Dynamic, Impactful Weather

I would like to see a weather system including sunny, cloudy, rainy, and stormy that adds to the aesthetic diversity and also has an impact on the game.

Currently, the days feel rather static and unappreciated. The day/night cycle affects the lighting system and seemingly not much more. The addition of a weather system with the states mentioned above would make for a more immersive environment and exposes players to a larger variety of aesthetic palettes (one day, sun and high reflections; perhaps rain on the ocean surface and a more gray illumination the next).

I also mention that it should have an impact. It is very real that underwater environments (especially those that are more vibrant and closer to the surface) can change a lot during weather events and even moon phases. I believe that, in addition to affecting lighting, the weather should act as an influencer in environmental values. When it is raining, perhaps predators may be more aggressive but with less detection range. Perhaps weather should change the ratios of creatures present in an area on a given day. Such a system would open up a lot of opportunities to make exploration unique based on the day, like some plants only unfolding beautiful flowers on a sunny day while a rainy day could make rare species of fish roam near the surface when it otherwise wouldn’t.

I think that changes like this would give Subnautica 2 a distinct flavor from other games that is reasonably achievable with the new Unreal Engine.