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

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C

CHC

Member
Aztechnology said:
I say two weeks because many Gaffers will have gotten 20-30 hours or more in at that point. It's not an expectation of countless hours of play or anything for me. I do however have a personal metric of a dollar an hour of enjoyment for content I purchase. That's just me though. So if I have to pay $60 which I do as a PC player here I'd hope it can keep me entertained for 60 hours.

Lofty expectation I know. Although I will mention it depends on the kine or game. If it tells an amazing story or gives an experience I can't get pretty much anywhere else in a catered way I can break my rule usually.
Click to expand...

That's totally fair, maybe I misunderstood.

I guess it's different from what I was thinking about - which is people who tend to just turn their back on and dismiss games that they have already gotten many hours of enjoyment out of. Happened with The Division, for example - I know people that played for over 100 hours before burning out all the content in the "endgame" and then once they've seen all there is to see, they just act like the game is some boring or half-finished junk that they'd never recommend.
 
O

Orca

Member
So I fixed my ship and instead of taking off into space like I was prompted, I flew around a bit to find something I'd seen in the distance while gathering materials. Got there and landed, explored it (turned out to be nothing really) and then went to take off...out of fuel.

I spent two hours searching the area, scanning, etc...can't find plutonium.
 
I

Incendiary

Banned
I feel like this game is going to be a lot like Minecraft - either you get it or you don't. And playing it will be infinitely more likely to addict you than hearing about it or watching videos of it.

"So what do you do?"
"You explore planets and stuff."
"That's it?"
"You can gather minerals and craft stuff!"
"That sounds boring. There's no goal or anything?"
"No but I t's really fun to explore!"

Etc. etc. I was never on the hype train because I felt like people were hyping up the early preview too much and were setting the expectation bar too high. I'm just expecting Minecraft with a space exploration feel and I feel like I should be satisfied.
 
B

bj00rn_

Banned
Rivyn said:
Each planet is different even though the formula remains the same. There's a ton of variation but after dozens of hours there will be repetition, but name me a game where that doesn't happen.
Click to expand...

My point is; Exploring a single room can be more exciting than the added experience of exploring quintillion worlds.. Numbers means nothing in that context, only the actual experience does.

GTAV f.ex. (in the other extreme end) is a relatively small area (compared to the theoretical scope of NMS), and appears to have exponentially more content and exploration than everything automated in NMS (and for the same price). And to me it appears that a small indie team (who btw are doing an fantastic job with what they got) relies too heavily on an algorithm to do the work that they don't have the manpower to do.

I can't wait to try it out for myself though. Whether it's going to be a refund or not, we'll see.
 
E

Exploding8

Member
Incendiary said:
I feel like this game is going to be a lot like Minecraft - either you get it or you don't. And playing it will be infinitely more likely to addict you than hearing about it or watching videos of it.

"So what do you do?"
"You explore planets and stuff."
"That's it?"
"You can gather minerals and craft stuff!"
"That sounds boring. There's no goal or anything?"
"No but I t's really fun to explore!"

Etc. etc. I was never on the hype train because I felt like people were hyping up the early preview too much and were setting the expectation bar too high. I'm just expecting Minecraft with a space exploration feel and I feel like I should be satisfied.
Click to expand...

People keep mentioning crafting, but I've yet to actually see any crafting beyond repairing random ships now and then. Base building also does not exist in the game's current state. What kind of crafting is currently in the game?
 
N° 2048

N° 2048

Member
PBY said:
Yeah I agree BUT

I played so much yesterday, and the moment to moment action is admittedly samey, it doesn't hurt to Fire up Spotify.
Click to expand...

Nothing wrong with flying through space listening to Biggie Smalls and Wu Tang.

Am I alone? :p
 
M

MegaSackman

Member
Exploding8 said:
People keep mentioning crafting, but I've yet to actually see any crafting beyond repairing random ships now and then. Base building also does not exist in the game's current state. What kind of crafting is currently in the game?
Click to expand...

In the first two hours: Materials, skills, gear.
 
Ulysses 31

Ulysses 31

Member
Orca said:
Got there and landed, explored it (turned out to be nothing really) and then went to take off...out of fuel.

I spent two hours searching the area, scanning, etc...can't find plutonium.
Click to expand...

giphy.gif
 
F

Familienoberhauptvogel

Banned
DeepEnigma said:
What is even your argument?

Are you just extending goal posts to answers given?
Click to expand...

Kinda my initial comment was in response to this

ironcreed said:
You are a space explorer. Everyone discovering unique worlds and life and sharing their discoveries is pointless? I understand that a sim is not everyone's thing, but the game is far from being a whole bunch of nothing.
Click to expand...

maybe it was poorly worded but I didn't in any way criticize the mechanic of discovery. I was just curious about the sharing bit, in the context of, what makes the subject shared remarkable.

The answers brought forth other arguments I responded to likewise with other arguments.
 
DeepEnigma

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
Familienoberhauptvogel said:
Kinda my initial comment was in response to this



maybe it was poorly worded but I didn't in any way criticize the mechanic of discovery. I was just curious about the sharing bit, in the context of, what makes the subject shared remarkable.

The answers brought forth other arguments I responded to likewise with other arguments.
Click to expand...

It is just fun finding unique things and sharing them. Why are people going nuts to find Pokemon, or loot drops in Diablo 2/3, or Destiny, or Fallout 4 searching for odd things to discover?

To me, it hits those nostalgic vibes when I was a kid in the 80's with gaming, SciFi adventure books and the like. Only expanded on a million fold (quintillion actually) due to technology.

Those who like to explore, discover unique creatures, caverns, underwater areas, flora, etc., will enjoy it... uploading the findings to the database, and sharing their more than likely one of a kind discoveries on message boards and the like. There will also be those determined on charting the stars enough to finally, possibly, while remote chance... run into another you.

And this does not include the potential onward support not unlike Minecraft from the developers. They already confirmed base building and freighter ownership is in the works.
 
B

Bloodporne

Member
Orca said:
So I fixed my ship and instead of taking off into space like I was prompted, I flew around a bit to find something I'd seen in the distance while gathering materials. Got there and landed, explored it (turned out to be nothing really) and then went to take off...out of fuel.

I spent two hours searching the area, scanning, etc...can't find plutonium.
Click to expand...

If it works in this game somehow, kudos, but that sounds like the antithesis of fun gameplay in writing.
 
T

TheBaldEmperor

Member
Orca said:
So I fixed my ship and instead of taking off into space like I was prompted, I flew around a bit to find something I'd seen in the distance while gathering materials. Got there and landed, explored it (turned out to be nothing really) and then went to take off...out of fuel.

I spent two hours searching the area, scanning, etc...can't find plutonium.
Click to expand...


Congrats. That planet is now your new permanent residence.
 
letmetrythisname

letmetrythisname

Member
Incendiary said:
I feel like this game is going to be a lot like Minecraft - either you get it or you don't. And playing it will be infinitely more likely to addict you than hearing about it or watching videos of it.

"So what do you do?"
"You explore planets and stuff."
"That's it?"
"You can gather minerals and craft stuff!"
"That sounds boring. There's no goal or anything?"
"No but I t's really fun to explore!"

Etc. etc. I was never on the hype train because I felt like people were hyping up the early preview too much and were setting the expectation bar too high. I'm just expecting Minecraft with a space exploration feel and I feel like I should be satisfied.
Click to expand...

"Either you get it or you don't" makes it sound like some transcendent experience which it most likely is not. Unless I'm really dumb and by "get" you mean "if you're into that kinda game or not."
 
M

mitchlol

Member
I don't think this is the game for me... as for the whole "so many randomly generated planets!" considering there isn't a whole lot to do on each planet other than 'discover' it I don't know why you want billions of planets.

Seriously the random generator for planets and different species is the equivalent of a character face generator in a Bethesda game.
 
I

Incendiary

Banned
letmetrythisname said:
"Either you get it or you don't" makes it sound like some transcendent experience which it most likely is not. Unless I'm really dumb and by "get" you mean "if you're into that kinda game or not."
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's what I meant. Like some people play Minecraft, get bored in twenty minutes, and never touch it again while others spend an eternity building a replica of Helms Deep. No Man's Sky definitely feels like a game where if you're expecting an actual transcendent experience you're gonna be really disappointed.
 
M

MrCompletely

Member
I love the idea of exploring, as I'm playing Starbound, I'm wondering if NMS has similar types of locations, or dungeons to find.

For example, in Starbound on a hostile jungle planet I've found an overrun penal colony, where I had to fight through the convicts residing there to collect some nice loot. On a desert planet, I discovered an abandoned underground lab where thought experiments had been conducted on the Apex (the humanoid ape species in the game).. and had gone horribly wrong. The lab stretched several levels below the surface and was a ton of fun to explore.

Are there locations like these to discover in NMS, where you get a story through the environment?
 
F

FelipeMGM

Member
Not only reviews are mostly positive right now, but all the outlets are producing a lot of content about it, which sure means people are still really interested in it. I posted this on the OT, but I guess it fits here too:

FelipeMGM said:
The amount of videos about NMS on YouTube is insane. For example, I went to Gamespot YT page and this is what I found on the most recent videos...

CpbKKv-WgAQzo4I.jpg
Click to expand...
 
J

JobenNC

Member
ViewtifulJC said:
I'm noticing a trend of Nintendo avatars not digging this game

which makes sense, because NMS seems anti-Nitnendo to the core
Click to expand...

Wut? I Nintendo religiously, and I absolutely adore NMS so far. It's actually making me rethink my general habit of avoiding crafting/survival games.
 
E

Exploding8

Member
heringer said:
It's more akin to crafting. It's exactly what crafting is.
Click to expand...

That's not really an answer... when I think of crafting I think of Minecraft or Rust or Ark, where you get resources and build tools to help make bases or new types of weapons. Or if its an MMO I think of potions or new cool looking armor and weapons or other utilities to help out with primary gameplay. Is it crafting like that? Start out with random stuff to make something new? Or is it, you have a gun, add these elements to it to make it into a better gun, like Tomb Raider's upgrading system?

I decided to just look up a video since you didn't really give me an answer, crafting seems to be more like the latter where its upgrading stuff you already have.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=it_9pUYO2AY
 
S

Sectorseven

Member
Just watching streams and I honestly didn't know what to expect nor what I wanted, but so far it looks kind of dry. It feels like I can "see through" the algorithm. Like, I know each planet is going to have this weird ass name with three consonants in a row, the topography is going to have a, b, c in some combination, and the points of interest or things to do are going to be some mixture of x, y and z. I never thought I'd be saying this, but I kind of wish it was more like Star Trek. You know, a mission and weird ass things you encounter along the way with maybe you having to escape unscathed or trying to resolve some intergalactic problem, all for the greater wisdom of mankind.
 
L

Lemondish

Member
bj00rn_ said:
My point is; Exploring a single room can be more exciting than the added experience of exploring quintillion worlds.. Numbers means nothing in that context, only the actual experience does.

GTAV f.ex. (in the other extreme end) is a relatively small area (compared to the theoretical scope of NMS), and appears to have exponentially more content and exploration than everything automated in NMS (and for the same price). And to me it appears that a small indie team (who btw are doing an fantastic job with what they got) relies too heavily on an algorithm to do the work that they don't have the manpower to do.

I can't wait to try it out for myself though. Whether it's going to be a refund or not, we'll see.
Click to expand...

Hmm, that's an awful lot to say about a massive game you haven't played yet.
 
depths20XX

depths20XX

Member
MrCompletely said:
I love the idea of exploring, as I'm playing Starbound, I'm wondering if NMS has similar types of locations, or dungeons to find.

For example, in Starbound on a hostile jungle planet I've found an overrun penal colony, where I had to fight through the convicts residing there to collect some nice loot. On a desert planet, I discovered an abandoned underground lab where thought experiments had been conducted on the Apex (the humanoid ape species in the game).. and had gone horribly wrong. The lab stretched several levels below the surface and was a ton of fun to explore.

Are there locations like these to discover in NMS, where you get a story through the environment?
Click to expand...

No, you're gonna find minerals and maybe a thing you can click on to read some text and choose from 1 of 3 answers.
 
C

Coffee Dog

Banned
ViewtifulJC said:
I'm noticing a trend of Nintendo avatars not digging this game

which makes sense, because NMS seems anti-Nitnendo to the core
Click to expand...

Yeah No Man's Sky's "gameplay" elements (if that's what we're calling wandering around grabbing rocks) are so barebones and shallow that if you come to the game looking for that you'll get let down, and traditionally that's what nintendo prioritizes first and foremost.

No Man's Sky isn't really something you "play" or "win", it's something you experience, like Flower.
 
B

blue_phazon

Member
Sectorseven said:
Just watching streams and I honestly didn't know what to expect nor what I wanted, but so far it looks kind of dry. It feels like I can "see through" the algorithm. Like, I know each planet is going to have this weird ass name with three consonants in a row, the topography is going to have a, b, c in some combination, and the points of interest or things to do are going to be some mixture of x, y and z. I never thought I'd be saying this, but I kind of wish it was more like Star Trek. You know, a mission and weird ass things you encounter along the way with maybe you having to escape unscathed or trying to resolve some intergalactic problem, all for the greater wisdom of mankind.
Click to expand...

I'm getting the same feeling. I don't mind doing the same thing over and over again (I'm a Destiny fan), but it relies on fun gameplay to keep me coming back, and I don't see this being compelling enough.
 
S

SENPAIatLARGE

Banned
We are born by the sky
We die by the sky
We are made men by the sky
We are undone by the sky
Thus is the holy decree, all heretics who disagree must be purged
 
J

jett

D-Member
KooopaKid said:
The whole premise of the game has always been flawed to me. The game is mainly about exploration, but exploration needs to be rewarding to be compelling. I just don't see the reward or the draw here. The landscapes you discover are not even beautiful to look at. The game isn't really pretty and the generated planets are very dull and samey looking to me, very few screenshots or videos have captured my imagination. Why should I care to go to the next dull and empty planet?
The whole immersion factor just isn't working, all I see is randomly generated terrain with the same elements assembled slightly differently or with a new color, not actual and interesting places.
Click to expand...

The more they revealed about the game the more I had the same thoughts. Procedural exploration of meaningless places to get unremarkable rewards sounds like a flawed premise indeed. For this to somehow work the visuals of the game would have to be much more compelling than what they actually are.

ViewtifulJC said:
I'm noticing a trend of Nintendo avatars not digging this game

which makes sense, because NMS seems anti-Nitnendo to the core
Click to expand...

You have a point there. Nintendo actually focuses on game design, level design and control mechanics.
 
D

driver116

Member
Orca said:
So I fixed my ship and instead of taking off into space like I was prompted, I flew around a bit to find something I'd seen in the distance while gathering materials. Got there and landed, explored it (turned out to be nothing really) and then went to take off...out of fuel.

I spent two hours searching the area, scanning, etc...can't find plutonium.
Click to expand...

creeper.gif
 
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