The Ultimate SOMA Discussion Thread

[tezpull666]

Could be a placeholder.

That's what I though as well. And yes it does look like a grunt.

Do you have a screenshot.

Spoiler below!

Disco Grunt!!!!

[Sampyli]

That's kinda primitive way to keep things in secret. Going underwater just for that? Nah, there probably must be geological reason for that. Perhaps this exact spot(s; for the stations) has some particular value for the research? That, or... may be it is safety reasons. Not to keep outside world from what's inside, but vice versa- to protect the outside world.

Well, I didn't think it was just for secrecy, and that's ^ what I meant anyway.

[PutraenusAlivius]

Why would anyone build a station underwater in the first place? What's the purpose?

I don't know if this also applies to the future, but at the present, building a station underwater has a purpose. And that is to investigate what happens when we got exposed to the pressure increase. The maximum depth the body can withstand, new methods to prevent pressure increase, etc.

Besides, UNDER WATER CITIES!

[Romulator]

Besides, UNDER WATER CITIES!

[Alardem]

It's been said in interviews before that SOMA will have Lovecraftian elements. One of those is obviously going to involve finding ancient alien ruins underwater. That's why humans are exploring those ruins and ending up pwned.

I'm a little surprised that the setting isn't deeper underwater. Perhaps that will be a surprise? Imagine having to descend into a pitch-black abyss in the climax...

[Googolplex]

What happens when a monster is catching you? I can't see any attacks in this video, only a lighting head. And what happens to the player? Will he die?

How could they make monsters more effective and scarier?

I want more spiders, spiders, spieders...




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfiHOpv6HtI

And the biggest spider robot:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85uA-QXeqxg

Or a 3D animation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1P_B65XW4I

[Fortigurn]

Well, my theory is that they discovered something of interest and built a base around it because it's super interesting, and that super interesting thing doesn't like being probed, so it's going to eat their brains.(Last part is hyperbole.)

This is my theory too; they built the base because they knew something was down there.

What happens when a monster is catching you? I can't see any attacks in this video, only a lighting head. And what happens to the player? Will he die?

It's a tiny snippet of a pre-alpha build. You need to moderate your expectations accordingly.

[Alardem]

I recall one of the animators uploading a 3D video of a well-animated spider. Might've been a Penumbra reference, or a hint at a possible monster. Don't forget that one of the banners released prior to the revelation of the "Super-Secret Project" showed what appeared to be spider-like creatures in a cave. (Another image showed an underwater mountain.)

[PutraenusAlivius]

NOTE: THIS DEDUCTION IS PURELY THEORY. THERE COULD BE SOME MISTAKES.

Spoiler below!

Guys, I think I know where the base (PATHOS-II) is.
Who ever made the deduction of the base at Ireland, you are a genius! (I think it was Pluto but I could be wrong)

So I kept researching about Continental Shelves and they can be a good place to form a human marine habitat (That or trenches). I checked Fortigurn's deduction together with mine and Fortigurn deducted that it could be in the deepest parts of the Epipelagic zone.

Now, most continental shelves are in a ~150 km depth so it should fit the theory of in the deepest part of the Epipelagic. But then I remembered that Ireland was a potential location so I searched the depths of Ireland's continental shelf. And guess what? It's entirely possible.


Furthermore, from the picture above, it could be that the green plants are kelp so I checked where kelp forests can grow and as it turns out,



Ireland have lots of kelp forests around it.
And with the depth of 150 km, the pressure isn't that great (15 atm pressure) and it's still possible to create a pressurized base just like ground atmosphere pressure (1 atm pressure), and thus re-inforcing more of this theory.

So if we put it all together, it's POSSIBLE that the base is somewhere around Ireland.
So Ireland is possible for the base. And I think there was a map.

YES, I KNOW THAT ISN'T KELP

[Kein]

Part 2:

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/04/...y-amnesia/