Floater

Template:Class 2 FaunaFloaters are a passive, interactive fauna species found in Safe Shallows and Grassy Plateaus. They can be caught and can be attached to items and props, but not all of them will provide buoyancy after attachment. There are two types of Floaters: smalls and giants. The small Floaters can be held in the players hands, and can be attached to items. Ancient Floaters on the other hand, are found underneath the Floating Island and Underwater Islands. They are huge relatives of the small, portable Floaters, and hold up the latter and the former. Ancient Floaters are uninteractable.

Floaters can be used to move rocks that occasionally block cave entrances.

In Game Modes#Creative Mode, the player will spawn with 5 floaters in their inventory.

They will at times attempt to attach themselves to the player. This will result in the player's 10% health loss and the Floater's death.

Appearance

Floaters distinguish themselves by their transparent, gelatinous, blue-colored surface and a pink core, or body. The life forms have strange bumps on their blue masses with five small, white circles in the center. They have multiple small tentacle-like arms near a mouth with which they attach themselves to objects. The mouth has small teeth inside.

Behavior

Floaters are usually found attached to rocks, rendering them buoyant.

If released in open water, they will quickly float to the surface.

If released close to another creature, the Floater will home in on the creature and attach itself to it, making the creature partly or completely immobile and dragging it towards the surface. In some cases, this will kill the creature after a short while. For other instances, with large creatures, like Reefbacks, the Floaters will greatly hinder the latters' movements.

Hazards to Vehicles

Despite their small size, the Floater's ability to stick to any surface and its high buoyancy makes it a trouble for both the Seamoth and the Cyclops.

Touching a Floater with the Seamoth will make it attach to it, rendering the player unable to exit the vehicle.

A single Floater attached to a Cyclops can tilt it to the point of complete loss of control of the vehicle.

Although they are mostly considered as hazards, it can be considered a last resort to attach Floaters to a sinking Cyclops to prevent it drop sinking past crush depth, so you can repair and save it. The Floaters will have to be removed after the repairing the Cyclops, in order to use it again.

Energy Value

×1000

Data Bank Entry

<tabber> Floater=

Two species living in symbiosis, which attach to and attempt to feed on any objects they come into contact with. Dominant Lifeform: The pink main body and inner suction jaw is the dominant creature. Microorganism Membrane: The outer, gel-like substance is a mesh of microorganisms capable of forming a sealed vacuum around the creature's jaws. Helium Buffer: A thin layer of helium is stored within the outer membrane, providing buoyancy to the floater and anything it is attached to. Assessment: Appears vulnerable to artificial detachment. Lifecycle and evolutionary explanation unclear at this time. Further research required.

|-| Ancient Floater=

Biodata suggests these vast floaters have matured in an ingenious symbiosis with the land and ecosystems they have attached to. The attached landmass is raised in the water, increasing sunlight and encouraging plantgrowth The floater likely leeches a composite of organic residues and minerals from the rock itself These circumstances must have held for thousands of years for the floaters to reach this size

</tabber>

Gallery

<tabber> Screenshots=

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  Underside, showing mouth

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  Bioluminescence

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  A Floater held in the players hands

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  A Floater attached to a boulder

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  Ancient Floaters found underneath the Floating Island

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  Ancient Floaters found underneath the Underwater Islands

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  Floaters attached to a cluster of rocks in Grassy Plateaus

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  A Floater lifting a Seamoth

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  Some Floaters holding up a large rock

|-| Concept Art=

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  Concept Art

|-| Other=

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  Ancient Floaters as seen on Trello

</tabber>

Trivia

• Despite being one of the most peaceful Life Forms in the game, the Floater is also one of the most destructive, as it can cause the player to lose their Seamoth and Cyclops, and even kill them.
• Floaters are currently the only life form in the game the player holds with two hands.
• Floaters may be based off a real-life deep sea creature named "pyrosomes" which share a similar appearance to Floaters and are also made up of a colony of creatures. They also can grow to large sizes, just like the Floaters under the floating islands.