Sea bases have been one of Subnautica’s most loved features. Since their release in February 2015, many of us at Unknown Worlds have wanted to improve upon them. Moon pools for docking submersibles, larger compartments, glass corridor sections, bulkhead doors – All this and more has been on our wish list. Now, those wishes are becoming reality: The Habitat Update will be released soon, possibly as early as the first week of August. [Ed: As soon as this blog entry was posted, Jonas expressed concern that this was a highly optimistic timeframe. Take all release timeframes with a boulder of salt!]



Subnautica updates have followed a semi-regular pattern of ‘a few weeks’ each. The Habitat Update has taken much longer. We are very conscious of this, and decided to increase update time in return for more update goodies. Two weeks ago, we were approaching readiness to release Habitat, but something gave us pause…



The Habitat update is all about building an underwater habitat: A work-space, a safe-space, a personalized-space, a base for further adventures. Two weeks ago we had larger compartments, vertical-connectors, observatories, signage, bulkhead doors and a new power system almost ready to go. We held off so that we could include the Moon Pool as well.



The Moon Pool is the big daddy of base components. It facilitates the docking of Seamoth submersibles. Pilot a Seamoth into a Moon Pool, and robotic arms will park your submersible for you!

(Click here to see Andi's tweet showing off the interior of the Moon Pool)

The ‘Pool is also a very complex component from a technical perspective. It acts as an intersection of many other game systems – Themselves complicated in isolation. For example, it must act as an interface between water and air, and allow a player to swim and dive between the two. It has its own sounds, animations, and of course, 3D art. It must be flood-able, have attachment points for other base components, and in some cases its own bespoke connectors. This complexity is why the Habitat Update is taking so long.

(Click here to hear Simon's Moon Pool ambient sounds)

Setting dates is to put oneself in the fast-lane to game-development doom. When I set out to write this blog post, Jonas immediately messaged me in our developer chat room: “please don’t include a countdown nor promise any specific day for the actual release.” Jonas’ concern is well founded. Such is the technical complexity of the Moon Pool and it’s interlocked systems that we really cannot know when the Habitat Update will be ready. It may be this week, the next week, or after the next ice age. We are working very hard to make sure it is in the former categories, rather than the latter!

If the wait really is too much, consider switching to experimental branch. You can play with all the new goodies in there already. Be warned: There are more bugs, crashes and horrific errors than you can shake a stick at. Otherwise, sign up to the Subnautica development mailing list, and we will send you a newsletter when the update is ready.

– Hugh

Sea bases have been one of Subnautica’s most loved features. Since their release in February 2015, many of us at Unknown Worlds have wanted to improve upon them. Moon pools for docking submersibles, larger compartments, glass corridor sections, bulkhead doors – All this and more has been on our wish list. Now, those wishes are becoming reality: The Habitat Update will be released soon, possibly as early as the first week of August. [Ed: As soon as this blog entry was posted, Jonas expressed concern that this was a highly optimistic timeframe. Take all release timeframes with a boulder of salt!]



Subnautica updates have followed a semi-regular pattern of ‘a few weeks’ each. The Habitat Update has taken much longer. We are very conscious of this, and decided to increase update time in return for more update goodies. Two weeks ago, we were approaching readiness to release Habitat, but something gave us pause…



The Habitat update is all about building an underwater habitat: A work-space, a safe-space, a personalized-space, a base for further adventures. Two weeks ago we had larger compartments, vertical-connectors, observatories, signage, bulkhead doors and a new power system almost ready to go. We held off so that we could include the Moon Pool as well.



The Moon Pool is the big daddy of base components. It facilitates the docking of Seamoth submersibles. Pilot a Seamoth into a Moon Pool, and robotic arms will park your submersible for you!

(Click here to see Andi's tweet showing off the interior of the Moon Pool)

The ‘Pool is also a very complex component from a technical perspective. It acts as an intersection of many other game systems – Themselves complicated in isolation. For example, it must act as an interface between water and air, and allow a player to swim and dive between the two. It has its own sounds, animations, and of course, 3D art. It must be flood-able, have attachment points for other base components, and in some cases its own bespoke connectors. This complexity is why the Habitat Update is taking so long.

(Click here to hear Simon's Moon Pool ambient sounds)

Setting dates is to put oneself in the fast-lane to game-development doom. When I set out to write this blog post, Jonas immediately messaged me in our developer chat room: “please don’t include a countdown nor promise any specific day for the actual release.” Jonas’ concern is well founded. Such is the technical complexity of the Moon Pool and it’s interlocked systems that we really cannot know when the Habitat Update will be ready. It may be this week, the next week, or after the next ice age. We are working very hard to make sure it is in the former categories, rather than the latter!

If the wait really is too much, consider switching to experimental branch. You can play with all the new goodies in there already. Be warned: There are more bugs, crashes and horrific errors than you can shake a stick at. Otherwise, sign up to the Subnautica development mailing list, and we will send you a newsletter when the update is ready.

– Hugh

Subnautica now runs on Apple OS X! Get it now on the Steam Store - Buy it once and play on both Windows and OS X computers. Already own Subnautica for Windows? You can now play on OS X as well. The OSX Update also includes two epic new ocean biomes: Underwater Islands and Sparse Reef.





Underwater Islands features massive rock formations suspended above the ocean floor. Giant creatures, larger cousins of the Floater, act against the force of gravity. Bone Sharks and other creatures swim among cascades of sand.



Sparse Reef brings a new relaxed aesthetic and feel. The blooming colors and dense features of other biomes are replaced by more earthy tones, and rolling dunes. Watch out for Bleeders…



Sparse Reef also features some new fauna to discover.



New in the OSX Update is the Repulsion Cannon – A workbench modification of the Propulsion Cannon. The Repulsion Cannon can push large creatures and objects away. This is very useful when trying to navigate past aggressive life forms like Stalkers.



The OSX Update also features a wide array of subtle improvements to Subnautica. For example, Jonas has repaired a problem that was causing objects to pop in and out of the world inappropriately, and Andi has solved some issues with the Repulsion Cannon introduced in the Alterra Science update.

Explore the fall range of changes in OSX Update by visiting the Subnautica Trello board. You can also get a granular, all-encompassing view of the update by visiting the Checkin & Changes List. Keep an eye on both those spots over the coming weeks to see us build towards some big additions to sea-base building in the near future…

Subnautica now runs on Apple OS X! Get it now on the Steam Store - Buy it once and play on both Windows and OS X computers. Already own Subnautica for Windows? You can now play on OS X as well. The OSX Update also includes two epic new ocean biomes: Underwater Islands and Sparse Reef.





Underwater Islands features massive rock formations suspended above the ocean floor. Giant creatures, larger cousins of the Floater, act against the force of gravity. Bone Sharks and other creatures swim among cascades of sand.



Sparse Reef brings a new relaxed aesthetic and feel. The blooming colors and dense features of other biomes are replaced by more earthy tones, and rolling dunes. Watch out for Bleeders…



Sparse Reef also features some new fauna to discover.



New in the OSX Update is the Repulsion Cannon – A workbench modification of the Propulsion Cannon. The Repulsion Cannon can push large creatures and objects away. This is very useful when trying to navigate past aggressive life forms like Stalkers.



The OSX Update also features a wide array of subtle improvements to Subnautica. For example, Jonas has repaired a problem that was causing objects to pop in and out of the world inappropriately, and Andi has solved some issues with the Repulsion Cannon introduced in the Alterra Science update.

Explore the fall range of changes in OSX Update by visiting the Subnautica Trello board. You can also get a granular, all-encompassing view of the update by visiting the Checkin & Changes List. Keep an eye on both those spots over the coming weeks to see us build towards some big additions to sea-base building in the near future…

Crashed on an alien world? Surrounded by ocean predators and hostile environments? Fear not, brave traveller: For you now have new means of crafting at your disposal. The Workbench and Propulsion Cannon will transform the way you explore the ocean!



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGOSan1aip4

The propulsion cannon was developed by a crack team of Alterra Corporation scientists. The cannon may or may not exploit un-patented work by one Dr Eli Vance, an employee of one of Alterraís competitors, Black Mesa Corporation. We canít be sure. We can be sure that thanks to the propulsion cannon, the wait for Half-Life 3 is over.



The propulsion cannon can be used to grab, push, drag, fling, and manipulate most smaller objects in the ocean. It definitely does not use gravity to do this.



The new Workbench opens up new crafting and equipment customization possibilities. Build one with a Builder tool after analyzing a Workbench Fragment.



Equipment including the Knife, Tank, and Fins can be altered using the Workbench. For example, a Knife can be modified to feature a super-heated blade. This new Heat Knife can then be used to instantly cook fish unfortunate enough to be killed by its blade.



Perhaps the most important feature of the Alterra Science update is the development of a hitherto unimaginable technology: Working doors. Run up to a Cyclops submarine door or hatch to know true science fiction futurism.



Ever wished you could mark a cave entrance for future exploration, but canít tell all your beacons apart? Alterra Science has a super scientific solution to this problem: Beacon labels. Use them to keep track of all your stuff, and places to visit!



Seabases and the Cyclops submarine have received major visual upgrades in Alterra Science. New internal lighting gives them a slick new look.



The Cyclops is not just prettier, it is also getting more clever. Alterra Science new science to submarine technology, with an upgrade console that can grant your boat greater diving depth, a stronger hull, and more.



Of course, as always, we canít fit everything weíve done into this blog post. Alterra Science is packed with bug fixes, tweaks, and tricks that all add together to make Subnautica Early Access a more enjoyable experience. Check out the Subnautica Trello board and the Checkin & Changes List to see absolutely everything that went into the update!

Crashed on an alien world? Surrounded by ocean predators and hostile environments? Fear not, brave traveller: For you now have new means of crafting at your disposal. The Workbench and Propulsion Cannon will transform the way you explore the ocean!



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGOSan1aip4

The propulsion cannon was developed by a crack team of Alterra Corporation scientists. The cannon may or may not exploit un-patented work by one Dr Eli Vance, an employee of one of Alterraís competitors, Black Mesa Corporation. We canít be sure. We can be sure that thanks to the propulsion cannon, the wait for Half-Life 3 is over.



The propulsion cannon can be used to grab, push, drag, fling, and manipulate most smaller objects in the ocean. It definitely does not use gravity to do this.



The new Workbench opens up new crafting and equipment customization possibilities. Build one with a Builder tool after analyzing a Workbench Fragment.



Equipment including the Knife, Tank, and Fins can be altered using the Workbench. For example, a Knife can be modified to feature a super-heated blade. This new Heat Knife can then be used to instantly cook fish unfortunate enough to be killed by its blade.



Perhaps the most important feature of the Alterra Science update is the development of a hitherto unimaginable technology: Working doors. Run up to a Cyclops submarine door or hatch to know true science fiction futurism.



Ever wished you could mark a cave entrance for future exploration, but canít tell all your beacons apart? Alterra Science has a super scientific solution to this problem: Beacon labels. Use them to keep track of all your stuff, and places to visit!



Seabases and the Cyclops submarine have received major visual upgrades in Alterra Science. New internal lighting gives them a slick new look.



The Cyclops is not just prettier, it is also getting more clever. Alterra Science new science to submarine technology, with an upgrade console that can grant your boat greater diving depth, a stronger hull, and more.



Of course, as always, we canít fit everything weíve done into this blog post. Alterra Science is packed with bug fixes, tweaks, and tricks that all add together to make Subnautica Early Access a more enjoyable experience. Check out the Subnautica Trello board and the Checkin & Changes List to see absolutely everything that went into the update!

A new Subnautica Early Access update has been released on Steam! This is the Crash Site update. It brings access to the crashed Aurora starship, big performance and stability improvements, fully-playable Oculus VR support, the new Radiation Suit, terrifying Reaper creatures, and much, much more.



Since the beginning of Subnautica development, the Aurora starship has hung on the horizon. She has attracted players to her stricken hull like moths to a flame. Until now, it was not possible to approach the Aurora: Strong radiation fields meant death to anyone that approached. Now, that has all changed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-_LOE-IkaA

A new Radiation Suit is available to be crafted at the Fabricator. When worn, it protects against the effects of radiation. With it, you can now approach the Aurora.



Equipping the Radiation Suit is a breeze thanks to the new Paper Doll inventory interface. To wear a particular diving suit, helmet, or other piece of equipment, simply drag it onto the ‘doll.’



The Aurora will now explode a few in-game days after game start. It is possible to play Crash Site with an old save game – The Aurora will still explode. However, the saved game will need to be upgraded to include all the new terrain around the ship, and any gear, submarines, or bases stored within 150m of the Aurora will be lost. For more information about this, see the upgrade dialog presented in the main menu



At the crash site, you might find all sorts of goodies. You may also find new threats – So tread carefully.



The radiation spread from the wreck of the Aurora restricts movement over wide swaths of the sea floor. Explore the damaged dark-matter core on board to see if you can find a way to reverse the radiation spread.



There’s good news for those playing Subnautica with Oculus Rift development kits. Big progress has been made on interface elements and graphics, and it is now possible to get around Subnautica’s various menus using the Rift. For example, the PDA now works properly.



Subnautica now runs on the latest and greatest version of the Unity engine, Unity 5. Unity 5 is faster than 4 in a few ways, and we’ve also made some tweaks to the way the game is rendered. This means Subnautica generally runs faster than it used too.



In addition to performance improvements, massive memory optimization work and a switch to 64-bit memory architecture means many crashes have been banished below the sea-bed. If your machine meets minimum requirements, it is now very unlikely you will experience a memory related crash. To help work out if your computer is powerful enough to play Subnautica, we’ve added a minimum – specification warning to the main menu.



Behind the scenes, there’s been big progress on a community language translation system. It’s not quite ready for prime time, but we will be talking about it soon. If you would like to see Subnautica in a particular language, you will soon have the opportunity to make it happen.

The past five weeks have been intense. Crash Site is the biggest Subnautica update we’ve yet undertaken. It is not perfect – You will find many, many bugs, but it is our intention to bring you the latest stuff as soon as possible. Please send us your feedback, both positive and negative. We very much appreciate hearing from you, and your input helps us make Subnautica a better game.

This blog post only scratches the surface of what has been changed in Subnautica inside the Crash Site update. From new animation systems, to entirely new cave complexes, to innumerable squashed bugs – Find out about everything that went into Crash Site by visiting the Subnautica Trello board, and perusing the Checkin and Changes list.

A new Subnautica Early Access update has been released on Steam! This is the Crash Site update. It brings access to the crashed Aurora starship, big performance and stability improvements, fully-playable Oculus VR support, the new Radiation Suit, terrifying Reaper creatures, and much, much more.



Since the beginning of Subnautica development, the Aurora starship has hung on the horizon. She has attracted players to her stricken hull like moths to a flame. Until now, it was not possible to approach the Aurora: Strong radiation fields meant death to anyone that approached. Now, that has all changed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-_LOE-IkaA

A new Radiation Suit is available to be crafted at the Fabricator. When worn, it protects against the effects of radiation. With it, you can now approach the Aurora.



Equipping the Radiation Suit is a breeze thanks to the new Paper Doll inventory interface. To wear a particular diving suit, helmet, or other piece of equipment, simply drag it onto the ‘doll.’



The Aurora will now explode a few in-game days after game start. It is possible to play Crash Site with an old save game – The Aurora will still explode. However, the saved game will need to be upgraded to include all the new terrain around the ship, and any gear, submarines, or bases stored within 150m of the Aurora will be lost. For more information about this, see the upgrade dialog presented in the main menu



At the crash site, you might find all sorts of goodies. You may also find new threats – So tread carefully.



The radiation spread from the wreck of the Aurora restricts movement over wide swaths of the sea floor. Explore the damaged dark-matter core on board to see if you can find a way to reverse the radiation spread.



There’s good news for those playing Subnautica with Oculus Rift development kits. Big progress has been made on interface elements and graphics, and it is now possible to get around Subnautica’s various menus using the Rift. For example, the PDA now works properly.



Subnautica now runs on the latest and greatest version of the Unity engine, Unity 5. Unity 5 is faster than 4 in a few ways, and we’ve also made some tweaks to the way the game is rendered. This means Subnautica generally runs faster than it used too.



In addition to performance improvements, massive memory optimization work and a switch to 64-bit memory architecture means many crashes have been banished below the sea-bed. If your machine meets minimum requirements, it is now very unlikely you will experience a memory related crash. To help work out if your computer is powerful enough to play Subnautica, we’ve added a minimum – specification warning to the main menu.



Behind the scenes, there’s been big progress on a community language translation system. It’s not quite ready for prime time, but we will be talking about it soon. If you would like to see Subnautica in a particular language, you will soon have the opportunity to make it happen.

The past five weeks have been intense. Crash Site is the biggest Subnautica update we’ve yet undertaken. It is not perfect – You will find many, many bugs, but it is our intention to bring you the latest stuff as soon as possible. Please send us your feedback, both positive and negative. We very much appreciate hearing from you, and your input helps us make Subnautica a better game.

This blog post only scratches the surface of what has been changed in Subnautica inside the Crash Site update. From new animation systems, to entirely new cave complexes, to innumerable squashed bugs – Find out about everything that went into Crash Site by visiting the Subnautica Trello board, and perusing the Checkin and Changes list.

Here’s a peek at what will be coming to Subnautica in the next few weeks: The explosion and exploration of the Aurora starship.



Steam limits what we can embed in news posts. To see the full post, including interactive 3D models and SoundCloud files, go to the Subnautica Dev Blog

Back at in 2014, an extremely early prototype of Subnautica was shown at PAX East. A two dimensional starship, cut out from Cory's concept art, was placed on the ocean horizon. It was impossible to get closer to the ship, it would forever recede into the distance no matter how far a player swam.

Despite this a significant proportion of players would constantly swim across the surface towards the starship. They ignored objectives, vehicles, creatures, and even the whole undersea environment. There was something utterly compelling about the crashed Aurora, lying stricken on the sea floor.



At that time, there wasn’t a strong plan in place for what to do with the crashed ship. Various ideas were being tossed around, and continued to circulate even past Subnautica’s launch on Early Access. Approaches to the Aurora were cut off by deadly radiation fields, while we’ve figured out what to do with it.



Now, we’re ready to bring the Aurora into the game. In the past few weeks, crash site gameplay brainstorms have been category 5 hurricanes. Concept art, prototypes, gameplay ideas have all been flying around. The thing that most accurately describes what we’re thinking about is perhaps this sound made by Simon:

Boom

That’s the sound of a big starship going bang. When it goes bang, it will litter the sea-floor with debris, impact craters, and goodies formerly trapped inside the Aurora’s hull.



Michael, Jake, Russell and Oli are hard at work crafting the ocean floor at the Aurora crash site. This includes digging a huge impact trench out of the rock, and decorating it with debris, silt, and rubble. This represents a unique level design challenge, as it forces the mixing and disruption of existing biomes.



Some of the debris pieces on the sea floor will be large enough to enter and swim around in. Here’s a particularly large one:

Wreck Model



What of the deadly radiation field that currently prevents approach? You will soon be able to craft a radiation-resistant suit, capable of protecting you from pesky alpha, beta, and gamma rays. A new ‘paper-doll’ style inventory system will allow you to easily swap equipment, and know what you are wearing at a glance.



Radiation might be the least of your worries when swimming near the Aurora’s wreck. We don’t want to say too much – We’ll let this experimental video from Andi do the talking…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HY6S9uMnMs

This blog post can’t contain everything we’re working on at the moment. Heaps of stuff is being done, including the addition of new sea-base functionality, and rebalancing of loot/crafting mechanisms. To see more, check out the Subnautica development Trello board, and the checkin & changes list.

We can never be sure when we will release updates. The Crash Site might happen in one, two, or three weeks. It’s likely to be some time in April. Sign up to the Subnautica mailing list to find out the moment the update is released.