Exploration and resource gathering are the ways, really the only ways, in which the game is similar to Minecraft. The planets you land on arent cube-shaped and its unlikely youll build a house on them. They are the equivalent of Minecrafts network of underground caves: exciting to find, unique to you, and full of materials which give them significance and value despite not being handcrafted.
Any planet you discover on your journey is marked on your galactic map, along with its name, its atmosphere and what resources you found there. If you choose to, you can then share that information with every other player, uploading it so that its shared across everyones galactic map.
Youll get credit for discovering it. Youll also, if the materials there are valuable, attract players to come visit. No Mans Sky isnt a multiplayer game, in as much as youll never see another player. But the galaxy is the same between everyone and actions of significance will be shared. If you kill a single bird, that wont be shared. If you make an entire species of bird extinct, then those creatures will blink out of existence for everyone.
That means you might want to keep quiet about a planet of valuable resources, so others dont come and deplete it. I also instantly start thinking of ways to be devious. Can I upload false information to the galactic map? Can I lure people to a system full of pirates and then, when their ships crash and burn, steal materials from their ghostly hulls?
When I ask these questions, Murray is light on specifics, but hopes players will work cooperatively. There are some things that you could do for the wrong reasons. You could broadcast certain information for the wrong reasons. But generally people are playing together cooperatively to the benefit of everyone. You can be a dick in the game if you want, but it has less point and less value.
