Finding Wrecks
Jacke
Calgary Join Date: 2017-03-20 Member: 229061Members
Calgary Join Date: 2017-03-20 Member: 229061Members
How do you find wrecks in your games? I have *always* had a problem with this.
Coming to midgame, to get more of the blueprints I need, I have to start searching most of the major wrecks. I can find some of them all of the time, especially the ones close to a Lifepod that has a beacon. But to find all the ones I need, I've only had one system that works.
I have to use a map of Subnautica to see where the wrecks are, then go to their location. Anything else is a crazy amount of time.
I'm already at 48 to 72 hours before finishing above the Lost River, which I've yet to explore in any game. I've tried exploring back and forth search for wrecks. Some I do stumble onto. But not enough.
Just wandering exploring for wrecks can't seem to work unless I'm willing to spend real-time days doing so. I've got the render range maxxed, but it seems I have to be almost on top of wrecks before I see them.
After I'd played my latest game for just under 24 hours, I did a test of a prefab minibase (MPR & Scanner Room) to scan for wrecks. I equiped the Seamoth with 1 max depth mod and 3 cargo mods. The base came to around 50 slots. It included 4 Scanner Range mods as well as 8 Marblemelon seeds to help sustain me away from my main base.
I spent 8 hours preparing the prefab base and going out to two locations, including a quick trip back to my main base. I set up roughly near location 50,,500 near Lifepod 3 and -950,,500, near Lifepod 13. The first location was beside Kelp Forests where I found some of the early game wrecks. I got 1 PDA and scanned the Trash Can. Out west in that Mushroom Forest, I found a lot of Frags for the Cyclops, unlocking the Bridge and the Hull. But no wrecks. After packing up, I found the wreck just NE of it and got 2 more PDAs and a Cyclops mod.
Even by my slow paced games, this was a waste of time for far too little gain. With practice I think I could get a lot faster at setting up the base and getting the scan of the footprint done. But when I scanned--with 4 range mods--from right beside Lifepod 13, I never detected the wreck around 700-800m NE of it. To cover enough to find enough wrecks, I would have to do this a lot.
I think even wander exploring will find wrecks faster than this.
Coming to midgame, to get more of the blueprints I need, I have to start searching most of the major wrecks. I can find some of them all of the time, especially the ones close to a Lifepod that has a beacon. But to find all the ones I need, I've only had one system that works.
I have to use a map of Subnautica to see where the wrecks are, then go to their location. Anything else is a crazy amount of time.
I'm already at 48 to 72 hours before finishing above the Lost River, which I've yet to explore in any game. I've tried exploring back and forth search for wrecks. Some I do stumble onto. But not enough.
Just wandering exploring for wrecks can't seem to work unless I'm willing to spend real-time days doing so. I've got the render range maxxed, but it seems I have to be almost on top of wrecks before I see them.
After I'd played my latest game for just under 24 hours, I did a test of a prefab minibase (MPR & Scanner Room) to scan for wrecks. I equiped the Seamoth with 1 max depth mod and 3 cargo mods. The base came to around 50 slots. It included 4 Scanner Range mods as well as 8 Marblemelon seeds to help sustain me away from my main base.
I spent 8 hours preparing the prefab base and going out to two locations, including a quick trip back to my main base. I set up roughly near location 50,,500 near Lifepod 3 and -950,,500, near Lifepod 13. The first location was beside Kelp Forests where I found some of the early game wrecks. I got 1 PDA and scanned the Trash Can. Out west in that Mushroom Forest, I found a lot of Frags for the Cyclops, unlocking the Bridge and the Hull. But no wrecks. After packing up, I found the wreck just NE of it and got 2 more PDAs and a Cyclops mod.
Even by my slow paced games, this was a waste of time for far too little gain. With practice I think I could get a lot faster at setting up the base and getting the scan of the footprint done. But when I scanned--with 4 range mods--from right beside Lifepod 13, I never detected the wreck around 700-800m NE of it. To cover enough to find enough wrecks, I would have to do this a lot.
I think even wander exploring will find wrecks faster than this.
Comments
I think that there should be some sort of compass that the player can craft that they'd have to hold to see, and it would point them towards the nearest significantly-sized wreck. (like the meteor compass from the applied energistics mod for minecraft)
Which is what I said I used. I was ~700m from a wreck and with 4 range mods couldn't pick it up. I estimate I'd need 24 to 48 hours or much much longer of search time to find enough wrecks this way.
Well, wrecks from the Aurora are not native to Planet 4546B, since obviously the ship isn't naturally found there. As such, it should make sense that it would be easier to find pieces of the broken ship across the planet's surface. In fact, the Aurora itself should 'be aware' of all the ship's structural integrity. And as money-conscious as Alterra is (what with not wanting to lose any money in any dire circumstances) it stands to reason that the Aurora should be able to locate any missing elements from itself.
To that end I would recommend that sometime after the Aurora explodes, an emergency protocol should be enabled. Maybe it could be a console in the Engine Room that needs to be repaired, or some craftable room (similar to the Moonpool) that has to be built. And then once built, it can actively scan for Wrecks and show them up on the HUD. I mean since Wreck locations are static between multiple playthroughs and will always be in the same spot with the same conditions (and the game already knows where they are to begin with) it only makes sense to make this an actual gameplay element
To keep the game balanced and prevent people from just marking all 20 Wrecks in one fell swoop, they could do like how Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess does for locating Pieces of Hearts. There is an NPC you can speak with and she gives a visual indicator where one is found; but she will always give that same Piece of Heart location until it's been picked up. In the realm of Subnautica, the Wreck Locator will always give the same ping location until the player arrives at said Wreck and surveys it (opens a Sealed r Locked Door). This way people can ultimately find all 20 Large Wrecks and have a sense of accomplishment (perhaps even unlock an Achievement) and Alterra surely would appreciate the player for helping to recoup their loss. It's win-win for everyone!
Alterra? Recoup? Pshaw.
That's more unlikely than UWE making subnautica multiplayer!