Subnautica: Released (SPOILER WARNING past Post #1)

[jackofshadows]

Yeah, I remember losing Seamoth one or even two times the same way. Reapers also can easily drop you under textures with or without vehicle.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

This game really knows how to fuck you over.

Spoiler

Build my superfancy Prawn with most upgrades and got down to lava land. I make it to one of the last "dungeons" and find portal to the tower island. Deciding to make a trip to get the last upgrades for the Prawn with the blue crystal thingies. I cross the portal with the Prawn and park it close by why I seaglide all the way to the base, make the final upgrades and go back.
The Prawn is gone. Somehow clipped over a hundred meters

And my Cyclops is just at the "River" area entrance with big nasty there just swimming in circles around it.

Ended up just planting brain coral all the way to my target.

Yeah, happened to me once. Fortunately it was so close to the end of the game that I only needed to reach the final structure. After that I could use the portals there to get about.

So... I piloted my Seamoth to 899m and Seaglided the rest of the way.

 

[OSK]

I finished this game yesterday. I usually don't like these kinds of games, but this one was addicting. Great exploration and great atmosphere.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

So... Unknown Worlds has confirmed that a third Subnautica-game is in development... but that's it.

 

[Machocruz]

The first is one of the iconic games of the decade. I say good luck to them getting even close to it in any sequel they make.

 

[Theodora]

I finished this game yesterday. I usually don't like these kinds of games, but this one was addicting. Great exploration and great atmosphere.

It's because the survival-crafting mechanics are incidental to other mechanics and the narrative direction, rather than the whole meal so to speak. Too many games in that genre go nuts on trying to make as complex a simulation as they can manage without giving any meaningful attention to story and tension or general quality of life, and the result is something inaccessible in its spirit and only appealing to a small subset of people.

 

[BrotherFrank]

Second game was enough of a letdown I consider the first game a fluke, will see if they manage to capture lightning in a bottle twice.

Also still ain't over how they fired the music dude of the 1st game for the most inane and bs of reasons, I know tastes are subjective but I ain't met many who found the music of BZ anywhere near the god tier ost of the first game.

Thematically it also always bothered me that the devs made a whole big deal about how guns are bad and they didn't want to encourage a violent mindset yet they bring back

Spoiler

Maiga

who is very much the embodiment of the philosophy to dominate the local wildlife to survive and thrive and become the Apex predator, and did so under the most contrived of circumstances.

 

[Ironmonk]

I played the first game recently and I really liked the underwater world, but I don't agree (at least not entirely) with what many have been saying...

- the story was relatively short, and the whole premise, that is the infection, have only one impact, that is being attacked by a single monster while infected... otherwise, the infection does nothing... I don't think it having annoying negative effects would be better, but maybe researching in steps, with a temporary cure (available early) that the player need to take from time-to-time in order to avoid the bad effect till he finally finds a definitive cure... The game needed more mystery to discover and ruins to explore.

- The survival aspects are a bit underwhelming... while its true that if you play blind it can work nicely (if you don't find the good stuff too early), but for a second playthrough, you just need to go to the island that have melons and with a x2 small interior planters, you can have 8 melons, 2 for seeds and the other 6 basically fill all your Food/Water meters... and then there is nothing... In this case, a more complex system with proteins, vitamins, etc... to force the player to hunt/cultivate different kinds of food would be more (annoying to some?) enjoyable to people that like the survival aspect.

- The lack of a research tree isn't necessarily bad, but it's also not good... I ended up unlocking advanced stuff early on, while some stuff like the Alien Containment Tank was so late that by that time I didn't need fish anymore... I think a proper research tree with a couple of science workbenches to analyze stuff, generating points or something else to unlock stuff in a more gamey progression could be a more enjoyable experience, with only a few research actually found in the world (although I agree that this could affect the whole game experience/feeling of being lost in the unknown).

- The base building is lacking, while the Cyclops is one of the best vehicles I saw in a game (mobile base allowing to customize its interior with whatever the player wants)... but there is very few buildings in the game with a proper function... the majority of it is basically furniture for decoration... for those that like to build bases, its hard to be pleased with what the game offers with its base building mechanics.

- The lack of proper weapons is really stupid... while early game it is acceptable, but in mid or late game, proper weapons could add a lot to the game.

- The mods available are pretty good, and can expand vehicles functionality with several new modifications (like cannons) and tweak a couple of game features... but there isn't anything relevant that addresses some of the issues I pointed above.

 

[Theodora]

- the story was relatively short,

It's more that it has a story driving you forward, rather than the total-sandbox thing a lot of 'survival craft' games do.

- The lack of a research tree isn't necessarily bad, but it's also not good...

I dunno, it doesn't have an abstracted research tree, but it's not as if it doesn't have a similar pattern of unlocks. It just doesn't abstract it into points or time as a resource to spend progressing tech.

Aside, a fun YT'er started a LP of Subnautica a few days ago. Always thought it was one of the most interesting games to watch people play blind.

 

[BrotherFrank]

- The lack of proper weapons is really stupid... while early game it is acceptable, but in mid or late game, proper weapons could add a lot to the game.

If you didn't know this was 100% intentional because the devs were shaken by the latest kwa school shooting that happened at the time and felt it was their moral duty to stop glorifying guns.

In game this actually works out great thematically: the fact that your PDA is unable to provide you with weaponry due to BS corporate regulations is something very plausible , thus you are kneecapped by well meaning but idiotic rules dreamed up by some bureaucrat in their comfy office as an overreaction to a social hot topic and utterly failing at it (considering that knives/cooking knives and the grav gun could all be used as weapons) . And now even though you are on a planet full of big things that want to eat you and you can make all sorts of sci fi bs from your 3d printer, you are banned from making so much as a water gun or a bb pistol.
These are the rules set by the same company that will charge you a gazillion dollars once the player character makes it home even though it was their fuckup that stranded you on the planet to begin with. 100% awesome satire on corporate culture and the hipocrisy when they try to act like guardians of morality and the devs did this BY ACCIDENT.

Which is why it doesn't work in the second game where the protagonist is prepared and knows she is going to face trouble and a lot of a hostile fauna, you'd think she would be coming in like Rambo.
Furthermore there are humans on the planet now who know damn well there are plenty of dangers yet for some reason ain't armed like space marines (and this is the setting where the Natural Instinct franchise coexists so we know there is an equivalent to them, where are they?) and the corporation didn't even bother stationing security despite the very clear hazards and danger to scientific personel.

Thus it was no surprise to me when the BZ trailer hit and they were showing some hapless scientist getting repeatedly screwed over before finally getting killed at the end...wtf is this dude working all alone and unarmed? Yeah no wonder he dies horribly at the end of it, who could have predicted that?

 

[Theodora]

the devs did this BY ACCIDENT.

Nah, it wasn't an accident; there's a pretty constant criticism of corporate structures, exploitation, and control. Could suggest that it's enough of a trope of sci-fi that they didn't mean much by it (though I doubt that), but it sure wasn't accidental.

(The trope thing is feasible much in the sense that Musk loved Cyberpunk despite people like him being a huge point of criticism because it's so standard in that genre at this point that it doesn't stand out.)

Which is why it doesn't work in the second game where the protagonist is prepared and knows she is going to face trouble and a lot of a hostile fauna, you'd think she would be coming in like Rambo.

Maybe -- at least lore-wise I don't think she can bypass the limitations of the fabricator etc., essentially DRM lol -- though it would have warped the game far more than the excessive amount of time on land already did, so they were always going to find a reason not to include weapons if it was to be a meaningful sequel to Subnautica.

Personally glad there's not been any word on the planned third title, as it means they're not rushing to put out a sequel and are (hopefully) reflecting on where they went wrong with the second game.

 

[lightbane]

Did they fire out more of the devs for wrong-think, or nothing new so far?

 

[BrotherFrank]

the devs did this BY ACCIDENT.

Nah, it wasn't an accident; there's a pretty constant criticism of corporate structures, exploitation, and control. Could suggest that it's enough of a trope of sci-fi that they didn't mean much by it (though I doubt that), but it sure wasn't accidental.

(The trope thing is feasible much in the sense that Musk loved Cyberpunk despite people like him being a huge point of criticism because it's so standard in that genre at this point that it doesn't stand out.)

Way i see it is that because the dev made the conscious decision to remove weaponry due to the shooting incident , they didn’t write the lore explanation for it in an ironic way and it just so happens that this lore explanation lines up perfectly with the typical corp tropes. Maybe am wrong, but jfc does this backfire as an antigun argument if that was the intent.

I remember reading that pda bit as i was chilling in one of those viewing glass bubbles at a base i built on a location chosen for a cool view and lots of reapers nearby, north west part of map if memory serves.
As the reapers were clipping their noses into the glass, i was just sitting there thinking that these mofos are so lucky i couldn‘t 3d print one of these babies:

Spoiler

 

[DJOGamer PT]

For a second game they should update the engine - besides fixing pop-in, I think they would benefit from tech that can better render the intricacies of light propagation in water - also a less cartoony artstyle for creatures please...

Also still ain't over how they fired the music dude of the 1st game for the most inane and bs of reasons

Why did they fire him?

- The lack of proper weapons is really stupid... while early game it is acceptable, but in mid or late game, proper weapons could add a lot to the game.

While I agree, I also think that for this type of game, any weapon inclusion should come from a very considerate design decision
Because as I see it a big strength of Subnautica is the gradual mastery of the biomes while still remaining relatively powerless to alot of their threats

 

[markec]

Also still ain't over how they fired the music dude of the 1st game for the most inane and bs of reasons

Why did they fire him?

If i remember correctly the guy liked some anti immigration Twitter posts by Paul Joseph Watson.


Also personally i really disagree with inclusion of weapons. In a horror movie good way to make a monster less scary is to kill it.

The moment you can kill enemies in the game they will cease to be scary and the game will lose its challenge.

The horror of glimpses of something in the dark and scary sounds getting closer becomes much less terrifying when you know you can just kill it.

 

[BrotherFrank]

For “hateful comments” he made on social media, the dude was very much an anti sjw and it turns out the subnautica devs consider themselves soldiers of woke (which is partly why i believe so adamantly what i was talking to theo about above).

In fairness I might be underselling the scope of his actions due to my frustration at having a game get completely fucked over by culture war bs, by modern standards the dude was basically waving a red flag begging to be cancelled.

Among his various wrongthink crimes and acts of being cheeky:
-saying he believed importing 3rd worlders also meant importing 3rd word IQ and problems
-saying the wage gap isn't real and being overall quite critical of diversity/inclusion stuff
-not being onboard with the trending dogma on trans people, and some sleuths even found he made an attack helicopter joke
-On a poll where the subnautica devs asked if the protagonist of their next game should be a black woman, he posted a comment saying he thinks they should add a diversity slider instead where the protagonist becomes more female and black as you press it.
Since the BZ protag did indeed end up being a black woman, who knows if it was in response to that or not, just like I have no idea if changing the data pad voice lady to be an indian woman was done for innocent reasons or because it was some deliberate social justicey move even if everyone hated it and it was a noticeable downgrade over what worked perfectly fine in the first game.

There's probably a load more, these are just the ones off the top of my head. So it's not exactly like he was just minding his own business keeping quiet, dude was drawing attention to himself but forgot that we are in current year.

TLDR culture war bs, turns out the subnautica dev and the music dude were on the opposite sides of it and so for the 2nd game came someone with more correct viewpoints but at the expense of having the best man for the job, and now we are all losers for it.

 

[orcinator]

The guns argument is a moot point because the enemies in subnautica are completely nonthreatening.

 

[Baron Dupek]

cheapest price so far
https://www.humblebundle.com/store/subnautica

 

[Jarmaro]

cheapest price so far
https://www.humblebundle.com/store/subnautica

It was literally free on Epic.

 

[luj1]

never played subnautica, is first game the best?

 

[Assisted Living Godzilla]

So what did Subnautica: Below Zero fuck up to not be better than the first game? It more linear or something? Playing the original, seemed like the only thing they really need to do for a sequel was make the combat not suck, and add stamina so you can’t just normally swim forever between locations without any real danger.

cheapest price so far
https://www.humblebundle.com/store/subnautica

It was literally free on Epic.

It was free on PS4 and PS5 during Covid a couple years ago too.

 

[cvv]

So what did Subnautica: Below Zero fuck up to not be better than the first game? It more linear or something?

Smaller, shallower (literally and figuratively), fewer features and tools and a huge mandatory dry land section nobody asked for that was an absolute torture for me to endure.

I still liked the undersea part, ish, will probably replay at some point but I'll just cheat console the shit of the overland part.

 

[-M-]

So what did Subnautica: Below Zero fuck up to not be better than the first game?

It's mostly the same, just 'lesser' in ever aspect.

The two big ones:

1) Sound design is a huge step down without Simon Chylinski.
2) Surface sections are half-assed and don't add anything new. The temperature is just a lazy time limit replacement for oxygen. Absolutely nothing was done with water temperature.

Then everything else is just a weaker version of what the original gave you; map, vehicles, writing, etc. Even basic swimming is worse now because there are these instant oxygen plants everywhere that makes drowning almost impossible. Also the writing is especially bad, even for a video game. It starts with a murder mystery which is quickly dropped for yet another lame ancient aliens story that goes as far as a JJ Abrams mystery box. Original game at least had the decency to not get in the way.

 

[BrotherFrank]

Rather then list everything BZ does worst then OG subnautica it would be faster to just list the improvements:

-Much better death scenes:


-..... Dangit I was hoping to at least come up with 2, guess it really is just the death animations.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

So what did Subnautica: Below Zero fuck up to not be better than the first game? It more linear or something? Playing the original, seemed like the only thing they really need to do for a sequel was make the combat not suck, and add stamina so you can’t just normally swim forever between locations without any real danger.

Some good answers have been given already, but for an in-depth answer you'd have to read the whole thread. Best hold off on that until you've beaten the first game, at least.