Deep Ecosystem

7 predator/prey relationships built around real Subnautica 2 species. ShiverLeviathan, CollectorLeviathan, NeedlerShark, NibblerShark, Marrowbreach, Houndgar and FourEye all hunt their natural prey.

Every creature now has its own state machine running independently:

- Idle: creatures wander naturally using the game's own movement system

- Hunt: hungry predators lock onto nearby prey and chase them down using pathfinding

- Flee: prey detect predators within 80m and bolt in the opposite direction

- Rest: exhausted creatures stop to recover energy for 30 to 90 seconds

- Defend: territorial creatures close in on intruders with a 4 second warning before attacking

Each creature tracks Hunger, Energy and Fear on a 0 to 100 scale, updated every 500ms. Hunger drives hunting, low energy forces rest, high fear triggers flight.

A global regulator checks species populations every 5 minutes. If a species drops below 30% of its baseline, predators become less aggressive toward it. Above 150%, predators hunt it more eagerly. Extinction and overpopulation are both prevented automatically.

The ocean reacts to what you do. Driving a vehicle scatters creatures within 40 meters. Walking near small fish makes them nervous. Staying close to a creature calms it down. Building a base permanently pushes nearby wildlife away. Harvesting fish for food is tracked in the population balance.

The ecosystem state is saved between play sessions. Population modifiers are written to disk and restored on next launch so the ocean remembers its history.

The creature list is only rescanned every 3 seconds instead of every frame. Actor names, locations and AI controllers are all cached. Territory and rest checks run every 2 seconds instead of every tick. The mod supports up to 50 creatures with full AI simultaneously with no framerate impact.