Suggestion: Active Lava Zone is TOO HARD, Prawn Suit is useless there
Frunobulax
New Hampshire Join Date: 2017-05-15 Member: 230523Members
New Hampshire Join Date: 2017-05-15 Member: 230523Members
OK, I know many people will call me a wimp or loser or whatever. Many people will say "well, *I* did it, so you are just lame!". But actually I am a very experienced gamer. I've been playing computer games for 30 years, and spent a couple years as a paid game designer on some A-list titles. So I'm not just a random fanboi. I know what's involved in designing and making games. And I LOVE Subnautica. I think the game is amazing. I can only wish for more - more maps, locations, vehicles, stories, etc. But that doesn't make the game perfect.
In the "middle" of the game, about where I am now, you are require to visit the Inactive Lava Zone, and then of course the Active Lava Zone to find the alien thermal plant. Finding the (currently) single entrance is nearly impossible without looking up cheats in Google. And when you get there, it's a MASSIVE pain in the ass to maneuver your Cyclops down the shaft very far. But, OK - I can deal with that. Hey, it's supposed to be challenging, right? But then when you drop off the Prawn Suit for exploring, it all goes to shit. OK, again, I understand - it shouldn't be easy. There should be challenges. But the Prawn suit is pretty much DEFENSLESS!
The prawn suit has:
o NO sonar, so you can't tell where you're going
o NO shield or electric field to fight off critters
o TERRIBLE lights - no floodlights, and the existing lights don't even light up what's directly in from of you when you are close up.
o NO way to indicate at all what critters are around so you can avoid them
o The CONSTANT damage from heat and critters makes you have to exit every 2 minutes
If just one or two or even three of the above were true, but not the rest, it would be OK. I;'m smart. I've careful and cautious. I don't take stupid risks. But my experience in the Active Lava Zone was just a string of "BOOM! YOU'RE DEAD!" Even with the torpedo arm, I was constantly dying because usually the critters just attack you from nowhere with no chance to use it. It's just "BAM! A warper gets you out of the suit! BAM! you are dying from heat. BAM! Some huge critter eats you! BAM, parasites make your view impossible!" It's just SO hard to make any progress without saving every step. I don't want to make it *easy*, but, geez... I went from saving every hour or so to having to save every 3 minutes, and reloading 37 times!
So, all of you, go ahead- tell me I'm lame and my skillz suck or whatever. But I realize this game is still in beta and I'm only offering these comments so it can be better balanced when it releases. Most importantly, give the Prawn Suit SOME kind of way to defend itself beyond the useless torpedoes (that don't let you kill anything permanently). At least gibe it a sonar so you can find your way around. I'm really tired of walking around in the suit basically blind. You have no sonar. You can't tell when enemies are near. You can't get upgraded jets until you go to the place where you really NEED upgraded jets. You can't even see two inches in front of you, especially when you're right up against something - the wall in front of you is completely black. I have so far spent about 3 hours trying to find my way out of the active lava zone, and due to the lack of sonar, numerous caves, and horrible lighting, I *still* can't get back to my Cyclops. I'm so tried of stumbling around in the dark looking for an exit with no sonar.
Anyways, all that is my feedback. Call me a pussy if you want. But no one will play this game if it's so hard in the middle.
In the "middle" of the game, about where I am now, you are require to visit the Inactive Lava Zone, and then of course the Active Lava Zone to find the alien thermal plant. Finding the (currently) single entrance is nearly impossible without looking up cheats in Google. And when you get there, it's a MASSIVE pain in the ass to maneuver your Cyclops down the shaft very far. But, OK - I can deal with that. Hey, it's supposed to be challenging, right? But then when you drop off the Prawn Suit for exploring, it all goes to shit. OK, again, I understand - it shouldn't be easy. There should be challenges. But the Prawn suit is pretty much DEFENSLESS!
The prawn suit has:
o NO sonar, so you can't tell where you're going
o NO shield or electric field to fight off critters
o TERRIBLE lights - no floodlights, and the existing lights don't even light up what's directly in from of you when you are close up.
o NO way to indicate at all what critters are around so you can avoid them
o The CONSTANT damage from heat and critters makes you have to exit every 2 minutes
If just one or two or even three of the above were true, but not the rest, it would be OK. I;'m smart. I've careful and cautious. I don't take stupid risks. But my experience in the Active Lava Zone was just a string of "BOOM! YOU'RE DEAD!" Even with the torpedo arm, I was constantly dying because usually the critters just attack you from nowhere with no chance to use it. It's just "BAM! A warper gets you out of the suit! BAM! you are dying from heat. BAM! Some huge critter eats you! BAM, parasites make your view impossible!" It's just SO hard to make any progress without saving every step. I don't want to make it *easy*, but, geez... I went from saving every hour or so to having to save every 3 minutes, and reloading 37 times!
So, all of you, go ahead- tell me I'm lame and my skillz suck or whatever. But I realize this game is still in beta and I'm only offering these comments so it can be better balanced when it releases. Most importantly, give the Prawn Suit SOME kind of way to defend itself beyond the useless torpedoes (that don't let you kill anything permanently). At least gibe it a sonar so you can find your way around. I'm really tired of walking around in the suit basically blind. You have no sonar. You can't tell when enemies are near. You can't get upgraded jets until you go to the place where you really NEED upgraded jets. You can't even see two inches in front of you, especially when you're right up against something - the wall in front of you is completely black. I have so far spent about 3 hours trying to find my way out of the active lava zone, and due to the lack of sonar, numerous caves, and horrible lighting, I *still* can't get back to my Cyclops. I'm so tried of stumbling around in the dark looking for an exit with no sonar.
Anyways, all that is my feedback. Call me a pussy if you want. But no one will play this game if it's so hard in the middle.
Comments
also the active lava zone is a lava lake with no islands or cover requiring you to ether spiderman across the ceiling using the grappling arm or crawling around the edge to get to the precursor building which is what makes it the biggest pane in the ass
For a gamer of 30 years, you'd think you'd be aware that deploying navigational aids such as beacons would be a good idea. Also didn't you say you was in the active lava zone? That place only has one entrance marked by a clear lava fall.
Actually, there is a second one
@Frunobulax
Are you sure, you got stuck in ALZ, not in the Lava Castle? Your descriptions suggest the latter.
If this is the case, the best you can do is to forget about your Cyclops beacon for a while, since the corridor leading inside is a little bit complicated.
And about the PRAWN in general, it is the best vehicle for deep, unfriendly areas, if outfitted well. It's a good idea to keep some addictional upgrades somewhere at your disposal, especially on longer runs. I would also suggest trying double grappling arm - it lets you traverse underground biomes faster, than the Cyclops can go on flank speed.
Not to mention, that some players pick this suit to exterminate some dangerous fauna...
That said, PRAWN is far from beeing useless.
I DID leave beacons. My Cyclops is only about 400 meters away, I just can't GET to it. On my way in, there was no sign saying "this is the best way to reach the only exit, leave a beacon here" The Cyclops isn't useless of course, but it does need a SONAR! Why do all the other vehicles have them, but not this one?
Thanks for the tip about the lava falls, though. Is it a big fall, or just a trickle?
Duh, you're right - my mistake. I meant to say the Prawn Suit needs one.
I avoid the lava too. I just can't find my way out because the prawn suit has zero visibility close up (right up next to a wall) and far away (no sonar).
It's pretty hard to use the grappling hook when you can't see anything. Yeah, in the open ocean or regular caves it's easy because you can see where you're going. But in the pitch black, how do you aim? I'm supposed to just randomly shoot it off into the darkness and hope? Since I have no idea what the shape of the terrain around me is, I can make it up 50 or 100 feet and then hit an overhang or ceiling or whatever and have to drop right back down. You can't move horizontally along an overhand with the grapple. The lights on the prawn suit are useless up close and at a distance, and without a sonar I have no idea what's out there.
I can see clearly down there ..