Darkwater News

Assemble your crew - Darkwater is launching into Steam Early Access April 22! To celebrate, we have rolled out a rebrand of the store page and dropped a fresh new trailer.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[color]Darkwater will launch at an introductory price of $9.99 or local equivalent and will feature a 10% launch discount for the first seven days as a treat for our first wave of divers.
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But our Early Access launch is just the tip of the iceberg. We have regular major content expansions planned throughout all of 2025, including new outposts, sectors, enemies, system mechanics, sub designs, and more. Of course, all of these will be available at no additional cost.

Here is a sneak peak at what to expect during Early Access.



Best of luck surviving the depths of Enceladus - you'll need it.

- Targon Studios & PlayStack Team

Thank you to everyone who checked out the demo for Darkwater and made it one of the most played demos of the event!

https://store.steampowered.com/sale/nextfestmostplayed_feb_2025


The demo, bug report, and feedback forms will still be available to fill out until March 17 @ 10AM PST. So if you haven’t already, fill it out and let us know how we can improve or what your favorite canned food item was. I like tube worms.

• Bug Report Form
• Feedback Survey
• Darkwater Discord

We’ll see you again soon when Darkwater launches into Early Access this year - so wishlist and follow so you don’t miss out.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/619540/Darkwater/

Divers,

A number of changes have been made based on player feedback since the last closed playtest. Highlights include the new District Anarchy System, sweeping difficulty adjustments, and a new district that includes several new outposts to explore.

[h2]Features[/h2]
[h3]New District Anarchy System[/h3]
A new system has been added that slowly plunges districts into chaos, making them very dangerous, and encouraging players to exit districts. This is to address players spending large amounts of time farming resources.

• A new visual indicator will be displayed in the upper right corner of the screen denoting the current anarchy level
  
• Anarchy increases more quickly on harder difficulties
  
• 15 anarchy events added
  

[h3]General[/h3]

• K-100 submarine has been unlocked for players to use in the Demo
  
• New Soviet District with unique outposts added; Soviet Residential, Soviet Penal, Soviet Hospital
  
• Outposts optimized, should see improved framerate
  
• New music track added: Soviet District,
  
• Districts grow more difficult as players progress
  
• Difficulty levels have been heavily adjusted
  
• Main menu theme updated
  
• Enemy ships on higher difficulties are now harder to sink
  
• Gramophone room has been added as a rare item spawn in drydock
  
• Record item (Anthem for Mice) has been added as a rare item spawn
  
• Updated main menu: New intro message, new bug report URL
  
• Inventory full notification now displays when players try and pick up an item
  

[h3]Map[/h3]

• District system implemented
  
• Residential district implemented
  
• Soviet district implemented
  
• Sonar map generation size decreased by about 80% (With the introduction of districts, sonar map size has been restored to its original size)
  
• Lots of new node events added, specifically for Soviet Controlled District
  
• Nodes now always contain an event
  
• Sonar map generation overhaul, maps will now be generated in a more linear way
  
• Transit Station no longer spawns near the starting node
  
• Visited Stores and Outposts are renamed to "Visited" after docking for clarity
  

[h3]Shop[/h3]

• Players can no longer interact with shop when players are inside submarine
  
• Players can no longer enter submarine while a player is interacting with the shop
  
• Terminal now displays an error when there is more than 1 of the same weapon system (for example, 2 torpedo bays)
  
• Many system room displays updated
  
• Outdated room displays in shop updated
  

[h3]Systems[/h3]

• Pneumatic Launcher has been added
  
• Workshop submarine system has been added
  
• Small storage room implemented
  

[h3]Outposts[/h3]

• Outpost lamps now have a chance of being broken
  
• Lanterns can now be extinguished
  
• Outposts have a chance to spawn with flickering lights, can be repaired
  
• Enemies can no longer spawn in outpost starting room
  
• Broadcasting SOS when connected to an outpost now destroys the outpost and shuts the airlock
  

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

• Addressed a large number of bugs identified in the playtest
  
• Items no longer vanish when dropped in store
  
• Crashes as a result of attempting to load into a match should be drastically reduced
  
• Doors no longer shove players out of bounds
  
• Item duplication fixed
  
• Fixed leaks appearing in spots that can’t be reached
  
• Fixed various visual mismatches between host and guest players
  

Experiencing any issues in the demo? Let us know at https://forms.gle/Gt1a6LFnLo5Ra17g8

Enjoy the demo and share your feedback at https://forms.gle/qHXhsYjWtVKRMagE9 and chat with us on Discord at https://discord.gg/ZMC8uXcx4g

A huge thanks to players who offered feedback during the playtest!

-Darkwater Team

Greetings prospective divers,

Blackrock Industries has deemed it fit to transmit this informational guide to maximize the chances of success on your upcoming mission to Enceladus. Please read carefully, your survival depends on it.

[h3]What is included in the demo?[/h3]
The Next Fest Demo is fully playable solo or up to 4 players. This is a small slice of the overall game, and includes two full districts to explore. For the seasoned divers who participated in last week’s playtest, much of this content will be brand new, including the new Soviet district and manned torpedoes.

[h3]Demo Availability[/h3]
The demo will be available for the full duration of Next Fest, and will conclude on March 3 @ 10AM PST. After this time you will no longer be able to access the demo.
[h3]
Language Support[/h3]
The demo is currently only available in English. We are however looking at additional localizations around the games launch later this year.

[h3]How to Report Bugs, Crashes, and Provide Feedback.[/h3]
Your experience and feedback is important - please consider filling out the relevant surveys! They will remain open until 1 week after Next Fest concludes.

• Bug Report Form
• Feedback Survey
• Darkwater Discord

[h3]How to start/join a game[/h3]

• If you Host a game, click 'Host a game' and then press 'Start'
  
• Give the room code to the people you want to join you
  
• Wait in the starting area until they have loaded in
  
• If you go through the sub door to start the game, players will not be able to join your game, so make sure you have everyone!
  
• Join a game: click 'Join a game'
  
• Enter the room code provided by your host
  
• Click 'Join'
  
• Wait to load in!
  

The game uses VOIP, so be sure to have your microphone connected for the best experience.

[h3]Default Controls[/h3]

• W/A/S/D - walk
  
• 1 - 6/MW - your inventory slots
  
• E (click or hold) - interact with items (repair, pick up, search)
  
• LMB - attack (ranged/melee)
  
• RMB - block
  
• R - reload gun
  
• G - drop inventory item
  
• M - toggle mute
  

[h3]Gameplay Tips[/h3]

• The Shop is where you can expand your sub, and buy new rooms or engines, and stock up on missiles or torpedoes.
  
• Outposts are prime spots for finding loot such as credits and health items. Beware, they might say they're "abandoned" but that's not always the case.
  
• Make sure to look for emails and communications, so you can piece together what is happening below the surface of Enceladus.
  

Your objective is to reach the end of the 2nd District, look for the purple arrow on the Navigation Terminal. Good luck!

[h3]Can I stream the demo or make videos?[/h3]
Yes - there are no content restrictions.

[h3]Now What?[/h3]
Play the demo, wishlist and follow us on Steam, and join the Discord!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/619540/Darkwater/

The first closed playtest has now concluded. Thank you to everyone who participated!

If you got a chance to try out the game, please consider filling out the player experience survey, as well as submitting any bugs you may have encountered using the bug report form. Your feedback is invaluable, and your suggestions will help us make Darkwater the best it can be when it releases later this year!

Missed out on the playtest or just can’t wait to hop back in? Well you won’t have to wait long - the next scheduled playtest will be a public demo as part of the upcoming Steam Next Fest. No registration required… this one is open to all!

[h3]Start: February 24 @ 10AM PST
End: March 3 @ 10AM PST[/h3]

The Next Fest Demo will include an entirely new district to explore, new sectors, more threats, and more we aren’t quite ready to spoil quite yet. So whether you got to experience the playtest or this is your first time diving in, there is something new for everyone!

Until then, make sure you wishlist and follow us on Steam so you don’t miss out on the demo drop next week.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/619540/Darkwater/

- Targon Studios