Hello. Not much has changed. Same issues. Just letting folks know in case they thought about returning. Save yourselves lads. I'm too far gone, and there's no going back for me.

Added more info & screenshots. There are some welcome QOL changes and updates. Since my last update, there have been more reports of players being banned on the official Discord server. New content has been added but most of the focus seems to be on paid DLC. Devs launched a fun community Halloween event... turns out, players could only participate if they bought the DLC for it.

More updates. 2yrs out of EA, some issues fixed.

I'm not a veteran supporter, nor am I a critic. On the surface, I thought the game looked fun so I gave it a go. But the surface cannot compare to what lurks in the depths below. While I don't want this review to be strictly criticism I must warn that it is far from finished and you should stay away. The developers seem open to feedback, but it is contradictory. Here's a perfectly summarized post.[imgur.com]

Before continuing, I feel I must address rumors of users being banned on the official SW Discord when providing feedback for the game. A well known member, Rifleman, was muted after reaching out to provide suggestions & feedback. His complaints were promptly addressed and patched the following week. However, he was soon banned from the Discord. A review of the game was posted, detailing his experience. The devs' response: "The moderation team were concerned about misinformation, toxic and derailing behaviour."

As a parting gift to the community, Rifleman's final upload was, quite literally, a dumpster fire. This too was banned. But little did they know, that fire has spread.[/i]

Edit - They did, in fact, know the fire had spread. They have taken to banning these from the workshop, in an effort to suppress it.[imgur.com]

On the surface, the game is simple. In Career mode, you earn money by rescuing AI and performing tasks. To do these you need to build contraptions. Choose from a preset or start fresh. More components, tools will require more cash. Creating complex objects will have a steep learning curve. Beyond, there is Creative mode. There is no "goal". Weather events can be super fun! Spawn Tsunamis, Tornadoes for the storm-chasers, and massive creatures.

The Steam workshop is great! But without warning, an update some years ago had broken hundreds of user-created missions that were enjoyed, and with it, removed a progression system. Creating new missions also now requires learning a bit of Lua. The world on the other hand, is mostly barren and devoid. The ocean is lacking in true depth. The seafloor itself is a flat texture, and no exaggeration, I've seen better sand in the Bikini Bottoms. Best way I can describe is by comparing to Subnautica's prototype build in ~2013. That build had plant life and vegetation.[static.wikia.nocookie.net] There are no plants here.

Stormworks still suffers from issues dating far back as 2018. Pleas to fix the game were not addressed quickly enough. Many longtime supporters moved on. The devs released Stormworks from EA. Furthermore, they are in the process of developing their second game as featured on their website - which might explain delays. There are some nice additions. But alas, it'd be great if other areas got that attention. You'll find yourself playing for a week, leaving, and coming back to repeat what you did until you remember why you left.

SW isn't a particularly demanding game. However, spawning large ships (especially those downloaded from the Workshop) will result in a slowmotion effect, should your Physics Detail be set to anything higher than the Low setting. Any complaints I've seen regarding this, have been dismissed saying "Your CPU/GPU can't is not powerful enough," or "buy a new card and it will go away". Not always true. Some games simply have poor optimization. The devs confirmed this below, and have dismissed such complainees like myself as "armchair experts". See here: Title Reference[imgur.com] Bandwidth claims[imgur.com] 'Armchair & Muitithreading Experts'[imgur.com]

The developers claim that people are saying "just speed up the game," this is not what all the complaints say. No one is claiming to be an expert, either. We are just customers who love games, and want them to work as expected. What you have is a horrible engine.

As of 2022, I upgraded from an GTX 1080ti to an RTX 3070ti. The change in performance is so seamless, it's like it doesn't exist! As it turns out, the developers intentionally slowed down the physics timestep to prevent the stuttering. Only it didn't seem to fix the issue, but rather skirt around it.

The experience is anything but pleasant. If several players spawn a boat, a tank, and a car, the game will be relatively fine. If one player so much as spawns a large rocket, everything becomes unplayable for everyone serverside. Otherwise it's quiet! Some players may prefer this, but if you're looking for a bustling atmosphere you'll have a better time elsewhere.

To summarize:

• The chat box takes up about 1/3rd of your screen, can't be turned off, hidden or resized.
  
• Players cannot be muted.
  
• No way to check your exact ping. It's 'out-of-sync' or 'in sync.'
  
• No way to sort servers by player count/ping.
  
• Some servers require going through a process to join their Discord server for their server, so you can spawn your favorite vehicle which cannot be spawned, without making it lag for everyone, then you get banned by an admin.
  
• The community makes the game tolerable.

The game had potential and a talented community. But the issue is one I've seen with too many games throughout the years: a good concept being ruined by misdirection. A quick look at the r/stormworks subreddit will tell you enough. Even the admins there have, and I quote, "got the cold shoulder". Why?

Months ago, there were rumors of weapons being added and some weren't satisfied with this news. Some felt it took away from the "Search and Rescue" aspect. Now they've released a Weapons DLC for $10. They released paid DLC for a $25 game lacking in content, but still ask players for more. To add insult to injury, the weapons are actually in the game. You just can't fire them!

My review will likely be overlooked. But I thought it was worth the time, if it meant others saving money. My refund was denied after 3hrs. Hope this helps, but I also hope the game improves. I'm sure most criticism is by players who genuinely wanted it to be better.

The devs claim to want feedback, so here it is. Compile a dataset based those who do/don't enjoy the game and what the issues are. Move to performance optimization, then QOL fixes, then community outreach. Look at how other devs interact with their community, Deep Rock Galactic, No Man's Sky for example. What mistakes did they make? How do they interact with their community?

There are far better games for less than half the price.

[h1]Update 3: 2/1/2024[/h1] Hello. Not much has changed. Same issues. Just letting folks know in case they thought about returning. Save yourselves lads. I'm too far gone, and there's no going back for me. [h1]Update 2: 12/31/2022[/h1] Added more info & screenshots. There are some welcome QOL changes and updates. Since my last update, there have been more reports of players being banned on the official Discord server. New content has been added but most of the focus seems to be on paid DLC. Devs launched a fun community Halloween event... turns out, players could only participate if they bought the DLC for it. [h1]Update 1: 2/16/2022[/h1] More updates. 2yrs out of EA, some issues fixed. [h1]The Beginning: 05/18/21[/h1] I'm not a veteran supporter, nor am I a critic. On the surface, I thought the game looked fun so I gave it a go. But the surface cannot compare to what lurks in the depths below. While I don't want this review to be strictly criticism I must warn that it is far from finished and you should stay away. The developers seem open to feedback, but it is contradictory. [url=https://imgur.com/a/rQhYhT9]Here's a perfectly summarized post.[/url] Before continuing, I feel I must address rumors of users being banned on the official SW Discord when providing feedback for the game. A well known member, [b]Rifleman,[/b] was muted after reaching out to provide suggestions & feedback. His complaints were promptly addressed and patched the following week. However, he was soon banned from the Discord. A review of the game was posted, detailing his experience. The devs' response: "The moderation team were concerned about misinformation, toxic and derailing behaviour." As a parting gift to the community, Rifleman's final upload was, quite literally, [url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Stormworks/comments/lyfqfs/]a dumpster fire.[/url] This too was banned. But little did they know, [url=https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2415544542]that fire has spread.[/url][/i] Edit - [url=https://imgur.com/NEdmii3]They did, in fact, know the fire had spread. They have taken to banning these from the workshop, in an effort to suppress it.[/url] [h1]Summary[/h1] On the surface, the game is simple. In Career mode, you earn money by rescuing AI and performing tasks. To do these you need to build contraptions. Choose from a preset or start fresh. More components, tools will require more cash. Creating complex objects will have a steep learning curve. Beyond, there is Creative mode. There is no "goal". Weather events can be super fun! Spawn Tsunamis, Tornadoes for the storm-chasers, and massive creatures. The Steam workshop is great! But without warning, an update some years ago had broken [i]hundreds[/i] of user-created missions that were enjoyed, and with it, removed a progression system. Creating new missions also now requires learning a bit of Lua. The world on the other hand, is mostly barren and devoid. The ocean is lacking in true depth. The seafloor itself is a flat texture, and no exaggeration, I've seen better sand in the Bikini Bottoms. Best way I can describe is by comparing to Subnautica's prototype build in ~2013. That build had [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/subnautica/images/5/53/Subnautica_prototypes.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/1000?cb=20150521234251]plant life and vegetation.[/url] There are no plants here. [url=https://steamproxy.net/profiles/76561198949350145/recommended/573090/]Stormworks still suffers from issues dating far back as 2018.[/url] [url=https://steamproxy.net/id/Drogowit/recommended/573090/]Pleas to fix the game were not addressed quickly enough.[/url] Many longtime supporters moved on. [url=https://steamproxy.net/profiles/76561198017038053/recommended/573090/]The devs released Stormworks from EA.[/url] Furthermore, they are [u]in the process of developing their second game[/u] as featured on their website - which might explain delays. There are some nice additions. But alas, it'd be great if other areas got that attention. [b]You'll find yourself playing for a week, leaving, and coming back to repeat what you did until you remember why you left.[/b] [h1]Performance[/h1] SW isn't a particularly demanding game. However, spawning large ships (especially those downloaded from the Workshop) will result in a slowmotion effect, should your Physics Detail be set to anything higher than the [u]Low setting.[/u] Any complaints I've seen regarding this, have been dismissed saying [i]"Your CPU/GPU can't is not powerful enough,"[/i] or [i]"buy a new card and it will go away"[/i]. Not always true. Some games simply have poor optimization. The devs confirmed this below, and have dismissed such complainees like myself as "armchair experts". See here: [url=https://imgur.com/a/JoKj3W0]Title Reference[/url] [url=https://imgur.com/pZ3rz3k]Bandwidth claims[/url] [url=https://imgur.com/Igds061] 'Armchair & Muitithreading Experts'[/url] The developers claim that people are saying "just speed up the game," this is not what all the complaints say. No one is claiming to be an expert, either. We are just customers who love games, and want them to work as expected. What you have is a horrible engine. As of 2022, I upgraded from an GTX 1080ti to an RTX 3070ti. The change in performance is so seamless, it's like it doesn't exist! As it turns out, the developers intentionally slowed down the physics timestep to prevent the stuttering. Only it didn't seem to fix the issue, but rather skirt around it. [h1]Multiplayer Experience[/h1] The experience is anything but pleasant. If several players spawn a boat, a tank, and a car, the game will be relatively fine. If one player so much as spawns a large rocket, everything becomes [i]unplayable[/i] for everyone serverside. Otherwise it's quiet! Some players may prefer this, but if you're looking for a bustling atmosphere you'll have a better time elsewhere. To summarize: [*]The chat box takes up about 1/3rd of your screen, can't be turned off, hidden or resized. [*]Players cannot be muted. [*]No way to check your exact ping. It's 'out-of-sync' or 'in sync.' [*]No way to sort servers by player count/ping. [*]Some servers require going through a process to join their Discord server for their server, so you can spawn your favorite vehicle which cannot be spawned, without making it lag for everyone, then you get banned by an admin. [*]The community makes the game tolerable. [/list] [h1]Closing Statement[/h1] The game had potential and a talented community. But the issue is one I've seen with too many games throughout the years: a good concept being ruined by misdirection. A quick look at the r/stormworks subreddit will tell you enough. Even the admins there have, and I quote, [i]"got the cold shoulder".[/i] Why? Months ago, there were rumors of weapons being added and some weren't satisfied with this news. Some felt it took away from the "Search and Rescue" aspect. Now they've released a Weapons DLC for $10. They released paid DLC for a $25 game lacking in content, but still ask players for more. To add insult to injury, the weapons are actually in the game. You just can't fire them! My review will likely be overlooked. But I thought it was worth the time, if it meant others saving money. My refund was denied after 3hrs. Hope this helps, but I also hope the game improves. I'm sure most criticism is by players who genuinely wanted it to be better. The devs claim to want feedback, so here it is. Compile a dataset based those who do/don't enjoy the game and what the issues are. Move to performance optimization, then QOL fixes, then community outreach. Look at how other devs interact with their community, Deep Rock Galactic, No Man's Sky for example. What mistakes did they make? How do they interact with their community? There are far better games for less than half the price.