Well Cory's posts seem pretty definitive about an October release.
Yeah, I got that feeling too. The way it was worded about just being "good enough" also gave me the impression of the project burnout that @scifiwriterguy was mentioning.
That's a little disappointing, since every single early access title I've seen where the devs set an arbitrary release date and/or "good enough" milestone where the game wasn't really finished at 1.0 end up in, for lack of a better term, EA development hell. They continue to get a stream of content updates for awhile to attract new buyers until the devs give up or move on, but core balance/mechanics problems at release almost never get fixed after 1.0.
I really hope Subnautica doesn't join the multitude of "could have been great but released too soon" EA titles. Devs, if you're reading this, take the time to do things right, finish your backlog, and do a proper 1.0 release.
Yeah I think them just wanting to move on or take a break from SN is the biggest reason they're trying to get this done so soon. They've been saying for many months how they've been itching to do something different, and I can understand that, but I really think they should just take that extra month to finish up what's on trello and make sure that v1.0 is a really polished experience.
Soul_RiderMod BeanJoin Date: 2004-06-19Member: 29388Members, Constellation, Squad Five Blue
Every UWE game in the NS universe so far has been released on 31st of October, and as this game is also part of the same universe as the 2 Natural Selection games, it makes sense that they want this to ship on the same day.
It's also easier to remember the game's anniversary when all your games have the same anniversary.
I am not sure what date Zen of Suduko released, but I am fairly sure it wasn't October 31st.
Well Cory's posts seem pretty definitive about an October release.
Yeah, I got that feeling too. The way it was worded about just being "good enough" also gave me the impression of the project burnout that @scifiwriterguy was mentioning.
That's a little disappointing, since every single early access title I've seen where the devs set an arbitrary release date and/or "good enough" milestone where the game wasn't really finished at 1.0 end up in, for lack of a better term, EA development hell. They continue to get a stream of content updates for awhile to attract new buyers until the devs give up or move on, but core balance/mechanics problems at release almost never get fixed after 1.0.
I really hope Subnautica doesn't join the multitude of "could have been great but released too soon" EA titles. Devs, if you're reading this, take the time to do things right, finish your backlog, and do a proper 1.0 release.
You said it perfectly. I really do hope that Subnautica, my all time favorite game, doesn't join that bandwagon that most EA titles do. I hope the devs really think about this and do it right.
Every UWE game in the NS universe so far has been released on 31st of October, and as this game is also part of the same universe as the 2 Natural Selection games, it makes sense that they want this to ship on the same day.
It's also easier to remember the game's anniversary when all your games have the same anniversary.
I am not sure what date Zen of Suduko released, but I am fairly sure it wasn't October 31st.
It still doesn't make sense to me. It shouldn't matter what date it gets released on, every game is different. I think they need to push back the release date and actually finish up the game! Subnautica is the damn coolest game I have ever seen. Is it really worth releasing the game early, just for the sake of the same release dates? Or to remember it easier?! In my mind, no it isn't. They have spent years working on Subnautica and it deserves a proper release. It is what all of us want! UnknownWorlds has dropped a few hints and clues here and there to say that Subnautica is in the NS universe. If they are really pushing for the 31st to be the release date, then they are practically just doing it for no reason.
Devs, if you really are listening and/or reading this...just please take into consideration all that you have done in this game! You all have put your blood, sweat and tears into this game! I do trust that you guys know what you are doing, but things still look really unfinished (polishing, performance, and just basic content in general. The game does feel like it is missing some things still), and it seems that there is so much more to do! Just take your time, for a better quality game. Not a rushed one.
Yeah, I got that feeling too. The way it was worded about just being "good enough" also gave me the impression of the project burnout that @scifiwriterguy was mentioning.
Yeah too bad, but I can't really blame these guys for wanting to wrap up Ver 1.0. SN's quality and content must surely be way out of the ballpark for a typical indie company. And they've probably been working on it like dogs for (years now?) less than the odd tossed shmacko* treat (long-term fans - read 'seals' and 'sardines' here).
Question though: I remember stumbling across the odd post mentioning a 'B Team" waiting in the wings for post Oct 31. Anyone know about that?
I'd love to do some writing for them. Side-quests etc.
(Uhoh. Grandpa Scifiwriterguy looks like he's about to tell a story about yesteryear...)
About a year ago, I volunteered to write flavor text...encyclopedia entries and such. While I expected what happened - I'm not a UWE adjunct writer - how that happened really knocked me back a step. It was nice.
Not being told "thanks; we're good" was nice - but rather how. Charlie Cleveland wrote back to me and was one of the most pleasant, polite developers I've ever communicated with. Realistically, 99% of the time, this scenario ends in one of two ways: no response at all, or a pretty brusque "no." He was actually nice about it. Thanked me for my interest and support, explained that they were already covered for writing staff, and wished me well. Given that I was expecting to drop an e-mail into a black hole, never to hear from it again, it was surprising enough to get a reply, but for the project lead with an already full plate to take the time to write back? That was several feet past "unexpected."
Suffice it to say, that's a significant chunk of why I'm such a loyal supporter of UWE. Civility plays a big part in how they operate - which we can see on the forums and social media feeds, granted, but when it's personal it's...well, personal - and when you merge civility with a clear dedication to quality and community engagement, it puts them way ahead of all but a few developers out there.
(Looking at you, Ubisoft. Can't build a cogent UI to save your lives and actively stomp on people who write in? Two words: epic fail.)
Yes, I really like the game. It's in my Lifetime Top 5 easily. But it's a real bonus that it's being built by some stand-up people. Makes me proud to support them.
There's a saying attributed to Voltaire about the best being the enemy of the good enough. That's true in most things.
At some point Subnautica has to ship. And I'm thinking it's getting there and almost certainly will be there by the end of Octobot. It's why UWE has a feature freeze and focusing on bug fixing and polishing. Besides the very end of the storyline and the Scanner Room list scrolling, the game we have now in Experimental is the game that will ship.
Graphical and performance issues will receive some attention. But they'll also need attention after launch no matter how much work is done before. Except for games that go nowhere near high performance for the current hardware, virtually every game when played upon the wide variety of hardware of players at release has always had to have some patches to address graphics and performance.
A lot of people won't buy a game until it's "released" and thus to delay release is to delay UWE getting the reward they deserve for putting out such an excellent game.
I'd love to do some writing for them. Side-quests etc.
(Uhoh. Grandpa Scifiwriterguy looks like he's about to tell a story about yesteryear...)
About a year ago, I volunteered to write flavor text...encyclopedia entries and such. While I expected what happened - I'm not a UWE adjunct writer - how that happened really knocked me back a step. It was nice.
Not being told "thanks; we're good" was nice - but rather how. Charlie Cleveland wrote back to me and was one of the most pleasant, polite developers I've ever communicated with. Realistically, 99% of the time, this scenario ends in one of two ways: no response at all, or a pretty brusque "no." He was actually nice about it. Thanked me for my interest and support, explained that they were already covered for writing staff, and wished me well. Given that I was expecting to drop an e-mail into a black hole, never to hear from it again, it was surprising enough to get a reply, but for the project lead with an already full plate to take the time to write back? That was several feet past "unexpected."
Suffice it to say, that's a significant chunk of why I'm such a loyal supporter of UWE. Civility plays a big part in how they operate - which we can see on the forums and social media feeds, granted, but when it's personal it's...well, personal - and when you merge civility with a clear dedication to quality and community engagement, it puts them way ahead of all but a few developers out there.
(Looking at you, Ubisoft. Can't build a cogent UI to save your lives and actively stomp on people who write in? Two words: epic fail.)
Yes, I really like the game. It's in my Lifetime Top 5 easily. But it's a real bonus that it's being built by some stand-up people. Makes me proud to support them.
UWE has always been pretty open and inviting to ideas, up to a point of course, but more so than most other devs I've seen
Still hoping got some kind of workshop support for community content such as quests/area/mods etc...
They need to squash bugs, they need to deal with terrain map issues... but the rate at which they've been fixing things over the past month gives me reasonable hope for the final release. I'm hopping on experimental once a week or so and doing a blitz run of the game, and I can tell the bugfixes and QOL changes that have gone in each time. I think they can do this.
Honestly, bar some weird bugs and issues in place. The game is fine to release with certain things missing. Ladder animations being an example. Subnuatica is a proper game. Of course having all the bugs dealt with would be ideal. But that won't happen. They have deadlines. Compare Subnautica to Mass Effect Andromeda. It's a masterpiece. And in no way gonna end up like that game.
I'd love to do some writing for them. Side-quests etc.
(Uhoh. Grandpa Scifiwriterguy looks like he's about to tell a story about yesteryear...)
About a year ago, I volunteered to write flavor text...encyclopedia entries and such. While I expected what happened - I'm not a UWE adjunct writer - how that happened really knocked me back a step. It was nice.
Not being told "thanks; we're good" was nice - but rather how. Charlie Cleveland wrote back to me and was one of the most pleasant, polite developers I've ever communicated with. Realistically, 99% of the time, this scenario ends in one of two ways: no response at all, or a pretty brusque "no." He was actually nice about it. Thanked me for my interest and support, explained that they were already covered for writing staff, and wished me well. Given that I was expecting to drop an e-mail into a black hole, never to hear from it again, it was surprising enough to get a reply, but for the project lead with an already full plate to take the time to write back? That was several feet past "unexpected."
Suffice it to say, that's a significant chunk of why I'm such a loyal supporter of UWE. Civility plays a big part in how they operate - which we can see on the forums and social media feeds, granted, but when it's personal it's...well, personal - and when you merge civility with a clear dedication to quality and community engagement, it puts them way ahead of all but a few developers out there.
(Looking at you, Ubisoft. Can't build a cogent UI to save your lives and actively stomp on people who write in? Two words: epic fail.)
Yes, I really like the game. It's in my Lifetime Top 5 easily. But it's a real bonus that it's being built by some stand-up people. Makes me proud to support them.
UWE has always been pretty open and inviting to ideas, up to a point of course, but more so than most other devs I've seen
Still hoping got some kind of workshop support for community content such as quests/area/mods etc...
Hell yea! A workshop feature would be amazing, if they even are considering it im not expecting that to be worked on for a long time
Kouji_SanSr. Hινε UÏкεεÏεг - EUPT DeputyThe NetherlandsJoin Date: 2003-05-13Member: 16271Members, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue
I would love to know how and what they're using to create the world, if it is at all some kind of "world editor". I'd be interested in expanding the world into caves, with perhaps some scripted events in there. That is, if they are using a level editor with scripting entities or well you know. How different could lua be from other scripting language logic I do know
And of course there's the Big Kahuna of modding with his multiplayer mod, @Sunrunner
I was talking on the discord about some annoying issues like the many issues with lighting or the bug with transparent textures that makes them invisible from far away (very noticeable on things like the Ghost Leviathan or LR brine) and then Cory said this...
So before with things like vehicle exit or stalker tooth animations, I was just annoyed, but this is actually worrying me. Now not only are issues like these not going to be addressed before v1.0, they might not get addressed ever.
The light and shadows in this game are unfinished and just really buggy in general. I don't like how something that noticeable buggy and immersion breaking might not ever get addressed. This likely means that other issues such as the issues with floating props in most areas of the game, or how most flora doesn't actually produce light itself, and many other issues we might have been hoping to see addressed might end up getting cut as well.
Listen devs, I understand you want to get this game done, but please don't rush it out the door. It really should get those extra months of polish to make it the best it could be at launch.
I'm especially concerned about the part saying that time is going to be instead spent on "expansion packs". Are these going to be paid DLC's? Perhaps the scummiest plague on the gaming industry is pushing out a broken and content-devoid game then putting out a bunch of DLC's filled with all the features that belonged in the base game in the first place. I think we should all be fully prepared to review bomb the game if they pull that, as that is totally unacceptable.
If they are simply free additions to the game, then that's not as bad, but it still seems like a way to boost sales on a game that isn't actually any good due to massive gamebreaking bugs.
I'm especially concerned about the part saying that time is going to be instead spent on "expansion packs". Are these going to be paid DLC's? Perhaps the scummiest plague on the gaming industry is pushing out a broken and content-devoid game then putting out a bunch of DLC's filled with all the features that belonged in the base game in the first place. I think we should all be fully prepared to review bomb the game if they pull that, as that is totally unacceptable.
If they are simply free additions to the game, then that's not as bad, but it still seems like a way to boost sales on a game that isn't actually any good due to massive gamebreaking bugs.
There will be paid expansion packs, but they've said they're going to make them worth it, and it won't be things that should've been in the game already, just extra stuff. There will also be other small updates along side them that will be free, which might add little features like creature riding.
Comments
Yeah, I got that feeling too. The way it was worded about just being "good enough" also gave me the impression of the project burnout that @scifiwriterguy was mentioning.
That's a little disappointing, since every single early access title I've seen where the devs set an arbitrary release date and/or "good enough" milestone where the game wasn't really finished at 1.0 end up in, for lack of a better term, EA development hell. They continue to get a stream of content updates for awhile to attract new buyers until the devs give up or move on, but core balance/mechanics problems at release almost never get fixed after 1.0.
I really hope Subnautica doesn't join the multitude of "could have been great but released too soon" EA titles. Devs, if you're reading this, take the time to do things right, finish your backlog, and do a proper 1.0 release.
It's also easier to remember the game's anniversary when all your games have the same anniversary.
I am not sure what date Zen of Suduko released, but I am fairly sure it wasn't October 31st.
You said it perfectly. I really do hope that Subnautica, my all time favorite game, doesn't join that bandwagon that most EA titles do. I hope the devs really think about this and do it right.
It still doesn't make sense to me. It shouldn't matter what date it gets released on, every game is different. I think they need to push back the release date and actually finish up the game! Subnautica is the damn coolest game I have ever seen. Is it really worth releasing the game early, just for the sake of the same release dates? Or to remember it easier?! In my mind, no it isn't. They have spent years working on Subnautica and it deserves a proper release. It is what all of us want! UnknownWorlds has dropped a few hints and clues here and there to say that Subnautica is in the NS universe. If they are really pushing for the 31st to be the release date, then they are practically just doing it for no reason.
Devs, if you really are listening and/or reading this...just please take into consideration all that you have done in this game! You all have put your blood, sweat and tears into this game! I do trust that you guys know what you are doing, but things still look really unfinished (polishing, performance, and just basic content in general. The game does feel like it is missing some things still), and it seems that there is so much more to do! Just take your time, for a better quality game. Not a rushed one.
Yeah too bad, but I can't really blame these guys for wanting to wrap up Ver 1.0. SN's quality and content must surely be way out of the ballpark for a typical indie company. And they've probably been working on it like dogs for (years now?) less than the odd tossed shmacko* treat (long-term fans - read 'seals' and 'sardines' here).
Question though: I remember stumbling across the odd post mentioning a 'B Team" waiting in the wings for post Oct 31. Anyone know about that?
(Uhoh. Grandpa Scifiwriterguy looks like he's about to tell a story about yesteryear...)
About a year ago, I volunteered to write flavor text...encyclopedia entries and such. While I expected what happened - I'm not a UWE adjunct writer - how that happened really knocked me back a step. It was nice.
Not being told "thanks; we're good" was nice - but rather how. Charlie Cleveland wrote back to me and was one of the most pleasant, polite developers I've ever communicated with. Realistically, 99% of the time, this scenario ends in one of two ways: no response at all, or a pretty brusque "no." He was actually nice about it. Thanked me for my interest and support, explained that they were already covered for writing staff, and wished me well. Given that I was expecting to drop an e-mail into a black hole, never to hear from it again, it was surprising enough to get a reply, but for the project lead with an already full plate to take the time to write back? That was several feet past "unexpected."
Suffice it to say, that's a significant chunk of why I'm such a loyal supporter of UWE. Civility plays a big part in how they operate - which we can see on the forums and social media feeds, granted, but when it's personal it's...well, personal - and when you merge civility with a clear dedication to quality and community engagement, it puts them way ahead of all but a few developers out there.
(Looking at you, Ubisoft. Can't build a cogent UI to save your lives and actively stomp on people who write in? Two words: epic fail.)
Yes, I really like the game. It's in my Lifetime Top 5 easily. But it's a real bonus that it's being built by some stand-up people. Makes me proud to support them.
Interesting to me. Since I'm dragging this dialogue right off topic, I've taken the liberty of replying on your profile activity board. See you there!
At some point Subnautica has to ship. And I'm thinking it's getting there and almost certainly will be there by the end of Octobot. It's why UWE has a feature freeze and focusing on bug fixing and polishing. Besides the very end of the storyline and the Scanner Room list scrolling, the game we have now in Experimental is the game that will ship.
Graphical and performance issues will receive some attention. But they'll also need attention after launch no matter how much work is done before. Except for games that go nowhere near high performance for the current hardware, virtually every game when played upon the wide variety of hardware of players at release has always had to have some patches to address graphics and performance.
A lot of people won't buy a game until it's "released" and thus to delay release is to delay UWE getting the reward they deserve for putting out such an excellent game.
UWE has always been pretty open and inviting to ideas, up to a point of course, but more so than most other devs I've seen
Still hoping got some kind of workshop support for community content such as quests/area/mods etc...
Hell yea! A workshop feature would be amazing, if they even are considering it im not expecting that to be worked on for a long time
And of course there's the Big Kahuna of modding with his multiplayer mod, @Sunrunner
The light and shadows in this game are unfinished and just really buggy in general. I don't like how something that noticeable buggy and immersion breaking might not ever get addressed. This likely means that other issues such as the issues with floating props in most areas of the game, or how most flora doesn't actually produce light itself, and many other issues we might have been hoping to see addressed might end up getting cut as well.
Listen devs, I understand you want to get this game done, but please don't rush it out the door. It really should get those extra months of polish to make it the best it could be at launch.
If they are simply free additions to the game, then that's not as bad, but it still seems like a way to boost sales on a game that isn't actually any good due to massive gamebreaking bugs.
There will be paid expansion packs, but they've said they're going to make them worth it, and it won't be things that should've been in the game already, just extra stuff. There will also be other small updates along side them that will be free, which might add little features like creature riding.
However, any of these add-ons aren't going to give UWE a high return if the base game gets a real spanking in the press.