Weather in Subnautica (POLL)

NuclearTesting

Weather is the biggest addition that this game lacks. Most other survival games included some dynamic weather but Subnautica... well it's pretty much sunshine and rainbows all day long. We find out that the Degasi crew was forced off the island by an extreme storm (possibly a hurricane) yet we don't even see a dark cloud in the sky! 4546B is mostly covered in water and that should mean frequent storms. Subnautica should have dynamic weather (light rain, heavy rain, thunderstorms) that affects the water (large waves), causes plants to move with the waves, and moves about your vehicles (cyclops, seamoth, NOT the lifepod) as well as damaging shallow bases. It would be interesting to if the storms acted as a restraint to players early in the game, making it so that if you are discouraged from building in shallow areas. Players just starting the game won't be able to build until they branch out into deeper biomes. The effects of a storm become less intense the deeper you go (the effects of more intense storms are worst at 0-35 meters and start to dissipate between 35-60 meters) making the weather less of an obstacle for more advanced players. Dynamic Weather probably takes a long time to implement in the game so we sadly can't expect weather any time soon (after 1.0 , or maybe not at all). So... after all this what features do you think weather should have (if it is implemented at all)?

0x6A7232

When they get around to it. I'd say it can be part of the expansion if it's going to push v1.0 back more than a month, though. (Although UWE may decide it's best to push it after 1.0 even if it only delays it by a day, that's find too lol.)

darntrool

With such weather, it is possible to introduce a hydroelectric power station

SouthernGorilla

I'm all for weather. It would make structural integrity important. Or cause you to weigh the benefits of building deeper to get away from the weather against the risks of building deeper where the dangerous critters are.

jamintheinfinite_1

Would that mean a cyclops nado? So reaper nado + cyclops nado = bad

Sam_Starfall

Just saying since the topic isn't clear on this : to me "weather" imply more "current" than actual weather, because a storm on the surface is barely going to affect a 100m deep base, even less over 200m. Creating weather-like strong currents however would replicate wind and be a mechanics usable all around the game.

Of course, Surface weather does work well to encourage a base deeper than the starting area, but there's better lever than that I hope the devs use.

Timelord_Fred

Sam_Starfall wrote: »

Just saying since the topic isn't clear on this : to me "weather" imply more "current" than actual weather, because a storm on the surface is barely going to affect a 100m deep base, even less over 200m. Creating weather-like strong currents however would replicate wind and be a mechanics usable all around the game.

Of course, Surface weather does work well to encourage a base deeper than the starting area, but there's better lever than that I hope the devs use.

All of the above. Currents. Weather. An anchor that can be built in to vehicles to stop currents from pushing them. A hydroelectric power generator.

MrAerospace

I would love to see surface weather (storms/waves,etc) affecting the early game, maybe pushing the escape pod around (requiring/breaking a tether) or even sinking it in the long run, as a sort of push for players to explore beyond the shallows.
The same idea could also affect shallow bases. Inclement weather could start kicking up sand;
- Reducing visibility to a few meters
- Sandblasting base parts; damaging solar panels/clogging water purifiers, rusting away joins, etc.

As for currents, I'm a big fan of that too. However, I'd be concerned as to how currents are implemented in the game, so that they are done in a way that is an impediment to player progression, but doesn't push players into dangerous situations too early.
- For example, a current could circumnavigate the safe shallows, being too fast to out-swim without the power of a seaglide or seamoth. Each time you try, you'll get pushed right around with a washout of the current near the shallows (allowing you to easily swim back to safety, rather than say, pushing the player straight into the void or into the claws of a reaper)
- A rapid, circular current would also be an ideal habitat for reefbacks too, making them into a much more dynamic/unique gameplay experience.
- A tethered turbine like device placed within currents would also be a potential power source for base building too.

Nansen

In my opinion it should be extreme weather, where it should damage vehicles and bases that is at a certain depth. In the real world creatures like lobsters and fish take cover in the depths when such storms are building up. With a wather system like this it would be a real reason to have a sea base at a deeper level than the shallows (which would be damaged, not destoying the base so that it needs to be rebuilt, just repeared).

It would be cool if you had a weather system like this so that the player had to create a base at a deeper level to take cover during the storm. It should not come too early or not too frequent so that the player have time to build a secound base at a deep place like 500m. It could be a "winter storm" not that subnautica need summer and winter, but it should not be a storm too early or too often.

Another sugestion could be that it would be a multi stage warning like the Aurora explosion. Then the player have time to react and that the PDA makes sure that the player understands that it is needed to build another base at a deeper depth. Then the storm could last a long time.