Its a great game for relaxing in most areas and gives you the opportunity to exercise the creative need. I've always loved the water setting too. I have some fond memories of Ecco the Dolphin on my Uncle's Sega CD I think it was. That music actually goes well with Subnautica played in the background. Deuter albums would also probably be great. I've got a ocean themed one of his but many of his are very relaxing and ethereal.

It is relaxing in the shallows. I've done my share of snorkeling, and this brings all that back. Really nice. But I do feel a sense of anxiety as I descend in to deeper water, which I certainly would in reality, and it carries over to the game.

It's funny but it struck me how in most games that involve spending time underwater and managing your O2 needs they always have audio cues of holding breath, or gasping and gulping for air when you break the surface. I find it affects me in some base way. I actually find myself holding my breath when playing. Far Cry is like that for example. Madness, but it's involuntary and it just happens.

In Subnautica those audio cues are absent. And that has made the diving much more relaxing for me. A minor point, but for me it makes a big difference.

Same here. I like the way they have it. I do find myself getting claustrophobic and holding my breath if pushing my time down under or while trying to navigate and underwater maze of wreckage while inside the wreckage! I have accidentally died once because I forgot to keep track at the wrong moment and your character will make some noises and start to black out. For the sake of role playing I pretend that when I make that so far rare mistake, I don't actually die but I go unconscious and some force or perhaps a friendly sea creature drags me back to the surface and to my pod.

If you're going to be stranded on an alien waterworld you may as well get comfortable, as you'll likely be there a while This is what I've managed to construct. I have picked out several suitable base locations in other spots, mostly near thermal power sources and eventually I plan to build a more sprawling complex near deep water for when I have a Cyclops. But for now, this is home. Built directly under Lifepod 5, which gives me a spare radio (not needed, a role-play thing) and a free medkit whenever I need one. Can double as a guest house, but potential occupants seem a bit scarce at the moment.

This base has a two-story main wing with living quarters on the bottom and a common area on the top floor with panoramic views and a well-stocked aquarium. The walls of the connecting bits are lined with fabricators, chargers and lots of lockers for resource storage. There is a scanner room to survey the surrounding area and a moonpool to dock the Seamoth with access to deeper water. A glass observatory overlooks the shallows and the reef for unwinding after a stressful day cave crawling and running from sea monsters. This base sits very shallow of course and utilizes solar power. The first floor is just 6 meters deep. So I can't get a good down-angle for a screenshot so this one will have to do.

Looks nice. I'm getting ready to build a small base but I discovered that I have not found the basic room module yet. I can only build the Ts and elbows and glass tubes. Thankfully I have found the blueprints for the moon pool and scanner room but I need to get out there and find that room blueprint.

Multi-purpose rooms? Same here, took a while to get that blueprint. Here's the same base from the opposite direction taken just as the multi-purpose rooms were added. For a while the base was just the other bits and that works just fine. A couple of tubes daisy chained together would work too haha. Still deciding on my next spot. I wonder if it would be cool to build one inside the jellyshrooms cave? That place is awesome.

Last night I began building my main base at the edge of the Shallows right where that biome, the Grassy Plateau and the Kelp Forest meet. There's a thermal vent there. It's about 500 meters south of my current base. It has access to much deeper water and the Jellyshroom cave is about 200 m away.

I made great progress yesterday. Finally got the Mk 2 depth upgrade for the Seamoth and with the ability to go deeper I saw some massive creatures that I had not encountered. I did a Brave Sir Robin and got the hell out of there.

When danger reared its ugly head,
He bravely turned his tail and fled.

Three different times with three different , err, creatures...?. I've been trying to avoid spoilers, but these things were either massive, freaky, scary and or all the above. But there's so much to see and find down there. I finally got a new suit by prowling the depths, but constantly looking about to be sure I'm not about to be eaten. I can only take the submersible down to 500 meters, and can only imagine what foul beasts dwell even deeper. This tension is awesome. I'm always thinking a leviathan lies just beyond sight in the murky depths, tracking me, planning his assault on my squishy body.

I've only died once so far and that was under a hail of crash fish that went off one, two, three and I shoulda used a medkit a while ago. Last night I was removed from my Seamoth without permission, and talk about feeling exposed. I lived. I was chased by a...well. spoliers right?, the thing that patrols off the Aurora's stern. I lived. Somehow.

I fabricated some courage and gave myself the mission to find Lifepod 7, for which we only have a vague description of the location, I searched for about an hour and actually found it! Quite pleased with that. It's a big, deep, frightening ocean out there. Folks with little imagination will have a happier time

Still enjoying this game, as I get deeper in to it, both literally and figuratively. Seamoth is now maxxed out with depth compensators so can go way down there, and it's still amazing me. I spent time at the bottom of the Blood Kelp Cave yesterday and it's full of err, stuffz. Some of it doesn't believe I have a right to be there. Main base is nearing completion, just need to find a few shiploads of quartz since I want it to be mostly glass. The top level is above water and the base steps down several levels Just under the surface are the observatories and scanner room. Further down in the main scientific wing and living quarters with Seamoth Bay attached out over deep water. I'll add a second moonpool as a Prawn bay as well. I'll post a screenshot of it when it's ready. My 8 year old son has some design ideas he wants to discuss first

Excellent write up Dbond!

I just looked at my Steam library and I purchased this back in August of 2015 and played for 16 hours. I need to give this another go. I actually came close to buying it for my Xbox one as well last night...but it's still in early access there and has some framerate/crash/save game issues still. Would really like to play this all comfy on the couch on my 50" TV!

Yeah man, I'm enjoying it. Best 20 bucks I've spent in a while. Got 40+ hours in so far.

I imagine that in the current state you'll see quite a bit more content than back then. Hope to hear your thoughts should you decide to give it another go.

I mentioned some of the things I like about it earlier, but to show I'm not a mindless fanboi, I would list two negatives. The first is there is only a single save slot for each playthrough. You can start a new game and it gets it's own slot, but no rolling saves to avoid trouble should the save get corrupted. I've had zero issue with this, but I sure would hate to lose all of this progress should something happen.

The second thing is pop-up with graphics. It comes and goes, but I have a fairly fast box, and the game runs fantastically, but sometimes it's a bit jarring when it occurs, especially if it's a leviathan that pops up. Maybe there's a way to maximize draw distance, I dunno. Sometimes the draw distance is perfectly fine. I suppose it depends on how quickly you're moving through the world. It's much more prevalent zipping around in the Seamoth than other times.

Other than that I really can't find much fault with it. Personally I'd say it's not challenging enough, but that's subjective opinion. And not every game I play needs to be like Misery. I think the player needs some imagination, some ability to forge their own path. If a player likes to have the game guide him along this isn't the right choice in my opinion.

In case some are wondering, there are several modes to choose from. Survival, which includes thirst and hunger, and Freedom, which does not. There is also a creative mode like Minecraft that lets the player build anything with no resource requirements.

The graphics are really good, the undersea world I find amazing. The colors, the sea life, the way the lightshafts filter down, the sounds are fantastic. I've had no crashes, and only one glitch caused by tight spaces in a 'structure'. Obviously I am really digging this game, but as I mentioned imagination and self motivation are required in my opinion.

i like this one better, https://store.steampowered.com/app/251890/World_of_Diving/ too bad its another early acess that never made it......the idea was good...

The bases you build in Subnautica have an integrity mechanic. Each addition reduces integrity, especially glass. To counter this, foundations can be built but I don't like the way they look, so I opt to use reinforcements which can be added to the exterior of the base in certain places. If integrity slips below 0 the walls will rupture and the base will flood. It's not hard to keep a positive integrity, but it does mean the base cannot be all glass, unless you make extensive use of foundations. So these shots show the base in mid-build. I want to glass as much as I can, but it requires resources (quartz) that are in short supply at the moment. I will need to keep going out and collecting it. I could disassemble my other base and use the resources, but I like that base and will keep it. All construction you do can be de-constructed at any time to try again or recover full resources. This 'free' building mechanic is nice and means the player can try all sorts of things without worrying that it's irreversible.

I built this base 500 meters south of my Shallows base. It's on the edge of a steep drop in anticipation of eventually building the large submarine, the Cyclops. This thing is really big, 177 feet long, and requires ample room for mooring. Trying to shoehorn it in to my other base would be difficult at best, so this new base is built with deep water access in mind. In addition, it is built next to a thermal vent that I had discovered early in my exploration. I marked the spot with a beacon and now the base is taking shape there. There are four types of power you can use for your base, in any combination. With so much of this base near the surface, and indeed some of it above, solar power is a natural choice. With my first base being solar powered though, I opted for thermal for this one just to mix it up and try something different. A thermal plant must be placed astride the vent and connected to the base via power transmitters that can be daisy-chained together. More plants equal more power. A simple, renewable system that works great and is immune to power loss due to low light conditions. The other two types of power are nuclear and biological. Eventually I plan to have a deep-water base as well, and that one will use one or both of those power sources.

I took these shots in the dark because I think the bases look cool at night. But until the glasswork is in place it is rather pedestrian looking It has two multi-purpose rooms above the surface and extends down several levels to the main structure and Seamoth bay. As mentioned, a second Prawn bay will be added once I've built that. Barely touching the surface is a glass observatory, which gives me the best vistas at the site. Down another step is the scanner room. It looks out over some very deep and forbidding sea. I haven't made use of my scanner rooms yet, but the plan is to establish a network, a web of overlapping coverage of the various biomes. It's something I've rather put off to ensure I have stuff to do.

This shot shows what exists above the sea. It serves reminder that life above is still possible.




Two shots of the base from opposite sides. You can see in one shot the blue beam that extends downward from the upper levels. This is the power connection running off to the thermal vent. The base is a work in progress, my son has some big plans haha. We are finding it a lot of fun to have bash with base building in this game.

You like it better why? How is it better than Subnautica?

Force10, I don't have a XBox, and from what I can tell the XBox version is the same thing as the full PC release, but they are not happy with optimization and so aren't 'releasing' it from Early Access. So content-wise it's the same. performance may be another matter as you alluded to.

I'm still playing, The main base is still being worked on, but has lots more glass now And it has furnishings and gadgets and do-dads so now both bases are fully functional. And it's a good thing I have access to deeper water now, as I made the thing that requires it. Yesterday I took the plunge down to in the Seamoth and that was quite the experience. So many cool and crazy things have happened, and been seen, or visited but I keep feeling like I don't want to spoil it for anyone who may give it a go. 50 hours out of it now. Not bad for 20 bucks.

Nearing the end of the game. For someone ejected from a crashing space ship on to an alien world with nothing but a broken radio, a PDA and the will to survive I've not done too badly.

This stuff isn't spoilers I reckon. I won't say much about the places or the things you may or may not encounter, but stuff is common knowledge I think. Here's the base 70 hours in. I'm in the Prawn Suit, which is a mech sort of thing, and a lot of fun to explore and traverse the terrain in. It's quite versatile, easy to maneuver, and tough as plasteel ingots. It has insane depth capability and a grappling hook to navigate vertical environments like the many beautiful cave systems in the game.

On the right is the Cyclops, a big sub which doubles as a mobile base. It can carry the Prawn or a Seamoth. I've built two Seamoths for specific roles, exploration and cargo running. The exploration Seamoth is named Longbow. As soon as I built it, I found how cool it was to pilot it like you would when flying an attack helo, nap of the earth. Except underwater. On an alien planet. It gave me that same sensation and I go just about everywhere following the contours of the sea floor. The Seamoth is zippy and responsive enough to make it a lot of fun.

The base itself has more interior furnishings, most all of the interior options, and a twin moonpool to house any of the Seamoths or Prawn. And the base now has even more glass

I have not completed the main quest yet, and I'm eager to see more, though I have grown a little weary of upgrading my vehicles. I need to do so to go ever deeper and handle the flora, fauna and hdyrospheres that the player encounters as he pursues the storyline. Crafting isn't difficult in Subnautica, but as you know you'll need the materials and with the extensive options it can be time consuming to track it all down and get it all to your base to build the stuff. No one is forcing my pace or choices, but the sense of wonder and discovery is a little intoxicating and to pursue it I need to build more and better equipment.





Others have said it in this thread as well, and I'll just echo those comments and say that this game is fantastic, if you like these sorts of games. I make it a point not to bash games for what they are not. I try to judge them for what they are. There are certain parts of me, the old sim-head and strategy gamer that wishes Subnautica was more simulation. That underlying mechanics were more intricate and detailed. But that's not what this game is. What it is is an epic journey of discovery. Should it matter that I can fill my scuba tank simply by surfacing, or that I have no way to see what parts of my base are drawing the most power? That depends on the player I suppose. But the sheer thrill of descending in to a deep undiscovered cave is awesome. The semi-panic you feel when something roars while surrounded by nothing but inky depths and darkness is fantastic. If you're the sort of player who 'becomes' your character while you play a game, you should play Subnautica.

I picked this up in the summer sale, the gameplay did not appeal to me one bit, but I love the sea/ocean so thought I would try it out. I love the game, I enjoy the survival element and at times it can be very anxious. I was gathering some vines in the pitch black because my battery died and all of a sudden a monster attacked me...scared me to death

It’s quite interesting that a game can actually make you scared to swim into the deep areas of the sea, especially as you are so defenceless . It generates so much suspense and then be relaxing at other times.

I would recommend it to anyone

I’m semi blogging my play through in this thread http://SimHQ.com/forum/ubbthreads.p...a-is-amazing-and-frightening#Post4474654
Come on in if you’d like to join in and share your progress; or just read along for you’d rather.

Can't argue with that jdbecks. I was rather on the fence about it myself. Survival games didn't appeal to me, and I hadn't played any before Subnautica. But the player reviews I read convinced me there was something about this game, something that I would find suited me. It took just an hour and I was really in to it. I'm glad the game doesn't throw you in to chaos and danger, it eases you in.

My first dive was mesmerizing and I was hooked from there. It took two playthroughs and a year for me to finish haha, but happy I did and also that I gave this game a go.

JohnnyChemo's accounts are a good read. Subblogica

I don't care for survival games in general either because most of them aren't that great of games and they don't do the survival well so its the worst kind of grind that just never gets fun. However, there are two that I think are great and that's Subnautica and the Long Dark. It has a beautiful aestetic and the survival part feels right and again, the world is beautiful. In early access, before the story came out, all there was was survival mode and it still made for a great single player experience. The story just makes things better. They updated the game recently and it wiped all my progress away so I'll have to start over but its another that I definitely recommend in that overcrowded genre as one that stands out like Subnautica.

I have not played it in quite a long time, but another EA game I got was Empryion Galactic Survival. I wouldn't say its at the level yet(I hope it will be but I kind of get the feeling it may not)of the two already mentioned, but the crafting and being able to build ground vehicles and then space vehicles is fun and it has its own kind of charm. Its been updated tons since I last played it so I'm assuming its only getting better. I hope they really start to improve on aesthetic and also add things like rag dolls which would be nice and better flight physics. But its a game that to a degree models different planets that you can make your way to and mine materials, make space vehicles and build bases while fighting an alien threat.

Thanks for the recommendation about the Long Dark. I think I mentioned it earlier in this thread, that it was one of the survival games I had kicked around but never pulled the trigger on. My experience with Subnautica was so good that I'm open to another but I wouldn't know which one would give me the same or similar type experience. The Long Dark just went to the top of the list on your word.

Hey, how's your progress with Subnautica Coot? Still playing?

Someone mentioned Adr1ft in a another thread too, that looks interesting. I may take a flyer on it, it's on Steam for $5 right now.