Theoretically you could use them if the game had long dark vertical tunnels where you could see far ahead in the depth with them to discover a luring predator at the bottom. Unfortunately the game doesn't have these places. There are only a few dark tunnels where only a diver fits inside. Even in wrecks there are no creatures luring inside the tunnels where only flares would save you.
But as mentioned even then the reusable lightstick or seaglide is far better than the flares that burn out. Although the recipe was reduced to give 5 flares for a single crash powder and thus very easy to make. But inventory space is far more important and the reusable lights are more than enough.
It's probably too late for the devs to include some flare specific locations into the game. And terrain reconstruction would take too much time. But the flare doesn't eat up much game resources I think and some people love to play with it, so it will just stay useless in the game.
I always thought they could repurpose the Flare from a lighting tool to one that drives predators away from an area for a short period of time, but now that they have the Creature Decoy......
I tried using a few in the deep Kelp Forests at night when I didn't have a flashlight but did have the starting 2x flares a while ago. THey were still there when I came back in the cyclops hours later xD
But yeah, don't really see the need for them when you can just make a flashlight or use the seaglide's light.
I've been using them a lot lately, they are like the Lightstick except with a decent light radius. Crashfish powder is unlimited, so you can make a bazillion of them and throw them away with no regrets.
I think they would be a lot more useful if the game had realistic darkness. Maybe they need a "Ultra Hardcore" mode where below 200m is 95% darkness, and below 800 or 1000m is 100% darkness. You would need them to find your way out in dark caves/passages such as Lost River.
I used a couple a few games back. Had a bug that a dropped burning Flare would never burn out. Don't know if they still have that but I'm going to test them in the near future.
There aren't enough dark areas in the game for them to be useful. There's a couple short caves at the start but that's it.
Light sticks have the same problem but even worse due to how much later you unlock them. I honestly keep forgetting they exist because of how little use they have.
I used a couple a few games back. Had a bug that a dropped burning Flare would never burn out. Don't know if they still have that but I'm going to test them in the near future.
Same. I dropped one on top of my base once. Not only did it never burn out after days and days, but I was able to pick it up and use it again somewhere else. Kind of thinking that's not an intended effect.
The light from them looks great, so I'd like to be able to use them more, but I'm on the move so much I just don't see an application. Maybe one of the devs can weigh in on what they intended for the flares.
Current game I have actually used them a few times when diving in the Kelp Forests early on; especially at night. Sometimes I'll need to swap to a knife or scanner and then everything gets all dark because my flashlight isn't out anymore.
Still think they have a pretty niche use as they are though.
I've used them as temporary markers to illuminate an area.
However, their value is much reduced due to the overall ambient light in most biomes. It'd be nice to see an ambient light option in addition to the FOV option in the future!
I've used them as temporary markers to illuminate an area.
However, their value is much reduced due to the overall ambient light in most biomes. It'd be nice to see an ambient light option in addition to the FOV option in the future!
I'd make most cave biomes near totally dark if that were an option. Hard to appreciate the bioluminescence of some things when the ambient light is cranked up so high. Plus the creepiness of being in an undersea cave when everything's lit up so much? Eh. Would make lights so much more useful - like floodlights and spotlights on bases for example - if they were much darker. Some ambient light so it's not like, totally dark... But enough that you'll want something to help light the surroundings and give some extra fearfulness to the River Prowlers and Ghost Leviathan, and so the Sea Dragon can show off that bioluminescence of his in full!
The downside to this is how they'd implement it. Would this be a global thing? I can't imagine they'd want to implement a slider or something for a per-biome basis (Spoilers if anything) I like some ambient light in the Kelp Forests and ex-Koosh Zone or etc, but in cavern biomes - especially the ILZ, DGR, and LR - it's too high for my personal tastes. Maybe if you could do it by depth - since some of the deeper biomes are a touch bright during the day, or at least it feels like it? Except for the Blood Kelp Trench, that one nails the balance between darkness and ambient light almost perfectly IMO
The game is too bright most of the time to be useful. At night perhaps, but eh. The seep biome really should be pitch black minus any luminescence. They might have a use then.
If the game had a dozen vertical pitch black holes bundled together at a place going down deep and some of them had real evil and others good treasure in it, then the player would beg for a flare to light up the situation in advance and save his day.
Unfortunately there's nothing like this in the game. Missed opportunity.
If I wanted to make flares useful I'd make the Bulb Zone Caves, Grassy Plateaus Caves, Deep Grand Reef, Mountain Range Caves, Mushroom Forest Caves, Sea Treader's Path Tunnel, Sea Treader's Path Caves, and Underwater Islands Caves biomes darker.
While the biome fog is a contributor in some of those caves to the overall brightness there are also these bright light sources placed near certain clusters of plants. Those should be a lot dimmer and should come from the plant's model itself instead of just being placed on or near them. I've also found light sources like these random blue lights in the Bulb Zone Caves that seemingly come from nowhere, which definitely need to be removed.
Another thing I'd change is the time it takes for flares to run out of power and make it at least a little less than the light stick to give those more use.
Theoretically you could use them if the game had long dark vertical tunnels where you could see far ahead in the depth with them to discover a luring predator at the bottom. Unfortunately the game doesn't have these places. There are only a few dark tunnels where only a diver fits inside. Even in wrecks there are no creatures luring inside the tunnels where only flares would save you.
But as mentioned even then the reusable lightstick or seaglide is far better than the flares that burn out. Although the recipe was reduced to give 5 flares for a single crash powder and thus very easy to make. But inventory space is far more important and the reusable lights are more than enough.
It's probably too late for the devs to include some flare specific locations into the game. And terrain reconstruction would take too much time. But the flare doesn't eat up much game resources I think and some people love to play with it, so it will just stay useless in the game.
Need to have certain inventory items stack, while leaving others unstackable due to size (titanium, but this could be offset by allowing conversion of ingots back to titanium)
I dropped one on top of my base once. Not only did it never burn out after days and days, but I was able to pick it up and use it again somewhere else. Kind of thinking that's not an intended effect.
The light from them looks great, so I'd like to be able to use them more, but I'm on the move so much I just don't see an application. Maybe one of the devs can weigh in on what they intended for the flares.
The colour of the light was adjusted in its amount of redness. And burning Flares carried readied would burn out.
The game is too bright most of the time to be useful. At night perhaps, but eh. The seep biome really should be pitch black minus any luminescence. They might have a use then.
I like the fluorescent landscape at night. And some of the caves beyond the fluorescent plants are pitch black.
The problem is there are many other sources of illumination. Those powered by a base can now usually run continuously. Those powered by Batteries can have them recharged. Once using the Swim Charge Fins, even that is done in the process of exploration. While Flares are single use and need to be recreated from Cave Sulphur, which can be risky to get.
Flares illuminate more than other sources, but it seems to be rare where this would be an advantage.
Need to have certain inventory items stack, while leaving others unstackable due to size (titanium, but this could be offset by allowing conversion of ingots back to titanium)
Such a significant change in the UI to get some items to stack is likely far from possible until after the version 1.0 release.
Need to have certain inventory items stack, while leaving others unstackable due to size (titanium, but this could be offset by allowing conversion of ingots back to titanium)
Agreed, would be nice if Flares could stack to 5 or so. Seeds and other miniscule items should probably also stack to 99
I like using them just for the aesthetic of it, but I realize most people would rather just use the flashlight. I like using them in conjunction with other lighting sources. Throw out a few flares to give a nice regional light.
Similarly, anyone ever use the Lightsticks? I think I placed one once around the time of the Silent Running update (perhaps a little earlier) and was a little disappointed at its radius. Then a little miffed that when the battery died a few minutes later, I couldn't pick it up to dispose of
Similarly, anyone ever use the Lightsticks? I think I placed one once around the time of the Silent Running update (perhaps a little earlier) and was a little disappointed at its radius. Then a little miffed that when the battery died a few minutes later, I couldn't pick it up to dispose of
Nope. The fact that they're unlocked after you already have the flare blueprint, cost more to craft, run out of energy faster, and don't even provide as much light makes them even less useful than flares unfortunately.
Similarly, anyone ever use the Lightsticks? I think I placed one once around the time of the Silent Running update (perhaps a little earlier) and was a little disappointed at its radius. Then a little miffed that when the battery died a few minutes later, I couldn't pick it up to dispose of
Nope. The fact that they're unlocked after you already have the flare blueprint, cost more to craft, run out of energy faster, and don't even provide as much light makes them even less useful than flares unfortunately.
They should be in the Safe Shallows or similarly early game, rather than the Grassy Plateau wreck I always find 'em in. At least then one might consider at least trying them out. I guess Flares are meant to fizzle out fairly quickly and their lasting so long (possibly forever?) isn't intended, so the Lightstick is supposed to be the "upgrade" to them; but again, by that point you're using a flashlight or a submarine's light, and all the cave biomes come prequipped with their own industrial-standard lighting systems so you don't have to waste energy on your own lighting (Seriously though, the Lost River could stand to have its ambient lighting toned down a little. Or a lot.)
I could understand not wanting to make areas darker if there weren't as many easy lighting options, but we already have 3 easy to craft light sources that don't really have much use right now, which is why I'd like them to make caves and other deep areas a lot darker than they currently are to help give them more use (also because it looks better).
Similarly, anyone ever use the Lightsticks? I think I placed one once around the time of the Silent Running update (perhaps a little earlier) and was a little disappointed at its radius. Then a little miffed that when the battery died a few minutes later, I couldn't pick it up to dispose of
Yeah, same thing with me with the floodlight. Didn't last very long and I've never used one since.
Similarly, anyone ever use the Lightsticks? I think I placed one once around the time of the Silent Running update (perhaps a little earlier) and was a little disappointed at its radius. Then a little miffed that when the battery died a few minutes later, I couldn't pick it up to dispose of
Yeah, same thing with me with the floodlight. Didn't last very long and I've never used one since.
The bright side is Floodlights now draw from base power, so I've been using them as base decorations once again - especially for my gardens ^^
The only time I use flares is in the early game, and I only really need them for the first night. Usually I activate the flare, and then pick it up. Flares make a great substitute for the flashlight at night, but I always get rid of them once I get a flashlight.
Comments
But as mentioned even then the reusable lightstick or seaglide is far better than the flares that burn out. Although the recipe was reduced to give 5 flares for a single crash powder and thus very easy to make. But inventory space is far more important and the reusable lights are more than enough.
It's probably too late for the devs to include some flare specific locations into the game. And terrain reconstruction would take too much time. But the flare doesn't eat up much game resources I think and some people love to play with it, so it will just stay useless in the game.
I tried using a few in the deep Kelp Forests at night when I didn't have a flashlight but did have the starting 2x flares a while ago. THey were still there when I came back in the cyclops hours later xD
But yeah, don't really see the need for them when you can just make a flashlight or use the seaglide's light.
I think they would be a lot more useful if the game had realistic darkness. Maybe they need a "Ultra Hardcore" mode where below 200m is 95% darkness, and below 800 or 1000m is 100% darkness. You would need them to find your way out in dark caves/passages such as Lost River.
Light sticks have the same problem but even worse due to how much later you unlock them. I honestly keep forgetting they exist because of how little use they have.
Same. I dropped one on top of my base once. Not only did it never burn out after days and days, but I was able to pick it up and use it again somewhere else. Kind of thinking that's not an intended effect.
The light from them looks great, so I'd like to be able to use them more, but I'm on the move so much I just don't see an application. Maybe one of the devs can weigh in on what they intended for the flares.
Still think they have a pretty niche use as they are though.
However, their value is much reduced due to the overall ambient light in most biomes. It'd be nice to see an ambient light option in addition to the FOV option in the future!
I'd make most cave biomes near totally dark if that were an option. Hard to appreciate the bioluminescence of some things when the ambient light is cranked up so high. Plus the creepiness of being in an undersea cave when everything's lit up so much? Eh. Would make lights so much more useful - like floodlights and spotlights on bases for example - if they were much darker. Some ambient light so it's not like, totally dark... But enough that you'll want something to help light the surroundings and give some extra fearfulness to the River Prowlers and Ghost Leviathan, and so the Sea Dragon can show off that bioluminescence of his in full!
The downside to this is how they'd implement it. Would this be a global thing? I can't imagine they'd want to implement a slider or something for a per-biome basis (Spoilers if anything) I like some ambient light in the Kelp Forests and ex-Koosh Zone or etc, but in cavern biomes - especially the ILZ, DGR, and LR - it's too high for my personal tastes. Maybe if you could do it by depth - since some of the deeper biomes are a touch bright during the day, or at least it feels like it? Except for the Blood Kelp Trench, that one nails the balance between darkness and ambient light almost perfectly IMO
If the game had a dozen vertical pitch black holes bundled together at a place going down deep and some of them had real evil and others good treasure in it, then the player would beg for a flare to light up the situation in advance and save his day.
Unfortunately there's nothing like this in the game. Missed opportunity.
While the biome fog is a contributor in some of those caves to the overall brightness there are also these bright light sources placed near certain clusters of plants. Those should be a lot dimmer and should come from the plant's model itself instead of just being placed on or near them. I've also found light sources like these random blue lights in the Bulb Zone Caves that seemingly come from nowhere, which definitely need to be removed.
Another thing I'd change is the time it takes for flares to run out of power and make it at least a little less than the light stick to give those more use.
Need to have certain inventory items stack, while leaving others unstackable due to size (titanium, but this could be offset by allowing conversion of ingots back to titanium)
The colour of the light was adjusted in its amount of redness. And burning Flares carried readied would burn out.
I like the fluorescent landscape at night. And some of the caves beyond the fluorescent plants are pitch black.
The problem is there are many other sources of illumination. Those powered by a base can now usually run continuously. Those powered by Batteries can have them recharged. Once using the Swim Charge Fins, even that is done in the process of exploration. While Flares are single use and need to be recreated from Cave Sulphur, which can be risky to get.
Flares illuminate more than other sources, but it seems to be rare where this would be an advantage.
Such a significant change in the UI to get some items to stack is likely far from possible until after the version 1.0 release.
Agreed, would be nice if Flares could stack to 5 or so. Seeds and other miniscule items should probably also stack to 99
Now the ones supplied at the start of the game are quickly jettisoned upon first leaving Lifepod #5.
That was the only time.
Ever.
Interesting now that I think about it. It's outclassed by the Flashlight.
Nope. The fact that they're unlocked after you already have the flare blueprint, cost more to craft, run out of energy faster, and don't even provide as much light makes them even less useful than flares unfortunately.
They should be in the Safe Shallows or similarly early game, rather than the Grassy Plateau wreck I always find 'em in. At least then one might consider at least trying them out. I guess Flares are meant to fizzle out fairly quickly and their lasting so long (possibly forever?) isn't intended, so the Lightstick is supposed to be the "upgrade" to them; but again, by that point you're using a flashlight or a submarine's light, and all the cave biomes come prequipped with their own industrial-standard lighting systems so you don't have to waste energy on your own lighting (Seriously though, the Lost River could stand to have its ambient lighting toned down a little. Or a lot.)
Yeah, same thing with me with the floodlight. Didn't last very long and I've never used one since.
#Nightmarefuel
The bright side is Floodlights now draw from base power, so I've been using them as base decorations once again - especially for my gardens ^^
Aaaaaaand there goes another pair of underwear.