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StarTopic Endless Ocean Luminous |ST| Event Dive #1 on 5/10–5/13 — Dive Festival: Song of the Sea Dragons

Brock Reiher said:
Do I need to complete the story to play randomly with others?
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I believe the below post in this thread suggests the answer is no.
Symtendo said:
Just back from a one hour group dive and I’m confused as it doesn’t really explain things very well (am I supposed to play the available story missions first?)

What are the giant square icons that pop up? Treasure that others have found? Why are some moving?

The scanning feature is frustrating me, I can’t tell what I’ve already scanned, which means I have to either scan everything every time, or just learn what I’ve got already. Is there an upgrade that will help me with this?
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Played a bit over an hour tonight. Really cool game - exactly what I hoped for, which was just something unique. I hope I can resume my dive tomorrow without randomizing the map since I was in an activity to find 7 special creatures scattered around the sea. Either way, I’m looking forward to playing more!
 
Brock Reiher said:
How do I access them? I made my own room but nobody showed up after a few minutes.
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I still haven’t played beyond the tutorial story missions yet (still waiting on my partner to be able to play with me tonight) so I’m not 100% certain, but I believe you just start an online session and other random players can join throughout your session (but may not be present at the beginning). Not entirely sure exactly how it works yet, though.
 
so which are the main/critical changes they applied compared to the Wii games? reading few reviews it seems it "lost the original feeling", but at the same time the gameplay loop described isn't that different, apart being "prcedurally generated" each time and "playing with others online", with its related infrastructure pains
 
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I watched my partner play some of this game last night, it is without a doubt the most boring Nintendo game I have ever seen, and he agreed.
 
KingOnion said:
Played a bit over an hour tonight. Really cool game - exactly what I hoped for, which was just something unique. I hope I can resume my dive tomorrow without randomizing the map since I was in an activity to find 7 special creatures scattered around the sea. Either way, I’m looking forward to playing more!
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You can do this. In fact, the game encourages it. It wants you to fully map out and scan everything.
 
Story mode didn’t start off with a great first impression, so I tried my first solo dive which I think was roughly 90 minutes. Aside from slight disappointment that I got the dinosaurs immediately (would have preferred to see them on my third or fourth dive with my limited time tonight even though many were very cool) I largely enjoyed my time here. I got hit with a mission that I couldn’t solve and I’m iffy on how scanning works exactly (I kind of wish scanning permanently revealed all of the fish of a given species since I don’t like scanning each one to view everything around me necessarily with the zoom ins and menus involved (especially with big group scans)), but when I disabled the hud and I was vibing underwater, discovering new sea creatures, and learning fish facts I was having a good time. I got a pretty cool underwater ruin to explore in my first dive which was also exciting.

I think I’ll probably do a dive per day to pace this game out. I got 75 fish immediately on my first day which is cool, but perhaps a bigger chunk than I’d like on the still quite large total.
 
I played a bit last night, and I am definitely trying to take my time with this. The sense of exploration seems really good. It looks like there's plenty of secrets to find too, with stuff like the Mystery Board. Definitely can see how this won't be for everyone, but as an Endless Ocean fan I am satisfied so far. It maybe doesn't have as much structure as the originals and I have yet to determine how same-y the maps get, but I am having fun for now.
 
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How is the soundtrack and general sound design?

That is probably the make or break for me purchasing with the ho hum reviews. I know part of the score is likely the nature of the game but there do seem to be multiple genuine issues as well. I like exploring, and ambience quite a bit so if the soundtrack is pretty good I'll probably get it.

I don't really care stongly about the multiplayer aspect.
 
MonHunterORB said:
How is the soundtrack and general sound design?

That is probably the make or break for me purchasing with the ho hum reviews. I know part of the score is likely the nature of the game but there do seem to be multiple genuine issues as well. I like exploring, and ambience quite a bit so if the soundtrack is pretty good I'll probably get it.

I don't really care stongly about the multiplayer aspect.
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music is good. disappointing lack of bubble sounds
 
finally have the game and am ready to put in an ungodly amount of hours doing nothing in it!

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Okay I have to know. Do the sharks/anything attack you in this game? I want the game but I don't think I can handle it if they attack. I like the ocean but also afraid of it
 
TheQuietone said:
Okay I have to know. Do the sharks/anything attack you in this game? I want the game but I don't think I can handle it if they attack. I like the ocean but also afraid of it
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Nothing attacks you in this game.
 
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Played a bunch of this last night with my SO

The Shared Dives are absolutely the meat of the game. Getting in there with a bunch of strangers and helping each other find cool fish is a Journey-like experience.

Game is good. Love it a lot.
 
so my sister and I had the delight of discovering that shared dives do have a time limit

I think it's like an hour?
 
TheQuietone said:
Okay I have to know. Do the sharks/anything attack you in this game? I want the game but I don't think I can handle it if they attack. I like the ocean but also afraid of it
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as noted earlier nothing attacks in Luminous but interestingly this is not true of the old games. I don't remember the attacks being too threatening or realistic though
 
Done a few shared dives in this now and I think the best gameplay loop for me is to do 1 or 2 dives a day and slowly chip away at it. The hour long time limit on the shared dives actually feels like a nice round limit to get lost in and explore before it starts to wear a little thin.

I can see why reviews were middling for it though, the story gates for the Chapter 2 stuff needs you to scan 500 fish and trying to do that alone in single player dives feels more of a drag because of how slow progress can be.

But yeah, a shared dive or two to relax after work everyday for a while and see what fish I can find? That's great for me! Definitely something I can enjoy over a longer period of time
 
Raccoon said:
so my sister and I had the delight of discovering that shared dives do have a time limit

I think it's like an hour?
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Yeah, though it’s an hour per player from when you joined, not an hour for the entire session. So, like, if you start a shared dive and someone else joins you 10 minutes later, in 50 more minutes your time will expire but they’ll still have another 10 minutes in the session.

Also, up to 10 random players can be funneled into any shared dive session, which just happens automatically. The other 20 spots are reserved for players who join via the shared-dive ID, though.
 
it's absolutely no Blue World

but Endless Ocean 99 is nice actually

calming music, dreamcast-esque menu aesthetics, liminal vibes

and just meeting randos who also enjoy fish watching

i like it so far
 
My allergies and sleep issues have been absolutely killing me lately, plus my partner has been busier than usual and I don’t want to do shared dives without them, so I’ve only been able to do two shared dives so far, but I’m really enjoying what I’ve played of the game!

Though it’s a bit overwhelming at first when almost every animal you see is new, and having to scan absolutely everything is kind of a drag in the same way that it is for me in Metroid Prime, but I have a feeling that won’t be an issue once I’ve logged more marine life and don’t have to be as concerned about scanning everything I see. I’m honestly really excited to play this game with other friends (assuming I can convince anyone else to buy the game, that is…), because I think it’ll be an even more chill experience when I’m further along with the game and can help out a friend who’s just starting out.

I do have a question for anyone who may know the answer, though—is there a point to scanning marine life that you’ve already logged before and has already been scanned by someone in the current dive session? I have a hard time not just immediately scanning everything I see, which makes it hard for me to get anywhere in the map in a decent amount of time, lol, but if I can get a better idea of when I should be scanning versus when I shouldn’t, that might help me out a lot.
 
Tried a group dive and it was neat, but I think I prefer solo dives a bit more. Like someone else mentioned it seems like you can really burn through the species list and group play only seemed to make that process faster. I also like the atmosphere of solo and taking things at my (slow) pace.

Though I’m totally down for some Saturday Night Swims if anyone in Fami is interested.
 
Tye said:
My allergies and sleep issues have been absolutely killing me lately, plus my partner has been busier than usual and I don’t want to do shared dives without them, so I’ve only been able to do two shared dives so far, but I’m really enjoying what I’ve played of the game!

Though it’s a bit overwhelming at first when almost every animal you see is new, and having to scan absolutely everything is kind of a drag in the same way that it is for me in Metroid Prime, but I have a feeling that won’t be an issue once I’ve logged more marine life and don’t have to be as concerned about scanning everything I see. I’m honestly really excited to play this game with other friends (assuming I can convince anyone else to buy the game, that is…), because I think it’ll be an even more chill experience when I’m further along with the game and can help out a friend who’s just starting out.

I do have a question for anyone who may know the answer, though—is there a point to scanning marine life that you’ve already logged before and has already been scanned by someone in the current dive session? I have a hard time not just immediately scanning everything I see, which makes it hard for me to get anywhere in the map in a decent amount of time, lol, but if I can get a better idea of when I should be scanning versus when I shouldn’t, that might help me out a lot.
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I’m still a bit confused by the scanning myself. I thought that the blue colouration was an indicator of things you personally haven’t scanned yet, but it seems that it’s actually things that the online group you are playing with haven’t scanned; this means that things that you haven’t logged in you can’t be identified unless you initiate the scanning and see a question mark on them.

That’s my understanding, unless I’m missing something. I’m not sure you get anything for fish that have already been scanned by others (unless it counts towards your scan total?)

Also, with the UMF (if that’s what they are called) do these appear on your map or do you just have to find them based on the drone footage? I’ve missed them twice as I had no lead where to go.
 
Symtendo said:
Also, with the UMF (if that’s what they are called) do these appear on your map or do you just have to find them based on the drone footage? I’ve missed them twice as I had no lead where to go.
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They appear on the map after the drone cutscene. You can look at your map (assuming you have it filled out enough) and the area where the UML appears will be indicated with a big orange circle.

From the few I have done so far, they mostly appear in areas of interest or near the middle of the map.
 
you’re all going to think I’m insane but I would like it if the solo maps where about a quarter of the size that they are, and have less variety.

I, too just want to dip in and go for a little dive. At the moment it feels like the maps are massive and made for a huge number of people to dive together. I’d like the solo ones to be smaller and more focused on a particular climate/ecosystem.
 
Symtendo said:
I’m still a bit confused by the scanning myself. I thought that the blue colouration was an indicator of things you personally haven’t scanned yet, but it seems that it’s actually things that the online group you are playing with haven’t scanned; this means that things that you haven’t logged in you can’t be identified unless you initiate the scanning and see a question mark on them.

That’s my understanding, unless I’m missing something. I’m not sure you get anything for fish that have already been scanned by others (unless it counts towards your scan total?)

Also, with the UMF (if that’s what they are called) do these appear on your map or do you just have to find them based on the drone footage? I’ve missed them twice as I had no lead where to go.
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Yeah, I'm also pretty sure that the only way to know if you already have a creature in your log is to start a scan and see if the yellow question mark appears in the little circle.
The UML appear on your map but they can get scanned very quickly by someone who already was in the area, and if nobody tags it, I think you have to remember where the red circle on your map was and look for the UML yourself. But they usually get tagged anyway. :)

Aostia82 said:
What the event is supposed to be?
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The in-game description says: "A chance to meet creatures that are difficult to find during dives. For a limited time, you are welcome to visit this special dive area where you will meet a wide variety of marine life, including unusual schools of fish and huge fish you've never seen before".
 
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Had a moment in Story mode that caught me really off-guard in the best way. It's nothing crazy, but I'd recommend not getting it spoiled if you're a big Endless Ocean fan like I am.

Spoilers: A remix of a song from Endless Ocean 2 plays during Chapter 4-1. Nothing crazy, but it sounds great.
 
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I started playing last night. I'm surprised that I've catalogued about half of the creatures in the game from two hour-long group dives. I thought that process would take longer. Still, it's a super-chill game!
 
Symtendo said:
I’m still a bit confused by the scanning myself. I thought that the blue colouration was an indicator of things you personally haven’t scanned yet, but it seems that it’s actually things that the online group you are playing with haven’t scanned; this means that things that you haven’t logged in you can’t be identified unless you initiate the scanning and see a question mark on them.

That’s my understanding, unless I’m missing something. I’m not sure you get anything for fish that have already been scanned by others (unless it counts towards your scan total?)
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Yeah, that’s what seemed to be the case to me—anyone who scans an animal in the same dive session will remove the luminous algae from them. That’s why I’m wondering if there’s much of a point to scanning ones that have already been scanned by someone else, unless they’re ones you haven’t logged yourself yet. I’m also curious to know what exactly counts towards your scan total…

If those don’t count towards your scan total, though, I guess the only thing you might miss by avoiding already scanned animals that you’ve also already logged yourself would be small or large variants…?
 
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So apparently the game doesn’t support voice chat via the Nintendo Switch Online mobile app… That’s odd, considering Endless Ocean: Blue World on Wii was one of the few games to support Wii Speak. I understand why they wouldn’t want to support voice chat among all players in a shared dive, including random online players, but I wish they’d at least support it for players who join via your shared-dive ID… I assume there must be some technical reason behind its omission, unfortunately…
 
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An issue I'm seeing is that, due to the nature of story progression being tied to the number of creatures you scan, you're going to come close to completing the encyclopedia well before the story is over. And you have to play for an hour or two, scanning many of the same fish you've already scanned dozens of times, to unlock a single chapter that may not have much to it.

It feels like the story mode's progression gating could have been more lax.
 
Hailinel said:
An issue I'm seeing is that, due to the nature of story progression being tied to the number of creatures you scan, you're going to come close to completing the encyclopedia well before the story is over. And you have to play for an hour or two, scanning many of the same fish you've already scanned dozens of times, to unlock a single chapter that may not have much to it.

It feels like the story mode's progression gating could have been more lax.
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The story mode isn’t supposed to be the core mode in this game; instead it serves as a tutorial at first and then a reward for making progress in the real main modes of the game—shared/solo dives—so it makes sense in that context. I just view it as an extra thing to look forward to as I make progress with my logs and Mystery Board. You have to finish the latter 100% in order to finish the story mode, anyway.
 
Tye said:
The story mode isn’t supposed to be the core mode in this game; instead it serves as a tutorial at first and then a reward for making progress in the real main modes of the game—shared/solo dives—so it makes sense in that context. I just view it as an extra thing to look forward to as I make progress with my logs and Mystery Board. You have to finish the latter 100% in order to finish the story mode, anyway.
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I understand that much, but the story mode as a reward hasn't really felt that rewarding as of yet.
 
I loved the first Endless Ocean and have both games' soundtracks in my music library, but I admit I'm going to wait-and-see on this one. The stuff I am hearing so far about progression, procedurally-generated dives, and randomized rewards is really turning me off. Not that I'm expecting a slam-bang action title, but it really sounds like the gameplay loop is just "go into the ocean and pray the RNG Gods smile upon thee". And I'm not interested in online dives at all. Will be watching this thread with interest.
 
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I actually like how the modes are connected. You are researching for story mode in single player mode alone and/or online mode with other "researchers". It's like all the modes are part of the whole.
 
Frustratingly I'm gonna have to drop this one. I suppose it works well as a 'chill do-very-little' sort of game, but for me that doesn't really make up for how utterly barebones everything else feels. I play it and it feels I'm looking at the 'bare-minimum' when it comes to the idea of making an online-focused Endless Ocean game, and nothing much more.

I know I've already mentioned it before, but having a game come out in 2024 with a silent, face-less, realistically-designed, and customisable protagonist (wearing a skintight diving suit, mind you)... that doesn't have any body type options outside of "athletic & masculine," is perhaps the perfect - and most inexcusable - example of the above issue. You don't exclude so much of your population from being represented in your otherwise character-less multiplayer game if there isn't some fundamental issue with budget, scope, and/or time somewhere in development.

Which all really sucks when the industry needs more games like this - chill, non-violent titles focused on nature and education - but this just suffers with the same issue so many of Nintendo's other recent titles have: a lack of 'meat' beyond the basic premise that they're built upon. Which, like it or not, does inevitably harm its potential broader appeal; especially with how little people have to spend on risky purchases these days. You need to be totally in with that basic premise, or there's really not much else left for you.
 
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I completely agree about the body type issue. When I entered the profile section for the first time I just couldn’t believe it. It’s a very strange thing to omit and I don’t even know if that’s something that they could add in a future patch.
And that’s just one of the many issues the game has, in my opinion, but... I’m loving it anyway. I'm already at level 59. 😄
I just like the general vibes, the slow sense of progression and working with strangers in online dives. It’s a bit like a farming game but with marine life instead.

I understand a lot of the criticism, but what the game gets right works really well for me.
 
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