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So far for me I'm liking BZ a lot and also finding it much less scary and anxiety-inducing. I don't know if that is a change in the world design, the monster design, or just knowing the games tricks already though. Really loving that, for as loud and aggressive as these various sharks are, they still can't handle getting loving rammed by the sea truck. Also digging their choice to create more areas that the sea truck can't fit into, prompting more free diving. I'll try to post pictures of my base today' it is very narrow and vertical. Spent a bunch of time building an observation dome above water (with the main body of the base 100m down) only to realize that you can't see poo poo most the time. Oh well!
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May 17, 2021 14:14
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I think the monster design is not particularly scary in BZ. Something about the motion of the reapers in the original game really set me off but I’m not really bothered by anything in BZ so far.
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May 17, 2021 14:39
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I really don’t like glacial area, it’s like a worse version of the lava zone. The cold mechanic, the ice worm and the fact that it’s just just a series of tunnels and caves where you more or less have to rely on blind luck to find anything. It’s just not very fun.Fallom posted:I think the monster design is not particularly scary in BZ. Something about the motion of the reapers in the original game really set me off but I’m not really bothered by anything in BZ so far. The monster design in the original Subnautica is not really scary either, neither of them are scary games.
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May 17, 2021 15:09
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Oasx posted:The monster design in the original Subnautica is not really scary either, neither of them are scary games. I think popular sentiment would disagree with you there bud. I will say survival mode after a while kind of makes you not really give a gently caress about leviathans because there isn't a huge penalty for dying, but until you get kind of calloused by that there's a bunch of monsters that are creepy as hell and also really effective for jump scares. I haven't ever tried a hardcore playthrough, probably about 5 or 6 months after I beat below zero I'll try and play through one and below zero on hardcore without dying in either. I imagine that would be a lot more tense.
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May 17, 2021 15:22
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Oasx posted:I really don’t like glacial area, it’s like a worse version of the lava zone. The cold mechanic, the ice worm and the fact that it’s just just a series of tunnels and caves where you more or less have to rely on blind luck to find anything. It’s just not very fun. it's a definite creative low point in the same way the lava zone was but uh have you tried following the glowing green pipes
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May 17, 2021 17:34
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Eifert Posting posted:I haven't ever tried a hardcore playthrough, probably about 5 or 6 months after I beat below zero I'll try and play through one and below zero on hardcore without dying in either. I imagine that would be a lot more tense. A reaper going quiet then roaring right over your shoulder has a far different feeling when you’re ~10hrs into a hardcore run, I’ll tell you what  it got me 
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May 17, 2021 17:37
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Oasx posted:I really don’t like glacial area, it’s like a worse version of the lava zone. The cold mechanic, the ice worm and the fact that it’s just just a series of tunnels and caves where you more or less have to rely on blind luck to find anything. It’s just not very fun. The glacial basin and arctic spires felt really underwhelming to me because I didn't really need to go there with the exception of an extremely limited amount of story elements. The latter, especially, felt super-pointless, because by the time I accessed it, I didn't need any of the bountiful resource-deposits there, so it was literally a one-time exploration to look for one of the architect-parts and then I never needed to go back. If they had somehow implemented mechanics or storyline-points to MAKE you go there earlier in the game, I would have loved the amount of resources there. I even found the alternate-access (through the architect elevator and tunnel) and was really bummed that I hadn't attempted to go there earlier. The ice worm was cool as hell, but honestly a minor nuisance. Didn't even feel like a leviathan since I could just jump back onto my snow fox right after being knocked off and that was it.
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May 17, 2021 17:46
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First game felt better about making the leviathans scary since you had real ways to avoid them. Reapers announce their presence long before you can see them, and they could be outrun with the seamoth, or you shutdown the sub and wait for the to go away. I've not been so lucky as to find upgrades for the seatruck to let it actually outrun anything. So they've revealed themselves as the screamy tollbooths they are, and make me pay a repair tool energy fee and waste my time while I'm traveling.
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May 17, 2021 17:46
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Duzzy Funlop posted:The glacial basin and arctic spires felt really underwhelming to me because I didn't really need to go there with the exception of an extremely limited amount of story elements. The latter, especially, felt super-pointless, because by the time I accessed it, I didn't need any of the bountiful resource-deposits there, so it was literally a one-time exploration to look for one of the architect-parts and then I never needed to go back. If they had somehow implemented mechanics or storyline-points to MAKE you go there earlier in the game, I would have loved the amount of resources there. I even found the alternate-access (through the architect elevator and tunnel) and was really bummed that I hadn't attempted to go there earlier. The ice worm was cool as hell, but honestly a minor nuisance. Didn't even feel like a leviathan since I could just jump back onto my snow fox right after being knocked off and that was it. I think during early access you had to go there to get some upgrade materials for underwater stuff, were gated off from the spires, and had to come back after getting blueprints for... the thumper I think? Either that or you needed something to fix the bridge. Seemed like a much better way to implement it honestly.
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May 17, 2021 18:05
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Work is really lovely right now because my department is super understaffed and all I want to do is get to 5:00 so I can play more dystopian future capitalist hellhole rather than regular old present day capitalist hellhole. You can tell me that the business is doing amazing or you can tell me that you can't staff us appropriately, gently caress off with both.
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May 17, 2021 18:29
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It's not so much how the animals look in both games, they look like Muppet creations to me, it's how they sound. The Reaper roar is a perfect mix of scary and flee-inducing, the first time I heard it I wanted to find somewhere to hide like right away even though the critter isnt all that scary. The Reaper analog in Below Zero is even more horrifying because it looks way more alien imo. So am I imagining things or does the Seaglide seem to be chewing through batteries way faster after release? It really feels like it.
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May 17, 2021 18:39
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DreadUnknown posted:It's not so much how the animals look in both games, they look like Muppet creations to me, it's how they sound. The Reaper roar is a perfect mix of scary and flee-inducing, the first time I heard it I wanted to find somewhere to hide like right away even though the critter isnt all that scary. The player death animations for the leviathans are way more creepy too.
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May 17, 2021 19:00
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Oasx posted:The monster design in the original Subnautica is not really scary either, neither of them are scary games. A reaper going from non-existent to suddenly roaring and smashing through the terrain deep inside a cave, with its head taking up the entire cavern, is the only thing in gaming that has legit made me jump in my chair within something like the last decade. Granted, that's not exactly intended behavior, but it works.
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May 17, 2021 19:07
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I really dislike the Seatruck. The Seamoth was a fantastic all around starter vehicle and the Cyclops/Prawn combo felt like a great evolution in your exploration of the deep. The Seatruck tries to be everything and feels really clumsy to use. I know this is an oft repeated sentiment and that others have made peace with it but I'm surprised that they went to the length of rewriting the entire storyline and did not phase this thing out. It sucks. I like the rest of the game so far and think its more hits than misses but I really dislike the Seatruck.
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May 17, 2021 19:09
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I got my first proper death wandering around near Phi Robotics after getting into a fistfight with a snow stalker. I found the underwater tunnels, but if you don't have the gear for it you ain't gonna make it. EDIT: Hey I'm certified but I cant drive this sweet ride. loving lame! 
DreadUnknown fucked around with this message at 19:34 on May 17, 2021 |
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May 17, 2021 19:30
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those loving polar bears killed me more times than everything else in either game put together
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May 17, 2021 19:51
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I like the seatruck. I don't know if people realise this, but the trick is to only carry the modules you need. You can detach every module but one and use it as a souped up seamoth, or you can put in other stuff to haul things between bases. It helps a lot that it's a lot easier to charge up than the Cyclops and there's no more annoying energy draining larvae to deal with. The only thing I'm missing is a sonar function.
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May 17, 2021 19:58
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A Wizard of Goatse posted:those loving polar bears killed me more times than everything else in either game put together they're harmless if you have a flare. I think this is revealed in a PDA tip
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May 17, 2021 19:59
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Oasx posted:The monster design in the original Subnautica is not really scary either, neither of them are scary games. I find deep sea environments inherently scary enough regardless of monster designs. It's put me off playing through the original despite having a huge interest in it. That said I'm going to give it another shot now since last time I did try was 2 video cards ago during early access when I got slideshow framerates when going towards deep water or using any vehicles. Any real good/useful things to know for essentially a first time player?
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May 17, 2021 19:59
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Zerilan posted:I find deep sea environments inherently scary enough regardless of monster designs. It's put me off playing through the original despite having a huge interest in it. Go to Delta base as soon as you reasonably can, there's a bunch of useful stuff there to scan.
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May 17, 2021 20:01
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I dislike the sea monsters in BZ more - the trek from the starting area towards the south-east plot waypoint, which is close to a lot of interesting things, is filled with those shark things, who seem a lot more aggressive than the bonesharks in Subnautica. And they seem to exist at all depths, so just sticking to the ground/surface doesn't help.
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May 17, 2021 20:03
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PokeJoe posted:they're harmless if you have a flare. I think this is revealed in a PDA tip doesn't work forever. doesn't work for as long as you probably need it to. definitely doesn't work when you're trying to use the penguinbot, which is presumably why you're loving around on their turf to begin with. Unless they just patched it to be super effective, which would be a shame, trying it and having it ward them off for like ten seconds before they turn right back around and eat you was pretty funny A Wizard of Goatse fucked around with this message at 20:17 on May 17, 2021 |
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May 17, 2021 20:11
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I play a very base centric game in both of these. I don't think I've ever had a seamoth a prawn the truck or a cyclops ever run out of power. The sea truck is functionally very similar to the seamoth if you don't have trailers attached. For a good six or seven hours in my playthrough I just mode it around in it like the seamoth without any compartments and it was perfectly fine for that. If you have a repair tool on you and you don't mind dinging it up a little bit you can squeeze it into just about everywhere you could have a seamoth in the original game. I could see how people wouldn't like it if they just put compartments on it from moment one and for some reason refuse to take them off.
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May 17, 2021 20:14
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DreadUnknown posted:I got my first proper death wandering around near Phi Robotics after getting into a fistfight with a snow stalker. I found the underwater tunnels, but if you don't have the gear for it you ain't gonna make it. It prob drives better than the snowfox.
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May 17, 2021 20:17
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The monsters in both Subnautica and Below Zero are really more scary than they are dangerous. It's quite nice design really. And yeah, the truck is better than the Cyclops. It's faster and nicely modular. Still miss the Seamoth though, and especially its radar.
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May 17, 2021 20:18
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A Wizard of Goatse posted:doesn't work forever. doesn't work for as long as you probably need it to. Weird, it worked pretty much indefinitely for me. Never had any troubles with them. You can drop them on the ground when pengbotting
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May 17, 2021 20:18
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Tenzarin posted:It prob drives better than the snowfox. From my forklift experience, it totally does.
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May 17, 2021 20:24
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Not having a radar available for the seatruck is a bit of a bummer for sure. I get the thematic reason for why it's not in there, but honestly just adding that one function would make the cab-less truck a completely acceptable replacement for the seamoth.
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May 17, 2021 20:24
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ymgve posted:I dislike the sea monsters in BZ more - the trek from the starting area towards the south-east plot waypoint, which is close to a lot of interesting things, is filled with those shark things, who seem a lot more aggressive than the bonesharks in Subnautica. And they seem to exist at all depths, so just sticking to the ground/surface doesn't help. The seatruck without any modules can out pace them, and the seamoth with one storage module and the horsepower module can as well. I just drive in a straight line, right at them if need be. By the time they manage to turn around and pursue I'm well past them. Failing that, loving ram them head on. I haven't tried it on the squid-sharks but the other two sharks don't win that fight, and with very little, if any, damage to the truck. Just like all battles between animal and truck!
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May 17, 2021 20:28
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So far the only thing in my game that can take a hit from the defense mod thing and not give a gently caress is reaper equivalent. I go out of my way to zap the squidsharks because gently caress those guys. Honestly the truck seems to handle attacks better than the Cyclops did. It's just as tanky if you keep it topped up but it's much better at getting away.
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May 17, 2021 20:31
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Turns out the main benefit of the "control room" is the ability to play dress-up with your base.
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May 17, 2021 20:33
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I thought the Seatrukk drove about the same as the Seamoth. I just watched the latest release trailer and it really spoils a lot of poo poo goddamn, they might have hosed up a bit there. DreadUnknown fucked around with this message at 20:43 on May 17, 2021 |
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May 17, 2021 20:34
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Fangz posted:Go to Delta base as soon as you reasonably can, there's a bunch of useful stuff there to scan. Er, the original, not Below Zero.
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May 17, 2021 21:14
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Eifert Posting posted:So far the only thing in my game that can take a hit from the defense mod thing and not give a gently caress is reaper equivalent. I go out of my way to zap the squidsharks because gently caress those guys. The defense mod makes you basically invincible unless you destroy your Seatruck by bashing it into walls over and over. The animation for a leviathan grabbing you is damage-over-time, so if you wait until right when they grab you and then set it off they'll let go and swim away having done maybe 5 damage. If you try to set it off when they're nearby it might not register, then they'll grab you and do a bunch of damage while you're waiting for it to recharge.
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May 17, 2021 21:33
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Does the VR improvements mod work with BZ?
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May 17, 2021 21:55
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Just as a reminder, Below Zero does not use cloud saves. So if say you get frustrated with something and delete your game install, you will not have your latest save. Just FYI.
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May 17, 2021 22:00
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Lol I made it to the endgame super deep place and after the cutscene my Prawn suit just straight up despawned. At least suiciding in to the nearby friends respawned me at my base. If that ain’t the most Subnautica thing. Anyway game was fine, first one was better.
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May 17, 2021 22:29
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Just finished this game. I had a good time with it, although it's no Subnautica 1. One of the main issues that I took with Below Zero was the increased focus on story and characters. 1 had a really great, lonely vibe to it that felt reminiscent of Metroid Prime 1 which I also love. The plot taking a backseat while only offering little hints until the very end was to its benefit. What little bits of interaction and characterization that existed with the Sea Emperor and your PDA AI were reasonably well done. BZ? Not so well done, and its everpresent nature really kills the atmosphere. This game was also a lot less unnerving than the first. Nothing ever felt like a major threat and the small, enclosed map leaves little to imagine what might be in the deep, dark distance. Granted, a substantial amount of this is just due to familiarity with the series. I was hoping with a sequel they would veer more heavily into horror to compensate for that familiarity, but it seems like the devs went in the opposite direction with sea monsters that gently caress off after hitting you once for a trivial amount of damage (or gently caress off immediately when you ram them). The only semi-dangerous creature is relegated to its specific cave that contains nothing else in a very artificial way. The previously mentioned story elements also contribute to this. It's easier to be spooked when you feel truly alone and trapped on some unknown planet. I thought the surface content was pretty alright...for a bit. Did get pretty loving tedious over time. The worm zone in particular is huge and almost impossible to navigate while again not being threatening at all. Despite the complaints about it, I did enjoy the Sea Truck. Granted, I only ever slapped a storage module on the thing since further modules seemed like a fairly worthless trade for something that makes the vehicle slower and more difficult to maneuver, but with just that one added section it was basically a Sea Moth with a bunch of extra storage and the ability to walk around inside a bit. Greatly preferred it over the clunky-rear end Cyclops, or the Prawn which makes me feel like I'm playing a terrestrial mech game rather than something underwater. I never did put a single non-depth module upgrade in the truck though, which was a bummer. Just didn't come across all of the parts necessary to build anything else. I think it was much easier to find scannable bits in the first game where you are generally cruising around looking for enormous wrecked sections of the Aurora, as opposed to Below Zero where you are instead generally looking for sea monkey nests scattered about in small cave mazes. Also liked the additions to base-building. Even minor stuff like a glass roof is pretty a-ok in my book since building a cozy base is one of my favorite parts of these kinds of games. Overall: fun and worth playing, but I was hoping for something more. Vargs fucked around with this message at 09:08 on May 18, 2021 |
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May 18, 2021 00:13
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Oasx posted:The monster design in the original Subnautica is not really scary either, neither of them are scary games. i was always under the impression that the scariness came more from people being afraid of the ocean. as someone who really wishes he had a career piloting submersibles across the abyssal plain, i never found anything in either game scary, at all, and in fact find piloting subs in the deep dark to be cozy, big mean fish jerks be damned. that said, i am pretty sure that i'm nearing the end of below zero, and i am really underwhelmed. there are fewer biomes than the first game, and the ones that are there aren't as interesting, the above ground stuff is very not great, and the snowfox is far more irritating to drive than the seatruck and i can't believe all the complaints are directed at the truck because gently caress me i _HATE_ the snowfox. stupid thing gets stuck on every little piece of terrain. also the giant worm is just an irritating mechanic to play around; in fact, all the big enemies are just irritations rather than threats. and the stalker-sized baddies can just be instakilled by a single good ram from the truck. DEEP STATE PLOT fucked around with this message at 00:26 on May 18, 2021 |
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May 18, 2021 00:21
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Y'all making me glad I skipped the Snowfox and just used the Prawn suit on land. Since they made a common mistake with the movement so it goes faster diagonally and you can thus fling yourself around at high speed with it.
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May 18, 2021 00:31
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