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General discussionSOMA: Safe Mode update released, stops monsters from killing you(162 posts)(162 posts)
(162 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted December 01, 2017
Wires and claws won't break my bones...

SOMA, the sensational adventure of unsettling technohorror riding on an undercurrent of existential questions, just received a free update dubbed Safe Mode.

By activating this optional mode, you'll be free to explore every underwater spook and cranny without worrying about suffering the curious cat's fate. Make no mistake, though: here there still be monsters. Even if their interactions with you can no longer prove fatal, they'll make sure you're plenty uncomfortable and that the game's threatening atmosphere remains a big part of the experience.

But if you've been dreading your encounters with their Game Over-inducing claws, now is the time to come out from under the bed and give this horror gem a try.
We promise it won't bite. Much.

See what the update is all about.
Post edited December 01, 2017 by maladr0Id
Posted December 01, 2017
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Magmarock: Well, clearly I'm not the only one who wanted a mode like this in the game otherwise the devs wouldn't have put it in. Are you suggesting that the devs are in the wrong for adding more options or that you know better?

It always was a walking sim and it's been out for years now. Nothing has been taken from you.
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Zoidberg: I think it denatures the game, so I would say that they are in the wrong. But it's their game and if they feel obligated to do that because they want more people playing the game, including people that aren't the audience for it then fine.

There are very few failure state anyway but the threat of failure looms over the whole story, that's what makes the game strong in my opinion.

Removing that will lessen the game. But if you want to play the game that way then fine, but you have then absolutely no right to judge it that way. Just keep that in mind.
But they are the audience for it or at least they are now. It's pretty obvious what safe mode is for and considering the popularity of a mod that essentially did the same thing, I would say that you’re in the minority on this one. In other words this is a feature that the audience wants. You don’t speak for them only for yourself.
Posted December 01, 2017
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Zoidberg: I think it denatures the game, so I would say that they are in the wrong. But it's their game and if they feel obligated to do that because they want more people playing the game, including people that aren't the audience for it then fine.

There are very few failure state anyway but the threat of failure looms over the whole story, that's what makes the game strong in my opinion.

Removing that will lessen the game. But if you want to play the game that way then fine, but you have then absolutely no right to judge it that way. Just keep that in mind.
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Magmarock: But they are the audience for it or at least they are now. It's pretty obvious what safe mode is for and considering the popularity of a mod that essentially did the same thing, I would say that you’re in the minority on this one. In other words this is a feature that the audience wants. You don’t speak for them only for yourself.
I think I was pretty clear in that regard.

And I don't care about minority or majority. I don't need those to support my arguments, thank you very much.

My point was made. I hereby remove myself from this discussion.
Posted December 01, 2017
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Magmarock: But they are the audience for it or at least they are now. It's pretty obvious what safe mode is for and considering the popularity of a mod that essentially did the same thing, I would say that you’re in the minority on this one. In other words this is a feature that the audience wants. You don’t speak for them only for yourself.
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Zoidberg: I think I was pretty clear in that regard.

And I don't care about minority or majority. I don't need those to support my arguments, thank you very much.

My point was made. I hereby remove myself from this discussion.
XDDDDD you don't have an argument and you did imply that you knew what's best for the game more then once. Removing yourself is probably a good idea.
Posted December 01, 2017
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muntdefems: Luckily Duke Amiel Du H'ardcore is taking a break, otherwise he'd find some worthy material in this thread. :P
I see you too are a human of culture :P
Posted December 01, 2017
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CharlesGrey: ... lel

I can see how people would create mods for this sort of thing, but it's weird to see it as an official feature.

Could someone please mod all of the gaps and pitfalls out of Super Mario? Those are scary and pretty dangerous. Also, all racing games should officially feature a bicycle mode. Cars are so noisy and bad for the environment.
:-D

Exactly and in all those FPS all these enemies shooting at you are really unsettling. Can't we have a friendship mode in DOOM (and all others), where the enemies just throw flowers at you?
Posted December 01, 2017
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CharlesGrey: ... lel

I can see how people would create mods for this sort of thing, but it's weird to see it as an official feature.

Could someone please mod all of the gaps and pitfalls out of Super Mario? Those are scary and pretty dangerous. Also, all racing games should officially feature a bicycle mode. Cars are so noisy and bad for the environment.
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takezodunmer2005: While I laughed so hard I spewed my coffee all over, I am dead set-against mandates imposed on other's enjoyment (Including disabling hard/ironman modes and the like) I seriously doubt that this will be the end of gaming as we know it...Just chalk it up to another old guys' fears of everything not being what it used to be back in our day!

I for one won't be needing it (Shudder at the thought) but it's good to know there's a choice for others, and that's what makes gaming that much better than real life!
Terribly sorry about your spilt coffee, but sometimes drinks have to be sacrificed for the greater good. ( Some serious lulz. )

I'm all for people being able to play games any way they like, but that's why mods exist. It's just strange to see the devs officially embrace such a major ( game-breaking? ) change. Especially in this particular Horror game where the pacing and gameplay is actually pretty damned good! Now, Outlast or Amnesia, those could use some gameplay improvements...

And how can SOMA still be "scary" if the creatures no longer pose a threat to the player? Do they just stand there and stare at you? Do they still try to hit you, while you have your god-mode on? ( I once encountered a bug in Amnesia, where one of the monsters got stuck on background objects and just stood there, unable to reach or attack me. I can tell you, that wasn't particularly scary. )

I hope they at least replaced the original attacks of the monsters with something more suitable for this new game mode. They could walk up to you and hug you. A very fierce and scary hug, of course. ( But not too scary. ) Or they could approach you with some pamphlets, and offer to discuss God and the afterlife with you...
Post edited December 01, 2017 by CharlesGrey
Posted December 01, 2017
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CharlesGrey: ... lel

I can see how people would create mods for this sort of thing, but it's weird to see it as an official feature.
I had mixed feelings about SOMA when I first played it. Truth be told, it was the first time I wished they had made this a straightforward walking simulator, since the majority of monster encounters seemed to detract from the overall experience. It felt like Frictional fell into a trapping where they have to repeat themselves in order to be successful. As if having SOMA be a low-key underwater version of "Silent Running" wasn't good enough, so they had to add horror stuff, so their fanbase isn't disappointed.

And then one day, I came across a mod that removed the monsters. Playing that changed my mind completely. The whole experience felt incredibly neutered. I would still remove the disco bulb in the submarine... that was just ridiculous.
Posted December 01, 2017
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fronzelneekburm: I had mixed feelings about SOMA when I first played it. Truth be told, it was the first time I wished they had made this a straightforward walking simulator, since the majority of monster encounters seemed to detract from the overall experience. It felt like Frictional fell into a trapping where they have to repeat themselves in order to be successful. As if having SOMA be a low-key underwater version of "Silent Running" wasn't good enough, so they had to add horror stuff, so their fanbase isn't disappointed.

And then one day, I came across a mod that removed the monsters. Playing that changed my mind completely. The whole experience felt incredibly neutered. I would still remove the disco bulb in the submarine... that was just ridiculous.
Can't say I felt that way about SOMA and its monsters. Sure, any game tends to have some frustrating parts and rough edges, but overall I liked the pacing and gameplay much better compared to, in example, Amnesia. There was a much greater variety of creatures in SOMA, and they all had their own AI and unique gameplay elements, such as some of them primarily reacting to sound. And you're not being chased around all the time -- there were many slow-paced, atmospheric and thought-provoking scenes. Nor did it rely on cheap jump scares or excessive gore ( Hello Outlast! ).
Posted December 01, 2017
high rated
Never actually played the game, and don't intend to as neither horror or walking simulator are genres I'm interested in, but from what I've heard of other people talking about it the monster encounters were more annoying than scary because to avoid them you had to stop and look away or something and it meant wasting a lot of time standing around doing nothing...

With that in mind I can see why the devs might make a mode where you can enjoy the story and atmosphere without that.


And honestly, I don't see how adding the option effects anyone who doesn't want to use it...
Posted December 01, 2017
high rated
For those who are interested in more details about this new mode, there's a good article about it here: http://www.pcgamer.com/frictional-on-designing-somas-new-monster-free-safe-mode/

A couple of highlights:
...a couple of months before release Frictional briefly considered adding a mode where the player couldn’t die.
Contrasting Safe Mode with the "Wuss Mode" mod:
Wuss Mode works great as it is, but sometimes it's obvious that it’s a retrofit. There are a few sections where you can still die, namely the tense underwater chase in the sunken ship. And the monsters don’t react to you at all, not even inquisitively. “There were a lot of tweaks needed in order to make sure the monsters behaved the way we wanted them to in Safe Mode,” says Grip, adding that it took 1-2 months to get it right. “It was quite interesting, because it forced us to think about these encounters differently.”

The monsters in Safe Mode aren’t out to kill you, but they will react to your presence. “We have to think of them as inhabitants of the environment and make their interactions with the player fit the game’s atmosphere and story. I’m actually surprised by how well it all turned out. It fits the game far better than I thought it would when we started working on it. To be honest, it even made me question if this was the way the game should have been released in the first place. But I haven’t made my mind up about that yet.”

The monsters won’t just stand around doing nothing either, and might even attack if you annoy them enough. “So while you can’t die, the monsters may still be dangerous if you push your luck too much,” says Grip. “This means there’s still a sense of hostility in these creatures, which preserves the original intention of making the world feel inhospitable and oppressive. It’s details like this that should make Frictional’s Safe Mode more compelling, and more naturally integrated, than the Wuss Mode mod. Although it’ll be interesting to see how it gets around that fraught moment in the wrecked ship.
Posted December 01, 2017
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Magmarock: It is but some people find it too scary to enjoy. I'm one of them
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Zoidberg: Well then, it means one thing: it's not for you. :P

It's like saying there is too much shooting in an fps. :P

Soma is one of the best in its genre, but if you are repulsed by the genre, you probably won't like it.

Note that there isn't any scare jumps, it's more diluted.
I must disagree - the game has a great story, atmosphere and ideas on its own... if it had no monsters it would still be great but most of people who hate walking simulators would be bored

it's true this game isn't as scary as other horror games but for some it still might be the obstacle that prevents them from enjoying this great story
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Magmarock: But they are the audience for it or at least they are now. It's pretty obvious what safe mode is for and considering the popularity of a mod that essentially did the same thing, I would say that you’re in the minority on this one. In other words this is a feature that the audience wants. You don’t speak for them only for yourself.
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Zoidberg: I think I was pretty clear in that regard.

And I don't care about minority or majority. I don't need those to support my arguments, thank you very much.

My point was made. I hereby remove myself from this discussion.
I must disagree - the game has a great story, atmosphere and ideas on its own... if it had no monsters it would still be great but most of people who hate walking simulators would be bored

it's true this game isn't as scary as other horror games but for some it still might be the obstacle that prevents them from enjoying this great story
Post edited December 01, 2017 by Kunovski
Posted December 01, 2017
I just don't get it, if you don't want to be scared, why the hell would you even think of playing a scary game.
As a mod already existed, what's even the point of this patch.

When I saw an update for SOMA, I hoped for new content, or at the very least some bug fixes.
It's not so much that the devs have added a mod to the base game, it's that that's all they've done.

CDPR made half my mod list obsolete, with every Patch, but that was as well on top of their own changes, not instead of them.

Plus what's with the "FREE" update label. Updates are always fixes for problems. and bugs, and also called a patch.
"Sold Updates", are called DLC. So no need for a free label, just update, or patch is fine.
Nothing but this listed in change log, so not wasting any time updating it.
Posted December 01, 2017
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GOG.com: By activating this optional mode, you'll be free to explore every underwater spook and cranny without worrying about suffering the curious cat's fate. Make no mistake, though: here there still be monsters. Even if their interactions with you can no longer prove fatal, they'll make sure you're plenty uncomfortable and that the game's threatening atmosphere remains a big part of the experience.
It's one thing to create a safe mode for people who prefer a virtual tour than a game, but claiming the monsters will still be scary in that environment is just embarrassing.
Post edited December 01, 2017 by markrichardb
Posted December 01, 2017
Agree with CharlesGrey and others who find this pretty funny in a slightly disturbing way.
Posted December 01, 2017
I get weird anxiety when playing survival horror games, so this sounds good for moi. I wanted to check out Soma's sci-fi world and whatnot, but the gameplay turned me off. Now it won't.
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussionSOMA: Safe Mode update released, stops monsters from killing you(162 posts)(162 posts)
(162 posts)