New Mechanic Idea for Bellow Zero

Vectric

So I have recently been enjoying Subnautica and had my fair share of scares. However, the more I play the less the creatures like Reaper Leviathans scare me as their patterns are predictable and their attacks are easily avoided with the proper equipment. Not only that but if you do get attacked, you’ll still probably get away. This lessens the feeling of danger to a degree. As I was thinking about mechanics of the game, I thought of a solution that could potentially be implemented in Bellow Zero that could make those situations terrifying again. There could be a system of limb damage that is randomly generated or based on where the enemy attacks you that negatively effect a certain aspect of gameplay until a health kit is used. Broken leg could slow your swimming. Broken arm can restrict you to 1 handed items (no stasis rifle to save you then). Broken ribs decreases oxygen efficiency. Fractured skull causes double vision every 5 seconds for 2 seconds each time. I feel these effects should be only applied when outside a vehicle and if you take 40% or more IN ONE HIT. Also if you take 40% vehicle damage there can be a concussion mechanic where your vision is lessened and the edges of your screen are blackened until a health pack is taken. These mechanics would further increase the need to carry a few health packs on your trips and add an even realer sense of threat with the creatures of Subnautica. I mean lets face it, if you get attacked in real life, chances you aren’t going to be as mobile as you were beforehand, and that is what creates an even greater sense of danger/fear. Another side mechanic (purely just a thought) is if you take 50% or more damage IN ONE HIT, there is also a bleed effect of 1-2 damage per second for 10 seconds or until a medkit is used. Just another way to make these threats seem that much more impactful.

layzorc

There is no real game mechanic in subnautica for fighting creatures other than diversion and and running away. Sure you can kill them if you stab them for 30 minutes with your knife, or spend and hour harvesting materials for about 50 torpedos and about 3-5 seamoths needed to battle one.... I think the devs were trying to tell us something about their vision for gameplay here.

The best part of the game is really the beginning when you spend most of your time diving and exploring. Then if you get tired of that you can rest at your habitat and decorate it. Where the game fails is when you have to venture too far away from your habitat into laggy and un-optimized biomes where fps spikes from 120 to 30 and assets start popping in and out and suddenly the game becomes a nightmarish polygon wack-a-mole simulator.

Edit: Sorry for ranting and getting of track though you have some decent ideas in your post such as losing vision after attacks. I think that could add some immersion and much needed combat system mechanics to the game.

Vectric

Exactly, the main idea would be to add some kind of system where if you aren’t prepared properly incase of an attack, you get punished.

AC_AwesomeCraft

I can barely get away from a reaper without loosing 67 HP, this would cause me to completely and definitely avoid every one, though i do think this would add a large amount of realism to the game, you can't get totaled by a stalker and not have at least a broken arm.

But to add this, the devs would have to create different sections for the character and a mechanism that detects if one of those sections got damaged at a minimum of 40 HP, and then they'd have to create a consequence mechanism that broke the characters leg, arm, rib cage, or fractured the head, and last (I think), they'd have to create a mechanism that caused a curtain affect due to the broken or fractured bone, and to add, they'd have to create a consequence for being attacked that started the bleeding affect if the attack removed 50 health points.

All good ideas, but it'd be complicated, not that everything else isn't... I'm just not sure.

Lets just say what i think of your idea (which is probably what you wanted originally),
I think your idea is would add a large amount of realism and that, to me, is what every game requires,
and that your idea would cause a fair amount of frightening fun to the game.

In summary, i think your idea is very imaginative, creative, and is very good. I also think this would give
the game something needed, and fun.
Terrific!

Palanova

Reapers and Ghost Leviathan from SN is just enpugh scary and do just fine. I almost lost my Cyclops when the Lost River Ghost Leviathan grab it and the Cyclops hasn't got the shield yet. So if you want harder npc, maybe suggest some difficulty settings, for example the Hardcore mode + Insane difficulty, and a Reaper chase you until he eat you.