Subnautica

[apocrypha]

Thought this was worth it's own thread. Early access game, mostly survival-horror, bit of crafting and base building, underwater setting. Very nice to look at, would be awesome in VR probably.

Some links:

Wiki.
Map. Very spoilery!!!

So far I've got eaten by about 7 different kinds of terrifying deep-sea monster and drowned more than a few times. I go out either resource-gathering with as empty an inventory as I can manage, or exploring with the SeaGlide and a load of air bottles and batteries. I think I've got everything together now to start a first base kind of thing.

I really wish it had an in-game map of some kind, that got revealed as you explored it. My sense of direction is pretty terrible so unless I use an out-of-game map I'll spend my entire time swimming about lost like a fart in the fog.

[Sky]

I'm staying away from spoilers. I'll eventually lean on the map, but for now I'm ok with my spatial sense (and the escape pod's beacon).

Played a quick half hour game to figure out how to get food and water, then started in again.

Still going super slow and trying to figure out the best order of things. As I mentioned in the other thread I put together a rad suit so I could swim closer to the wreck, a couple air tanks and some flippers. Haven't built the seaglide thing you mention, guessing it's a thunderball kinda propulsion unit?

Dove too deep and found a cool explorery thing before being munched by something I knew was probably following me (I saw it thrashing around the cliffside I was descending, it took a chunk out of me as I swam past...) as I hurriedly tried to [redacted] while running out of oxygen.

I knew it was a one way trip. Was eaten before running out of O2, so I've got that going for me.

[Sky]

Also my (now, after [redacted]) second favorite moment of the game thus far:

[apocrypha]

Yeah the SeaGlide is exactly a Thunderball thing. Eats batteries though. I'm getting close to being able to build what I presume is the next propulsion device, but I'm not 100% sure.

The sunrise & sunset stuff is awesome yeah, seeing the sun starting to come out from underwater is very cool :)  I love the transition from day to night when you're in shallow water and suddenly everything's luminescent, very cool.

Started making my first base but haven't managed to get it powered yet, although I did make a battery charger. Not so useful without actual power though... :p

[apocrypha]

Purty sunrise:

Base!:

I should go to bed.  

[Kail]

Started making my first base but haven't managed to get it powered yet, although I did make a battery charger. Not so useful without actual power though... :p

Ooh, right, battery charger, they just added that.  I need to check that out.  Nothing more annoying than having to leave a submarine behind because you ran out of AAs.

[apocrypha]

Built a SeaMoth. This fucker nommed it.     

[Sky]

Game is brutal! Every time I go to the kelp forest I have to swim back to base like a madman with a couple stalkers chasing me. Tried going through caves, tubes, etc...nada. They follow me all the way back to the capsule every time! Sheesh.

Just about got tech'd up to where I kept forgetting to save before exploring...

I like that it's a non-combat kinda game, I hope the whiners don't push it in that direction. BUT...I do hope they add in some stealth/hiding options, like being able to lose a stalker in a cave.

Last night I think I racked up two stalker deaths, two explodey thing deaths and a drowning.

edit: had one crash when I had done a whole crapload of stuff (made my scanner, scanned a ton of things, unlocked a couple blueprints). Suuuucked. Not a game crash, my system has an extremely rare lockup with a blast of digital noise. Cat loves it, helps him walk on the ceiling.

[Rishathra]

I like the idea that there is no combat, and don't want them to backtrack on that at all.  However, I would like some defensive options - stealth, speed, armor, that sort of thing.  Is runningswimming away the only defensive thing you can do?

[Sky]

I think you can throw items to distract some of them, which is why an unusable item on the hotbar throws it (like a fish).

[apocrypha]

Once you get things like the SeaGlide and Seamoth you can outrun most things I've come across so far. Also you can avoid things if you're careful and watch where they are and where they're swimming. Don't swim in front of things, don't go near their eggs, avoid trying to pick up scrap metal when Stalkers are nearby, etc. A lot of the evils are attracted to light and movement too, so hiding in the dark can sometimes let you escape.

You do get some defensive options on the Seamoth once you can build a couple of things, but I've not tried them out yet.

I also hope they don't add actual combat, the fear is what makes this game :)

[Pennilenko]

The small sub has defensive options. An electric pulse kind of thing. It works good to repel the large animals.

[Flood]

I bought this after reading a two line blurb somewhere online about how good it was, in conjunction with favorable Steam reviews.

Good bye productive days off.

Really enjoying it.  I've chewed through a lot of the crafting already.  I have the all the vehicles including the Cyclops and a decent (if utilitarian) base.  I just crafted a
the final upgrades for the subs so I can go really deep and get eaten by whatever's down there. (I saw some sort of jellyfish/insect/Cloverfield thing lurking around)  This game is apparently VR ready - but I wouldn't try that unless I was wearing a diaper for when I crap myself.  It's dark in them kelp forests.

[Hawkbit]

[Yegolev]

+1

[apocrypha]

This game is beautiful.

[schild]

Yea, how Minecraft hasn't been remade in a completely NON-SHIT language is beyond me.

[Flood]

I like the idea that there is no combat, and don't want them to backtrack on that at all.  However, I would like some defensive options - stealth, speed, armor, that sort of thing.  Is runningswimming away the only defensive thing you can do?

As previously mentioned as far as active defenses there's an upgrade for the Sea Moth that will allow you to discharge electricity on demand - it will mostly keep things off of you.  Pending you can actually make it INTO your vehicle in time of course.  There's also some sort of torpedo add-on for the Moth, but I haven't built that upgrade so I'm not exactly sure how it works.  I had a Reaper get very annoyed and actually chomp on my Moth and destroy it while I was out digging around.

By the time you get up to the larger sub you won't need any active defensive measures, because nothing in the current build can damage the Cyclops.  They can push it around and headbutt it though.

There's a Propulsion gun thing / mod that can be used somewhat defensively from what I read, and some sort of rifle (Stasis Rifle?) that actually freezes things too.  I have that blueprint but haven't crafted it; haven't seen much reason to yet.  But again I read that it's useful in certain areas against aggressive mobs like the little jumpy crab things on the mother ship.

[Kail]

As previously mentioned as far as active defenses there's an upgrade for the Sea Moth that will allow you to discharge electricity on demand - it will mostly keep things off of you.  Pending you can actually make it INTO your vehicle in time of course.  There's also some sort of torpedo add-on for the Moth, but I haven't built that upgrade so I'm not exactly sure how it works.  I had a Reaper get very annoyed and actually chomp on my Moth and destroy it while I was out digging around.

The vortex torpedoes I find are nice for dealing with stuff that just refuses to move, but even unarmed the Seamoth can tank like 95% of what you run in to out there without taking much damage.  The problem is that you still need to get out to scan and pick up things, so there's always that couple seconds of travel time that you really have to be on your toes for.

[apocrypha]

Yea, how Minecraft hasn't been remade in a completely NON-SHIT language is beyond me.

It has, the Windows 10 edition is C++ and they're slowly adding mod support. Currently it's only textures and command blocks but, somewhat to my surprise I have to admit, they seem to be heading towards full implementation. My main concern is that they're going so slowly that they might be too late when they finally get there.

[Sky]

My main concern is that they're going so slowly that they might be too late when they finally get there.

No such thing. It's like saying Blightfall came too late in java mc's timeline.

My concern is more that a large company won't understand how to do it right.

It's admirable that they understand and want to avoid the version-lock of the java version, I think that's contributed a lot to developer fatigue, especially as the best mods become more complex.

[Pennilenko]

Don't forget to make a welder and go fix the radiation leak on the ship.

[Flood]

Don't forget to make a welder and go fix the radiation leak on the ship.

I waited quite a while to go in there and snoop around.  With all the tools and resources I have available now it was relatively anti-climatic.  But the items you uhhh pick up in there were welcome. (Don't want to spoiler anything).  But, in 3 in-game days it makes the radiation zone dissipate, so that is a definite perk.  I'm going to try and investigate the Floating Island now I think.

[Sky]

I was making pretty good progress (for me, not you powergamers :p) and I decided that hunting for food and water just wasn't fun or compelling enough and I'd rather explore without the hassle. Started a freedom game (same as survival, without food/water bars).

I do overall like the idea of the hunger/thirst mechanic (I like Spice of Life in minecraft, after all!) but I don't have any tech for easing it and got tired of chasing fish to eat and running low on salt. I'll re-enable it the next playthrough when I've streamlined my building/exploring another degree. Starting this time was already a lot smoother.

I thought maybe I was over it, but turns out I'm enjoying the game more than ever! Really nice relaxing/tense balance.

[apocrypha]

It does feel like some of the scales need tweaking a bit. I spend too much time hunting for silver, quartz and salt, and yet I have gold coming out of my ears. I'm putting all of that down to early access balance tbh.

I did manage to finish building a Cyclops earlier though so I'll do some serious exploring once I fill that with lockers etc :)

[Sky]

Finally built a Seamoth, got all excited to delve deep...it don't delve deep. Blah! Ah, well, still nice to have a little mobile platform for air and getting to and from places quicker. Gotta stop running into fish and dinging it up 

Also need to find diamond for a cutter! So many places waiting to be explored...

[Sky]

Seamoth is nice for getting around...but the lag between look and move is giving me nausea. Boo.

[apocrypha]

Ah, that sucks :/  I hadn't even thought about it. I like the way that the different transport options all have different pros & cons. SeaGlide is fast and manoeuvrable but leaves you exposed and runs out of juice fast. SeaMoth is slower and clunkier but protective and longer lasting (phrasing?).

What I've been doing is going from area to area in the SeaMoth then jumping out and using the SeaGlide. Less inventory space as a result but a nice compromise between the two, plus you can get a SeaMoth upgrade that adds some storage space.

[Teleku]

Heh, got the Cyclops finally.  Slowly delving down to near crush level, carefully maneuvering to miss rock columns, as the sounds of giant monsters echo off in the distance, is rather tense.   

Finding some cool shit down there though!  Love this game.  Hope the cash infusion from the sale and good press the game has been getting helps him keep a steady development pace.

[Sky]

The lore nicely tempts you deeper 

[Malakili]

I'm a sucker for survival games, is this one worth it at the sale price?

[apocrypha]

Yes.

[Sky]

Yes.

[jakonovski]

I couldn't resist so I bought this. First try, my life pod drifted several minutes of swim time away. I didn't realize it was drifting at first so I just wondered where all these nasty critters came from.

Anyway, turns out it's a bug and you can stop the drift by plonking a few air pipes around the pod. Game 2 start!

[Teleku]

I'm a sucker for survival games, is this one worth it at the sale price?

As a fellow sucker for survival games, I'll say this is probably the best one I've yet played.  It's still in early access, and they have a lot left to implement.  But there is a lot in game already, and its very engaging.