Just how big is this game right now?
MarkQuinn
USA Join Date: 2015-02-21 Member: 201466Members
USA Join Date: 2015-02-21 Member: 201466Members
So there's this post: The Volcanoes at 500m
Located here: http://forums.unknownworlds.com/discussion/137096/the-volcanoes-at-500m#latest
And Seldkam writes: He talking about the lava zone? If so, that's very far away from the shallows indeed
It got me wondering, is there really very much to explore right now? The title of my post is a bit misleading because I'm not asking for estimated square miles or anything like that. I'm asking, is there really much out there beyond the shallows?
I'm aware that this game world is being designed by hand rather than procedurally and that that takes time. This post isn't a complaint but rather a question: am I missing out on anything when I simply start a new game, gather some materials locally, build my Seamoth and Cyclops (sometimes legitimately, sometimes by cheating), and then just sail around for a few seconds, get out, admire my beautiful sub and quit?
I ask this because when I first started playing (I forget the version), I got in the Cyclops and just headed in a certain direction and sailed. I sailed for two minutes straight, maybe a little more. And then all of a sudden it went dark. I hopped in the SeaMoth and went down so I could explore the ground with the lights and there was nothing. I got back on the Cyclopes and figured maybe I had just strayed into an empty zone and that if I kept sailing I might see other things. So I sailed some more but the empty area just seemed to go on forever. It was then when I realized that very little of this world has been designed so far and that what we have at the moment is a fun little (and I stress little) area to tinker around a bit, but it's by no means in any kind of state where true exploration is a legitimate playing strategy.
So, am I correct about all this, or did I just get unlucky and sail in the wrong direction? Because as I see it right now, you basically have your shallows and that deeper zone with the tall kelp, a few caves and that's it. And moreover, it's all really very close together. In short, am I correct to say that every completed area in this game is no further apart than, say, a minute or two SeaMoth ride? Or, let me ask the question more directly: in your estimation, how long would it take you in a SeaMoth to go from one end of the completed game world to the other?
Located here: http://forums.unknownworlds.com/discussion/137096/the-volcanoes-at-500m#latest
And Seldkam writes: He talking about the lava zone? If so, that's very far away from the shallows indeed
It got me wondering, is there really very much to explore right now? The title of my post is a bit misleading because I'm not asking for estimated square miles or anything like that. I'm asking, is there really much out there beyond the shallows?
I'm aware that this game world is being designed by hand rather than procedurally and that that takes time. This post isn't a complaint but rather a question: am I missing out on anything when I simply start a new game, gather some materials locally, build my Seamoth and Cyclops (sometimes legitimately, sometimes by cheating), and then just sail around for a few seconds, get out, admire my beautiful sub and quit?
I ask this because when I first started playing (I forget the version), I got in the Cyclops and just headed in a certain direction and sailed. I sailed for two minutes straight, maybe a little more. And then all of a sudden it went dark. I hopped in the SeaMoth and went down so I could explore the ground with the lights and there was nothing. I got back on the Cyclopes and figured maybe I had just strayed into an empty zone and that if I kept sailing I might see other things. So I sailed some more but the empty area just seemed to go on forever. It was then when I realized that very little of this world has been designed so far and that what we have at the moment is a fun little (and I stress little) area to tinker around a bit, but it's by no means in any kind of state where true exploration is a legitimate playing strategy.
So, am I correct about all this, or did I just get unlucky and sail in the wrong direction? Because as I see it right now, you basically have your shallows and that deeper zone with the tall kelp, a few caves and that's it. And moreover, it's all really very close together. In short, am I correct to say that every completed area in this game is no further apart than, say, a minute or two SeaMoth ride? Or, let me ask the question more directly: in your estimation, how long would it take you in a SeaMoth to go from one end of the completed game world to the other?
Comments
Jackalope, 4km across is pretty big. By comparison, Skyrim is about 5km across. With Subnautica it would seem much smaller because everything would be a straight shot instead of being separated by mountains, but 4km is still plenty big. I just wonder how much is done now.
The map itself isn't going to be that huge after some time in the game-- but in the beginning, it should be quite a large area especially since we are going to be exploring caves, deep areas, secrets, and spending lots of time figuring out how things work too...
But to the point: Yes, building the vehicles in this game is actually really were the beginning of the game is IMO. (The cyclops isn't worth a lot now, but I've stated that plenty of times lol, all you really need is a seamoth) There are already a decent amount of caves, interesting biomes, and otherwise awesome creatures that are quite difficult to find-- not to mention interesting loot that you can find near the crashed spaceship. I've spent ~25 hours and have done pretty much everything that people have been posting on youtube, on the forums, etc., but even so there are still some things I haven't actually done yet
Seldkam, I agree with you about the Cyclops. It's major use as far as I can tell is as a moving storage platform. I like to play survival mode and store as much food as I can, and you can't do that on the life pod. But beyond that, you're right, it doesn't seem very useful at the moment (but still beautiful to look at, fun to drive and great for immersion.)
So people that are new eventually realize they kinda wasted a lot of resources and then have to spend a huge amount of time looking for batteries whenever they move the thing for more than 2 minutes (literally, the cyclops' power drains FAR too quickly for me to use it for anything anymore)
Say you have a base set in deep water and are trying to expand it. You can pilot the Cyclops to the shallows and load up your lockers with enough scrap, silicon and salt to last a couple days. The way the hunger system works now, wasting time carrying materials back to base in a sea moth could quickly deplete your food reserves. I see the Cyclops as more of a mobile work platform. Its not designed to be a better machine than the sea moth, just fits a different role.
I have the opposite opinion, I see no reason in building a base when you can have a Cyclops that is basically a moving base. Sure it is much more expensive, but the resource collecting is so much fun! I put a lot of lockers in my Cyclops and use it for everything. I have moved it a bit too and it hasn't even lost one percent of power. To me it seems like the power lasts forever, especially because I have charged the Seamoth multiple times with it too.
Oh wow, I'm glad you mentioned that. I've only played in Freedom mode, so I kinda assumed everyone was playing in the experimental branch and that this was an impending change coming in the next update... :P