Real Sonar

Warning: This mod can contain flashing lights and loud sounds. If you have photosensitive epilepsy or are sensitive to high-frequency sounds, do not use this mod.

Sonar can now kill you.

Based on real-life military submarine sonar, this mod overhauls the in-game sonar system to make it more dangerous and challenging to manage.

Crewmates - will need to be more aware of their surroundings, stay away from hull breaches while the sonar is active, and wear an anechoic suit to enter the deadly echo chambers known as ballast tanks.

Captains - will have to be extremely careful with their use of active sonar, be constantly aware of crew positions, and communicate when it's safe to do repairs or go outside.

Adding to the captain's decision-making and skill ceiling, sonar can now be utilized in new play-styles as a tool to fight off creatures, with the caveat of potentially drawing the attention of more or causing severe injury to the crew if there's a surprise hull breach.

Active sonar now sounds different for each player, depending on their situation, distance, and level of protection. It might sound nice inside the submarine, but I wouldn't recommend stepping outside to get a better listen.

Some real-life context:

When submerged, a submarine's active sonar can reach volumes of 235db, which is 724x louder and 3.16 billion times the intensity of a jet engine. This makes active sonar one of the loudest man-made sounds in existence, almost exceeding a nuclear explosion in the air. Underwater exposure to a single nearby sonar ping could cause severe internal damage, rupture organs, and even melt your brain.

What does this mod do?

• Fresh UI and sounds for the Nav Terminal, Sonar Monitor, and Shuttle Terminal • Active sonar that damages nearby submerged humans and creatures • [Lua] Directional sonar focuses the pressure waves in one area for amplified damage • A new sound system, allowing sonar pings to sound different for each player • 373 total custom sound effects • 326 different sonar pings, made by audio engineers @Lightness and @S0lver • 28 human sound effects, voiced by Rirr and Kablecart • 12 horrific and creative new afflictions to represent the injuries from active sonar • 12 custom injury overlays for visual feedback • 3 unique medical treatments to treat injuries and cause lethal "accidents" • A new sonar-protective diving suit that absorbs sound, hiding players on the radar. By Rirr • [Lua] A new AI system for bots to make them behave intelligently around active sonar • [Lua] Smart hull detection for calculating how sonar travels through gaps in the submarine • A new craftable tablet that lets the captain remotely control the sonar and engines • [Lua] Enemy submarines that will periodically toggle their active sonar • [CL Lua] A custom in-game menu for customizing the mod • Adjusted sonar ranges

Bonus: check out M's Immersive Sonar UI mod for a different style UI!

Requirements

Strictly speaking, there are no hard requirements. However, some features from the above list (tagged with [Lua]) require server-side Lua, or client-side Lua if playing offline.

Compatibility

Real Sonar is compatible with the vast majority of mods, including Neurotrauma. A small list of mods with compatibility issues can be found on this Google Doc

FAQ

Q: How do I activate beacon stations with this mod? Beacon stations do less damage and have shorter range than a standard sonar system. Still, wearing the new anechoic diving suit and aiming the station's sonar away from your exit path is recommended. An anechoic suit can be bought or crafted using a standard diving suit, titanium-aluminum alloy, and six rubber, which can all be obtained by deconstructing or stealing at the start of the game.

Q: Can I modify the sonar damage or other aspects of the mod? Yes. The mod is fully configurable via the in-game Real Sonar settings menu.

Q: Where can I find the in-game settings menu? The in-game settings menu requires client-side Lua to access. Once installed, you can find the Real Sonar settings button at the bottom of the pause menu..

Q: Am I supposed to take damage from sonar in the ballast tank? Yes and no. Without Lua, this is the default behaviour. Lua is required to accurately determine if a player is in reach of an active sonar and not just in a body of water.

Q: How does this mod play with bots? Yes. Bots will know when a nearby sonar system is active and try to avoid submerged hull breaches until it is safe. They will still repair these breaches, but only if they can access an anechoic suit for protection. The bots will communicate these scenarios (and more) over the radio in chat. On the medical side, bots can apply all the new treatments to cure sonar afflictions with no problems.

Q: Does active sonar hurt creatures? Yes. Active sonar does varying amounts of damage to all life forms depending on their distance from the terminal. However, because fish are more hydrodynamic and don't have air-filled cavities like humans, they are far less affected by the sonar's pressure waves and, therefore, take much less damage.

Q: Can I enable this mod in an already-active campaign? The short answer is yes. However, the sonar-related medical items and diving suit won't spawn in the world or be available in shops, meaning you will have to craft them.

Q: Why isn't the mod working for me? The sonar still behaves like vanilla.