Cut Content (Subnautica)

This page serves to chronicle any significant content that was cut from the final version of Subnautica. It features multiple cut tools, base structures, creatures, and items. All content is either unused and spawnable or removed.

Alien Data Terminal (Unused Variant)
An unused version of the Alien Data Terminal, albeit a more cyan hue. Where this would have been located is unknown, although it can be assumed that it would have functioned identically to the Orange and Green Terminals.

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Red Tablet
The Red Tablet or Red Precursor Key is an unused Alien Tablet that was going to presumably deactivate forcefields.

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White Tablet
The White Tablet or White Precursor Key is an unused Alien Tablet that was previously intended to unlock the Alien Thermal Plant. The white tablet was a 4 (2x2) slot item, rather than a 1 slot item like all the other keys. If one summons precursor keys in the developer menu, they will get a White Tablet and a Red Tablet.

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Ion Cube Matrix
An Ion Cube Matrix is a piece of technology that was originally planned to be used in the construction of the Neptune Escape Rocket. However, it was replaced with Ion Power Cells.

An Ion Cube Matrix would be crafted with five Ion Cubes.

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Twisty Bridges
The Twisty Bridges was a biome originally planned to be found in Subnautica. Development started as early as prior to the first early access release. Although some flora was made for the the biome, it was left unfinished and eventually was cut from the game. The biome was considered possible post 1.0 or expansion content, but was instead included in Subnautica: Below Zero.

Arctic
The Arctic biome was never actually implemented into the game, but was labeled and even put onto the maps found in the game's folder during early development. The biome stayed through development for a long time before it was eventually replaced and scrapped. The biome likely inspired Subnautica: Below Zero's location.

Entity Gallery
The entity gallery was a series of textureless, white boxes that could be spawned by typing "entgal" into the console. On top of each box an entity from the world of Subnautica could be found. Of the various things found here, the models of the scrapped "Sandworm" and "Grab Crab" creatures were perhaps the most notable.

The entity gallery's removal may have been due to the multiple occasions in which Precursor objects were mistakenly added to the gallery; This resulted in Precursor objects and bases being revealed to the public long before they were intended to be. The most well known example of this was the "Skittles Update" in which many of the games textures were converted to multicolored squares, this was because the game had gone over the limit of textures by the accidental addition of the Quarantine Enforcement Platform model and several other Precursor props to the gallery.

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Brain Coral Small
These cut Brain Coral Small appear to have been a relative to the Brain Coral added in game. They likely would have been smaller variants, possibly providing lesser amounts of oxygen.

Dead Brain Coral
Dead Brain Coral was an unused type of Brain Coral from older versions. The coral would display much whiter tones, similar to dead coral found in Earth's oceans. The coral will no longer produce oxygen.

Reefback Coral 01
The Reefback Coral 01 is an unused type of Reefback Leviathan Coral set to appear on its back. It is unknown why this coral remains unused, but it is fully modeled and textured.

Current Generator


The Current Generator was a deployable crafted using the Fabricator. The Current Generator took up four slots in the player's Inventory, that meant the player could carry 12 of them if their inventory was cleared first. The Current Generator used no power and could be left on all the time.

Once the device was deployed and activated, it would produce a column-shaped hydro-current from an emitter on its front. This stream could push small and large objects alike, including Lifepod 5 and the Reefback. However the Seamoth and Cyclops were not affected by the Current Generator.

The Current Generator has been scrapped and is no longer available in the game. This is possibly because it would have created lag and/or loading problems.

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Lithium Ion Battery
The Lithium Ion Battery was an upgrade to the Battery that was crafted at the Modification Station. The Lithium Ion Battery held twice as much energy as the Battery. The Lithium Ion Battery can now only be crafted in Creative Mode. A new battery, the Ion Battery, replaced this one. It uses an Ion Cube instead of Lithium.

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Nanowires
Nanowires were a nano-scale Electronic item crafted from Mercury Ore (another cut item) that was intended for quantum devices and sensors.

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Thermometer
The Thermometer was a piece of equipment that allowed the player to see the temperature at their current location. It was removed because it was hard to implement into the latest HUD, and was rarely used during gameplay, which rendered it not worth keeping. Its removal was made more apparent by the addition of built in thermometers on vehicle HUDs (Seamoth, Prawn Suit , and Cyclops). Despite being removed the blueprint can still be found in the PDA.

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Bloom Plankton
Bloom Plankton are a small fauna species that were never implemented in the game, but can be spawned with "spawn bloom". Bloom Plankton is found only in groups and usually invisible, only becoming visible when they are "charged" with light. Their colour can be altered by shining different types of light onto them. Shining a Flashlight into a group of Bloom Plankton will cause them to glow bright white in colour; if a flare is thrown near a group of Bloom Plankton they will glow red in color, this color will be retained for a few moments before they become invisible again.

When charged, they can become a light source and will light up their surroundings. This could be used to the Player's advantage to navigate in dark areas. When charged with light, Bloom Plankton will constantly shift and move amongst each other. Bloom Plankton will swarm around light sources and stay there, it is unknown if this interaction with light benefits them.

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Bullet Fish
References to a Bullet Fish have been found in the game files. Its behavior is quite similar to that of a Crashfish. The Bullet Fish would hide in a hole, waiting for the player to come in range. It would then quickly shoot out of the hole and begin to chase the player. If the fish manages to get close enough to the player, it would take 10 seconds worth of their oxygen. The fish would then swim back into the hole. The creature never received a final model and was eventually cut from the game.

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Large Bird
This unnamed bird was dubbed the Large Bird by many. This bird was featured in the Subnautica Early Access Trailer and is seen flying along with a flock of Skyrays. However, even though the bird had a completed model, it was never put into the game. The Large Bird has been hinted at being featured in Subnautica: Below Zero.

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Rock Puncher
The Rock Puncher was one of the most developed cut creatures. It had a complete model, working animations, and worked in game. However, it was never added and was eventually cut entirely. The Rock Puncher was to originally appear as a creature that would punch into rocks and terrain using its large hands. It has six legs, and could walk in all directions. The Rockgrub was originally referenced as a Rock Puncher Larva, then Rock Puncher Food, before finally resting on Rockgrub. The Rock Puncher was later reused for Below Zero

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Sand Worm
The Sand Worm was a scrapped creature. Although unfinished, the intention of this creature was to have it burrow into a hole similar to that of a Tree Leech, and surprise the player, or any fauna that came near it in a similar fashion to the Reaper Leviathan and Crabsnake attacks.

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Slime
Found in the game's files a reference for some kind of Slime. No information is known on this creature aside from the fact its ID exists. It can only be spawned as an item. There is no official model or texture for this creature.

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Mohawk
The Mohawk was a cut plant planned to be part of the cut Twisty Bridges biome. These plants featured a curved shape, lined with fibers. These plants later appeared in the Twisty Bridges biome in Subnautica: Below Zero.

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Plant Middle 11
Plant Middle 11 is an cut plant that appears to be a collection of different blades, similar to Grass. These plants were reskinned and implemented into Subnautica: Below Zero.

Unnamed Flora
This Unnamed Flora appears to be a Bioluminescent plant. It is made up of multiple fibers stretching upward, with tips that seem to glow a bright white.

Terrain Generation
In Subnautica's early development, Terrain Generation was a planned feature. It would have worked by developing tile sets to randomly generate a certain biome. Using the Voxel Terrain system, these tile sets would have meshed together into a world that would be explorable. It is currently known that there was a Lava Zone tile set, a Safe Shallows tile set, a Kelp Forest tile set , a Mushroom Forest tile set, and a Bulb Zone tile set.

Weather
One of the most highly requested features all throughout development, Weather was a system that was planned but never developed fully. The timing and different technical aspects of what weather would have been are unknown. It is confirmed that there were at minimum two main weather conditions and some wind effects, as heard in the sound files which can be played below.

Weather was eventually recycled for Subnautica: Below Zero, which has intense lightning storms, rain storms, and snow.

Amino Acid
Amino Acid was an unimplemented raw material. It was used to create Graphene.

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Battery Acid
Battery Acid was a craftable substance likely used while crafting Batteries. Not much else is known on this substance.

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Calcium
Calcium was a craftable resource that was used in the production of bleach and was made from Coral Tube Samples. It has now been replaced by Salt Deposits in the recipe for bleach.

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Carbon
Carbon was a substance that changed a few times before it eventually was cut. First, it was crafted by refining either plant matter or Calcite. In later development, this recipe was changed to require three Acid Mushrooms before it was eventually cut. It was primarily used to craft Batteries.

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Compost Creepvine
Compost Creepvine was a special type of Creepvine substance that

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Emery
Emery was a material planned to be found in Subnautica. Not much is known about it other than the fact that it was used to craft the Survival Knife.

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Ethanol
Acting as Vehicle Fuel, Ethanol was intended to be used in the crafting of Ethylene and the powering of different Vehicles. It was to be made at a Composter from decaying/decomposing plant matter.

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Ethylene
Not much is known about Ethylene aside from the fact it was used to stimulate and ripen fruit, cause flowers to bloom, and allowed leaves to shed.

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Flint
Flint was a raw material used for crafting Flares. It was generally found in the Kelp Forest and Grassy Plateaus.

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Graphene
Graphene was a material that was crafted at the Fabricator.

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Hydrogen
Hydrogen was a gas-like substance used in crafting. To craft three Flares, Hydrogen was used. To obtain Hydrogen, an Electrolizer would have been used. Calcium would produce hydrogen when placed in water.

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Lodestone
(Description)

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Magnesium
Magnesium was a material crafted using three Salt Deposits in the Fabricator. Magnesium was only used in two crafting recipes, that of the Repair Tool and Flare. As it was only used in a few recipes it was rendered useless and was removed.

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Membrane
Membrane was a material obtained from Membrain Trees. It was originally planned to be used in the crafting of water, but eventually was removed and replaced by the Bladderfish in its sole recipe.

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Mercury Crystal
Mercury Crystal was a raw material planned to be used in crafting. It was a rare substance used in thermometers, barometers, manometers, sphygmomanometers, float valves, mercury switches, mercury relays, and fluorescent lamps. This ore was intended to be found at the border of Volcanic and Crystal biomes.

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Mercury Ore
Mercury Ore was an uncommon material found in various biomes that was used solely to craft the Cyclops Fire Suppression System before being replaced by Crystalline Sulfur. It then remained in game until the full release, when it was finally cut. Mercury Ore spawned in the following biomes:
 * Crag Field
 * Deep Grand Reef
 * Grand Reef
 * Sea Treader's Path
 * Sea Treader's Tunnel Caves
 * Sparse Reef

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Rutile
Rutile was a natural resource that existed in the early builds of Subnautica. it did not spawn naturally and had to be spawned in through console commands. It is no longer in game.

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Sand
Before terraforming was removed, you could dig Sand in the environment. It would be used to create Glass and Silicone. It was the only substance that could be dug without the use of a Terraformer. Before the dig feature was removed, the sand item was, so you could no longer obtain it.

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Uranium
Uranium was an item belonging to the Advanced Materials category that was removed in the Voice of the Deep update. It was crafted using three Uraninite Crystals, and was used in the crafting of Reactor Rods and several Electronic items. Uranium was removed to simplify the Reactor Rod recipe.

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Zinc
In early builds, Zinc could be obtained from Limestone Outcrops and Stalagmites. It was primarily used for crafting batteries.

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Base Cyclops Reinforcement Module


The Base Cyclops Reinforcement Module was an Upgrade Module for the Cyclops. When used to upgrade the Cyclops, it added 1600 meters to both the safe depth and the crush depth. This item was removed when the new, non-stacking upgrade system was introduced. Works in game but has no icon.

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Chelonian Hull Reinforcement Module


The Chelonian Hull Reinforcement Module was an Upgrade Module for the Cyclops. When used to upgrade the Cyclops, it added 2800 meters to both the safe depth and the crush depth. The Chelonian Hull Reinforcement Module was the strongest reinforcement module. To create the module, blueprints from the Specimen Analyzer were required as Reefback DNA was part of the recipe. This item was removed when the new, non-stacking upgrade system was introduced, along with the removal of DNA samples. Works in game but has no icon.

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Cyclops Pressure Compensator
The Cyclops Pressure Compensator was an Upgrade Module for the Cyclops. When put into the Cyclops upgrade panel, it added 900 meters to both the safe and crush depth. Works in game but has no icon.

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Basalt Outcrop
Basalt Outcrops were a common outcrop type that spawned in many biomes, and looked very similar to the Shale Outcrop. They dropped Gold, Diamond, and Uraninite Crystals. They received a final model and why they were removed is not fully known. Basalt Outcrops spawned in the following biomes:
 * Blood Kelp Caves
 * Blood Kelp Zone
 * Bulb Zone
 * Bulb Zone Caves
 * Crag Field
 * Deep Grand Reef
 * Grand Reef
 * Lava Geyser
 * Mountain Island
 * Mountains Caves
 * Mushroom Forest
 * Sea Treader's Path
 * Sea Treader's Tunnel Caves
 * Underwater Islands

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Calcite
Calcite acted as both an outcrop and a material. It was broken to drop Calcium, but also would allow harvesting of the chunks for other use. These uses included Cements, Fertilizers, Metals, Glass, Rubber, and Paint.

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Dolomite
Dolomite was a harder and denser type of outcrop. It would drop Copper Ore when broken. It also had the possibility of giving Gasses or Oil.

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Obsidian Outcrop
Obsidian Outcrops were Harvesting Nodes found in the Lava Zones, they dropped only Diamond and never received a final model. They spawned in the following biomes:
 * Inactive Lava Zone
 * Inactive Lava Zone Corridor
 * Lava Castle
 * Lava Lakes

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Rocks
Rocks were small outcrops that spawned in the Mushroom Forest. They usually dropped Magnesium, although there was a small chance to drop Copper Ore.

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Minimap
Featured on old development documentation, the Minimap was a planned feature for the game. This would have worked by tracking areas you had been and causing them to appear on the Minimap as mapped terrain. This feature appears to have been cut long before any playable version of the game was finished, as it is never seen once.

Scanning System (Old)
The Scanning System in older documentation detailed some differences. Upon looking directly at an object for multiple seconds, a short description of the item would appear on the HUD. These messages would only appear if they had not been said in the last ten message during the current play session.

If objects were scanned with a Scanner, they would both display their short description no matter how long since it had been seen, as well as unlock a optional longer version. These were likely similar to the Databank entries in the game currently.

Signals
Even though the are still in the game, Signals have gone through many changes. The most prominent was a move from items to being on their own PDA page. Before they had a custom tab (which is between the Inventory and Log tabs) they were items you could find in chests and containers, or were given when a radio signal was obtained.

In early development, Signals were simply found in either chests or containers, and they usually lead to simple places. Some lead to caves, others to certain locations. Lifepod 5 was the only one that was on at all times and needed no object to work. These Pings would be equipped either by holding them in your hand or placing them in the Chip Slots.

During early development, these Pings appeared as simple white blips that would expand and fade. There was no way to edit them at all, and they would simply give a location. Before they were given an icon, they appeared in the world as placeholder white "X" markers. They were eventually given a final design image before being cut and changed into the item-less system.

Below is a compilation of all cut Signal Locations from the game. Some locations were cut from the game entirely, while others remained but lost any pings to them.

Drill
The Drill was planned to be an item in Subnautica. Little is known about the drill and it was scrapped in early development. However, its main purpose would probably have been drilling outcrops or drilling in the ground. The icon has since been removed and it no longer has a use.

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Hardened Blade
The Hardened Blade was an upgraded version of the Survival Knife. It was crafted with the Modification Station. Its damage output is 30 health. Before durability was removed, it had double the durability of the Survival Knife. It was removed since it was deemed worthless when durability was removed. Despite being removed, it is still mentioned in the "Degasi Voice Log #8 - Risk Taking."

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Electrolizer
The Electrolizer was a tool that would have converted Water into Hydrogen and Oxygen. When it was used, it would spark and produce evaporation effects. If the tool was use in a submarine, it would add more Oxygen to the sub as it was produced and likely lower the water level slightly (if flooding).

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Powerglide


The Powerglide was an upgrade for the Seaglide. it was 3x the speed of the Seaglide and had a turbo boost that drastically increased its speed. The Powerglide's model was identical to that of the Seaglide's. It was cut early in development due to the player glitching into the ground. It is no longer spawnable, thought the ID remains.

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Terraformer


The Terraformer was a tool that allowed the player to remove material from one place in the world and deposit it elsewhere. A counter showed the current amount of material held by the device.

The Terraformer was removed due to performance issues because of the way the Terraformer works. The Terraformer model may later be used for an unknown purpose in later updates, as the developers thought the model was "too cool". If the Terraformer is spawned in more current versions, the description is "RIP terraformer" referring to the development team's disappointment in having to remove it. The item texture in the inventory has also been deleted and changed to the ? icon. Although it is still functional when spawned in, all changes made to the terrain using the Terraformer will be reset upon reloading the world.

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Transfuser
The Transfuser was a Tool intended to sample DNA from life forms and then use this DNA in the Centrifuge to create consumable items that would alter the player's or other creatures' attributes. The model was reused for Subnautica: Below Zero's Bioscanner. One can still find it in the creative blueprints.

The Transfuser's description was changed to: congrats translators, we made a game!

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Accumulator
The Accumulator was a machine meant to store power for Seabases. It is unknown why it was cut.

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Bioreactor (Old)
The old Bioreactor was built outside of a base and could only be powered using Fungal Samples and Creepvine Samples.

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Botanical Analysis Machine
The Botanical Analysis Machine was a machine meant to study Flora. It was cut when the Scanner was added. It was built with the Habitat Builder.

Centrifuge
The Centrifuge was meant to be used to turn DNA samples collected using the Transfuser into four transfuser serums. The Centrifuge was to be crafted with a Habitat Builder in a base. It can still be spawned in game, but has no collision and is nonfunctional.

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Fragment Analyzer


The Fragment Analyzer was a Placeable Item that was used to decode Fragments into Blueprints. Only one fragment was needed to research a blueprint; however, the Fragment Analyzer could research four fragments at a time. The progress of analysis was displayed when the player looked at the Fragment Analyzer. At one point a Fragment Analyzer was pre-installed inside the Lifepod. The functionality of the Fragment Analyzer was given to the Scanner and the fragment system was reworked.

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Nuclear Reactor (Old)
The old Nuclear Reactor was built outside of the Seabase and had to be supplied with raw Uraninite to function.

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Observatory (Old)
The Old Observatory was a small primitive glass box that could be constructed with the Mobile Vehicle Bay. Unlike the newer Observatory it was not a Seabase module and was instead freestanding. It had two entrances and was primarily used to observe Fauna and the environment. The only way to move it was to use Floaters.

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Power Generator


The Power Generator was a Placeable Item that generated Power for Seabases using Power Cells. The Power Generator had a capacity. In the starting of Subnautica it was the only method to give energy to Seabases. It was only a temporary power source, and was removed when it was essentially replaced by the Nuclear Reactor and Reactor Rods.

Specimen Analyzer
The Specimen Analyzer was a machine meant to study Eggs. It was removed when the Alien Containment and Scanner were added. Despite being removed, you can still see its model in Below zero's Research Base Zero. It can be spawned in game, but doesn't function and only holds small eggs.

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Aurora (Old)
The Aurora used to be a flat, 2D texture. This texture was based off the Aurora Concept Art, which featured a much sleeker design with a smaller bridge at the top and front-facing windows.

Later into development, specifically seen on August 18th, 2014, the Aurora changed to a different 2D image, a much more recent version of the Aurora model. It was in a unique position, similar to the original concepts, but using the newer model.

Kharaa Bacterium (Old)
Back during early story development, the Kharaa Bacterium looked much different. Instead of its green glow that is seen today, the older version took up a much more different approach. The cysts would have glowed bright orange and the cracks were more visible. This was likely changed to help match the design of Natural Selection Two's version of the Kharaa.

Intro (Old)
In earlier builds of the game, before the Lifepod 5 intro cutscene was added, the PDA originally would monologue the plot as an Intro. In these earlier versions of the game, the plot involved the Aurora being a Terraforming Ship. These ships would terraform other planets to allow for human habitation. On this mission, however, the Aurora was struck by an unknown energy pulse and was shot down, similar to the current in-game event. During these builds, no other story was given until it was replaced. This can be played below.



Cave Crawler Ending
The Cave Crawler Ending is the older version of the Neptune Escape Rocket Launch Sequence. It involved similar events, but cut some dialogue and ended off with an instant roll to credits. This ending was eventually edited into what we know today.