The Creatures In BZ Are A Wasted Opportunity

[frog]

When i first heard that the game was going to be set in the arctic i was struck with all the possible concepts and ideas for creatures in the game, how their adaptions to the cold waters would be put forwards and how their behaviours would be presented in the game.

But what i got was not that, i got sharks but with random features strapped onto them.
There are very few creatures in BZ when compared to SN, and they are all just sharks, uncreative, quickly built creatures cobbled together with no care for how such a creature would function in the ecosystem of the arctic nor any care for those features which made the creatures of the original SN so memorable.

SN's ecosystem felt somewhat plausible with creatures being adapted to combat each other via the arms race that is evolution, an example of such a situation being the Crabsquid and Ampeel, creatures in SN had character, they had effort and thought put into them, they would act like creatures.

Here is an example of a minor creature with more complex behaviour than some of the hostile creatures of this game. The Bleeder, a small parasitic liferform which would attack in groups, they are also attracted to blood, so if you kill one then you will attract more of them, it would kill other creatures and continue sucking their blood even after they were dead to suck out any remaining blood, they would also try to attach to the seamoth at times before being knocked off and killed due to blunt force.

oh and yeah the void shark shrimp that exists, totally makes up for the beast and majestic giant that was the ghost leviathan.

There was so much potential, so many parts of this game just make it seem as if it was stiched together and a 30$ tag was slapped onto it.

i dont wannna be completely negative when it comes to BZ, but its hard for me to be super positive about BZ and i cant just ignore the flaws present in this game because, im not gonna lie to try and make the game seem better and try to convince myself that its not a dissapointment when compared to the original, i love subnautica and i miss what it used to be.

[Just Chill]

Originally posted by Frog Dude:

oh and yeah the void shark shrimp that exists, totally makes up for the beast and majestic giant that was the ghost leviathan.

I am a bit confused about this.
Is this sarcastic?
As making up for something is normally meant that the other thing is bad.

Initially I would have said that the Ghost is better.
It's haunting, transparent and glowing.
But after all it rather has just a big mouth that looks like it would eat Plankton (well the 4546B equivalent of Plankton) instead of hunting bigger creatures.

The Chelie's initially were either just big shrimps for me.
Yet their moving mouth pieces are really terrifying and intimidating.
Especially they remind me about some terrifying real-life creatures:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/848450/discussions/0/5081733371342429329/#c5081733371342634301

Even though not as deadily, being bitten by such a jaw would definitely hurt a lot. :O

[frog]

Originally posted by Just Chill:

Originally posted by Frog Dude:

oh and yeah the void shark shrimp that exists, totally makes up for the beast and majestic giant that was the ghost leviathan.

I am a bit confused about this.
Is this sarcastic?
As making up for something is normally meant that the other thing is bad.

Initially I would have said that the Ghost is better.
It's haunting, transparent and glowing.
But after all it rather has just a big mouth that looks like it would eat Plankton (well the 4546B equivalent of Plankton) instead of hunting bigger creatures.

The Chelie's initially were either just big shrimps for me.
Yet their moving mouth pieces are really terrifying and intimidating.
Especially they remind me about some terrifying real-life creatures:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/848450/discussions/0/5081733371342429329/#c5081733371342634301

Even though not as deadily, being bitten by such a jaw would definitely hurt a lot. :O

its is intended as sarcasm i apologise if i was a little unclear on that point, i personally just find them goofy but i understand that you have a different opinion and i respect that.

[Just Chill]

Originally posted by Frog Dude:

i personally just find them goofy but i understand that you have a different opinion and i respect that.

Can't argue. When they go for prey and move their big mouth pieces like a "mhhhm, treats treats yummy yummy".
But as these always remind me of Camel Spiders when I started to think about, I feel intimidated. XD

But the goofiest creature is still the Cryptosuchus.
They totally freak out if prey is near. ^^


However, I still think the Void Cheli looks far more dangerous, even though goofy.
As the Ghost only has a big mouth without any teeth.

Sure, a whale can kill you if you swim in its mouth regardless of just eating plankton.
Bad accident, as you are definitely not on the menu of a whale (Sperm whale maybe? These are killers, Ahab knows best XD).
So while I respect the Ghosts for being there and try to pull you back into place or kill you, I don't see them feeding on Ryley.

While the Chelie's surely look like they would want a bite of some Robin. oO

[Coops]

You have never had brinewing shoot ice at you and been frozen solid and had to wait to thaw?
Never been captured by a spikey trap?
Encountered a lily paddler or a seamonkey?
Got air from a titan holefish, then attacked by a symbiote defender?
Entered a ventgarden?

There are plenty of new and unique creatures that are arctic specific.

[Just Chill]

Originally posted by Coops:

You have never had brinewing shoot ice at you and been frozen solid and had to wait to thaw?

Wait to thaw? I rather like to break free by smashing the mouse buttons. ^^


But yeah you are surely right, there are plenty of unique creatures aside of the Void Cheli. I just didn't want to argue with the OP on his / her opinion. ;)

[JayXL]

Originally posted by Coops:

You have never had brinewing shoot ice at you and been frozen solid and had to wait to thaw?
Never been captured by a spikey trap?
Encountered a lily paddler or a seamonkey?
Got air from a titan holefish, then attacked by a symbiote defender?
Entered a ventgarden?

There are plenty of new and unique creatures that are arctic specific.

Ventgardens are one of the most creative and awe inspiring creatures in BZ. I was blown away when I encountered one for the first time.

[wilky]

Originally posted by Coops:

You have never had brinewing shoot ice at you and been frozen solid and had to wait to thaw?
Never been captured by a spikey trap?
Encountered a lily paddler or a seamonkey?
Got air from a titan holefish, then attacked by a symbiote defender?
Entered a ventgarden?

There are plenty of new and unique creatures that are arctic specific.

This is a good post. I think for some reason people are too focused on the negative/shortcomings to appreciate the positives about BZ. I definitely had a Lily Paddler death on my playthrough... didn't know what happened and of course it caught me as I was swimming back to my Seatruck for air. The next time he tried to get me, though, I just swam straight up to the surface.

What biome were the brinewings in, though? I definitely did not experience that one.

[admiral1018]

I kind of wished the creative team of this game had watched a few documentaries on actual deep arctic life on this planet, because they're some of the most incredible and alien-like creatures on Earth. None of the fauna in this game really feels alien. In fact, it feels less exotic than life we have on our planet now.

I thought the original Subnautica could have done a better job with this too, and that was one area I was hoping Below Zero would improve upon. Since the map was only 1/6 the size, the engine and mechanics already developed, and the horror elements were getting stripped, I was hoping that extra time would go into more interesting creatures and better interactivity with the environment. Instead, like the OP said, it's mostly sharks and creatures that look basically like terrestrial ones with extra horns or eyes. It was another failed opportunity.

However, beyond just the design, the interactivity was a huge disappointment as well. Think of all the actions from the original. Ampeels would generally ignore you but shock you if you got close. Sandsharks would hide under the sand to ambush you. Stalkers could be pacified with metal salvage and could even drop teeth. Crabsquids were photosensitive and had an EMP blast that disabled vehicles. Crashfish exploded when you went near their nests. Lava larvae latched onto your vehicles and drained power. Warpers teleported you out of your vehicles. The game was constantly challenging you with different fauna actions that you needed to learn and adapt to.

Below Zero? Well, we have the Sea Monkeys, which steal your items or bring you ore. That's new. The Pengwings will attack you if you take their young. Yeah, that's new also. Lily Padders? Basically just Mesmers 2.0. But what about the hostile fauna, the creatures that you run into frequently? Brute Shark bites you. Cryptosuchus bites you. Squidshark bites you. Chelicerate bites you. Shadow Leviathan bites you. Snow Stalker bites you. Spikey Trap bites you BUT it grabs you first, so maybe that's "creativity." Although the leeches in the original already did that too. Basically everything just bites you in Below Zero. There isn't much in the way of creative adaptation that you need to learn. The main lesson is just stay away from things that will bite you.

It's just disappointing. With all the extra dev time, I really thought world interactivity and fauna expressions would have been logical areas to improve the game, but Below Zero goes backwards.

[wilky]

Was it just me, or are the Shadow Leviathans way more aggressive in BZ than, I guess, the comparable Ghost Leviathans in the original?

I seem to remember playing the entirety of Subnautica and never getting attacked by a Ghost Leviathan once... like maybe the Lost River was just way larger and I was always able to give them wide berth. (This is with the damn Cyclops, mind you.) But the damn Shadow Leviathans in BZ always seem to appear out of nowhere, and their caves seemed much tighter than the Lost River in SN. I pretty much just ended up piloting straight through them in BZ, and when they bit onto my Seatruck then I just fired the Perimeter Defense module and kept trucking. I was usually only sustaining 1% damage to the Seatruck, not even worth repairing.

[admiral1018]

They're more aggressive because the cave is so small that you will always be within their agro radius. You actually had enough room in the Lost River to navigate around the Ghost Leviathans if you tried to.

Also, you can take zero damage without the PDS if you have at least one module. Getting up and walking around inside your SeaTruck will immediately make it invincible to damage. I think this is because Below Zero treats a SeaTruck with modules as a "base." Just hit the eject button a split second before you are attacked. This is kind of the equivalent of shutting off the Cyclops engine from the first. A 100% reliable way to completely negate the threat.

[Just Chill]

Originally posted by admiral1018:

A 100% reliable way to completely negate the threat.

You're a source of wisdom as always.
I always try to outrun the Shadow even in the truck with modules. XD

Thanks, this will make building bases down there much easier. :)

[Pisaro]

Originally posted by JayXL:

Originally posted by Coops:

You have never had brinewing shoot ice at you and been frozen solid and had to wait to thaw?
Never been captured by a spikey trap?
Encountered a lily paddler or a seamonkey?
Got air from a titan holefish, then attacked by a symbiote defender?
Entered a ventgarden?

There are plenty of new and unique creatures that are arctic specific.

Ventgardens are one of the most creative and awe inspiring creatures in BZ. I was blown away when I encountered one for the first time.

Yeah, a creature that cant Move. Nice. But yeah, it looks cool.

[Just Chill]

They can move when they are juvenile.
Not sure how many from them actually reach adulthood as ingame there are only 2 adults.

[theoryofawesome]

Originally posted by admiral1018:

However, beyond just the design, the interactivity was a huge disappointment as well. Think of all the actions from the original. Ampeels would generally ignore you but shock you if you got close. Sandsharks would hide under the sand to ambush you. Stalkers could be pacified with metal salvage and could even drop teeth. Crabsquids were photosensitive and had an EMP blast that disabled vehicles. Crashfish exploded when you went near their nests..

have you seen the creature behavior in BZ? squidsharks are typically passive, but they sometimes shock your vehicle or attack you if you appear right there, but they will actually be chill with you after a while. crashfish are still in subnautica. brinewings literally shoot ice at you and freeze you, titan holefish give you air but have a little creature inside of them that protects them at all costs and could jump out at you. sea monkeys give you things, penglings react when you steal their children, spike traps pull you in. you can feed snow stalkers to get them to stop attacking you, and you can light flares to scare them away. cryptosuchus act all tough but they run away when in danger. chelicerates, while looking scary, will leave you alone after realizing you're not worth their time to eat. rock punchers will jump at you, only if you get close enough to their food. shadow leviathans dont even bite you, they grab you and spit acid on you to do damage, and then they absorb you into their stomach

every creature in bz has a unique interaction and i feel like you just need to play the game more. the only creature that really just bites you unconditionally is brute sharks

also people will complain about perimeter defense system but the cyclops (which i never got in 70 hours of the first game and gave up bc you needed it to build the rocket) was practically invincible and the stasis rifle is broken as ♥♥♥♥ so it balances out imo