No Man's Sky

[keg in kc]

Been hyper-psyched for this one for a while. First game I've preordered since Destiny, comes out in June on PC and PS4. IGN's featuring it this month.

[hometeam]

Originally Posted by keg in kc

I haven't watched anything related to the mythology/motivation of the game. ie the races, history, languages, atlas, etc. But I have watched a lot of random gameplay. Pretty clear to me I'll play for a long time whether or not it's any deeper than explore and survive (which it may not be...), simply because I dig the gameplay.

I think it'll be fun to play a game without a constant gear grind (although I'll always want to upgrade), without any competitive side, without any guides to follow saying 'you must do this and this and this.' The only real motivation to play being whatever new thing I'll find over the next hill, on the next world, in the next system, in the next galaxy.

Pretty sure the game is a constant resource/upgrade cycle type grind.

[eDave]

Originally Posted by keg in kc

I haven't watched anything related to the mythology/motivation of the game. ie the races, history, languages, atlas, etc. But I have watched a lot of random gameplay. Pretty clear to me I'll play for a long time whether or not it's any deeper than explore and survive (which it may not be...), simply because I dig the gameplay.

I think it'll be fun to play a game without a constant gear grind (although I'll always want to upgrade), without any competitive side, without any guides to follow saying 'you must do this and this and this.' The only real motivation to play being whatever new thing I'll find over the next hill, on the next world, in the next system, in the next galaxy.

Lucky for you it's a mile wide and an inch deep.

[keg in kc]

Frikkin Amazon hasn't shipped my copy yet. Wtf.

[jiveturkey]

Originally Posted by keg in kc

Frikkin Amazon hasn't shipped my copy yet. Wtf.

I decided to cancel my Amazon order and grabbed the digital version off the PS Store. It's installed and ready for Tuesday.

Here's the first patch http://www.no-mans-sky.com/2016/08/update-1-03/

I've avoided all the leaks so far so I'll be going in fresh.

[keg in kc]

Wow. That's...a lot.

[eDave]

News about update 1.03 on the official website

Spoiler!

The Three Paths – there are now new, unique “paths” you can follow throughout the game. You must start the game on a fresh save, with the patch, as early choices have significant impact on what you see later in the game, and the overall experience.
The Universe – we changed the rules of the universe generation algorithm. Planets have moved. Environments have changed biomes. Galaxies have altered shape. All to create greater variety earlier. Galaxies are now up to 10x larger.
Diversity – Creatures are now more diverse in terms of ecology and densities on planets.
Planets – we’ve added dead moons, low atmosphere and extreme hazardous planets. Extreme hazards include blizzards and dust storms.
Atmosphere – space, night time and day skies are now 4x more varied due to new atmospheric system, which refracts light more accurately to allow for more intense sunsets.
Planet rotation – play testing has made it obvious people are struggling to adjust to this during play so it’s effects have been reduced further…
Terrain generation – caves up to 128m tall are now possible. Geometric anomalies have been added. Underwater erosion now leads to more interesting sea beds.
Ship diversity – a wider variety of ships appear per star system, and are available to purchase. Cargo and installed technology now vary more, and ships have more unique attributes.
Inventory – ship inventories now store 5 times more resources per slot. Suit inventories now store 2.5 times more per slot. This encourages exploration and gives freedom from the beginning. We’re probably going to increase this even further in the next update, for people in the latter game phases, and will allow greater trading potential.
Trading – trading is deeper. Star systems and planets each have their own wants and needs, based off a galactic economy. Observing these is the key to successful trading. We still working on adjusting this based on how everyone plays, but all trading values have been rebalanced across the galaxy, giving a greater depth. A bunch of trade exploits were uncovered and have been removed
Feeding – creatures now have their own diet, based on planet and climate. Feeding them correctly will yield different results per species, such as mining for you, protecting the player, becoming pets, alerting you to rare loot or pooping valuable resources.
Survival – recharging hazard protection requires rare resources, making shielding shards useful again. Storms can be deadly. Hazard protection and suit upgrades have been added. Liquids are often more dangerous
Graphical effects – Lighting and texture resolution have been improved. Shadow quality has doubled. Temporal AA didn’t make it in time, but it’s so close
Balancing – several hundred upgrades have had stat changes (mainly exo-suit and ship, but also weapon), new upgrades have been added.
Combat – Auto Aim and weapon aim has been completely rewritten to feel more gentle in general, but stickier when you need it. Sentinels now alert each other, if they haven’t been dealt with quickly. Quad and Walker AI is now much more challenging, even I struggle with them without a powered up weapon.
Space Combat – advanced techniques have been introduced, like brake drifting and critical hits. Bounty missions and larger battles now occur. Pirate frequency has been increased, as well as difficulty depending on your cargo.
Exploits – infinite warp cell exploit and rare goods trading exploit among other removed. People using these cheats were ruining the game for themselves, but people are weird and can’t stop themselves ¯_(シ)_/¯
Stability – foundations for buildings on super large planets. Resolved several low repro crashes, in particular when player warped further than 256 light years in one session (was only possible due to warp cell exploit above).
Space Stations – interiors are now more varied, bars, trade rooms and hydroponic labs have been added
Networking – Ability to scan star systems other players have discovered on the Galactic Map, increasing the chance of collision. Star systems discovered by other players appear during Galactic Map flight
Ship scanning – scanning for points of interest from your ship is now possible. Buildings generate earlier and show up in ship scans
Flying over terrain – pop-in and shadow artefacts have been reduced. Generation speed has been increased two fold (planets with large bodies of water will be targeted in next update)
Writing – The Atlas path has been rewritten by James Swallow (writer on Dues Ex) and me. I think it speaks to the over-arching theme of player freedom more clearly now. Early mission text has been rewritten to allow for multiple endings.

[Gonzo]

I'm up and running. Picked up my copy 2 hrs before release.

I will name a my micropeniss Planet. Lol

[Gonzo]

Ok, took me a while to get up and running. I had to figure out the mining tool. Off and running. Once I get my warp drive going, it should be really awesome. I loved how it took 10 mins of flying time, (w/o my warp drive repaired) to get to the next planet. Awesome work so far.

[bowener]

Originally Posted by Gonzo

I'm up and running. Picked up my copy 2 hrs before release.

I will name a my micropeniss Planet. Lol

Shouldn't you just name it "Chiefs"?

[DC.chief]

So how is it?

[BigBeauford]

Originally Posted by DC.chief

So how is it?

Played for one hour last night, and 2 hours this morning. It is the game that was promised. Each planet is procedurally based, with different life forms, weather patterns, and small "objectives" to locate. These can range from becoming more familiar with an alien language to open up trade options, to finding upgrades to your ship, suit, and weapon. The music is great, changing to fit whatever is happening on screen. The graphics aren't fantastic, but the artwork is unique and some planets have lots of color. The sense of scale is incredible; these planets can be absolutely huge, and would likely take real days, or weeks to walk across.

That being said, this game is clearly not for everyone. It has a very relaxed pace to it, and nearly no sense of direction. You are dropped into the game with minimal button prompts and actions, and only one true objective. There aren't really side quests along the way like Fall out 4, nor is there a lot of combat besides dealing with sentinels and rare(I haven't seen it) aggressive life forms.

If you enjoy resource gathering, exploring, and the "equipment upgrade feedback loop", this is definitely a game for you, or even if you have a strong interest in sci fi and space, there is something to be said about exploring an infinite universe. While this game has a casual feel to it, I think there is enough mechanics and the survival elements to say this game isn't for very casual players. I really dig it, but enjoy off the beaten path, non AAA games, so take that into consideration of you are a Call of Duty, Assasins Creed, Madden type of gamer.

[jiveturkey]

It's exactly what I thought it would be and I love it.

[Beef Supreme]

Originally Posted by BigBeauford

Played for one hour last night, and 2 hours this morning. It is the game that was promised. Each planet is procedurally based, with different life forms, weather patterns, and small "objectives" to locate. These can range from becoming more familiar with an alien language to open up trade options, to finding upgrades to your ship, suit, and weapon. The music is great, changing to fit whatever is happening on screen. The graphics aren't fantastic, but the artwork is unique and some planets have lots of color. The sense of scale is incredible; these planets can be absolutely huge, and would likely take real days, or weeks to walk across.

That being said, this game is clearly not for everyone. It has a very relaxed pace to it, and nearly no sense of direction. You are dropped into the game with minimal button prompts and actions, and only one true objective. There aren't really side quests along the way like Fall out 4, nor is there a lot of combat besides dealing with sentinels and rare(I haven't seen it) aggressive life forms.

If you enjoy resource gathering, exploring, and the "equipment upgrade feedback loop", this is definitely a game for you, or even if you have a strong interest in sci fi and space, there is something to be said about exploring an infinite universe. While this game has a casual feel to it, I think there is enough mechanics and the survival elements to say this game isn't for very casual players. I really dig it, but enjoy off the beaten path, non AAA games, so take that into consideration of you are a Call of Duty, Assasins Creed, Madden type of gamer.

I'm gonna wait for a sale, probably. Maybe I would like it, maybe get bored too fast. All of that sounds good, except I would rather land on a planet and after searching around for a bit you run into some giant ruins of a long dead alien race or some shit and then end up having a shootout with the predator aliens that came to loot the ancient technology.

I just don't know if cataloging a new species and looking at the nice view is going to cut it after the first few hours.

[C3HIEF3S]

Like Beauford said, this game is not for everyone. You have to be a SciFi/exploration fan to really enjoy it. I've always been a nerd for this sort of thing, so I enjoy it very much. But, I am sure there are plenty of disappointed people out there today with even more coming in the next week.

I've been waiting for last night for a while, so I played through the night. I haven't made too much progress travel-wise because I keep getting side-tracked. There really isn't much of a specific quest, but that doesn't mean there aren't things to do. If mining, trading, travelling, exploring (and A LOT of those four things) at a slow pace aren't your things, don't bother with this one. If they are? You're in for a treat. But I really don't think there's much of a middle ground, people are either going to love it or hate it.

This is the kind of game where you sit down with time to waste, grab a few beers, and let the game play itself out.

[keg in kc]

I've so far spent four hours doing nothing but exploring my starting planet. At this rate I'll make it into space sometime next month. Just kidding. Sort of. Ship's been prepped for flight a couple hours but I keep getting more unknown location prompts. Surprising variety so far. At least three kinds of ancient artifacts, a couple of abandoned outposts, a couple of manufacturing plants, a few shelters, a hub that looks like an airport with multiple landing pads and a big seating area with a galactic market terminal, about 20 korvax language markers and what seems like about 50 waypoints. And I'm guessing I've actually explored very little of the surface area.

Love it so far.