Cut Content (Subnautica)

This page serves to chronicle any significant content that was cut from the final version of Subnautica. It features multiple cut tools, base structures, creatures, and items. All content is either unused and spawnable or removed.

Alien Data Terminal (Unused Variant)
An unused version of the Alien Data Terminal with a more cyan hue. Where this would have been located is unknown, although it can be assumed that it would have functioned identically to the Orange and Green Terminals.

Ion Cube Matrix
An Ion Cube Matrix is a piece of technology that was originally planned to be used in the construction of the Neptune Escape Rocket. However, it was replaced with Ion Power Cells.

An Ion Cube Matrix would be crafted with five Ion Cubes. While it can't be crafted, it can still be spawned with the command.

Red Tablet
The Red Tablet or Red Precursor Key is an unused Alien Tablet that was going to presumably deactivate forcefields. It visually depicts an R-shaped letter. It can be spawned using the command. It is also not scannable.

White Tablet
The White Tablet or White Precursor Key is an unused Alien Tablet that was previously intended to unlock the Alien Thermal Plant. The white tablet was a 4 (2&times;2) slot item, rather than a 1 slot item like all the other keys. It visually depicted a T-shaped or P-shaped letter. If one summons precursor keys in the developer menu, they will get a White Tablet and a Red Tablet. It can be spawned using the command.

The White Tablet was intended to be used as an integral story item for Subnautica's sequel, Subnautica: Below Zero, but it was cut due to a story change.

Arctic
The Arctic biome was never actually implemented into the game but was labeled and even put onto the maps found in the game's folder during early development. The biome stayed through development for a long time before it was eventually replaced and scrapped. Very few leftovers of this biome exist.

Inside the game files are multiple references to this biome, including old textures, biome ids, and even a cut Cold Water effect.

If the biome is hacked into the game, a strange horn ambiance can be heard, which also appeared in other biomes in development at times. This was possibly just a placeholder ambiance. It also had a few music pieces attached to it. Under the Ice (later renamed to Maneuvers) was one of those tracks.

This biome likely inspired Subnautica: Below Zero's location.

Crater Edge (OLD)
The original version of the Crater Edge in the early access versions of Subnautica was very different from the final game. It was a mix of strange geometry to prevent the player from going further. However, it was replaced by the Crater Edge in later updates of the game. From the Earliest Access Phase of development, all the way up to either the December 2014 update or the January 2015 Update (Currently being fact checked), these anomalous walls were present around 2000 meters away from the center of the map, reaching up far too high to climb over, and upon teleporting past these walls there was nothing but empty ocean. Upon reaching the walls, a unique, trumpet/horn-like ambiance will begin to play. This possibly might have been related to something Charlie Cleveland said during during GDC, that when coming up with ideas on how to prevent the player from escaping the boundaries of the world, one of the ideas was creating a giant wall of terrain to create a basin around the map. This might have been a prototype of that. Either during the December 2014 Update or the January 2015 Update (Being fact checked) these were later replaced by completely empty ocean.

Grand Reef (OLD)
Though it is still in the game, some older cut content from the Grand Reef included terrain changes. Previously, massive spikes similar to those now found within the Crag Field. Also found in the biome were large crystals, which look highly similar to the large Mercury Crystal found in the Entity Gallery. It is possible the crystals in the biome acted as block-outs for future placement of Mercury Crystals.

Lilypad Islands
Floating in the water, the Lilypad Islands appears to be a biome of large lilypad structures rooted in medium-sized chunks of land. These Lilypads likely held the rocks in the water, keeping them afloat. This biome was likely replaced with the Underwater Islands biome, as it has the same properties as the Lilypad Islands.

The Lilypad Islands later went on to appear in Subnautica: Below Zero under the same name.

Twisty Bridges
The Twisty Bridges was a biome originally planned to be found in Subnautica. Development started as early as before the first early access release. Although some flora was made for the biome, it was left unfinished and eventually was cut from the game.

The biome was set to contain multiple cut items as well. The Mohawk plant was one of the cut Flora found dotting the landscape. The Blue Barnacles, which are still currently used in-game, were intended to line the bottoms of all the bridges. Both could be found in the Entity Gallery. The biome appeared to have been very similar to the Safe Shallows in design, Fauna, and Flora.

The biome was considered possible post 1.0 or expansion content but was instead included in Subnautica: Below Zero.

It was the planned spawn of the Cuddlefish, back when they were planned to be like Crashfish.

Entity Gallery
The Entity Gallery was a series of textureless, white boxes that could be spawned by typing "entgal" into the console. On top of each box, an entity from the world of Subnautica could be found. Of the various things found here, the models of the scrapped "Sandworm" and "Grab Crab" creatures were perhaps the most notable.

The Entity Gallery's removal may have been due to the multiple occasions in which Precursor objects were mistakenly added to the gallery; This resulted in Precursor objects and bases being revealed to the public long before they were intended to be. The most wellknown example of this was Experimental Update Version 46346, the "Skittles Update," in which many of the game's textures were converted to multicolored squares. This was because the game had gone over the limit of textures by the accidental addition of the Quarantine Enforcement Platform model and several other Precursor props to the gallery.

Running the command  would spawn in the Entity Gallery near the center of the map and teleport the player to it.

Leak
The Leak command was originally intended to create new leaks in a Cyclops. However, as Cyclops Flooding was removed from the game, it no longer does anything. It was executed with the command.

Lock
The Lock command was the opposite of the unlock command. It was intended to lock blueprints that were already unlocked. For example, the command  would've locked the recipe for a Solar Panel. The command was removed for an unknown reason, and it was run by typing.

Seal
The Seal command would have set the player's speed to a 5x multiplier. This was removed along with the ability to change speed not long before the Early Access Release. It was run by typing the command.

Shark
The Shark command would have set the player's speed to a 10x multiplier. This was removed along with the ability to change speed not long before the Early Access Release. It would've been accessed by running the command

Sonic
The Sonic command would have set the player's speed to a 50x multiplier. This was removed along with the ability to change speed not long before the Early Access Release. It could've been run by typing the command

Brain Coral Small
These cut Brain Coral Small appear to have been a relative to the Brain Coral added in-game. It is unknown if they would have functioned similarly to the Brain Coral, or if this was simply a placeholder name with no relation.

Dead Brain Coral
Dead Brain Coral is a cut form of Brain Coral from older versions. The coral would change to this white form when hit by the Survival Knife several times, similar to dead coral found in Earth's oceans. The coral would stop producing oxygen when dead.

This effect is still present in Slanted Shell Plate and Giant Bulb Bush

Reefback Coral 01
The Reefback Coral 01 is an unused type of Reefback Leviathan Coral set to appear on its back. It is unknown why this coral remains unused as it is fully modeled and textured.

Current Generator
The Current Generator was a deployable crafted using the Fabricator. The Current Generator took up four slots in the player's Inventory, meaning the player could carry twelve of them in a clear inventory. The Current Generator used no power and could be left active indefinitely.

Once the device was deployed and activated, it would produce a column-shaped hydro-current from an emitter on its front. This stream could push small and large objects alike, including Lifepod 5 and the Reefback Leviathan. However, the Seamoth and Cyclops were not affected by the Current Generator.

The Current Generator has been scrapped and is no longer available in the game. This could be to the fact that it would create lag and/or loading problems. At the time, it could've been obtained using the command, or spawned using

Biome Eggs
The Biome Eggs are cut items in Subnautica. It is unknown what they would've been used for, or what their purpose was. All that is currently known about them is that they would've been identified with the Specimen Analyzer, somehow. They can still be obtainable through Console Commands, but serve no function.

Bulb Zone Egg
The Bulb Zone Egg was a generic egg found within the Bulb Zone that would've been identified with the cut Specimen Analyzer. It can be spawned with the command

Grand Reef Egg
The Grand Reef Egg was a generic egg found within the Grand Reef that would've been identified with the cut Specimen Analyzer. It can be spawned with the command

Grassy Plateaus Egg
The Grassy Plateaus Egg was a generic egg found within the Grassy Plateaus that would've been identified with the cut Specimen Analyzer. It can be spawned with the command.

Kelp Forest Egg
The Kelp Forest Egg was a generic egg found within the Kelp Forest that would've been identified with the cut Specimen Analyzer. It can be spawned with the command.

Lava Zone Egg
The Lava Zone Egg was a generic egg found within the Lava Zone that would've been identified with the cut Specimen Analyzer. It could have been spawned with the command  however in the full release, using the command instead gives the player a Lava Lizard egg that cannot hatch and has the appearance of a Lava Zone Egg.

Mushroom Forest Egg
The Mushroom Forest Egg was a generic egg found within the Mushroom Forest that would've been identified with the cut Specimen Analyzer. It can be spawned with the command.

Safe Shallows Egg
The Safe Shallows Egg was a generic egg found within the Safe Shallows that would've been identified with the cut Specimen Analyzer. It can be spawned with the command.

Twisty Bridges Egg
The Twisty Bridges Egg was a generic egg found within the Twisty Bridges that would've been identified with the cut Specimen Analyzer. It can be spawned with the command.

Reefback Leviathan Egg
The Reefback Leviathan Egg is an unused egg that hatches an extremely small Reefback Leviathan when placed in containment. The model for this egg is shared with Spadefish Egg, which can be found in-game.

They were never implemented into the game, and are only spawnable with Console Commands. It can be spawned in still using the command.

Shuttlebug Egg
The Shuttlebug Egg is an egg that was never implemented into the game. It hatches into a Shuttlebug when in containment. The model and icon used by this egg were once shared by the Crabsnake egg. It is spawnable using the console command. This egg, as well as the Reefback Leviathan egg, can be found in the Primary Containment Facility's Egg Laboratory.

Lithium Ion Battery
The Lithium Ion Battery was an upgrade to the Battery, crafted using a Modification Station. The Lithium Ion Battery held twice as much energy as the Battery. The Lithium Ion Battery can only be crafted in Creative Mode, unlocked using the command  and crafted at the Modification Station in any game mode, or obtained using the command.

If in creative or unlocked using commands, the Lithium Ion Battery will appear in a fully unique section of the Modification Station. This section has its own icon that matches all of the others in the Modification Station and appears nowhere else.

The Ion Battery is the replacement for this upgraded battery. It uses an Ion Cube instead of Lithium to be crafted and has 500 power, whilst the Lithium Ion Battery has 200.

Nanowires
Nanowires were a nano-scale Electronic item crafted from Mercury Ore that was intended for quantum devices and sensors. It can be spawned using the command

Cold Water
Cold Water was less of a physical object and more of a status effect. When in Cold Water, the player's breathing would become ragged, depleting oxygen faster than normal. The player would also take damage if not properly protected using anything that provides Cold Resistance.

In the game files, assets for this effect exist. When spawned in-game, they will instantly kill the player and display a bright blue effect, simulating cold damage. In older versions, it could be spawned using the command, but it can no longer be spawned. This effect was likely to appear in the Arctic biome.

Ice Spikes
Ice Spikes would grow downwards inside the Arctic biome, forming Ice Patches in the surrounding area. These would inflict cold damage if not properly protected.

These have been repurposed for Subnautica:Below Zero.

Ice Patches
Ice Patches were patches of frozen ground that had less friction. Prawn Suits and terrestrial Fauna would have been at risk of slipping and sliding across the ground. These patches of ice were to have appeared in the Arctic biome.

Falling Spires
Falling Spires are currently located in the Inactive Lava Zone, however, they do not hold the same purpose they do now. In early development, these spires would have been affected by vibrations. If they were damaged enough, they would have collapsed and fallen over. These would only do crush damage.

Lava Bridges
For bottom-dwelling Fauna and Prawn Suits, Lava Bridges could prove dangerous. These bridges were weak connectors over large chasms and lava pits. However, if disturbed too heavily these bridges would collapse, dealing damage to the player, creatures, or vehicles. These would have extensively been used in the Lava Zone.

Lava Sinkholes
Lava Sinkholes were large holes in the seabed found in the Lava Zone with an odd, almost bubble-like object in the center. After some time, these bubbles would burst, erupting outwards violently and inflicting damage.

A single sinkhole exists within the Inactive Lava Zone known as the Lava Pit. It is purely decorative and does not have any of the features mentioned above.

Similar is included in Subnautica:Below Zero, albeit in smaller size.

Currents
Currents would have acted as moving water that would push items around, such as small Fauna, or possibly even the player. They could be found in different places, including caves. They are often diurnal, sometimes nocturnal. This idea was likely to work into the Current Generator before it was eventually cut as well.

Water Streams
Water Streams were a type of Ocean Current that would be much weaker than normal. They are smaller and are easier to swim through. They were to be considered universal, found in multiple places around the map.

Whirlpools
Whirlpools were designed to suck the player in and down. They would either block progression slightly, sucking the player away from locations and downwards, or they would pull the player down into aggressive fauna. These could occur anywhere but were intended to be very noticeable.

Physical Rocks
Physical Rocks were simple obstacles that were able to shift and move when vibrations occurred. They would also set off any motion-sensing triggers. Smaller ones could be picked up as items.

Silt
Sitting on the seabed, Silt acted as loose particles that, when interacted with by a creature or object, would obscure vision and become disturbed. The silt was usually located in caves, making it harder to visibly traverse them.

Weather
One of the most highly requested features throughout development, Weather was a system that was planned but never developed fully. The timing and different technical aspects of what weather would have been are unknown. It is confirmed that there were at minimum two main weather conditions and some wind effects, as heard in the sound files which can be played below.

The two moons of Planet 4546B would drastically affect the timing, severity, and type of weather. Some known types of weather were rain, snow, lightning storms (with ranging severity), and tsunamis. The worse the weather was, the harder it was to traverse the area underwater.

Weather was eventually recycled for Subnautica: Below Zero, which has intense lightning storms, rainstorms, and snow. Weather is mentioned in one of Sunbeam’s transmissions.

Thermometer
The Thermometer was a piece of equipment that allowed the player to see the temperature at their current location. It was crafted with a single Computer Chip.

It was removed because it was hard to implement into the latest HUD, and was rarely used during gameplay, which rendered it not worth keeping.

Its removal was made more apparent by the addition of built-in thermometers on vehicle HUDs (Seamoth, Prawn Suit, and Cyclops). While it can be spawned using the command, it will only appear as though you obtained it; nothing will appear within the inventory, indicating it's been blacklisted.

Bloom Plankton
Bloom Plankton are a small fauna species that were never implemented in the game, but can be spawned with "spawn bloom". According to the game files, it was meant to spawn in the Tree Cove in the Lost River. Bloom Plankton is found only in groups and usually invisible, only becoming visible when they are "charged" with light. Their color can be altered by shining different types of light onto them. Shining a Flashlight into a group of Bloom Plankton will cause them to glow bright white; if a flare is thrown near a group of Bloom Plankton they will glow red. This color will be retained for a brief moment before going invisible again.

When charged, they become a light source and will light up their surroundings. This could be used to the Player's advantage to navigate in dark areas. When charged with light, Bloom Plankton will constantly shift and move amongst each other. Bloom Plankton will swarm around light sources and stay near it.

Bullet Fish
References to a Bullet Fish have been found in the game files. Its behavior is quite similar to that of a Crashfish. The Bullet Fish would hide in a hole, waiting for the player to come in range. It would then quickly shoot out of the hole and begin to chase the player. If the fish manages to get close enough to the player, it would take 10 seconds worth of their oxygen. The fish would then swim back into the hole. The creature never received a final model and was eventually cut from the game.

Grabcrab
The Grabcrab was a Fauna that would leave its home to grab food and items. The Grabcrab Home, however, was never finished, and is merely seen as a placeholder in the form of a larger, overturned Grabcrab. Despite not being spawnable through console commands, the Grabcrab notably appeared in several instances of old development footage, as well as the Entity Gallery. It could be killed, but did not have a death state, resulting in it continuing to move, but being unable to be harmed. It's behaviour is similar to the Sea Monkey's from Subnautica:Below Zero.

The Grabcrab had sounds found in the game files of Subnautica, which can be played on the chart below. The Grabcrab also featured three separate texture variants. Alongside the Sand Worm, the Grabcrab's model is directly from a turbosquid model pack named the Space Insects Game Pack, created by Kalamona. It is likely that, similar to the Sand Worm, the Grabcrab was only intended for early testing purposes, and was removed from the game when it was no longer necessary to have.

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Grower
Referenced in the game files, the Grower was a simple creature that was never implemented. There is no model or texture for this creature, only a script. The creature was intended to simply grow and shrink in size, as well as pulse. There is no other known information on this creature.

Large Bird
This unnamed bird was dubbed the Large Bird by many. This bird was featured in the Subnautica Early Access Trailer and is seen flying along with a flock of Skyrays. However, even though the bird had a completed model, it was never put into the game.

The Large Bird was planned to be featured in Subnautica: Below Zero as the Dragonfly, but was cut due to the decision that more fauna would be unnecessary.

Reefback Leviathan Cut Features
At one point in development, Reefback Leviathans were planned to be able to burrow near the surface of the seafloor. Flora, Coral, and other small creatures would eventually establish themselves on top of the dormant Leviathans. If five or more moderate-sized creatures were too close, the Reefback Leviathans would become disturbed. They would slowly rise out of the ground and drift to a quieter place to rest.

Reefback Leviathans were also planned to be rideable. Originally, the Player was intended to have the ability to grab the Leviathan's tentacles, trailing behind the leviathan as it swam, but this concept was scrapped. .

Rock Puncher
The Rock Puncher was one of the most developed cut creatures. It had a complete model, working animations, and worked in-game. However, it was never added and was eventually cut entirely. However, it was later reused for Subnautica: Below Zero.

The Rock Puncher was to originally appear as a creature that would punch into rocks and terrain using its large appendages that closely resemble boxing gloves. It has six legs and could walk in all directions. The Rockgrub was originally referenced as a Rock Puncher Larva, then Rock Puncher Food, before finally keeping it as Rockgrub.

Sand Worm
The Sand Worm was a scrapped creature used for testing purposes. The Sand Worm made use of a model acquired from the Space Insects Game Pack by Kalamona for the body, and the model of the Tree Leech for the creature's burrow.

The Sand Worm had simple behaviors. It would detect when something had come above it's burrow, then jump out and attack, dealing rapid damage. This behavior is highly similar to the Crabsnake's behavior in the final game. It could not be spawned through commands, but it appeared in the Entity Gallery. Though only one skin is used, the Sand Worm's model featured an additional two skins.

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Sea Dragon Seamoth Animation
The Sea Dragon Seamoth Animation was a cut attack animation made for the Sea Dragon Leviathan in which it would grab the Seamoth and put it into its mouth in an attempt to crush the vehicle, similar to the existing animation for the Prawn Suit.

This animation was ultimately cut from the game due to being pointless, as the Seamoth's max depth was insufficient to reach the Inactive Lava Zone where the Sea Dragons reside so this animation would never occur in normal gameplay.

Slime
The Slime was a supposedly hazardous fauna meant to "Encourage you to explore at different times". This scrapped concept is only mentioned in a developer document as well as referenced in-game files. No other information is known about its purpose. The Slime was spawnable through the ID  in early builds of Subnautica.

The creature was non-interactable, resembling an unfinished, pulsating, organic sphere. There is no official model, texture, or programmed AI for this creature. In current builds the placeholder model, ambient animation, and spawn command are absent. It is only obtainable through item commands as a placeholder item under the name. Unused audio events under the name of "slime_killed" and "slime_stick" still exist within the game today. It also features two audio files, both named "slimed," implying that the slime would've been able to "slime" the player.

Trident
The Trident is a creature with little known about it outside of two very early development cards, which state that they were being prototyped using the "Shark" model, and that they would be able to knock items out of the player's inventory. There are three files in the code related to it: Trident, TridentHole, and TridentHome. They do not use the same system as most other creatures, and they do not use the FMOD audio system, which implies they were added very early in development, perhaps not long after the first protoypes. Either that, or it was a quick test that did not go much further.

Every Trident would have had a home. The home itself would have had two holes. When one of these holes was approached by the player, the Trident would come out of its home and make a swim from the hole it came out of to the other. When approached again, it would return back to the other holle. When it touched the player, it would have pushed the player away with significant force and potentially knock items out of their inventory. It did not deal any damage.

According to the FMOD event paths, the Stalker actually uses the audio that was originally meant for the Trident fish (event:/creature/trident/).

SnoozeBall
Little is known about the SnoozeBall, other than it at one time was represented by a Medium Bulb Bush model, with code related to it being a copy of the code for Gas Pods.

Hanging Seaweed
Hanging Seaweed was intended to be found around the Safe Shallows, and was simply seaweed that would hang over cliffs and off objects. There was no known use for them. They were likely only decoration for the area

Mohawk
The Mohawk was a cut plant planned to be part of the cut Twisty Bridges biome. These plants featured a curved shape, lined with fibers. At one point in development, a Mohawk could be found in the Jellyshroom Cave. While it was still in the game, the Entity Gallery contained four variants of the Mohawk.

It can still be spawned using commands. If the command  is used, the mohawk will spawn sideways. If instead the command  is used, it will spawn upright.

These plants later appeared in the Twisty Bridges biome in Subnautica: Below Zero, however, now under the name Scaly Maw Anemone.

Plant Middle 11
Plant Middle 11 is a cut plant that appears to be a collection of different blades. These plants were reskinned and implemented into Subnautica: Below Zero.

Spike Trap
The Spike Trap was a cut flora that was intended to grab onto the player from below and pull them inwards. They would do this using the four, orange tipped, white tendrils attached to the main body. It would have dragged the player in towards its large mouth seen at the center.

Because of the presence of a Spike Trap Seed icon, the Spike Trap could have been planted and grown on Exterior Growbeds. It is unknown if this would have provided extra uses.

The Spike Trap later appeared in Subnautica: Below Zero as a recolored variant with a slightly different name, the Spikey Trap.

Stitchgrass
Stitchgrass was intended to be a special plant that, when interacted with, would provide healing to nearby creatures. The player could use this plant to heal wounds, but using it too much in a short period time would kill it, no longer being able to heal. Stitchgrass could be found in almost any biome.

Unnamed Flora
This Unnamed Flora appears to be a Bioluminescent plant. It is made up of multiple fibers stretching upward, with tips that seem to glow a bright white.

Composting
Composting was a mechanic that was used to obtain Ethanol and Composted Materials, such as Compost Creepvine. This process likely would have involved placing plant matter into a Composter and allowing it to compost over time, then collecting materials and Ethanol. A similar process could have been done with Fertilizer, which would convert Ethanol into Ethylene.

Cyclops Flooding
In earlier versions of the game, the Cyclops would flood upon being damaged. This would have created leaks in the Cyclops' interior, which could have been repaired with a repair tool. The Cyclops would flood overtime, and after reaching a certain amount of water, would begin to sink to the seabed.

This feature was likely replaced with the newer mechanics due to the way it made the Cyclops invulnerable, as damage could easily be repaired and the cyclops was never really at risk.

Below is a video demonstration of the mechanic from a prototype test in 2014, which is almost exactly how it appeared in game.

Dialogue
Throughout Subnautica's development, there have been multiple instances of Dialogue, some of which have been cut, unused or updated and the old versions removed. The Dialogue page contains all cut and unused Dialogue found in the game files.

Durability
During early access, Durability was a mechanic associated with all variants of the regular Survival Knife. After a set number of strikes, a knife would be destroyed, requiring the player to craft a new one. The Survival Knife had 100 durability, the Thermoblade had 34 and the Hardened Blade had 200. The mechanic was removed along with the now-pointless Hardened Blade.

Objectives
Originally Subnautica was planned to have objectives. This was originally seen in Prototype 5, and would last for a while through development. However this was ultimately scrapped before Earliest Access was launched. Objectives also appeared in the Pax East 2014 demo.

- Prototype 5 (Known) Objectives: Find Computer, Get Dive Suit, Get Metal, Craft Tank, Craft Neoprene, Craft Flippers, Craft Knife, Get Kelp, Craft Battery, Craft Seajet, Craft Flashlight, Craft Bathysphere, Dive to 250 feet, Construct First Sub, Craft Welder, ~???

- Prototype 6 (Known) Objectives: Find Computer, Get Dive Suit, Get Metal, Craft Tank, Craft Neoprene, Craft Flippers, Craft Knife, Get Kelp, Craft Battery, Craft Seajet, Craft Flashlight, Craft Bathysphere, Dive to 250 feet, Construct First Sub, Craft Welder, ~??? (Due to First Sub not being craftable in this build, it is impossible to complete Construct First Sub objective.)

Overeating
During development, Overeating was a mechanic that would occur after the consumption of too many food items. If too many were eaten, the Overeating effect would occur, in which the player would begin to lose health due to blood loss¹. The only food item exempt from this was the Gel Sack. The message "blood loss detected" was a reference to one of the HEV suit damage warnings from Half-Life.

Upon eating too much, you are first warned of the impending complications that eating more will bring. If eating continues, the player would start to lose blood and take damage, which the PDA would notify you of.

Submarine Autopilot
Originally Submarines were planned to feature Autopilot. This was shown within the prototypes and some concept art. You could open a map and select a location, and the autopilot would run on it's own whilst you walked around the submarine. This was likely cut due to the complexity and changes with Submarine controls.

Terrain Generation
In Subnautica's early development, Terrain Generation was a planned feature. It would have worked by developing tile sets to randomly generate a certain biome. Using the Voxel Terrain system, these tile sets would have meshed together into a world that would be explorable. It is currently known that there were tile sets for the Lava Zone, Safe Shallows, Kelp Forest , Mushroom Forest and Bulb Zone.

Loot Distribution
The game has had many changes to loot distribution and creature spawn locations. Some, but not all, are listed below.

Blood Kelp Zone

 * Alien Containment fragment
 * Cyclops pressure compensator fragment
 * Mercury Ore

Bulb Zone

 * Alien Containment Fragment
 * Stillsuit Fragment
 * Vehicle Upgrade Console Fragment

Crag Field

 * Mercury Ore

Crash Zone

 * Vehicle Upgrade Console Fragment

Deep Grand Reef

 * Alien Containment Fragment
 * Vehicle Upgrade Console Fragment (around the Degasi Seabase)

Dunes

 * Vehicle Upgrade Console Fragment
 * Mercury Ore (in caves)
 * Stillsuit Fragment

Grand Reef

 * Alien Containment Fragment
 * Cyclops pressure compensator Fragment
 * Jellyray
 * Mercury Ore

Grassy Plateaus

 * Stillsuit Fragment

Jellyshroom Caves

 * Jellyray

Kelp Forest

 * Bleeder

Lost River

 * Hoopfish

Mountains

 * Crystalline sulfur
 * Stillsuit Fragment

Mushroom Forest

 * Vehicle Upgrade Console Fragment

Sea Treader's Path

 * Alien Containment Fragment
 * Mercury Ore (in caves)
 * Stillsuit Fragment

Sparse Reef

 * Crystalline sulfur
 * Mercury Ore

Lost River Tree Cove

 * Bloom Plankton
 * Crabsquid

Amino Acid
Amino Acid was an unimplemented raw material. It was used to create Graphene. It can be spawned in game using the command.

Battery Acid
Battery Acid (named BatteryAcidOld when spawned in game) was a craftable substance likely used while crafting Batteries. Not much else is known about this substance. It can be spawned using the command.

Calcium
Calcium was a craftable resource that was used in the production of Bleach and was made from Coral Tube Samples. It has now been replaced by Coral Tube Samples in the recipe for bleach.

Fabricator
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Carbon
Carbon was a substance that changed a few times before it eventually was cut. First, it was crafted by refining either plant matter or Calcite. In later development, this recipe was changed to require three Acid Mushrooms before it was eventually cut. It was primarily used to craft Batteries.

In old versions of the game, Carbon could be obtained by slashing a Stalker with a Survival Knife. It isn't fully known why this occurred or if it was intentional. While it can no longer be spawned in the most recent versions of Subnautica, the ID is.

Uses in Crafting
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Compost Creepvine
Compost Creepvine is not a substance, but instead an action. After the original Bioreactor was added in, the player could Compost Creepvine using three Creepvine Samples and a Tree Mushroom Sample. It can be spawned in using the command, but has absolutely no purpose.

Before the Bioreactor was added in, Compost Creepvine was likely an item planned to be created from a Composter, as it has a spawnable item. The use likely switched long before Early Access when the Composter was removed.

Emery
Emery (known as EmeryOld when spawned in game) was a material planned to be found in Subnautica. Not much is known about it other than the fact that it was obtainable through limestone outcrops and was used to craft the Survival Knife, and possibly the Drill. It is able to be spawned in using the console command.

Ethanol
Acting as Vehicle Fuel, Ethanol (known as EthanolOld when spawned in game) was intended to be used in the crafting of Ethylene and the powering of different Vehicles. It was to be made at a Composter from decaying/decomposing plant matter. It can be spawned in game using the command.

Ethylene
Not much is known about Ethylene aside from the fact it was used to stimulate and ripen fruit, cause flowers to bloom, and allowed leaves to shed. Using the command  will spawn it in.

Flint
Flint was a raw material used for crafting Flares. It was generally found in the Safe Shallows, Kelp Forest, and Grassy Plateaus. The command  allows it to be obtained in the final game. In older versions of the game, it is simply.

Graphene
Graphene was a material that was crafted at the Fabricator using Carbon. It can be spawned in using the command.

Hydrogen
Hydrogen (named HydrogenOld when spawned) was a gas-like substance used in crafting. Hydrogen was used to craft three Flares. To obtain Hydrogen, an Electrolizer would have been used. Calcium would produce Hydrogen when placed in water. It can be spawned in using the command.

Lodestone
Lodestone is an unknown material, only defined by its ID. It does not appear to spawn in-game, and no information can be found on it in any documentation. Since "lodestone" is the name given to a naturally magnetized sample of Magnetite, it was probably a precursor to that material. Using the command, it may be spawned in.

Magnesium
Magnesium was a material crafted using three Salt Deposits in the Fabricator. Magnesium was only used in two crafting recipes, that of the Repair Tool and Flare. As it was only used in a few recipes it was rendered useless and was removed. It can be spawned with the command.

Membrane
Membrane was a material obtained from Membrain Trees. It was originally planned to be used in the crafting of water, but eventually was removed and replaced by the Bladderfish in its sole recipe. It can no longer be spawned in, but the ID is.

Mercury Crystal
Mercury Crystal was a raw material planned to be used in crafting. It was a rare substance used in Thermometers, Barometers, Manometers, Sphygmomanometers, float valves, Mercury Switches, Mercury Relays, and Fluorescent Lamps. This ore was intended to be found at the border of Volcanic and Crystal biomes. It was only able to be found in the Entity Gallery on Early Access Release, but could spawn in earlier development builds.

Mercury Ore
Mercury Ore (or Cinnabar in some builds) was an uncommon material found in various biomes that was used solely to craft the Cyclops Fire Suppression System before being replaced by Crystalline Sulfur. It then remained in game until the full release, when it was finally cut.

Mercury Ore spawned in multiple biomes, including the Crag Field, the Deep Grand Reef, the Grand Reef, the Sea Treader's Path, the Sea Treader's Tunnel Caves, and the Sparse Reef. It can be obtained with the command.

Metal
Metal was going to be very similar to Titanium. It would have been crafted with 1 Metal Salvage. It was replaced by Titanium.

Neoprene
Neoprene was a substance crafted using Zinc at a Fabricator. It was used to craft Fins, Knives, Dive Tools, a Hammer, Welders, Seaglides, and Flares. The specifics of this substance is unknown.

Opal gem
Opal gem was likely a naturally spawning resource in very early builds of the game. The existence of it is only proven by language files.

Rutile
Rutile was a natural resource that existed in the early builds of Subnautica. It was originally used to craft Titanium. It did not spawn naturally and had to be spawned in through Console Commands. It is no longer in game.

Sand
Before terraforming was removed, you could dig Sand in the environment. It would be used to create Glass and Silicone. It was the only substance that could be dug without the use of a Terraformer. Upon dropping, it will produce a particle effect. The sand item was removed before the dig feature, making it unobtainable. It is still spawnable in game using the command.

Uranium
Uranium was an item belonging to the Advanced Materials category that was removed in the Voice of the Deep update. It was at first found as a raw material from deposits, and later became a crafted material made using three Uraninite Crystals, and was used in the crafting of Reactor Rods and several Electronic items. Uranium was removed to simplify the Reactor Rod recipe. It can still be spawned in game using the command.

Zinc
In early builds, Zinc could be obtained from Limestone Outcrops and Stalagmites. It was primarily used for crafting batteries, but was also involved in the crafting of Neoprene.

Fabricator
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Cyclops Pressure Compensator
The Cyclops Pressure Compensator was an Upgrade Module for the Cyclops. When put into the Cyclops upgrade panel, it added 900 meters to both the safe and crush depth, which would stack if multiple copies were equipped. It and the two upgraded versions below were cut and replaced with the non-stacking Cyclops Depth Modules. Just before being cut the description was altered, indicating there may have been some plans to retain the Pressure Compensator. Works in game but has no icon, and can be spawned with the command.

Even in current versions of the game, although only with external game modifications, an object can be spawned which has the same ID as the Cyclops Pressure Compensator. It appears it was meant to be constructable with the Habitat Builder, inside a Cyclops or Seabase. When constructed, it would have increased the crush depth by 200 meters. It could also take damage and be repaired, with it only having 100 max health. It could have been unlocked by scanning fragments in the Blood Kelp Zone or Grand Reef.

The buildable object does not have a properly setup model and does not function at all.

Shell Hull Reinforcement Module
The Shell Hull Reinforcement Module was an Upgrade Module for the Cyclops. When used to upgrade the Cyclops, it added 1600 meters to both the safe depth and the crush depth. This item was removed when the new, non-stacking upgrade system was introduced. Works in game but has no icon, and can be spawned in using the command.

Chelonian Hull Reinforcement Module
The Chelonian Hull Reinforcement Module added 2800 meters to both the safe depth and the crush depth. It was the strongest reinforcement module. To create the module, blueprints from the Specimen Analyzer were required as Reefback DNA was part of the recipe. This item was removed when the new, non-stacking upgrade system was introduced, along with the removal of DNA samples. Works in-game but has no icon, and can be spawned using the command.

Aluminium Oxide Deposit
The Aluminium Oxide Deposit was an ore deposit that was intended to give Aluminium Oxide (which was renamed to the Ruby later in development) upon being drilled. It was never implemented. However, this has been repurposed for Subnautica: Below Zero.

Diamond Deposit
Diamond Deposits were intended to drop Diamonds when mined. They were never implemented into the game. However, this has been repurposed for Subnautica: Below Zero.

Mercury Deposit
Mercury Deposits were cut along with Mercury Ore. They were findable in most places Mercury Ore was located.

Sulfur Deposit
Sulfur Deposits originally were intended to drop Crystalline Sulfur when broken. They were likely intended to be found under the brine in the Lost River.

Basalt Outcrop
Basalt Outcrops were a common outcrop type that spawned in many biomes, and looked very similar to the Shale Outcrop. They dropped Gold, Diamond, and Uraninite Crystals. They received a final model and why they were removed is not fully known. Its model was reused as the Galena Outcrop in Subnautica: Below Zero. Basalt Outcrops spawned in the following biomes:
 * Blood Kelp Caves
 * Blood Kelp Zone
 * Bulb Zone
 * Bulb Zone Caves
 * Crag Field
 * Deep Grand Reef
 * Grand Reef
 * Lava Geyser
 * Mountain Island
 * Mountains Caves
 * Mushroom Forest
 * Sea Treader's Path
 * Sea Treader's Tunnel Caves
 * Underwater Islands

ID:

Calcite
Calcite acted as both an outcrop and a material. When broken up it would drop Calcium, but would also allow harvesting of the chunks for other uses. These uses included Cements, Fertilizers, Metals, Glass, Rubber, and Paint. Though unable to be spawned, it's ID is

Dolomite
Dolomite was a harder and denser type of outcrop. It would drop Copper Ore when harvested. It also had the possibility of giving Gasses or Oil. Though it cannot be spawned in, it's ID is.

Obsidian Outcrop
Obsidian Outcrops were Harvesting Nodes found in the Lava Zones, they dropped only Diamond and never received a final model. They spawned in the Inactive Lava Zone, the Inactive Lava Zone Corridor, the Lava Castle, and the Lava Lakes. It can still be spawned in-game with the command

Rocks
Rocks were small outcrops that spawned in the Mushroom Forest. They usually dropped Magnesium, although they had a small chance to drop Copper Ore.

Minimap
Featured on old development documentation, the Minimap was a planned feature for the game. This would have worked by tracking areas you had been and displaying them on the Minimap as mapped terrain. This feature appears to have been cut long before any playable version of the game was finished.

Scanning System (Old)
The Scanning System in older documentation detailed some differences. Upon looking directly at an object for multiple seconds, a short description of the item would appear on the HUD. These messages would only appear if they had not been shown in the last ten messages during the current play session.

If objects were scanned with a Scanner, they would both display their short description no matter how long since it had been seen, as well as unlock an optional longer version. These were likely similar to the Databank entries in the game currently.

Signals
Even though they are still in the game, Signals have gone through many changes. The most prominent was a move from items to being on their own PDA page. Before they had a custom tab (which is between the Inventory and Log tabs) they were items you could find in chests and containers, or were given when a radio signal was obtained.

In early development, Signals were simply found in either chests or containers, and they usually lead to simple places. Some led to caves, others to certain locations. Lifepod 5 was the only one that was on at all times and needed no object to work. These Pings would be equipped either by holding them in your hand or placing them in the Chip Slots.

During early development, these Pings appeared as simple white blips that would expand and fade. There was no way to edit them at all, and they would simply give a location. Before they were given an icon, they appeared in the world as placeholder white "X" markers. They were eventually given a final design image before being cut and changed into the item-less system.

Below is a compilation of all cut Signal Locations from the game. Some locations were cut from the game entirely, while others remained but lost any pings related to them.

INFINITE Poster
Little is known about the INFINITE Poster other than it exists. There is no known spawn ID. The origins of this poster are also unknown.

Green Cap
The Green Cap exists in the texture files for the Caps, hinting at some point there was another cap and sunglasses. It is unknown if these textures were ever planned to have a use, or if these are simply leftovers from an original texture taken from elsewhere (possibly Natural Selection 2).

Accumulator
The Accumulator was a machine meant to store power for Seabases. The Accumulator's model is very similar to those used by the old Bioreactor and the old Thermal Plant. It is unknown why it was cut. While it can no longer be spawned, a placeholder item with a very brief description can be spawned with.

Bioreactor (Old)
The old Bioreactor was built outside of a base and could only be powered using Fungal Samples and Creepvine Samples, unlike the more recent Bioreactor which can use any organic material. It uses a model that is highly similar to the Accumulator and the old Thermal Plant. It is no longer spawnable

Botanical Analysis Machine
The Botanical Analysis Machine was a machine meant to study Flora. It was cut when the Scanner was added. It was built with the Habitat Builder.

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Centrifuge
The Centrifuge was meant to be used to turn DNA samples collected using the Transfuser into four transfuser serums. The Centrifuge was to be crafted with a Habitat Builder in a base. It can still be spawned in game, but has no collision and is non-functional. To do so, run the command. The Centrifuge's model can be found in Omega Lab in Below Zero.

Composter
A Composter was a object used to convert plant matter into Ethanol and other types of Plant Matter. It would have likely involved placing materials inside and allowing them to compost over time. There was no known model made, and the tool appears to have been scrapped very early. The functionality of this object appears to have been moved over to the old version of the Bioreactor, before that was cut as well.

Fragment Analyzer
The Fragment Analyzer was a Placeable Item that was used to decode Fragments into Blueprints. Only one fragment was needed to research a blueprint; however, the Fragment Analyzer could research four fragments at a time. The progress of analysis was displayed when the player looked at the Fragment Analyzer. At one point a Fragment Analyzer was pre-installed inside the Lifepod. The functionality of the Fragment Analyzer was given to the Scanner and the fragment system was reworked.

It was also intended to be used for the identification of the scrapped biome eggs before this function was transferred to the Specimen Analyzer, which later was also scrapped. It can still be spawned in using the command.

Nuclear Reactor (Old)
The old Nuclear Reactor was built outside of the Seabase and had to be supplied with raw Uraninite to function. While it is unable to be spawned in, it's ID is.

Observatory (Old)
The Old Observatory was a small primitive glass box that could be constructed with the Mobile Vehicle Bay. Unlike the newer Observatory it was not a Seabase module and was instead freestanding. It had two entrances and was primarily used to observe Fauna and the environment. The only way to move it was to use Floaters. Though it can no longer be spawned in, it's current ID is.

Power Generator
The Power Generator was a Placeable Item that generated Power for Seabases using Power Cells, of which it could hold six, similar to the Cyclops' engine, which the Power Generator also resembles. In the earliest versions of Subnautica, it was the only method to give energy to Seabases. It was only a temporary power source, and was removed when it was replaced by the Nuclear Reactor and Reactor Rods.

Specimen Analyzer
The Specimen Analyzer was a machine meant to study Eggs. It was removed when the Alien Containment and Scanner were added. Despite being removed, you can still see its model in Below zero's Research Base Zero. It can be spawned in game, but doesn't function and only holds small eggs. The command to do so is.

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Thermal Plant (Old)
The old variation of the Thermal Plant didn't vary all that much from it's current counterpart, the Thermal Plant. Mainly, the old Thermal Plant had a model similar to the Accumulator and the old Bioreactor. It also only stored fifty power at maximum.

Aurora (Old)
The Aurora used to be a flat, 2D texture. This texture was based off the Aurora Concept Art, which featured a much sleeker design with a smaller bridge at the top and front-facing windows. The devs threw it together on March 11th, 2014 and it was fully implemented on March 25th, 2014.

Later into development, specifically seen on August 18th, 2014, the Aurora changed to a different 2D image, a much more recent version of the Aurora model. It was in a unique position, similar to the original concepts, but using the newer model.

The next time the Aurora was seen, it was a 3D model, seen during the Early Access launch. Two models, a non-damaged Aurora and a damaged Aurora, were both uploaded to the Trello. The non-damaged model never appears in game.

The Aurora at this stage had no interior. The simple interior was added on April 4th, 2015, the Crash Site Update. This update featured a different Aurora interior, with a different entrance. If the Player were to go underwater at the port side, a hole could be found that led directly to the Drive Core. Alternatively, going through the front led directly there after climbing to the top.

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Aurora 2D=

Alternative Endings
Credits= The Credits went through two iterations before finally being set as a simple scroll on a black screen.

The first version of the credits depicted different biomes and scenes from Subnautica, with names being displayed during each area change. The second was a video recording of the Player swimming through an area while the credits show up around them. Both can be viewed below, along with early in-dev footage of the ending cutscenes.

Obraxis confirmed they went unfinished due to the desire to not record any footage from in-game, which would be necessary due to loading times and such, as well as a lack of time for polish.

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Cave Crawler Ending= The Cave Crawler Ending is an older version of the Launch Sequence involving the Neptune Escape Rocket. The ending contained the same string of events with minor changes, along with one major change. The Arctic Landmass the Player looks at is designed differently, and some dialogue was altered slightly. The Sea Emperor's dialogue is not present in this version, nor is the "One Trillion Credits" message. After the screen faded to black, the Credits began.

The most major change was the original implications of the Cave Crawler Ending. As stated by Obraxis, the Cave Crawler was intended to be infected with the Kharaa Bacterium; the idea being used to link the ending of Subnautica directly to Natural Selection, a game also developed by Unknown Worlds Entertainment. The cave crawler would've escaped and spread the infection, leading directly to the wars during Natural Selection. As explained, it was cut due to the development team feeling it was too dark of an ending, thus replacing it with the current one.

The name is based off the Cave Crawler, an aggressive scavenger Fauna, which crawls across the roof of the Neptune Escape Rocket at the very end of the cutscene before it cuts to the credits.

Intro (Old)
In earlier builds of the game, before the Lifepod 5 intro cutscene was added, the PDA originally would monologue the plot as an Intro. In these earlier versions of the game, the plot involved the Aurora being a Terraforming Ship. These ships would terraform other planets to allow for human habitation. On this mission, however, the Aurora was struck by an unknown energy pulse and was shot down, similar to the current in-game event. During these builds, no other story was given until it was replaced. This can be played below.

On top of this, there is an even older intro heard in the Jiaolong Testing Video. This older version appears to be audio of Lifepod 5 being jettisoned and landing in the ocean. This is one of the only known recorded versions of this intro.

Kharaa Bacterium (Old)
Back during early story development, the Kharaa Bacterium, originally called "Carar", looked much different. Instead of its green glow that is seen today, the older version took up a much more different approach. The cysts would have glowed bright orange and the cracks were more visible. This was likely changed to differentiate it from Natural Selection Two's version of the Kharaa.

Drill
The Drill was planned to be an item in Subnautica. Little is known about the drill and it was scrapped in early development. However, its main purpose would probably have been drilling outcrops or drilling in the ground. The icon has since been removed and it no longer has a use. Though it cannot be used, it can be spawned in using the command.

Hardened Blade
The Hardened Blade was an upgraded version of the Survival Knife. It was crafted with the Modification Station. Its damage output is 30 health. Before durability was removed, it had double the durability of the Survival Knife. It was removed since it was deemed worthless when durability was removed. Despite being removed, it is still mentioned in the "Degasi Voice Log #8 - Risk Taking." It can still be spawned in and used as intended using the command.

Electrolizer
The Electrolizer was a tool that would have converted Water into Hydrogen and Oxygen. When it was used, it would spark and produce evaporation effects. If the tool was use in a submarine, it would add more Oxygen to the sub as it was produced and likely lower the water level slightly (if flooding).

Powerglide
The Powerglide was an upgrade for the Seaglide. The Player could use the main functionality of it by holding, which would shoot the player forward at 3x the speed of a normal seaglide. When not holding the speed button, the Powerglide functioned as a normal Seaglide, minus the removed light.

The Powerglide's model was identical to that of the Seaglide's. The player would originally receive one upon starting a creative save, which was later replaced with a normal Seaglide. It was cut early in development due to the Player being able to glitch into the ground. It is no longer spawnable, though the ID is.

Terraformer
The Terraformer was a tool that allowed the player to remove material from one place in the world and deposit it elsewhere. A counter showed the current amount of material held by the device.

The Terraformer was removed due to performance issues. The Terraformer would store it's data at a specific location in the game's files, and would apply the changes saved to this file when loading terrain. This caused massive lag spikes and prompted a practice of deleting this stored data in order to increase performance.

If the Terraformer is spawned in more current versions, the description is "RIP terraformer" referring to the development team's disappointment in having to remove it. The item texture in the inventory has also been deleted and changed to the ? icon. Although it is still functional when spawned in, all changes made to the terrain using the Terraformer will be reset upon reloading the world. It can be spawned in using the command

Terraformer Fragments were to be scattered in certain biomes. They were intended to be scanned to obtain a Terraformer. Where it would have spawned and how many were required to complete the blueprint is unknown. Just like the actual Terraformer, it can still be spawned in using the command.

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Transfuser
The Transfuser was a Tool intended to sample DNA from life forms and then use this DNA in the Centrifuge to create consumable items that would alter the player's or other creatures' attributes. The model was reused for Subnautica: Below Zero's Bioscanner, which was also eventually cut due to story changes.

The player can still obtain one in the creative blueprints, or spawn one in using the command. The Transfuser's description was changed to: congrats translators, we made a game!

Transfuser Fragments were to be found in different biomes across the map. They were intended to be scanned to obtain a Transfuser. Where it would have spawned is unknown. It can still be spawned in using the command.