Over the past couple of months I thought about giving Subnautica another run. I had lost my progress with a system failure. This thread and talking about it again made me install it on the new box. I don't think a whole lot has changed in that year, it was full release by then anyway. But a few touches here and there seem new.

Anyway, things go a little more swiftly having done it once. You know what to prioritize, where the best stuff is, what's dangerous and what merely appears so. Less time spent aimlessly, though there's nothing wrong with that in an exploration game. Less time spent hoarding stuff you won't need right away.

Still a lot of fun. I'm 10 hours in to the second run, and this is what I've managed to cobble together.





I restarted the game five or six times until my pod splashed down in an appealing location. No scanner room yet, I didn't make much use of them the first time, so no rush. This base is built 75 yards from the pod. Moonpool is over deeper water, but would probably be a challenge to navigate a Cyclops to it. So like last time I will most likely start a second base for that later on. I like the base building. Or maybe more accurately, I like looking at what I have built

The first run I did in Freedom mode, with no hunger or thirst. This one is Survival. At first I felt the meters decayed too quickly, and I still think they do. But after a while you fall in to a routine. And it opens up the whole farming and filtration aspects that I didn't need the first time. A minor thing but adds a new facet to the gameplay.