'BOREALIS RISING' - A Subnautica Story V2.0.

1293032343542

Comments

  • TheCreeperCowTheCreeperCow Netherlands Join Date: 2016-05-13 Member: 216716Members
    Did we really need 1 snippet describing how the 2 made an sandwich?
  • baronvonsatanbaronvonsatan TX, USA Join Date: 2016-12-01 Member: 224415Members
    Now that sounded like a po-boy I'd eat! Nailed it. :)
  • 0x6A72320x6A7232 US Join Date: 2016-10-06 Member: 222906Members
    edited July 2017
    Did we really need 1 snippet describing how the 2 made an sandwich?

    Yes. Why? Because the author chose to do so. It adds background and depth, IMO.
  • FalsonePlaysFalsonePlays Nauxes Join Date: 2017-05-27 Member: 230791Members
    A cyclone? Oh dear... that won't end well... OR WILL IT?!
  • TheCreeperCowTheCreeperCow Netherlands Join Date: 2016-05-13 Member: 216716Members
    Nooooo don't leave us hanging in the suspense
  • sayerulzsayerulz oregon Join Date: 2015-04-15 Member: 203493Members
    I'd be worried about the floater island. It's tall enough to catch a lot of wind, and I'm rather skeptical about the structural integrity of something made out of rock when faced with that kind of stress. It's not as strong as metal, and perhaps more worryingly, it can't flex.
  • SarielSariel Join Date: 2017-03-08 Member: 228726Members
    sayerulz wrote: »
    I'd be worried about the floater island. It's tall enough to catch a lot of wind, and I'm rather skeptical about the structural integrity of something made out of rock when faced with that kind of stress. It's not as strong as metal, and perhaps more worryingly, it can't flex.

    Fortunately, in one of the recent updates, there seems to be quite some alien reinforcement of the rock. Lots of cables and portals and stuff in there. I hope that's enough but I think people might see some trees and plants flying past.
  • nauticalperananauticalperana The land of the free and the home of the brave Join Date: 2016-05-25 Member: 217491Members
    Or crawlers getting launched (hopefully getting launched into a reaper and POing it to the point where it kills every damn it sees)
  • CalvinTheDiverCalvinTheDiver A place Join Date: 2016-10-08 Member: 222971Members
  • sayerulzsayerulz oregon Join Date: 2015-04-15 Member: 203493Members
    Bump.

    why. Just why. There is no logic in bumping this thread.
  • 0x6A72320x6A7232 US Join Date: 2016-10-06 Member: 222906Members
    sayerulz wrote: »
    Bump.

    why. Just why. There is no logic in bumping this thread.

    Some authors appreciate it, others, not so much. IIRC @Bugzapper doesn't seem to mind (correct me if I'm wrong here).
  • BugzapperBugzapper Australia Join Date: 2015-03-06 Member: 201744Members
    sayerulz wrote: »
    why. Just why. There is no logic in bumping this thread.

    Who are you to say that? An occasional bump is always appreciated.

    Actually, your entirely unnecessary post accomplished the same effect.

    Ironic, no? ;)
  • sayerulzsayerulz oregon Join Date: 2015-04-15 Member: 203493Members
    Bugzapper wrote: »
    sayerulz wrote: »
    why. Just why. There is no logic in bumping this thread.

    Who are you to say that? An occasional bump is always appreciated.

    Actually, your entirely unnecessary post accomplished the same effect.

    Ironic, no? ;)

    Ah, but it didn't, as my post was only about an hour after his, making the bump effect negligible. And surely it is no more unnecessary than your reply?
  • SarielSariel Join Date: 2017-03-08 Member: 228726Members
    Please, let's stop these useless arguments about who's post was more useless and just get on with the story. Bumps are useful to keep attracting people to this great story but arguing who's post is more useless isn't.
    If you have an argumentative streak to your personality or an argumentative way of writing, please keep it to yourself and let the rest of the readers enjoy the story and the author enjoy writing for us all.

    Ps: and lets keep bumping occasionally to show our support to the story :)
  • 0x6A72320x6A7232 US Join Date: 2016-10-06 Member: 222906Members
    sayerulz wrote: »
    Bugzapper wrote: »
    sayerulz wrote: »
    why. Just why. There is no logic in bumping this thread.

    Who are you to say that? An occasional bump is always appreciated.

    Actually, your entirely unnecessary post accomplished the same effect.

    Ironic, no? ;)

    Ah, but it didn't, as my post was only about an hour after his, making the bump effect negligible. And surely it is no more unnecessary than your reply?

    @sayerulz If you're bored, you can always check out the Subnautica Steam Forums, Subnautica Facebook Community, Subnautica subreddits ( /r/subnautica, /r/subnauticabases, /r/subnauticaletsplays ), there is also the Subnautica Discord Server, which also includes General Discussion rooms. Finally, there's also the Subnautica YouTube category and the Subnautica Twitch category. Or heck, you can even browse and contribute to the
    Subnautica Wiki. If you're looking for fiction, and there hasn't been any updates to the five or so stories here on the forums, you can always go check fanfiction.net (viewer discretion is advised, quality not guaranteed).

    There. Boredom: solved. If you need more ideas, I'm sure we could branch out into other awesome games like FreeSpace 2 Open or something. Just... I don't know, it seems like you're looking for trouble or something and there's SO many more better things to do than that. ;) (Not judging, BTW, it just seemed that way to me from where I sit is all.)
  • nauticalperananauticalperana The land of the free and the home of the brave Join Date: 2016-05-25 Member: 217491Members
    I wonder what's keeping the floater island in place? Its not like floaters have self propulsion. ( do they?)
  • nauticalperananauticalperana The land of the free and the home of the brave Join Date: 2016-05-25 Member: 217491Members
    Bugzapper when i typed in borealis your story was the second result and TV tropes has taken notice
  • SkopeSkope Wouldn't you like to know ;) Join Date: 2016-06-07 Member: 218212Members
    77kuv4mrk10k.jpg

    Phew.

    Caught this just before it went off the first page of the general discussions. ;)
  • BugzapperBugzapper Australia Join Date: 2015-03-06 Member: 201744Members
    "Be warned, it's a reet mess oot there. Just be extra mindful of where ye tread. The western side o' the island copped a fair hidin' last night, and some of the outer paths may have been washed clean awa'. It's probably best that ye stay close to the main complex for now, at least until me and the crew have scoped out the new lie of the land. Any questions? None? - Verra weel, off ye go, then."

    So much for my post-cyclone safety briefing. There's no need to bang on about something as blatantly obvious as the aftermath of a Category IV tempest. Our colonists are no strangers to adversity, and Carl Sagan's shore party is largely comprised of experienced spacers, rendering any further commentary and a consequent list of dire cautions entirely unnecessary. Naturally, our guests are still a bit rattled after last night's ordeal, although I suspect that the stoic 'business as usual' attitude that prevails among our colonists should have them calmed down in no time.

    All things considered, we weathered the first cyclone of this season tolerably well. Sixty-two per cent of the island's hab ring survived relatively unscathed. On the debit side of our ledger, we lost a third of the island's mariculture facilities, although this will have no noticeable impact on our food reserves. Due to their sheltered locations, Margaritaville, The Last Resort and Café Krakatoa are only superficially damaged, although we'll have to thoroughly inspect all of the island's structures before signing off on their structural integrity. We'll reinforce what we can, and redesign everything else that we can't.

    That's our basic problem. There isn't much that humanity can build that Nature can't destroy. Only the Pyramids of Egypt and Mesoamerica can claim any real sort of durability. Even so, they're looking a mite worse for wear these days. If a single seed can force its way though solid concrete in search of sunlight, everything man has ever built is the butt of a cosmic joke, at least as far as Nature is concerned. However, I'm not so certain about those structures that the Precursors left behind. Their enigmatic materials seem to resist the decay of ages, impossibly shielded against the slow, relentless sword of entropy. In all good conscience, I can't leave this planet without learning something tangible about Precursor technology... If only to salvage our bruised human pride.

    Before commencing a cleanup effort or any major repairs, our first job is to assess the damage to the colony's base and determine whether the island itself is still structurally sound. While everyone else settled down to a leisurely al fresco breakfast, we were busily reconfiguring our ExoSuits for a geotechnical survey expedition. Something tells me that a terrain resonance imaging scan might be a very bad idea, and that setting off any seismic charges would only compound our current crop of problems. It's definitely a job for ground-penetrating radar in this case. The ExoSuits are of course, a timely anticipation of The Unexpected.

    My first transit of the island took me past the former site of the Magellan expedition's surface base camp. Though long gone now, that pathetic cluster of flattened hab domes would have made a powerful statement to any would-be conquerors of this world.

    You have no dominion over this place, Human. You never shall. Leave or die.

    All that remains of their sad mistake is a commemorative plaque. Back then, I even went to the trouble of stabilizing the treacherous cliff-face that had killed them. Last night's cyclone must have seen my feeble efforts here and decided that the planet's message needed clarification.

    Landslide.
  • KelliseKellise UK Join Date: 2016-07-23 Member: 220582Members
    Bugzapper wrote: »
    All that remains of their sad mistake is a commemorative plaque. Back then, I even went to the trouble of stabilizing the treacherous cliff-face that had killed them. Last night's cyclone must have seen my feeble efforts here and decided that the planet's message needed clarification.

    Landslide.

    Rekt
  • BugzapperBugzapper Australia Join Date: 2015-03-06 Member: 201744Members
    edited August 2017
    I dismounted my ExoSuit and proceeded to inspect the scree of loose soil, mangled plant matter and rubble from a safe distance. The brow of that cliff is highly unstable, so I'm wary of approaching any closer than is absolutely necessary. The landslip had carried away most of my previous terraforming work, dumping a half-buried jumble of geotextile matting and bent titanium reinforcement rods at the foot of the cliff. As far as I'm able to determine, some large celery trees had grown precariously close to the edge, and all it needed was a strong wind to lever them out and bring the whole shebang crashing down again. In retrospect, it would have been a more sensible plan to revegetate the top of that ridge, instead of allowing natural processes to determine what plants grew up there. Obviously, Mother Nature wanted celery trees.

    Reckon I can safely chalk this one up to bad luck.

    There's no real point in trying to patch up that cliff face once more. If it wants to slip, it will, regardless of any remedial measures that I care to employ. Besides, our remaining time on this planet would be more profitably spent undoing as much human damage as possible before making our courteous exit. Fortunately, the majority of Aurora's wreckage has already been accounted for, leaving only the base installations and production facilities on Kaori-san no-shima, Skull Island and Pyramid Rock. All of these will be removed at an appropriate time. Aside from the Aurora monument, all other overt signs of human occupation will be squared away before our departure.

    My commlink beeped urgently. DIGBY. "Captain, you'll want to see this. Southeast sector. JUNO and IANTO have also been notified and are currently inbound. Transmitting my coordinates now."

    "Roger that. On my way, mate." I replied.

    Before boarding Gawain, I took a geo-probe from my backpack and shoved its tail-spike into a patch of undisturbed soil near the foot of the cliff. DIGBY and Co. were only about half a klick away, so it was worth taking a few more seconds to finish my work here. If this island's on the brink of falling apart, I'll want to know well in advance.

    Gawain's footing became less certain as I neared DIGBY's location. Torrential rainfall had scoured away large sections of the sketchy footpath that meandered through the undergrowth, making it necessary veer a fair distance inland and negotiate a hopeless tangle of flattened vegetation. As I rounded the base of South Hill, I caught sight of the others and made a beeline straight for them.

    "Howay, troops." I said cheerfully. "What's up?"

    DIGBY indicated a point roughly one-quarter of the way up the slope of South Hill. "Captain, a small section of this hill subsided during the cyclone. GPR scans indicate the presence of a large void beyond that opening. During a cursory examination of this site, I detected an energy signature consistent with the presence of Precursor technology. I strongly recommend that we investigate."

    "Absolutely." I grinned. "There's always time to spare for thrilling heroics. Let's have at it, then."

    The opening had to be enlarged slightly to admit our ExoSuits, although there was no apparent danger of any further soil movement. Even so, I scanned the parent rock surrounding the hole and found it to be perfectly stable. Judging by the relatively small pile of rubble that had fallen into the hole, a dense mat of vegetation had grown over this opening and accumulated a thin crust of soil, effectively hiding it from casual observation. I had no idea that this cavern existed, since we've had no real need to conduct a detailed scan of the island until today. The last time we scanned, our only concern was making sure that the island's underside was structurally secure before fabricating the colony's foundation plates, so it's easy to see how this managed to remain undiscovered for so long.
  • KelliseKellise UK Join Date: 2016-07-23 Member: 220582Members
    Get off page 2 Bugz
  • BugzapperBugzapper Australia Join Date: 2015-03-06 Member: 201744Members
    edited August 2017
    As much as I wanted to explore this new Precursor facility, there are far more urgent matters that require our undivided attention. Reluctantly, I marked the cave's location on the survey grid and we resumed our GPR sweep of the island. I suspect that the crew were also a bit disappointed, as this sub-surface scanning business rapidly turns into a dull-grey grind after only a few minutes on the job. Still, it has to be done. Last night's storm has done an almighty number on the island, and there's no telling what could happen if we shirked this task in favour of playing hooky in a cave.

    So far, our ground-penetrating radar scans have revealed no serious structural damage to the island, aside from the inevitable washouts that occurred along its entire western face. Approximately eighty-five per cent of the island has been mapped at this moment, so it is now reasonably safe to make a start on the cleanup operation. I estimate that a couple of Ripleys and a standard squad of six repair drones can tackle the topside work. It's all clearance and biomass conversion anyway, something that I can oversee without unduly diverting my attention from this insanely boring scanning job. Mind you, I'm extremely relieved that it has been totally uninteresting so far. Any 'interesting' readings would be most unwelcome during this particular exercise.

    I activated The Broch's vehicle fabricator via remote access, instructing it to produce two Ripleys and a squad of repair drones. We'll also need a bioreactor and a biomass protein converter built topside, so that the drones can make good use of the mass of destroyed plant material currently littering the island. The Ripleys will make short work of any big stuff like Celery Trees and Bulbos, rendering them into a more convenient form for the bioreactor and protein converter to use. Waste not, want not.

    However, all sub-surface repair work will definitely require our direct attention. If the recon drone's depressing video feed is anything to go by, it's not going to be a simple matter of spraying our handheld Fabricators about with wild abandon. The colony's western quadrant has been comprehensively hammered, and that mad tangle of wreckage will need to be carefully teased apart before any repairs can be made. Structural stresses on any intact base modules could become a very serious issue at some point.

    Thankfully, ALECTO and Enzo managed to isolate the worst of those damaged sections with some timely use of emergency bulkheads and sacrificial flooding. If all goes well, Kaori-san no-shima Base should become operational again sometime around nightfall. At the very worst, our colonists and Carl Sagan's contingent will have to rub shoulders in The Bastion for one more night. Surprisingly, these two groups appear to be getting along quite well, all things considered. So much for my earlier concerns about any potential incompatibility. Seems like there's nothing like a wee touch of shared adversity to bring folks together.

    It's difficult to be an engineer and still remain optimistic. Last night's cyclone was merely a prelude to Manannán's climatic excesses. This planet's 12-year orbital period generates a wildly variable range of weather conditions as it approaches perihelion. One or two weeks of relatively pleasant weather is sufficient to send ocean surface temperatures soaring, whipping up ferocious storms that can form within minutes and last for weeks at a time. This has not been a significant problem in the past, as we've all been safely tucked away in The Broch as that insane weather raged far overhead. Even though I've honestly tried to account for the worst possible conditions while designing Kaori-san no-shima Base, I'm dismally unsure that its structure will withstand another storm. This realisation is tempered by a certainty that nothing wrought by man stands in the face of Nature's fury. If it were at all possible to force-shield the entire island, we could rebuild here with impunity.
Sign In or Register to comment.