No Man's Sky - Early Impressions/Reviews-in-progress Thread
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Brerlappin
Member
Honestly, this is EXACTLY my experience when i played Elite Dangerous. At first its scale and feeling of "Holy shit im in space!", is mindblowing. But after a few hours youre just doing the same thing over and over, and you realize, "hey, this is actually pretty boring".
It was my biggest concern for NMS. Sad to see it seems to be the case.
I've watched about 30 minutes of gameplay now, and the primary gameplay loop seems exactly like space-Minecraft. Find a tree, mine the tree, make things with what you mined from the tree (or find an AI and "mine" info or blueprints or other upgrades from them--a different kind of upgrading system doesn't change that you're doing the same thing differently). The exploration aspect actually looks pretty interesting, but that's not what the player is spending most of their time doing. Also, my mention of LSD/Firewatch/Everybody's Gone to the Rapture was intended to be contrast of what NMS is, not comparisons to it.
No Man's Sky is a very pretty game, it looks different from other games and the scale is impressive, but behind that facade is a very familiar game that doesn't really do much that's new or different.
edit: Worth noting that three hours in, the player I'm watching has already stated, more than once, that the game is becoming routine. A player who loves the game stating the game as being routine with only three hours of playing doesn't exactly inspire confidence. This is the same problem Diablo III had on launch.
It took me 30 hours to get bored with Elite Dangerous, I'm 6 hours into NMS and I am bored / fatigued with it already.
The gameplay loop, for me, isn't rewarding, planets, flora and fauna are all very samey, the animals "lego brick" nature break any immersion, I don't have hours and hours to find Thuillium to repair my new ship, or keep all my survival meters topped up while doing so, the limited inventory, extreme inventory management and resource gathering is tiring.
Flight is extremely dumbed down, has no depth, you can't even control your altitude on the planet surface, and landing is just "press button to land here".
The interaction with aliens is very samey, bring x resources to x and receive x ( health, fuel, money), buildings are almost identical, cookie cutter constructs, every new "?" on the map should give you a feeling of wonder but you just end up at another observatory / shelter / outpost that looks exactly the same as all the others, upgrade blueprints are just minor stat upgrades, and take up precious inventory space, so I never bother with them.
I don't have hours and hours of gaming time available to perform these tasks, I don't feel a sense of wonder of exploration,and even the much vaunted procedural engine and 18 trillion planets doesn't fill me with excitement of what I might find, because I imagine I'll just keep on finding planets and animals that are barely different to those I've already seen, but I guess this is a argument against many proc-gen games.
Happy that people are loving it, it's not really my cup of tea, it feels like a chore at the moment, I am actually gutted because I've wanted a space game where I can go from space to planet seamlessly for decades, but I am hopefully that they can flesh out some of the gameplay systems and make it more interesting for me, it's very early days I guess.
Freeman76
Member
You cannot say that's the case when you haven't even played it dude, c'mon
Sarcastico
Member
Well, with all these early impressions I guess I'll wait until the game is 20$, unless more content is added.
Stealthcobra
Member
is this sarcasm? I can't tell...
Shambalakan
Member
I really don't know some of the posts about multiplayer and content are sarcasm or not! :O
I got the game this morning, kinda wish I waited. I tried to go in blind, and got too hyped.
The flying in space and the scale is amazing.
The endless mining, managing resources / inventory, avoiding cop robots that attack you is not fun..
I just wanted a chill game where I could cruise in space with my friends and explore.
The flying in space and the scale is amazing.
The endless mining, managing resources / inventory, avoiding cop robots that attack you is not fun..
I just wanted a chill game where I could cruise in space with my friends and explore.
Ollie Pooch
In a perfect world, we'd all be homersexual
Even just passive abilities like the stamina booster item or jetpack expansion could be in 'non-inventory' slots and save a lot of headaches. Once I have those equipped I have barely any space to craft or find anything at all. Honestly, it's every few minutes or so that I get an inventory full or 'life support low' (at 75%) message.
Can't disagree with this. They've tried to make the exterior feel more personal, but in the end it's incredibly sterile and samey. Every planet is just empty with some outposts with an alien holding a clipboard and a new word to learn; and there's so many of them it just feels completely inconsequential to visit them because by design, every planet has to have nearly every element to stop you getting stuck on the surfaces. I'm not sure it can hold my attention much longer, but I'll wait til I have some good cash for a much larger ship to make up my mind.
I don't quite get the Sentinel thing. I literally lobbed a single grenade at a steel door and instantly there were 3 flying ones and a dog thing firing at me, I had to keep running away and hiding in a cave each time I threw one just to get in the door. I thought they'd be menacing (I was expecting some creepy but slow moving robot things like in the trailers) but they're like insta-spawn bugs.
They could probably tone that stuff down with an update - it really feels like the game just punishes you for doing anything at all, and it takes all the fun out of it. I do actualy feel all the micromanaging and busiwork is distracting from the shallow nature of everything else. We'll see going forward I guess how it's handled.
blastprocessor
The Amiga Brotherhood
So is a 5.0 user metacritic justified so far?
This right here is why most people got first excited for this game. That's all they needed to see to be interested in the game. Others were more skeptical and needed to see more complex gameplay. Now the reality that a game with seamless interplanetory travel isn't enough by itself is making some disappointed.
GHG
Gold Member
Is this a serious question?
If you are actually trying to attribute some kind of meaningful value to metacritic userscores then I don't know what to tell you.
GHG
Gold Member
They're like the people who promote self driving cars. Little buggers.
You know what?, if someone asked me to put a score on NMS, I actually don't think I could come up with anything meaningful, apart from "try it, you might like it, or you might not"
I think this Polygon article sums up my feelings on what I've seen so far: http://www.polygon.com/features/201...sky-first-impressions-review-preview-10-hours
SlickShoes
Member
If you don't mind spending a good few hours learning the flight controls then try Elite: Dangerous.
It's exactly as you describe, you fly about a huge universe and can do it with your friends.
It has planet landings although there isn't really anything on the planets.
If all you want is flying about endless space with friends though give it a go.
Mass Effect 1 Side Missions: The Game.
Aztechnology
Member
Because people who actually want to discuss a game without hype clouding the way have to go elsewhere. Look at the SW: Battlefront thread, Destiny, The Division etc good luck having any discussion about criticisms. Occasionally there's someone who genuinely responds, but usually it's just lost amongst the fanfare.
Aztechnology
Member
I'd love the Mass Effect 2 multiplayer team to take a crack at a looter shooter type game where you have a ship, travel to planets, do missions. Have a decent story but bosses etc. Would lend itself perfectly to that kind of game, even the side mission stuff as the grinding (Garrison esque) portion.
Ollie Pooch
In a perfect world, we'd all be homersexual
Basically. I have a lot of good will for the game for some reason, maybe I was treating it as an underdog being an indie dev and all. The scope is immense (they obviously spent a lot of time on this) but after 5-6 planets I can't shake the feeling I've seen all it has to offer. Not a single one has varied wildly from the earlier ones, yet.
I think games like this would benefit from a stronger loot system - climb some crazy mountain full of enemies and find a chest with an amazing gun/item in it. Even just trinkety shit to put in a virtual gallery or something. But it's all just too random and sterile to have any thought put into it.
That said, collecting random stuff and ticking off lists is kind of my downfall so I might get some mileage yet
PepperedHam
Member
Plenty of constructive criticism in the NMS OT. Of course, because we're all human beings with different tastes, and seeing as it is also the OT yeah there's going to be a lot of people having fun with the game, but reading through the thread the last two days there have been plenty of positive and negative discussions regarding inventory management, sentinels, crashing, variety, etc. It isn't the circlejerk people seem to want to believe it is.
Aztechnology
Member
Basically. I have a lot of good will for the game for some reason, maybe I was treating it as an underdog being an indie dev and all. The scope is immense (they obviously spent a lot of time on this) but after 5-6 planets I can't shake the feeling I've seen all it has to offer. Not a single one has varied wildly from the earlier ones, yet.
I think games like this would benefit from a stronger loot system - climb some crazy mountain full of enemies and find a chest with an amazing gun/item in it. Even just trinkety shit to put in a virtual gallery or something. But it's all just too random and sterile to have any thought put into it.
That said, collecting random stuff and ticking off lists is kind of my downfall so I might get some mileage yet
This definitely feels like the Vanilla release of something greater. Like Elite: Dangerous at launch. It needs a lot more content I assume will come in DLC, which is why I feel this isn't worth 60 dollars currently. I'd say 30 to leave room for what I hope to see a few DLC releases to round it off. Like Pirate planet bases, military installations etc. Maybe an information broker who gives out missions to find interesting and extremely valuable loot. There's so much they can do, especially on PC given mod support (Have they commented on this at all?) I do wonder if the combat system could be expanded further too, it certainly feels very shallow and limited.
As it stands this is a framework for something that could be much much greater if they keep working on it with diligence.
Impulsor
Member
Ollie Pooch
In a perfect world, we'd all be homersexual
The bolded would be great. The foundations are there, but I just feel this is the result of an indie game with an AAA marketing budget.
It'd be great to enter the atmosphere and a base goes on alert and starts sending up ships to intercept you - dogfights in low altitude, loot etc. Different classes of player ships. Ships with accommodations to show your collections/loot. A zoo of sorts where you can display some of the weirder animals you've found (and this could be seen online or something).
I think Subnautica gets this aspect right - they feel very similar but I think it's far more compelling overall than NMS... and it's early access.
I'll be honest, this is how i felt with my initial time with the game, too - I was even putting it level with Metroid Prime (believe me, that's insane praise coming from me) for that first 'discovery' feeling of an alien world. His impressions could be the same as anyone else's, because I bet they all had the same progression.
I've hit up 4-5 space stations now and they're literally identical. A giant geometric shape with a tube in it and some grumpy dude through the door on the right sitting at a reception desk with some potted ferns around him. I guess that's the difference between hand-crafted content and procedural generation. It's lifeless, sterile. Other ships land there, you don't even crash into them when you launch out of the tunnel. To be honest I've only gone to them as it's the only place to get one of the items I need.
I hope noone takes my posts as me railing on the game needlessly or trying to sway anyone's opinion - I'm trying to discuss it without being all 'THIS GAME SUCKS!'
and I'm quite disappointed
PodcastFips
Member
Without having any opinion about the game yet, the Metacritic user scores are likely as cancerous as Twitch or YouTube comments.
Impulsor
Member
I understand perfectly. I'll let you know if after more play time i feel the same. I can understand that procedural generation can feel that way. I can already see some stuff being the same, with different color palettes, like the different scattered bases
LifEndz
Member
This is where I'm at, but I'm also thinking I should just wait for the Neo and whatever improvements that brings.
The wonder of exploring the galaxy is cool, but I need more of a hook than just mineral gathering.
TheLostBigBoss
Banned
I really wouldn't ever use user score for a game that was just released with this much notoriety. Usually you get 0/10 "omg this game sux wtf" or 10/10 "this game cured my sister's crushing alcoholism"
This game, from the reactions I've seen so far, is going to be extremely polarizing, which from the initial reception seems to be what I kinda expected.
So really, I can't think of anyway but to play it yourself to get the answer.
This is my biggest concern. I really want a "lighter than Elite" space game but I also don't want to be caught in a lifeless chore churn. Certain things work really well with procgen but others don't.
Ollie Pooch
In a perfect world, we'd all be homersexual
I just want something where every now and then you see something really effing cool and crazy, and you fly around in a ship feeling like a badass. My ship feels like a toaster and I just haven't seen anything wild or impressive yet beyond the monstrous scale of the planets, which on a technical level is really cool.
The ship you start with only allows 4 take offs from the surface before the engine is empty and needs refuelling, which is pretty counter the idea of being able to explore.
That should give you some idea (without even going into life support and temperture control refilling) on how much of a chore exploration can be.
Memnoch
Member
I really hoped this was not to be the case with me, but it is. I was so hyped for the last two years, but this post unfortunately sums it up for me. I haven't given up on nms by any means, I'm just a little quieter about it now.
Gather 2000 people, ask them all to vote yes (10/10) or no (0/10), take a percentage. With a big enough pool actually the user scores can be quite interesting.
The critic scores are usually beyond worthless for a whole variety of reasons including lack of knowledge/attention to detail on technical issues, deliberately discounting technical issues/achievements, lack of general gaming knowledge leading to lifted ideas being called innovation, grading the game on their personal political mindset, expecting completely spoon fed experiences, and so on. They're an utter shit show. Plus of course, most of them didn't have to pay hard earned money for the product, this is rarely factored in other than at a simplistic "short = bad" level.
I actually trust the user reviews more... I wish I was playing NMS but thankfully I didn't preorder and that field of view on PS4 is a complete deal breaker.
travisbickle
Member
I feel plutonium, carbon, and heridium are everywhere, they're your basics for ship and suit... tharnium too but that's in every asteroid. I can't speak for your experience but I've upgraded my tool a little and it gathers really quickly for me.
Also All bases with platforms can call your ship over, and a lot of bases without platforms have a beacon which calls it too. So you can move around a lot on foot without your ship and call it over.
I think level 3 upgrades are when it becomes difficult, I can't find copper anywhere!
I was thinking maybe I could get use of my HOTAS for NMS, sounds like there would be little point or how is it with manual thrust and spatial movement overall?
I worry I would feel the same, also fatigued by Elite: Dangerous. Would have really liked a demo or trial version for this. Probably won't just take a chance with a 60 price tag although it will surely be worth that for many.
Ollie Pooch
In a perfect world, we'd all be homersexual
Oh god, thanks for this!
Also, listening to NIN Ghosts I-IV while playing this is quite a cool experience.
Felix Lighter
Member
I have 600+ hours into Elite, I feel like I know what to expect from what I've seen so this game is up my alley but I predicted, based on my time with Elite and its procedural nature, this game was going to be for a certain subset of people. The only thing concerning me is the lack of depth in the space flight.
If it's the same as the PS4, I wouldn't bother, there is an altitude buffer, and no matter how much you point at the ground it won't go below this till you press the land button.
As for throttle,single button press boost and slow down, that's it.
Yautja_Warrior
Member
I stopped playing Elite a while ago now, as I knew it might make NMS feel a little same old, so should be a little fresher now, but as this is just Day 1, I expect the experience to be good but pretty basic.
As time goes on, NMS should grow as more features are added. We already know Base Building is coming and I'm sure there will be other new features down the line, I expect the multi-player aspect might be expanded on too.
As time goes on, NMS should grow as more features are added. We already know Base Building is coming and I'm sure there will be other new features down the line, I expect the multi-player aspect might be expanded on too.
I really like the concept of Elite Dangerous, but my problem with that game was that the ship was just a massive pain in the ass to control, and that totally killed my desire to continue with that game. NMS seems to at least take care of that aspect for me, though I'm disappointed that the control you have of a ship in a planet is extremely limited.
MythicReclaimer
Member
The gameplay in general is paper-thin at best with a rinse and repeat nature to it. Depth? Forget it. The visuals do it no favors either and the franken-fauna design is absurd.
The best thing I can say from my experience with NMS is I like the cover art (I bought the game digitally) and I like the "idea/concept" of a grand planet-hopping spacefaring exploration game but even though the Hello Games developers seemed to put love into making their version of it, the sum of its parts was pure jank and ultimately just not fun to play (I put about 6 hours in and decided that was more than enough for me) in my experience.
Question about the economy -- do the resources that have a plus 100% or 200% trade increase at space stations hold that trade value permanently, at least long as you're in the sector? That seems like the only appropriate way to grind, make room for those specific resources while hitting up landmarks?
Edit: Whoops, this is the impressions thread -- i'll repost in OT.
Edit: Whoops, this is the impressions thread -- i'll repost in OT.
mckmas8808
Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
The bolded means it's the consumers fault if they made up expectations based on NOTHING! How do you people not understand this?
I was really hoping to be pleasantly surprised by this game, but after watching some gameplay last night, I'm going to have to pass until this gets some content-adding patches. It looks like almost a pure hamster wheel. Not that it's a bad game or anything. I got bored with Diablo 3 much faster than most folks for the same reason -- I just don't care much for games that turn into "farm for loot/materials so you become strong enough to farm for more loot/materials."
Glad other people are liking it though. It's certainly something out of the ordinary and adds some diversity to console libraries.
Glad other people are liking it though. It's certainly something out of the ordinary and adds some diversity to console libraries.
Wok
Member
I think the reason the game only starts to shine after 20 hours is that the devs do not want to put an incentive on the start of the game, otherwise people would just restart over and over to discover/name new planets instead of upgrading their tools and exploring.
Edit: Alright, people, this is what I understood, but English is not my first language, okay? You can check yourself here: https://youtu.be/1ASL8WAd8kg?t=12m20s
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