H2.O Update Released
Here is the water you have always wanted! The H2.O update completely overhauls the graphics in Subnautica Early Access: new surface water, longer draw distances, richer colors, pitch black night-time, even solar eclipses! See it in action on the H2.O Update Website. The entire ocean has received a makeover. H2.O is not just a set of tweaks: Max has rebuilt whole chunks of Subnautica’s graphics rendering system. Almost everywhere you swim, you will find a new look inviting you to explore.
Subnautica’s day night / cycle is now vastly more striking. Multiple moons interact with a bright star in different ways throughout the day. Here is the ocean surface at sunrise:
H2.O is not just a pretty face. The new Scanner can provide information about technology fragments, and organisms in the ocean environment. The Scanner will record its findings into the PDA. Refer to the PDA Data Bank for information about flora and fauna you find throughout the ocean.
The Fabricator will no longer spit out a bunch of cubes, no matter what you tell it to build. A large variety of items now have proper 3D models, making fabrication a much more fun (and less confusing!) experience.
Story voiceovers are now displayed via text on the HUD, making it easier to catch dialogue you may have missed, or play the game with no sound*.
*Don’t do this, Simon will cry.
Charlie has added the ability to turn Seamoth headlights on and off. This is surely the most overdue feature in the history of video games. Ever.
During H2.O, we tracked over two hundred ‘pieces of work’ on our development team Trello board. A huge number of changes have been made to Subnautica. This update is probably our biggest since ‘Seabases’ back in early 2015. Head on over to the Trello board and look at the ‘H2.O Done’ column to see what we did.
The H2.O update also ties together two features that were released during its development: The Water Filtration Machine and Aurora Wrecks. To learn more about the H2.O update, visit the H2.O website, created by Andrew. To get notified about future Subnautica updates, subscribe to the development mailing list.
Happy diving!