Submerged Entry 13: Expanding the Operation
Platform: Steam Deck
Game: Subnautica
Video: Base upgrades, Scanner Room expansion, wreck exploration, and Modification Station progress (no commentary)
Well, it has been some time since I last sat down to document anything properly, but that is not to say nothing has been happening. Quite the opposite, actually. I simply decided nobody needed to watch several uninterrupted hours of me digging through limestone chunks looking for copper and titanium while muttering at fish.
So before heading back out into the ocean properly, a quick tour of the base is probably in order.
Since the last entry, the place has expanded quite a bit. A few additional rooms have gone up, reinforcements have been installed, the Scanner Room is now fully operational, and perhaps most importantly of all, the base no longer feels like a temporary survival shelter waiting to collapse the moment the lights flicker.
I also finally got a Bioreactor up and running. At the moment I am using Bulbo Trees to keep it supplied, which means the plants are now serving three separate purposes at once: food, water, and power generation. I have accidentally built a surprisingly efficient underwater ecosystem entirely fuelled by leaves and poor decision making.
For the first time since arriving on this planet, the operation feels self-sufficient.
Scanner Room Operations
The Scanner Room has quickly become the centrepiece of the entire base. I still wanted one final upgrade for it though: another Scan Range Module. The idea of turning the thing into a giant underwater radar station was simply too tempting to ignore.
To put it to work, I set the scanner to search for limestone chunks. Technically I could have told it to search directly for Copper Ore, but during testing I realised the scanner mostly highlighted the larger deposits that require a Prawn Suit to drill into. That will be useful later. Right now though, I still needed copper the old-fashioned way.
The current objective was the Modification Station. I had already discovered a wreck during earlier exploration that supposedly contained the fragments I needed. Whether the Scanner Room would actually be able to find it once fully upgraded was another matter entirely, but I had a plan for that if things went wrong.
Return to the Jellyshroom Caves
Before heading for the wreck, I made a detour into the Jellyshroom Caves. I had already placed a beacon there earlier, which meant I could navigate directly back to the entrance without wandering around the ocean floor like a confused tourist.
The target this time was Magnetite. I already knew future upgrades would need it, even if I was not entirely sure how many. In Subnautica, the answer is usually “more than you currently have.”
The caves still feel wrong every time I enter them. The glowing mushrooms, the strange silence, the sense that the entire biome is quietly waiting for something unpleasant to happen. Still, the Magnetite was there, and after grabbing what I could carry, I headed back to base before the local wildlife decided I had overstayed my welcome.
Power Problems That Aren’t Actually Problems Yet
Interestingly, the Bioreactor has not really needed to do much heavy lifting so far. Most of the power demands are still being handled by the solar panels above the base. The reactor mostly sits there quietly, waiting for the day I inevitably expand this place into something far larger than originally intended.
Which, if I am being honest, is probably unavoidable at this point.
The 500 Metre Disappointment
Once the final Scan Range Module was installed, the Scanner Room finally hit its maximum range of 500 metres. Naturally, the first thing I did was set it to search for wrecks.
The wreck I needed was outside the range.
Of course it was.
Thankfully, I already knew roughly where to find it. Along the way, I stumbled across some kind of alien vent structure. I still have absolutely no idea what it actually does, but I scanned it anyway because that is apparently how I deal with ancient alien technology now.
The wreck itself sat just beyond the edge of the Mushroom Forest. Inside, amongst the twisted metal and scattered debris, were exactly the fragments I had been searching for.
The Modification Station was finally within reach.
Technology Recovery Operations
The wreck turned out to be far more useful than expected. Alongside the Modification Station fragments, I also recovered blueprints for a Reinforced Dive Suit and an upgrade module for the Cyclops. The deeper I push into this planet, the more obvious it becomes that the game expects me to start preparing for much harsher environments.
Most importantly though, recovering the Modification Station fragments meant one thing: the Seamoth MK2 Depth Module was now possible.
Well. Almost possible.
Back at base, I realised I was still missing a Computer Chip. Which meant I needed Copper Wire. Which meant another quick trip using the Scanner Room to locate limestone chunks because apparently every major technological breakthrough on this planet eventually comes down to me desperately searching for copper.
Still, after one final scavenging trip, the Modification Station was finally constructed and operational.
Future Plans
I am still debating whether this base eventually needs a second Scanner Room. My current theory is that if I expand the base far enough in the opposite direction, I could effectively create overlapping scan coverage and push the search range even further across the surrounding biomes.
At the moment, that is still just theory.
Next time though, the plan is clear.
I am returning to the Aurora.
The goal is simple: recover enough fragments to finally get a Prawn Suit operational. Because if this planet insists on hiding everything useful in increasingly hostile depths, I may as well start preparing properly for the descent.
Survivor Incognito 