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Coral Gardens
May 20, 2026 at 07:07 AM
Corrected the setting from the desert planet Zezura to the ocean moon where the game actually takes place; kept all biome and sub-biome details
The Coral Gardens is a biome on the ocean moon in Subnautica 2. It features extensive coral reef formations and is one of the larger biome areas on the planet, with at least two identified sub-biomes: Dolerite Spires and Graveyard Spires. The biome name was discovered by community members who spotted file names visible in the background of a dev vlog video.
File names from the dev vlog footage revealed two sub-biomes within the Coral Gardens:
Sub-Biome | What the Name Suggests |
|---|---|
Dolerite Spires | Tall, columnar rock formations made of dolerite, a type of dark igneous rock formed from cooling magma. The name suggests dramatic vertical terrain with dark-colored geological pillars rising from the seafloor amid coral. |
Graveyard Spires | The "graveyard" designation suggests an environment featuring the remains of large creatures, skeletal structures, or ancient formations among spire-like rock columns. This could be a darker, more foreboding section of the Coral Gardens. |
These names come from development file names and may not represent final naming. The sub-biome structure suggests the Coral Gardens is a diverse environment with distinct zones rather than a uniform coral field.
Dev Vlog 2 ("Building Unknown Worlds") showcased the environmental design process for the ocean moon's biomes. Senior Environment Artist Ben Hale and his team use custom tools to create natural-looking terrain:
MeshBlend: A custom tool that eliminates visible seams where 3D assets meet, creating seamless transitions between coral formations and rock surfaces. Hale described the tool as "black magic."
Tufa Kit pipeline: A specialized pipeline built with Substance Designer and ZBrush for creating realistic rock formations. Individual rock assets can reach nearly one million polygons for ultra-detailed seabeds.
Like all biomes on the ocean moon, the Coral Gardens is entirely handcrafted rather than procedurally generated. Level Designer Artyom O'Rielly stated: "Each zone is thought through and designed by hand." Every terrain feature, resource node placement, and creature spawn point is deliberately positioned by the development team.
Depth range and placement in the ocean moon's progression
Specific creatures inhabiting the biome
Unique resources available in the Coral Gardens
Whether the Blight affects this biome
Visual details of the alien coral species
Specific differences between the Dolerite Spires and Graveyard Spires sub-zones
