Story Complaints (Spoilers)

[WonderfulWafflez]

Alright so people are complaining that the story isn't as mysterious and that it just tells you where to go and what not. If this game was like subnautica then that wouldn't fit in with the lore. See the Aurora landed in the crater about 18 months prior to robin. You look around and then eventually you will find the quarantine enforcement platform. When the sunbeam comes down it gets blown up by it. Then skip ahead and you get off the planet and are found by alterra.

By that time alterra will see that the planet has (or at least had) alien life. Plus alterra wanted to study the kahraa bacterium. And so alterra sends in research teams in multiple "sectors" of the planet to find alien life and traces of the kahraa. And so they did in sector 0 and research sites were set up and the finding of the frozen leviathan. So then you (robin) lands on the planet and find the research bases empty and abandoned, we know that because of Sam being crazy and blowing everything up.

Now that just summarizes that. Basically subnautica set up this story line because it shows in the end that Riley was found by alterra therefore they will easily find about the planet. So of course the public would too find out about the planet and know a good amount of sector 0. Plus all the research base's pda's can direct you to places and what not which makes sense. By now I'm just talking too much but i feel that the story makes sense perfectly and is awesome.

[The Big Brzezinski]

Why doesn't Robin like Alterra?

[WonderfulWafflez]

Originally posted by The Big Brzezinski:

Why doesn't Robin like Alterra?

Alterra is kinda is a shifty corporation (trans gov). They are very greedy not the nicest of trans govs. But they are the most powerful therefore sam tried to make it better on the inside. That's why she joined. But Alterra were being idiots again and making a bacteria that wiped out an entire highly advanced alien civilization even stronger. This then indefinitley led to her demise.

[AuldWolf]

I was going to respond to why Robin dislikes Alterra but Wafflez beat me to it and did a great job of explaining it. It has a lot to do with mutualism vs. parasitism, basically.

Okay, look at our world—humanity is divided into three groups, the apex parasites, the zombie-like status quo that believes in nonsense like the just-world fallacy, and the leftovers that don't really fit into either of the prior two groups. Those who're othered are in a permanent state of such, ever the outsiders who wouldn't fall into the sttaus quo. The more interesting characters of fiction are these outsiders.

Capitalism is inherently parasitic because it's centred around consumption. It's just greed, eating and eating and eating the world, it doesn't matter how much that harms it for others. It doesn't matter that we're in our closing decades. Why bother thinking about how many actual existential threats we face when these vile apex parasites can weave delusions for us to live in? Hooray! Everything is awesome!

Robin clearly has feelings about this and that's why she was with Xenoworx. She's tired of Alterra just consuming everything. Just like it consumed her sister. That's what capitalism does—it consumes, on every level. The systems of capitalism exist to benefit parasitism.

Now, this doesn't mean that every case of a product for a fair price is corrupt but wherever a corporation exists, you're going to have the ongoing corruption of consumption. And the status quo will just go along with that like mindless hordes of zombies because... I don't know, really. I guess the apex parasites are good at getting their happy brain juices pumping, hijacking their reward systems. I don't know. It's fairly observable though that this is the case.

I mean, we wouldn't have billionaires otherwise.

Anyone on the outside of this sees the problems with capitalism and how it will consume our world. You don't have to be especially smart to do so, you just need to not be ensorcelled by a web of delusions. Mutualism is much more intelligent as it protects and preserves life. That's why the worlds of this Universe where life will survive are those that evolve mutualism. The rest will just devour themselves into non-existence. Look up The Great Filter.

Robin doesn't seem to be ensorcelled by the delusions that allow one to see capitalism as something worthwhile. So, as Wafflez points out, she sees Alterra as this corrupt, all-consuming thing. Just a big parasite. A powerful parasite, but a parasite nonetheless.

This paragraph has spoilers, so caveat lector! Anyway, that's why Alterra wants to turn the kharaa bacterium into a bioweapon, it's a means of leverage so they can take over the other transgovs and force their consumption upon them. All a parasite cares about is consumption. They'll consume their host into non-existence. In this case, it's a little more abstract as the "host" is all other life.

As for Subnautica having a story? No. It had worldbuilding. A few voiced lines of dialogue sparsely scattered around does not a story make. I wouldn't even be generous enough to call it a poem. Yes, Subnautica had pretty great worldbuilding, but it had no story. I think anyone that believes differently ought to read a book. Jill Murray is a talented author and she's done great work for Below Zero.

[The Big Brzezinski]

Originally posted by WonderfulWafflez:

Originally posted by The Big Brzezinski:

Why doesn't Robin like Alterra?

Alterra is kinda is a shifty corporation (trans gov). They are very greedy not the nicest of trans govs. But they are the most powerful therefore sam tried to make it better on the inside. That's why she joined. But Alterra were being idiots again and making a bacteria that wiped out an entire highly advanced alien civilization even stronger. This then indefinitley led to her demise.

I mean personally. What did Alterra do in the first place to make Robin not like them? She didn't like them before Sam even started working for them. I have not come across anything in the game that explains this bit of Robin's history. Without this explanation, I can't accept her views or sympathize with her.

In what way exactly has Alterra been presented that suggests they have nefarious methods or intentions? The captain and officers Alterra entrusted the Aurora thought only of saving her crew when she was shot down. None of those crew members seemed particularly evil. BZ hasn't offered any compelling examples of Aterran perfidy, either. Emmanuel Desjardins is a bit odd, but I've had worse bosses. Parvan Ivanov and Alexis Riedell are presented as reasonable, trustworthy members of Alterra law enforcement. You can't have an evil company made up of decent people. And since all we've been shown in both these games is decent people, that's all whom we can assume generally works for Alterra. Sure, they're no angels, they're out to make a profit, and they need oversight same as the rest of us. But they're not Captain Planet villains.

Are we to believe that doing research on disease-causing bacteria is inherently evil? My father is diabetic and takes insulin. The medicine he depends on is produced from genetically-modified E. coli bacteria. The idea that the research that made this kind of miracle possible was somehow morally repugnant is laughable. That's not even getting into when Robin reassured Al-An she has been vaccinated against kharaa.

I'm totally on board for a story where something goes wrong, and Alterra's plans for 4546B go very badly. I'd love to read some stories about Alterra's checkered past of reckless greed. I'd settle for for a quick PDA write up from Robin's diary about how Alterra built a sludge processing plant in a forest she use to love as a child. Because I simply don't know enough about Robin's motivations, neither can I understand what she's thinking or feeling. As it is, she comes off as a judgmental, hotheaded, immature, antisocial jerk who would rather spend her time alone in an alien wilderness with nothing but a knife, her lucky PDA, and some rope than work under a manager or regulations.

I'm not saying it's a bad plot that needs to be changed. That's stupid. I'm saying the plot is missing important structural members, causing parts of the story to collapse in on themselves.

[Andreas]

Originally posted by WonderfulWafflez:

but i feel that the story makes sense perfectly and is awesome.

?

You didn't even talk about what's actually happening in BZ ...

[Andreas]

Originally posted by The Big Brzezinski:

I'm not saying it's a bad plot that needs to be changed. That's stupid.

Really? Well, OK. So I risk being seen as stupid and say it: The plot is bad and should have been changed. (It's obviously much too late now.)

[SirProsik]

The original story went unfinished and the current story is the way it is because they are trying to salvage as much as they can from the original material. PDA voice aside I think they are doing ok for salvaging a video game. Their ideology is a bit too leftist for me but I can still enjoy the game despite that. When we get the complete story perhaps it will make more sense.

[WonderfulWafflez]

Originally posted by Andreas:

Originally posted by WonderfulWafflez:

but i feel that the story makes sense perfectly and is awesome.

?

You didn't even talk about what's actually happening in BZ ...

Mainly because the events in subnautica were the main factors to how the story is in BZ.

[mknelson]

Earlier versions* of the story and bits from the Original Game explain the corporate horrors of Alterra.

*The radio calls with Sam and the company director. PDA entries explaining why your emergency supplies are so limited (cheap-ass company) , etc. The huge bill at the end of the OG…

[The Big Brzezinski]

That version of BZ is gone. I never played it, myself. I only have the game in front of me.

The "bill" at the end was a gag. You're meant to laugh at it, not dissect it.

[WonderfulWafflez]

Originally posted by The Big Brzezinski:

That version of BZ is gone. I never played it, myself. I only have the game in front of me.

The "bill" at the end was a gag. You're meant to laugh at it, not dissect it.

Idk technically the bill is realistic since Riley did illegally use the resources of a planet under trans gov territory. Though it also shows how corrupt alterra is.

[The Big Brzezinski]

Again, there is no corroborating evidence of Alterra's corruption. You know how litigious this society is. First person Ryley talked to when he got back was most likely a lawyer. I imagine the bill existed only to help soften the cash settlement Alterra had to pay out for his pain and mental anguish. Either that, or it was a gag.

If Alterra didn't think bills like that would earn them anything, they wouldn't put them into their employment contracts. The captain of the Aurora saved the ship at the cost of his own life because he believed the survivors would need it to communicate with and receive help from Alterra HQ. He was right. Alterra could have made Ryley wait for them to send more ships to investigate. Instead, they sent him plans for a rocket that would cut a very large chunk of time from trip home. This rocket was designed to use only materials Ryley could find on 4546B. Engineering expertise like that does not come cheap.

[WonderfulWafflez]

Originally posted by The Big Brzezinski:

Again, there is no corroborating evidence of Alterra's corruption. You know how litigious this society is. First person Ryley talked to when he got back was most likely a lawyer. I imagine the bill existed only to help soften the cash settlement Alterra had to pay out for his pain and mental anguish. Either that, or it was a gag.

If Alterra didn't think bills like that would earn them anything, they wouldn't put them into their employment contracts. The captain of the Aurora saved the ship at the cost of his own life because he believed the survivors would need it to communicate with and receive help from Alterra HQ. He was right. Alterra could have made Ryley wait for them to send more ships to investigate. Instead, they sent him plans for a rocket that would cut a very large chunk of time from trip home. This rocket was designed to use only materials Ryley could find on 4546B. Engineering expertise like that does not come cheap.

Also the pda logs in BZ do talk about issues within alterra. Though the bill was because he illegally used resources, even though it isn't fair since he was trying to survives laws are still laws.

[The Big Brzezinski]

"Remember that materials you gather are the property of the Alterra corporation.
You will be liable to reimburse the full market price. Your current bill stands at 3 million credits."

I don't see anything in that quote about illegality. Alterra was effectively selling him materials on credit. I don't know the exchange rate of three million credits in any real currency. Alternatively, this is a very funny quip.

PDA logs in BZ don't talk about issues with Alterra. Sam and Robin say they have issues with Alterra, but never expound upon them. The rest of the staff were just doing their jobs and trying to solve problems.

If you just want to hate on Alterra for being a large company, go for it. You don't have to justify your opinion to anyone by twisting every little detail into a crime against humanity. But it's the writers' responsibility to vilify Alterra if that's the creative decision they make. We shouldn't have to do it for them.

[WonderfulWafflez]

Originally posted by The Big Brzezinski:

"Remember that materials you gather are the property of the Alterra corporation.
You will be liable to reimburse the full market price. Your current bill stands at 3 million credits."

I don't see anything in that quote about illegality. Alterra was effectively selling him materials on credit. I don't know the exchange rate of three million credits in any real currency. Alternatively, this is a very funny quip.

PDA logs in BZ don't talk about issues with Alterra. Sam and Robin say they have issues with Alterra, but never expound upon them. The rest of the staff were just doing their jobs and trying to solve problems.

If you just want to hate on Alterra for being a large company, go for it. You don't have to justify your opinion to anyone by twisting every little detail into a crime against humanity. But it's the writers' responsibility to vilify Alterra if that's the creative decision they make. We shouldn't have to do it for them.

1. I didn't realise that you are correct about the logs and stuff.

2. Just my fandom that i wanted to share with you guys that's all.