I understand the OP and would also prefer to just remain on the planet. Though that doesn't add up to the game being unsatisfying for me.
I have to admit that I often don't finish games and maybe that's why this doesn't bother me. I don't have to follow the story all the way to its completion just because it's there.
Ideally, we'd have some kind of interaction on the Aurora in space before the disaster, but scripted scenes with NPCs are dev-time heavy, so it's understandable why that wasn't done.
Ideally, we'd have some kind of interaction on the Aurora in space before the disaster, but scripted scenes with NPCs are dev-time heavy, so it's understandable why that wasn't done.
That's why I thought of a starting scene with the player character in their cabin watching videos and listening to recordings, then getting the alert and dashing through empty hallways to Lifepod 5. Still would require substantial work, but not as much as one with active NPCs.
I agree that the lack of weapons is really nice. Similar to Alien: Isolation. You can slow the monsters down, but you can't kill them outright.
Subnautica seems like it was a huge success, so it would be surprising if there was no sequel or expansion. In my eyes, it seems a bit coincidental to have the main character accidentally get in the same situation twice, but they might ask him to go back again, like Alien 2.
Yea I can't imagine anyone would be impressed that they disabled the planetary defense system only to get shot down again I'm thinking more along the lines of them having to rescue the Sunbeam survivors from an adjacent region, but I imagine it would be redundant fast. Perhaps...hmm...perhaps if the Sunbeam crashed partially in tact, and sunk beneath the waves. You can access a small portion of the ship, similar to the Aurora (similar design too) but there are NPCs you need to interact with and tend to. Your ultimate goal would be not only leaving the planet, but taking the other survivors with you.
This would obviously be a heavy load on the Devs, but expanding the map shouldn't be too hard. My thoughts would be having the Sunbeam crash in the abyssal region (in part) or with an in-tact Phase Gate that the player could set up? I dunno. Probably looking too much into it, but at least it would give players more to do, and more to discover. Personally, I'd like to see more Precursor ruins and remains (not bodies, just random stuff).
I think that the point of the game is to make you more attached to the planet and its inhabitants than the humans/precursors. I mean one of the themes in the game is that nature always wins, so I find that the Aurora only being the reason we're on 4546B just that, a reason. Although, I admit it would be nice to be able to communicate with one of the precursors in a future update if one is still on the planet.
Also, I find the PDA to be a character of some sort. It has some personality to it and I really appreciate each time she relays info to me as I'm exploring.
However, I agree that the game lacks longevity. There isn't anything to really do once you've beat the story, and there aren't enough base components to keep me busy in that department for long.
(Spoilers in this post aswell, discussing the storypoints a little)
When I actually take a moment to think about it, you're very correct.
I currently have the plans to start building the rocket but I haven't even looked at what's required because essentially I don't want to build a rocket and leave. There's absolutely nothing attractive or rewarding about that idea. Yet it's supposed to be the driving force.. though sure, it will get me going forward.. going to places on this adventure, but certainly not in a hurry for the end goal.
I'd like it if the game had more story to it... like if we'd get to learn more about Alterra or the Federation or whatever, which seems to be a pretty cold faction at times; even keeping tabs on how many credits I owe for picking up materials heh...
So it'd be cool if in the end there was some option to either make the planet safe from the infection and send your coordinates to Alterra, who would then come to rescue you. However you'd know in advance they would come with the plans of terraforming the planet to their own cause, during which they'll use up it's resources at will, not much respecting all the lifeforms you've witnessed. OR you'd decide to stay there, "stranded" where life isn't about the corporate machinelike routine that the game currently gives us a taste of... like excercise quotas being told by your AI, greedily counting credits owed, everything being so... IDK.
I mean, wouldn't have to be that kind of a scenario ofcourse.. or even a choice.
But it's easy to imagine how much emotion the story might have got from something like that.
From the player having this story contrast to what "life was before" and what life is on the planet in it's quite natural state. Maybe told through some short story flashbacks, even if just done with storyboard illustrations and voiceover.
Life before being strictly corporate, guns going banned after massacres. Maybe the protagonist being a part of a science team that respects life while the big corporations are more selfish and careless about life on planets they get resources from. Even the sunbeam captain made it sound like Alterra people are douchebags with how he spoke about not getting a reply.
Even a small storyboard type of flashback scene with "you" and your team being reluctant to do something a big corporate dude tells em to do (like them being scientists that respect life, not in it to reap resources etc.) would show that he did indeed know a team on the aurora that stuck together - which in turn would bring alot more emotion to whatever PDA's you find aswell.
Then, even if the protagonist remained silent, it would still feel bittersweet for the player realizing he's hearing his friends PDA's, if we had atleast seen short snippets of them being likeminded people. We could connect the dots of them being the same people.
Even if not in a plot like that, it would've been interesting to have the main character's motives "muddied" a little at least, so his one and only goal wasn't to just "get off that rock" and he could've weighed in the options. Atleast just enough that it would align the player actions with the characters motives, if we're not in a hurry.. and instead are fascinated about exploring the life on the planet. Maybe being alone wasn't all distress - maybe it would be relaxing compared to [insert something about his past/job]
Anyway, yes, fantastic game and I love it to bits, but more could've been done on the story front
Comments
I have to admit that I often don't finish games and maybe that's why this doesn't bother me. I don't have to follow the story all the way to its completion just because it's there.
Yea I can't imagine anyone would be impressed that they disabled the planetary defense system only to get shot down again
This would obviously be a heavy load on the Devs, but expanding the map shouldn't be too hard. My thoughts would be having the Sunbeam crash in the abyssal region (in part) or with an in-tact Phase Gate that the player could set up? I dunno. Probably looking too much into it, but at least it would give players more to do, and more to discover. Personally, I'd like to see more Precursor ruins and remains (not bodies, just random stuff).
Also, I find the PDA to be a character of some sort. It has some personality to it and I really appreciate each time she relays info to me as I'm exploring.
However, I agree that the game lacks longevity. There isn't anything to really do once you've beat the story, and there aren't enough base components to keep me busy in that department for long.
When I actually take a moment to think about it, you're very correct.
I currently have the plans to start building the rocket but I haven't even looked at what's required because essentially I don't want to build a rocket and leave. There's absolutely nothing attractive or rewarding about that idea. Yet it's supposed to be the driving force.. though sure, it will get me going forward.. going to places on this adventure, but certainly not in a hurry for the end goal.
I'd like it if the game had more story to it... like if we'd get to learn more about Alterra or the Federation or whatever, which seems to be a pretty cold faction at times; even keeping tabs on how many credits I owe for picking up materials heh...
So it'd be cool if in the end there was some option to either make the planet safe from the infection and send your coordinates to Alterra, who would then come to rescue you. However you'd know in advance they would come with the plans of terraforming the planet to their own cause, during which they'll use up it's resources at will, not much respecting all the lifeforms you've witnessed. OR you'd decide to stay there, "stranded" where life isn't about the corporate machinelike routine that the game currently gives us a taste of... like excercise quotas being told by your AI, greedily counting credits owed, everything being so... IDK.
I mean, wouldn't have to be that kind of a scenario ofcourse.. or even a choice.
But it's easy to imagine how much emotion the story might have got from something like that.
From the player having this story contrast to what "life was before" and what life is on the planet in it's quite natural state. Maybe told through some short story flashbacks, even if just done with storyboard illustrations and voiceover.
Life before being strictly corporate, guns going banned after massacres. Maybe the protagonist being a part of a science team that respects life while the big corporations are more selfish and careless about life on planets they get resources from. Even the sunbeam captain made it sound like Alterra people are douchebags with how he spoke about not getting a reply.
Even a small storyboard type of flashback scene with "you" and your team being reluctant to do something a big corporate dude tells em to do (like them being scientists that respect life, not in it to reap resources etc.) would show that he did indeed know a team on the aurora that stuck together - which in turn would bring alot more emotion to whatever PDA's you find aswell.
Then, even if the protagonist remained silent, it would still feel bittersweet for the player realizing he's hearing his friends PDA's, if we had atleast seen short snippets of them being likeminded people. We could connect the dots of them being the same people.
Even if not in a plot like that, it would've been interesting to have the main character's motives "muddied" a little at least, so his one and only goal wasn't to just "get off that rock" and he could've weighed in the options. Atleast just enough that it would align the player actions with the characters motives, if we're not in a hurry.. and instead are fascinated about exploring the life on the planet. Maybe being alone wasn't all distress - maybe it would be relaxing compared to [insert something about his past/job]
Anyway, yes, fantastic game and I love it to bits, but more could've been done on the story front