump jets in its place because there purpose is to increase maneuverability yet having the pressure compensator now removed means you are in range of the most maneuverable vehicle in the game... essentially what i am getting at is that what ever you put in to replace it is almost rendered useless because you can no longer go to where that replacing upgrade would be useful. The other upgrades seem like optional bonuses that allow you to slightly tweak your prawn suit for either gathering, exploration, or damage resistance. The pressure compensator is far more mandatory, I don't see it as an optional upgrade.
4 - [all arms available]Choosing for the 4 upgrades makes sense, it forces the player to decide what bonuses to give their vehicle before deploying and what they are likely to be doing on that deployment, both the sea moth and prawn suit do it. Making the player also have to choose their arms, have to choose the actual function of the prawn suit is a bit much: want to move around? go dual grappling arms, found a rock to mine? dual drills, or maybe 1 drill and 1 grapple will work, want to pick up the rock you mined? mm um, oh you also want to move things around? and now a sea dragon is having its way with you and you can't defend yourself? that does seem like a problem. Swapping out arms every time you encounter a different need is an annoyance, having to carry them around taking up inventory space is a burden that the sea moth does not have. I suggest providing the player with 10 purple squares in the upgrade UI. The player can build and add arms to the slots which then grants the player access to that type of arm for the upgraded arm. To swap arm type while piloting hold 1-5 then left click to swap out the left, hold 1-5 then right click for the right arm, it should also allow both to be changed at the same time by clicking left and right mouse while holding 1-5. This will allow a player to spider-man through a cave, double drill a resource deposit, pick up the resources, move barriers, and fend off aggressive fauna without having to get out of suit every single time and go through menus. This will also help with many of the following suggestions.
5 - [default claws: allow the to interact with things, IF Tools suggestion 1 is implemented; give welding ability]Please make the default claws essentially function like the players bare hands; flick switches, pick up PDAs, access upgrade panels etc. This is largely based on Tools suggestion 1 and providing a vehicle capable of everything a player is usually capable of outside a vehicle, however, it would still be a nice QOL thing.
IF Tool suggestion 1 is implemented please give the default claws the ability to weld. I envision the animation for this as the 3 claw tips converging at a point from which the welding light appears. The default keybinding for this could be q (yes having 2 arms equipped will double the speed). It may be worth considering adding this regardless of Tool suggestion 1 as it could enable the addition of extreme depth alien structures that act as a continuation of the wrecks game play mechanic into the end game. Also, this could just be added to the current game as a means of progressing the players capabilities beyond the starting tools (faster repairs, larger energy pool, recharging more streamline than seeking out / building a battery charger).
6 - [propulsion cannon arm: IF Tools suggestion 1 is implemented; give base building ability]IF Tools suggestion 1 is implemented, please give the propulsion cannon the ability to access the base building menu and build base pieces. It would also need to remove base pieces but I still think q can be used as keybinding for both operations. It would have to be contextually sensitive, if the player is looking at a base piece and within range such that the deconstruct prompt appears, q will deconstruct the base piece; otherwise, q will open the base building menu from which the player can select a piece as normal, then build the piece by holding down the mouse button associated to the arm/s equipped with propulsion cannon. (yes, having 2 arms equipped will double the speed). It may be worth considering adding this regardless of Tool suggestion 1 as it could enable the addition of extreme depth alien structures that act as a continuation of the wrecks game play mechanic into the end game. Also, this could just be added to the current game as a means of progressing the players capabilities beyond the starting tools (faster building, larger inventory space to pool resources from, larger energy pool, recharging more streamline than seeking out / building a battery charger).
7 - [grappling arm: increase speed and distance of grapple, reduce cool down, IF tools suggestion 1 is implemented; give lazer cutter ability]Please make the grappling mechanism extend further and at a greater speed. If the prawn suit is to become the vehicle of choice for traversing those deep sea cave systems, it needs to be able to spider-man with the grappling arms far better than it currently does. I suspect the slow speed of the grappling wire extending is for aesthetic purposes? If so, perhaps have it speed up exponentially. This way the player gets to look at the cool animation, but by the time the grapple has extended past a distance that appreciation of the animation is no longer practicable; the thing will be moving fast enough for the player not to have to wait 10 seconds for it to connect to a wall. I feel like it should take no more than a second for the grapple to connect to a surface, even with the extended range I am about to get into. I think the length of the wire should be at least capable of reaching the roof of the sea trader path cave from the floor of it. The grappling arm should accelerate the prawn suit rapidly at first but tone it down the longer it is attached to a wall or roof; this should enable the suit to start moving quickly towards where the player just shot, possibly avoiding colliding with the wall / roof they were heading to, then due to the reduced pull of the wire the suit should swing through past the point the grapple made contact enabling the next shot to be lined up (I do however think something like this might already be the case). The cool down should also be reduced if not removed. Again, basically what I am trying to achieve here is being able to spider man through the large cave systems that the prawn suit will typically be used in at a better capacity than what is currently possible. I'm not sure this was even an intended use for dual grappling arms which may be why they don't seem very well designed for it, but they should be adjusted with this use in mind. To me this is the system of movement that the prawn suit has access to that the sea moth doesn't, and it should make it superior to the sea moth in terms of maneuverability when traveling through caves and canyons which is exactly the environment the prawn suit will be used in since pretty much all areas below 900m aside from the void are large cave systems.
IF Tools suggestion 1 is implemented, please give the grappling arm the ability the lazer cutter has. I envision the animation for this being the grapple getting shot towards the surface that is to be removed, puncturing the surface, sending some kind of energy pulse up through the grapple wire and across the surface to weaken it etc (this could possibly be timed, to allow 2 grapple arms to be faster and energy to be consumed much like normal laser cutting), then retracting back pulling the surface away with it (ie, ripping a door off its hinges). The default keybinding for this function could be q. I suggest a specific button rather than tearing down appropriate surfaces the grapple makes contact with by normal grapple activation, just in case the player actually wanted to use the surface to move with. For instance, maybe in the active lava zone the player can try to pull down parts of the ceiling onto the sea dragon to damage it like the fight against gohma in zelda: wind waker; this would require them to be able to differentiate between when they want to use the cieling to move and when they want to bring it down. It may be worth considering adding this regardless of Tool suggestion 1 as it could enable the addition of extreme depth alien structures that act as a continuation of the wrecks game play mechanic into the end game. Also, this could just be added to the current game as a means of progressing the players capabilities beyond the starting tools (faster / bigger door detachments, larger energy pool, recharging more streamline than seeking out / building a battery charger).
8 - [drill arm: capable of getting the suit unstuck]This may be tricky, but please allow the drill to make the suit essentially no clip through terrain that is above the prawn suit (I am aware you are removing terraforming which is why I am not suggesting this instead). The way I see this happening is the player has to have one arm equipped as the drill and the other as the grappling hook. If the game detects the grappling hook is stuck into a wall more than some distance (maybe 20-30m) away from the prawn suit, the suit is not moving, and the drill arm is active; then the suit goes into no clip mode, only for terrain above it, which should allow it to pass through the terrain it was getting stuck on and move out into open space without falling through the floor. Essentially the condition should indicate the grapple is in a wall opposite the entrance of the tunnel the player tried to enter but got stuck in. I have found trying to enter tunnels with the prawn suit will allow you to enter a few meters, make you realize it is too narrow to go further, but for whatever reason it suddenly becomes too narrow for you to exit as well, so you end up stuck. Hopefully a mechanism like this will allow the player to use the drill and grapple arm combo as a kind of winch to pull the suit out of the terrain it is lodged in.
9 - [Torpedo arm: increase torpedo storage, IF P.R.A.W.N suit suggestion 4 is implemented; storage of torpedoes separate to arm, IF Tools suggestion 1 is implemented; ability to launch scanner probes]The prawn suit is suppose to be superior to the sea moth for combat so that it can counter sea dragons. It can certainly fire quite rapidly, but this is even more reason to bring its torpedo storage capacity inline with the potential of the sea moth by doubling the space each arm has. I would even go so far as to suggest each arm has 2 storage compartments with double the current capacity, for a total of quadruple the current capacity. The prawn suit can churn out torpedoes very quickly and so you very quickly end up with no more torpedoes left. I would, in a similar manner to normal storage and the way the sea moths torpedo storage works; suggest being able to access 1 cumulative storage inventory from either of the arms, or from inside the vehicle. This can be achieved by having tab open up torpedo storage when at least one torpedo arm is equipped and normal storage otherwise.
IF P.R.A.W.N suit suggestion 4 is implemented, please consider adding another compartment to the prawn suit in which torpedoes are stored. Having the ability to swap out arms would mean getting into the suit to swap to the right arm to then be able to access the torpedo storage. This would likely be a pain if the player just has it docked in a moon pool and decides to reload the torpedoes but the suit doesn't have a torpedo arm currently active. Also it would hopefully prevent issues of torpedoes disappearing and such when the player is swapping arms around effecting the accumulative torpedo storage.
IF Tools suggestion 1 is implemented, please give the torpedo arm the ability to launch scanner probes something like the ones from this scene of prometheus. I don't really expect them to move around, in fact they probably shouldn't. By holding q for different lengths of time before releasing, the player will determine how far the drone will be shot. They should, when launched, move off to where they were shot but continue to slow down until they stop and then stay still. They would provide 2 functions, the first is essentially the same as the sea moth sonar, but probably with a larger range considering they won't be moving with the suit. While inside the suit the terrain will be highlighted within the range of the drone/s, allowing the player to more easily navigate the cave networks both due to being more easily able to spot tunnels and openings, but more precisely being able to locate walls, roofs and other terrain features to grapple onto while doing the spider man thing. The drone's second function would be to act as the prawn suit's version of a scanner. If upon stopping, the drone is within a small range of a fragment, as well as the piloted prawn suit, it will begin to scan the fragment. I think a maximum of 15 - 20 being active at any time should be appropriate. If more are spawned the oldest one disappears. It may be worth considering adding this regardless of Tool suggestion 1 as it could enable the addition of extreme depth alien structures that act as a continuation of the wrecks game play mechanic into the end game. Also, this could just be added to the current game as a means of progressing the players capabilities beyond the starting tools (faster scanning, larger energy pool, recharging more streamline than seeking out / building a battery charger).
10 - [fold up legs]Please allow the prawn suit legs to fold up. My guess as to how this folded up state would look is the legs running perpendicular to the height of the cockpit. This is to try prevent them dangling out of the moon pool when docked and taking up so much space in the cyclops passage way when docked.
11 - [allow crouching and then perhaps navigation on wheels or slow speed sea moth like movement]Perhaps in combination with suggestion 10 above, allow the prawn suit to crouch so that it can more easily navigate the tunnels of the cave systems it is meant to be used in. In my experience it is constantly getting stuck or having to be shimmied through difficult sections of tunnel. If the legs are able to go perpendicular to its height, maybe consider adding tracks / wheels or better yet thrusters to the shins (assuming these would point downward when collapsed). Tracks or wheels would allow it to role around in tunnels without bumping its head since the size of the prawn suit would be close to the sea moth's if it didn't have the legs giving it so much height. If thruster were used instead it could essentially be given the ability to move around like the sea moth; just at a reduced speed so that it doesn't then become a better option than the sea moth for open ocean. The ability to do this could be another optional upgrade so that toggling it on would be a matter of selecting it with 1-4 to highlight the relevant slot with blue then turning it off would be a matter of selecting the same 1- 4 (the icon goes from blue back to grey if it is selected again). I think a system like this would allow the prawn suit to toggle between this mode and normal walking without relying on any clicking that would be incompatible with the arms.
12 - [no clip with small objects]Please make the prawn suit pass through small objects on the ground like rock outcrops, small plants etc. Getting stuck on a bit of rock in a mech suit makes no sense and is annoying when moving across the floor.
Tools:
1 - [RELIES ON IMPLEMENTATION OF MANY OF THE PRAWN SUIT SUGGESTIONS (and I am actually not certain on this one at all): make the re-breather only effective to 600-700m]
2 - [swap location of battery charger fragments and mobile vehicle bay fragments]
I see progression regarding reaching greater depths as: O2 tank > sea glide > sea moth + sea glide> upgrade sea moth + sea glide > cyclops + upgrade sea moth + sea glide > prawn suit + upgrade cyclops > upgrade prawn suit + upgrade cyclops.
Thanks to the re-breather it looks more like: O2 tank > sea glide > sea moth + sea glide > upgrade sea moth + sea glide > cyclops + upgrade sea moth + sea glide> prawn suit + upgrade cyclops + sea glide > upgrade prawn suit + upgrade cyclops + sea glide > inventory full of tanks + upgrade cyclops + sea glide.
Sorry for that mess but the point is you are using your means of transportation back from the kelp zone to explore the lava zone? 1-1.7km below the surface? what? I guess with some fancy space tech breathing at those depths is possible but as far as I am aware beyond about 300 meters without special gases and such you are looking at narcosis. I know I made a point about games being fun and not necessarily having to make sense back with vehicle storage, but I think here both realism and good game play can be accomplished. If you make the re-breather work until 600-700m then have the oxygen loss climb exponentially beyond that point to where 1-1.2+km down becomes 10-20 seconds until black out regardless of oxygen capacity, I think you would add a good level of realism and danger to the deeper zones and make warpers far more of a worry. During the 10-20 seconds the screen should fade in and out without going totally black and perhaps have the coughing to indicate an oxygen issue. This would also be a solution to people taking dives too deep into the void loaded with multiple large tanks and a 1.5km deep launch from the cylcops. Perhaps alien tech, found in them extreme depth alien structures that I may or may not be suggesting could once again allow the player to get out of vehicles at these depths (this could reset the progression of depth capability back to sea glide to make room for expansions / dlc where the vehicles are now upgraded with alien tech found in the extreme depth alien structures to enable them to go further than 1.7km, who knows). It just seems off that the vehicles have a kind of progression in terms of depth capability of sea moth, cyclops then prawn suit; but the sea glide and being able to swim surpasses all of them (technically infinite), despite being one of the first things the player constructs.
Thanks to the re-breather it looks more like: O2 tank > sea glide > sea moth + sea glide > upgrade sea moth + sea glide > cyclops + upgrade sea moth + sea glide> prawn suit + upgrade cyclops + sea glide > upgrade prawn suit + upgrade cyclops + sea glide > inventory full of tanks + upgrade cyclops + sea glide.
Sorry for that mess but the point is you are using your means of transportation back from the kelp zone to explore the lava zone? 1-1.7km below the surface? what? I guess with some fancy space tech breathing at those depths is possible but as far as I am aware beyond about 300 meters without special gases and such you are looking at narcosis. I know I made a point about games being fun and not necessarily having to make sense back with vehicle storage, but I think here both realism and good game play can be accomplished. If you make the re-breather work until 600-700m then have the oxygen loss climb exponentially beyond that point to where 1-1.2+km down becomes 10-20 seconds until black out regardless of oxygen capacity, I think you would add a good level of realism and danger to the deeper zones and make warpers far more of a worry. During the 10-20 seconds the screen should fade in and out without going totally black and perhaps have the coughing to indicate an oxygen issue. This would also be a solution to people taking dives too deep into the void loaded with multiple large tanks and a 1.5km deep launch from the cylcops. Perhaps alien tech, found in them extreme depth alien structures that I may or may not be suggesting could once again allow the player to get out of vehicles at these depths (this could reset the progression of depth capability back to sea glide to make room for expansions / dlc where the vehicles are now upgraded with alien tech found in the extreme depth alien structures to enable them to go further than 1.7km, who knows). It just seems off that the vehicles have a kind of progression in terms of depth capability of sea moth, cyclops then prawn suit; but the sea glide and being able to swim surpasses all of them (technically infinite), despite being one of the first things the player constructs.
2 - [swap location of battery charger fragments and mobile vehicle bay fragments]
You start the game with immediate access to building tools that rely on batteries. You find the sea glide in the kelp zones, the same place you find the mobile vehicle bay. So you get a means of transport that will burn through batteries while you still have no means to recharge them (not to mention tools currently being used), and at the same time get a device for building vehicles while you have no vehicles to build. Swapping the battery charger and mobile vehicle bay fragments would make far more sense to game progression and the player being provided the means and knowledge of how to address their needs at about the point in the game that they arise. This way they should be more likely to discover the battery charger as they are finding the battery burning sea glide and running batteries low from using their recently acquired tools; then when in the grassy plateau (very likely to be the third biome explored) they will discover the sea moth and the means to build it in the mobile vehicle bay.
Bases/Flora/Fauna:
Here I want to try encourage the establishment of multiple bases in the best ways I could think of; without having them, in combination with the limited resource supply, lead to the multiple bases that are made, being less grand than single ones constructed in the current game, where most of the gathered resources are dedicated to their construction.
1 - [Teleportation gate built at bases, usable with cyclops]
2 - [biomes effecting plant growth]
3 - [external cage structure that allows release of alien containment creatures hatched from eggs without them swimming away]
4 - [animals that can hatch from eggs provide different benefits from being in different biomes]
1 - [Teleportation gate built at bases, usable with cyclops]
I believe you are going to add teleporters into the game to enable easier navigation of the map between bases? If so, please do not add it as an internal module for the bases. Instead, implement it as an external structure or even unique room, that must be close to at least a power source (even a single multi purpose room with nuclear reactor). Have it only teleport the cyclops when the cyclops is driven through what I would imagine would resemble something off stargate. If you allow teleportation between bases from inside the bases, I feel as though this will greatly reduce the usefulness of the cyclops as the mobile base. However being able to use your first base to construct materials for your second one and then enabling teleportation between the 2 would likely reduce the hurdle of having trying to achieve multiple bases. Even if the bases beyond the first are just there to be small power stations for gateways enabling the cyclops to warp.
2 - [biomes effecting plant growth]
Please make it so that plants and seeds picked up from one biome will yield reduced seeds when harvested, if they were replanted in another; and grow at an enhanced rate in their biome of origin. This in combination with the above warping system may motivate players to set up multiple bases so that they could for instance grow melons efficiently at the floating island, creepy vine at the kelp forest, blood vine at the blood kelp zone and then move between them as required.
3 - [external cage structure that allows release of alien containment creatures hatched from eggs without them swimming away]
I submitted a post to the subnautica subreddit a while ago regarding a cage I build out of pipes for releasing my amp eels in that I had hatched from eggs in an alien containment. I noticed that these eels were still not at their full size so i figured there is probably some difference between them and the wild ones; wouldn't it be cool if there really was and it was a functional difference? My suggestion is to provide the player with the ability to build some kinda of cage in which they can release hatched creatures from the alien containment. However the creatures that were hatched there have to be fed with plants from their respective biomes. The plants can be grown in an integrated grow bed much like the alien containment has, then the hatched creature inside the cage will occasionally eat from this slowly depleting it. In combination with the suggestion above; this means to feed animals outside of their natural biome, a player would likely have to have a base for growing the food then occasionally transport that food with the cyclops to the base with the creature, the suggestion below will expand on why they would have a creature outside its natural biome.
4 - [animals that can hatch from eggs provide different benefits from being in different biomes]
One of the problems with trying to build bases in certain biomes is the lack of say quartz or titanium integral to building base pieces. The sea treader is a creature with a unique ability of being able to spawn basalt outcrops where it is walking. What if, in different biomes the sea treader spawned different outcrops; for instance limestone outcrops in the crash zone or safe shallows, grassy plateau could have salt deposits, when it treads at blood kelp it spawns quartz or uranium, etc etc. The reaper leviathan could keep lesser predators and maybe even other reapers away from the base, this would be a solution to the warper issue i have seen people complain about. The amp eel could simply be a sauce of power. The warper could maybe drop an item based on the biome it is in, used to calibrate which biome a teleportation gate would target, then bringing up a list of applicable bases in that biome to choose from. The crabsquid could use its ability to interact with human built technology to somehow give indication as to the location of wrecks or fragments (maybe drops and item that is attracted to the nearest one when dropped by the player).
Regarding the individual abilities of each hatchable creature I honestly have not thought much further than the sea treader and reaper leviathan, I would love to see what other players / the developers could come up with. I think a system like this would encourage players to get an almost jurrasic park like set up across multiple bases with unique and important functionality at every single one of them, in this way it would be unlikely an old base would loose its usefulness and be abandoned.
Regarding the individual abilities of each hatchable creature I honestly have not thought much further than the sea treader and reaper leviathan, I would love to see what other players / the developers could come up with. I think a system like this would encourage players to get an almost jurrasic park like set up across multiple bases with unique and important functionality at every single one of them, in this way it would be unlikely an old base would loose its usefulness and be abandoned.
The Void:
1 - [Mysterious, not modeled, not detailed, titan size creature lurking within the extreme deep, open ocean of the void.... NOT 999,999,999 SEA DRAGON LEVIATHANS]
ok, i know the sea dragon leviathans are terrifying, but they are not the right thing to keep players out of the void, and especially not in large numbers. PLEASE do not do this, i've seen the trello post. The sea dragon is terrifying because it is at the deepest point in the game, and there are only 2 each with an entire biome to themselves, and of course the size, teeth and fire breath. If you go with the cheap solution of just chucking a great multitude out into the void, it is highly likely the player will run into them before even getting below 600m. This takes away its status as the final apex predator of the playable zone and the ruler/s of the inactive and active lava zones. It really would cheapen this creature. Reaper leviathans are not all that good of a choice either. There are already quite a few of them and the real problem is, both these 2 can't really take on a cyclops so neither will impede a player chugging along in their impenetrable fortress further and further out into the void; even with my suggestion to allow the cyclops to be damaged.
It has already been suggested multiple time to put a very large creature out there, and I particularly liked one persons reference to the bloop, which is exactly what my friend with thalassophobia freaked out over before even starting to play; I can be evil. It truly is fitting for the murky depths of the void, but where this suggestion tends to fall apart is that every time it is made, the cyclops ends up being destroyed. DO NOT DESTROY THE CYCLOPS!! It would be to damn frustrating. So here is how I think it should go down. A player swims, sea moths, cyclopses?, out into the void; probably about 200m from the main play area is a good range for a safe zone in which nothing will happen to them except perhaps PDA saying something along the lines of "detecting no recognizable flora, fauna or geographical features of interest within these waters, it would be advisable to turn back now" and perhaps on rare occasions "ERROR: large scale movement detected; discernible size of entity beyond upper limits of accepted life form parameters; logged as unrecognizable geological event", perhaps someone who actually knows the lingo for size classification of marine animals can help out here? developers?...
If the player continues beyond 200m and up to 300m, within this range the PDA can start making subtle hints like it is detecting something very large with the characteristics of an animal but will not classify it as such because it couldn't possibly be so instead ties to explain it away "Massive scale heat signature approximately 3.7-5.4 km below, evaluating.... positioning sensor calibration required; logged as Aurora detected at depth of {current player depth + 3.7-5.4} km, time: {current time of day / date etc.}". Just the sort of thing that the player knows is not quite right and if possible, sends a shiver down the spine. Perhaps even distant noises can be heard, although maybe with a source some way away from where the PDA is indicating so as to suggest what ever is below or near is being quite.
At 300m and beyond would be when it can start to trigger an event, or choose from multiple events if possible to mix it up. It should be random, the player could even get to 1 km out or more before it happens but with increasing odds the further they go, the idea here is to have uncertainty, no idea when it is going to happen, how long you are safe for, no wiki article to go to for a definite answer. As I said right at the beginning, things are exciting and terrifying the first few times around, but familiarity dissipates that. So if that sense of familiarity, and knowing what is out in the void, and when it is safe ,and when it is not; can be stopped from being reached for as long as possible; the void can continue to induce terror for as long as possible. That is why i say don't model this thing completely or give it detail because it needs to remain a mystery, let people speculate on size, teeth, number of heads, squid or shark etc. It's the sort of thing that worked well with slender man at first but then it started popping up everywhere and becoming overly familiar so the terror was lost. I hope this might demonstrate what I am getting at, especially at up to about 7 minutes (don't watch at night alone if easily spooked). I don't want to even try suggest things for what happens when the event is triggered, I suspect shadows will play a part, maybe a glimpse of a limb, or a single tooth could come crashing through the cyclops window; I myself would like to be surprised by whatever animation is used if this is implemented.
HOW NOT TO DESTROY THE CYCLOPS IN THIS: essentially use the crush depth mechanic: after the event has played through, the player finds themselves washed onto land at either the mountain, or floating island; perhaps the aurora if in a safe spot (no radiation or reapers). Presumably they would be a bit angry having lost their cyclops or other vehicle, but then not long after regaining consciousness the PDA informs the player that a faint energy signature matching their lost vehicle has been detected. The beacon for it could flash for a bit, showing it is off somewhere in the void. Then at random intervals the signal returns at random points in the void showing that the lost vehicle and by extension what ever took it moves around the playable area. After perhaps a day the signal shows up at full strength somewhere right at the playable area / void border with the vehicle resting on the sea bed there within up to 200m from the surface. The player can then go back out to the border where the vehicle now lays and repair it with a welder, let it drain the water and then continue to use it.
ok, i know the sea dragon leviathans are terrifying, but they are not the right thing to keep players out of the void, and especially not in large numbers. PLEASE do not do this, i've seen the trello post. The sea dragon is terrifying because it is at the deepest point in the game, and there are only 2 each with an entire biome to themselves, and of course the size, teeth and fire breath. If you go with the cheap solution of just chucking a great multitude out into the void, it is highly likely the player will run into them before even getting below 600m. This takes away its status as the final apex predator of the playable zone and the ruler/s of the inactive and active lava zones. It really would cheapen this creature. Reaper leviathans are not all that good of a choice either. There are already quite a few of them and the real problem is, both these 2 can't really take on a cyclops so neither will impede a player chugging along in their impenetrable fortress further and further out into the void; even with my suggestion to allow the cyclops to be damaged.
It has already been suggested multiple time to put a very large creature out there, and I particularly liked one persons reference to the bloop, which is exactly what my friend with thalassophobia freaked out over before even starting to play; I can be evil. It truly is fitting for the murky depths of the void, but where this suggestion tends to fall apart is that every time it is made, the cyclops ends up being destroyed. DO NOT DESTROY THE CYCLOPS!! It would be to damn frustrating. So here is how I think it should go down. A player swims, sea moths, cyclopses?, out into the void; probably about 200m from the main play area is a good range for a safe zone in which nothing will happen to them except perhaps PDA saying something along the lines of "detecting no recognizable flora, fauna or geographical features of interest within these waters, it would be advisable to turn back now" and perhaps on rare occasions "ERROR: large scale movement detected; discernible size of entity beyond upper limits of accepted life form parameters; logged as unrecognizable geological event", perhaps someone who actually knows the lingo for size classification of marine animals can help out here? developers?...
If the player continues beyond 200m and up to 300m, within this range the PDA can start making subtle hints like it is detecting something very large with the characteristics of an animal but will not classify it as such because it couldn't possibly be so instead ties to explain it away "Massive scale heat signature approximately 3.7-5.4 km below, evaluating.... positioning sensor calibration required; logged as Aurora detected at depth of {current player depth + 3.7-5.4} km, time: {current time of day / date etc.}". Just the sort of thing that the player knows is not quite right and if possible, sends a shiver down the spine. Perhaps even distant noises can be heard, although maybe with a source some way away from where the PDA is indicating so as to suggest what ever is below or near is being quite.
At 300m and beyond would be when it can start to trigger an event, or choose from multiple events if possible to mix it up. It should be random, the player could even get to 1 km out or more before it happens but with increasing odds the further they go, the idea here is to have uncertainty, no idea when it is going to happen, how long you are safe for, no wiki article to go to for a definite answer. As I said right at the beginning, things are exciting and terrifying the first few times around, but familiarity dissipates that. So if that sense of familiarity, and knowing what is out in the void, and when it is safe ,and when it is not; can be stopped from being reached for as long as possible; the void can continue to induce terror for as long as possible. That is why i say don't model this thing completely or give it detail because it needs to remain a mystery, let people speculate on size, teeth, number of heads, squid or shark etc. It's the sort of thing that worked well with slender man at first but then it started popping up everywhere and becoming overly familiar so the terror was lost. I hope this might demonstrate what I am getting at, especially at up to about 7 minutes (don't watch at night alone if easily spooked). I don't want to even try suggest things for what happens when the event is triggered, I suspect shadows will play a part, maybe a glimpse of a limb, or a single tooth could come crashing through the cyclops window; I myself would like to be surprised by whatever animation is used if this is implemented.
HOW NOT TO DESTROY THE CYCLOPS IN THIS: essentially use the crush depth mechanic: after the event has played through, the player finds themselves washed onto land at either the mountain, or floating island; perhaps the aurora if in a safe spot (no radiation or reapers). Presumably they would be a bit angry having lost their cyclops or other vehicle, but then not long after regaining consciousness the PDA informs the player that a faint energy signature matching their lost vehicle has been detected. The beacon for it could flash for a bit, showing it is off somewhere in the void. Then at random intervals the signal returns at random points in the void showing that the lost vehicle and by extension what ever took it moves around the playable area. After perhaps a day the signal shows up at full strength somewhere right at the playable area / void border with the vehicle resting on the sea bed there within up to 200m from the surface. The player can then go back out to the border where the vehicle now lays and repair it with a welder, let it drain the water and then continue to use it.
Revisions upon community feedback:
1 - [integrate cyclops teleporters into cyclops docking]
Thanks to feedback from iRhuel on the subreddit, crash09, and MyAliasWasTaken I think it would be worth finding some way to integrate the teleportation / quick travel system into the cyclops docking system that is already being suggested as a possible feature.
iRhuel said "I believe an easier and more sensible implementation would be to use the cyclops base docks (after they're implemented). Allow the cyclops to "fast travel" between docks, and implement a nav beacon upgrade at each dock or nav system module on the cyclops to act as the gameplay gate."
crash09 said "I agree the bases should have a certain level of power accessible in order to use it (say, 250-500 power per teleport). It makes improved power sources that much more worthwhile."
MyAliasWasTaken said "I think that growing plants in their home biome would just get annoying, especially if only the cyclops could go through teleporters. Speaking of teleporters, they could potentially be rebalanced by having them work only in certain areas so you still need the cyclops occasionally."
I think by having the teleporter integrated into the docking system you would prevent that problem of annoyance and convulsion that would come from having to swim between base and cyclops to move items between bases. This way the cyclops would be more like an extension of any base it is docked on. Also by having it still use teleportation, the power required would still come from the base, which would encourage the construction of more robust power supplies as crash09 said and by extension restrict the areas they can work in as MyAliasWasTaken said. All of this together would allow the cyclops to still be useful and worth building after teleporter tech is acquired, and still encourage construction of bases with enough power supply to operate the teleporter, as well as grown plants or keep animals at.
Thanks to feedback from iRhuel on the subreddit, crash09, and MyAliasWasTaken I think it would be worth finding some way to integrate the teleportation / quick travel system into the cyclops docking system that is already being suggested as a possible feature.
iRhuel said "I believe an easier and more sensible implementation would be to use the cyclops base docks (after they're implemented). Allow the cyclops to "fast travel" between docks, and implement a nav beacon upgrade at each dock or nav system module on the cyclops to act as the gameplay gate."
crash09 said "I agree the bases should have a certain level of power accessible in order to use it (say, 250-500 power per teleport). It makes improved power sources that much more worthwhile."
MyAliasWasTaken said "I think that growing plants in their home biome would just get annoying, especially if only the cyclops could go through teleporters. Speaking of teleporters, they could potentially be rebalanced by having them work only in certain areas so you still need the cyclops occasionally."
I think by having the teleporter integrated into the docking system you would prevent that problem of annoyance and convulsion that would come from having to swim between base and cyclops to move items between bases. This way the cyclops would be more like an extension of any base it is docked on. Also by having it still use teleportation, the power required would still come from the base, which would encourage the construction of more robust power supplies as crash09 said and by extension restrict the areas they can work in as MyAliasWasTaken said. All of this together would allow the cyclops to still be useful and worth building after teleporter tech is acquired, and still encourage construction of bases with enough power supply to operate the teleporter, as well as grown plants or keep animals at.
Comments
Sorry I just had to..
*When the spoilers just keep leading to more spoilers*
we need to go deeper....