Being the only survivor of a spaceship crash on an oceanic planet is not easy.
The living conditions are entirely different than on Earth, and getting resources is more challenging than one may think. To be truthful, everyone could use some help, and here’s when console commands come in handy. Here’s everything you need to know about them in Subnautica!
Understanding Console Commands
Console commands help players adjust their experience and let playing Subnatuica be an even better experience. Those tools can be used for the player’s enjoyment, debug, or view things that have been partially implemented.
To enable console commands you have to press the “`” or “enter” and “shift” keys on your keyboard at the same time and an input box will open. After you type in the command you want, press “enter”. If you want to check console commands you’ve already typed in you can use the up key on your keyboard. To open the input box on Xbox One you press “LB”, “A”, and “RB”, whereas on Playstation 4 “L1”, “X”, and “R1” will open the input box.
Popular Console Commands and Their Effects
There are many console commands for a variety of things. Some are more suitable for beginners who struggle at the beginning of their journey and others for experienced players who don’t want to bother doing something easy.
Some basic ones include:
[name] – displays the Spawn ID of everything in the game that needs to be used in conjunction with other commands to perform anything,
[#] – for the player’s chosen value,
[x], [y], [z] – stand for the coordinates, [x] for east and west, [y] for altitude, and [z] for north and south.
There are also console commands that are useful for both new and experienced players, for example:
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| oxygen | gives you unlimited oxygen when underwater, but if you’re already at oxygen level 0 then you’ll die anyway |
| item name amount | it spawns the chosen item into your inventory |
| spawn name amount | it spawns the chosen creature in front of the player |
| nodamage | gives you unlimited health |
| nodamage | gives you unlimited health |
| nocost | makes resources unrequired |
| fastbuild | allows for fast building |
| unlockall | unlocks all the blueprints |
| day | sets the time to daytime |
| night | sets the time to nighttime |
| invisible | it makes you invisible to all creatures |
| creative | opens the creative mode, it’s for unrestricted exploration and build. In this mode, the player won’t die so worrying about health, thirst, oxygen or hunger is off the table. Energy is not needed for vehicles or seabases to function or sustain damage. Crafting does not require materials or blueprints. |
| survival | opens the survival mode, the thirst, oxygen, hunger, and health are constantly depleting so the player must manage it accordingly. After every respawn some items are removed from the player’s inventory. |
| freedom | opens the freedom mode, it’s very similar to survival mode, but there’s no thirst or hunger |
| hardcore | opens the hardcore mode, each depleting feature is removed, blueprints are opened, and the player can craft their life away without any resources needed. Also, it provided a stasis rifle, a mobile vehicle bay, submersibles, a seaglide, and a propulsion cannon. All of them don’t need any resources and the depth of the ocean doesn’t affect them. |
Tips for Using Console Commands Effectively
To use console commands effectively is to understand how they work, how to use them, and when to use them. It’s pointless to use many console commands at the same time because they might lag the game or not work.
For some console commands, you need more gaming experience or at least to know Subnautica more than a new player.
If you are using console commands that need to be re-entered to go back to normal it’s worth doing when the command is no longer useful.
Check the list of entered console commands as you might have forgotten about some of them and they neither need to be turned off or they can be useful in the future and it’s worth writing them down.
Potential Risks and Considerations
If you decide to use console commands, you should remember that it disables achievements. Always save your game before you use console commands as they may impair your progress. It may also impair your experience.
Every game is designed to be played by the player without console commands so it might be a good idea to experience the first play without any external help. In the gaming world, some people might even consider using console commands as cheating so be ready to receive some critique when openly discussing this topic. Too many console commands can also cause lag or crash your game.
Advanced Commands for Experienced Players
Console commands are great for new players, but it doesn’t mean they can’t be helpful for experienced players as some console commands require to know the game. Some of them include:
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| bobthebuilder | it enables fastgrow, nocost, fastbuild, unlock all, radiation, fasthatch, and it adds scanner, survival knife, repair tool, and habitat builder to your inventory |
| daynightspeed [#] | it lets the player set the cycle speed of day and night, for example, daynightspeed 2 would make the cycle twice as fast |
| debugrendermode [mode/#] | it cycles through the 11 debug render layers: LogLut, PreGradingLog, AmbientOcclusion, None, Depth, MotionVectors, Normals, Culling, UserLut, EyeAdaption, FocusPlane. Instead of names, you can use numbers from 1 to 11 |
| freecam | lets the player leave their character and explore the map freely, including flying through objects. To go back to your character you re-enter the command. But while using this console command you can’t open your inventory or the menu, and the movements are very sensitive |
| madloot | spawns habitat builder, survival knife, 10x titanium, 5x creepvine sample, 10x glass, 4x computer chip, and 3x battery |
| ency [name] | opens a particular database record, the name of the entry requires no space and exact spelling. For example, “ency crabsnake” will open the crabsnake entry. What “ency all” does is it gives the player access to all of the entries, even the ones that were cut from the game |
| instagib | it gives the player the power to kill all killable creatures with only one hit, but the player will die immediately after damage hits the character, unless, the invisible console commode is in use |
There are also a few console commands related to events, for example:
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| restoreship | restores the Aurora to its pre-destroyed state and reactivates the radiation around it |
| countdownship | initiates the countdown for the drive core explosive event of the Aurora |
| precursorgunaim | shows the cutscene where the Sunbeam is shot down by the Quarantine Enforcement Platform, |
| explodeship | sets off the drive core explosion event of the Aurora |
| infectionreveal | shows the animation of the player who realizes the character is infected with the Kharaa Bacterium (it advances the player’s stage infection to 4) |
| forcerocketready | lets the player launch the Neptune Escape Rocket without having to disable the Quarantine Enforcement Platform |
| playsunbeamfx | shows just the second part of the cutscene where the Sunbeam is shot down by Quarantine Enforcement Platform |
| startsunbeamstoryevent | begins the Sunbeam story event |
| sunbeamcountdownstart | starts the timer for the Sunbeam story event |
Subnautica is an engaging game with beautiful scenarios and interesting plot. Exploring the ocean is a journey only a few can experience in real life so the game is a great alternative. Console commands can significantly help in the game as they are quite developed and detailed.