Official FAQ Sticky

SteveRock · January 2014

When can I buy/play it??
Right now! We're on Early Access on Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/264710 and soon Xbox Preview Program.

What platforms will it be released on?
Our first priorities are PC/Mac/Xbox/Oculus. Possible future additions include SteamOS/Linux & PS4, but please do not base purchase decisions on something that may not happen.

Will there be MOD support?
Currently, we are not thinking much about mod support because we want to focus on making an awesome game. However, we certainly support it in spirit, so if people figure out how to mod it, or if there are simple things we can do to make it more moddable, we're totally cool with that!

Will there be multiplayer?
Like with mods, this is currently not a priority.

Why is Subnautica using Unity and not Spark?
Charlie and Steve started prototyping in Unity, because it's great for prototyping, and we really liked it, so we stuck with it. So it was really just a matter of what the SN-specific team is familiar with and what our particular needs are. There is no specific technical reason, really, except for maybe extensive multi-platform support. UWE is not abandoning Spark - development on it continues with the rest of the company.

What's your policy on water/ocean/exploration-related puns?
They're impossible to avoid, so we're just gonna embrace them. Go ahead. Pun away. No need to say "no pun intended" - we'll just assume you didn't intend it.

Can I make and monetize Youtube Videos/Stream Subnautica?
Yes, of course! We actively encourage people to make, monetize (with ads), share, stream our game. Just don't claim our game as you're own work, or sell your videos and we're fine. Full UWE Video Policy here: http://unknownworlds.com/video-policy/

Ohnojojo · January 2014

I know the game is still pretty much in the design phase and many of the idea's intentions and broad themes are laid out but I think its important and in accordance to your company's embracement of community ideas to continue the conversation about whats, desires, needs, expectations and realistic options and direction. Which you guys are doing a fantastic job with, continue the great work!

I know that many of these questions are better asked further down the line in the development process but I just want an idea of what you personally and/or professionally think about these topics. I don't expect an answer to all of my questions or even a satisfactory answer because of the reason mentioned above but even just a "we're feeling through what our options and goals are at this early stage of development, but we ( or I ) am looking forward to doing or attempting [insert topic]"

Anyway, my questions are:
What ideas or plans are the team coming up with currently to increase game-play time, make harvesting enjoyable and capture the audience into being vested in the game for years to come?

What is the target demographic for your game?

How will your game target that demographic?

There truly is a need for a good underwater game and as expressed in another thread, there are concerns over the complex nature of accurately simulating fluid dynamics. Its obviously not necessary or possible to include every attribute of water into the game but what specific aspects of fluid dynamics are you looking to highlight or feature or just include in the game? (whirlpools, water sprouts, torodial vortexes, bubble physics, particle effects for floating debris or plankton, currents, shockwaves, tidal waves, storms and huge swells, underwater brine oceans, methane leaks, thermal vents, etc.)

What will the business model of this game be like? That is to say, how will this game generate profit? (Free-to-play with shop, One time buy, subscription fee, micro-transactions, aesthetic items such as skins, etc.)

What is the "identity" of the game? (Underwater exploration with mild combat and achievements and crafting sounds good in theory but not to be a debbie downer but I don't want to see this game turn into something that is competent in many areas but lack-luster overall.)

I know that multiplayer options aren't being looked into for the time being since the game isn't even in alpha but will there be multiplayer options of play?
Will there be different game mode types?

What is the ideal multiplayer experience that the team is working towards or is there just a general theme of how it may feel? (Many crafting games seem to suffer from multiplayer in that you do not feel like you are playing with somebody and working towards the same goal, instead it feels more like multiple people are individually working towards their own goals in close proximity.)

What level of graphical fidelity are you guys looking for?

What sort of weaponry are you guys intended to put into the game? Primary, secondary weapons? Will there be some sort of multi-tool or thematic tool/weapon in the game? (like a gravity gun or portal gun or in this case, a modular harpoon gun/resource collecting tool.)

Will there be an open beta? or pre-order beta access? or early access through steam or something along those lines?

Will there be an Aqua-gorge, Squa-skulk, Aqua-Lerk, Aqua-Onos, Aqua-Fade, Aqua-Babbler easter egg? (You could repurpose the gorge tunnel skin and model to be a species of coral =D )

edit: added another question

SteveRock · January 2014

I'll let Charlie answer some of the higher level and design-centric questions, and I won't add them to the FAQ until they achieve the F part

Here we go..

Fluid dynamics: Our goal is to give a good player experience that is focused on exploration. Accurate physics is not always in line with that. We may do some fluid sim for submarine interior flooding, but aside from that, we have no plans of accurately simulating anything. We are not making KSP underwater. Of course, we will include game play and graphical elements that are inspired by water physics, such as currents that push you around, but they will be tuned and coded intuitively, not physically.

Our ideal vision of multiplayer is co-op. You and your friends explore together, maybe you all operating a single large submarine, maybe piloting different ones. That's about all we've thought about - maybe Charlie has more to add.

Graphical fidelity? Fairly high, at least compared to games like Minecraft.

I've added a response to early access in the FAQ.

Ohnojojo · January 2014

SteveRock wrote: »

submarine interior flooding

oh ma gawd

Also, I'd say that "Will there be AQUAGORGE?" is a frequently asked question

Also will there be aquagorge plushies?!?!? or gorge plushies?!?!? I sooo want to sleep with one, for research purposes on kids, affects of alien plushies on early childhood development and such, i totally don't want a gorge plushies to cuddle to sleep for myself.

Also, what points of perspective are you guys thinking of working it primarily in? First Person, Third person, Isometric, etc. I know you guys are working with first person in mind but I assume that this will be different when operating a submarine, or not in the submarine (in the water) or propelling on a low energy jet underwater wakeboard with research tools on it, or a smaller survey/scout submarine. Or is it from the first person point of view? Like, as you said, "maybe you all operating a single large submarine" and I interpret that as having a similar feel-ish as to the game, Guns of Icarus.

I know its still probably too early to say much about my questions but I'm not exactly sure what questions to ask at this stage of development.

Lionharts · January 2014

Hi guys, good to see how is growing the game week by week. Here is my question:

- Will be the game in more languages? More exactly, in spanish?

Twig · January 2014

Having the aqua gorge as an easter egg would be awesome, maybe have it as a rare creature that has a 0.01% chance of appearing in a certain area and you get an achievement for it.

I am so going to buy the shit out of the SN early access when it comes out.

SteveRock wrote: »

Our ideal vision of multiplayer is co-op. You and your friends explore together, maybe you all operating a single large submarine, maybe piloting different ones.

I think doing the co-op in the same way that World of Warcraft does dungeons or Dead Island does co-op (ie. it will pair you with players that are at a similar level) and you will work together to achieve a goal (locate and collect a dna sample from a lerk-ray)

Best of luck

SteveRock · January 2014

Lionharts wrote: »

Hi guys, good to see how is growing the game week by week. Here is my question:

- Will be the game in more languages? More exactly, in spanish?

We'll try our best! This is something the community can really help with! Just like with NS2.

Lionharts · January 2014

SteveRock wrote: »

We'll try our best! This is something the community can really help with! Just like with NS2.

Yeah, will be a pleasure help in a spanish translation!

MMZ_Torak · March 2014

SteveRock wrote: »

What's your policy on water/ocean/exploration-related puns?
They're impossible to avoid, so we're just gonna embrace them. Go ahead. Pun away. No need to say "no pun intended" - we'll just assume you didn't intend it.

I sea what you did there. Just one to tide me over.

:-h

/me waves

Flayra · March 2014

Btw, I'm pretty sure we'll be doing early access sooner than a year or two.

shriike · March 2014

Flayra wrote: »

Btw, I'm pretty sure we'll be doing early access sooner than a year or two.

Please don't rush the game when it isn't finished.

coolitic · March 2014

I really hope they put aqua-gorge.

What's your stance on terrain deformability?

SteveRock · March 2014

We support it technically. But I think gameplay wise, we will try to make it more meaningful when you destroy terrain. We'd like to avoid the sense that terrain is just an obstacle to resources. Nothing wrong with that of course, but minecraft and terraria already give you that experience. It would be cool if terrain destruction involved trade offs. Maybe destroying a cliff gives you access to something, but it kills nearby coral that provides you other useful resources (as well as looking nice).

SteveRock · March 2014

I like the way spelunky handles destruction, and I think Charlie would agree. Basically, it's always an interesting decision whether or not you use a bomb. Firstly because bombs are limited, and secondly because destroying things usually has consequences.

coolitic · March 2014

So stuff like redirecting lava?

Also, lava is kind of unrealistic underwater.

Insane · March 2014

On the contrary, underwater lava is a reasonably common occurrence at rift zones.

SteveRock · March 2014

There are a lot of things that are unrealistic about this game

dragonmith · March 2014

The Schooner this game goes on early access, the better!

MMZ_Torak · March 2014

dragonmith wrote: »

The Schooner this game goes on early access, the better!

It's not a schooner... its a sail boat.

)

Benson · March 2014

MMZ_Torak wrote: »

dragonmith wrote: »

The Schooner this game goes on early access, the better!

It's not a schooner... its a sail boat.
)

THERE IS NO EASTER BUNNY! THATS JUST A GUY IN A SUIT!

Tentacule · September 2014

Thanks for the FAQ.

I make a little and poor traduction in french for francophones who didn't understand well english (like me sometimes). It's not perfect and I think needs some corrections, but could be usefull for some of us, maybe.

Quand pourrais-je l'acheter/y jouer ?
Nous n'avons pas encore de plans concrets, mais nous ferons possiblement un Early Acess sur Steam avant la fin de l'année 2014.

Sur quelles plateformes sortira-t-il ?
Notre priorité première est de le faire sortir sur PC/Mac/Linux (et nous supposons qu'il y aura également SteamOS). Il est possible que, dans le futur, il y ait un ajout sur PS4 et XboxOne.

Il y aura-t-il un support de Mods ?
Actuellement nous ne pensons pas beaucoup à cela parce que nous voulons nous concentrer sur le fait de faire un jeu génial. Néanmoins, nous allons sûrement garder cela en esprit, une fois le jeu presque terminé nous nous concentrerons sur un support de mods officiels. Nous allons sans doute nous tourner vers d'autres jeux modables utilisant Unity comme KSP (Kerbal Space Program) pour avoir un modèle du "comment faire" avec Unity.

Il y aura-t-il du multijoueur ?
Comme pour les mods, ce n'est pas notre priorité actuelle. Mais tout comme les mods, c'est certainement quelque chose que nous ajouterons plus tard. Probablement après la version 1.0, pas avant.

Pourquoi Subnautica utilise Unity et non Spark ?
Charlie et Steve ont débuté le prototypage sur Unity, parce que c'est vraiment bien pour cela, et nous apprécions vraiment, donc nous nous y collons. Donc c'était juste une question de qu'est-ce qui était familier à l'équipe SN-specific et nos besoins particuliers. Il n'y a pas de raisons techniques spécifiques, réellement, hormis pour de possibles vastes supports multi plate-forme. UWE (Unknown Worlds) n'abandonne pas Spark - le développement sur celui-ci perdure avec le reste de la compagnie.

Quelle est votre politique sur les jeux de mots liés à l'eau, l'océan et l'exploration ?
Ils sont impossibles à éviter, donc nous allons donc les accepter. Allez-y ! Nous n'avons pas besoin de dire "sans jeu de mots" - Nous allons supposer que vous n'avez pas l'intention d'en faire.

Vetinari · September 2014

dragonmith wrote: »

The Schooner this game goes on early access, the better!

Dunno if early access is such a good idea.

Ecnahc · March 2016

I just bought the game through Steam, and it claimed support for SteamOS. Now it seems that Linux and SteamOS are promised but not happening in the near future. I've searched the forum, but have not been able to find a recent answer to this question. On the Steam store page, right about the "add to cart" button, it clearly shows Windows, Mac, and Steamplay. Further down it does not show requirements for SteamOS/Linux, which I missed when I purchased the game.

My question should be simple to answer. I see that it was promised, but there has been no progress. Is Subnautica, at some point, going to be available on SteamOS?

Obraxis · March 2016

Ecnahc wrote: »

I just bought the game through Steam, and it claimed support for SteamOS. Now it seems that Linux and SteamOS are promised but not happening in the near future. I've searched the forum, but have not been able to find a recent answer to this question. On the Steam store page, right about the "add to cart" button, it clearly shows Windows, Mac, and Steamplay. Further down it does not show requirements for SteamOS/Linux, which I missed when I purchased the game.

My question should be simple to answer. I see that it was promised, but there has been no progress. Is Subnautica, at some point, going to be available on SteamOS?

We've never posted, claimed or said the game would be for Steam OS, sorry.

Edit: The 'SteamPlay' logo simply means it's available on more than 1 platform, and the OS logos that are supported are displayed on the store page.

ARC for example, does support SteamOS so the logo is displayed:

Ecnahc · March 2016

What platforms will it be released on?
Our first priorities are PC/Mac/Linux (and we assume SteamOS). Possible future additions include PS4 and XB1.

Ok thank you for your prompt answer. You are correct it isn't claimed to work on SteamOS in the Steam Store. Though I asked it if it would ever be available on Linux/SteamOS. Not if it was now. So I assume that means it's been decided that it won't ever be, and this FAQ should be updated to "our first priorities are PC/Mac/XB1." I thought the second question on the first post in this Official FAQ was the post and claim for Linux/SteamOS support in the future. I'll go ahead and refund the game.

Obraxis · March 2016

@Ecnahc Got it. That post saying 'we assume Steam OS' was made 2 years ago and that team member no longer works for us, so I'll update it. We're not saying "no, not ever" to SteamOS. But don't base your purchase decision on hope, as we're a small team and multiple platform support is tricky.

Ecnahc · March 2016

Thank you again for the quick reply. I understand. I tried searching the forums before asking and there was nothing solid. Hopefully this will help someone else in the future.

DaraSilverDragon · October 2016

Made an account here just now to say this - after just having swapped over to Linux literally weeks before discovering this amazing-looking game by way of Markiplier on youtube, I would buy this the SECOND I found out it was available for the platform I do my personal computing on
I really really hope you guys get a linux version out soon, because this looks like a game I would absolutely sink my teeth into for weeks on end - I'd even pay twice the current asking price
Please oh please don't let this fall into development hell like Skype's linux builds

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