Underwater exploration

[JimmyPL56]

This obviously won't be relevant until the addition of the Spring season (long term roadmap), however the possibility of underwater exploration is exciting. 

This would add lots of new areas to explore in the current map and beyond. Some initial thoughts:

1. Scuba gear/wetsuits as a clothing option - would be heavy but necessary to fully explore and avoid hypothermia. Oxygen for the tanks would be rare and required to ration smartly.

2. New food/wildlife options - mussels/clams/oysters/lobsters, etc. Potential harmful animals like sharks/killer whales to avoid.

3. Exploration - underwater caves, shipwrecks, etc.

4. New weapon - harpoon

Possibilities are endless!!!

[Kaisentlaia]

I think you need to take a look at subnautica  

[Don Honas]

Nice idea, but it feels like it might make the game scope too wide.

The focus I believe is on survival aspects, and having a huge underwater world added does not feel so relevant in the theme.

But yeah try Subnautica if you are looking for a underwater survival themed game, it's more futuristic which might not be everyone's "cup of tea" but it has great reviews.

[Pillock]

I don't agree with including scuba gear or wet suits. But if we get to play Bear Island in summer, swimming is an obvious addition to complement it, especially in places like Mystery Lake.

Sharks and killer whales to avoid? I hope you're joking. 

[JimmyPL56]

2 hours ago, Pillock said:

I don't agree with including scuba gear or wet suits. But if we get to play Bear Island in summer, swimming is an obvious addition to complement it, especially in places like Mystery Lake.

Sharks and killer whales to avoid? I hope you're joking. 

Lol just brainstorming, didn't put much thought into the details....obviously the sharks wouldn't apply to the lakes, there are coastal waters currently in the game. The wetsuits/scuba gear would be a fun addition to the new clothing mechanic.

[stapeliad]

No way I don't enjoy hypothermia!

[Pillock]

12 minutes ago, JimmyPL56 said:

Lol just brainstorming, didn't put much thought into the details....obviously the sharks wouldn't apply to the lakes, there are coastal waters currently in the game. The wetsuits/scuba gear would be a fun addition to the new clothing mechanic.

Well, I'm not sure there are any species of sharks that would be likely to attack humans in that part of the world. And I don't think there are many - if any - cases of killer whales attacking people in the wild either. But even if there were, how would you avoid them? Is not like you would be able to get away from them if they did attack while you were swimming, and its not likely you'd survive the encounter either, so it wouldn't really work as a fun gameplay feature.

Scuba gear wouldn't be likely to be very common, or last long or be renewable, so I don't think that would be worth including. Wetsuits, maybe, but that wouldn't allow exploration of underwater caves, etc. by itself - just a warmth bonus while swimming, perhaps.

If they do introduce warmer seasons, and things like boats and swimming come into play, then diving in the shallows for shellfish and stuff sounds reasonable. But I'm not sure that extensive underwater environments are really sensible for this game. It'd be a pretty radical change of direction and scope. 

[Bjern]

Exploring underwater in arctic conditions seems like an unnecessary risk (and a huge risk at that). It's more difficult than you might think to find the surface again when you go underwater when the surface of the water is covered in ice. And of course there's hypothermia.

[LloydNoise]

Finally, someone with the same enthusiasm for a seafood update as me!  All the food that you talked about though can be retrieved when the tide goes out! Obviously with the crayfish you gotta set your traps, and you're going to have to scratch some rock pools, but if you know what you're doing, you won't even get your feet wet! I think an underwater part of this game is a bit unnecessary. A harpoon would be good if they added a morally questionable whaling update.

[Nyarlathotep]

2 hours ago, LloydNoise said:

A harpoon would be good if they added a morally questionable whaling update.

'The Riken' already has one ... Bring on the whales !

[PINGU]

Finding a dead whale washed up would be pretty cool...

Imagine though you'd have to fight or scare off 10 wolf-packs and a bear too get to it....