It’s finally coming out next week, after years of waiting.
Question is: do you really care?
No matter what happens, I’ll end up spending at least 30 or 40 hours on No Man’s Sky. That’s a function of my job. But it’s also part of my background. Space games were big in my family. MicroProse’s Hyperspeed was the second or third game I’d ever played. Wing Commander was magical. Freelancer was — still is — amazing.
No Man’s Sky hits those buttons for me. I want to explore without having to spend several hours learning a Newtonian flight system. Don’t get me wrong — the intricacies of flight can be fun in their own right. But I’m still a little exhausted from my Elite: Dangerous experience. I just want to roam. I want something vibrant.
Those are my motivations, at least. But what about yourselves?
Comments
72 responses to “Tell Us Dammit: No Man’s Sky”
No – the space sim genre peaked with Privateer 2 and X-wing vs TIE fighter.
You should try Freelancer then.
There were plenty of games released after Privateer and X vs T tat were good, if not better.
Descent: Freespace, and the X: Beyond the Frontier series were both very good. Freespace became open source, I believe.
Also there were some curiosities around that time that were space sims in different settings. Hardwar was planet bound but really good. Archimedean Dynasty took the space sim underwater and was really good.
It is the biggest sadness for me that there hasn’t been a single space sim on PS3 or PS4. Hoping this game inspires at least one.
Freeelancer alpha 1 dash 1 you are clear to enter.
What an amazing game. One of the most memorable PC games I have ever played. Could not recommend it enough
No. Purposely staying away from much of the buzz, myself. I’ll read a review or two maybe.
I don’t think I’ll be getting it at this stage. I’m heeding what the creators say though, it’s best left to go in cold.
That’s going to be an order of magnitude more difficult thanks to the osmosis effect on my general internet browsing.
I’ve avoided as much fine detail as I can myself. I’ve looked at a few vids to get a feel for it, but just enough to know I’m willing to give it a go. So I will.
In terms of game developments, it could be as significant as Elite. Or it could be another Spore or Black and White… Given what they are trying to do, there will be something good come out of it regardless, even if its the worst case scenario, and just a lesson to be aware of your limitations.
I want it to work, and want to play it without spoilers. At least for the first 5 hours 🙂
If it ends up being good, sure.
Doesnt look like it though.
Asking for trouble with this one, It has been a while since i have seen a game divide gamers opinions like this one.
I was curious about 18 months ago and then kind of forgot about it but i when i started seeing it pop back up in recent weeks i checked out the trailers.
I pre ordered it and cannot wait to get it but i am by no means hyped for it, I just want to play a space type game and just cruise the galaxy/galaxies wondering what if a planet like this did exist.
I’m not sure, I might get it, I might not, will wait for reviews. Besides Rebel Galaxy is free on PS+ atm and that’s lots of fun.
No. lol, nothing can tear me away from Rimworld right now….
That looks pretty interesting. Screenshots and videos have put me in mind of Prison Architect on Mars.
Lol, yeah that was what I thought when I first saw it. I started playing after Kotaku ran that tips article on it last week i think. It’s essentially like a survival sim. I’ve found the best parts are when things start to go wrong, like getting raided or bad weather, or when someone in your colony goes crazy. Normally i hate disasters, like in simcity where its just annoying, but in this part of the fun is just seeing what transpires. Big emphasis on just playing out a story rather than things just staying hunky dory the whole time.
A bit of a steep learning curve though. In game tutorials are not really enough. It’s deceptively deep…
Some of the best bits are the randomness.
I had a colonist that crafted a masterpiece bed with an artistic carving depicting another colonist defeating a raider. The raider got imprisoned, eventually joined the colony and started a relationship with that colonist… and they slept in the bed.
Holy mother of one-more-turnitis!
What the hell have you inflicted upon me?! 3am. THREE. A. M.
Muahahahahaha XD
I now fear Winters.
It seems like an ultra-casual Elite: Dangerous. So, sure? Well. I don’t really CARE, but I’m interested enough to give it a shot.
Care…
Dont care to play it right away.
Do care to see how the market, players and media fonally reacts to it?
Do care to see if it lived to the hype? And who deep the rabid fans get thrown into the game or turned off it.
May care to put it on my Steam wishlist for a Sale?
Yes… i do care, i care enough to burn $82 on Steam for it.
PS… yes i know GOG has it for $63.
They do? Sweet!
I will probably end up checking it out in 2 months, it’s release lines up a little too closely to Legion for me to get invested in it at this stage and as I am jumping mains to a DH tank, I have a lot of work to do from the 9th
Waiting on reviews, but cautiously interested.
Yes.
But I’ve watched the 26 minute leak from Daymeeuhn and the 1 or 2 hour something leak form Neji or keji or what his name was.
Looks fun. May not be the game to end all games people think it might be, but looks fiiine. Most interested to see if the center of the galaxy offers enough once you arrive there to keep me going. But Deus Ex drops two weeks after, so oh well.
Desperately avoiding spoilers. This means I have to play it from release day. I also want to have a decent chance of getting a good username because this one looks like it will be a good chill out game I can come back to. I’m hoping it’ll be something that sticks around for a while. 30-40 hours to the core of the first galaxy, then who knows in the following galaxies.
I’m one of those people that goes backwards on levels once I’ve cleared it and look for all of the secrets and try to climb on everything.
I have a few days off work then for other reasons, so I’ve pre-warned the family and I’m gonna binge on it. Will probably record it too, because there won’t be very many amateur lets plays on youtube for this. /s
I’m sure there’s at least a thousand other people who want the name I want so I’m setting an alarm.
Yep, it looks pretty and I liuke exploration and space, so it hits all my tick boxes. It also looks relaxing in places, which I could use right now.
Big question is, do I get it for PC or PS4. Both are hooked up to the same screen, but for some reason I rarely tend to use the PC.
That’s the reason I am waiting on reviews, Not sure if I should get it for PS4 or PC. I have a beefy PC that I would normally choose to play most games on. But I am worried about how the PC will turn out and also those damn pesky cheaters that may or may not be present on PC. If PS4 runs smooth then I will probably play it on there. I have a lot more friends on PS4 than PC, so by some chance we may ever meet up in game then it would be nice to do so
so I’ll wait for a review but mostly just to see how the performance is on each.
I care, but not enough for launch, not while I still have so many unplayed games and games I care about more launching in the next month or two. I’ll pick it up when it’s on sale.
Tempted, but will no doubt wait and end up getting it later, cheaper. And if the hype is anything to go by there will be lots of early sales, which usually translates into plenty of second hand copies relatively soon.
Would love to go in cold, but it’s going to be hard to miss commentary on Kotaku etc and via Twitter.
Nah honestly don’t. Will get it though, cause I support the space trading/combat genre on principle!
I like your style lol
I really am having problems finding any interest in this game. The art style is really off putting for me for some reason. Also, every planet I’ve seen in any trailer or whatever looks really bland and boring. I can just see this devolving into a whole bunch of procedurally generated clone planets.
There are a lot of parallels between this game and Spore for me. With Spore, the whole premise of the marketing campaign was that you would be surviving as a new species, and then evolving to the point where you could start exploring your world and the galaxy, much like how this game is being marketed (survival/exploration aspects). If this game turns out to actually be good then I might check it out in a sale, but if it is like Spore (complete snoozefest) then I’ll pass.
You’re not the first person to compare this to Spore. It’s a bad comparison, though. Spore was essentially 5 mini-games done to various levels of quality. Game design suffered because of the diffused focus.
NMS doesn’t have this particular problem, though it may suffer from expectations of what the game does focus on. If you like exploring and discovering new things, you’ll be right at home with it.
Also, the art style is what really appeals for me. If you like old sci-fi covers, then you’ll love the style of NMS.
I agree with you that Spore was let down significantly due to the fragmented nature of it’s design process. The parallel still exists though because the core idea in Spore was all the life forms you interact with and the world/s that you play on are procedurally generated. It was ultimately supposed to be a survival/exploration game as well. We could have had 5 fantastic minigames, instead we had 5 mediocre to rubbish ones because they relied so heavily on generation of content rather than the gameplay itself.
If No Man’s Sky can pull off what they are looking to achieve, thats fantastic. I just think with the scope they are talking about in game, will their generation engine be able to provide enough refreshing and unique content across the board to make it interesting for long enough? As I said, landing on my nth desert wasteland/frozen/jungle planet that looks like it photographed by someone who is addicted to pastel filters, doesnt really inspire enjoyment. Not saying it will definitely be like that, but from what I’ve seen so far, that’s what I can see happening.
You’re absolutely right about the challenge of NMS being how they can provide enough varied content to keep the interest of the player. It’ll be interesting to play, just to see how diverse their generated galaxy can be, and what actual content they’ve put into the game. They’ve been very secretive about many aspects of the game, I believe so not to spoil the joy of discovery.
Though your only link with this game and Spore is the procedural generation and survival gameplay. The Spore survival aspect was weak, because they also had to design an RTS stage, and a Civ-like stage, and a Flow stage. Game designers are spread thin, and gameplay suffers.
Also, the design team for Spore was fractured: http://www.designer-notes.com/?p=654 . As the page describes, they themselves couldn’t agree on what the focus of the game should be.
None of these problems affect No Man’s Sky. The link between Spore and NMS is tenuous at best. If anything, the link between Spore and Civilisation is much stronger, as far as gameplay is concerned.
First of all thanks for the article on Spore, dont have time to read the whole thing but I’m intrigued so far so I’ll give it a better read later.
I’m happy to disagree with you about the validity of the link between Spore and NMS. At the end of the day, I was merely trying to point out my concerns and that was the best example I could come up with. Again, if NMS lives up to not so much the hype, but what the devs are suggesting this game is capable of, then sure, it could be fantastic and I might even jump on board.
No worries, I always enjoy a good argument. 😉
It’s almost certain that NMS won’t live up to the hype, but I’m confident that it’ll live up to what the devs like to play. I think I’ll enjoy it as well, but then again, I like those 80s pastel Sci-Fi covers. It’ll be like playing through my favourite old SF book.
And this kiddies of the future is those rarest of beasts, a respectful internet argument.
Sure.
I don’t believe in hype but does it look like something I’ll enjoy? Sure.
My feelings are not Black or White. I suspect its Destiny is to be another over-hyped Spore on the gaming landscape.
Yes, the exploration and discovery side of things have me interested. I can also see this game expanding beyond its launch parameters if enough people get on board.
Why not. Looks fun. Then I will eagerly await the inevitable multiplayer patch due to fan outcry.
Thanks to holding strong and not watching gameplay footage, trailers or leaks, not reading anything or searching out spoilers, my hype is hella intact. I haven’t been this pumped for a game since DA Inquisition.
I think that’s kinda key – not watching/reading to much into a game. Once I know I want to play a game, it’s total blackout until I’ve played it. Then come back later and absorb everything. Makes everything so much sweeter 🙂
I loved Inquisition. I’m so glad Trespasser wrapped things up the way it did.
Not sure how the series will progress without Gaider around any more, hopefully the quality holds up.
Man, still haven’t played trespasser. Got half way through the first DLC and never went to it. Really should hey, I’ve heard it’s good
for some reason ‘Spore’ pops into my head and i cant help thinking this one might go the same way.
I’m looking forward to less negativity surrounding this based purely on speculation. Strong opinions based on actual time spent playing the game will be easier to read.
This is why I try no to comment on Pokemon GO is a negative way. I know I won’t like it but I haven’t played, so my opinion is… not needed.
Ticks all my boxes. I am super keen for it. But I doubt that it is going to be the second coming of Jesus that people are making t out to be. I’m happy to most from planet to planet and explore to my hearts content and lose myself in the atmosphere of the game no pun intended.
Out of interest, I keep hearing people say will it live up to the hype, but what is the hype exactly?
Most people that are considering getting it seem to be at a very low hype level as far as I can see in the comments.
I read that people are expecting it to be bigger than Jesus etc. but I don’t read any comments of anyone that is *actually* expecting it to be bigger than Jesus.
Is there a lot of hype for the total amongst actual buyers?
(Disclaimer: I don’t own a TV and don’t read much gaming news outside of Kotaku and watching GoodGame so may have missed it).
Read the first 5 pages of steam forum for the game. I fear for humanities future – the idiocracy is nigh!
im still excited for it and after watching dees original video im confident its a game ill enjoy, will it be all time consuming and the best game ive ever played? probably not but itll be fun to chill and explore, my main hope is it helps bring even my great space exploration games
Ok second comment.
I think the appeal of this game is having a space exploration game where controls and mechanics are simple, most space exploration games are about as complicated as starting a nuclear submarine.
Starting a nuclear submarine is not that hard. As long as it has a battery hooked up and some fuel, just turn the immobiliser off and turn the key. Bet some funny bastard leaves the wipers on full too and radio up full blast!
Haha those crazy navy guys!
I’m 100% getting it, but I think I’ll wait for the patch before I play it. Hopefully it goes through in time for launch day.
I’ll also be happy just roaming around space taking photos 🙂
First patch is done already. it was on the dev’s twitter.
No VR? No “No Mans Sky”.
Semi riding the hype train. Couldn’t really care since I want some sort of open world exploration game to play right now.
Yep, I’m in. Pre-ordered the limited edition, and taken a few days off work to sit back and cruise the galaxy.
Absolutely, I love any game that gives you the chance to roam space/planets.
I was desperately hyped for this.
Then I stopped using my imagination and started going off just what hello games have committed to.
I might get it on special in steam but I won’t buy it at release or blind.
I’ve donated more than my fair share on space games of late.
All I know is my gut says maybe.
Nope sorry. Doesn’t get me excited but i haven’t been reading about it. One day maybe but not for a while. I only have limited money for games and with some releases coming out soon that I’m excited for it’ll have to sit on the backburner.
I think the marketing campaign is going to prove better than the game.
Hello Games showed off a canvas and gamers started projecting all their childhood dreams onto it.
Nailed it in that second sentence. Been struggling to work out how to say exactly that.
Yep jumping right in. First game I’ve ever pre ordered. I’m looking forward to wasting hours of my life in this game.
I cant decipher from the almighty countdown site (https://countdown.nmsdb.info/) when exactly I’ll be able to play the game…
-Australia (GMT+9:30)
-Steam (humble bundle) pre order.
anyone share some definative light?
(also any word on pre-downloading the game through steam before actual release time?)
Pre Ordered, can’t wait. First planet will be called Momotropolis or some such nonsense. Visitors welcome!
I love the look of the game and the sub reddit community was great. Until something happens to piss them off and the whole sub goes toxic. The game is delayed? Better send some death threats! The leaked footage doesn’t have what I so desperately imagined even though I was just being delusional? Sean Murray is a filthy liar! It will be the demise of the game because people went off the rails with what they thought would be in it and so when it releases people will complain about it lacking content and being overhyped.
But having said that, if you looked at the game from a reasonable perspective and didn’t overhype it to shit then it looks great!
yes
I broke down & watched the leaked videos. It took it from must buy down to wait for bargain bin. Not a whole lot of depth to it.
Can’t wait for NMS, I first saw the game in 2014, I really like the art/ style, and what’s not to love about a near infinite universe to explore at your leisure, I’ve read so many posts saying “I’m going to spend 30-40 hours trying to get to the centre to see if it satisfies me” no offence but… Screw that, there is so much diversity in the game, I want to take my time exploring as much as I can in multiple aspects, I want to name planets, animals and plants, I want to find fantastical environments and see what dangers NMS’s space has in store, I’ll keep this game for a long time, because there will always be something new to explore, trade, fight and survive. I’ll get to the centre eventually, and I’ll continue to travel No mans sky beyond that.
I stumbled onto someone playing it on Twitch- he was a US serviceman (a squad leader, he proudly claimed) who bought the game on base a week early. I was facinated with what i watched but the streamer was such a moron that despite chat flying thick n fast with actual legit advice, people begging the streamer to read the goddamn onscreen directions and the endless drone of frustrated vitriol, (along with the ubiquitous trolling, fuck Trump/Hillary comments, racist/homophobic gutter snipes etc…), the dimbulb playing was having a seriously hard time figuring out what he had to aquire to live, charge his suit and (this stumped him for nearly an hour) how to build and fuel his pulse and launch drives. It was so simple if you, y’know read the stuff that clutters your screen up now and then. Upon discovering he needed to aquire a warp drive too he nearly rage quit. What i saw had potential depth, charm and accessibility…as long as you’re not an illiterate, gun-toting jarhead. Id describe more of what i saw in game but after he sold off all the resources that he was meant to buy to build his warp drive i couldnt watch any longer in case i threw something at the screen. So instead i spent a while weeping for the knowledge that this imbecile is paid to think tactically, formulate strategies, display situational awareness, lead other, lower ranked imbeciles (you poor bastards) and when all else fails, shoot things on behalf of his country. If only they paid him to read as well.
I still hav e Freelancer installed on my PC and I play it every few months with various mods. I am very happy about this game and have a GOG copy awaiting me. I think it will be a staple of my gaming life for the next 5 years.