"Smiley" The Pet Reaper
Kurasu
Join Date: 2017-06-24 Member: 231322Members
Smiley is the result of what happens when you get bored and decide to build an observation base right in the middle of a Reaper's spawn point. Deliberately.
Most of the time, Smiley's drifted off somewhere, but if I putter around for a while, Smiley comes out of hiding and tries to give me a big hug. Fortunately I have quick reflexes and have marked the entrance of my base so it's easy to find, since Smiley's hugs can get a little overenthusiastic. Fortunately, I have a big observation room where I can stand and watch him glide about for hours. And occasionally do; it's remarkably soothing.
One thing that I have had more fun with than I care to admit (mostly) is feeding Smiley. You see, I have a number of bioreactors, which I keep 'fed' through the liberal use of various types of hatched fish. Primarily bone sharks, because I have a vendetta against them. I happened to grab one more bone shark than I needed to fill the reactors; carrying around an extremely angry shark with me, I didn't particularly feel like sticking it back in the aquarium. So I just swam outside my base and let it go.
The next time Smiley came gliding around, he was attracted to the Bone Shark and did what any predator does to something smaller than him: chased it down and ate it violently.
I have to admit: that actually surprised me, because I had a few ghost rays I had deliberately released outside, because watching them swim around my base is quite soothing. Smiley hadn't eaten them. I'd forgotten that they're poisonous.... but apparently the game hasn't. Bone sharks, on the other hand, are apparently completely edible to Reaper Leviathans, although it takes a couple bites to get through that armor, and they get away sometimes.... for a short while.
I'm kind of tempted to experiment with what other creatures Smiley eats, as opposed to what he leaves alone.
Most of the time, Smiley's drifted off somewhere, but if I putter around for a while, Smiley comes out of hiding and tries to give me a big hug. Fortunately I have quick reflexes and have marked the entrance of my base so it's easy to find, since Smiley's hugs can get a little overenthusiastic. Fortunately, I have a big observation room where I can stand and watch him glide about for hours. And occasionally do; it's remarkably soothing.
One thing that I have had more fun with than I care to admit (mostly) is feeding Smiley. You see, I have a number of bioreactors, which I keep 'fed' through the liberal use of various types of hatched fish. Primarily bone sharks, because I have a vendetta against them. I happened to grab one more bone shark than I needed to fill the reactors; carrying around an extremely angry shark with me, I didn't particularly feel like sticking it back in the aquarium. So I just swam outside my base and let it go.
The next time Smiley came gliding around, he was attracted to the Bone Shark and did what any predator does to something smaller than him: chased it down and ate it violently.
I have to admit: that actually surprised me, because I had a few ghost rays I had deliberately released outside, because watching them swim around my base is quite soothing. Smiley hadn't eaten them. I'd forgotten that they're poisonous.... but apparently the game hasn't. Bone sharks, on the other hand, are apparently completely edible to Reaper Leviathans, although it takes a couple bites to get through that armor, and they get away sometimes.... for a short while.
I'm kind of tempted to experiment with what other creatures Smiley eats, as opposed to what he leaves alone.
Comments
That's in a base just up the hill beside me. *Away* from the dangerous stuff.
The beautiful, albeit plain, view outside the window. Note, no Smiley at the moment.
So let's get some food out there first:
.... as I said: vendetta against bone sharks.
I waited for day, so that I could get as good of shots as possible, then swam around until I heard Smiley roar. Then hightailed it back to my base as fast as possible and ran right back to the window for some nice shots:
Here's Smiley trying to figure out where I went.
And here....
....is Smiley noticing, and nomming, the bone shark. It's a bit hard to see, but you can make out the blood. Just like with a human player, there's one bite and one swallow, and the shark....
..... is now all gone! TAH-DAH!
Feeling better, Smiley?
Thought so.
All the edible fish (Peppers, Reginalds, Garryfish, et cetera): Ignored. Way too small, I guess.
Boneshark: As shown, they're lunch.
Stalker: Also lunch.
Sand Shark: Dinner.
Crashfish: I have yet to be able to release one without having it instantly zoom off, so I'm not able to see what happens when Smiley meets one.
Jelly Ray: Ignored.
Rabbit Ray: Ignored.
Mesmer: Ignored. Which is a pity; I was sort of hoping it would mesmerize him and bite him in the face. I guess they're too small.
Ampeel: Devoured immediately. I was a bit surprised at that; I was expecting it to at least give him heartburn but he didn't even hesitate!
Gastopod: Ignored, and annoying because of constant gas pods scattered outside my windows. Detection apparently works through base walls.
Crabsquid: Completely ignored one another. Kind of disappointing; I hoped it would be a face-off!
I haven't gotten down to the lava zone, so no Lava Lizard to test out on him. As for Crabsnakes, I just didn't happen to have any; I'll probably journey down to the Jellyshroom Caves to grab one and test it out at some point!
I also haven't tested any of the unimplimented eggs. So no reefbacks, no shuttlebugs (although I suspect shuttlebugs will be the same as the other little fish).
Any other I'm missing? (I may have tested it and just forgotten to note it down).
Oh. And as a further note, while they're not something you can hatch, he will also chase down and drive off/attempt to eat warpers in the area. He's occasionally gone after a few of them!
How about Cuddlefish? It would be pretty cruel, but it's for science
I don't have one at the moment (my last one vanished; not sure where it went!) but I'll probably get/spawn an egg and see what happens. I would expect probably nothing, since it's so small, but I was wrong about the Ampeel, so we'll see.
Just pretend I'm not a horrible monster!
Plus, let's just say that my 'safe base on the ridge' isn't quite as safe as it was before, let alone my observation center, because of how close he is now. So while I wouldn't call this testing 'completely finished', I think that it may take a couple tries before I can release dinner for him, then get the hell out of dodge so I'm not the most appealing target!
Apparently, reapers don't like eating crabsnakes. I would have thought they'd be on the menu, but apparently not!
No interest in the cuddlefish, either, which was not a surprise. In fact, I think he likes him: I watched him zoom right by the cuddlefish to attack a sand shark who was coming up to try and eat it (because, yes, predators will try to eat your cuddlefish).
Maybe they're of the same parents....
I considered doing a glass corridor, I admit. I kinda liked the stand-alone feel of it, though. Although deliberately putting a corridor right through the spawn would be even cooler; I'd love to have a reaper gliding around me as I walked down the pathway.
Tempting. Tempting. I do want to start a new game to test out the new game balance; since I can't 'complete' it, maybe I can make a Reaper Examination Station in the dunes my goal.
I mean, *someone* needs to test the Reaper Leviathans properly, right? I can think of so many things I could test out on him!
...... new roleplaying goal!
(See what you people do? You give me ideas....)