Unknown Worlds has outlined what’s next for Subnautica 2, releasing a vlog that discusses upcoming updates, community-requested features and longer-term content plans.
Updates for the game will look to expand on some core systems, including adding more passive slots via Biomods and introducing new options for early game survival.
The team is also working on new features for co-op players, such as proximity voice chat, emotes and greater character customisation.
In the longer term, larger content updates will arrive with a new vehicle, and a new region to explore that features a huge Collector Leviathan.
“The feedback and voices of our players continue to shape the direction of Subnautica 2,” said Fernando Melo, Executive Producer of Subnautica 2.“Within the first week following launch, the team released two hotfixes to quickly respond to community feedback. We’ll continue prioritising player input throughout Early Access as we expand the depth and scope of the experience through future updates.”
While this is all positive first steps – or maybe strokes, since you’re swimming everywhere – for the hit survival game sequel, it’s also fair to note that there has been some friction between the development team and the game’s community. In particular, they’ve really struggled to reason their philosophy on having no weapons for self defence, hunting and killing in the game. It’s taken several attempts, but they recently outlined what their actual approach will be.
Firstly, creature behaviour and “player mitigation tools” will be improved so that you can evade dangerous creatures, but they currently still don’t want to add weapons. Writing in late May, they said, “Subnautica has always been built around vulnerability, exploration, and survival rather than traditional weapon-based combat. We believe that this is part of what makes the game unique. However, that design only works if creature encounters feel fair, readable, and engaging. Right now, we know we have more work to do to achieve that.”
Further to this, Design Lead Anthony Gallegos spoke to the Minnmax podcast and explained that the team didn’t want players to be the “dominator over the world, because the message of the game very much is people learning to live in parallel with the world that they’re in.” He pointed to the Soma developers finding that players would rather master “crappy” combat than deal with constant threat and tension, and how Silent Hill 2 players will batter everything with a pipe so they don’t have to dodge creatures repeatedly.
That’s certainly true, but it’s not an entirely pacifist game, since you do still catch and fry fish to eat them, and squeeze slugs to turn them into water, so…. At least the dialogue now feels a bit more open an bidirectional, and we’ll see how the team go from here.
Source: press release
