The whole reason I enjoyed playing Motherload so much was the risk/reward balance of needing to get back to the surface before your fuel/health ran out. Not needing gas to return to the surface really deflates my interest in this sequel (aside from the fact that I would need it to come out on the PC).
Okay, nevermind.. Last I'd heard about this game it wasn't out for the PC, and I didn't know about Hardcore mode. Now my only reason not to get it is it's not available standalone (as far as I know).
Random fact, the game design for Motherload is based around the theory of flow, its a psychological state that occurs when your skill level meets the given task to such a degree that you enter this mental state. It means that the player can only focus on the activity on hand and must drop all other active thought, like keeping track of time or listening to what someone else is saying. This game and others like it create mechanics with the goal of putting the player in this state. Think of the game "Flow" by "That Game Company"-- there is a reason it's named that. Anyway, this is why it's so hard to explain to someone else.
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"In this episode, our heroes create the strip "Subsurface.""
There's a link to the comic in question.