Fieldnotes is a weekly column where I drop into a new (or old) game and report back with raw notes, sharp takes, unfiltered, and sometimes unhinged thoughts. This week, I continue my journey in 11 Bit Studios’ The Alters and get acquainted with even more, uh, Alters.
As I get further into The Alters, more of 11 Bit Studios’ signature “difficult choice” gameplay is starting to seep into the experience. It’s a through-line we’ve seen in the studio’s previous games like This War of Mine and Frostpunk (and its sequel). You’re always trying to manage a very delicate balancing act. Prioritize resources or your NPCs’ happiness? Build this or that?
That classic 11 Bit Studios essence is becoming increasingly apparent in The Alters. As someone who’s played a hundred hours of Frostpunk, I’m starting to feel a little more at home.
The Third-Person Resource Gathering Bits Need Work
I didn’t get a chance to talk about the actual gameplay of The Alters in last week’s installment of Fieldnotes because everything was new and shiny, and I was busy fawning over clones and Mickey 17 and that’s that me depresso. But now that the honeymoon phase is waning, this seems like a good time to get into it.
I’ll say this for The Alters: the tutorialization is a lot more beginner-friendly than in Frostpunk. I think that has to do with the fact that The Alters is much smaller in scale in comparison to Frostpunk. After all, you’re just managing Jan and a handful of clones, and your only goal is to get this cool mobile base rolling (literally) before the sunrise comes and burns you to death. However, the actual gameplay bits need some work.
When you’re not in the base, you’ll be exploring a planetary surface in third-person view. At the start, this is no big deal. You’re just moving Jan around with your WASD keys, clicking E to climb up surfaces and holding E to mine resource nodes. When the game starts introducing all its tools and gizmos, though, that’s where things start getting a little more confusing.
For starters, you need to use probes to scan for the exact location of a deep deposit. This is initially confusing because you’d think you’d only need one probe to do the scanning right? Well, not exactly. You need to use up to five of them to map out a little area in the location that you’re scanning, then recall all five probes, map out another area, and keep doing that until you’ve found the deposit itself.
After that, you’ll need to build a mining outpost to start mining. But you don’t place it directly on top of the located deposit. Instead, you put it on a designated white colored spot that the game deems appropriate for mining. The whole process, and the color coding on top of that, feels tedious and can be somewhat confusing at first.
Later on, you’ll get what’s called a vertara drill that’s used to break formations. Now correct me if I’m wrong, but drills are, well, those sharp shiny things that literally spin and drill into rocks that break them, right? So I craft a vertara drill, get my drill cartridge, and try to break a rock formation to progress. Except, I can’t actually use my drill to drill. Later on, I figured out that you’re also supposed to place the drill on a designated white colored spot near the formation, then use it to shoot lasers into the rocks. Duh!
So far, I’m not particularly enjoying the planetary exploration bits. Having to run around feels a little bit tedious, though I do also appreciate having a more intimate and hands-on approach to the resource gathering/management aspect of the game. In Frostpunk, I’d often find myself feeling detached from my citizens, but I’m now emotionally invested in Jan’s story.
Even! More! Alters!
So, you remember how I was ruminating on the ethical and moral quandaries of the Jan clones and wondering how they felt about being forced into a half-life? Yeah all that’s out the window now that I’m completely locked in on my mission of making my base run as efficiently as possible.
Because I’m a genius, the next Alter I thought to create was Jan Scientist. This is the only Alter that can be assigned to a Research Lab. You can only expand your base with a Research Lab. And because I’m all about expanding and conquering bay-bee, I grabbed Jan Scientist post-haste and immediately set up a Research Lab for him. And guess what? Jan Scientist gets it. Unlike Jan Technician, Jan Scientist was literally ready to get cracking the second he was born. He was all like, yeah nah I don’t need meds, I don’t need to get acquainted with the base or get my bearings, just put me to work chief. Jan Scientist is my kinda guy.
I also birthed Jan Miner, who’s even more depressed than Jan Technician. This guy comes from a branch of Jan Technician’s life, where he accepted a mining job from his dad instead of going to a vocational school. He gets involved in increasingly dangerous mining jobs, experimenting with bombs and blasting for more money, and eventually loses his arm in a blasting accident.
Jan Miner’s a good worker, but he’s also lowkey a drug addict. When he got birthed, he got his arm back as well because he was birthed from Jan’s DNA. This results in him experiencing in some sort of reverse phantom limb pain and he ends up asking for more meds. Because I’m the fun mom, I say sure, take the drugs! As long as it improves efficiency, right?
Well, it kinda backfired. Jan Miner got into two back-to-back accidents while working an outpost, and I was like, alright. Jan Miner, buddy, you’re killing me here. You’re killing the factory, the production line. I gotta take the drugs away from you, man. He gets sulky, of course. But look, efficiency is key here. I need this base running like a machine. Like, well-oiled.
Then I walk into Jan Technican fighting with Jan Scientist. The former wants better food, while the latter says mush is good enough for efficiency. I get to make a choice here, classic 11 Bit-style, though I could also choose not to get involved. At the time, I sided with Jan Scientist simply because I don’t have the required materials to make proper cooked meals. But if I did, I would’ve sided with Jan Technician all the way. I may be a dictator, but my people’s happiness also matters to me.
Anyway I did eventually manage to get the materials shortly after so now we have cooked meals for everyone! Jan Miner’s probably content with just the drugs, though.
NPC Watch
So I’ve just learned that the sheep has a name. Her name’s Molly! And no, I still haven’t been able to get her to leave The Womb. God I still hate that name. The Womb? Really? Ugh.
Nothing’s really changed with Molly. She’s still a good girl. I give her daily pets. Oh and on one of the days, I saw her chewing on some grass on a metal tray. While petting her, Jan asked if she was enjoying the grass. I love Molly. That girl deserves all the grass.
