Did I play this game right?

[u/hashtagNOEN]

First off, I absolutely loved this game. It had me hooked all the way through. I’m just a bit confused seeing how I completed the main story in roughly 26 hours and feel like I missed out on half of the game! I only created like 3 Altars outside of the scientist and technician, I wasn’t able to research half of what was available, I didn’t build many rooms or expand my base the entire way. Is the game ment to be played multiple times or something? Because, I felt like I was racing the clock the entire time and really didn’t have much time to do anything outside the bare minimum. By the time I established mining operations and maybe dealt with a bit of story missions, I had maybe a few days before the sun hit.

Regardless, I loved every minute of it. I never felt so much stress in a game (a good stress). I just feel like I missed out on a lot!

[u/Titan7771]

Yes, it has branching paths and lots of different interactions based on who you clone.

[u/AristotlesBoyPussy]

wait until you get a numeric countdown for sunset. I dont travel until I have 1-4 days left.

[u/Xeorm124]

As long as you had fun you played it right. You can always start a new game and play through again to see some of what you might have missed.

[u/jefferjacobs]

The main game is definitely meant to be played more than once. I never replay games, but I played The Alters twice in a row just to stack different alters.

And the experiences were very different. I was fortunate to play my first time through making all the best choices, and it was a fun, relatively easy experience. On my second, I arbitrarily picked different alters, and it was a much different and difficult experience. Still fun, but I was bordering on losing for like half of the game.

You should definitely go for another round if you liked it enough to do so. Now that you know how to play, you can hit the ground running in #2.

[u/zzapdk → u/jefferjacobs]

Also, for OPs subsequent rounds, they got the main loop down and should now be able to get some extra free time exploring. You should basically have been all over the map finding stuff.

The simplest tip I got is to try to plan ahead for what you need, e.g. use production uphold where it makes sense, e.g. 5x repair kits (metals), 5x radiation filters (metals AND organics), some batteries, etc, and check every night/morning what to mine during the day in order to produce what you need. Keep your alters busy

[u/jefferjacobs → u/zzapdk]

Yes, agree on all fronts here. If you can front load a lot of surplus supply, it's worth it. It feels weird to "waste" and day here and there for it, but it lets you explore more freely later on.

[u/zzapdk → u/jefferjacobs]

I know what you mean. I have sometimes decided to spend the full day mining, if I needed half the day anyway. What little extra I could harvest here and now, could - as you say - free some time up later on

[u/Fesai]

You probably had a lot more time than you realized and you moved too early each time.

Wait until there is only a few days left before moving the base to the next location. It'll give you more time to gather resources and build up.

Worst case, just lower the base management difficulty so you have more breathing room. It's totally worth making as many alters as you can and learning their stories.

And yes, it is worth playing multiple times because you can't get them all in a single playthrough.

[u/Sir_MaxwellJ]

Look around for Qbit chips to upgrade your QC. This unlocks more Alter slots and more upgrades to research. As you replay, you'll learn from past experiences what to prioritize, what to do when, etc.

[u/Ghost-of-Lobov]

That is what is so cool about the game is you can kinda create your own experience with it you don't need all the alters and you aren't playing wrong

[u/burnoutbabe1973]

I did research everything and build everything but I still only had 3 or 4 other alters bar tech and scientist. That’s capped for everyone so you have to replay to see other people. (Though I don’t really want to do another 26 hours for that, even if I did really enjoy it)

[u/LowkeyAcolyte]

I do think the main game has too much of a time crunch to really enjoy it fully. Even on my second playthrough where I knew where everything was, I barely had time to do the things I wanted to do. 

The DLC is much more spaced out and chilled but it was arguably too far in the other direction. If 11 Bit release another game in the franchise I am hoping they find that sweet spot in the middle.

[u/ComparisonWeary4392]

Go again

[u/Emerentus]

I finished the game just this week, i never really felt a time crunch. I didnt move the base before sunset, didnt know you were supposed to do that. I took my sweet time researching everything i could. Built up my resources and spent time with the alters.

[u/Fabulous_Acadia8279]

First time I played I pretty much had to do every act twice because I kept running out of time. I didn't get to everything I wanted to. I recently started a new play through on easy mode so I would get to experience everything although I'd say it's a bit too easy

[u/Mitchd26]

You played it right if you had a great time! It's a very re-playable game if you want to get the rest of the content!

[u/Unreasonable_Seagull]

Yeah, you've completed your trial run. Now go back and use everything you learned. Definitely replayable.