I would certainly like a big dev post just saying "this is what we are aiming for", in fact, we kinda need it. Alpha testing will begin very soon, and we still do not even have a solid grasp of what exactly they want from the game. How are we to properly provide feedback when we are unsure if the features we see are work in progress of functioning as intended?
So that is actually a thing I want to see, a proper "this is our vision"
Its my understanding that the dev team has 7+ very different prototype gameplay modes. UW is not to the point of knowing which one(s) of these the game will officially support.
Its my understanding that the dev team has 7+ very different prototype gameplay modes. UW is not to the point of knowing which one(s) of these the game will officially support.
Well, it isn't quite like that. The 7 different prototypes are not different gameplay modes, they are the sequential development builds where we were testing out and trying a variety of directions to go in with the game. A lot of what is in those prototypes was not carried through to the current version of the game, for a variety of reasons.
For example, we didn't choose to go with the very modular sub building, because it tended to just be rather unwieldy for players to actually create something that would work well, and that amount of freedom led to a result which rarely had any kind of submarine feel. We've since gone with a fixed sub chassis, with equipment that you can craft and place on the inside. Though we hope to use the more modular building approach for base building eventually.
Though we hope to use the more modular building approach for base building eventually.
Awesome!
I have been playing the prototypes and its great to see the improvement with each one every day! I cant wait for tomorrow's! I am really hoping that there will be some form of mining for minerals in the game (ideally destructable terrain) rather then just picking stuff up from the ocean floor though in the final version
Its my understanding that the dev team has 7+ very different prototype gameplay modes. UW is not to the point of knowing which one(s) of these the game will officially support.
We've since gone with a fixed sub chassis, with equipment that you can craft and place on the inside. Though we hope to use the more modular building approach for base building eventually.
Will there be other chassis available/craftable than what we see in the prototypes?
Regarding bases:
I would like to have different kind of bases, like:
On an island
underwater
floating on the water (kind of like an oil rig)
After playing the prototype builds there is one thing i think is a MUST.
Some kind of GPS or homing device to lead you back to your sub.
If you can have a few min to swim around and gather materials, you may just get disoriented like me and lose your sub.....(I was all ready to reinforce the hull to see what goodies were beneath crush depth too )
I would like to see plants be more than just a collectible resource.
I.E, in most games, plants serve as little more than "Press E to collect" objects, which are used for crafting. Of course, that should still be the case, but I would like to see some deeper interaction. From what I have seen of the concept art though, that does appear to be the plan.
I want to be able to catch fish and keep live specimens in an aquarium/holding tank. Each individual fish would vary in size length/weight with some achievements for catching rare/large specimens. Also the ability to tame certain friendly species that would follow you/your sub and offer some sort of benefit. *edit*Since it seems there will be a lot of time spent farming items/spending time on the sea floor I want to see a large variety of crustaceans, Eels /worms, starfish/urchin like creatures to make searching for items dangerous/exciting
To expand on my previous post: What if the sub was equipped with a fishfinder/radar screen that would scan periodically, which could detect any lifeforms in a certain area (you could also choose which lifeforms you want to search for) At the start all lifeforms show as unknown, but when you catch or have an encounter with a certain species or plant, its icon on the radar is recognizable. Rare and abnormally large animals could have a special icon. The radar could also be used to identify crafting materials laying around .
I am really hoping that there will be some form of mining for minerals in the game (ideally destructable terrain) rather then just picking stuff up from the ocean floor though in the final version
How exactly players will be mining for resources is still being worked on, so the game build on the 31st still relies on picking stuff up, but that will be changing.
Will there be other chassis available/craftable than what we see in the prototypes?
We intended to have multiple chassis types for the large subs, but they are a very large amount of work, so for the final version we may only have the one Cyclops submarine, with additional chassis coming post release. But there will be a good amount of stuff to build on that sub, and a few different smaller submersible vehicles as well.
I would like to see plants be more than just a collectible resource.
So do we, and we are actively working on designing more interesting gameplay then just "Press E to collect", though there will still be a lot of plant gathering as resources as well.
Since it is a Unity game it should be possible to make mobile distributions for iOS and Android tablets and smartphones as well.
I'd love to see this game share it's saved data between te platforms, so I can continue playing on my smartphone as well (with reduced graphics ofc. )
Since it is a Unity game it should be possible to make mobile distributions for iOS and Android tablets and smartphones as well.
I'd love to see this game share it's saved data between te platforms, so I can continue playing on my smartphone as well (with reduced graphics ofc. )
Hehe while it's possible in theory, the type of game we're making would be *extremely* difficult to scale down for phones and tablets. It'd take a ton of effort.
How exactly players will be mining for resources is still being worked on, so the game build on the 31st still relies on picking stuff up, but that will be changing.
I hope that less than 10% of the player's time will be spent mining. It could even be an automatic, passive side-effect of playing the game as far as I'm concerned. I personally prefer exploration and problem solving.
A camera, with basic functions like zoom, focal, and maybe some filters.
It's a tool you can use in a lot of diving games because the point of these is often to see and observe pretty things.
I know you're aiming for a sightly different experience, but I still think that a camera is a must-have for a game like yours, it would add another layer to exploration, by encouraging the player to explore not only for resources but also to discover beautiful things.
Also being able to display your pictures on specific walls in your sub would be fantastic (I really want the sub to feel "like home").
This. I think having a home would appeal to a lot of people interested in this game. Whether its the sub or a different use for the idea of modular building we saw in the earlier prototypes. I want my own scifi water-mansion.
everyone know the movie "abyss" from james cameron...... would be nice if something like "fluid breathing" for really deeeeeeeep diving will be available....
I'd love to be able to (or have to) enter the aurora wreck and discover some integral piece of tech (like a basic sub) forcing the player to understand that there is nothing for them on the ship that brought them to the planet, and that their only chance to survive and succeed is to use what the planet has to offer.
After all, that giant wreck on the horizon does make for a pretty tempting first place to visit...
Id like to see different styles of clothing i.e stronger wetsuits, none wetsuit clothing for times when onboard your vessel and potentially different customisation of clothing, and a mirror for you know looking at yourself.
Id kind of like the ability to make normal boats not just submarines too.
Id like to see the crashes ship slowly sink over time and deteriorate.
When mining overhead resources, they should not only drag you to the ground but also crush/swat you by the falling rock.
Would also provide unstable caves.
I hope that there will be smoother animations than what we are currently seeing, especially with larger aliens they look kinda choppy
This is something that is being actively worked on. The problem isn't with the animations themselves, which are very smooth and very well done, but in how they are being blended together in game. Especially in regards to when a creature turns. Our animators and gameplay programmers are on top of it, though, so expect most of those issues to get ironed out over the next few months.
I want to be able to construct minibases. I wanna have someplace to retreat to when being chased by an alien anglerfish while I'm super deep down. Maybe teleportation between my sub and my bases? Since, y'no, if we have space travel and automatic constructor machines in this universe, I'd imagine we have teleporters too.
I get that teleportation would take away from some of the exploration, but it's not like you're teleporting between pre-set destinations, you're doing it between your labs. Which is usually just one boring, usually long, route to go on over and over.
Seriously, it is a perfect fit for exploration games. And a decent implementation would give you tons of attention by VR fans and Oculus themselves, since right now they are looking for the best experiences that prove to be a good fit for the consumer release.
Why not just order a Dev Kit and check it out? It's quite easy to implement in Unity.
Right now is the time to check it out. It will be worth it. People playing racing sims or stuff like Elite:Dangerous on the Rift Dev Kit won't go back to a monitor again.
Comments
So that is actually a thing I want to see, a proper "this is our vision"
For example, we didn't choose to go with the very modular sub building, because it tended to just be rather unwieldy for players to actually create something that would work well, and that amount of freedom led to a result which rarely had any kind of submarine feel. We've since gone with a fixed sub chassis, with equipment that you can craft and place on the inside. Though we hope to use the more modular building approach for base building eventually.
Will there be other chassis available/craftable than what we see in the prototypes?
Regarding bases:
I would like to have different kind of bases, like:
On an island
underwater
floating on the water (kind of like an oil rig)
Some kind of GPS or homing device to lead you back to your sub.
If you can have a few min to swim around and gather materials, you may just get disoriented like me and lose your sub.....(I was all ready to reinforce the hull to see what goodies were beneath crush depth too
I.E, in most games, plants serve as little more than "Press E to collect" objects, which are used for crafting. Of course, that should still be the case, but I would like to see some deeper interaction. From what I have seen of the concept art though, that does appear to be the plan.
Sweet! I was hoping for this myself. Time to go fishing
I'd love to see this game share it's saved data between te platforms, so I can continue playing on my smartphone as well (with reduced graphics ofc.
Hehe while it's possible in theory, the type of game we're making would be *extremely* difficult to scale down for phones and tablets. It'd take a ton of effort.
It's a tool you can use in a lot of diving games because the point of these is often to see and observe pretty things.
I know you're aiming for a sightly different experience, but I still think that a camera is a must-have for a game like yours, it would add another layer to exploration, by encouraging the player to explore not only for resources but also to discover beautiful things.
Also being able to display your pictures on specific walls in your sub would be fantastic (I really want the sub to feel "like home").
After all, that giant wreck on the horizon does make for a pretty tempting first place to visit...
Id kind of like the ability to make normal boats not just submarines too.
Id like to see the crashes ship slowly sink over time and deteriorate.
Would also provide unstable caves.
I want to be able to construct minibases. I wanna have someplace to retreat to when being chased by an alien anglerfish while I'm super deep down. Maybe teleportation between my sub and my bases? Since, y'no, if we have space travel and automatic constructor machines in this universe, I'd imagine we have teleporters too.
I get that teleportation would take away from some of the exploration, but it's not like you're teleporting between pre-set destinations, you're doing it between your labs. Which is usually just one boring, usually long, route to go on over and over.
Seriously, it is a perfect fit for exploration games. And a decent implementation would give you tons of attention by VR fans and Oculus themselves, since right now they are looking for the best experiences that prove to be a good fit for the consumer release.
Why not just order a Dev Kit and check it out? It's quite easy to implement in Unity.
Right now is the time to check it out. It will be worth it. People playing racing sims or stuff like Elite:Dangerous on the Rift Dev Kit won't go back to a monitor again.