Subnautica's First Expansion Enters Early Access on Epic and Steam

AlphaAtlas

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Subnautica left early access on PC early last year, was given away for free on the Epic Store late last year, and even got its own multiplayer mod around Christmas time. But developers UnknownWorlds didn't stop with the critically-acclaimed game's release, as they've been churning away on the arctic-themed "Below Zero" expansion for some time. Yesterday, the developers announced that the expansion has entered early access on Steam and on the Epic Games Store. This is one of the first, if not the first, early access game on Epic's Store, and it's certainly the highest profile one I've seen. Some of Steam's first early access games never made it to release, while others were wildly successful, so it'll be interesting to see how the Epic Store fares with their own early access pilot program.

The developers streamed the cinematic trailer, as well some in-game-footage, which you can see here.

Dive into a freezing underwater adventure on an alien planet. Set one year after the original Subnautica, Below Zero challenges you to survive a disaster at an alien research station on Planet 4546B. Craft tools, scavenge for supplies, and unravel the next chapter in the Subnautica story.
 
I grabbed the base game for free and really enjoy Subnautica. It is easily in my top 3 games for 2018 and I am thinking I will throw $20 down on the expansion just to support them.
 
Subnautica left early access on PC early last year, was given away for free on the Epic Store late last year, and even got its own multiplayer mod around Christmas time. But developers UnknownWorlds didn't stop with the critically-acclaimed game's release, as they've been churning away on the arctic-themed "Below Zero" expansion for some time. Yesterday, the developers announced that the expansion has entered early access on Steam and on the Epic Games Store. This is one of the first, if not the first, early access game on Epic's Store, and it's certainly the highest profile one I've seen. Some of Steam's first early access games never made it to release, while others were wildly successful, so it'll be interesting to see how the Epic Store fares with their own early access pilot program.

The developers streamed the cinematic trailer, as well some in-game-footage, which you can see here.

Dive into a freezing underwater adventure on an alien planet. Set one year after the original Subnautica, Below Zero challenges you to survive a disaster at an alien research station on Planet 4546B. Craft tools, scavenge for supplies, and unravel the next chapter in the Subnautica story.
Not after how they treated that sound guy.
 
I grabbed the base game for free and really enjoy Subnautica. It is easily in my top 3 games for 2018 and I am thinking I will throw $20 down on the expansion just to support them.

Did and will probably do the exact same thing.

My only ask of Subnautica after playing through and exploring as much as I could would be to add sites/objects of discovery aside from story items. Another ship crash, more science settlements, native inhabitants or something completely not related to the story path. Best they had were the time capsules but those were still related to story. Great game.
 
Did and will probably do the exact same thing.

My only ask of Subnautica after playing through and exploring as much as I could would be to add sites/objects of discovery aside from story items. Another ship crash, more science settlements, native inhabitants or something completely not related to the story path. Best they had were the time capsules but those were still related to story. Great game.

The time capsules were actually left by other players. When you finish the game, you have the option to leave up to 6 items in a time capsule, then a screenshot and a message. They get uploaded to a site, voted on, and the top ones get implemented in the game, and can spawn randomly in people's worlds as they're generated. They aren't really story related at all. In fact, they kind of break the games story.
since you're supposed to be entirely alone, and the virus is supposed to have killed everyone before you

As far as your wishes for this game, without getting too deep into the story, since we don't know much yet, it's set 100 years after the first game, and you're part of a research crew, here to learn about the previous inhabitants of the planet. So, more science settlements are almost a given, since you're no longer a "lone survivor" kind of scenario. Native inhabitants are possible, I suppose,
but they were all supposed to be killed, again, by the Khara virus
Anyone who's played though the first story should be able to guess at a few of the answers here as at least possibilities. I'd guess more crashed ships are almost a given.

Edit: Those spoilers tags did not look as clean as I'd hoped. Sorry.
 
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Never heard of this game. But just based on what I have read about it, sounds fantastic.
 
The time capsules were actually left by other players. When you finish the game, you have the option to leave up to 6 items in a time capsule, then a screenshot and a message. They get uploaded to a site, voted on, and the top ones get implemented in the game, and can spawn randomly in people's worlds as they're generated. They aren't really story related at all. In fact, they kind of break the games story.
since you're supposed to be entirely alone, and the virus is supposed to have killed everyone before you
.

As far as your wishes for this game, without getting too deep into the story, since we don't know much yet, it's set 100 years after the first game, and you're part of a research crew, here to learn about the previous inhabitants of the planet. So, more science settlements are almost a given, since you're no longer a "lone survivor" kind of scenario. Native inhabitants are possible, I suppose,
but they were all supposed to be killed, again, by the Khara virus
. Anyone who's played though the first story should be able to guess at a few of the answers here as at least possibilities. I'd guess more crashed ships are almost a given.


How do you finish the initial game?
 
How do you finish the initial game?

Are you looking for a detailed answer or a short one? I'll give the short one, if you want a detailed answer, PM me and I can help you out.

You have to build a rocket and escape the planet after curing the virus that killed the previous tenants.
 
i played the original. interesting game

in my base i built it had a tower that then had 2 large glass rooms .. so you were just in the aquarium aspect of the world. that was really nice
 
Absolutely loved the first game and when I get time, will be playing this.

I don't know why it keeps being called an expansion? Its a totally separate follow up to the first game.
 
The time capsules were actually left by other players. When you finish the game, you have the option to leave up to 6 items in a time capsule, then a screenshot and a message. They get uploaded to a site, voted on, and the top ones get implemented in the game, and can spawn randomly in people's worlds as they're generated. They aren't really story related at all. In fact, they kind of break the games story.
since you're supposed to be entirely alone, and the virus is supposed to have killed everyone before you

Huh, didn't know those were from actual players. I thought the capsule I filled was just a story driven piece for completion sake. I don't see it breaking the story though, obvious people were there before with the settlements and lifepods.

Either way still a great game, I just personally would like a more Tomb Raider type system. You have the main story but a lot of offshoots to discover more but still related to the world you're in but not the overall goal.
 
Not after how they treated that sound guy.

I bought Below Zero in spite of that, and even though it's still in early access, the lack of additional sound work after the original game is quite obvious. There is simply no way they will achieve the sound quality of the original game, both in terms of music and creature sounds, unless they outsource the sound work to the guy they fired, now that the fake outrage has passed.

He was (is) a very talented guy, they should have cut him some slack instead of sacrificing him at the first opportunity.
 
I wish all the best for this game company.
I bought Sub Nautica just to support them, and haven't really played it.
I still regularly play Natural Selection 2, their FPS/RTS hybrid multiplayer game.
One of the more complex FPS games on the market.
I actually have heard they are partnering up with Valve to relaunch the game.
The game hadn't been able to maintain a decent player base though due to a high skill ceiling and lack of effective mmr.
Hopefully they sort this out before a possible relaunch
 
I only got around to the first game thanks to the Epic giveaway, and really enjoyed it. So I was happy to buy this new one (no doubt the whole reason for the giveaway), although I don't intend to play it until it's "finished".
 
Nothing like promoting a game by deceiving your audience with zero actual gameplay.
 
I still play Subnautica when I have time. It's awesome - I'm guessing I'm 60-70% along with the story line (no spoilers). I need to spend some time and finish it.
I will hold off on the new version until its out of early access. Mainly, I don't want to play an unfinished game. I am considering buying it to support the devs, then just not play it until its done.
 
i got subnautica for free, enjoyed it a lot, so decided it was only fair to support them on their new title.
subnautica felt like a terror survival, this one feels ligther.
 
Nothing like promoting a game by deceiving your audience with zero actual gameplay.

What do you mean? They put no NDAs on the early access, and there's already videos all over the internet showing gameplay. Just because they didn't launch a gameplay trailer doesn't mean they're hiding the gameplay and trying to deceive you. Also, with the first game, they didn't release a gameplay trailer until the game left Early Access. There's a solid chance they're doing the same here. They don't want to put an EA feature in the gameplay trailer, only for it to be taken out in the full release.

Moral of the story, not everyone is looking to deceive you. No need to jump straight to that assessment. Unless we're talking about EA (the company, not early access). Then they are most definitely trying to deceive you.
 
Fun game but I only buy games at final release. Will be picking this up when it's ready. The original was great, and free.
 
Subnautica is one of my all time favorites, probably the best example of early access success.

That being said, not a fan of the look of this one so far, too many reused assets, a large part of the fun of subnautica was exploring a complex and alien world.
 
I forgot it released. Don't care, picked it up. Bought the first one in early access. I experienced (in the previous game) a few broken things all related to a cache of files, but the community developed a point-n-click utility to resolve it. Otherwise, they seemed to address most of the feedback and improve the game. I put it down because I ran out of content (Feb 20177 early access) and also kinda forgot about checking back into it until the final release. I was thoroughly impressed, like what they're doing, like what they did. Looking forward to a similar experience.
 
Was the initial release any good?


Does it have a story, or is it just unguided exploration?
 
Was the initial release any good?


Does it have a story, or is it just unguided exploration?

Well, there's the thing, it _does_ have a good story (I liked it, at least) but I was doing another game recently to get me reminded about the new release, and this playthrough was definitely broken. Either I skipped something crucial, or the game bugged, but I missed a crucial helper point in the story that "Shows you sorta, where to go." So, the previous game, although pretty good, still could have some bugs. This one is labelled Early Access (again) and if it goes the way the first one went, it won't be a full game out of the gate and some bugs. The first one wasn't perfect, but it was interesting and compelling enough to make me want to continue to play. I hate the "Open World Crafting Survival" Genre of video games, but this one clicked with me. If you got the first one free from Epic Store, then give it a shot before you put down real money on this one.
 
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