Replayability

[GAMING_Alligator]

So I tried to start a new game after finishing my first one, and hate to admit, I kind of bounced off it after around an hour. All the pods were in the same place, all the radio signals in th same order, and because I knew where everything was and how the game works, the sense of exploring the unknown didn't really exist. I noticed that everything I was doing was sort of on auto-pilot.

Has anybody found any good ways of keeping repeat playthroughs fresh or should I simply wait a few weeks before trying to play it again?

[WWDragon]

Game needs mod support; then it'll last for YEARS.
As it is now, the randomness should keep you guessing about parts, but you'll always know what you are doing if you've already played it.

[Reppoc850]

Ignore the storyline and never repair the radio. Turn off any beacons you get and just explore.

[Jhonny G]

The devs kinda ruined replayability somewhat with the horrible fragment placement and the completly stupid idea to force players into creating the Cyclops just to build a f***ing module in the end..

[Big Mad Wolf]

Replayability is not the core element for a hand crafted game, so they did not ruin it. It's more like they did not really intend it, would be my guess at least.

[Jhonny G]

Originally posted by =AJSA= Big Mad Wolf:

Replayability is not the core element for a hand crafted game, so they did not ruin it. It's more like they did not really intend it, would be my guess at least.

If an open-world survival/exploration game ain't meant for replayablility then I don't know what is.. There are numorous design choices the forces the player into mindless farming and building things they otherwise wouldn't, whereas they could have kept a more 'open approach' to allow certain areas/tech unexplored to make multiple playthroughs more appealing.

[Big Mad Wolf]

Tech locations might change but the terrain itself does not change. Not sure how much resources change between playthrough, but you could explore everything in one playthrough and in a second you would find nothing new, as far as I understand it.

Also the game is not that open, because certain areas would just kill you if you enter them to early and without the necessary tech and the missions are also always the same, so there are no different paths you could explore.

[Alkpaz]

Originally posted by Davidleblanc20:

Give your self challenegs, build your base in a more dangerous location, limit what gear you have, see how fast you can finish the game, play on hardcore mode, use F6 to turn your hud off and play blind so you cant see your oxygen, thrist, hunger or health.

As well as what Cougar posted. 800+hours here and still not bored. I do tend to have restartitis tho. :P

[Nyello]

It’s highly dependent on how you play. Some don’t even repair their comms stations, they just go out and explore and discover everything for themselves.

The map is hand crafted, therefore lifepods and wrecks will always be in the same spots but the order you get comms in actually depends on what you’ve already done/discovered in game so if your game is repeating it’s because you haven’t changed playstyles.

[WWDragon]

Originally posted by Lucki:

It’s highly dependent on how you play. Some don’t even repair their comms stations, they just go out and explore and discover everything for themselves.

The map is hand crafted, therefore lifepods and wrecks will always be in the same spots but the order you get comms in actually depends on what you’ve already done/discovered in game so if your game is repeating it’s because you haven’t changed playstyles.

I noticed that when I started my second game.

First game I'd taken a long time to explore the shallows and only unlocked pod 3 right at the start.
The second game I played, I went straight for the stuff I needed and was getting a whole bunch of radio broadcasts in rapid succession!

[DeFragged]

My first game, I learned to survive. To beat the odds and get out alive. Every dark corner held a shadow of fear, of death, of the unknown. Every wreck, a grim reminder of my frail mortality. I knew nothing upon landing, I knew less upon leaving.

My second game, I learned to thrive. To build bigger, better, prettier and more grandiose. To explore the places that I was too afraid to explore the first time. To take nature and bend it to my will. To scour the land and reap its riches. To laugh in the face of all that would oppose me.

I now sit down in a nice glass dome, sipping magheritas, watching leviathans from the comfort of my seabases, the warm glow of the lava giving me fuzzy thoughts.

[kycol]

Don't get fooled, if you build a base in diffeent location that doesn't mean the game has replayability. You just do the same thing in different place.
Once you know the map, you're done. Alas it takes a while to get to know it it.

[rav]

permadeath no medkits allowed. try that :)
IM still on my first playthrough but ive been playing permadeath from the beginning i think its much more intense if you are actually scared to die instead of knowing "worst case i respawn and lose a few ressources"

[Frau Blücher]

It could be you just need to take a step away for a while, then when you come back don't play linearly. Once you've got your basics set up, try to do weird and crazy things like some suggestions above like building bases in new and odd places, and try out other game elements like collecting fauna for an alien containment zoo. With the building aspect, you can do all sorts of fun things.

I restarted after the final release, after I put it down for months to wait for it. I thought it would be horribly banal to get back to where I was, but on the contrary, I enjoyed it more.

[DeFragged]

Originally posted by kycol:

Don't get fooled, if you build a base in diffeent location that doesn't mean the game has replayability. You just do the same thing in different place.
Once you know the map, you're done. Alas it takes a while to get to know it it.

Indeed. I've yet to memorize the entire map, and exploring all of it to do so is the beauty of the game.

[Big Mad Wolf]

I once died because I clipped through a wreck wall and did not get out again, so permadeath seems a bit risky. Not sure if reloading would have saved me.

Also you would not necessary need to start new to build crazy big bases at crazy locations, you can still do it in the first go.