Submachine 4: The Lab
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Submachine 4: The Lab (or Sub4, stylized as Submachine 4: the Lab) is the fourth installment of the main Submachine series.
Plot
Submachine 4 is a direct continuation of Submachine 3. The player winds up on the roof of the Lab, after being indirectly rescued by Murtaugh from the loop. After receiving instructions from Mur (via the computer), the player begins to teleport around the subnet with the purpose of exploring different locations and solving puzzles. The player finds a number of notes left behind by previous Submachine explorers, each telling of its writer's fate and revealing plot details and puzzle clues.
After completing the game the player receives a message saying they have "passed all the tests flawlessly" and can now work at the Lab.
List of locations
Development
There had been talk about Submachine 4: The Lab since the release of Submachine 3: The Loop, but while the basic concept and return to regular point'n'click gameplay from the previous game was planned[3], development did not start immediately.[4] The game was already in development in late August of 2006 and when Submachine 0: Ancient Adventure was released as a part of a JayIsGames competition it was mistaken for Submachine 4 on multiple sites and Mateusz felt the need to clarify this on the Rewolucje.com forum, which was the official discussion forum hosted by the developer Mateusz Skutnik at the time.[5]
Soon after the competition, on the 5th of September 2006, Mateusz was hoping he could finish the game in November or December of the same year.[6] He also specified that he'd already figured out the story of the game and created some components, but had not started inputting them into a game engine yet, since he wanted to take a break after releasing Submachines 3 and 0 in such quick succession.[7]
The project got its official thread , on December 6th, 2006. In his announcement, Mateusz stated that he had "just started compiling the locations" and that "about 1/3 of puzzles are made, some are still in testing". He was hopeful for an early 2007 release date.[2]
By the 16th of December Mateusz had finished about half of the game and The Thumpmonks were working on the ambient music for the game. He was still expected to release the game by March 2007, but already said that "testing and polishing [the game] will take forever".[8]
On the 17th of January 2007, Mateusz announced that the game of 75% complete and about 60 rooms were completed. [9] On January 24th he even said he was making progress faster than expected and launch in mid-February could be possible.[10]
It turned out that Mateusz was a bit optimistic. On February 27th, Mateusz stated that the game was almost finished, with about a day's worth of work missing. However, the release date was still unsure, because the music for the game was not done yet.[11]
With the game almost done, Mateusz also started dropping hints and tidbits about the game including: mentioning an "int god"[11], that there was a knife in the game[12], that the game would mostly not happen within the titular Lab[13], that the game was about the size of Submachine 2: The Lighthouse[14] and even obliquely referred to the way you communicate with Murtaugh through a computer[15]
On the 5th of March 2007, Mateusz again commented on the state of the game. The game was 90% ready, but Thumpmonks weren't available since they were working on their first album and the music was the major issue at the moment.[16] Still, Mateusz did not want to change the artist for his game music.[17] He also reminded that there would be a further delay between him finishing the game and the publisher actually putting it up on their site.[16]
The final release date for the game turned out to be the 20th of April 2007, when it was officially put on the JayIsGames site.[1][2]
HD version
A high definition version of the game was released for sale on June 17, 2014 on mateuszskutnik.com. This version incorporates the float engine as well as improved graphics and a revised ending. The soundtrack is also included with the purchase of the game.
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Submachine 4: The Lab, 20 Apr 2007, JayisGames.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Forum post, Submachine4: the Lab, page 1, 1:57 pm 6 Dec 2006, Mateusz Skutnik.
- ↑ Forum post, Submachine: your ideas and general comments, page 1, 6:47 am 5 Aug 2006, Mateusz Skutnik.
- ↑ Forum post, Submachine: your ideas and general comments, page 1, 8:53 am 8 Aug 2006, Mateusz Skutnik.
- ↑ Forum post, Submachine0: the ancient adventure, page 1, 12:16 am 19 Aug 2006, Mateusz Skutnik.
- ↑ Archived News of the year 2006, 28 Dec 2006, Mateusz Skutnik.
- ↑ Forum post, Submachine: your ideas and general comments, page 1, 9:22 am 5 Sep 2006, Mateusz Skutnik.
- ↑ Forum post, Submachine4: the Lab, page 1, 10:09 pm 16 Dec 2006, Mateusz Skutnik.
- ↑ Forum post, Submachine4: the Lab, page 1, 3:13 pm 17 Jan 2007, Mateusz Skutnik.
- ↑ Forum post, Submachine4: the Lab, page 1, 3:29 pm 24 Jan 2007, Mateusz Skutnik.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Forum post, Submachine4: the Lab, page 2, 8:05 am 26 Feb 2007, Mateusz Skutnik.
- ↑ Forum post, Submachine4: the Lab, page 2, 9:33 am 1 Mar 2007, Mateusz Skutnik.
- ↑ Forum post, Submachine4: the Lab, page 2, 6:40 pm 1 Mar 2007, Mateusz Skutnik.
- ↑ Forum post, Submachine4: the Lab, page 2, 9:12 pm 1 Mar 2007, Mateusz Skutnik.
- ↑ Forum post, Submachine4: the Lab, page 3, 9:39 am 8 Mar 2007, Mateusz Skutnik.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Forum post, Submachine4: the Lab, page 3, 7:23 am 5 Mar 2007, Mateusz Skutnik.
- ↑ Forum post, Submachine4: the Lab, page 3, 7:31 am 6 Mar 2007, Mateusz Skutnik.
v · d · eSubmachine 4: The Lab Locations |
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Research base 001 - Second tomb 043 - Ancient section 104 - Statue 452 - Lighthouse digouts 462 - Basement section 529 - Brick room 551 - Annex 596 - Looping traps 690 - Lucky room 728 - Tomb trap 770 - Ship 800 |
Submachine series | |
---|---|
Main series | 1: The Basement • 2: The Lighthouse • 3: The Loop • 4: The Lab • 5: The Root 6: The Edge • 7: The Core • 8: The Plan • 9: The Temple • 10: The Exit |
Side series | Ancient Adventure • Future Loop Foundation • FLF • 32 Chambers • Submachine Universe • The Engine • The Explorers |
Other games | iSubmachine • Sketch of Submachine 2 • Card Game |