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Playing Subnautica at the moment, and I'm finding it kind of slow to get going. I have upgraded my tanks to 135? capacity and most of the personal equipment ava

Playing Subnautica at the moment, and I'm finding it kind of slow to get going. I have upgraded my tanks to 135? capacity and most of the personal equipment available to me so far, haven't really started any base building (haven't figured out how to get that off the ground, didn't realize it was a thing until recently though), but the process seems very slow. Also grabbing things seems to require too much precision and proximity (at least on PS4), grabbing fish swimming away from your for food has been a chore so far. Also I feel like I'm spending too much time on basic survival maintenance right now, grabbing food and water resources over and over again. It gets better, right? I like some things about the game but I'm not really into it yet. I heard it compared to Outer Wilds a few times, and that's why I jumped into it, because Outer Wilds is a masterpiece, in my opinion, but I'm not seeing it right now. Of course part of what I liked so much about Outer Wilds was how strange everything was and piecing together the mystery of a story scattered across its solar system, and how you're basically collecting knowledge, not resources.

AnIdiotOnTheNet 6y ago
Outer Wilds is incredible, but the only part of Subnautica that I would say is really similar is the exploration and the "how do I get there?"-ness of it. I played Subnautica on PC with a mouse and keyboard and without the survival mechanics. But to the extent I've watched other players play with survival, it becomes much less of a factor. Base building helps because you can set up water purifiers, aquariums, and little farms. Things really take off once you get the Seamoth (your first sub). I would say that literally any FPS game is going to suffer from not playing with mouse and keyboard though, I don't know how people playing with controllers can stand them. How long have you been playing that you haven't yet built your first base? As I recall that becomes available pretty quickly as all the minimum necessary blueprints are pretty close.
- cableshaft 6y ago
  The ship in the distance had its first explosion recently. I was actually worried briefly I had to have something built by then for shelter from the blast/fallout, or have to make it to the ship and disable something, with how much it was warning me about it, but the explosion seemed to make no difference. I think I just haven't really started down the base-building path yet. I built a... purifier, I think, a small motorized thing, that's just currently floating outside my escape pod. I thought I built the pipes but I might not have yet, I don't have anything else unlocked. Would building the pipes unlock more things or do I need to hunt for something in the sea? I know I figured things out a little more slowly than the game expected me to. I kept thinking I was supposed to explore more at the beginning than it wanted me to. I actually almost killed myself trying to reach the ship and trying to find a non-radiated section to enter, since the game made it sound like I needed to explore it right away, and before that explosion happened (now I know I'll need at least a radiation suit). Now that I know that food and water becomes less of a hassle once I get that base started, I'm definitely going to push down that path, and I expect it will make things more enjoyable. Hunting the fish is one of my least favorite things so far. I play most FPS games with a controller, have since Halo (Counter-strike/Valorant are exceptions). I prefer playing these games while sitting on the couch. I played through all of Outer Wilds on the PS4 and had no issues, for example. Even the new Doom game with its twitchy gameplay is plenty fun on the consoles.
  - AnIdiotOnTheNet 6y ago
    The explosion of Aurora is not something you can prevent and you're right, the game does not really make that obvious. Many players, including myself, had some anxiety over that. It does change something though, and you'll see what if you go towards it. I think what you're describing is a floating air pump? I'm not aware of a water purifier that isn't base-interior equipment. You can use the pipes with the pump to give yourself access to air in deeper water, but my personal opinion is it isn't worth the effort. A large portion of the game is finding and scanning debris from the Aurora, which unlocks blueprints of new equipment. The scanner is your friend, use it a lot.
    - cableshaft 6y ago
      I played it more over the weekend. I've got a starter base and a Seamoth now. Definitely a lot more fun now (except the food/water management). Thanks for your help!

AnIdiotOnTheNet 6y ago

Outer Wilds is incredible, but the only part of Subnautica that I would say is really similar is the exploration and the "how do I get there?"-ness of it. I played Subnautica on PC with a mouse and keyboard and without the survival mechanics. But to the extent I've watched other players play with survival, it becomes much less of a factor. Base building helps because you can set up water purifiers, aquariums, and little farms. Things really take off once you get the Seamoth (your first sub). I would say that literally any FPS game is going to suffer from not playing with mouse and keyboard though, I don't know how people playing with controllers can stand them. How long have you been playing that you haven't yet built your first base? As I recall that becomes available pretty quickly as all the minimum necessary blueprints are pretty close.

cableshaft 6y ago
The ship in the distance had its first explosion recently. I was actually worried briefly I had to have something built by then for shelter from the blast/fallout, or have to make it to the ship and disable something, with how much it was warning me about it, but the explosion seemed to make no difference. I think I just haven't really started down the base-building path yet. I built a... purifier, I think, a small motorized thing, that's just currently floating outside my escape pod. I thought I built the pipes but I might not have yet, I don't have anything else unlocked. Would building the pipes unlock more things or do I need to hunt for something in the sea? I know I figured things out a little more slowly than the game expected me to. I kept thinking I was supposed to explore more at the beginning than it wanted me to. I actually almost killed myself trying to reach the ship and trying to find a non-radiated section to enter, since the game made it sound like I needed to explore it right away, and before that explosion happened (now I know I'll need at least a radiation suit). Now that I know that food and water becomes less of a hassle once I get that base started, I'm definitely going to push down that path, and I expect it will make things more enjoyable. Hunting the fish is one of my least favorite things so far. I play most FPS games with a controller, have since Halo (Counter-strike/Valorant are exceptions). I prefer playing these games while sitting on the couch. I played through all of Outer Wilds on the PS4 and had no issues, for example. Even the new Doom game with its twitchy gameplay is plenty fun on the consoles.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 6y ago
  The explosion of Aurora is not something you can prevent and you're right, the game does not really make that obvious. Many players, including myself, had some anxiety over that. It does change something though, and you'll see what if you go towards it. I think what you're describing is a floating air pump? I'm not aware of a water purifier that isn't base-interior equipment. You can use the pipes with the pump to give yourself access to air in deeper water, but my personal opinion is it isn't worth the effort. A large portion of the game is finding and scanning debris from the Aurora, which unlocks blueprints of new equipment. The scanner is your friend, use it a lot.
  - cableshaft 6y ago
    I played it more over the weekend. I've got a starter base and a Seamoth now. Definitely a lot more fun now (except the food/water management). Thanks for your help!