Video: Aurora return, Prawn Suit fragments, and Neptune Rocket plans (no commentary)
Before heading back to the Aurora, I once again spent some time off-camera scavenging for supplies. Mostly lithium this time, as I wanted to make proper use of the Modification Station. The result is a larger oxygen tank, upgraded fins, and a noticeable improvement in how long I can actually survive underwater without surfacing like a panicked fish every thirty seconds.
Three full minutes of oxygen changes a surprising amount.
I also crafted several fire extinguishers because, unfortunately, the Aurora is still very much on fire.
There were two reasons for returning. The first was the Prawn Suit fragments hidden somewhere inside the wreck. The second was Alterra’s supposed “backup plan” for getting me off the planet, which apparently waited behind a locked door inside the Captain’s Quarters.
Whether escaping is actually possible while infected and living under the watchful eye of a giant alien cannon is another matter entirely.
Approaching the Wreck
I climbed into Valentino and made my way toward the Aurora once again. The closer I got, the more the entire wreck seemed to dominate the horizon. Even after previous visits, the thing still feels less like a crashed ship and more like a warning.
At one point I seriously considered turning around altogether. A Leviathan was swimming nearby, somewhere beneath the waterline, and although I do not think it actually spotted me, I had no interest in testing that theory in open water.
Valentino survived the trip regardless, and eventually the familiar wreckage came into view.
Cave Crawlers and Corporate Fire Hazards
The first order of business inside the Aurora was dealing with Cave Crawlers, which mostly involved launching them into the distance using the Propulsion Cannon. I do not think that mechanic will ever stop being entertaining. There is something deeply satisfying about watching tiny hostile creatures suddenly achieve low orbit.
Beyond that came the usual combination of burning corridors, blocked pathways, and scattered debris. I moved crates out of the way, emptied fire extinguishers into active flames, and slowly pushed deeper into the wreck.
Along the way I found a code for a nearby door and, naturally, immediately abandoned all restraint and grabbed everything that was not physically attached to the walls.
Returning with upgraded oxygen capacity also made a noticeable difference. For once, I could actually stop to explore rooms properly instead of constantly checking my remaining air supply every few seconds.
I even found another flashlight, which is reassuring considering my current one has probably suffered enough abuse already.
The Prawn Suit Bay
Eventually I found what I had really come for: the Prawn Suits.
The bay itself was still partially on fire, which meant carefully weaving between flames while scanning fragments as quickly as possible. One by one the blueprints started coming together until, after four scans, the final piece clicked into place.
The Prawn Suit was now fully unlocked.
Which means at some point soon I am going to need to build one. More importantly, I am going to need to think of a name for it.
Somewhere during all this, I also noticed I had another radio transmission waiting back at base. Naturally, I completely forgot about it again until the recording had already finished.
Alterra’s Escape Plan
After securing the Prawn Suit fragments, I continued moving room to room through the Aurora, embracing my role as the ocean’s least qualified salvage expert. If something was not nailed down, it went into my inventory. If it was scannable, I scanned it.
Eventually I reached the Captain’s Quarters, although actually getting inside proved more difficult than expected because I somehow managed to forget where the code was stored despite knowing full well I already had it.
Eventually common sense prevailed, the code was entered correctly, and inside waited Alterra’s emergency solution to the entire situation:
Blueprints for a rocket.
I appreciate the optimism. Unfortunately, there are still several problems with this plan.
Firstly, I am infected with something unpleasant.
Secondly, there is still a giant alien cannon on the island that already demonstrated very clearly what happens to anything attempting to leave the planet.
So while the Neptune Rocket plans are useful, I would not exactly call them an immediate solution.
Return to Base
Eventually I fought my way back through the Aurora and returned to Valentino. The trip back to base was quieter, although the closer I got to home, the more obvious another problem became.
The current base is starting to feel small.
Between the Scanner Room, Moonpool, Bioreactor, storage space, and everything else I keep dragging back from expeditions, the operation is beginning to outgrow the original layout.
I am now seriously considering either heavily expanding the current base or establishing a second outpost somewhere further from the Mushroom Forest.
Before any of that though, I need to figure out exactly what components are required to craft the Prawn Suit.
And perhaps more importantly, I should probably listen to that radio message.
Super Mario 64 Randomizer – Log 25: Thank You For Playing
Game: Super Mario 64 Randomizer Platform: Steam Deck Format: No Commentary
Video: Final red coins in Bowser in the Sky, 120 stars collected, and the last battle with Bowser (no commentary)
The Final Star
It was time. No sense putting it off any longer. I had 119 stars, and the final one was waiting for me in Bowser in the Sky. One last red coin hunt before the end.
When I jumped into the course I expected the randomizer to throw me somewhere near the end, but instead I spawned close to the beginning. That turned out to be perfect, because it meant I could search the entire level properly from start to finish instead of rushing through it.
I took my time, stopping every so often to move the camera around and make sure nothing was hiding just out of view. Hazy Maze Cave had already taught me that stars and coins could be sitting right in front of me without me noticing if I wasn’t careful.
I also had to fight the instinct to take the shortcuts I would normally use in this level. In the original game I know this course well enough to rush through it, but this wasn’t the original anymore, and I had a feeling if I skipped ahead too quickly I’d leave a coin behind.
120 Stars
The final three coins were waiting near the location where the red coin star appears, right beside the pipe that leads to the final battle. Once I collected them, the star appeared exactly where I hoped it would.
One jump later, and that was it.
All 120 stars of this randomizer seed collected.
Only one thing remained.
The Final Battle
The fight with Bowser didn’t go perfectly at first. I managed to throw him into one bomb, but nerves or bad luck got the better of me after that. I got caught by his fire, stunned, and even managed to fall off the platform. Round one went to him.
The second attempt felt different. I was calmer, more focused. The first throw landed, then the second, and suddenly I was holding him for the final spin.
As I turned Mario around with Bowser in his hands, I couldn’t help but think that this really was the final throw of the run.
It was.
Three clean throws later, Bowser was defeated and the randomizer seed was finished.
The Credits Roll
The familiar cutscene played out, and when the camera showed the castle roof, Yoshi was there waiting, proving that all 120 stars had been collected.
I let the credits roll without skipping. Watching the game show each of the locations again, one after another, reminded me just how much ground this run had covered. Every level, every detour, every moment where I thought I might have made the seed impossible.
And that music… the same credits music I’ve heard so many times over the years still feels exactly the same as it did the first time I heard it.
All that was left was the final line.
Thank you so much for-a playing my game.
And thank you for all the memories you have given me, Mario.
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.
Apparently going left this time means snow, icy water, and more Comet Coin theories.
A New Galaxy
So Shifting Sand Land Galaxy is complete, which means it’s time to move on.
Seeing as I went right last time, I decide to go left and see what is waiting there.
The painting in the room suggests a snow world, so naturally I assume I’m about to enter Cool, Cool, Mountain Galaxy.
Nope.
Instead, the painting leads to Snowman’s Land Galaxy, and the first shine sprite is The Big Snowman.
I kind of like the nod to the first star from Snowman’s Land back in Super Mario 64.
And honestly, this galaxy would probably look a bit strange without a giant snowman standing in the middle of it.
Comet Coins
The first Comet Coin is basically within jumping and spinning distance from the starting area.
There are crystals nearby that can be destroyed with a spin attack, and inside one of them is the coin, along with a mushroom that gives Mario an extra three hits.
I could have used that last entry.
The second Comet Coin is also nearby.
There’s a Fire Flower and two unlit torches, so I’m sure you can guess what the game expects me to do.
Mario had other ideas though.
Mainly falling into the icy water multiple times while I tried to light them.
The Climb
The path up towards the giant snowman is mostly uneventful.
I do meet a penguin who seems very impressed by a snow Goomba statue someone built nearby.
Naturally, I immediately try to destroy it.
No luck.
During practice runs, I convinced myself there was probably a Comet Coin hidden inside it somewhere, and honestly I’m still not fully convinced there isn’t.
I eventually reach the giant snowman and immediately prepare myself to get blown off the mountain.
Apparently this one is a lot friendlier than the original version.
Instead of trying to launch Mario into the distance, it’s perfectly happy letting me climb all the way to the top.
At this point I start wondering if this snowman is somehow related to Freezeezy Peak from Banjo-Kazooie.
Another brilliant game, by the way.
I grab the third Comet Coin on the way up and eventually reach the top of the snowman itself, which turns out to be the hat.
I do briefly consider jumping off the edge of the hat in case there’s a hidden Comet Coin sitting on the rim somewhere.
I decide against it.
My logic is simple enough: there are still three shine sprites and five Comet Coins left in this galaxy, so they must be spread across the other stars somewhere.
Probably.
I grab the shine sprite and celebrate a job well done.
Neo Mario Galaxy – Daredevil Edition Entry 4: Chocolate Lava
One hit resets everything. Some surfaces don’t even need to hit you.
Back to Sweet Treat Galaxy
With one more star needed before I can reach the Luma and whatever comes after it, I head back to Sweet Treat Galaxy for Prince Pikante’s Peppery Mood.
And for probably the first time ever, the chocolate is lava.
Touch it, and it’s straight back to the start.
The ice enemies from before are gone, replaced with fire versions, which feels like a fair trade. Not a good one, just a fair one.
Ice Mario
The first job is collecting five star bits.
Two are just along the path. The other three are floating right over the chocolate lava.
Which means it’s time for the Ice Flower.
Ice Mario lets me skate across the lava by creating a path as I move. Without it, those bits aren’t happening.
It works well enough, as long as I don’t panic and overcorrect. That feels like the main risk here.
Five bits collected, launch star unlocked, onto the next section.
Narrow Margins
The next part keeps the Ice Mario, but makes things a bit tighter.
Narrow paths, moving platforms, gaps that are just big enough to matter.
It’s not too bad, but it’s the kind of section where one small mistake would undo everything.
I do think about jumping early for the launch star at one point.
I don’t.
That felt like the right decision at the time.
Prince Pikante
Then it’s time for the boss: Prince Pikante.
He’s riding something, not entirely sure what, but it doesn’t matter too much.
Like Dino Piranha, it’s a three-hit fight.
The difference is the space. There’s a lot more room to move, which helps, because standing still here doesn’t feel like an option.
I spend most of the fight sliding around just to avoid getting cornered.
Turns out the only way to hit him is sending his own watermelons back at him.
Not the flaming ones.
The green ones.
Three hits later, it’s done.
The star is mine.
The Run
This is how it actually went.
What’s Next
This opens the path forward.
The Luma wants 500 star bits, which probably means some farming at some point.
There’s also Gloomy Galleon sitting there with a single star available.
But before that, I noticed something in Sweet Treat Galaxy.
Every time I’ve been through it, there’s been a spot that feels like it leads somewhere.
Platform: Steam Deck Mode: Normal Format: No Commentary
Video: family crest recovered, giant eel encounters, ship repairs, explosives unlocked, and Gale Cliffs navigation attempts (no commentary)
The next job was simple on paper. Find the family crest the hermit marked on the map. Looking at the route, it was clear I’d need to make my way through the cliffs to reach it, but the path itself didn’t look too bad. I plotted a course and headed out.
As soon as I passed through the stone arch, something large came straight out of the water. I’m assuming it was an eel, but whatever it was, it was far bigger than anything I’ve seen so far. I tried to avoid it, clipped the cliff face, and the creature still managed to hit the boat anyway. With the ship damaged, I limped back to the travelling merchant for repairs and decided to try again the next day.
The second attempt went a little better. I chose a different route through the cliffs and managed to avoid the creature entirely, or at least I didn’t see it this time. I eventually reached the wreck where the family crest was supposed to be, recovered it, and returned to the hermit.
He told me to speak to his brother in Ingfell and ask him for forgiveness on his behalf. The brother — the whaler — agreed to help, but only if I helped him first. He wanted me to detonate some explosives to clear part of the cliffs. All I needed to do, according to him, was head through the stone arch and follow the yellow flags.
It didn’t occur to me at the time that he meant the same stone arch I had already been through. That realisation came later, after I’d already decided I didn’t like him very much.
I equipped the haste ability and headed back out, thinking the extra speed would help me avoid the eel. It didn’t. The creature appeared again, hit the boat again, and I still didn’t see any yellow flags. To make things worse, the damage meant I couldn’t even keep the conger eel I’d caught to let it rot for the other request. I had to throw it back and head straight to the merchant for repairs.
The next attempt went exactly the same way. Through the arch, eel appears, boat damaged, no flags. Back to the merchant. Repaired again. At this point I’m fairly sure she’s getting tired of seeing me dock every single night.
After checking the pursuit log and getting nowhere, I went back to the whaler and spoke to him again. This time he mentioned that the yellow flags would be on my right. That would have been useful to know the first time.
With that in mind, I tried again. This time I managed to avoid the eel long enough to spot the flags, though the creature still managed to hit the boat while I was reading what I needed to do. Another repair job, but at least the explosives were placed where they needed to be.
After reporting back, the whaler agreed to reconcile with the hermit. One awkward family reunion later, I now have access to explosives of my own. He even gave me one for free, and I bought a few more just in case.
All that should be left now is placing another charge to clear the way to the relic. Though I can’t help wondering if these explosives would work just as well on that giant eel instead.
Platform: Steam Deck Mode: Original Edition Rules: No savestates (except between entries) Format: No Commentary
Video: Ice-Crystal Tower exploration, King Whomp rematch, red coins, and Wing Cap climbs (no commentary)
With Stalagmite Cave done, I stayed in the same room and moved into the next course: Ice-Crystal Tower. Every time I enter, there’s a Goomba waiting to start something. I’ve made a point of ignoring it unless it becomes a problem. So far, that’s worked well enough.
The first task was a rematch with King Whomp. I spent enough time practicing the route up to him that it’s become familiar, even if I wouldn’t trust myself to do it without thinking. The fight itself is different this time. Smaller platform, less room to recover, and if you fall, you’re climbing all the way back up to try again. There is a metal box that can help, but positioning matters more here than anything else.
I’ve seen the trick where you phase through him with a ground pound, but I’ve never managed to make it work consistently, so I stuck with what I know. Wait for him to turn away from the box, move in, ground pound, and reset. It’s slower, but it works. Three clean hits later, the fight was done and the star was mine.
Waters of Pain was next, a section I’d already passed through on the way up. The ice behaves more like lava here, which changes how you approach everything. The star itself sits in a box above a small platform, just out of reach unless you commit to the jumps properly. I didn’t quite get it right, clipped the ice, and ended up bouncing onto the platform anyway. Not clean, but effective enough.
Almost the Top lives up to its name. The climb back up is familiar by this point, but the risk doesn’t really go away. One mistake and you’re either back on the snow or falling out of the level entirely. The Spindrifts are the main problem here, each one placed just well enough to knock you off if you’re not careful. This time they stayed out of the way, and the star was taken without issue.
The red coins came next. Some of the jumps here felt worse than the earlier climb, mainly because there’s less room to recover if anything goes wrong. I started the 100-coin collection at the same time, but it became clear fairly quickly that I wasn’t going to reach the total on that pass. Rather than force it, I settled for the red coin star and moved on, knowing I’d come back to the full collection properly.
How High Can You Get? turned into the real 100-coin attempt. The plan was simple enough — climb as high as possible, then use the Wing Cap to cover the remaining platforms. In practice, it didn’t go cleanly. Two separate mistakes, both costing time and momentum, both forcing me to adjust mid-run. Eventually everything lined up, and I was able to collect the remaining coins before reaching the top. Not perfect, but enough to secure the star.
The final star, Very Well Hidden Star, needed the Wing Cap again. The name isn’t exaggerating. The star sits below the starting platform, easy to miss even if you know it’s there. My first attempt went straight past it, which wasn’t surprising given the angle. The second attempt was better. Adjusted the approach, lined it up properly, and this time the landing worked.
With that, Ice-Crystal Tower was done. Another course cleared, and one less area left hanging over the run.
Super Mario Galaxy 63 Entry 4 – The Gravity Scramble
Gravity itself has apparently decided to become a problem now.
Back Into Shifting Sand Land Galaxy
One more shine sprite and one more Comet Coin left in Shifting Sand Land Galaxy, so I jump back into the painting and it is time for The Gravity Scramble.
Before I can properly start though, I need to collect five launch star pieces.
Two of them require the Fire Flower, as the only way to grab them is by lighting torches.
In my head, the plan was simple enough: grab both before the fire power ran out.
Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.
So after wasting the first Fire Flower, I had to go back and grab another one before collecting the remaining launch star pieces.
After that little mess up, I get launched over towards a pipe, but before going in, there’s still one final Comet Coin sitting on top of a tree.
So I grab that first.
Shifting Sand Land Galaxy complete. At least I think it is. There could still be a hidden shine somewhere for all I know.
The Gravity Scramble
This is where the shine sprite name starts making sense.
Gravity changes depending on the direction of the arrows, which shift whenever Mario goes up or down slopes.
If I had really committed to the experience, I probably could have rotated the Steam Deck around to match the gravity direction.
I decided against that.
Mainly because things were already awkward enough.
During practice runs, Mario had developed a habit of landing directly on spikes.
Didn’t really matter where they were either.
He kept finding them.
You could argue that was user error.
I’m not entirely convinced.
Upside Down
The worst part comes once gravity flips upside down.
I have to jump between disappearing platforms while avoiding spikes below me.
The platforms follow a rhythm, but that didn’t stop Mario repeatedly finding ways to miss them and land directly on the spikes anyway.
Thankfully, this attempt goes a lot better than the practice runs and I eventually make it through to the next pipe.
The Final Stretch
The final area changes things again.
This time gravity is controlled by octagonal platforms. Depending on which way Mario is facing, gravity changes with him.
The final challenge involves long jumping between three octagons while spikes cover both the floor and ceiling.
I’m sure you can guess what happened here.
Mario and gravity had another disagreement.
The spikes won multiple times.
I do lose a life here, but my next attempt goes much smoother than all the practice runs, so I decide to take the win while I have it.
The shine sprite is mine.
Shifting Sand Land Galaxy complete.
What Comes Next?
Still no sign of any prankster comets.
I honestly don’t know if they exist in this hack or not.
But considering how much Mario has already been struggling with gravity, I’m hoping this shine sprite doesn’t end up getting one later.
Survivor Incognito 