A long bit of feedback.
Nyito
Join Date: 2016-02-11 Member: 212904Members
Join Date: 2016-02-11 Member: 212904Members
So, to help this feedback be as useful as possible, I'll start off with a little about myself as a gamer, and the lens through which I saw Subnautica as I went into it. I'm a collector/builder sort of player. I like to build up self-sustaining bases and accumulate obscene amounts of resources. Exploration is fun, but without a goal or hint in mind as well, I tend to get bored. I typically use a wiki at that point to figure out "Oh, the material I need is in this biome only," despite not knowing that biome exists. The fact Subnautica has no map here is actually a great boon, as despite knowing such biome exists, I still have it find it, and that gives me motivation to explore. I also didn't go into the game blind; the game wound up on my radar through a friend, and I watched MagzTV's Let's Play for a few episodes, which convinced me to take the plunge, as I really liked what I saw, but conversely taught me a fair bit about how the game works, before I ever started playing. I'll also not be talking about bugs, as I report them as I encounter them through the F8 feedback system. So with that in mind, my feedback:
The Early Game:
A lot of fun, but too short. I'd really like to see more life pod based gameplay. Perhaps an early building tutorial teaching you how building works by installing a basic modification station and locker aboard it. Maybe then using said modification station to upgrade the habitat builder into the one we have now, that lets you build actual bases. Or otherwise just making the progression from the life pod to a base an adventure. Easily rushed past if you know exactly what you need and want to, but otherwise give you time to get attached to the pod as your first sort of base, by allowing personalization and customization to an extent. I'd also like to see an ability to tie the life pod into a base's power grid, or otherwise permanently affix it and it's power supply into a surface base. The fact it floats would preclude using it for deep water bases, but even just being able to attach a power relay to it, which ties it's energy into a nearby base would be nice.
Similarly, it's too easy to get a Seamoth. I've never felt the need to use the SeaGlide. In fact, I had a Seamoth before I even knew the SeaGlide was an option. Locking the Mobile Vehicle Bay behind a 5 fragment research requirement should help with that, as well as making the Seamoth more expensive to make(perhaps enameled glass?) Similarly, not locking available items in the fabricator until specific resources are in your inventory, so a player knows what their options are will help players prioritize what they're working towards.
The Mid Game:
Honestly? I have no complaints or suggestions here. It feels great, having goals to work towards in many directions; exploring the biomes, working towards exploring the Aurora, collecting resources to build up a base. If I had to give some criticism, it would be similar to the early game; too easy to accomplish what I feel should be a major late-game goal, the Cyclops. Research fragments and perhaps some extra resources(magnetite?) should help solve this one as well. The Radiation Suit is similarly too cheap, for such a major and necessary item to get you farther in the game, and the obstacle to major new technologies.
The Late Game:
Here is where things kind of fall apart, but I think most of it comes down to Early Access and the game being somewhat content light right now, which is to be expected. The lack of ecological sustainability is a big problem, but as I understand it, there's going to be a whole farming/breeding system being added that will hopefully fix this, both in terms of setting up in-base farms to keep a player supplied with resources, and the honestly rather immersion breaking fact that one new (albeit alpha) predator in the waters absolutely decimates the entire ecosystem of the area. I grew up in Monterey, California, and spent my childhood visiting the Aquarium there. I understand how fragile an ecosystem can be, but it's not so fragile that it can't sustain feeding one extra predator. So my hope is that this farming update will also affect breeding in the wild, plants sporing and growing, and perhaps a degree of conservationism gameplay, allowing you to decimate one particular area if you seriously over-hunt it, but also have the ability to repopulate it by growing a population through farming, and releasing it back into the wild.
Mineral sustainability is also a bit of a problem, albeit less of one. Perhaps letting 1% of each biome's resources respawn each day would help. It would ensure you have to regularly fan out and visit many biomes to keep in supply, but you will never truly run out.
I also don't think there's enough incentive to build bases in other biomes currently, but I don't know how this can be effectively solved. In a 20 hour playthrough, I built a base near a geothermal vent about 20 meters down in the shallows, and never built another. I pushed the escape pod near the base to be able to use it, powered my base through every means currently available in the game, solar, thermal, bio and nuclear, just because I could. I had 4 purpose-built Seamoths, and an upgraded Cyclops, with the module from the Aurora, and a spare depth module in case I needed all 4 for some purpose. Between a Hauler Seamoth designed to move cargo, and the Cyclops, there just isn't a need yet. Perhaps adding a game objective/incentive to build a base designed to help support the ecosystem? (Will tangent on this later in the post.)
I'm not sure why there's not much incentive currently to hunt predators. Aside from giving stalkers metal or fish to get teeth, there's no reason to brave the dangers predators represent in order to get access to some exclusive/useful resource. Even just being able to eat the biters that attack you would be nice, even if their food value is very poor, meaning you don't actively want to hunt them. I'm at this juncture just assuming this is yet a WIP, and maybe with more biological based tools that will be coming with the breeding update, there will eventually be a reason to risk approaching them.
The last issue I had: Power. This is I think a threefold problem. First, no ability to recharge depleted batteries and power cells, yet the ability to recharge them indirectly through the swim charge fins and moonpool. We need a battery charging station module, that draws off of base/cyclops power. Ideally at a worse than 1:1 ratio, so you're incentivized to do so through base power, and obviously never want to charge cyclops power cells off of the cyclops, but are okay with charging a tool's battery from it, if you really need to.
Second, lack of battery packs for bases. I've seen other threads in the few minutes I've spent on the forum so far, so I'll just cast my vote in for that as well. It's silly we have to build extra generators to also increase power capacity. Similarly, having large battery packs you install into base room walls would give another reason to expand a base.
Lastly, copper scarcity in the late game. This is partly due to the aforementioned lack of resource respawning, but also partly due to it's a resource needed for many things, with only one source; limestone deposits. I think the best solution would be to replace the gold in basalt or shale deposits with copper, providing a late game source for it, as well as cutting down on another current problem; an overabundance of gold. Admittedly the gold overabundance may well change to a scarcity depending on what new things are added, but as the game sits, I think that alone would fix this problem.
Ecosystem tangent:
I admit I have no idea where the game is going to go, but in writing this I had a bolt of inspiration as to a 'goal' for the game. The Aurora has crashed. Radiation and new organisms introduced into the wild from the crash are devastating the local ecosystem. Building a base in each biome with facilities designed to sustain each biome's ecosystem would be an interesting take on the game, in providing an endgame goal to work towards, if you so choose. It would also provide a sense of urgency to at least establish a way to repopulate a biome at a later date by recovering samples of all the various life forms before they go extinct. Just a thought.
In Conclusion:
Two twenty-hour playthroughs; even if the game's development halted today, I got my money's worth and had a good time with it. That the development is continuing can only make things better. I have high hopes for this game, and hope this feedback is useful.
The Early Game:
A lot of fun, but too short. I'd really like to see more life pod based gameplay. Perhaps an early building tutorial teaching you how building works by installing a basic modification station and locker aboard it. Maybe then using said modification station to upgrade the habitat builder into the one we have now, that lets you build actual bases. Or otherwise just making the progression from the life pod to a base an adventure. Easily rushed past if you know exactly what you need and want to, but otherwise give you time to get attached to the pod as your first sort of base, by allowing personalization and customization to an extent. I'd also like to see an ability to tie the life pod into a base's power grid, or otherwise permanently affix it and it's power supply into a surface base. The fact it floats would preclude using it for deep water bases, but even just being able to attach a power relay to it, which ties it's energy into a nearby base would be nice.
Similarly, it's too easy to get a Seamoth. I've never felt the need to use the SeaGlide. In fact, I had a Seamoth before I even knew the SeaGlide was an option. Locking the Mobile Vehicle Bay behind a 5 fragment research requirement should help with that, as well as making the Seamoth more expensive to make(perhaps enameled glass?) Similarly, not locking available items in the fabricator until specific resources are in your inventory, so a player knows what their options are will help players prioritize what they're working towards.
The Mid Game:
Honestly? I have no complaints or suggestions here. It feels great, having goals to work towards in many directions; exploring the biomes, working towards exploring the Aurora, collecting resources to build up a base. If I had to give some criticism, it would be similar to the early game; too easy to accomplish what I feel should be a major late-game goal, the Cyclops. Research fragments and perhaps some extra resources(magnetite?) should help solve this one as well. The Radiation Suit is similarly too cheap, for such a major and necessary item to get you farther in the game, and the obstacle to major new technologies.
The Late Game:
Here is where things kind of fall apart, but I think most of it comes down to Early Access and the game being somewhat content light right now, which is to be expected. The lack of ecological sustainability is a big problem, but as I understand it, there's going to be a whole farming/breeding system being added that will hopefully fix this, both in terms of setting up in-base farms to keep a player supplied with resources, and the honestly rather immersion breaking fact that one new (albeit alpha) predator in the waters absolutely decimates the entire ecosystem of the area. I grew up in Monterey, California, and spent my childhood visiting the Aquarium there. I understand how fragile an ecosystem can be, but it's not so fragile that it can't sustain feeding one extra predator. So my hope is that this farming update will also affect breeding in the wild, plants sporing and growing, and perhaps a degree of conservationism gameplay, allowing you to decimate one particular area if you seriously over-hunt it, but also have the ability to repopulate it by growing a population through farming, and releasing it back into the wild.
Mineral sustainability is also a bit of a problem, albeit less of one. Perhaps letting 1% of each biome's resources respawn each day would help. It would ensure you have to regularly fan out and visit many biomes to keep in supply, but you will never truly run out.
I also don't think there's enough incentive to build bases in other biomes currently, but I don't know how this can be effectively solved. In a 20 hour playthrough, I built a base near a geothermal vent about 20 meters down in the shallows, and never built another. I pushed the escape pod near the base to be able to use it, powered my base through every means currently available in the game, solar, thermal, bio and nuclear, just because I could. I had 4 purpose-built Seamoths, and an upgraded Cyclops, with the module from the Aurora, and a spare depth module in case I needed all 4 for some purpose. Between a Hauler Seamoth designed to move cargo, and the Cyclops, there just isn't a need yet. Perhaps adding a game objective/incentive to build a base designed to help support the ecosystem? (Will tangent on this later in the post.)
I'm not sure why there's not much incentive currently to hunt predators. Aside from giving stalkers metal or fish to get teeth, there's no reason to brave the dangers predators represent in order to get access to some exclusive/useful resource. Even just being able to eat the biters that attack you would be nice, even if their food value is very poor, meaning you don't actively want to hunt them. I'm at this juncture just assuming this is yet a WIP, and maybe with more biological based tools that will be coming with the breeding update, there will eventually be a reason to risk approaching them.
The last issue I had: Power. This is I think a threefold problem. First, no ability to recharge depleted batteries and power cells, yet the ability to recharge them indirectly through the swim charge fins and moonpool. We need a battery charging station module, that draws off of base/cyclops power. Ideally at a worse than 1:1 ratio, so you're incentivized to do so through base power, and obviously never want to charge cyclops power cells off of the cyclops, but are okay with charging a tool's battery from it, if you really need to.
Second, lack of battery packs for bases. I've seen other threads in the few minutes I've spent on the forum so far, so I'll just cast my vote in for that as well. It's silly we have to build extra generators to also increase power capacity. Similarly, having large battery packs you install into base room walls would give another reason to expand a base.
Lastly, copper scarcity in the late game. This is partly due to the aforementioned lack of resource respawning, but also partly due to it's a resource needed for many things, with only one source; limestone deposits. I think the best solution would be to replace the gold in basalt or shale deposits with copper, providing a late game source for it, as well as cutting down on another current problem; an overabundance of gold. Admittedly the gold overabundance may well change to a scarcity depending on what new things are added, but as the game sits, I think that alone would fix this problem.
Ecosystem tangent:
I admit I have no idea where the game is going to go, but in writing this I had a bolt of inspiration as to a 'goal' for the game. The Aurora has crashed. Radiation and new organisms introduced into the wild from the crash are devastating the local ecosystem. Building a base in each biome with facilities designed to sustain each biome's ecosystem would be an interesting take on the game, in providing an endgame goal to work towards, if you so choose. It would also provide a sense of urgency to at least establish a way to repopulate a biome at a later date by recovering samples of all the various life forms before they go extinct. Just a thought.
In Conclusion:
Two twenty-hour playthroughs; even if the game's development halted today, I got my money's worth and had a good time with it. That the development is continuing can only make things better. I have high hopes for this game, and hope this feedback is useful.