Subnautica devs be all like “Oh! I can’t help but notice you there, enjoying those [i]two perfectly good submarines[/i] we gave you!” “Oh yes,” you say “these [i]two perfectly good submarines[/i] are very nice and I like them very much!” “Then you’re going to love this! We shall take away both of your [i]two perfectly good submarines[/i] and replace them with [i]one mediocre submarine[/i] instead!”

Devs are meanies. Why did they take your submarines?

The phrasing of that previous reply keeps making me think of the managers in [url=https://www.webtoons.com/en/canvas/i-was-born-to-work-retail/list?title_no=865705]I Was Born to Work Retail[/url], particularly episode 10. I Was Born to Work Retail is a good comic. (minor adult content warning—mostly just harsh language, iirc)

I’ll try and check it out before I leave. [spoiler]Army training for 6 months if you were wondering[/spoiler]

I can only speculate, of course, but it's probably one of two things: A. The Cyclops was a bit clunkier and harder to control, and I could see that resulting in some [i]LOSERS[/i] not liking it that much. The Seatruck could be a response to such complaints, as it is technically easier to control. B. The first Subnautica has 3 vehicles; the Seamoth, Cyclops, and Prawn Suit. It's possible that Below Zero also wanted to make sure it only had 3 vehicles, and since they were adding the totally-not-useless Snowfox, they could have rolled the Seamoth and Cyclops into one to compensate. If this is the case, then boy, sure is a great thing the Snowfox isn't useless, eh?

good thing it isn't useless. thatwould have been bad

I know right? Imagine if it was totally outclassed by the much easier to obtain Prawn Suit in every regard! Sweet baby corn, wouldn’t that have been dumb?

I haven’t played Subnautica, but most of the time, when foxes are mentioned, I am interested. Do tell, what is the Snowfox?

The Subnautica games are pretty fun; I’d highly recommend. For me, they’re incredibly chill; driving around in my submarine gather materials and exploring the ocean is really relaxing. But, like, I’m in the minority here, because a lot of people consider the games to be absolutely terrifying. Like, I’ve seen horror fans say they couodn’t finish the game ‘cause they were just so scared. In any case, the Snowfox is a hover bike, used for exploring the surface. Theoretically, there’s nothing wrong with the Snowfox itself, but the problem is it’s competition; the Prawn Suit. Explanation below; [spoiler]The Snowfox can only be obtained by first exploring the above ground snow valley, but whenever you’re out of water in Below Zero your temperature is decreasing, and the only way to weather the snow is via a blueprint you find in the same snowy valley. Or in other words, nobody in their right mind will be exploring the snowy valley without the Prawn Suit anyway; a vehicle that keeps you totally warm, as well as protecting you from physical harm. The Prawn Suit can be obtained underwater, which is much kore feasible to explore, as you’ll have your submarine, the Seatruck. The Prawn Suit: -Can be used both on land, and underwater -Can pick up objects without leaving the exosuit -Is incredibly durable, protecting the pilot -Keeps you toasty & warm -Can easily fend off most predators The Snowfox: -Can only be used on land. -Requires you to get out to pick up objects -Provides almost no physical protection -Does not keep you warm -Has no weapons to deal with predators The only advantage the Snowfox does have is it’s fast. But, like, I’d rather be safe, warm, and well defended than fast.[/spoiler] Edit: This is also all on top of the fact that there’s not even that much land content to begin with. Something like 90% of the game is underwater.

Dang, cool. So the Snowfox is something you use only if you feel like it, that’s what I’m hearing. I think Subnautica may be on Xbox Game Pass, but I could be wrong. If it is, there’s not really a reason for me to not try it. I have played No Man’s Sky, as far as gameplay, would you say it’s kind of like that? With the whole exploring and getting a bunch of materials and all that. Edit: Ok, so they removed it from Game Pass

I must first correct myself, as I have made an error; apparently the Snowfox does keep you warm, which is nice. Still doesn't keep you safe, though. I had actually gone the entire game without making one, and only made it literally right at the end for the achievement. It's crafting recipe also requires Magnetite, which is one of the rarest materials in the game (which is funny as it was quite common in the first game), so, like, yeah, there's no reason you'd have a Snowfox before a Prawn Suit, which really makes it totally useless. The only application I could really see is for speedrunners, because as previously mentioned it is faster than the Prawn Suit, but other than that it really is very meh. In any case, I haven't played No Man's Sky, but here's a description of how Subnautica plays, and you can decide if you want to play it or not. In both games you're pretty much immediately thrown into the ocean. You're given a little pod that acts as home base, which includes a fabrication station (basically a crafting bench), and in the first game it also provides you with periodic health kits. Early game, there are three resources you have to manage; hunger, thirst, and oxygen. Hunger and thirst decrease over time, and you have to eat food and drink water to replenish them. Both food and water can be obtained by catching fish, and then crafting them at the respective crafting station. Most any fish will work for crafting food, but water specifically requires a fish called the Bladderfish. To catch these fish, you basically just swim after them and push the pick up button, though other methods for acquiring fish and water become available later on. Early on, you acquire a Scanner, which you can use to scan discarded pieces of tech in order to be able to recreate it. This is how you acquire new crafting recipes. Early in the game, you're pretty limited as to where you can go; you can't go too deep or you'll drown, and your swimming speed is much too low to get anywhere by swimming. As you progress you'll steadily acquire new means of transportation; from better O2 tanks letting you dive deeper, to the Seaglide that drastically increases your swimming speed, to eventually acquiring submarines and their upgrades. While there are enemies in the game--namely in the form of predators--you generally have very little to fight back with. As a result, there's very little combat in the game. There are tools to help you fend off enemies, but generally speaking you won't be able to kill them, so you're usually doing your best ot avoid them, or in the case you get caught, trying to get away. The first Subnautica has a bunch of scattered debris from the ship you crash landed in, the Aurora, and so obtaining new recipes usually involves scouting around for this debris, scanning Fragments, or diving into pieces of the Aurora which sort of act like mini dungeons. In the second game, you tend to receive objective markers that point you to interesting locations, which is usually where you find new blueprints. The general gameplay loop goes something like this: You set a goal, usually gather materials or exploring a new area, then you hop in your submarine and head to a location. Once there, you leave your submarine, and swim around manually as you gather materials, or explore a wreck, etc.. Once you're done, you get back in the sub, and head back to base to construct the new recipe. It is worth noting there's actually a base building mechanic, so if you want to you can make bases all over the place, but I personally just make a base in the starting location, and that's my only one. Once you get further into the game, oxygen becomes kind of a non-issue, and is instead replaced with the resource of managing your power. Vehicles run on power cells, and need to be recharged back at your base, which has its own power rating. While bases can indeed be built almost anywhere, you also need to make sure you're able to provide that base with the power it needs to function, or it will be basically useless. If you're close to the surface, you can use solar energy, but if you're deep underwater, you'll need other energy sources. As I mentioned, I find the game totally chill. I like hopping in my sub, and heading off to find resources at the far ends of the ocean, and the game is super easy. None of the threats are all that threatening imo. But it is worth noting the game does try to scare you. It doesn't work on me, but it does work on a lot of people, and a not-insignificant portion of its fanbase consider it a horror game, and for some reason I know some people consider the game to be brutally difficult. I can't relate to either of those things, but *shrug*. In the first Subnautica, you're basically working down. Your general goal is to go deeper and deeper underwater, to uncover the mystery located in the deepest depths. In the second game, while you do still need to go pretty deep down to find some of the thingies you're looking for, it's much less of a focus. There are just as many objectives at only middling depths, or even above the ocean, as there are deep underground. The second game also basically tells the same story as the first game, but tells it to you flat out, while the first one is much more about environmental storytelling and whatnot. Between the two, the first one is definitely better, I think, but the second one is pretty good, too.

It does sound similar to No Man’s Sky gameplay-wise, and they both seem to have the story-telling philosphy of “If you want story, pursue it. If not, here’s all this other content that is equally as exciting.” I will have to check it out sometime. If I get Below Zero, I’s probably end up crafting a Snowfox because (1) even though it has nothing to do with foxes besides it’s name, foxes are my favorite animal and it sounds cool and (2) it “go brr”.

Our conversation actually made me a bit curious, so I gave the Snowfox a second chance; building it in an area where it could actually do something, and then took it for a spin. And yeah, no, it's genuinely terrible. :p There are only two areas where you can really use it; the Excavation Site, and the Worm Fields. The Excavation Sight is the tamer of the two, and it could maybe find some use here. It does have its one and only advantage over the Prawn Suit here, being that you can pick it up and carry it with you, which lets you take it over a ladder that the Prawn Suit can't cross. There is an underwater tunnel the Prawn Suit can use to access the same area, but it's kind of a pain, so the Snowfox *could* come in handy for that. It's 100% useless in the Worm Fields, though. I was expecting the faster speed to let you dodge the snow worms more easily than the Prawn Suit did, but for some reason it was actually [i]worse[/i] at dodging the worms, and any time one of them hit you, you were forced to dismount. I honestly genuinely don't understand why the Snowfox exists. There are only two areas where you can take it, and it's totally unviable in one of them. Theoretically its use in the Excavation Site could make it worth it, except there's not actually a huge reason to visit the Excavation Site. Like, outside of the one time you need to visit for story stuffs, there's only one real piece of loot there... That being the Snowfox. Meaning, once you have the Snowfox, you've kinda already got your only reason for being in the area in the first place. >.>

Dang, that’s unfortunate. Me being me though, I’d still probably try and use it because I seem to always latch on to the worst possible thing in any video game that I play. I only used the Desert Eagle in CS:GO (before it CS2) for a long time. Edit: That was before I started playing Comp, thank goodness.