Interference Zone Biome Concept
The Interference Zone Biome Concept is really cool. I think it would be awesome to have a deep ocean biome where the biggest challenge is not some creature but the environment itself messing with your equipment.
The idea is that this biome is affected by an alien monitoring network that is buried under the sea floor. This network has been working for centuries. Now it is getting unstable and causing interference all over the place.
When the player goes into this area they start to notice that something is wrong with their equipment.
The compass does not work right it moves around. Freezes for a second.
The depth information is not accurate it changes all the time.
The waypoints and beacon markers sometimes show the wrong distance.
The PDA scans have missing information.
The audio recordings from this biome are full of static.
The Wake Maker works sometimes. Sometimes it does not.
And more aspects can be further added.
Nothing is completely broken. The player cannot trust the information they are getting from their equipment.
The Interference Zone Biome Concept would have an important atmosphere. It would be cool to have mineral clouds, huge crystal formations, strange sounds in the distance and not be able to see very far. This would make the area feel isolated and scary. Not because of monsters jumping out at you.
As the story goes on the player finds out about research that was abandoned and eventually learns that the interference is caused by a damaged alien monitoring network. The network is not bad it is just broken because it has been neglected for long.
The players goal would be to find and fix relay stations all over the biome. Each station that is fixed would reveal information about the network and the history of the area. This would eventually lead to fixing the system.
Once the network is fixed the interference goes away for good.
The navigation systems work again.
The PDA data is no longer bad.
The waypoints and beacons work right.
The equipment works again.
This would be really satisfying for the player because they would take an scary place and make it safe and easy to explore.
I really like the Interference Zone Biome Concept because it creates tension by making the player unsure of what’s going on rather than, by having a big monster to fight. The player is not fighting a monster they are trying to figure out what is happening and solve the mystery. I think this fits the spirit of Subnautica well and could make for a really cool biome and story. The Interference Zone Biome Concept is an idea.