Subnautica

[Skybird]

I follow this game since I bought it as Early Access early last year. It still is in Early Access.

Set in a SciFi environment, it puts the player into the role of the only survivor of a starship that wrecked on a water world. He makes his escape from his life pod, only to find himself needing to discover the huge ocean around, the various habitat zones in it, dangerous tunnels and caves with hungry carnivores, exploring the starship wreck which still burns and radiates, and finding a way to deal with the growing pressure if wantngn to explore the deeper and darker abysses of the wide ocean range around. Of course there is various flora and fauna of already huge variety, some of which are harmelss, some are dangerous, and some serve as resources.

The player explores this environment, collects ressources, snippets of information blueprints from the starship wreck, to build new equipment, parts for a sea lab that can be freely constructed, and small and big submarines. Not a realistic diving simulation, the diving in Subnautica nevertheless is great fun and looks very nice. Its probbaly the best looking underwater environment I have ever seen in any game relating to such an environment

The storyline is not yet fully developed, but there are several playing modes that already can deliver good fun if understanding the game to be an open sandbox. Included is a god mode where you can just cionmstruct away without needing to care for annoiyance slike needing to eat, save your life and collecting resources. this game mode is expected to be erased form the final version of the game. The hardcore survival game mode however can be very unforgiving.

Visually, I was hooked by the way they created the water, the kelp forests, the waves and spray on the surface, the visual display of water and spray on the player's diving mask when breaking through the water surface, the sun - or moons - shining through the breaking waves at the surface - the environment, with full day and night cycle, is a sight to see. At night, the ocean changes into a dark cosmos filled with ballets of dancing colours and lights on a black stage.

The style of technology is very much SciFi, obviously, and the animals, fishes, are a bit too colourful and a bit too comic-like, I would have preferred a more "realistic" look there, more natural looking. However, it is a game - and a real good looking one, I admit.

Players getting hooked on castle-building, really should have a look at this. The Base-building can be fun.

The game still is in developement, but over the course of the year, there have been frequent and substantial updates delivered - the project is alive and is fully supported, it seems.

VR support is on the agenda.

I do not know what it now costs, but give it a look - you might be positively surprised.

I post a link to the wikipedia which gives a better impression maybe of what this game already is, and is planned to finally become. I would describe it as a maritime castle building, open world discovering and survival game, and naval sandbox scifi game, presented in a visually very pleasant and laid-back style.

http://subnautica.wikia.com/wiki/Subnautica_Wiki


Edit:

P.S.
In Germany, still 20 Euros currently. Steam player feedback gets rated on the first page as "very positive". I consider that as a minor gamble, or investment, into the future with a very fair chance to get something really good at the end.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/264710/

And this image search overview with both latest and old ingame pics and blueprints and sketches which should give you an idea of what they are after.

https://de.images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=Az_6xdfKmO5WUWgAboo1CQx.?p=subnautica&fr=moz35&imgt=pm&fr2=p%3As%2Cv%3Ai

Two or three m onths ago they have implemented a nerw gfx tehcnology to display the ocean surface waves and underwater vision, most pics out there still show older stuff not that advanced.

[Skybird]

Oculus Rift support is reality since today.

[Camaero]

That looks awesome!

You've turned me on to some cool games over the years. Have you seen this go on sale at all?

[Skybird]

That looks awesome!

You've turned me on to some cool games over the years. Have you seen this go on sale at all?

Just three weeks ago it was 40% off - additionally to the Early Acess discount.

;)

[Skybird]

Since spring last year I have not touched this game, did not want to run out of motivation for it while it still was uncomplete and not finished. I took note of the many updates that they added, and thought: this looks better and better. And yesterday I started to reconnect to the game and check it out again, now while practally all of the story mode is implemented and apparently most of the bells and whistles have been loaded and stored safely aboard. They are not yet done, but mostly they are, I get the impression.

And what a beauyt this has turned out to be! Frames improved. The ocean more alive than before, and species now showing individual behaviour patterns that I had not seen before. I am now once again hooked up to this. Its a stunning environment. The inerface was inmproved. More liefeforms added. Improvement eveywhere. This project goes along very well, me thinks.

I also find it not easy to play, if not using the lower playmodes where there is no need to collect, to care for oygen and food and water and health. The survival mode really keeps you on your toes.

And diving - never before did it look so beautiful on PC. At least not that I know. Many different underwater habitats, very different looks. Nice day and night light and colour cycle.

Just wanted to push this up the list again. If you did like me and saved yourself from investing too much of your time into an unfinished game one and a half year ago, check back. You may like what you see. If you are new, check this game out anyway, this really is a superb title, imo. Even just diving in the kelp forest and doing nothing, is an experince, and very relaxing. And adventurous. This ocean is deep. Very... And during the game you explore the ways and needs of how to build yourself the kind of equipment needed to get down there.

Very. Deep. Down.

Question is whether you really want to get there...

[Red October1984]

I've wanted to try this out for months, but every time it's on sale, I can't bring myself to finally actually purchase it. A friend of mine is a huge fan of it and tells me to buy it every chance he gets.

If it's at a point where it's very playable in Early Access, now, I'll pull the trigger sometime soon. A lot of people seem to really like this game.

[Skybird]

If it's at a point where it's very playable in Early Access,
in that state it is in since at least 1 and a half year already. :) What has been added and probbaly almost finsihed, is implementation of the story mode from beginning to end. But you can as well use it as a sandbox game for constrution only, which I did in the past - and enjoyed it as well.

Yes, it is a very bright shining little jewel, imo. I liked it from first playing session on.

[Skybird]

For first-time-divers:

http://subnautica.wikia.com/wiki/Subnautica_Wiki

[Red October1984]

in that state it is in since at least 1 and a half year already. :) What has been added and probbaly almost finsihed, is implementation of the story mode from beginning to end. But you can as well use it as a sandbox game for constrution only, which I did in the past - and enjoyed it as well.

Yes, it is a very bright shining little jewel, imo. I liked it from first playing session on.

Well that's good! I usually am very very wary of buying Early Access games but enough people are recommending this that I think I'll give it a try in a couple weeks when I move back to college and have blazing fast internet once again. :Kaleun_Applaud:

[Skybird]

Its a long time, many years, that a computer game gave me the shivers, being played alone in the dark room.

I discovered so much new stuff and terrain the past two days. Currently using the creative mode only, which substracts survival mode (food, water, health, energy), and needs the story manually being pushed, but in survival mode, it must be quite difficult.

Not a single crash in many hours of gameplay. Already last year it was like that. No crashes.

I assume it now is only about technical optimizations. When entering another biome or another cell of the map, sometimes the games may freeze for a second. No big deal, really, it is not.

To my best knowledge, this is the only symptom you need to expect from "Early Access".

As long as you float in shallow, bright, friendly water, everything looks fine. But first time you face the abyss, will be something you remember.

I know no other submarine-based game delivering that experience of diving, and going deep, so - intense...

Nice sidenote: the devs designed it so that the player has no lethal fire weapons. Just somewhat improvised solutions from SciFi tools. May sound deterring, but is not bad.

And good use of music, sometimes for background atmosphere, sometimes for effect, a mix of Blade-Runner style and good old 80s astro synthesizer. I like the accoustic in this game.

Found a black smoker deep down below today, and a geysir/volcano outlet as well, nicely done, too, like from the movies.

Early Access can go bad, but also good. Bad example is Wreckfest (way too long, no real concept for too long time), convincing examples were Dirt 4 and Assetto Corsa. Subnautica is on track as well, just that it lasts longer already now than the 1-year period that is my criterion. In this case, the results excuse that. One must choose wisely.

[Skybird]

We are almost there.There now is a release date for PC, which is October 31st. Today there was one of two preparatory updates paviong the way for final version 1.0, removing stuff from the construction phase, getting thigns cleaned and polished, and so forth. It also is indicated that there might come a DLC early next year.

But in principle, this is it.

http://subnautica.wikia.com/wiki/Update_History

I still recommend this game. Its a little gem. I am eager to try it out in VR.

It was also said that a price raise might be imminent, so that they have the option to launch the game on Octobre 31st at a discount. This reasoning leaves you a bit perplexed? You are not alone.

It was a longer Early Access journey, okay, but they made it over the finishing line in one piece. Congratulations. Personally I prefer Early Access projects not lasting longer than one year. Dirt Rally was a good exmaple of masterful executuon, so was Assetto Corsa. At the other end of the scale, Wreckfest is a disastrous example for how to completely mismanage Early Access. Okay, they got to something in the end, while still not being in the box, but what a long and twisted and bumpy ride it was. Never again something for me from that studio, not before they are done and finished and I can see that all is good.

[Dowly]

Ah yes, Subnautica. The game I love and hate to play. It's all fun and games when you're diving around the starting area, but when you need to go deeper or near the crashed ship I get very anxious.

I'm one of those who feels very uneasy about dark water and not knowing what might be down there. I also don't like being next to big things, like the Aurora in Subnautica, I feel very uneasy being near it's gigantic engines, I get the feeling it will all come crashing down on me.

I do hope they open it up for modding, could really use more base modules to keep it interesting in the long run.

But yeah, it's a great game, especially if you don't like the deep dark. One of the few games in years that have made me feel scared.

[Skybird]

Yes, I know exactly what you mean, and Subnautica creates that effect superbly. :D Around the Aurora, that Abyss, and these huge creatures there with their hair-raising calls.

Going deep into the caves in other habitats, I mean really deep, also has its moments of horror, sometimes. It simply is a really great game experience. The excellence you see in that all this excitement gets created without blood and gore. No massacres. No weapon frenzies. No explicit violence.

Its also one of those games I cannot wait to try the VR mod or patch on. Imagine those kelp forests - in real 3D around you. I imagine that to be nothing but stunning.

Best played all alone, at night, in a dark room. The, sometimes, the abyss really starts to stare back into you. The comic-like screenshots and usual colourful friendly opictures are misleading, they tell you nothign about the real exciting, horrific atmopshere the game sometimes creates. When the light is fading. When the ground below falls deepr and deeper. When you hear "it" calling, and don'T know form where. When you try to track the cave mazes. Even at b egiunning, when you just can swim as free diver and have no real oxygene reserve and wonder whether you make it back to the surface.

Simply a good game. And a very beautifully looking one. And yes, I admit: I so,metimes feel scared, too. Especially at night. Alone. In a dark room.

[Dowly]

The comic-like screenshots and usual colourful friendly opictures are misleading, they tell you nothign about the real exciting, horrific atmopshere the game sometimes creates.Oh yes, this is so very true. The screenshots you see are from the starting area, where you have light and it is colorful. But soon you will be going deeper and deeper and as it should be, light doesn't accompany you down there.

One thing I really like is the way the progression is quite linear. You start by just free diving, maybe building a small base. Then you get the mini-sub, which of course makes you more 'braver' to go deeper until you realize how fragile you still are. The last sub, I have some mixed feelings about, it does take away a lot of the scariness from the more common biomes since you can just run silent through them, but then again I don't feel very comfortable in it when going deeper down.

[Skybird]

Manouvering the big sub in the tight labyrinths very deep down at the bottom, is a claustrophobic experience. Leaving it in the Prawn suite there, really makes you "feel" the pressure. First time I did, I was in a dark place and little bit lost sight on the boat. Knowing you cannot get up again withut it, but are trapped down there, and seeing almost nothing, really was an intense experience. I admit that during the early access stage I however used the more forgiving playmodes to check the features out. It did not spoil the gameplay much, I must say, which again is a compliment for the convincing nature of the environment and game they have created.

[Skybird]

Holy Cow, I tried it now in VR. It'S awesome, some of the best I have seen in VR so far. The scaling is totally different,m the creatures are huge, and in huge qunaities small and big fish around. The sight in unbelievable. The illusion is unbelievable. The colours and motion everwhere filling your vision - un believable.

If diving is your thing, get this in VR. If you like VR, get this game. The visual impression is overkill. For VR, this is a must have.

[kilerkg]

Holy Cow, I tried it now in VR. It'S awesome, some of the best I have seen in VR so far. The scaling is totally different,m the creatures are huge, and in huge qunaities small and big fish around. The sight in unbelievable. The illusion is unbelievable. The colours and motion everwhere filling your vision - un believable.

If diving is your thing, get this in VR. If you like VR, get this game. The visual impression is overkill. For VR, this is a must have.

It seems like it would perfectly suit VR. would you recommend purchasing a VR unit with the game selection currently or wait until they refine the hardware?

[Skybird]

I knew that VR images are more blurry than what you see on monitor. I expected worse, however. What VR now gives me, blew my mind out of the skull. If you can afford it, go for it, it is much more than just "good enough".

But I also bought a very beefy system, I had to get a new one, the old one, seven years old, fell apart. I spend much more than I would have if I would not have had VR on the agenda. As a result I have quite robust reserves, and VR software of the kind there is now, does not bring my hardware to its knees. I do not need to make compromises in frame rates and inviting the risk of dizziness or nausea due to frames being limited, I can keep almost everything at the ideal and wanted 90 fps - in Oculus (on monitor, it sometimes is three times as high frames :) ).

Considering that this is just th first generation of VR headsets, and future ones will have more pixels and thus more demand for hardware specs, I would recommend to go "all in" if you buy a new system now and want VR. My specs are in my profile.

VR reall changed the way I see computer games. And Google Earth in VR - I admit first time I dived into it, resulted in emotional overload. Its magic, and its charming. Its a wonder that human mind can come up with somethign like THIS.

Not all software for VR, is really good or is even needed. And VR cannot serve well in just every purpose, you have to understand the limitations as well as the gains to judge what kind of software may suit this new medium, and what not. But there are some ideal combinations. And if you hit one of these, then - well, I said it already: it blows your mind out of your skull.

I am enthusiastic about it. So: yes, go for it. But I also say: know what you are doing when deciding on what hardware to buy.

Also understand please that I am not certain that it will be games driving VR further in the future. It could be other things, in fact many game genres do not easily lend themselves to VR, and first heavyweights in the business already have withdrawn again. I think this time VR has come to stay - but that it takes over the game market as well I do not take as a certain. Its possible, but not certain. For some things VR is fantastic. For others, not so much.

the limitations in optical image quality get more than just compensated for. You oversee them very fast. I forgot about them after the first minute.

Free stuff you want to try out: 360° videos (of high pixel resolution!). Google Earth VR, Vitual Desktop. Free demos: the little Robot by Oculus (the demo is called First Encounter), and the "Air Car" simulation, which is one of the most intense experience I currtently can have in VR, fantastic; and "Robo Recall", a game which indeed is very good. Mission ISS is giving you a nice opporutnity to disocer looks and dimension of the ISS, both inside and form outside. The game genre that benfits most from VR: racing sims. Best games I play on VR: Assetto Corsa, Raceroom, IL-2 Battle for Stalingrad (!!!) , Eleven Table Tennis, Subnautica, Alien Isolation (very intense!!!), First Person Tennis. My plans to get in the future: Aerofly FS2 (a flightism light, due to the fantastic graphics), Fallout 4 VR, Skyrim VR, maybe a Golf game.

To me, it was completely worth my investments, which were not small. But as I said: I am enthusiastic.

:)

[kilerkg]

)

Thank you so much for your detailed response Skybird, it's really appreciated. I've been a lurker here for a while but the level of helpfulness/friendliness on this forum is beyond incredible.

I think I might go ahead and buy one after the new year, hopefully they go down even more then! My system is around 3-4 years old at the minute but if it doesn't run too well I'll just upgrade it.

Again I really appreciate your response and can't wait to give VR a try! :Kaleun_Salute:

[Skybird]

;)

Truth beign told, the price drop of Oculus, which is quite dramatic, was pure despair. Their hardwarwe, although being the doorkicker, does or did not sell well, they had to react. HTC Vive has sold roughly twice as many, and Sony even 4-5 times as many (late summer/early autumn).

I expect that prices going down, but whether it will be so dramatic so fast as with Oculus (-50% in less than one year), I have my doubts.

[Skybird]

After three years in early access, Subnautica is now - after a last final delay late last year - confirmed to be officially full-released on January 23rd.

Online statistics show that it already has been sold 1.85 million times in these three years. Wowh. Not bad for an Early Access title.

Its also described by many critics and players as the best underwater theme title on the market. I would sign in to that description, I know nothing that even gets close to it.

3 Years in EA is long, too long I think, but then in all these three years they frequently delivered huge, voluminous and content-rich updates. They really were productive. Last patch arrived just today, another 1 GB upgrade added to the already installed 14 GB.

You dive on January 23rd. ;)

[Threadfin]

Picked this one up on this weekend's sale. It caught my eye two years ago, but I waited for it to come out of EA. And I think it's great. Not usually my type if game, but this one is well done. It's quite a nice blend of wonder, horror, great graphics and sensible systems. I am still new, but for the US$20 they are asking for it this weekend it's a steal. Even then it's normally just $25.


I've found it to be a very interesting change of pace from my normal gaming.


I'm not far along enough to comment on the story, but the game gets quite high marks for the story in most user reviews. Usually survival games are quite light in the narrative department, but this one evidently has a good one. But I gotta fix the radio first....


Thanks for the headsup on this one Skybird, it was this thread I think that first interested me in the game a couple years ago.

[Skybird]

If you can, play it in VR. :up: Its breathtaking, one of the best VR games around. The immersion and visual quality cannot be described.

When you go real deep, or into the open abyss, you learn what the term claustrophobia" really is about. :03:


Subnautica gets top notes from around the web, especially where they rank survival games. After this long time now I still fullheartly recommend it. Its pretty much unique and without comparable rival.

[Threadfin]

Thanks, and I understand it to be a great VR game, but that's not a possibility for me I'm afraid. And that's OK and a case of I'm fine missing what I don't know I'm missing. It looks great in tangible reality :)


It's just such a different game for me. It's refreshing. The undersea world is amazing, and I'm glad they went with an alien ecology. The way they've realized the flora and fauna is exceptional. Hats off to the dev team.

[Dowly]

Subnautica standalone expansion Below Zero announced (https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2018/08/30/subnautica-below-zero-standalone-expansion-announced/)

Splendid sopping survival sim Subnautica is off to an icy ocean in a standalone expansion named Below Zero, developers Unknown Worlds Entertainment announced today. This was once talked about as DLC but naw it’ll now be its own separate thing, entering early access “in the coming months”. UWE are keeping relatively quiet for now, showing a few concepts for new alien oceanlife while muttering “We’re still in early stages and nothing is set in ice”. That said, folks who don’t mind spoilers or potential disappointment can follow their public dev board to see all the wonders and horrors that may make it in. I’ve had a peek and ooooh!

[Threadfin]

A definite buy for me. I really loved Subnautica. I enjoyed the whole ride.


Assuming the new one is at least as good as the first one, it's a no-brainer for me.


There are so many great things about it. The graphics, the exploration, the discovery. I was amazed by the beauty and diversity of the various biomes, and felt compelled to explore every inch of the map. I had a blast building my bases too.


I make it a point to judge games on what they are, not what they are not or what I wish they were. So while I can think of many ways Subnautica could have been better, for me, I still had a great time playing this game. For me it was one of those games that grabbed me, when maybe I didn't think it would. XCom and Borderlands 2 were the same way. Didn't know what to expect exactly, or whether I would like it, then proceeded to drop hundreds of hours in to it. Love those sorts of games.


Just a shot o my 'main' base for my Subnautica run. I had various smaller bases in different locations, but this was the main one. Dual moonpools, and all the trappings of your run-of-the-mill everyday living, research and construction base on an alien planet. And underwater too :)


Great game, looking forward to the next adventure.


Wow, pic was way too big. Clicky. This shot was in mid-construction it would appear. No second moonpool yet for example, alot less glass than it would have later on


Subnautica Main Base (http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/download/Number/9824/filename/mainbase1.jpg)


And from a different angle. Base had two structures above the water, to remind me that life existed above the surface, and was thermal powered. Shot taken from inside the Prawn mech suit, with the Cyclops sub to the right.


Different angle, and daytime (http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/download/Number/9957/filename/advanced%20base.jpg)

[Skybird]

Early Access of Subnautica took too much time for my taste, but they went through it all and delivered a final, solid product. I tend to think that EA programs should not last for longer than one year.



The original game still creeps the hell out of me in certain situations, since in VR it all comes in squared intensity.


Looking forward to the new game. But probably will not buy into the "early" Early Access. It spoils the storyline.

[Threadfin]

Same here, and that's the tack I took with the first one. Glad I did as I got the full experience anew. I'll wait for this one to finish as well. You'd think that with one Subnautica under their belts that the next one could go more smoothly (and quickly) but that's rarely how it seems to work.


There were times I felt creeped out as well, especially when encountering leviathans for the first time (the first time I got a fleeting glimpse of something far bigger than I imagined was awesome), but also in some caverns and just the inky depths where you can't see anything but are sure something is close by.


And also depth. It's just a game, but if you are able to suspend that disbelief, you can feel a sort of creeping claustrophobia, or whatever the depth-induced version of that is, when going very deep. In a discussion about Subnautica at another forum I made mention of how much I appreciated the fact that the devs didn't put in lots of gasping and breathing sounds like some games have. Subconsciously it made a big difference. In some games I find I am holding my breath as I play when underwater. Far Cry for whatever reason had a definite effect on me this way. Subnautica was far more relaxing in this regard. Near the pod, in the Safe Shallows it was mesmerizingly peaceful. Really enjoyed the whole experience.

[Skybird]

Yeah, the deep, deep depth. Just floating in the middle of an invisible nowhere and seeing no ground anymore, and then the calling of creatures from - just anywhere.

Brilliant.


I would hope they give it a less cartoonish, more photorealistic job this time. With engines like U4E, magic is possible.