Subnautica - another stranded survival game..looks good.

mori · Post by **mori** » Sun Nov 29, 2015 3:12 pm

Picked this up and played for a couple hours. Just exploring and seeing what would eat me and what I could eat and learning how to survive. I imagine right now it would not take long to see everything the game has to offer. I could see a point where surviving will not be a concern. Unless the player just likes to build stuff. Saw screenshots of some players bases, people obviously enjoy that aspect.

Edit: I freely admit that I have spent a lot more time with this in its current state than I thought I would. Trying to find all the various components to get everything built that is currently in the game. I cannot find the Moonpool fragment. I cheated and went to the wiki to discover the area they should be, but just cannot locate any fragments. Also having trouble with silver. The first save it seemed to be everywhere, but after restarting I have only found a handful of deposits. I want to build the big submarine and dive to the deepest parts.

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Thu Jan 14, 2016 4:45 pm

Another big release for Subnautica, the H2.O update (also see the main H2.O update website)

Here is the water you have always wanted! The H2.O update completely overhauls the graphics in Subnautica Early Access: new surface water, longer draw distances, richer colors, pitch black night-time, even solar eclipses! See it in action on the H2.O update website[unknownworlds.com]. The entire ocean has received a makeover. H2.O is not just a set of tweaks: Max has rebuilt whole chunks Subnautica's graphics rendering system. Almost everywhere you swim, you will find a new look inviting you to explore.

Subnautica's day night / cycle is now vastly more striking. Multiple moons interacting with a bright star in different ways throughout the day. Here is the ocean surface at sunrise:

H2.O is not just a pretty face. The new Scanner can provide information about technology fragments, and organisms in the ocean environment. The scanner will record its findings into the PDA. Refer to the PDA Data Bank for information about flora and fauna you find throughout the ocean.

The Fabricator will no longer spit out a bunch of cubes, no matter what you tell it to build. A large variety of items now have proper 3D models, making fabrication a much more fun (and less confusing!) experience.

Story voiceovers are now displayed via text on the HUD, making it easier to catch dialogue you may have missed, or play the game with no sound*.

Charlie has added the ability to turn Seamoth headlights on and off. This is possibly the most overdue feature in the history of video games.

During H2.O, we tracked over two hundred 'pieces of work' on our development team Trello board. A huge number of changes have been made to Subnautica. This update is probably our biggest since 'Seabases' back in early 2015. Head on over to the Trello board[trello.com] and look at the 'H2.O Done' column to see what we did.

The H2.O update also ties together two features that were released during its development: The Water Filtration Machine and Aurora Wrecks. To learn more about the H2.O update, visit the H2.O website[unknownworlds.com], created by Andrew. To get notified about future Subnautica updates, subscribe to the development mailing list.[eepurl.com]

Paingod · Post by **Paingod** » Fri Jan 15, 2016 10:49 am

I should download and play this... it keeps getting better and I keep avoiding it in favor of other games.

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Fri Jan 15, 2016 1:37 pm

Paingod wrote:I should download and play this... it keeps getting better and I keep avoiding it in favor of other games.

It's still in Early Access and honestly, each time they add new stuff you have to pretty much restart. So unless you plan on playing the game multiple times through (like I am) you can just hold off till 1.0 release. It's definitely worth getting however, the addition of the third dimension really makes it a very interesting survival game.

Doomboy · Post by **Doomboy** » Sat Feb 13, 2016 10:19 pm

So, I have been eyeing this one for a while now, and it looks like there is enough content, so I picked it up during the sale for my birthday. Only to find there is no invert y axis option? What? Someone please tell me I am just dumb and missing it.

I want to play, but I can't play first person games with weird mouselook controls, like pushing up to look up. It makes no sense to my brain.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Sat Feb 13, 2016 10:28 pm

Menu checkbox?

Doomboy · Post by **Doomboy** » Sat Feb 13, 2016 10:33 pm

Cool! Thanks! Gonna go try that out now...

Grifman · Post by **Grifman** » Sun Feb 14, 2016 12:28 am

Doomboy wrote:I want to play, but I can't play first person games with normal mouselook controls, like pushing up to look up. It makes no sense to my brain.

'

There, fixed that for you

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Sun Feb 14, 2016 1:18 am

Note that Vsync is not enabled in the game, and there is nothing in the options menu. You can turn it on this way:

To Enable Vsnyc:
- Once you are in-game
- F3 to open options panel
- F8 to open feedback panel so you can move the mouse to select enable console
- ESC to close the feedback panel
- ENTER on the number pad, this brings up a box in lower left
- now you can enter the code "vsync 1" (no quotes)

Or just
- F3 to open option panel, then ENTER on the number pad, this brings up a box in lower left
- now you can enter the code "vsync 1" (no quotes)

Sorry the instructions look a bit confused, the actions depend on whether you have the console enabled.

Doomboy · Post by **Doomboy** » Sun Feb 14, 2016 4:22 am

Grifman wrote:
Doomboy wrote:I want to play, but I can't play first person games with normal mouselook controls, like pushing up to look up. It makes no sense to my brain.
'

There, fixed that for you

That is not correct. Think of it as a hand on the back of your head. If you want the character to look up, you pull back, look down, push forward. The only logical, sane way of using a mouse to control your view.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Sun Feb 14, 2016 12:27 pm

That only works in flight sims for me. Anything else and it just does not compute.

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Sun Feb 14, 2016 5:30 pm

I just fired up the game to check a couple of things and it sucked me in for a couple of hours

, it's that type of game.

And speaking of a couple, here are a couple (or more) things to keep in mind:

1. Remember you can push your lifepod! After you build a habitat you may wish to push the lifepod over it, since you can run out of power in the habitat but the pod always has power for the fabricator.

2. Definitely play the survival mode, where you need food and water. It's not onerous and it does give you a reason to look for things that aren't just construction items.

3. Remember to use the feedback system in game (F8). It's easy, so anything you see that could be improved, let them know.

4. The Wiki is here and there's no shame in using it. Subnautica can be confusing and frustrating, so at least there's some online help for you.

Paingod · Post by **Paingod** » Tue Feb 16, 2016 11:43 am

jztemple2 wrote:1. Remember you can push your lifepod! After you build a habitat you may wish to push the lifepod over it, since you can run out of power in the habitat but the pod always has power for the fabricator.

The life pod managed to drift quite a ways away from where it started for me after a number of in-game days. I think it's currently resting over some decidedly unfriendly areas. This led to me immediately building a beacon over my base.

Powering my habitat was never really a problem. It's possible to stack Solar Panels and get 50 power for each one, I had 3 to give me 150, just like the life pod. That was usually enough to keep me busy overnight, but I could have used 200 sometimes (especially when I docked with the Seamoth eventually).

I logged 17 hours in the game and think I accomplished just about everything there is to accomplish except explore the absolute depths and caves. I had a tricked out Seamoth built for depth, and a fully modded Cyclops with plenty of storage and fish tanks for live specimens. I was sad to discover there's no respawning of fish (or resources). My starting area became a very pretty desert with absolutely nothing moving after a few days. That barren area pushed out gradually in several directions. My other big gripe is the Cyclops desperately needing some kind of solar power mod. I can think of no reason why the solar technology for the base and Seamoth can't be applied to that submarine as well. Time will tell if that makes it in.

On the whole, I really enjoyed my exploration as it was and the tension of swimming with predators while looking for bits to build a better home.

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Thu Feb 25, 2016 2:16 pm

And another big update released, the Farming Update, which allows you to grow underwater farms, plus a lot of other things, like more underwater lights, new items for your underwater base, plus the addition of new, abandoned bases to explore. (Steam page announcement)

Subnautica now features underwater farming! Build grow-boxes, plant seeds, and tend to your watery crops. Plant seeds inside a base to grow surface plants as well!
Click here to see the Farming Update in action
There's more:

Explore and scan abandoned bases to discover new technology
At night, use the new spot light and floodlight to light up your base
Store captured creatures in the Large Aquarium for further study
Decorate bases with Living Walls & Pots
Explore dark areas with the LED lightstick

Paingod · Post by **Paingod** » Thu Feb 25, 2016 2:26 pm

Looks good. I liked everything they added, and I hope 'farming' becomes a thing so you can sustain yourself with it instead of stripping the ocean bare of fish that never respawn...

I like the large aquarium, too. I wonder if that would fit in the Cyclops and what the capacity is. I built two aquariums next to each other in there as a means of storing live food and water for emergencies. I also had a cabinet devoted to dehydrated food and water bottles, but it's not quite as pretty as fish in a tank.

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Thu Feb 25, 2016 2:32 pm

I had uninstalled the game after the last update, since you need to start from scratch to get all the new stuff each time. I told myself I'd wait for the full 1.0 release before I reinstalled and played it again.

And yet I just reinstalled the game

. I'm weak, but I love this game

Sepiche · Post by **Sepiche** » Thu Feb 25, 2016 2:39 pm

jztemple2 wrote:I had uninstalled the game after the last update, since you need to start from scratch to get all the new stuff each time. I told myself I'd wait for the full 1.0 release before I reinstalled and played it again.

And yet I just reinstalled the game . I'm weak, but I love this game

Yeah, I finally dove into this a few weeks ago and loved it. They've done a great job making lots of distinct, memorable environments, and the slow progression from desperate crash survivor to self sufficient explorer is satisfying and well done.

Glad to see they've added farming though as one of the weak spots previously was stripping an area of all the fish and plants if you stayed there too long.

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Tue Mar 15, 2016 2:20 pm

The game is on sale on Steam for 40% off till the 18th.

wonderpug · Post by **wonderpug** » Tue Mar 15, 2016 2:38 pm

Sepiche wrote:Yeah, I finally dove into this

nyuk nyuk

Tampa_Gamer · Post by **Tampa_Gamer** » Tue Mar 15, 2016 5:47 pm

Periodically keeping an eye on this but have not taken the hook yet...has the developer indicated how far out on the development road map they will add in multiplayer? (if any)

Sepiche · Post by **Sepiche** » Tue Mar 15, 2016 5:54 pm

Tampa_Gamer wrote:Periodically keeping an eye on this but have not taken the hook yet...has the developer indicated how far out on the development road map they will add in multiplayer? (if any)

Last I read (a few months ago) they were saying they were likely to drop multiplayer in favor of focusing on the single player experience, but no idea if they've revisited that recently.

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Wed Mar 16, 2016 12:20 pm

Something new, Crash Sequence Update

Subnautica Early Access has always featured the Life Pod – An escape capsule ejected from the crashed Aurora Starship. How did it come to rest on the ocean surface? What happened on the way down? This small update answers that question. See details about what is included in the update on the Crash Sequence site.[unknownworlds.com]

YouTube™ Video: Subnautica Crash Sequence

The Crash Sequence starts with ejection from the stricken Aurora. To experience it, start a new game of Subnautica. The game used to start with a simple fade up from black. You will find that now, the opening is a little more intense!

Note that the update now makes the fire extinguisher functional, although there isn't much use for it at this time. Also you can now repair the pod radio which will provide more story possibilities later on. And my favorite part, the medical cabinet in the pod is now functional and generates a new med kit every thirty minutes; this really helps in the early game when you tend to get hurt a lot.

Grifman · Post by **Grifman** » Wed Mar 16, 2016 1:19 pm

jztemple2 wrote:The game is on sale on Steam for 40% off till the 18th.

Must resist . . .

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Wed Mar 16, 2016 1:20 pm

Still EA. You likely won't see it cheaper until well after release.

naednek · Post by **naednek** » Thu Mar 17, 2016 1:33 am

Had $12.99 left over from a gift card from Tiger Direct. Figured what the hell!

Lorini · Post by **Lorini** » Thu Mar 17, 2016 7:07 pm

I played for nearly two hours, saved, went back to the save file today and everything is black. I swear I'll never buy another Nvidia card in life.

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Thu Mar 17, 2016 7:21 pm

Lorini wrote:I played for nearly two hours, saved, went back to the save file today and everything is black. I swear I'll never buy another Nvidia card in life.

That's weird, I have a GTX780 and never had that problem with the saves. The only problem I'm having is that somehow the game isn't playing nice with the GTX780 vsync; in spite of globally and specifically enabling vsync the game somehow runs way over 60fps at times. There's not an option setting to enable it but you have always been able to enable it via a console command, however the latest update has broken this in that the screen goes green if the console command is used.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Thu Mar 17, 2016 9:18 pm

Lorini wrote:I played for nearly two hours, saved, went back to the save file today and everything is black. I swear I'll never buy another Nvidia card in life.

I keep seeing it reported online that the latest two driver updates are a total mess and lots of people are having problems. From what I've read the latest stable/recommended NVidia drivers are 362.00.

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Thu Mar 17, 2016 10:33 pm

Smoove_B wrote:
Lorini wrote:I played for nearly two hours, saved, went back to the save file today and everything is black. I swear I'll never buy another Nvidia card in life.
I keep seeing it reported online that the latest two driver updates are a total mess and lots of people are having problems. From what I've read the latest stable/recommended NVidia drivers are 362.00.

I rolled my driver back to 361.75 but I still get the green screen when I activate "vsync 1" via the console, so I suspect it's part of the crash sequence update that messed things up. Still, I can just select the experimental/highest graphics and that keeps it down below a hundred.

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Tue Apr 05, 2016 11:15 am

Today's new update (adds Oculus Rift support) still hasn't fixed the vsync issue

Sepiche · Post by **Sepiche** » Wed Apr 06, 2016 10:33 am

jztemple2 wrote:Today's new update (adds Oculus Rift support) still hasn't fixed the vsync issue

Sweet, I'll have to give that a try again. Last time I tried it, it "worked", but the frame rates were so low it was pretty headache inducing. What little taste I got of it was incredibly immersive though... really felt like I was swimming under water (minus all the water and exertion).

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Wed Apr 06, 2016 12:03 pm

Sepiche wrote:
jztemple2 wrote:Today's new update (adds Oculus Rift support) still hasn't fixed the vsync issue
Sweet, I'll have to give that a try again. Last time I tried it, it "worked", but the frame rates were so low it was pretty headache inducing. What little taste I got of it was incredibly immersive though... really felt like I was swimming under water (minus all the water and exertion).

Yes, it's a good game (even without VR and in early access), so don't let the Nvidia issue scare you off if you have an AMD card or a not so cutting edge Nvidia card. I run the highest (experimental) graphics setting to try to keep my frame rate below a hundred, but my GTX 780 still heats up to 80C like mad.

Paingod · Post by **Paingod** » Wed Apr 06, 2016 12:18 pm

jztemple2 wrote:Today's new update (adds Oculus Rift support) still hasn't fixed the vsync issue

The last thing I need in this game is VR. I have issues with being underwater and not being able to see around myself, so the game just plays on that. I don't need more immersion so I'll wet myself when one of the massive superpredators grabs my minisub.

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Wed Apr 06, 2016 12:24 pm

Paingod wrote:The last thing I need in this game is VR. I have issues with being underwater and not being able to see around myself, so the game just plays on that. I don't need more immersion so I'll wet myself when one of the massive superpredators grabs my minisub.

immersion

Well, it struck me as funny in an underwater game

Yes, the game does lack a sense of decent peripheral vision. Chasing those little Peeper fish would be a bit easier.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Wed Apr 06, 2016 3:54 pm

I restart a lot, especially after a update. I seem to spawn a lot where theres some large animal making god annoying sounds. I keep restarting until Im alone in my pod area. Hearing that whale sound forever is annoying.

mori · Post by **mori** » Wed Apr 06, 2016 7:57 pm

Another update and another restart. Do not mind much because I seldom get far. They changed it so the player had to find the fragments to build solar panels. Could not find any. Even went to the Auroa wreck and all there was Seamoth fragments. Everywhere and then the Reaper Leviathon would spot me and I would die. Never did get power to my base and now a new update. I like it now that they moved most of the fragments into wrecks instead of scattered on the sea floor.

Sepiche · Post by **Sepiche** » Thu Apr 07, 2016 10:20 am

Well, I tried my DK2, and the frame rates were much better, but for god knows what reason they don't support keyboard+mouse with VR at the moment.

That and there's something odd when I try to turn from side to side in the game using the controller... it's like my head's in a vice. It immediately gave me a headache, and I had to go upstairs and lay down for a while after playing for a few minutes. Looking around, moving up and down, and forward and back was no problem, but anytime I tried to turn to the side it was pure pain.

I think that at this point, that's my biggest worry about getting one of the commercial VR sets... unless the game is really made for it, and you have everything setup nearly perfect, it's really easy to make yourself sick doing certain things, and this is from someone who never gets nauseous playing games otherwise.

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Tue Apr 19, 2016 10:47 pm

There is good news!! Someone has come across a solution for the vsync green screen problem seen on Nvidia cards. The solution is very simple:

After some fiddling, tried this and seemed to fix the issue.

1 - Enter Game
2 - Enable console (if not enabled)
3 - Go to console (enter, ~), type "vsync", screen will go green
4 - Hit ESC and go to options, uncheck fullscreen, then recheck
5 - Green screen goes away
6 - ???????
7 - Profit

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Fri May 06, 2016 4:58 pm

Another big update: Machinery Update Released

A new update for Subnautica has been released! Check out the Machinery Update site for more.

The latest and greatest technology in the world of Subnautica is the Map Scanner room. These rooms can be built on to existing habitats, or can stand alone. Map Scanner rooms will scan nearby seafloor, searching for a select array of resources. Additionally, there are two exterior cameras that can be piloted remotely. Upgrades bring additional benefits.

The Cyclops gets a massive technology overhaul. Improvements include better proximity sensors, a hull camera, deeper dives, functioning lockers, and more.

Bio Reactors and Nuclear Reactors are officially an option. Bio Reactors require plant matter to function, Nuclear Reactors require Radiation Rods [CHECK]. Both must be places in a Multi-Purpose Room.

Thermal Reactors have been around for a while, but now they look the part. The Machinery Update brings a model to this useful piece of tech.

The Blood Kelp biome grows with the addition of the Blood Kelp 2 zone. Both Blood Kelp areas will serve as entrances to the Lost River Biome, still in development. In Blood Kelp 2 you will also find a new critter, the Crabsquid. Be careful not to touch, as it can deliver a nasty attack.

The floating storage container now functions! Build it and fill it with all your favorite things.

Creatures will now respawn after being killed by another creature or the player. This feature was in high demand by you, the players! Thank you for your continued feedback to support the development of Subnautica.

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Fri May 06, 2016 9:07 pm

And (woohoo!) there is now a vsync option, so no more having to use a console command. And just a little while ago I got a comment posted on my thumbs-down review of the game from the developer, letting me know about the change. I changed my review to a thumbs-up since otherwise I'm happy with the game. I'm wondering how much my negative review helped push them to get that vsync option added, I've been giving them that feedback for months but that didn't seem to help.