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[EventHorizon]

Adam Boyes just mentioned that Hello Games struggled to figure out how to market a game with an infinite universe without letting the hype train get crazy.

A good start would have been to stop talking about the tech and 'infinite universe', and focus more on what you actually did in the game. Yet most major demos of the game consisted of going on and on about procedural generation, and how many different planets there were.

 

[More_Badass]

When people mention this and Minecraft, besides the crafting and procedural exploration, they're not saying NMS is going to become Minecraft. But rather how Minecraft was massively expanded upon and while the original concept is still the same, the current game is much bigger, with huge expansions in mechanics and features, Sean and co plan to do the same wth No Man's Sky. Build upon the core concept and gameplay in major ways in the years to come.

 

[BokehKing]

Could future patches fix the frame rate issues?

Edit: I'm not sure what the extent patches could fix once s game is out there.

 

[The Jackdog]

Adam Boyes just mentioned that Hello Games struggled to figure out how to market a game with an infinite universe without letting the hype train get crazy.

Gotta say, if their goal was "explain the game" and "not let the hype train get crazy" they utterly failed.

As far as just pure get the game out there and get the hype train going, wonderful job.

 

[MassiveNights]

Thoughts on the Bombcast with their limited hours with the game are initially pretty positive.

"It's really, really neat" I think is a direct quote.

 

[flkraven]

Playing devil's advocate here, but is their vagueness misleading? Is the fact that people think the game is one thing and it turning out to be something different than what they crafted in their own minds, is the marketing partly responsible?

That's what I find to be the most misleading part. Them not detailing certain things because of 'mystery' or 'discovery' felt very misleading. I'm still not convinced that there is any way at all to play multiplayer with anyone despite the claims that you can but the odds are miniscule.

 

[diaspora]

Gotta say, if their goal was "explain the game" and "not let the hype train get crazy" they utterly failed.

As far as just pure get the game out there and get the hype train going, wonderful job.

They threw a wrench into the hype train of the PC version by kneecapping the release date. Not completely derailed or anything but, I'm at least feeling more muted now.

 

[gamechanger87]

Give me a video or interview.

Adam Boyes is currently on the Bombcast and he is talking about how difficult it was to market this game. They would talk about an infinite universe and people like yourself go out and make your own mind up about what this entails.

Boyes is specifically calling out the problem with the hype train of this game.

 

[cackhyena]

A good start would have been to stop talking about the tech and 'infinite universe', and focus more on what you actually did in the game. Yet most major demos of the game consisted of going on and on about procedural generation, and how many different planets there were.

Yep.

 

[letmetrythisname]

A good start would have been to stop talking about the tech and 'infinite universe', and focus more on what you actually did in the game. Yet most major demos of the game consisted of going on and on about procedural generation, and how many different planets there were.

That's the genius of their marketing. They sold the game on scale alone. All you have to do is tell people they can climb that mountain and the hype kicks off.

 

[mike6467]

Give me a video or interview.

The Bombcast went into some of this. I really believe that the lack of information, and the ambiguity of the information that WAS provided is misleading, if not directly. Jeff was apprehensive of how long it took for Sean to finally nail down the "This game is not a multiplayer experience." The lack of PC information is the same. They're not clarifying, they're being ambiguous with their claims to the point where it IS misleading.

The "they didn't say that" argument doesn't hold up when they're not NOT saying it! I pointed this out earlier, but this tweet from a senior programmer there implies they're making something Minecraft-esque, which implies, but does not directly state, that building is a thing. I'm STILL excited for the game, but there was a lot of stuff like this, and as a consumer who was looking for definitive answers, it was a very frustrating process.

https://twitter.com/HarryDenholm/status/755155729821077504

 

[ThirstiestGamer 2.0]

That's what I find to be the most leading part. Them not detailing certain things because of 'mystery' or 'discovery' felt very misleading. I'm still not convinced that there is any way at all to play multiplayer with anyone despite the claims that you can but the odds are miniscule.

I think maybe being able to partake in an adventure with friends would be very welcomed. Like most are saying, it is very lonely. And for a game that draws a lot of similarities to MC, multiplayer seems like a necessity, not a small feature with a small liklihood of actually occurring.

 

[More_Badass]

A good start would have been to stop talking about the tech and 'infinite universe', and focus more on what you actually did in the game. Yet most major demos of the game consisted of going on and on about procedural generation, and how many different planets there were.

I really feel like people watched completely different gameplay and coverage over the years. Press previews, footage, and whatnot for years showed the exploration, crafting, gathering resources, dealing with hazardous environments, flying to points of interests, scanning discoveries, trading and buying stuff from NPCs, dealing with Sentinels

 

[Kalnos]

There's a distinction between potential and probability you know.

Well feel free to PM me to let me know when NMS reaches that potential, aka never

 

[prwxv3]

Adam Boyes is currently on the Bombcast and he is talking about how difficult it was to market this game. They would talk about an infinite universe and people like yourself go out and make your own mind up about what this entails.

Boyes is specifically calling out the problem with the hype train of this game.

What I never misinterpreted what the game was about ever. Don't make up shit. It was always a exploration/survival game with procedurally generated planets. No give me a actual source where Sean lies about the game or was misleading.

 

[Coffee Dog]

I really feel like people watched completely different gameplay and coverage over the years. Press previews, footage, and whatnot for years showed the exploration, crafting, gathering resources, dealing with hazardous environments, flying to points of interests, scanning discoveries, trading and buying stuff from NPCs, dealing with Sentinels

Yeah, but people didn't realize that the skeleton of a gameplay framework they were seeing demonstrated was all the game had to offer. The vagueness and hints at untold wonders convinced most that what they were seeing was just the beginning, when in reality that mundanity was the game.

 

[BokehKing]

That's the genius of their marketing. They sold the game on scale alone. All you have to do is tell people they can climb that mountain and the hype kicks off.

Reminds me of the problems destiny faced.
People's expectations went into over drive and imagination was not kept in check.

 

[EventHorizon]

They hyped up the combat as one of the four pillars of the game. Combat is clearly, clearly not a major focus of the experience.

Give me a video or interview.

Official:

No Man's Sky | Pillar Trailer 2 - Fight | PS4
(PlayStation EU)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqrOeqGTRJM

Fans:

No Man's Sky: Combat
(Sirian Gaming)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOgrSdgsI5E

No Man's Sky COMBAT
(Cobra TV)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5w-Z5KcmYj8

 

[More_Badass]

Yeah, but people didn't realize that the skeleton of a gameplay framework they were seeing demonstrated was all the game had to offer. The vagueness and hints at untold wonders convinced most that what they were seeing was just the beginning, when in reality that mundanity was the game.

Mundane from your perspective. All that sounds fascinating and exciting and exactly what I want from a space exploration game like this, as did tons of other people. Being able to crest a mountain and see stuff like this is all what many people wanted from NMS

I've played skeletons of games. Dozens, through prototypes, alphas, betas, early access releases. If you think the stuff offered here is a "skeleton of a game", I don't know what to tell you.

 

[Fury451]

I'm getting the distinct feeling this isn't for me. After watching some impressions videos, it doesn't seem like the game I thought it would be; many seem to be coming to this conclusion which is a positive for some and negative for others.

My copy is on its way, but I may send it back. Looks lovingly crafted, but the actual generation and gameplay seems like it would get boring or repetitive for me.

The advertising of this is interesting though. They weren't hiding what the game was, it's just not as substantial as the imagination may have led to believe. Don't really consider that anyone's fault, just seemed like there would be all these endless possibilities or whatever.

 

[prwxv3]

Official:

No Man's Sky | Pillar Trailer 2 - Fight | PS4
(PlayStation EU)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqrOeqGTRJM

Fans:

No Man's Sky: Combat
(Sirian Gaming)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOgrSdgsI5E

No Man's Sky COMBAT
(Cobra TV)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5w-Z5KcmYj8

Nothing in this videos is a lie or misleading. The game has combat. Now if is good is a different story.

 

[wanderingprostheyltite]

Yeah, but people didn't realize that the skeleton of a gameplay framework they were seeing demonstrated was all the game had to offer. The vagueness and hints at untold wonders convinced most that what they were seeing was just the beginning, when in reality that mundanity was the game.

This. A part of it is advertising conventions in general, and people's expectation that a dev isn't going to show all their hand up front. This comes from a lot of plotted and sequential gameplay design where we've come to expect a "big" game like this will continue throwing new surprises and gameplay tweaks our way as we progress. I think the divide and confusion comes from this being a "AAA indie", you can argue people did it to themselves but at the end of the day a release with this much hype and a protracted, years-long ad campaign are definitely factors for why confusion and disappointment at the lack of more depth being present is, well, present.

 

[EventHorizon]

I really feel like people watched completely different gameplay and coverage over the years. Press previews, footage, and whatnot for years showed the exploration, crafting, gathering resources, dealing with hazardous environments, flying to points of interests, scanning discoveries, trading and buying stuff from NPCs, dealing with Sentinels

Note that I said "most major demos". You know, the ones like E3 and PlayStation Experience where most people are watching. It became so repetitious about them going on and on about how big the world was.

 

[OmegaFax]

What is the significance of that ball next to the player's crashed ship at the very beginning. You can choose to ignore it (which I did) ... does that affect the way tutorials are displayed or how the game progresses?

I played the game a few short hours and I felt like it was overwhelming but very slow. The inventory system and replenishing the suit are a chore, as is getting the plutonium to lift off into orbit.

I would probably be okay with Hello Games enabling an "easy mode" where the ship slowly replenishes its lift off ability while still encouraging you to look around and explore. I guess it would kill some of the game's collecting aspects if everything auto-regenerated but it would be fun for time killing/exploring.

 

[The_Dama]

Any reviews from big outlets?

 

[DeepEnigma]

When people mention this and Minecraft, besides the crafting and procedural exploration, they're not saying NMS is going to become Minecraft. But rather how Minecraft was massively expanded upon and while the original concept is still the same, the current game is much bigger, with huge expansions in mechanics and features, Sean and co plan to do the same wth No Man's Sky. Build upon the core concept and gameplay in major ways in the years to come.

Agreed.

This game is so much different paying than watching streams as well. That does not do it justice. Leaving a planet for the first time, and seeing the scale/scope.... just wow!

 

[Mammoth Jones]

When people mention this and Minecraft, besides the crafting and procedural exploration, they're not saying NMS is going to become Minecraft. But rather how Minecraft was massively expanded upon and while the original concept is still the same, the current game is much bigger, with huge expansions in mechanics and features, Sean and co plan to do the same wth No Man's Sky. Build upon the core concept and gameplay in major ways in the years to come.

This is music to my ears. I never knew if they planned to expand the game. So many possibilities. (Multiplayer starbases, plz!)

 

[TheLostBigBoss]

Reminds me of the problems destiny faced.
People's expectations went into over drive and imagination was not kept in check.

You can blame Bungie for that, considering the entire,"You can go to that mountain" thing.

 

[More_Badass]

This is music to my ears. I never knew if they planned to expand the game. So many possibilities. (Multiplayer starbases, plz!)

They've already said they're working on base building and owning space freighters. Considering the stories of people on hazardous planets and the challenge of trekking out from your ship, base building will be a huge asset on those extreme worlds. You won't have to go back to your ship, and would be able to restock and recover from the weather and predators out in the wild. People are already spending 5 hours on single planets without base building

 

[Afrodium]

Yeah, but people didn't realize that the skeleton of a gameplay framework they were seeing demonstrated was all the game had to offer. The vagueness and hints at untold wonders convinced most that what they were seeing was just the beginning, when in reality that mundanity was the game.

That's kind of the fault of the public though, no? Hello Games always showed the game for what it is and fans told themselves that a bunch of cool stuff they've never seen is in the game.

I think a lot of it is due to players not truly understanding the scale that this game is dealing with. When the game is the size of the universe you can't fill it with hand crafted cool stuff because almost nobody will see any of it. I saw a poster in the OT saying he wished the planets had GTA style side quests, which is hard enough on a map the size of a literal planet and a complete waste of resources to create when it's possible that not a single player will ever see it. When you procedurally generate a universe all the trading, survival, combat, etc. needs to be simple enough that it can occur without Hello Games specifically designing any moment to moment gameplay.

 

[CrazE]

Bummer there's no multi player. That would make it that much more fun to explore with friends.

 

[Complicated]

Reminds me of the problems destiny faced.
People's expectations went into over drive and imagination was not kept in check.

In both cases the developers were purposefully vague in the service of not spoiling their games. And both games turned out not to have much in the way of story or content to spoil. It's just not a good look.

 

[BokehKing]

You can blame Bungie for that, considering the entire,"You can go to that mountain" thing.

I'll just chalk that up to him talking about fel winters peak and confusing the mountains.


I think we are going to come across this question in the review thread

Is the game worth $60
Or should I wait for this amazing experience to be $40 or $20? (I'm sure there are those who will wait to see if it pops up on ps plus)

 

[Aguero9320]

Be interested to see what happens if two people arrange to meet up somewhere. Haven't seen anyone mention this yet?

Still curious about this. I think I might like it. Helps that my expectations weren't so high as to expect it to literally be a five year mission for me. Although 'procedurally generated' doesn't really appeal to me - I'd be more excited with 500 planets if they were designed to be interesting.

 

[DeepEnigma]

In both cases the developers were purposefully vague in the service of not spoiling their games. And both games turned out not to have much in the way of story or content to spoil. It's just not a good look.

And both have completely unrelated reasons as to why. Nice false parallel though.

Spoiler

Destiny is a great game, that people are enjoying, and still be supported.

And just like all games, not for everyone.

 

[Mammoth Jones]

They've already said they're working on base building and owning space freighters. Considering the stories of people on hazardous planets and the challenge of trekking out from your ship, base building will be a huge asset on those extreme worlds. You won't have to go back to your ship, and would be able to restock and recover from the weather and predators out in the wild. People are already spending 5 hours on single planets without base building

I'm very excited. I don't look at this as a game that I'll play to conquer a single player story. It's more of an experience in exploration. As a fan of sci fi, and video games this is a dream come true. Really hope they continue to build on the foundations of this launch.

 

[mokeyjoe]

Watch Jeffs trying to feed the Space Goomba. It's in the stream from Jeffs home office.

Haha, yeah saw that. Kinda frustrating when he kept walking past upgrades and not realising he could go into buildings.

Not even close to how terrible the IGN stream was. Jesus, it was like he'd never held a controller. Anyone see that?

 

[EventHorizon]

Nothing in this videos is a lie or misleading. The game has combat. Now if is good is a different story.

That's my whole point. When people said in posts that there was nothing to do in NMS, there would always be condescending replies listing things like combat. While combat is technically something you can do in the game, it's so shallow that it disingenuous to really list it as a feature.

It's like this quote from Polygon after they do an interview with Sean Murray...

You can be a warrior, a pirate, a trader, an explorer.
http://www.polygon.com/2015/6/16/8790505/no-mans-sky-preview-e3

No. No you can't be a warrior or pirate in this game if you expect to have any fun. And then with quotes like that, people still get apoplectic and try to blame the customers when they say the game isn't what they expected.

 

[Afrodium]

Be interested to see what happens if two people arrange to meet up somewhere. Haven't seen anyone mention this yet?

Still curious about this. I think I might like it. Helps that my expectations weren't so high as to expect it to literally be a five year mission for me. Although 'procedurally generated' doesn't really appeal to me - I'd be more excited with 500 planets if they were designed to be interesting.

This is what I'm talking about. Hand crafting 500 planet sized planets is a monumental/impossible task.

 

[DedValve]

So far in the system I started in I found 2 desert planets. Hope there is more diversity among planets in systems.

Also hoping for a water world, man that'd be fun. Can't wait to break out of this system and start exploring the stars!

 

[randomengine]

Bummer there's no multi player. That would make it that much more fun to explore with friends.

The only thing that would ruin this game is if Hello Games caved and focused any amount of time on multiplayer. Literally, it would ruin the game for me. If you want to play with your friends, talk about your discoveries with them, but having someone follow you around in this game would not be fun on any level and to waste a single resource on it would be a waste of time. This is the single-player experience of my dreams. If you don't like that go play something else. Please, just let me have this one fucking game unspoiled and untainted by omnipresent demands for MULTIPLAYER!

 

[Broken Joystick]

Be interested to see what happens if two people arrange to meet up somewhere. Haven't seen anyone mention this yet?

Still curious about this. I think I might like it. Helps that my expectations weren't so high as to expect it to literally be a five year mission for me. Although 'procedurally generated' doesn't really appeal to me - I'd be more excited with 500 planets if they were designed to be interesting.

edit: it's a fake lol

 

[prwxv3]

That's my whole point. When people said in posts that there was nothing to do in NMS, there would always be condescending replies listing things like combat. While combat is technically something you can do in the game, it's so shallow that it disingenuous to really list it as a feature.

It's like this quote from Polygon after they do an interview with Sean Murray...

No. No you can't be a warrior or pirate in this game if you expect to have any fun. And then with quotes like that, people still get apoplectic and try to blame the customers when they say the game isn't what they expected.

That is a shitty point. Companies market Shit games as if they are good all the time. But marketing your game as great is different then liying about what you can so in your game.

 

[xxracerxx]

Yeah, but people didn't realize that the skeleton of a gameplay framework they were seeing demonstrated was all the game had to offer. The vagueness and hints at untold wonders convinced most that what they were seeing was just the beginning, when in reality that mundanity was the game.

What? I am sorry but if those people thought there was more to the game, then they are just dumb.

 

[Mechazawa]

Between the Arstechnica article and Jeff's livestream, I can not be grateful enough for that two day buffer for the PC version.

 

[Raven77]

I really feel like people watched completely different gameplay and coverage over the years. Press previews, footage, and whatnot for years showed the exploration, crafting, gathering resources, dealing with hazardous environments, flying to points of interests, scanning discoveries, trading and buying stuff from NPCs, dealing with Sentinels

Agreed 100%. People are picking and choosing and ignoring the many many pieces of media that came out over the past few years that did talk about what you do, etc. Hell even the IGN first look videos or whatever they were from a few months back explicitly dealt with raiding alien facilities, stealing, crafting, etc. They can't talk about everything you do in every single video / interview every single time for years. At some point its up to the consumer to do the research before making a purchase.

 

[randomengine]

What? I am sorry but if those people thought there was more to the game, then they are just dumb.

Or 15-16 years old.

 

[Lashley]

The only thing that would ruin this game is if Hello Games caved and focused any amount of time on multiplayer. Literally, it would ruin the game for me. If you want to play with your friends, talk about your discoveries with them, but having someone follow you around in this game would not be fun on any level and to waste a single resource on it would be a waste of time. This is the single-player experience of my dreams. If you don't like that go play something else. Please, just let me have this one fucking game unspoiled and untainted by omnipresent demands for MULTIPLAYER!

calm down bro

 

[Mecha]

The only thing that would ruin this game is if Hello Games caved and focused any amount of time on multiplayer. Literally, it would ruin the game for me. If you want to play with your friends, talk about your discoveries with them, but having someone follow you around in this game would not be fun on any level and to waste a single resource on it would be a waste of time. This is the single-player experience of my dreams. If you don't like that go play something else. Please, just let me have this one fucking game unspoiled and untainted by omnipresent demands for MULTIPLAYER!

Considering how big the universe is, why would it bother you if some people half a universe away decided to play together? You would more than likely never see them.

 

[KooopaKid]

That's my whole point. When people said in posts that there was nothing to do in NMS, there would always be condescending replies listing things like combat. While combat is technically something you can do in the game, it's so shallow that it disingenuous to really list it as a feature.

It's like this quote from Polygon after they do an interview with Sean Murray...

No. No you can't be a warrior or pirate in this game if you expect to have any fun. And then with quotes like that, people still get apoplectic and try to blame the customers when they say the game isn't what they expected.

Bingo.