Dear devs, water you doing?!
Voxel
Join Date: 2017-07-10 Member: 231713Members
Join Date: 2017-07-10 Member: 231713Members
Now that I've lured you here with an awful pun (and this post is drowning in them), I have some suggestions. The devs need to connect with the community more. Current-ly, we can sea the trello and post ideas on the forums, but it still feels like there is a wall between us. I have two suggestions:
1. Subnautica has a very devoted fan base, which means these fans are willing to do a lot of work for you. Especially now that the full game is released, it's time to post some sort of design contest. The devs need to just offer some cheap Subnautica merch as a prize and say "make us a new vehicle" or something similar. Soon enough, they'll be utilizing unpaid child labor (which sounds awful, but its not). It could have simple instructions, like post a link to a five minute video describing your idea for a creature, and whale select one to put into the game.
2. Polls are fun, but for once instead of us asking beach other for our opinions, the devs should make some polls to ask US questions. A simple forum post on what they should add in the game, if it was orchestrated by a developer, would do wonders. This could help the devs more in touch with their fans, but more importantly it would make the fans feel like they contributed.
1. Subnautica has a very devoted fan base, which means these fans are willing to do a lot of work for you. Especially now that the full game is released, it's time to post some sort of design contest. The devs need to just offer some cheap Subnautica merch as a prize and say "make us a new vehicle" or something similar. Soon enough, they'll be utilizing unpaid child labor (which sounds awful, but its not). It could have simple instructions, like post a link to a five minute video describing your idea for a creature, and whale select one to put into the game.
2. Polls are fun, but for once instead of us asking beach other for our opinions, the devs should make some polls to ask US questions. A simple forum post on what they should add in the game, if it was orchestrated by a developer, would do wonders. This could help the devs more in touch with their fans, but more importantly it would make the fans feel like they contributed.
Comments
Also,
I see what you did there
Create a thread for the contest or link it to a better website. Overall, the favourite screenshots of mine are A: standing on the hood of the seamoth as it floats in the water, watching the QEP charging its beam
B: riding the reefback which always sticks its shell above the ocean like
https://forums.unknownworlds.com/discussion/154311/screenshot-contest#latest
I know that the decisions to not include multiplayer or guns were both quite controversial and put off a lot of people. I'm just speculating here, but maybe those issues caused the devs to step way back from the forums. I've seen similar things happen with other games where the devs start out being quite active in the forum community, only to have some major controversy come up that distances the devs from the forum community.
However, from time to time I see references to discord conversations with the devs so they seem to be more active on there.
The other thing to remember is that the devs are still working on 1.0 for xbox and the plans for the expansion have already been drawn up and are likely close to being finalized if they aren't already. It sounds like they do keep up with the forums, but given the deluge of feedback they probably have far more of it than they can realistically respond to and will quietly use feedback where they can but won't necessarily acknowledge it.
Yeah, back when there were a good 5 multiplayer threads a day and a good sprinkling of guns threads, I don't blame them for backing off the forums.
Not to mention the stupid ones, like when one guy decided to go on a witch hunt to destroy anyone who said the Spadefish had a good design...
But as you said, they're more receptive on the Steam forums, and most definitely, their Discord server.
I want that spadefish thread.
"They were here once, when the world was new, but of late our prayers and laments seem to now fall on deaf ears."
"Aye, I hear though rumors of a tree spirit walking the woods of Discord across the vast sea of Steam. A land still young, perhaps a people deserving of such godly love?"
"OH Magnificent and illustrious creators of the Subnautica forgive our trespasses of multiplayer and firearms! Give us your benevolent attention!"
Seriously though, I do wish the mods dropped in a bit more. Even if they just threw in their personal opinions. I can't help but wonder if their disappearance is related to the PR disaster with the sound engineer they let go.
Considering that was contained to one thread, it shouldn't be.