FREE - Subnautica at Epic Games Store until Dec 27.

AndyJ · Dec 15, 2018

Subnautica is currently free to own at the new Epic Games Store, and will be available for the next 2 weeks, until Dec 27th:

https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/product/subnautica/home

[video=youtube;Rz2SNm8VguE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rz2SNm8VguE[/video]

There's also 13hrs left to grab Full Throttle: Remastered over at GOG:
https://www.gog.com/#giveaway

Enjoy!

khaos526 · Dec 15, 2018

And that has been on my Steam WishList for ages, because there's and end to the game and wasn't as "Open World" as I hoped. So figure if it was dirt cheap on the Steam Sale, I would someday get it. I just removed it from my Steam Wish List

Necronaught · Dec 15, 2018

Don't Epic realise that when the next fashionable game comes out everyone will dump Fortnite in a nano second? Leaving their store as well. Crazy to try and tempt games off Steam. Steam is dug in like an Alabama tick and has very loyal customers. So Epic believe they can use their Fortnite player base to rival Steam. I dunno. I will grab Subnautica for free though.

Jacques d'Orleans · Dec 15, 2018

Necronaught said:
Don't Epic realise that when the next fashionable game comes out everyone will dump Fortnite in a nano second?

Don't people usually dump Fortnite when they get older than 15?

GuruNot · Dec 16, 2018

khaos526 said:
And that has been on my Steam WishList for ages, because there's and end to the game and wasn't as "Open World" as I hoped. So figure if it was dirt cheap on the Steam Sale, I would someday get it. I just removed it from my Steam Wish List

Same for me .... Nearly bought it in the last steam sale, but just pulling it down for free now.

Mengy · Dec 16, 2018

Subnautica is a great game, I still mess around with it just for fun despite having "won" it and played it for more than 100 hours.

Epic Games giving it away for free is a damn good promotion. The game already made a ton of money, and it's sequel coming out in a year or two will be a new standalone game so this will only help to promote interest for it. Even though I own it on Steam I registered it on the Epic Games site too, because eh why not?

CMDRAW · Dec 16, 2018

I'm going to grab it because hey, free game that's been on my wish list for a while, but another game distribution platform? I've already got Steam, GOG, and (eugh) Origin, now I've got an account on Epic.

Zak Gordon · Dec 17, 2018

I was going to get it, then saw it requires Steam (or a Steam account), which i don't do, so that put a damper on my only reason to sign up on the Epic store. Why have a game require Steam when they are your main competitor? Seems weird no?

Chevy66 · Dec 17, 2018

Zak Gordon said:
I was going to get it, then saw it requires Steam (or a Steam account), which i don't do, so that put a damper on my only reason to sign up on the Epic store. Why have a game require Steam when they are your main competitor? Seems weird no?

Are you sure? I do have steam, but I don't think it started up steam when I started the game from Epic launcher

Zak Gordon · Dec 18, 2018

Chevy66 said:
Are you sure? I do have steam, but I don't think it started up steam when I started the game from Epic launcher

I thought i was (sure). On the Epic Store page for the game it says it requires a Steam account. If that is not the case i'd certainly consider getting the game

EDIT: ok i can't find where it said that now, so i just created an account and got the free game. Now how i'm going to play it is another matter, as in my gaming PC's are off line so it will depend on if i need to have the epic client running all the time or if their copy of Subnautica can be run 'DRM free' so to speak. Testing ahead.

EDIT 2:

Cool. It works, so in effect is a DRM free version.

I made my Epic Account and got the free subnautica offer on my main online PC (Linux laptop).

Then i connected up my gaming PC, put in my account details on the Epic Store and downloaded and installed the game. At this point the Launcher was running and my first test of the game was through the Epic Launcher program.

I then looked for the Subnautica install and made a direct shortcut to my desktop, logged out my Epic account, disconnected the internet and launched Subnautica via it's shortcut icon. It all worked fine

Thanks Epic, and thanks Subnautica dev for not forcing DRM on your game (now why you not on GOG?).

Kaocraft · Dec 19, 2018

Necronaught said:
Don't Epic realise that when the next fashionable game comes out everyone will dump Fortnite in a nano second? Leaving their store as well. Crazy to try and tempt games off Steam. Steam is dug in like an Alabama tick and has very loyal customers. So Epic believe they can use their Fortnite player base to rival Steam. I dunno. I will grab Subnautica for free though.

They probably DO realize, which is maybe why they're pushing so hard to get as many people as possible locked into their platform now, while Fortnight is still relevant.

Zak Gordon · Dec 21, 2018

Well in terms of the free Subnautica game, your not locked into anything, you don't even have to have the epic launcher running to run the game

It will likely be the only thing i get from them, and it's a good un.

I hope the NMS devs have been playing subnautica, they could learn a few design tips (around crafting/grinding, in-game navigation etc)

Backer42 · Dec 21, 2018

Zak Gordon said:
Well in terms of the free Subnautica game, your not locked into anything, you don't even have to have the epic launcher running to run the game

Sounds like the typical Torrent experience one can have for free at any time.

I prefer having a proper Steam App with playtime tracking, achievements, Big Picture integration and SteamInput controller support (as Xbox wireless controllers only support Windows 10). Though I won't be getting Subnautica until they do a Linux port.

=71st=RuSh · Dec 21, 2018

khaos526 said:
And that has been on my Steam WishList for ages, because there's and end to the game and wasn't as "Open World" as I hoped. So figure if it was dirt cheap on the Steam Sale, I would someday get it. I just removed it from my Steam Wish List

Is an amazing game! even is not a open world, the area is big enough to enjoy the game for a while!

Kaocraft · Dec 21, 2018

=71st=RuSh said:
Is an amazing game! even is not a open world, the area is big enough to enjoy the game for a while!

Are you guys operating under some special definition of "open world"? In what way is Subnautica anything other than the most open-est of Open Worlds?

Zak Gordon · Dec 23, 2018

Backer42 said:
I prefer having a proper Steam App with playtime tracking, achievements, Big Picture integration and SteamInput controller support (as Xbox wireless controllers only support Windows 10). Though I won't be getting Subnautica until they do a Linux port.

Speaking of why i don't use on-line connected services that do all manner of stuff (like auto-patch/update etc), i was reading a post in the subnautica forums about after the latest patch from the Epic Launcher it seems you can no longer run from the subnautica.exe directly. You have to use the Epic Launcher now.

It was just one recent post so i'll keep an eye on it, but yeah that kind of stuff is why i never use connected online game services. They can mess up my games.

Backer42 · Dec 23, 2018

Zak Gordon said:
Speaking of why i don't use on-line connected services that do all manner of stuff (like auto-patch/update etc), i was reading a post in the subnautica forums about after the latest patch from the Epic Launcher it seems you can no longer run from the subnautica.exe directly. You have to use the Epic Launcher now.

It was just one recent post so i'll keep an eye on it, but yeah that kind of stuff is why i never use connected online game services. They can mess up my games.

I was just describing how SteamWorks offers some advantages for locking the game to your Steam account. Advantages none of the other embedded Chrome browser skins (which is what these clients really are) have.

For example SteamInput is a cross-platform hardware-neutral game controller API (unlike Xinput) and it works in any game with any controller when launched through Steam. If I launch Rebel Galaxy through GOG Galaxy I lose all this, RG there only supports Windows Xinput forcing the use of Microsoft-XB360-compatible controllers.

If you like most PC players only use Windows 10 with a mouse and keyboard, you won't notice any of those limitations. But Steam is a little bit more than just a DRM launcher. The Linux client now offers you to run most Windows games through Proton, a compatibility layer on top of WINE developed by Valve. That's something, no EA (Origin), Ubisoft (Uplay) or Epic/Tencent ever cares about, because their main focus is on consoles/phones.

Zak Gordon · Dec 24, 2018

Backer42 said:
If you like most PC players only use Windows 10 with a mouse and keyboard, you won't notice any of those limitations.

Won't touch windows 10 with a barge-pole. Same kind of reasons i won't touch Steam (like) clients for my games. Same kind of reasons i won't own anything by Apple.

All these 'services' are about tying you down and curtailing your actual freedoms, but sugar-coat that with a variety of extra stuff that i personally have no use for. So in my case it is simply a lose-lose situation vs maybe others lose-win situation (where you lose your freedom but 'win' achievements or some other mostly shallow reward). YMMV but this is how the modern software world works, i just choose to not take part in it and enjoy my games as i always have done and maintain my freedom in doing that.

I don't even need an internet connection for the games i prefer to play, that is kind of liberating (especially if say in the case of a game like ED you have server troubles that stop you playing when you want to).

Agony_Aunt · Dec 24, 2018

Jacques d'Orleans said:
Don't people usually dump Fortnite when they get older than 15?

47 and playing Fortnite here. Well, Save the World, not Battle Royale, i got bored of BR fairly quickly.

Backer42 · Dec 24, 2018

Zak Gordon said:
Won't touch windows 10 with a barge-pole. Same kind of reasons i won't touch Steam (like) clients for my games. Same kind of reasons i won't own anything by Apple.

That's consequent. However I ran out of physical PC games about a decade ago.

All these 'services' are about tying you down and curtailing your actual freedoms, but sugar-coat that with a variety of extra stuff that i personally have no use for. So in my case it is simply a lose-lose situation vs maybe others lose-win situation (where you lose your freedom but 'win' achievements or some other mostly shallow reward). YMMV but this is how the modern software world works, i just choose to not take part in it and enjoy my games as i always have done and maintain my freedom in doing that.

I know this. I still can compare digital services, which some of them completely skipping the "sugar-coat" part and go with the most primitive spin instead: "Look! Free stuff!"

I don't even need an internet connection for the games i prefer to play, that is kind of liberating (especially if say in the case of a game like ED you have server troubles that stop you playing when you want to).

I with you, I avoid pay to play always-online aka "games as a service", too. Offline single player it is or free to play multi player. Nothing in-between.