Lack of basic survival tool and how to make it not annoying

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  • RainstormRainstorm Montreal (Quebec) Join Date: 2015-12-15 Member: 210003Members
    edited March 2016
    blurbrerrr wrote: »
    im pretty sure its not the lifepod that doesnt allow weapons to be made, its because it is linked to the PDA your character has and it got fully reprogrammed for the situation. and it didnt have a weapon blueprint on the PDA.

    which would also explain why you need to scan things instead of it coming with the PDA.

    i like this explanation alot. It would be highly possible that the status of the protagonist on the aurora wouldnt give him security clearance to possess lethal guns, thus the fabricator would only give him access to what the character could do before the ship was down.
    of course, that could explain why the character doesnt know/have access to guns from the beginning of the game, but it doesnt explain why theres no lethal gun in the game, him being able to use them or not
    Mr_Endar wrote: »
    Humans in Star Track TNG are the absolute pacifist, but nevertheless they have a huge fleet armed to the teeth.

    In Star Trek TNG they could also switch their phasers to Stun, which they do most of the time too. Having some sort of gun that could stun multiple targets without the first one(s) becoming un-stunned would be cool :)
  • bwoodfieldbwoodfield Canada Join Date: 2016-03-08 Member: 214017Members
    FYI, I was reading over the Dev log and not the March release, but April release it looks like we're going to start seeing our bases being attacked. As well it looks like there are plans for base defences, etc. There may be weapons coming eventually.
  • Mr_EndarMr_Endar Join Date: 2016-03-05 Member: 213859Members
    edited March 2016
    Rainstorm wrote: »
    i like this explanation alot. It would be highly possible that the status of the protagonist on the aurora wouldnt give him security clearance to possess lethal guns, thus the fabricator would only give him access to what the character could do before the ship was down.
    yup, something like that was my initial idea

    But it should be said in-game and loudly =)


    Speaking of spear gun, regular spear gun is not an effective weapon against large predators. The spear gun that is used for underwater fishing can hit the target only from the distance of just a few meters. The trick is that fish doesn't see the diver as a threat from such distance (I think that such fishing is unfair btw).
  • MerandixMerandix Netherlands Join Date: 2016-01-05 Member: 210951Members
    edited March 2016
    The PDA has assessed the situation and has determined our survival needs. A normal gun has virtually zero range underwater. If you fire an assault rifle underwater, you could pick up the bullet within two paces after firing. In fact shorter barrelled guns generally have longer range underwater, because the bullet needs to push less incompressible water out of the barrel. With more range, that may get you maybe a metre extra.

    Guns? They're pretty much useless underwater, and considering we're dealing with quite a few armoured beasties and a bunch of gigantic ones... no, they're useless compared to the stuff we do get. In fact, the directed pressure wave resulting from firing the gun is probably more lethal than the bullet (to small fish).

    I suspect that the Stasisrifle is FAR superior to any real life underwater weapon currently in existence. Since our protagonist is obviously somewhat eco-minded (not to mention a civilian), I don't think the lack of explosive weaponry is that odd. In fact, it's pretty amazing that a civilian vessel holds blueprints for a vortex torpedo!

    Specialised underwater firearms typically are rifles with a range of around 15-25 metres; and there's even a .50 calibre variant with up to 60 metres of effective range. All pretty much exclusively military stuff; and likely as effective or less so than our stasis-rifle or repulsor-rifle. To me, it's pretty logical why we don't get a firearm when we already have superior weapons.

    The speargun is maybe a bit of a weird absence since it would aid fishing, but since we're pretty apt at catching fish with our bare hands, I'd imagine why our PDA figured we don't need it.... :tongue:
  • Mr_EndarMr_Endar Join Date: 2016-03-05 Member: 213859Members
    Merandix wrote: »
    I suspect that the Stasisrifle is FAR superior to any real life underwater weapon currently in existence
    For existing weapons, probably.
    APS underwater rifle effective range is 30 m at depth 5 m and 10 m at deph 40 m

    But action takes place in the future where they have mastered superluminal interstellar travel. Compared to this feat, every technical problem we can think of is easy.

    Try automatic needle gun.
    Each needle can be made as a small syringe with poison. Should instantly kill anything.
    Needles can be propelled by magnetic coils thus it should work underwater. Design is extremely simple

    Sonic Resonator should be great. Low frequency directional sound of high enough intensity will resonate with the organs of any living creature and quickly turn them into jelly.

    Hand-held x-ray lazer. Water is transparent for rays with wavelength between 2.34 nm and 4.4 nm (I hope that Wikipedia numbers are correct :)) while animals are not. Beam with high enough intensity would fry the target soon enough.

  • Sigil_ThaneSigil_Thane Oklahoma, USA Join Date: 2016-01-03 Member: 210855Members
    edited March 2016
    Mr_Endar wrote: »
    ...The spear gun that is used for underwater fishing can hit the target only from the distance of just a few meters. The trick is that fish doesn't see the diver as a threat from such distance (I think that such fishing is unfair btw).

    Fishing from a bank must seem like a cruel joke then. :wink:

    Merandix wrote: »
    The PDA has assessed the situation and has determined our survival needs.

    ...

    The speargun is maybe a bit of a weird absence since it would aid fishing, but since we're pretty apt at catching fish with our bare hands, I'd imagine why our PDA figured we don't need it.... :tongue:

    Along those lines we are pretty apt at swimming so the PDA should assume we don't need a seaglide, powerglide, seamoth, or cyclops... those only make getting there easier.

    Trust me if my PDA didn't think I needed help catching my first peeper then it wasn't paying attention. :smiley:
  • GlyphGryphGlyphGryph USA Join Date: 2015-02-19 Member: 201435Members
    Our PDA is pretty barebones, and we can only craft items based on recipes it gives us at first.

    The people described in the game seem incredibly pacifistic and never intended to be personally engaging hostile wildlife outside of well equipped mobile structures to keep themselves suitably insulated from harm. I'm not surprised at all they wouldn't include large scale lethal weaponry in the recipes list. Heck, there was probably debate about whether to include the knife! After all, someone might get hurt!

    Our only source of weaponry, at all, comes from searching the wrecks for things the ship itself might have carried. So we get primarily "weapons" that neutralize threats without killing them, the stasis gun and vortex torpedo and propulsion cannon, because for the ships purpose this is probably all they'd imagine needing and they probably have a "minimize impact on wildlife" approach to things anyway.

    So basically, how would you justify guns, real ones, being in the game at all? Would a captain give his crew recipes needed to make them willy-nilly at any fabricator? I can't see it. Would the ship security forces have them equipped for us to scan? With the stasis rifle, I don't see why they would.

    The question isn't "why are there no guns?" it's "why would there be, considering what we know about how things work?"
  • Sigil_ThaneSigil_Thane Oklahoma, USA Join Date: 2016-01-03 Member: 210855Members
    hmmm... I guess the problem is that we are members of a pacifist race of wildlife loving, eco-sensitive, synth-tofu eaters who come out into space to one of the few worlds possible of having life of any kind on a Terraforming and Mining vessel.

    Reverse the roles if you still don't see my issue.

    An Alien species comes lightyears across the vastness of space and sets down in the middle of the earth's ocean (statistically likely) and starts Alterraforming the planet (maybe an extra 15% Sulpher Dioxide in the atmosphere is all it takes for them to be more comfortable) while mining it for resources... relying on their superior technology to remain safe from the indiginous life forms.

    ...doesn't sound peaceful any more does it?
  • MerandixMerandix Netherlands Join Date: 2016-01-05 Member: 210951Members
    I believe the Aurora no longer is a terraforming vessel. This was 'fixed', I believe in favour of storytelling. We don't even know where it would be mining, for all we know, it was just scanning planets on its way to -find- a suitable location. Or it was actually aiming for the giant red thing (planet/moon) in the sky. And came across a planet / moon teeming with life; that by itself would be a greater discovery than whatever amount of resources they could find.

    Your analogy includes a whole bunch of assumptions . Even an advanced culture of 'pacivist', 'wildlife loving', 'eco-sensitive', 'synth-tofu eaters' would need resources so it would need to mine. But it's an assumption that our waterworld would've been the subject of mining. Perhaps the mining effort was focussed on another planet, while the waterworld we eventually crashed on just grabbed their interest. I've been scientifically trained, even if it's a discipline that's not closely related, I'd sure as hell advocate studying said planet/moon while there, or even if it was deemed unfit for mining due to the presence of an eco-system, at least stop by in orbit for some scans of the thing. Especially if, you know, it would be the first planet with life after the earth. I'd also consider being as passive as possible about altering the local wildlife, especially, if my advanced, wildlife loving culture just left a giant, radiation-leaking starship on the surface of said celestial body <.<

    Also, to be fair, stasis rifle technology would likely REPLACE most handheld lethal weaponry. I mean, we generally need to use firearms for defensive purposes, because we need to neutralize a threat. If neutralizing could be done in a non-lethal or even non-harmful way reliably... that would reduce the need for firearms greatly.

    Also, that bit about not needing anything for fishing was more of a joke; needing or not needing a lethal weapon is a bit of a bigger question than needing transportation or not; being transported quickly is fairly useful, killing doesn't really serve a purpose if you have other means to effectively deter attacking creatures. Then the only killing necessary is the killing needed for food.

    I hail from a part of the world where we regard guns as tools for efficient killing, and are thus subject to a LOT of regulation to prevent them being too available. I do not find the approach of not having lethal weapons available odd. If you hail from a part of the world where guns are much more readily available, I do imagine this choice would come across as slightly weird.
  • eastofdeatheastofdeath usa Join Date: 2016-02-28 Member: 213559Members
    The stasis rifle I suspect will get harder to find, in the build #30428 fragments are harder to come by, only around wreaks. I explored 5 so far and only 2 had anything good in them. I did find all of the Mobile Vehicle Bay in one, that was sweet.
    On a side note: cutting your way in with the Laser Cutter is cool a$$ hell B)
  • eastofdeatheastofdeath usa Join Date: 2016-02-28 Member: 213559Members
    edited March 2016
    I think this should be standard issue Life pod gear.
    l3hkucs2qfv4.jpg

    Or a Heckler & Koch P11 underwater pistol believed to be first underwater weapon


  • Mr_EndarMr_Endar Join Date: 2016-03-05 Member: 213859Members
    GlyphGryph wrote: »
    The question isn't "why are there no guns?" it's "why would there be, considering what we know about how things work?"
    Gun is a basic survival tool. It protects you from a predators and allows you to hunt for a food.

    In theory, you can stun an animal with stasis rifle and then slowly murder it with a knife... sounds too sadistic to me.
    Bullet kills quickly.

  • ImprovmanMuImprovmanMu Centerville, Utah Join Date: 2016-03-26 Member: 214837Members
    Considering this is clearly the same universe as the Natural Selection games, humanity has weapons.
    The problem may be that said weapons are not made by Alterra.

    But lashing a knife on a pipe with a creepvine is an idea I can absolutely get behind.
  • AegilAegil Perth, Australia Join Date: 2016-03-26 Member: 214833Members
    Mr_Endar wrote: »
    Gun is a basic survival tool. It protects you from a predators and allows you to hunt for a food.

    When you first cook a fish, there's a message reassuring you that humans survived via this method in the past, implying that everyone has gone *shudder* vegan. To be fair though, this makes the exclusion of a hunting weapon even more difficult to swallow, given that even the basic survival systems have programmed assurances on the killing and eating of fauna as a valid survival method.

  • rhys_elcinsrhys_elcins UK Join Date: 2016-01-26 Member: 212148Members
    perhaps some sort of inventory log "dang it, no useful weapons beyond the knife in this PDA, not even a gorram stasis rifle" kinda thing?
  • ImprovmanMuImprovmanMu Centerville, Utah Join Date: 2016-03-26 Member: 214837Members
    Aegil wrote: »
    Mr_Endar wrote: »
    Gun is a basic survival tool. It protects you from a predators and allows you to hunt for a food.

    When you first cook a fish, there's a message reassuring you that humans survived via this method in the past, implying that everyone has gone *shudder* vegan. To be fair though, this makes the exclusion of a hunting weapon even more difficult to swallow, given that even the basic survival systems have programmed assurances on the killing and eating of fauna as a valid survival method.

    Thankfully the menu on these props they are working of putting in the game proves that people aren't vegan.
    https://trello.com/c/8Bgh5oEA

    But it doesn't surprise me that people use replicators to synthesis the meat.

    It could be that slaughter houses break animals down to their base element and they are reconfigured back into products at the store/restaurant.
  • GlyphGryphGlyphGryph USA Join Date: 2015-02-19 Member: 201435Members
    Mr_Endar wrote: »
    GlyphGryph wrote: »
    The question isn't "why are there no guns?" it's "why would there be, considering what we know about how things work?"
    Gun is a basic survival tool. It protects you from a predators and allows you to hunt for a food.

    In theory, you can stun an animal with stasis rifle and then slowly murder it with a knife... sounds too sadistic to me.

    The PDA doesn't come with plans for a stun rifle either.
    Aegil wrote: »
    When you first cook a fish, there's a message reassuring you that humans survived via this method in the past, implying that everyone has gone *shudder* vegan.
    Nah, they just eat superior synthetic meat.
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