Buyer Question: Are The Developers Leaving the Game?

[Medic]

Edit: Bought the game. It's awesome. Normally I wouldn't edit a post to say that, but the game is that awesome. Good job Unknown Worlds.


I’ve always wanted to play an atmospheric underwater survival game, but I’ve had some bad experiences with Early Access games. For this reason I have been waiting to purchase Subnautica until it was closer to release.

I’ve been watching the development of the game over the last year, and I’ve noticed a couple things to make me worry. For example, the last time I checked, Subnautica had a really cool Terraformer (a big deal for a game with a static map), which has since been removed. Multiplayer was also a possibility, however, that too, is now totally off the table.

I checked the Subnautica Trello Roadmap to see what upcoming features the devs are working on, however (as far as I can tell) the additions being worked on are smaller, end-of-the-line things like adding animations, creature eggs, and voice lines.

An example of this is a Trello card titled “Reincorporate Flooding” being moved from the “Feature Complete Milestone” category to the “Expansion pack / maybe?” category.

All of this, to me, gives off the impression that the developers are basically moving on from the game, and may not even complete features I would have thought were important to an underwater game (such as flooding).

I’ve seen a lot of Early Access developers ditch their game before it’s complete and polished, and I really don’t want to get screwed again.

I’ve read that Subnautica is due for ‘1.0 release’ by mid-January 2018.

So my question is this: does that mean the developers are basically done with the game? Can we expect more content / features, or is it bug fixes-only from here on out?

[kwong20287]

Oddly, I would say a bit of both, with the eye candy update. They seem to be focused on bug fixing, but will likely release more content to keep our attention on this game if need to. I assume with release drawing nearer, less content and more bug fixes will be needed. Abandoning the game at such a crucial time would be cruel. As far as we know, they'll put in more stuff after release, but might be too early to tell what.

[Nemund]

The Terraformer removal was because it was a huge issue with lag, and allowed bypassing massive parts of the game as well.
Multiplayer was never really on the cards, it wasn't strictly ruled out but this was always a single player focused game, just a lot of people misread stuff and took it to mean multiplayer was in.

So yeah, don't worry about the Devs utterly ditching the game and pushing it out unfinished, the flooding also isn't very important since you spend 99% of your time swimming in a suit in the water, the base area is just a small sideline (Which like all housing some people then turn into the main game)

[Nyello]

Devs have no inclination of leaving or ditching this game. They are locked in on a final release date and they are already thinking of maybe adding a possible expansion after 1.0 Is completed.

With any early access game you MUST expect things to change.

The terraformer was removed because it was causing multiple problems across multiple platforms. For console users it was making save files waaaay too big. Every change to the terrain was being saved. For PC users it was causing horrendous lag and pop-in because, again, the game was having to remember every change made. Devs also discoverers that people were over using the terraformer and they were cheating their way into end game content with it. It can still be accessed through console commands or creative mode but it will be completely removed soon. It was never a promised feature.

Devs has originally HOPED to someday incorporate mp/co-op into the game. Unfortunately due to time constraints and lack of man power they decided to cut it out long ago (a fact that many just cannot seem to fathom, see pinned thread 5) Again, It was never a promised feature. A private modding group is working on that.

Honestly, you should be ecstatic to even see a post 1.0 section on the Trello. Especially when considering that most indie companies just drop an unfinished and buggy game and thy do no kind of follow up development for it post release.

While bug fixes and optimization are the name of the game at this point the Devs are holding out on adding the ending to the game until it’s final release.

Long story short, this game is worth every penny and the team making it has set the bar high for what early access Devs should act like. Their transparency is amazing. Their dedication to their community is easy to see (they actively moderate their own forums).

You really can’t ask for much better.

[Wylie28]

No one is leaving its just that the release date is Jan 23rd. Its time for optimization and polish. More features will be comimg post launch.

The terraformer was incompatible with the story set pieces.

Multiplayer was never on the table.

The flooding is for a very specific cyclops. It doesnt need it as it catches on fire and blows up. Flooding exists for the bases.

[Obraxis]

We're not leaving the game, we're working every day to finish the game.

We're likely doing an expansion, but we're so focused on getting the game out the door for Jan 23rd that we've got zero time to plan anything else right now. Likely we'll take a short break to personally recuperate after release day, then get right back into doing something cool for Subnautica.

[VNP]

This is my go to game for pointing out that early acces sometimes does work perfectly. I've played this game for years now (on and off), thinking "this'll be it" and then they added even more. Not once, not twice, but many times over.

The devs have always been honest about what they were willing to try, and what would definitely be incorporated.

I understand your frustration and fear when it comes to EA. Release is not that far off you can wait for it and buy the whole package, but if there's one game where you don't have to be afraid about the whole EA aspect it's this one ^^.

[Blaine]

Originally posted by Talaiar:

I’ve been watching the development of the game over the last year, and I’ve noticed a couple things to make me worry. For example, the last time I checked, Subnautica had a really cool Terraformer (a big deal for a game with a static map), which has since been removed. Multiplayer was also a possibility, however, that too, is now totally off the table.

First of all, you can stop worrying right this second. The game is 99% complete, and is packed with content. It took me 70+ hours to finish my playthrough, and although I did spend a good deal of time designing and decorating my base and so on, there was always something fresh around the corner. This is one of the best exploration games of all time, forget survival.

All right, onto a negative bit. I might get flamed for saying this; heck, a developer might even get mad and ban from their forums. I don't care. Terraforming was once a selling point of Subnautica listed in all of the PR material for the game and its Steam page, but it was removed because it impacted performance on the Xbox One version of the game, full stop.

They claimed various other reasons, such as players using it to bypass difficult enemies, but that's nonsense. If they were worried about that, they could have simply blocked the use of it past a couple meters depth in certain zones and areas. The terraformer was removed from the Xbox One version long before they got around to removing it from the PC version. Why? Because it was an Xbox One performance concession. Just Google around and you'll see what I mean.

Having said that, the terraformer is no great loss. I just think it's silly they tried to hide the reason, although I understand why: If there's one thing that really makes PC gamers mad, it's removing features for the sake of consoles.

As for multiplayer, it's been pretty much off the table for years now, although it's true that it wasn't totally ruled out definitively until very recently. If you've been following Subnautica for a year, you really ought to have known that the odds of multiplayer making it in were very, very small. Frankly, the game is perfectly tuned for one lone survivor, so while it's a shame we can't share this great game with our sandbox gaming online friends, we also have to realize that multiplayer isn't a toggle switch. It takes an immense amount of developer time and energy to implement, tune the netcode for, etc.

[El Buhdai]

The best way to approach Early Access titles is to buy it if you believe you would enjoy what it has to offer now, rather than buying it hoping it will become something. As of today, this game has hours and HOURS of content and exploration. I paid for this game and got 60 hours of fun out of it, only pulling back because all of those 60 hours were in one week and I was doing almost nothing else with my time. I haven't even finished the game yet either, so that's a lot of fun to have in an unfinished game. The developers show no signs of abandoning us and I have full faith that this game will become what they've promised.

[floogy]

This game has been very polished and fin to play from the first day I bought it. It's practically finished, barring some bugs. Second playthrough, still lots of fun.

[Starbox_one]

I bought the game a year ago, and it has absolutely been worth it. After having watched youtubers play many EA games, I still haven't found one that bests Subnautica. The game already feels complete, and I personally like that it is becoming more stable and not changing with new upgrades. It's not broken, like many EA games (ok, I've found an indoors fish or two happily swinmming around my airfiled base, but that's pretty much it).

My advice is don't overplan and research it to bits, just enjoy the experience. :)

[Medic]

Thank you all for the replies (and to dev Obraxis).

I hope you will forgive my post, but I've been trying to tread the line between adequately researching the game and not spoiling too much for myself (two endeavors which are at-odds). Based on what I've seen it looks & sounds amazing.

I continued perusing the Subnautica Trello[trello.com] pages and it looks like there is still work going into the game besides bug fixes. For example, I noticed what looks like some very cool features on the 'Polish' Trello Page, such as Weather[trello.com]. I'm not sure if the developers intend to include this stuff in the base game (post-release patches), or in future expansions?

Either way it looks like an amazing game. I've been waiting literally decades for a great underwater exploration/survival game, so that is probably why I am hoping for more and more content. I don't usually buy expansions, but I certainly would here.

Originally posted by Obraxis:

Likely we'll take a short break to personally recuperate after release day, then get right back into doing something cool for Subnautica.

This feels very reassuring. I'd be happy to have the game as it is, but even happier if it kept growing!

At the moment I'm waiting to see if Subnautica will be part of the Christmas Sale, which unfortunately means waiting another few days. Here's hoping!

[Sponge]

Originally posted by Obraxis:

We're not leaving the game, we're working every day to finish the game.

We're likely doing an expansion, but we're so focused on getting the game out the door for Jan 23rd that we've got zero time to plan anything else right now. Likely we'll take a short break to personally recuperate after release day, then get right back into doing something cool for Subnautica.

Expansion.. I just wanna say I love you... no ♥♥♥♥ =P that's a joke. PLZ don't band me :(

[bongerman85]

will the remaining resource deposits that are not yet implemented going to be implemented, i.e. crystalline sulfur, rubys, and mercury.

[Smoss]

This was my first early access game and it's been a really fun experience! The game is ALREADY an amazing experience - it's been worth every penny and it's a rare thing when a game feels this focused and singular, no matter the team size or budget. They've set a very high bar for how I think all studios should behave when in early access!
The added joy has been watching it get more and more polished. The devs don't seem to have any interest in 'ditching' the game and I think all that you're seeing is features being shuffled about as development moves on. The team are great at communication and are always answering questions etc and you can definitely feel that passion in the game.
Give it a go! Hands down the best steam purchase I've made since the Witcher:)

[TechRabbit]

Originally posted by bongerman85:

will the remaining resource deposits that are not yet implemented going to be implemented, i.e. crystalline sulfur, rubys, and mercury.

All of those are in the game but out of the three Rubies have a use in crafting. There is mention of the mercury on the Trello for post 1.0 updates.