The art hangs together and definetly feels more submarine than space.

The game idea is very interesting, but we dont know much about the game, except it looks like it operates in 3d full 6dof. Homeworld is probably the best open 3d rts, so learn from it.

The deep black backdrop is brooding and sinister, but such a dark palette is challenging for players. Just like we prefer sun to grey skies, we prefer bright color schemes. A dark scheme can set a dramatic mood for a short time, but over long play hours can be tiring. (EVE online is one of the few dark games with long play hours).

Overall, im intrigued and want to know more..

I never considered 3D RTS set in oceans before - that's a brilliant decision that I'm surprised I haven't already seen done.

Thanks for the comments!

The game is a mix of shooter and RTS. Kind of Descent meets Battlezone meets Homeworld. DaveSF, you are correct its full 6DOF, and Homeworld is a heavy influence.

The color palette doesnt have that much black, I just liked the look of it for the art shots. You can see some actual gameplay of it here on twitch or our web site fathomthegame.com

Great art !

Sub-marine games were always a welcome variety to the sci-fi space genre. For one, it is a plane with height vs open space. This helps to imagine the game space, which is incredible important in a RTS game. An ocean is a perfect way to create a moody and dark, yet luminously world

Hopefully the designs come across as more submarine and not so much spaceship

Water is not void, therefor you should always think about the behavior/effect of water. Use torpedos instead of missles. Are lasers possible ? Mines are a good alternative ? Display the drive correctly. How do sub-marience steer ?

The first battle scene feels like a mix of space and sub-mariene. The small fighter are just too fast and agile, the light trail is misleading. The larger sub is much better.

Nevertheless, really good work !

I've tried to give most of the subs some mass and retain some sort for aerodynamics. Its heavy scifi so I have some room for the "this would be cool" factor, but visually I try to keep it grounded in reality and use things that make you think naval vessels. Most units use props for propulsion, the others use some sort of thrusters (like a cruise ship). Other things like conning towers, marker lights, hull patterns and bubbles help sell the illusion. Theres always a bit of suspension of belief you can use, you just have find that line.

The weapons are class based, a loose rock/paper/scissors setup. There are piercing weapons (think super powered fully automatic spearguns), torpedos and beams. Each of these are specifically suited to destroying units, cap ships or structures respectively. I think beams would work underwater with enough wattage. Most commercial ROVs use them for measuring things underwater now.

As I said before, the game is a mix of shooter and RTS. You pilot your Deep Submersible Vehicle (DSV) for the entire game (first or third person), theres no overview like a traditional RTS. You and your opponents (up to 4 players) spawn from your Command Rig. The objective is to keep it from being destroyed. There are NPC enemies that spawn from certain locations on each map, as you destroy these and any enemy units your Collector will travel to that location and gather the scrap automatically. This is one of the ways you collect resource points/money to build more units/upgrades. There are also resource deposits around the map that you can drop a beacon on to call down an Extractor.

FATHOM relies on a "beacon" mechanic most structures. You purchase the beacon from your Command Rig or other structure, once its completed it will drop out of the structure for you to pick up. You fly this to wherever you want to place the structure and drop the beacon. The beacon will fire a beam to the surface and shortly after the structure will drop down to the beacons location. This makes for some interesting games.... for example you can drop in a cap ship facility near a resource point or your opponents base and cut the travel time down, or plant a mine field over their capital ship factory. There are surface relayed weapons/ordinance that work the same way. You can beacon in minefields, depth charges and a beam weapons at any depth you can reach.

Like most RTS games, you acquire money to make upgrades and purchase better units. There are 4 classes of DSVs, several capital ships, 3 weapon buoys, 2 classes of strike craft, etc. All of this is complete and in the game at this point.

Thanks for the feedback, keep it coming!

The graphics style really makes this game, amazing depth.

I love space games of all kinds. From personal experience I can say that a cluttered screen full of enemies and debris is confusing, except in this game.

In the water the objects help establish scale, maybe it's because there are no stars or planets in the background to confuse the senses, I don't really know.

The assets work well with the fast paced combat, not too over complex and easy to understand.

It looks like a very well made shooter with a interesting setting, hoping to play it soon.

Contemplating a companion comic book prior to game release....

The action visuals look great.

Id like to see more terran navigation, and less "open water" action.

Why? Games are about choices. Aiming is a skill not a choice. the thing that gives fps shooters interesting choices is map navigation. When you give them open water, map nav goes away, and there are fewer choices - i.e. less game.

I personally dont play games with aiming, as i find it too boring. I like rts, tbs, mmo, or puzzle.. Anything without aiming basically. Though i did like bz2

There is terrain and obstacles in the game but one of the perks of being underwater is that you can move in 3D space. We have positioned resources and players at different depths, and there are some assets on the sea floor that you will want to use. There is aiming definitely involved in the shooter aspect of the game, but there are also many, many choices to be made on the RTS side.