Sunless Sea - Kickstarted! From the creators of Fallen London

I got frustrated with playing Fallen London, because of the time mechanics as well as a bit of feeling lost trying to figure out what to do. It’s awesome in many ways. I backed Sunless Sea because it looked like it distilled a lot of what was awesome about Fallen London (tags and the way story-related descriptors change things, the writing and atmosphere) in a focused way – with the added bonus that I love exploration games.

I just downloaded the Early Access release from the Humble store and started it up really quick to check it out, and I’m a little in love already. I usually don’t play EA games that much, but I think it’ll be hard not to play this one tonight. I’ve been looking forward to it too much.

I’ve decided I’m not going to touch this until it’s released. But I am eager to read about you guys playing the early access version, so keep the comments coming!

-Tom

I’d say getting into early access is less of a worry than with something like Divinity: Original Sin. The procedural nature of the quests definitely helps. Aesthetically i’d say it seems pretty much ready to go. Not sure there is much world there just yet though - the edge of the map doesn’t seem far away. Combat is being upgraded and needs to be - at the moment it is pretty confusing and (on a Mac) i’ve got dialogs covering the “start combat” button - yep it’s Early Access! ;) Atmosphere is obviously great - fan’s of Fallen London will fit in but non-fans may find the mechanics a little obtuse. I’m also wondering how many FL fans will tire of the Sid Meier Pirates mechanic. Overall i’m happy to have pre-ordered and the sound of subterranean waters lapping against the docks is calling… calling…

I’m very excited about this game as well, but I’m staying away until September or whenever it hits 1.0.

Sunless Sea is going Early Access on Steam in the next day or two. I received an email (since I backed them on Kickstarter) from Failbetter games to drum up excitement and ask people who play it to put good reviews online.

It’s kind of a bummer. I don’t have enough gaming time to be interested in Early Access. Both State of Decay and Sir, you are Being Hunted robbed me of my enthusiasm after lingering so long in unfinished states. They showed promise, but by the end of the long march towards completion, they had already lost much of their audience.

I really don’t want to even look at Sunless Sea until it eventually goes final, but the developer is framing the Steam Early Access launch as a critical moment in the future of their business. Isn’t it viable to wait until it’s finished…?

So I’m interested in this, but $17 seems a little pricey for an unfinished game. Anyone playing this? Is it any good? Is there any reason not to wait until formal launch if I’ve got other stuff to play?

There is still a ways to go, but the game is pretty awesome already. Be warned, that its mostly a text game with a few added mechanics - One has to enjoy reading they peculiar style of writing. Personally, I find it some of the best writing in the business, and enjoy reading it - but I certainly understand why its not for everyone.

As always, you don’t pay for an unfinished game - You pay for the finished game early , in order to support the development. If thats not your cup of tea, I’d hold out.

Did I read right that if you buy into Early Access you will get all the forthcoming DLC for free? There’s one promised because of the kickstarter, and I would guess a good chance of more if the game is modestly successful. If you buy after release, I think they implied the DLC would have to be purchased. Correct?

The DLC bit was enough to get me to pull the trigger on this now despite having a policy of not playing early access games on Steam. I just think of it as a pre-order.

I was all set to go into a tirade about early access causing starvation in Africa for the last several decades, but what is this DLC offer? If that is correct, then sorry African kids, I am fine just purchasing it and letting it sit until it is dreamed prime time ready.

Played this a bit last night and was really impressed. The writing is fantastic. The combat is probably the least satisfying element of the game, at least early on, but you’re not playing for the combat.

How is the combat now? Most of the negative reviews cite the combat as the reason, and the roadmap says it is mostly done (65%):

“Combat - Combat is now in a good place, but we will continue to extend and improve.”

Just got a copy, gonna give it a try this weekend. :)

While it looks interesting, $18 is a pretty high barrier to entry for early access to a small, indie game with no demo.

Try Fallen London for a taste of how their games feel. That one is pure text, but the basic gameplay is a bit like that, without the sailing.

Thanks QT3, I am over Early Access, but the included lifetime DLC made me bite. Knowing the devs and Fallen London, there is likely to be substantial continued support and content post launch and I could not pass that up.

On the other hand, it seems like quite a low barrier to entry for Fallen London without the grind.

For anyone interested in the game, this Let’s Play video gives a pretty good introduction of what the gameplay is about.

It could be as good as Pirates! meets King of Dragon Pass in the Fallen London world. That’s pretty good.

It could also become a tedious spreadsheet. Lots is finished and it certainly is playable, but things need some serious balancing. Failbetter seems on top of things. We just don’t know how much flesh they intend to put on top of the bones here.

I’ve got about a third of the map explored and because of the way terror works, I just don’t think I can expand outward much from there.
It would be nice if there was a consistent source of funding beyond the tomb colonies route or if that route could somehow scale up.

Is there still only one fixed map? I’m waiting for some randomization before I put any time or money into this.