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subnauticmods ([personal profile] subnauticmods) wrote in [community profile] fishesoutofwater2016-02-13 02:56 pm
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Test Dive #1








≡U.R.S.U.L.A. NAVIGATION
TEST DIVE MEME


For information about the animals and locations, be sure to check out the BIOME and BASE pages!

A1: Go Fish
You! Yes, you! Your friendly neighbourhood AI has a task she would like to encourage YOU to do! After all, you can’t forget the most important fact: you’re here to make the planet habitable. Which means cataloguing, capturing and studying potential threats to anyone’s life. That includes a swarm of Stalkers that have been hanging around the waters awfully near the base, which presents a perfect research opportunity! At least, URSULA seems to think so.

Don’t go in willy-nilly waving your knife around, though. URSULA doesn’t want you to bring in tonight’s Sashimi Surprise™, she wants you to bring in a Stalker that’s still kicking. Which means you have to capture a live one. So hold back your crazy power or trigger-happy instincts!

How will you take one in alive without ending up dead yourself? You could go in the brute-force way, slamming its jaws shut and bagging it, though it’s pretty strong itself… or you could be a bit more cunning, taming it with bait or giving it shiny metal salvage to play with before luring it into a tank to bring it into the base. You might want to get a helping hand with this task, since it’s not exactly an easy one-man job.

A2: Go With Fish
So, now you’ve got a live and very disgruntled Stalker on your hands! Hopefully, said hands don’t have to be amputated (it’s okay if they have to though, URSULA will fix it. Try not to watch the nanites go). What do you do with it? You could keep it as a pet and observe its growth! You could dissect it and study its anatomy! Or you could… eat it. (After going through all the effort to bring it in alive?!)

B: The Abysmal Sea
You’re stranded.

One of the planet’s troublesome signal-interfering pulses has just made your communication devices 100% nonfunctional. No matter how you try to call URSULA for help, she isn’t able to respond. The database strapped to your wrist is just a useless chunk of metal now, leaving you without a useful library of knowledge to survive off. If you were driving any underwater vehicle prior to this point, it’s broken down. And unless you’re a mechanic, it’ll be pretty hard to get it jumpstarted again.

Don’t fret! The communication systems always come online eventually, so if you stay put, it’ll boot back up and give you directions straight back to base so you can finally get home. But can you really afford to stay put? The sunlight’s slowly streaming out of the sky, leaving the waters darker and darker with each passing second. Soon, you won’t be able to see five feet in front of you, and the only warning you’ll get of any approaching threat is through sound, if they even make any.

You have a few choices: take a daring risk and try swimming back to base, but on the off-chance you don’t remember the directions correctly from before you were cut off, you’re going to get even more lost, in the darkness of the night no less. Or, you could huddle in, with any friends if they were unfortunate enough to be with you, and start focusing on getting warm. Because spending the night out here in the vast oceans with the entire world against you is becoming a very, very real possibility.

C: It’s dangerous to go alone. Take them!
URSULA’s technology is breathtaking. With enough materials, she could make practically anything: weapons, vehicles, all those human comforts and entertainments she forgot to build... or perhaps she could expand the base to give everyone even more leg room. But there’s a catch: you need to get those materials to her in the first place, and scavenging can be a monumental task.

The planet Iniidae has a plethora of materials to provide, but you’ve got to go find them first. Some are easy enough to get, by plucking off the ground or breaking a rock. But some are a bit more challenging, such as Crash Powder, seeing that the Crash defending it will literally explode in your face if you get too close. And then there’s materials such as Blood Oil, only harvestable within the Blood Kelp Caves several hundred meters underwater in the pitch-black darkness… remember, you have to gather resources with your two bare hands. No such thing as driving around and conveniently collecting them within the somewhat-relative safety of an armored vehicle.

Since it’s so dangerous to go alone, URSULA will encourage you all to leave the base in pairs or groups if you’re going to try collecting some of the more precarious materials to harvest. She has heard that most lifeforms find being reconstituted from nanites traumatic, so try not to die in front of each other!

D: Hide and Seek Help
URSULA knows that everyone needs downtime, and no one can go salvaging or gathering specimens all the time. So what do you do for fun on an alien ocean planet when the AI who made your base forgot to make any kind of entertainment room?

Why, play hide-and-seek, of course! There’s a lot of places to hide away from others, and it’s challenging to find anyone. (Sometimes, too challenging to find them… ever… but that’s not the point.) The area around the base and submarine is relatively safe, so anyone can hide away in a coral structure or a cave, and telepathy makes it easy to taunt your seekers without revealing where you are.

Of course, you may encounter a Bone Shark or even a stray Stalker, and you won’t have time to get away or even scream as it attacks you, but hey. What other way to make hide-and-seek more thrilling than to turn it into hide-and-hope-you-get-found-as-you-shout-for-help-to-anyone-who-can-hear-your-telepathy?

E: Toilet Humor
Really, it was bound to happen eventually. Someone's in the bathroom observatory, doing their 'business', and someone is trying very hard to catch a fish for dinner outside. Your eyes meet. Someone has literally been caught with their pants down.

And in that moment your telepathy goes a little wonky, because it's good to have open communication about this incident.

F: The Caverns of Dream
The ocean calls you. Of course, it's much easier to dismiss it as nightmares. You'll probably think that's all it is after you have them. Flashes of screaming sea creatures writhing in agony, pleading for help, but these creatures can't ask for help, can they? Something huge, beyond the scope of imagination, moves in the ocean of your dreams and calls out to you to go deeper into the darkness. It pleads and begs but not with a voice you can hear or words you can understand.

You wake up in a sweat with the unrelenting desire to take a swim, even though it's late and everyone is asleep. Or maybe someone else just had the same nightmare as you? Are you willing to take a swim and try to understand the dream?


BASED ON CODE BY TESSISAMESS AND SUPERSUITS


sunsetundersea: (03)

[personal profile] sunsetundersea 2016-02-13 10:52 pm (UTC)(link)
"Of course I'm staying! It wouldn't make sense to go out now." Really, Ibtisam would never leave a wingmate, but it's practical too. And better not to think about swimming out in the middle levels of the water by herself.

Anyway, operating the hatch would create a sound that would travel and alert anything particularly close to them. Better to seem like a random chunk of debris. "This was a twelve-hour night cycle, wasn't it?"
logdate: (4)

[personal profile] logdate 2016-02-13 10:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, good, she's not going to be stuck here by herself for all eternity. Peridot perches herself on the now useless control panel and lifts her shoulders in a shrug, "I believe so - that's what the data files seemed to indicate. We have a long wait ahead of us..."

She frowns, "I might be able to get this thing started when it gets lighter. I'd rather not go crawling around on the hull right now, though. What kind of idiot gave us equipment that fails as soon as there's some sort of weird energy pulse, anyway? Sounds like typical humans..."
sunsetundersea: (09)

[personal profile] sunsetundersea 2016-02-13 11:19 pm (UTC)(link)
Ibtisam sits herself down on the floor. When she's nervous she tends not to notice the signs that she should drink something, but with nothing else going on she decides to swallow from a flask anyway. The air in the submarine is drier than is ideal for her.

"Oh, no. I've spent years on human bases and ships. They're much better designed than this!" At least, Rebel and Imperial humans. But Rebels usually have other species pitching in, and Imperials standardize everything and throw credits at problems. Things have to go quite extravagantly wrong to fail this thoroughly. "Still, I've got to stick up for my people. Cala engineering is the best in the galaxy."
Edited 2016-02-13 23:20 (UTC)
logdate: (9)

[personal profile] logdate 2016-02-13 11:59 pm (UTC)(link)
"Really."

Peridot sounds less than believing when it comes to human engineering (or lack thereof). She scowls at Ibtisam and folds her arms.

"I've never heard of your... people. You're a... Cala? Is that what you called yourself?"
sunsetundersea: (10)

[personal profile] sunsetundersea 2016-02-14 12:08 am (UTC)(link)
"Of course! If they didn't plan for system failures humans wouldn't be nearly as successful as they are," says a girl from a universe where humanity is basically the dominant species. "Humans are great at adapting technology to hostile environments, even if the results aren't usually pretty."

"Mon Calamari. My homeworld is much like this one." Oh, there are countless differences, starting with the more alkaline ocean, but she's aware that to someone who does not live in the ocean all seas are very similar. "Everything we build just looks and works better. It takes longer, but it's worth it."
logdate: (10)

[personal profile] logdate 2016-02-14 04:01 am (UTC)(link)
"You're from a world that's nothing but water? That explains the fins..." She's only semi-familiar with Earth and that's only mostly water. From what Ibtisam says they're also adept at building things - not that Peridot is familiar with much beyond gems. Most other species are considered primitive by Homeworld.

"Anyway, it's not about adaption! It's about functioning at all!"

She hits the control panel for emphasis, "Gem technology wouldn't fail like this!"

Well, maybe it would.
sunsetundersea: (01)

[personal profile] sunsetundersea 2016-02-14 04:13 am (UTC)(link)
"Nearly. What land we have is mostly swampy. To get to space we have to be able to handle drier climes sometimes." She'd been very determined to acclimate, to get out in the galaxy and make what difference could be made with her two hands. Ibtisam hopes it's all been worth it. She thinks she's here to recuperate after being shot down over Ciutric, but sometimes...

She watches the window with one eye, and the various things glowing out there, and Peridot's temper with the other. It's tempting to argue, but she's not sure yet how her companion handles spirited debate. These things are only fun when there's no hard feelings. "What do you think caused that surge? I hope it wasn't aimed at us."
logdate: (12)

[personal profile] logdate 2016-02-14 04:34 am (UTC)(link)
Probably a good idea. Peridot tends to have a high opinion of her own opinion. Arguments with her can drag on (or at least tend to be more aggravation then they're worth).

"How should I know? I only just got here! I haven't had time to do do any sort of in-depth research! I need more time! And better tools..."
Edited 2016-02-14 04:34 (UTC)
sunsetundersea: (01)

[personal profile] sunsetundersea 2016-02-14 04:55 am (UTC)(link)
"Easy there." Splaying out her mismatched fingers, Ibtisam makes a placatory gesture. "Assuming we have more time, will you be able to make these tools?"
logdate: (8)

[personal profile] logdate 2016-02-14 05:54 am (UTC)(link)
"Probably. Maybe. This technology is so... It'll do."

It's not what she's used to, but she's not about to admit that she might not be able to handle something like this, even if the tools aren't up to par.

"I won't know until I really start using all of it... If it's anything like Earth, it'll be... salvageable."
sunsetundersea: (04)

[personal profile] sunsetundersea 2016-02-14 06:25 am (UTC)(link)
Ibtisam moves her head in a nod, another human gesture she's adopted. Peridot seems uncertain, but it's not like Ibtisam is a tech herself. "That would help. It'd be nice to not have to rely on URSULA for everything."

She shifts her legs on the floor, relieving pressure on a fin that had pressed against it for long enough to go numb. "So, what's Earth? Another planet?"
logdate: (4)

[personal profile] logdate 2016-02-14 09:37 pm (UTC)(link)
"Well, of course. It's the human homeworld! It's also... Uh, well, it's... Interesting," Peridot finishes lamely. It's hard to explain without also explaining all of the history behind it.

"I suppose 'diverse' would be the best way to describe it."
sunsetundersea: (10)

[personal profile] sunsetundersea 2016-02-14 09:42 pm (UTC)(link)
"That's good!" Ibtisam would think that. "I didn't know humans even had a homeworld. What's it like? Dry and bright?"

Coruscant is sometimes suspected to be the human homeworld. She hasn't kept up with all the theories about where they came from though.
logdate: (1)

[personal profile] logdate 2016-02-14 10:00 pm (UTC)(link)
"Not that dry; the surface is roughly seventy-one percent water and thdy have frequent precipitation," Peridot finds it much easier to discuss the facts. So much easier than emotions and unfounded opinions.

"Definitely bright. It has a single yellow star and it has abundant natural resources. The biome has incrddible diversity - in fact, it has a number of uses, even beyond scientific study-"

She might ramble a bit.
sunsetundersea: (03)

[personal profile] sunsetundersea 2016-02-14 10:46 pm (UTC)(link)
"I see." Ibtisam listens to her rambling with interest, and then tolerance that shades to boredom. Planetary data is only so interesting, okay. Peridot doesn't seem to need to stop for breath.

"I see," she says again, more loudly. "Look, the communication system's come back on."
logdate: (14)

[personal profile] logdate 2016-02-15 01:32 am (UTC)(link)
Breathing is for people who aren't solid holograms, OK? She looks a little disgruntled that she's been interrupted, but the fact that their communications are back soothes her ruffled feathers. She practically leaps at the control panel and slaps at the controls, "What? Really? This piece of trash actually works? Hello? This is Peridot-!"

She gets a bit of static for her troubles.
sunsetundersea: (04)

[personal profile] sunsetundersea 2016-02-15 04:54 am (UTC)(link)
Ibtisam stands up to look at the fuzzy screens. Her eyes don't see on all the same wavelengths as human eyes do, so for her they're not a whole lot less legible than usual. "At least there's some power now. Can you do anything with that?"
logdate: (14)

[personal profile] logdate 2016-02-15 06:08 pm (UTC)(link)
"It's possible. If anyone can make this human technology work, it's going to be me," Peridot stands on the control seat so she can actually get at the control panel without having to stretch uncomfortably far.

"Let me see if I can bypass some of these circuits-"
sunsetundersea: (04)

[personal profile] sunsetundersea 2016-02-17 07:28 am (UTC)(link)
"Without starting an electrical fire," Ibtisam can't help saying as she waits for the sentence to finish. Maybe saying it means it won't happen.
logdate: (14)

[personal profile] logdate 2016-02-17 07:21 pm (UTC)(link)
"Please," Peridot responds, "Do I look stupid?"

Don't actually answer that question. There's a few sparks and she yanks a hand back and then goes right back to work, muttering something about a primitive, stupid interface.