Compass from the start

SpacedInvaderSpacedInvader Join Date: 2016-01-08 Member: 211083Members
I gather from a little basic research that the player's character used to have a compass right from the start and then later it was removed and made into an item that needed to be crafted. Not only that, but it requires magnetite, which is a pretty late game material at this point in development, meaning that the player is left without one of the most basic survival tools (one which would be available in any self-respecting life pod) for a large portion of their game experience. I think it would be a worthwhile improvement in the game experience to either make this tool available from the start, or at least make some magnetite available to the player in a location they would clearly explore within the first hour or two of gameplay (Safe Shallows, Kelp Forest, or Grassy Plateaus).

Comments

  • XamerzanXamerzan Join Date: 2016-01-01 Member: 210713Members
    I would have to agree. Seems kinda silly to have to travel a rather far distance for a simple tool's materials to be found only in an incredibly dangerous zone as opposed to having the stuff be somewhere a bit more immediate and accessible (perhaps in one of the blocked off caves in the Safe Shallows/Kelp Forests?).
  • SpacedInvaderSpacedInvader Join Date: 2016-01-08 Member: 211083Members
    I would think the most logical place would be inside the thermal vent cave in the safe shallows. That would put it in a place that would take some time to find and then some courage to explore (might not do damage, but the first time in there was a little tense), but not anywhere that a player could miss because they didn't bother to unblock a cave.
  • XamerzanXamerzan Join Date: 2016-01-01 Member: 210713Members
    edited January 2016
    Consider though that if you can find a few floaters in the nearby areas (they almost always spawn for me), getting into a blocked off cave isn't that difficult and could be done very quickly early game. I don't know how magnetite would be found near thermal vents (presuming you're talking about the under-water volcanoes?), because if I recall correctly (hopefully) magnets are actually disrupted pretty hardcore when near extreme heat sources... I could be very wrong though (not a scientist XD).

    Aside from that, is seems that Magnetite is no longer found in Jelly Shroom Caves. Check the wiki, as it seems that it's easily accessible now more than it was before.
  • SpacedInvaderSpacedInvader Join Date: 2016-01-08 Member: 211083Members
    I don't know if I would call anything in the mountain range easily accessible for new players. While yes, if you know where to look and have a cyclops, you can easily just motor over there, pop out and grab some. But between the distance from the starting shallows, the biters in the water, the cave crawlers on land, and the incessant presence / howling of the local reapers, I would imagine it would take most people a long time to explore into the area.

    While I agree that placing it in caves behind boulders which need to be moved with floaters would be an effective hiding place, I also think that would place it too far off the beaten path for the average player. I've personally never moved one, and, though I haven't watched many, nobody I've seen in a "let's play" has done it either. I had thought the vents would be good because iron ore can be found in igneous rocks and magnetite is an oxide of iron ore, but further googling has led me to question the theory, as it seems magnetite is more often found in sedimentary rock and even beach sand. That could still easily place it in the shallows, but I'm not sure where.
  • SporkWitchSporkWitch Rochester, NY, USA Join Date: 2016-01-11 Member: 211254Members
    There's mention somewhere (forget where) that they're moving magnetite to be more easily accessible early-game for exactly this reason. I'm fine having to make it (since it's not just a compass, it's a piece of tech that integrates with the HUD), it just needs to be easier to find early-game.

    Another alternative might be to add a second compass, one as a HUD mod (the one we have now) and another that's a held item that you have to select from the hotbar to take out and look at.
  • SpacedInvaderSpacedInvader Join Date: 2016-01-08 Member: 211083Members
    SporkWitch wrote: »
    There's mention somewhere (forget where) that they're moving magnetite to be more easily accessible early-game for exactly this reason. I'm fine having to make it (since it's not just a compass, it's a piece of tech that integrates with the HUD), it just needs to be easier to find early-game.

    Another alternative might be to add a second compass, one as a HUD mod (the one we have now) and another that's a held item that you have to select from the hotbar to take out and look at.

    Hand held tools like that might be pretty interesting, though I don't feel like they fit properly with the futurist level of tech we have access to in the game. That said, the news that they are already planning on making a compass easier to get is great. I think it will go a long way toward improving the early game experience of players and help prevent them from accidentally swimming into the crash zone or other high level zone with reapers (there are a lot now.. checked with freecam and water volume turned off and I counted at least 10, if not a few more).
  • SporkWitchSporkWitch Rochester, NY, USA Join Date: 2016-01-11 Member: 211254Members
    SporkWitch wrote: »
    There's mention somewhere (forget where) that they're moving magnetite to be more easily accessible early-game for exactly this reason. I'm fine having to make it (since it's not just a compass, it's a piece of tech that integrates with the HUD), it just needs to be easier to find early-game.

    Another alternative might be to add a second compass, one as a HUD mod (the one we have now) and another that's a held item that you have to select from the hotbar to take out and look at.

    Hand held tools like that might be pretty interesting, though I don't feel like they fit properly with the futurist level of tech we have access to in the game. That said, the news that they are already planning on making a compass easier to get is great. I think it will go a long way toward improving the early game experience of players and help prevent them from accidentally swimming into the crash zone or other high level zone with reapers (there are a lot now.. checked with freecam and water volume turned off and I counted at least 10, if not a few more).

    I'd actually be pretty ok with a slightly slower tech progression. It makes sense that you get stuck with some rudimentary tools like a hand-held compass for a bit early on before getting to upgrade to the techier stuff.

    No way around it for the scanner or builder, though; simply no other practical way to replace those. Maybe have those two included in the emergency stores of the pod, but you need to work your way up the tech tree if you want to build another?

    One thing I'd like to see is a purpose to those air pipes, though it sounds like that may be coming with the implementation of limited oxygen in seabases. They mention the farms producing oxygen without cost, and other stuff potentially using power to produce oxygen via electrolysis. Presumably pipes would be another option, if making a shallower base, to just pipe air down from the surface.
  • SpacedInvaderSpacedInvader Join Date: 2016-01-08 Member: 211083Members
    Slightly off topic, but yes, I would love to see bases lose their infinite air supply without either a piped-in source from the surface or researched technology for air recycling.
  • Racer1Racer1 Join Date: 2002-11-22 Member: 9615Members
    The lifepod could come with a pre-built-in Compass, that could be seen when the player starts the game. This would let the player get oriented, while still providing a need to find a better solution when outside the pod.
  • 07Kennya07Kennya England Join Date: 2016-01-12 Member: 211293Members
    tell you the truth, with the beacons that you're able to build at the start the compass was a tool I didn't really need
  • Racer1Racer1 Join Date: 2002-11-22 Member: 9615Members
    My problem was that I created a navigation map in my head, pointing north to some arbitrary point (related to the crashed ship). Later, I found, with the compass, that I was way off and still confuses me after hours of subsequent playing.
  • AlphaBlueArxAlphaBlueArx Join Date: 2015-05-11 Member: 204402Members
    edited January 2016
    I agree with you, it should be in the game from the start.

    Or at least remove the magnetite from it's recipe, i mean it's a basic tool.
  • SpacedInvaderSpacedInvader Join Date: 2016-01-08 Member: 211083Members
    I agree with you, it should be in the game from the start.

    Or at least remove the magnetite from it's recipe, i mean it's a basic tool.

    I think its fine to have magnetite be part of the recipe, but then magnetite should be an early game resource. As it stands, I don't think a player would organically find magnetite for at least 4-6 hours of poking around on the bottom of the ocean if they don't search for it online. This is made even worse by the fact that there are 3-4 reapers that spawn in the mountain biome which can be heard when going anywhere near it, so that is likely to scare off most players until they've become more comfortable with reaper mechanics.

    I think it would be a much better approach to put magnetite in the caves of the shallows and kelp forest and then add a different late game resource to the late game constructions that require it (torpedo system and thermal plant) which can then only be found in the mountain biome. In this way, items which should be late game are kept that way, while the compass, which should be available close to the start of the game is made available within an hour or two of exploration.
  • drinnioldrinniol Join Date: 2015-02-08 Member: 201261Members
    I just gave up on the compass and used bow/stern of the Aurora and towards/away from the lifepod. It's not a necessary item any more, and IMO should be in the basic HUD.
  • SpacedInvaderSpacedInvader Join Date: 2016-01-08 Member: 211083Members
    drinniol wrote: »
    I just gave up on the compass and used bow/stern of the Aurora and towards/away from the lifepod. It's not a necessary item any more, and IMO should be in the basic HUD.

    I did this for quite some time, but I still think the compass is necessary as its far too easy to get turned around when navigating underwater.
  • EldeberonEldeberon USA Join Date: 2015-09-28 Member: 208204Members
    For the longest time I didn't know the game had a compass, and it does seem odd that I can build a min-sub, a full-size submarine, a stasis rifle, a fabricator, and a complete sea base, but I can't build a compass. I also found it surprising that I needed a computer chip to make one. The compass is most helpful in assisting players in the early part of the game to get oriented. But if it can't be obtained until late, then it becomes less an important tool and more a novelty. It certainly ought to be easier to make than a Builder, or a Seamoth, even easier than an air tank. For a late game item, you might consider an integrated device that includes direction, thermal planes, heat sources, temperature, even a mapping system--that should be hard to create because it would be game changing.
  • SpacedInvaderSpacedInvader Join Date: 2016-01-08 Member: 211083Members
    I can understand the computer chip as its becoming part of the HUD, though I agree that more information would make for an interesting late game addition. These days I usually just cheat myself a compass in the beginning of the game, not because its too hard to get (you can safely swim to the mountain island if you know where it is), but because its a major hassle early on for a basic piece of survival gear.
  • zetachronzetachron Germany Join Date: 2014-11-14 Member: 199655Members
    It logic and natural to get a compass in a survival pod. Maybe we really should get one right from the start and allow it to be upgraded by the modification bench later in game:

    To be clear, magnetite in masses would be perfect to make your compass go spinning circles. So your first compass might only work far from those magnetite mountains.
  • Roughneck45Roughneck45 NJ Join Date: 2016-01-27 Member: 212194Members
    I think this feature comes down to how people enjoy their survival games.

    Some people prefer knowing absolutely nothing and discovering it all for themselves, or feeling lost in the massive world. I am not one of those people. The first thing I wish I had was a compass and a map when I started the game. Knowing where I am on the map and being able to recall specific locations on it is very important to me. Generally that's how I feel for all survival and exploration games. I look up things that can be built, what I'll need to build them, and that's what gets me excited to go explore.

    I always felt that the simplest solution was to let the player decide from a list of equipment what they would like to start the game with, or just call it easy/medium/hard survival mode and have a default set for each. If you wanted a compass you could start with it, and if not you wouldn't have to.
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