I Played the CUT EARLY-ACCESS Subnautica Story We Never Got!

I have to say, I can't help but feel that the original storyline was both better and a bit more unique than what we got.

I personally like the feel of what they were going for so much more in the first version. The implication of your sister working in the main station, either risking her job to help you or possibility betraying you to Alterra, was such a more interesting conflict than following the path of your dead sister. Marguerit being a bigger contender, too, with wants and drives of her own, was so much more interesting, too, and could have created more conflict. It could have been a much bigger game with much more drama than "Oh, found this antidote sample, just going to plug it in. World saved!" Even if with the story we got, there could have been even more conflict and drama about avenging a dead sister (like taking down Alterra's presence on the planet, as one example) could have been so much better. The end game felt preachy and more tell than show. Alan turned into just a reactionary character to the player's unending perky and hopeful attitude (when she could have been more angry and sad, and creating more interesting, conflicting, and complicated conversations between her and Alan). Long story short. It could have been better. Still a good game, though. But could have been better.

If I remember correctly from anthomnias videos, the storyline was supposed to go a bit like: Jeff gets back to the Vesper, the name of the space station, but everyone thinks he behaves weird. You are left alone for a while and the calls from Sam get weirder and weirder as alterra knows that you have the architect in your head but does not want you to know. The twist comes when Jeff shows his real face. He is also after Alan and infects the vesper with karaa. He gives the crew a deadline to leave 4546b and retreat to another planet in order to get cured and survived. The vesper declines and sends marines into orbit. They then task you with finding enzyme 42 as a cure and then send it with the cargo rocket. But as you send the rocket, a precursor shield gets activated and in that destroys the rocket with the antidote. This adds the prospect of you and Marguerit not being the only ones on the now isolated planet, as the shield was activated by jeff or one of his accomplices. The story sort of ends there, everything further is either censored or very unfinished. I would have loved to get this ending, rather than the vesper just being deactivated and never do something. This story with a catastrophe on a galactic level plus your company actively searching you to collect an ancient race stuck in your head, with your sister being torn between helping you and hunting you down is a story I'd much rather have had than this very plain story. Personally, I loved this story back in early access and the new story never caught me. I only played below zeros story, built a single base and abandoned the game; in the original game is spent hours playing through the story, building multiple bases, cyclops etc. Would love to get this version of the game one day

The voice acting for Al-An was a perfect choice so I'm glad they didn't change the voice actor, but his character was much more interesting in this version and the dynamic between him and Robin was not insufferable like in the final storyline. It's unfortunate that they didn't stick with this version and keep the game in EA a little longer. It could have been great. It seems like the original writer bit off more than he could chew and they didn't know what to do with it after he left. They probably also had a deadline for full release.

It's sad that the story changed so much that the absolute amazing opening of the original story got cut. I think the original story was far more interesting too in my eyes.

im fortunate enough to have played this before the new story got written. i feel like this story wouldve been closer to what we were expecting instead of what we got.

For some time, when you reached Facility 0 Alan said "Warning: Acces denied. Further efforts will be denied forcefully. Concede, Robin Goodall". That was so cool.

I remember seeing one of the unfinished endings it was one where you're leaving the planet then an alterra ship tries to stop you then Marguerite in her prawn suit leaps onto the ship and the ship fly's away

I love the old intro when the tower falls I played during early access and this brings back memories

I would love a DLC where we get to play this version of the story

I still remember the story variation where they had another survivor on the planet and he went rogue and put an entire architect shield around the planet.

So this is kind of the second iteration of the original storyline! Robin's very first voice was younger-sounding and she was just... really enthusiastic about stuff. Like her reaction to an alien in her head was basically, ooh, this could be interesting for xenolinguistics! The whole base was accessible (including those PDAs, I guess they locked down areas in later builds to build the urgency?), and there wasn't an evacuation, just a mention of a storm approaching. Jeff (originally named Jo Jeffreys, later renamed Serik Jevov) had actually disappeared, Robin was going to the base to find him (and encountered Al-An, or at least his voice), and then the storm blocked her access back to the base, forcing her to head to the ocean. I really enjoy BZ as it is, with the more isolated feeling and learning about Sam's actions in the past, but I did adore the original version too. The conflict of Robin questioning Alterra and her growing relationship with Al-An, contrasted with Sam up on the Vesper and her loyalty to them, the whole plot of who the saboteur was, the question of whether Sam would ultimately choose her trans-gov or her sister... yeah, just neat. I did have Theories on what direction the game was going to go in! Serik was the saboteur up on the Vesper, having learned about them wanting to use Kharaa for a bioweapon (similar to Sam in the final version). Robin, meanwhile, was learning about what Alterra was getting up to, as well as slowly realising that if they discovered Al-An, they'd both be screwed (the earliest game versions had Robin required to send up biosamples, which looked a bit weird because of Al-An's presence, and making Sam and Alterra suspicious of what she was up to). Ultimately, she would team up with Serik to try to expose them, and Sam would have a very hard choice on whether to side with Alterra, or with Robin. Basically a narrative about having to abandon what you thought would give you stability in the face of doing what was actually right, ie. stopping Alterra. I also really wanted Ryley to make an appearance :( (Maybe he could have been up on the Vesper as a prisoner/experiment as the only known human survivor of Kharaa? Maybe Robin, Serik, and Sam could have come to his aid? Something like that!)

There must be another more workable early stage because when I played at one point you could swim on the way out. It was cool sending things up to your sister as well. You had to send DNA up and you had to hide the fact that you had AL-AN in you.

I read that in one of the versions Alan actually destroys the space station Sam is on. There was a conflict where you were having to send up health checks to make sure you were alright, but Alan being in your head was making your vitals go off so he was having to suppress his consciousness so you could send normal looking vitals, meanwhile Sam was starting to get suspicious because you were acting funny.

I miss the part in the opening mission where the avalanche knocks over some alterra equipment which falls onto ice cracking it and causing the player to fall into the water below.

I remember the start base being completely explorerable and the doors were openable 🤔

Fun fact: This entire spawn area was recycled for the finished build, it's the destroyed research facility you can explore. (Not the one inside the cave.) Literally the ENTIRE area was recycled, right down to the pool of water you eventually jump into iirc.

I'm pretty sure you can actually fire the rocket you build in this version, but when you do, it hits a forcefield and explodes. Really cool story beat, as it implies someone is actively working against you from the outside

I would love to have had a finished version of this story line. I do however like both, and wouldn’t want to give up our current storyline. It’s odd that they basically started over though.

I was actually the very first person in South Africa to play Subnautica: Below zero when it very first came out so this feels really nostalgic.