No Man's Sky - Early Impressions/Reviews-in-progress Thread

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mrklaw said:
Are we getting to the point where physical copies might as well just be PSN codes in a box?
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Yeah and it totally sucks because you can no longer buy a disk and keep "the full experience" for as long as you have the console. When future generations of console come along, and platform holders decide to pull the old content, what then? You're basically fucked if you lose it off your HDD. Someone like Nintendo would do it in a heartbeat like they have with Wii. Thankfully that console had finished games on the disk.

In a weird way, even though I'm not a PC gamer any more, I trust PC and Valve much more than I trust MS or Sony in the console space.
 
AzaK said:
Yeah and it totally sucks because you can no longer buy a disk and keep "the full experience" for as long as you have the console. When future generations of console come along, and platform holders decide to pull the old content, what then? You're basically fucked if you lose it off your HDD. Someone like Nintendo would do it in a heartbeat like they have with Wii. Thankfully that console had finished games on the disk.

In a weird way, even though I'm not a PC gamer any more, I trust PC and Valve much more than I trust MS or Sony in the console space.
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What's the definition of the "full experience"? NMS is a game that will continue to evolve over time.
 
After watching the First Looks, the best thing I can say about No Man's Sky is that it does not warrant a preorder, and that I need to see something more in order to buy it. My more realistic evaluation of the game is that it is turning out exactly like I feared. The game has a lot of things to do, but none of them look particularly fun.

One thing that I hadn't realized, but in hindsight should have, is that once you figure out the randomization techniques used in the game, they will cease being able to give you the illusion that you are exploring an expansive galaxy. At that point it won't matter how many planets there are because when you see a new one it will just remind you of different combinations of things you have already seen. For a game whose main hook is exploration, this is a fatal flaw.
 
^ Yo I swear I was going to mention user reviews but didn't know if other others here would appreciate the humor. But OMG... this one:

Nu-Male's Sky is the perfect game for Reddit/Bernie supporters, which means it's a bad game for everyone else. By all means, if you have a beard, thick-rim glasses, and love being cucked, then this game is for you.

Maybe your wife will let you play it while the pool-boy Rodrigo pleasures her in ways you and your shriveled manhood can't even comprehend. How's that for mind-blowing? And your wife won't even have to leave this solar system to experience it, which is more than we can say about you.
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LOLOLOL
 
EventHorizon said:
After watching the First Looks, the best thing I can say about No Man's Sky is that it does not warrant a preorder, and that I need to see something more in order to buy it. My more realistic evaluation of the game is that it is turning out exactly like I feared. The game has a lot of things to do, but none of them look particularly fun.

One thing that I hadn't realized, but in hindsight should have, is that once you figure out the randomization techniques used in the game, they will cease being able to give you the illusion that you are exploring an expansive galaxy. At that point it won't matter how many planets there are because when you see a new one it will just remind you of different combinations of things you have already seen. For a game whose main hook is exploration, this is a fatal flaw.
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Yeah, cool attempt to do this procedurally, but eh, doesn't look like the tech is quite there yet.
 
My hype for this game died already.
Which is good, because I was retarded to get hyped for a game in the first place.
What's even better is that I'm on PC and didn't buy the game yet.
It looks like it will take several patches to address the common issues and add more depth and hopefully improve the visuals.
So, as usual, waiting half a year before buying a game is still the way to go.
 
breakfuss said:
^ Yo I swear I was going to mention user reviews but didn't know if other others here would appreciate the humor. But OMG... this one:




LOLOLOL
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Seriously, some of them are pure gold:

Absolute hot garbage! What would expect a game developed by a bunch of nu male cucks to be like. When you first boot up the game watch out for the nauseating frame rate which could only be described as hellish and make sure not to pass out in sheer excitement at every planet only featuring minor differences than the last.
¯_(シ)_/¯/10
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QaaQer said:
Games by their nature are repetitive. People find enjoyment in games like darts, billiards, poker, Tetris, Pokemon, etc. I think you are over analysing this and making crazy generalisations.
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It largely depends on whether the payoff for carrying out a certain action is genuinely rewarding or superficial. If No Man's Sky's gathering/crafting system is just using simple psychological techniques to engage players to keep, well, playing, then I think calling it repetitive is perfectly valid.

Games like darts, billiards, and Tetris tend to reward pure skill and the playfulness of their mechanics (e.g. the physics of throwing a dart, the massive number of ways you can approach a shot in billiards, your reactions and quick thinking in Tetris). You don't repeat actions in those games due to a repetitive gathering/crafting/loot system with ties to the Skinner Box like you do in certain video games.

So I think it's not fair to claim that Darts, Billiards etc. are repetitive for the same reasons No Man's Sky might be.
 
breakfuss said:
^ Yo I swear I was going to mention user reviews but didn't know if other others here would appreciate the humor. But OMG... this one:

Nu-Male's Sky is the perfect game for Reddit/Bernie supporters, which means it's a bad game for everyone else. By all means, if you have a beard, thick-rim glasses, and love being cucked, then this game is for you.

Maybe your wife will let you play it while the pool-boy Rodrigo pleasures her in ways you and your shriveled manhood can't even comprehend. How's that for mind-blowing? And your wife won't even have to leave this solar system to experience it, which is more than we can say about you.
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LOLOLOL
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This guy should start a review site.

Can't wait for my copy to show up.
 
What the hell is a nu male anyway? Is it the new 'cuck'?

mabec said:
So can anyone just troll and post BS reviews like that on metacritic? Do they ever get removed?
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Nope

I wonder what kind of a person you have to be to spam metacritic with stupid troll reviews and figure it's a better use of your time than, say, hitting your head on a wall
 
Sean did say he expected the game to be divisive, but it's almost comical some of the complaints I've read from user reviews so far.

Like maybe someone should set up a website that quizzes you on up coming games, and if you fail, then maybe you shouldn't buy the game your considering, because some of the expectations that people had and are seemingly disappointed with are no one's fault but their own.

Either way, I'm looking forward to playing the game later today. I just hope the mixed reviews don't discourage Hello Games from continuing to provide updates for it.
 
The more I've read impressions, the more I realize that this game isn't for me. I want to try it at one point, but probably gonna wait and see how the impressions pan out. I'm not sure if the game can hold my attention as I'm not really into the survival, open world, resource gathering and crafting type games.

I do love the exploration aspect of the game though (along with the art style and the soundtrack), and it's a big reason why I was even slightly interested in this game. I'll just wait and see how the game turns out in a few more weeks, as I can already tell that more updates will benefit this game a lot.

For those who dove in, hope you enjoy the game, and although I won't be buying the game at this point I wish Sean and the crew success as they seem to be a very humble and genuine group.

Congrats to them for launching the game, they probably thought at one point that they would never get here, so getting the game out there for people to experience must feel great for them.
 
From what I've sen so far it's very repetitive gameplay wise (which I know a lot of people thought would be the case) with bare bones survival mechanics.
 
Looks interesting but I'm going to wait. Impressions seemed to prove to me the game is just as a expected. Average with some neat tech.
 
As far as I can see from these impressions, a big factor (as expected) is how much you enjoy exploring.

Personally exploring interesting looking locations is something that most games don't offer so I'm really excited to give this a go.

But it's clear that if all you care about is game mechanics, it might be best to look elsewhere, which is fine as well.
 
It's hilarious how people take metacritic user reviews like gospel lol. Give it a few weeks but I guarantee you will see "But look at how it's received by people on Metacritic" as an arguement against it. Always happens.
 
Every reviewer/player I saw a stream of seems to enjoy it so far, even if the gameplay loop is basic, it's still servicable and fun. Exploration is the drive here, as Sean Murray always said. I can't wait what they're going to bring in this game with further updates. I hope they're able to stack up the team too, it's going to be a lot of work.
 
From the videos, i'm not feeling this. It's been on the radar since announcement (which was when, 2013?) but it looks so dull from the video previews, which is a real shame because there was a lot of potential here. But we'll see.

On a connected note, Metacritic user reviews need to die in a fire. I don't think anyone should be allowed to rate a game 0/10 when they don't even grasp the fundamentals of literacy.
 
EventHorizon said:
After watching the First Looks, the best thing I can say about No Man's Sky is that it does not warrant a preorder, and that I need to see something more in order to buy it. My more realistic evaluation of the game is that it is turning out exactly like I feared. The game has a lot of things to do, but none of them look particularly fun.

One thing that I hadn't realized, but in hindsight should have, is that once you figure out the randomization techniques used in the game, they will cease being able to give you the illusion that you are exploring an expansive galaxy. At that point it won't matter how many planets there are because when you see a new one it will just remind you of different combinations of things you have already seen. For a game whose main hook is exploration, this is a fatal flaw.
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I feel like you can see the combos in the available footage already? That's why I never really got on board this hype train.
 
natureboy46 said:
About three hours in and I'm really enjoying it so far. Reminds me a lot of wandering around the world in Fallout 3 or 4. Just exploring the world and having a blast. Getting ready to leave the first planet soon.
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That has me worried. I just could never get into the Fallout games. The world was depressing for me. We'll see.
 
So waking up today after spending the entire weekend in the various NMS threads my impression is that the consensus took a nosedive over the span of 8 hours. I'm slowly beginning to check out various impression videos to see how the dust is beginning to settle and saw metacritic reviews deep in the red. What the fuck is going on guys?? Did it actually turn out different than expected, or is this the division that was bound to occur regardless? Is it overall too "samey"? I'm still waiting for my Amazon order to arrive at some point today. Still very excited to play it.
 
Fractology said:
So waking up today after spending the entire weekend in the various NMS threads my impression is that the consensus took a nosedive over the span of 8 hours. I'm slowly beginning to check out various impression videos to see how the dust is beginning to settle and saw metacritic reviews deep in the red. What the fuck is going on guys?? Did it actually turn out different than expected, or is this the division that was bound to occur regardless? Is it overall too "samey"? I'm still waiting for my Amazon order to arrive at some point today. Still very excited to play it.
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User reviews? Never pay attention to them on metaderp
 
Fractology said:
So waking up today after spending the entire weekend in the various NMS threads my impression is that the consensus took a nosedive over the span of 8 hours. I'm slowly beginning to check out various impression videos to see how the dust is beginning to settle and saw metacritic reviews deep in the red. What the fuck is going on guys?? Did it actually turn out different than expected, or is this the division that was bound to occur regardless? Is it overall too "samey"? I'm still waiting for my Amazon order to arrive at some point today. Still very excited to play it.
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Imo, it's a little too samey and too much walking for my taste. I want to play more before making a final judgement though.
 
So I'm not too worried about the content and what you do (it's what I expect it to be) but I want to ask for those playing it and now that you've got a chance to play it, how is the sound ?

For example one of the reasons I love Far Cry 2 (with like 200 - 300 hrs in that) is just the walking about with the environmental noises, the different weather etc and that's a game a lot of folks thought was boring too. It's something I always felt the sequels didn't do as well too.

Are the environmental sounds good, different weather variations, music etc ? For example will you see an environment differ between nighttime and daytime with the sounds changing with that ? I can see this kind of thing immersing me bigtime especially if those kind of things are well done.
 
Not had a chance to watch all of Jim's video and this has probably been asked already but is he playing pre-patch or post?
 
I'm definitely going to wait for the honeymoon period to end.

It looks like a fascinating game to start with, but it is entirely dependent on maintaining the illusion that you're exploring an alien world rather than a mathematical algorithm. There has to be something new and interesting to drive you to explore, rather than repetitive follow-the-icons gameplay and tedious inventory management.

If there's lots of meaningful variety then it'll be fun, but it does look like it could just be shooting rocks and animals to make bars fill up, so you can get new/bigger bars to fill up by shooting different coloured rocks/animals.

I'm not sure how base building will work in a game where you're supposed to be constantly on the move. Maybe it will be some sort of mobile base/mother-ship.
 
Big_Al said:
So I'm not too worried about the content and what you do (it's what I expect it to be) but I want to ask for those playing it and now that you've got a chance to play it, how is the sound ?

For example one of the reasons I love Far Cry 2 (with like 200 - 300 hrs in that) is just the walking about with the environmental noises, the different weather etc and that's a game a lot of folks thought was boring too. It's something I always felt the sequels didn't do as well too.

Are the environmental sounds good, different weather variations, music etc ? For example will you see an environment differ between nighttime and daytime with the sounds changing with that ? I can see this kind of thing immersing me bigtime especially if those kind of things are well done.
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I dont have the game yet but I've seen some streams and for me the most attractive about this game is the sound. The soundtrack sounds really awesome and the noises pf the animals and atmosphere aound really good too.
 
EventHorizon said:
After watching the First Looks, the best thing I can say about No Man's Sky is that it does not warrant a preorder, and that I need to see something more in order to buy it. My more realistic evaluation of the game is that it is turning out exactly like I feared. The game has a lot of things to do, but none of them look particularly fun.
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1. Watching the game is not the same as playing the game. Watching somebody walk around on a planet and shoot at minerals is boring. But walking around shooting at minerals yourself, knowing exactly what piece of kit your saving for, and how that piece of kit will let you take on that bounty mission, or fly to the next system, or learn more about an alien race etc - is fun.

In your head you're having your own adventure while you play. You won't get that from videos.

2. The game is incredibly huge. I'm not talking about the procedural stuff. It has thousands of pages of story/lore which is surprisingly well written, choose-your-own-adventure quest paths, an actual backstory path which seems to progress with you, some mini-games and extra side activities to discover.

Watching a stream for half an hour might show you 15% of the game's content, or it might show you 0.01% of the game's content.

You can't judge from videos or streams. Play it yourself.

EventHorizon said:
One thing that I hadn't realized, but in hindsight should have, is that once you figure out the randomization techniques used in the game, they will cease being able to give you the illusion that you are exploring an expansive galaxy. At that point it won't matter how many planets there are because when you see a new one it will just remind you of different combinations of things you have already seen. For a game whose main hook is exploration, this is a fatal flaw.
Click to expand...

It's an incredibly complex system. There seems to be a 'median' sort of planet and animal generated - you'll come across similar things quite often - but then out of nowhere you'll encounter a totally fucked up place or a type of animal you've never seen before.

This keeps happening to me. I'm 15 hours in and I'll visit four planets seeing similar sorts of stuff - and the BAM I encounter something I never expected that is almost scary. The exploration is rewarded tenfold because of moments like this and they make up for planets upon planets of similar stuff.

It's a big universe with an incredibly complex procedural engine behind it.
 
NBtoaster said:
Seems like the base building update will provide some needed depth.
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Hopefully it will. My concern with that is that there won't be any need for base building. So far it doesn't seem to be any reason to stick around on a planet long enough to make any kind of base useful. What they need to do is increase the difficulty and rewards of some planets so that it is worth your while to go there and set up home.

It'd also be interesting if they added a reconnaissance drone capability. You should be able to build them and send them to nearby systems to get a peek at what is there. That way you can make intelligent decisions about where to go next. That would also help reduce the problem of not needing to stick around a planet or system for long. This game should be about setting up strategic bases that are needed to get you to the center of the galaxy.

Increasing the complexity a bit up from that, you should be able to add a bit of RTS strategy by setting up automated resource gatherers and defense on planets that would be susceptible to raiders or other attacks. The purpose of all that would be to build a warp gate that would warp you much farther than you cold normally go. The warp gates would be needed to not penalize players who spend the time to build up a successful base of operations.

No Man's Sky looks like a great foundation to build a game on top of, but doesn't hold up well standing as a $60 game all by itself.
 
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