White Gold - Shark riding and giant mantis?

Deep Shadows is asking for community input into White War, asking if shark riding (just as it says - you can ride a shark) and giant mantis critters should be removed from their FPS/RPG to make it more "realistic" or not. Head over to check the sample screens and vote "yes" to removing them.
More information.

The giant mantis just needs to be decreased in size a little and it would be realistic since there really are giant mantis in the area where this game is set.

The giant mantis is a bit stupid. I'm not particularly fussed whether the game is hyper realistic or not but there doesn't seem to be a good reason for it's inclusion.

The shark riding is kind of amusing though. BP had alot of little quirky things here and there. Also, if it acts as a "stealth vehicle" it could have it's own use as well… apparently you need a certain perk to ride it.

I have no issue with the inclusion of a few silly elements …

Same here. Sounds like fun and it's not even that unrealistic. Divers "ride" mantis and smaller sharks or those huge 60ft/18m whale sharks all the time. Though I can't tell what they mean by "ride" in case of the game. The pics are not working at the moment. In real life divers grab the fins or the wings in case of Mantis to "ride" them.

Both seem silly to me. I'm looking forward more to Precursors, though, so no big deal.

Originally Posted by Moriendor
Divers "ride" mantis and smaller sharks or those huge 60ft/18m whale sharks all the time. Though I can't tell what they mean by "ride" in case of the game. The pics are not working at the moment. In real life divers grab the fins or the wings in case of Mantis to "ride" them.

The picture shows a guy on a shark riding it like you would a horse. It looks rediculous.

Originally Posted by BillSeurer
The picture shows a guy on a shark riding it like you would a horse. It looks rediculous.

I thought it reminded me of the 'whale rider' look.

I'm all for giant mantisses and shark riding.

Oops. Due to the pics not working earlier it looks like I confused the mantis with a manta ray. Now that the pics are working again and now that I know what a mantis is I guess I'll have to reconsider my statement that divers are riding mantis in real life all the time .
And I agree that the shark riding looks pretty ridiculous. Holding on to the back fin instead of sitting on it would look more natural/realistic but if the whole game has a humorous flavor to it then might as well go with the horseback type of riding. Up to the devs. They need to figure out if it would feel totally out of place or not.

Both seem silly to me, although the shark riding seems particularly absurd and would probably bother me greatly if it were included.

But I mean we've cloned sheep, and grown ears in petri dishes, so spawning giant mutant mantises seems like the next logical step.

"This is the price [we] pay for dabbling in super-science."

Originally Posted by Guhndahb
But I mean we've cloned sheep, and grown ears in petri dishes, so spawning giant mutant mantises seems like the next logical step.

"This is the price [we] pay for dabbling in super-science."

It's incredibly cliched though. It were science what done it.

Originally Posted by Guhndahb
Both seem silly to me, although the shark riding seems particularly absurd and would probably bother me greatly if it were included.

The way I would enjoy its' inclusion is if it was there, optional and incredibly out of place and absurd.

Originally Posted by ShadowMoses
It's incredibly cliched though. It were science what done it.

I agree, I was trying to make my text drip with sarcasm.

Originally Posted by txa1265
The way I would enjoy its' inclusion is if it was there, optional and incredibly out of place and absurd.

True, I don't mind "easter egg" type elements like that at all, as long as they really are far out of the way. I guess it depends on their presentation.