Following up on its recent controversy surrounding the lack of ways to kill in-game creatures in Subnautica 2, developer Unknown Worlds has now published a letter to the community to address community questions and concerns. The letter focuses on three distinct subjects: creature balance, combat against creatures, and the nature of the survival crafting title’s Early Access launch.
The studio has acknowledged that creatures need to be better balanced and that some predator encounters currently feel more frustrating than exciting. To deal with this, Unknown Worlds is actively working on improvements to creature behaviour, as well as to the tools available to players to mitigate these encounters. These improvements will include changes to creature aggression timing, aggro range, creature interaction with vehicles and bases, and the effectiveness of tools like flares and the Survival Tool.
For players who want a more direct way to deal with hostile creatures, the studio has reiterated that its intent was never to focus on combat. While it has acknowledged that some players might want ways to kill the game’s many creatures, Unknown Worlds has noted that this likely stems from avoidance and mitigation tools feeling ineffective. It also notes that its intention was never to judge players who want direct combat in the game.
“Our current direction is not based on judging players who want combat, and it is not because we think those players are wrong,” explained Unknown Worlds. “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.”
When it comes to the Early Access release of Subnautica 2, the studio has noted that this wasn’t simply intended to be an extended beta that revolves around “collecting bug reports.” Rather, it was meant to be a collaborative effort alongside the community to improve the game. Unknown Worlds has acknowledged that it won’t be able to add every new feature or make every single change that the community wants. However, it has also said that it has a responsibility to “listen carefully, explain our decisions respectfully, and show through our actions that player feedback is shaping the game.”
Subnautica 2 is slated to get updates that will bring in general improvements to reflect the fact that the studio is taking community feedback seriously, and Unknown Worlds has expressed hope that this will work as a sign that it wants to work alongside the players to develop the game.
Earlier this week, Subnautica 2 got its first Early Access hotfix, bringing in fixes for bugs and crashes that could affect, among others, players using AMD graphics cards. Along with this, the studio has also promised to bring in changes to its in-game Terms of Service, as well as a new FAQ that will hopefully address the concerns players have had about the title’s current Terms of Service and EULA (End User License Agreement).
Subnautica 2 is available on PC and Xbox Series X/S. Take a look at our review for more details.
