The Ultimate SOMA Discussion Thread

[Paddy™]

One week until SOMA is in Beta and the game that basically is done except polish & tweaks. After almost 5 years that feels surreal.

[FailedExperiment]

One week? Hmmm I'll need to start saving money up. I want to get the game right when it comes out. I heard your character is named Simon.

[GrAVit]

Now this will be exciting. I wonder when the next trailer's coming up?

[Sampyli]

One week? Hmmm I'll need to start saving money up. I want to get the game right when it comes out. I heard your character is named Simon.

Actual release is still probably months away.

[Googolplex]

Actual release is still probably months away.

Yes, it needs a year to polish & tweak AMFP.

[Chrysler]

If you look back at the development of Amnesia, it took about 2 months from reaching beta to finishing the game, and another half a month until it was available for purchase. But we all know from later interviews that at that time they were in desperate need to get the game out as quickly as possible.

With SOMA the situation is different as they are in a better financial position and there is also more PR work and other stuff to do. I am pretty sure, however, that it won't take as long as for AAMFP. They said multiple times that 5 years development time is a lot and they too want to get the game in our hands sooner rather than later now.

I guess sometime around July - August sounds reasonable for a release date.

[Googolplex]

I hope the polishing doesn't mean to cut things out like the interaction of AMFP or to make the game more accessible for casual gamers by adding tutorials, tons of hints and other immersion breaking stuff like that. I always hate tutorials and info texts. It always reminds me to play a conventional triple-A trash. Even when you're able to switch that off. So I hope SOMA will going to avoid all of such "mainstream features".

[Slanderous]

I hope the polishing doesn't mean to cut things out like the interaction of AMFP or to make the game more accessible for casual gamers by adding tutorials, tons of hints and other immersion breaking stuff like that. I always hate tutorials and info texts. It always reminds me to play a conventional triple-A trash. Even when you're able to switch that off. So I hope SOMA will going to avoid all of such "mainstream features".

How cutting interactivity is making the game more accessible for casual gamers?!

[FailedExperiment]

I just don't want this game to hold my hand like Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs did. I felt like the game was telling me what to do, where to go, I didn't have freedom to do what I wanted. I couldn't pick up any items, and there was only one way to do things, unlike The Dark Descent which gave a lot of ways to solve one puzzle.

I hope SOMA doesn't hold my hand, and that it throws me head first into a scary world that will chill me to the core.

[Slanderous]

I just don't want this game to hold my hand like Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs did. I felt like the game was telling me what to do, where to go, I didn't have freedom to do what I wanted. I couldn't pick up any items, and there was only one way to do things, unlike The Dark Descent which gave a lot of ways to solve one puzzle.

I hope SOMA doesn't hold my hand, and that it throws me head first into a scary world that will chill me to the core.

MFP was diffrent kind of game. All it had to do with TDD was that it was set in the same universe, and it had "Amnesia" in it. I expected MFP to be an entirely diffrent stuff than TDD and I wasn't disappointed. People just hyped for it to be great sequel, while it was just an interactive novel set in the very same universe. And it also was made by The Chineese Room, not Frictional Games, so that miiiiight be a small hint on why it doesn't offer as much freedom and interactivity as Frictional Games do. SOMA will surely bring back the lovely TDD interactivity and being the part of the story by yourself.