Aquatic creatures?

[Trex_Crazy]

Here be spoilers, turn back now.

 

Now I am sure more hostile fish are on the way at some point, but the "creatures" I am referencing would be on the "eldritch abomination" side of things. It is my understanding, so far, that the unnatural enemies are former humans (dont tell me if I am wrong, or if I'm right). And that would provide some difficulty in making them aquatic, however considering the mangled and altered state of shivers, bowtorn, and double headed drifters etc. I think a lot of alterations could be easily justified. (And there are other, presumably, non previous human creatures since you have greg (the giant giraffe looking monster in the distance during temporal storms, thats just what I call it) Though that also looks mechanical(?))

The question of what exactly it would be I don't know. But it would be interesting to have a threat crossing oceans (especially during high temporal rift activity), rather than nothing since the enemies can't swim very fast. Personally I'd love some sort of giant sea monster but considering the current stage of development something smaller and less mechanically involved would be a better option.

[Rainbow Fresh]

His name... is DAVE!

That aside, here is a consideration. I have learned just enough about the lore so far that concluding the current monsters being rotted/rusted? humans makes sense. That said, locusts are clearly man-made robots that also have gone rogue, and what the hell are bells supposed to be then? My point is - who says humans are the only thing affected? (If the lore DOES cover this already, let my find it out myself). You mentioned shivers and bowtorns being badly mangled and forced in unnatural shapes from their former selves. Well, what if e.g. fish would be affected the same way? Then you could have your horrific sea monsters. And even more terrifiying bears.

[Trex_Crazy]

1 hour ago, Rainbow Fresh said:

His name... is DAVE!

That aside, here is a consideration. I have learned just enough about the lore so far that concluding the current monsters being rotted/rusted? humans makes sense. That said, locusts are clearly man-made robots that also have gone rogue, and what the hell are bells supposed to be then? My point is - who says humans are the only thing affected? (If the lore DOES cover this already, let my find it out myself). You mentioned shivers and bowtorns being badly mangled and forced in unnatural shapes from their former selves. Well, what if e.g. fish would be affected the same way? Then you could have your horrific sea monsters. And even more terrifiying bears.

No, no thank you. The bears are terrifying enough. lol

Also my bad I didn't know he was dave.

[williams_482]

3 hours ago, Rainbow Fresh said:

what the hell are bells supposed to be then? My point is - who says humans are the only thing affected? (If the lore DOES cover this already, let my find it out myself).

The origins of bells are strongly hinted at in one of the story locations. 

[LadyWYT]

Diving bell.

7 hours ago, Trex_Crazy said:

The question of what exactly it would be I don't know. But it would be interesting to have a threat crossing oceans (especially during high temporal rift activity), rather than nothing since the enemies can't swim very fast. Personally I'd love some sort of giant sea monster but considering the current stage of development something smaller and less mechanically involved would be a better option.

I don't think we need a giant sea monster, since it's not really a nautical game and I think sailing should be a somewhat peaceful experience(also saves the trouble of trying to account for naval combat). But some smaller monsters would absolutely be appropriate. They could be found near shipwrecks or submerged ruins, providing both a challenge and an indication that there's treasure to be had. They could also be located in the deep sea, since monsters seem to get spookier the deeper one delves, but this also requires some sort of diving equipment so the player can actually go that deep.

On the case of deep monsters, I've sometimes thought it would be cool to have some kind of "lurker"; basically a small fish-like machine with flashlights for eyes that is attracted to players and watches from a short distance--just enough for it to be not quite clear what they are. They don't swim fast, they don't have a lot of health, and they don't do any damage, so they're harmless by themselves. However, there's never just one, and once the player has enough lurkers watching them then they discover the true purpose of the creatures--a guiding system for a much larger, hostile monster that lives in the area. The general idea is for the player to leave the area before too many lurkers show up and summon the big monster; fighting the big monster is a risky prospect(but could drop a trophy or some nice loot). Killing the lurkers could buy the player some extra time in the area before the big monster appears, but killing them too quickly will result in the monster showing up faster.

Of course, for the water's surface, there's always a literal ghost ship option. Imagine some kind of ancient-looking steamship somehow still adrift...and finding out that it's not only moving of its own accord, but actively following you.

[Trex_Crazy]

2 hours ago, LadyWYT said:

don't think we need a giant sea monster,

Well I don't need a million dollars, but ai would like it. But in all seriousness I've just got a thing for the ocean. Been playing bioshock again (for like the 5th time) so just in the ocean horror mindset I guess.

[Cedric the Silent]

I'm not sure about rust sea creatures but I'm not against some normal real-world sea creatures to be added to the game to make the oceans feel more alive. 

Would be cool to have dolphins, sharks, sea turtles, crabs, oysters, clams, scallops, mussels, jelly fish, seals, and whales in the base game without needing mods.

Imagine hunting down a whale from one's sailboat risking death at sea to kill it to obtain a treasure trove of useful resources such as its blubber(fat), enough meat to feed an entire server of players throughout an entire winter, its bones, sperm oil or spermaceti as lubricant for mechanical stuff, and Ambergris which was the rare part used for perfume, if herbalism does get added make it were we can craft a perfume out of this that gives some type of status buff when used.

Now the tradeoff for all this loot is making whales sort of like a raid boss level encounter when at sea and when killed their bodies just don't sink to the great depths. From a quick online search, it seems the dead whale's bodies could float for days to weeks all because of their blubber and gasses in their decaying bodies thus giving the hunters enough time to strip the dead whale's corpse of its bounty.

I can imagine player built coastal civilizations in the north that make their living surviving the cold arctic northern sea fishing crabs, hunting seals, and risking life and death to take down whales to get them enough food to survive winter. While southern players having to risk shark attacks while they explore the southern seas hunting for all kinds of fish and shellfish that can only be found in warmer oceans.

The one thing that I think would need to be addressed is the spawning rules because too many entities at once could bog the game down so maybe keep the spawn count a bit low in the ocean as a rule for things like sharks, whales, and dolphins at least.