GAME BREAKING issue, Prawn stuck standing in alien base

[MrGowdy]

:EDIT:
The "fix" was to save and load. This was/is a scary thing as if the issue persists after loading the save, you're stuck with it forever since you only get one single save.

Quick Google search returns this is apparently a known issue and can destroy peoples games....

Currently sitting here at bottom-most base, surrounded by lava, no ability to build another prawn without spending HOURS going back up to the surface.... the game doesn't auto save so last save was over 2 hours ago.... which quite honestly I have zero desire to re-do the past 2-hours of gameplay.

Is this really a known issue and has not been resolved?

[KippenKaasBaas]

Why is it stuck? Is it underneath something?

[Dirak2012]

Originally posted by KippenKaasBaas:

Why is it stuck? Is it underneath something?

The prawn suit gets stuck in the floor of alien facilities, sometimes you can get it out with the grappling arm, others you fall through the map.
It's a known issue, but apparently it's fixed in the experimental branch.

[MrGowdy]

Originally posted by KippenKaasBaas:

Why is it stuck? Is it underneath something?

No idea... I walked up, some ghost talked to me for a second, then prawn wouldn't move. I got in and out of it multiple times... pressed every key I can find on the keyboard... left the area (a bit) and came back....

It doesn't "look" stuck but it won't move other than spinning in circles. I don't have grapple or jumpjets... just drill, storage, and power equipped.

Reading online sounds like this is a known/common issue especially around alien bases. People talk about using console dev commands to try and fix it but in many cases it can completely destroy their game if things get even worse.

[Coops]

Yes, its a known issue. If you have the grappling arm you can pull yourself free.
Otherwise save and restart and you may be able to free it. If you do fall through the map, try restarting again and mash the E key as you appear in the game.

Also, there are 2 ion cubes in that base that do not need the drill arm to get. Find one and open a portal, go back and make a grappling arm and return. There are five portals. It will only take a few minutes if you pick one close to your base.

[MadBone12]

Common bug but easy to fix. Most of the time, the grappling arm does not work in getting me out of this situation. Shooting the suit with the stasis rifle can work but something that works for me 100% of the time is saving, going to the main menu and then reloading the game.

[MrGowdy]

Thanks for the suggestion(s) everyone... will likely try all of them as I'm quite far in the game and would like to finish...

[MrGowdy]

Ok, saving and reloading fixed it!

This is one of those situations where you go on the internet (WebMD) and read up on something and see worst case scenarios and overreact!

First thing I read on google said if you haven't saved recently, don't save or you'll brick your save cause you'll never get it unstuck.

[MadBone12]

Yes, saving during a bug is usually not a good idea which is why I was reluctant to try it when I saw that solution online but I was totally stuck so it was either abandon the game or give it a go. In this case, saving and reloading seems to always work.

[MrGowdy]

Worst... WORST case and massive fail decision for dev team was to only allow one save file...

As far as I can tell there aren't many reasons you'd want to roll back to an earlier save to "save-scum" anything but honestly only one save leaves you wide open to stuff like this.

Fortunately reloading resolved the issue for me (happened 3x after the initial one).... and I was able to finish the game...

I ended up rushing the rest of it out of fear of finding some other game breaking issue potentially

[admiral1018]

Glad this worked for you. As was mentioned, this was fixed in the experimental branch, so saving and switching to that version would also have fixed the issue (and improved your game's performance). The experimental branch is supposed to be rolled out as the new stable build in the near future, so hopefully you're one of the last people to experience this issue.

[admiral1018]

Originally posted by The Great Warper:

Originally posted by admiral1018:

Glad this worked for you. As was mentioned, this was fixed in the experimental branch, so saving and switching to that version would also have fixed the issue (and improved your game's performance). The experimental branch is supposed to be rolled out as the new stable build in the near future, so hopefully you're one of the last people to experience this issue.

However you cannot move saves from experimental to stable so you are stuck with whatever unstable updates they bring next.

There hasn't been an unstable update all year. The experimental build is nearly finished and is by far the best way to play the game at this point. Hopefully it gets pushed to the stable path pretty soon.

[Just Chill]

Originally posted by admiral1018:

Hopefully it gets pushed to the stable path pretty soon.

Can't wait for it either.

I wonder if they update the quick slot HUD similar to Below Zero where you clearly see a battery indicator.

And I personally like the Air Bladder in Below Zero. Far stronger effect, but limited as it can run out of oxygen and has to be refilled on the surface then (like breathing).


That thing saved Robin's live often.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2490465995
Just check out time stamp 1:45 and 3:02. ^^

[admiral1018]

BZ has a lot of QoL design improvements that were introduced to fix poor design choices in the original. I really hope some of those are back-ported to Subnautica.