The Ultimate SOMA Discussion Thread

[plutomaniac]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl...WHVkMIP1b8

Rewhatch it. And listen closely, we wer'nt paying enough attention, this WHOLE TIME theyve been hinting at underwater.

The only water-related things are two or three water streams/leaks from the ceilings but that's not nearly enough to convince someone it's underwater. It could easily be building leaks when left for a long period of time unattended. The whole purpose of a hint is to be understood by someone who actually notices it, this one is very hard to tell though.

[BAndrew]

Also:

- How can he talk underwater?
- How can he walk uderwater or pick up things and throw them? Do you know how much strength this requires?

As I pointed out previously, on those occasions he's in areas of the building which aren't filled with water.

1) You didn't answer how he can walk underwater. He doesn't swim. He WALKS.
2) This video proves you wrong
http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/o1jjpe/soma-preview
Go at 2:50 and watch. He is underwater and yet he can interact so easily with things like the water has no resistance (chest and door).

[Kein]

What?
Why is this even being discussed? You have nothing else to do but nitpick the gameplay elements?

- How can he talk underwater?
- How can he walk uderwater or pick up things and throw them? Do you know how much strength this requires?

1. Using the communication device in the underwater suit? You know, future aside, we've been using them in modern times for a while now.

2. Using the spoken suit. Case of example in the game that is set in not so distant future, unlike SOMA:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pla...rKNs#t=583

Who cares how much strength it requires, it is a goddamn horror/exploration videogame, not a "Deep Water Diver Simulator". Just in case it is a HUGE SURPRISE and REVELATION for you - most of the games, including (especially) FG's games been sacrificing realism for the gameplay and narration aspects.

Jesus Christ. Kindergarden.

[Kein]

Well, hmm:
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/04/...gone-home/

Grip: I don’t know. We’ll have to see. I think that one of the big differences is that we have a sort of Aliens-like atmosphere in our game, the overall aesthetic. BioShock has their art deco style. It’s almost a fantasy setting in BioShock. They don’t really care about the ocean as such, other than it just has water in it. We’ve tried at length to make sure that we think about pressure differences and what sorts of things you’d have to do to build something underwater. That’s an integral part of the game.

Something does not add up, which means either there is PR bullshit involved or we don't yet know all the aspects.

Later, tho, he is talking about the same thing I've been talking in post above:

Grip: The thing that we’re focusing on with our games now, and it’s a big design cornerstone, is that we don’t want to try and gamify too much of it. One thing we could have done with pressure is add puzzles around it – oh, before I go into this airlock I need to think about that sort of thing. Then it ends up in this abstract system. You’re not emotionally involved in it. Instead, what we’re trying to do – and it’s a bit more difficult – we’re trying to create this emotional background. You’re thinking about it in a more realistic way than you might have done if it was a sort of puzzle system.

[PutraenusAlivius]

As the pressure in the base of the deep sea is really tremendous (+1 atm/10 m) it's impossible to build a base that's at the base of the ocean with that big pressure (IIRC it can squeeze a basketball to a ping pong sized ball).

When the surface of the ocean is seen just outside the base in a preview video, it doesn't seem that dark, almost like a twilight-ish on the surface. ASSUMING that it's currently daytime in the surface, I would place my guess of the base in the Mesopelagic part of the sea. The Mesopelagic has a twilight-ish color with the depth of 200 - 1000 m. Using equation of the pressure increase, we know that it has the pressure of 20 - 100 atmospheric pressure which doesn't sound that bad.

However, if it's currently night time in the surface, then I would place my bet on the Epipelagic part of the sea, with the depth of 0 - 200 m, with the pressure of 1 - 20 atmospheric pressure which makes it more habitable.

[Fortigurn]

1) You didn't answer how he can walk underwater. He doesn't swim. He WALKS.

Yes I did answer it. I pointed out that saying it's nearly impossible to walk underwater is like saying it's impossible to swim underwater. You can swim underwater, and you can walk underwater.

2) This video proves you wrong

http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/o1jjpe/soma-preview
Go at 2:50 and watch. He is underwater and yet he can interact so easily with things like the water has no resistance (chest and door).

What is there in this part of the video that's supposed to prove me wrong?

[hkkomiltinn]

Did anyone see the map in the video?

[BAndrew]

Yes I did answer it. I pointed out that saying it's nearly impossible to walk underwater is like saying it's impossible to swim underwater. You can swim underwater, and you can walk underwater.

You can WALK underwater? Especially that deep? Are you serious? Swimming is completely different to walking in the water. If you can do it without any special equipment I'll give you 1000000000000$.

Of course one possible explanation is Simon has a special suit or something that allows him to walk.

What is there in this part of the video that's supposed to prove me wrong?

Go to 2:50 you will see that while you are underwater you open a chest and 2 doors.

---

Also I am not in any way saying that the game isn't good because of this.

[plutomaniac]

[/URL]
Did anyone see the map in the video?

Yes, some pages ago. Continuing that discussion, now that I saw the in-game map it clearly has a dot on top of Ireland. Check it out:

[Alardem]

The map likely indicates that the Omicron organization (or whatever it's called) have bases between Africa, N. America and Europe.