Barotrauma
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Barotrauma is a 2D multiplayer resource management game currently in development by Undertow Games and FakeFish. The game was released for free as a pre-alpha version on July 31, 2015, and has received regular updates since then. An Early Access commercial release was launched on June 5, 2019, on Steam. The game's source code can be found on GitHub.
Development
After the success of Joonas ("Regalis") Rikkonen's SCP - Containment Breach, he was encouraged to begin pursuing a career in game design and to start his own company, Undertow Games.[1] He would later begin working on an entirely new game which deviated greatly from his previous works. Barotrauma draws inspiration from several different sources. The resource management aspects of the game were inspired by Space Station 13, and may have intentionally given Regalis the idea to make the game two-dimensional rather than 3D. The horror aspects and underwater setting of the game were inspired by Pressure. Pressure is a game concept that originated from 4chan's video game board /v/. The game would've taken place in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean, inside a research lab. The lab would be attacked by underwater sea creatures, and it would be up to the player to try to escape the lab. Several developers have attempted to make an actual game based on this concept, but so far none have been completed. The idea of having Lovecraftian monsters be the main threat in the game most likely inspired the enemies in Barotrauma as well.[2] The game's art style is said to be inspired by Link-Dead, a 2D side-scrolling shooter which had also been in development for a while before being presumed dead.[3] The game's wiring mechanic was inspired by Minecraft's redstone mechanics and MechComp in Space Station 13.[2]
Plot
Barotrauma takes place several hundred years in the future, during an era where humanity is technologically advanced enough to achieve manned interplanetary space travel. The setting of the game is on Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons, which has become colonized during the space age. Due to the surface of the planet being too irradiated for survival, colonies and outposts have been established under the layer of ice covering the surface of the moon. Beneath the ice layer is a vast ocean, used as a transport network between colonies and as a source for natural resources. The ocean also allowed for the creation of transportation shafts that interconnect the colonies throughout the moon. The ocean itself is inhabited by a number of aquatic creatures, as well as naturally forming cave systems.
Controls
This is a list of the default controls. The keys can be customized in the options menu.
| Actions | Keys |
|---|---|
| Use | E |
| Movement | WASD |
| Sprint | L-SHIFT |
| Crouch | L-CONTROL |
| Select / Use Equipped Item | MOUSE1 (Left-Click) |
| Aim Equipped Item | MOUSE2 (Right-Click) |
| Creature Attack | R |
| Ragdoll Controlled Character | SPACE |
| Chat | T |
| Radio Chat | R |
| Push-to-Talk | V |
| Local Voice Chat | B |
| Grab | G |
| Health/Heal | H |
| AI Crew Orders | C |
| Command Interface | MOUSE3 (Middle-Click) |
| Next AI Character | Z |
| Previous AI Character | X |
| Info Tab | Tab |
| Toggle Inventory in Sub Editor | Q |
| Open the console | F3/Fn+F3 |
Objective
- See also: Maintenance
The primary objective in the Campaign game mode in Barotrauma is to maintain and build a submarine. This is done by hiring and controlling all crew members individually. Each crew member can be given a specific job; the job chosen affects which skills the character excels at and performs badly at, although the actual percentage is randomized within a set range. In addition, there are aquatic creatures—arguably the antagonists of the game—capable of damaging your submarine and killing your crew, both intentionally and by consequence of damaging the ship. Defending the submarine from these creatures and repairing damage they inflict before your vessel sinks could be considered the secondary objective. The game includes other game modes, with different goals or styles.
GUI
Inventory
A crew member's inventory consists of sixteen slots (medic uniforms have three extra slots). Six of those slots are for specific equipped gear, as indicated by the icons displayed on them—one slot each for an ID card, headset, headgear, innerwear, outerwear and toolbelt. The other ten slots house any unequipped items. An item can be equipped by double-clicking on its icon, clicking on the small bar above its icon, or using the numbered hotkey assigned to its slot. The character can also carry items in their hands if they're not full of other equipment. Some items may not fit in the inventory slots due to their size; for example, storage containers can only be carried in hand, crates require both hands to carry, and the diving suit cannot be carried, only worn in the suit slot.
Store
Main article: Store
In the Campaign game mode, the store allows the player to purchase items, ammunition, electrical components, new crew members, and certain installations. The supplies are purchased using credits, a form of currency rewarded to the player for successfully completing a task in the Quest game mode. In the Multiplayer game mode, however, you can't purchase new crew members.
Wiring Interface
In order for any installation in the submarine to work correctly, it needs to be wired. To enter the wiring system in-game, all you need is a screwdriver. With the installation highlighted, press E. You will be able to modify the wiring. (It can be disabled in server configurations or inside the sub editor.) While examining the wiring system, you can remove wires by simply clicking and arresting them out of the socket, but it won't remove the wire completely. To remove it completely you have to unplug it from both sockets and drag it to your inventory or outside of the wiring system UI. If you just remove one side of the wire, it will disable function as expected, but it will leave a wire bouncing, creating sparks that generate sound, which can be seen or heard by any player. To add a new wire to the installation, you must be holding one. It should appear automatically in the UI, then you just drag it to the desired sockets. Adding it in-game doesn't look fancy, but that will change in a future update. Wiring in the sub editor its similar to wiring in-game, although you have control over the shape of the wires.
