No Man’s Sky

[ratandjmt]

I love that these guys are still putting "free" updates out for this game. I usually jump back in and give it a go after every update. Been a supporter of the game since day 1 and have had a blast with it over the years.

Can't wait to check out their next game, Light No Fire.

[Zivouhr]

RANT: No Man's Sky, Starfield, and other "Planet Exploration games" with procedurally generated planets.

I'm burnt out with No Man's Sky. Great concept, boring execution IMO. The planets are way too repetitious for my exploration tastes. Same goes for Starfield. It's just the same stuff over and over that looks just like the spot you landed on per one theme planet.
Starfield, yes, you can take off and fly to an ice zone from the desert zone on a select planet, but it's not seamless, and once again, just repetitious with the same cut/paste bases, buildings, plants that shoot poison gas, etc.

I need a single planet that has all of the ecosystem environments of Earth. None of these one theme planets unless they're going to include tons of visual variety, unique cities, and so on.

At least No Man's Sky tries to keep it interesting with base building, unique vehicles, riding animals, and a fast day/night cycle.

The weather is very intrusive to exploration of a map though. How many times does it say "Warning: Incoming storm!" Way too often.

I wish there were sliders/parameters that we could shut off or adjust these things for all the improvements they're offering.

And there is still no way to get the Jet Pack in Creative mode to fly for more than a few seconds before depleting again. Unlike Normal mode when I could fly for 30 seconds almost. Not good and mysteriously never addressed by Hello Games, and never questioned by anyone from what I've seen.

Sorry for my rant, but give us planets that are much more varied per planet. Less planets, more variety per planet is what I want.

Starfield brags that it has 1000 planets/moons. Too bad they mostly look alike and are not exciting to explore in my opinion.

Mass Effect beat them both with the concept and better story too.

Starfield, at least offers a story with characters to develop but when you're fighting the same troopers so often on cut/paste planet bases, it gets a bit too repetitive.

More planet ecosystem variety needed in these games!

[emailking]

From that trailer the game looks so much different than it once did. Anyway, what do they mean the whole world can play it whether the own the game or not?

[heyadol]

Originally Posted by Zivouhr

RANT: No Man's Sky, Starfield, and other "Planet Exploration games" with procedurally generated planets.

I'm burnt out with No Man's Sky. Great concept, boring execution IMO. The planets are way too repetitious for my exploration tastes.

[Show spoiler] Same goes for Starfield. It's just the same stuff over and over that looks just like the spot you landed on per one theme planet.
Starfield, yes, you can take off and fly to an ice zone from the desert zone on a select planet, but it's not seamless, and once again, just repetitious with the same cut/paste bases, buildings, plants that shoot poison gas, etc.

I need a single planet that has all of the ecosystem environments of Earth. None of these one theme planets unless they're going to include tons of visual variety, unique cities, and so on.

At least No Man's Sky tries to keep it interesting with base building, unique vehicles, riding animals, and a fast day/night cycle.

The weather is very intrusive to exploration of a map though. How many times does it say "Warning: Incoming storm!" Way too often.

I wish there were sliders/parameters that we could shut off or adjust these things for all the improvements they're offering.

And there is still no way to get the Jet Pack in Creative mode to fly for more than a few seconds before depleting again. Unlike Normal mode when I could fly for 30 seconds almost. Not good and mysteriously never addressed by Hello Games, and never questioned by anyone from what I've seen.

Sorry for my rant, but give us planets that are much more varied per planet. Less planets, more variety per planet is what I want.

Starfield brags that it has 1000 planets/moons. Too bad they mostly look alike and are not exciting to explore in my opinion.

Mass Effect beat them both with the concept and better story too.

Starfield, at least offers a story with characters to develop but when you're fighting the same troopers so often on cut/paste planet bases, it gets a bit too repetitive.

More planet ecosystem variety needed in these games!

Ya, I think the vastness of these games compounds the issue, if they were smaller in scope it might feel like there was more variety. However, I'm willing to give No Man's Sky some breathing room here since Hello Games is only like two dozen employees.

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by emailking

From that trailer the game looks so much different than it once did. Anyway, what do they mean the whole world can play it whether the own the game or not?

No Man's Sky: Omega Update Trailer - YouTube

Maybe through a subscription streaming service of games, PS Plus, XBox Gamepass.

Originally Posted by heyadol

Ya, I think the vastness of these games compounds the issue, if they were smaller in scope it might feel like there was more variety. However, I'm willing to give No Man's Sky some breathing room here since Hello Games is only like two dozen employees.

Good point.

I'm thinking of No Man's sky as mostly an experimental simulation type game, and that is its main strength. When I think of it as an action game, it really suffers, but that is one thing that could have made it a bit more exciting aside from much better planet variations per planet.

For the team, they really got some bad press at launch back in 2016 when they said it'll be multiplayer at launch but then you could never meet another player ever. They raked in the dollars though, at 59.99 at launch I bought it, and probably at least 3 million others, so that was plenty of incentive for the small Hello Games team to really focus on delivering on what they promised in the interviews.

I think they lived up to that for other gamers interested in online play.
The game looks good and is clever, so I'll say it's definitely a milestone in the history of open world games, after Mass Effect.

[mwynn]

No Man's Sky Orbital Update Trailer - YouTube

[Zivouhr]

I guess No Man's Sky qualifies as a space simluator where you can visit endless planets. That's a cool concept for sure, and the game does deliver on that promise, even from when it first launched years ago.
No Man's Sky probably appeals also to those who really enjoy the Minecraft type games, where you gather resources to build new things.

The update looks like visual changes to things. Making the planets more exciting, I don't think that's a goal of the game, as you can land in one spot of the planet, and it's very similar to every other spot you land on other than water or land. I wish No Man's Sky would bring in planets with many ecosystems like Earth has. Then it could be really interesting to find a gem planet like that.

But in reality, we've only really seen through satellite photography, 8 planets within our solar system and only one of those is as unique and varied as Earth. The others are mostly wastelands with no life at all it seems.

[mwynn]

No Man's Sky: Worlds Part 1 - Official Trailer - YouTube

[Zivouhr]

New variety of the planets? I'll believe it when I see it, but will give it a try, as that is probably the single-most thing this game needs. More variety of terrains per planet so one spot doesn't feel exactly like another spot anywhere you land. That makes these planets mostly boring to explore. Will give this a try, thanks.

[Steelmaker]

I've moved on. PSVR2 rejuvenated this game for me for a while, but even that couldn't keep me engaged beyond a couple of weeks. I'm interested in Light No Fire though.

[emailking]

That actually looks pretty cool, lol

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by Steelmaker

I've moved on. PSVR2 rejuvenated this game for me for a while, but even that couldn't keep me engaged beyond a couple of weeks. I'm interested in Light No Fire though.

So far playing this new update, no luck. No great oceans, the clouds look just okay, the jetpack still doesn't work right like it did at launch ( you could fly for 30+ seconds, now even with all the upgrades, I can only fly no more than 5 to 7 seconds.)

It just doesn't offer enough variety per planet. So what is in the far distance is the exact same thing you're standing on right now. That's true even of this new update. Why trek to the distant scenery when it's exactly the same terrain?

The game does look slightly better with the details.
Controls on foot could use improvement. No sense of weight when moving.

Light No Fire, I remember hearing about that one.

Light No Fire Announcement Trailer - YouTube

I hope the game is playable also offline, but most importantly, that the lands have variety like on Earth. Not just all the same Terrain per planet like in No Man's Sky.

Originally Posted by emailking

That actually looks pretty cool, lol

If I could find that planet, I'll be more interested.

[Zivouhr]

Having spent a couple hours with the new update, I'm very underwhelmed. I'm noticing a pattern with Hello Games now.

They hype up a new update with a fancy trailer playing their epic style music tracks, list a bunch of new features like new ships, new building materials, new tools, new planet terrains, and then when I go to play it, No Man's Sky still feels very much like the same game it launched as. Neat, but very uneventful after landing on each planet and seeing what you landed on is pretty much the whole planet's surface.

What's amazing is there are devoted No Man's Sky fans (see their youtube channel) that seem to worship every new update as if it's a revelation of genius additions to the game. I'm not understanding that admiration as this is what the game should've been like at launch. I'm just not seeing anything amazing being added. Credit to Hello Games for continuing to offer new content? They charged through Sony, 59.99 at launch in 2016 for a very similar game, so I'd hope they keep offering free content for these incremental, small updates IMO.

Just not that impressed. 3rd person was a nice addition, but in regular warp mode (L1+R1) while flying towards a planet, I'm still seeing the vertical lines that should not be there since the launch of the game. They still haven't even fixed that.

Building bases is nothing new and has been part of gaming since Minecraft and even before that, and before Fallout 4, etc.

Going from planet to planet is the main draw for explorers who don't mind lots of repetition of terrains and planets despite each one being "unique". Most all end up looking very similar.

Rant over. I like No Man's Sky's concept and the basic gameplay, but for all the updates, it still has that glaring issue of dull planets.

[emailking]

You should play it in VR then now that is a different experience!

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by emailking

You should play it in VR then now that is a different experience!

Thanks. Good to hear you enjoy the VR version.
I have the PS4 PSVR version of No Man's Sky too that I played. It's neat for a few hours as you can see it in 1st person stereo 3D, but other than that, it's the same game.

For 2024's Star Wars Outlaws, I really hope it didn't take inspiration from No Man's Sky like Bethesda's Starfield heavily does with their 1000 "unique" planets that are boring to explore with similar bases on each planet 99% of the time. Starfield was the biggest disappointment game of 2023. Even the dead astronaut by the door is in the same spot at every location with that cut/paste base. In No Man's Sky, I'll enter one of the replica busted air lock planet mini bases with vines growing and it's the same exact thing on endless planets as I access the computer to find out what happened.

For those who enjoy mining planets for resources, No Man's Sky can be a great game, as that is what most of it consists of outside some space battles and exploring.

I'm going to hold off on Hello Games' new procedurally generated games from now on including Light No Fire, which seems to be a mostly online themed game.

[Member-115369]

Originally Posted by Zivouhr

Thanks. Good to hear you enjoy the VR version.
I have the PS4 PSVR version of No Man's Sky too that I played. It's neat for a few hours as you can see it in 1st person stereo 3D, but other than that, it's the same game.

For 2024's Star Wars Outlaws, I really hope it didn't take inspiration from No Man's Sky like Bethesda's Starfield heavily does with their 1000 "unique" planets that are boring to explore with similar bases on each planet 99% of the time. Starfield was the biggest disappointment game of 2023. Even the dead astronaut by the door is in the same spot at every location with that cut/paste base. In No Man's Sky, I'll enter one of the replica busted air lock planet mini bases with vines growing and it's the same exact thing on endless planets as I access the computer to find out what happened.

For those who enjoy mining planets for resources, No Man's Sky can be a great game, as that is what most of it consists of outside some space battles and exploring.

I'm going to hold off on Hello Games' new procedurally generated games from now on including Light No Fire, which seems to be a mostly online themed game.

There’s only a handful of planets (5 I think I read) in Outlaws and they’re of course all hand crafted and not procedurally generated like in NMS.

I’m with you no generally not caring for procedurally generated stuff though. In general, I’m just not interested in endless games. I just prefer story driven games and just taking my time through them, seeing the ending and moving on to something else. Rarely even care about doing all side content (unless they have decent storylines) and especially about chasing trophies etc. these days.

Too many good games to play to spend time on content I’m not finding engaging.

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by dmaul1114

There’s only a handful of planets (5 I think I read) in Outlaws and they’re of course all hand crafted and not procedurally generated like in NMS.

I’m with you no generally not caring for procedurally generated stuff though. In general, I’m just not interested in endless games. I just prefer story driven games and just taking my time through them, seeing the ending and moving on to something else. Rarely even care about doing all side content (unless they have decent storylines) and especially about chasing trophies etc. these days.

Too many good games to play to spend time on content I’m not finding engaging.

Thanks.
Yeah, Procedural Generation is good at times, but for No Man's Sky, it seems like a lazy way to generate planets instead of going in and taking the time to actually make each planet very unique and worth visiting, instead of cut/paste planets for the majority of the game. It takes a lot of time to make a planet varied and exciting but probably a few parameter variations to procedurally generate one that is not half as interesting.

[NARMAK]

After having a look at the latest update briefly on the YouTube promo for a new feature or what not, it's astounding to me how very different this game is. I know everybody says Final Fantasy 14 is the BIGGEST turn around of all time, probably due to the MMO nature of it but is No Man's Sky not the BIGGEST turnaround for any console game you have ever seen?

They have added so many QoL features for free.

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by NARMAK

After having a look at the latest update briefly on the YouTube promo for a new feature or what not, it's astounding to me how very different this game is. I know everybody says Final Fantasy 14 is the BIGGEST turn around of all time, probably due to the MMO nature of it but is No Man's Sky not the BIGGEST turnaround for any console game you have ever seen?

They have added so many QoL features for free.

That's cool you enjoy it and like the new vehicles and ability to pet and ride on the animals, build bases, etc.

How often do you play No Man's Sky with the new features? What are your favorite planets to visit?

I wish I felt the same way but if the planets are boring to explore due to lacking variety of terrains (compare No Man's Sky planets to Ghost Recon Wildlands in terms of fun areas to explore), all the new stuff doesn't make it more fun. I'm in the minority here as there are a lot of Hello Games fans that love what they're doing for the game.

The warping to other solar systems is a bit frustrating too with the galaxy map, as the warp drive, fully powered up in Creative and Custom modes, all connected next to each other in the Ship boxes, will only warp me to one or two systems at most. When I first played, I upgraded enough to leap maybe 4 to 5 solar systems away in one light jump. Full fuel, powered up, everything. I don't understand what's going on with creative mode, but the items don't work as they say they will.

[NARMAK]

Originally Posted by Zivouhr

That's cool you enjoy it and like the new vehicles and ability to pet and ride on the animals, build bases, etc.

How often do you play No Man's Sky with the new features? What are your favorite planets to visit?

I wish I felt the same way but if the planets are boring to explore due to lacking variety of terrains (compare No Man's Sky planets to Ghost Recon Wildlands in terms of fun areas to explore), all the new stuff doesn't make it more fun. I'm in the minority here as there are a lot of Hello Games fans that love what they're doing for the game.

The warping to other solar systems is a bit frustrating too with the galaxy map, as the warp drive, fully powered up in Creative and Custom modes, all connected next to each other in the Ship boxes, will only warp me to one or two systems at most. When I first played, I upgraded enough to leap maybe 4 to 5 solar systems away in one light jump. Full fuel, powered up, everything. I don't understand what's going on with creative mode, but the items don't work as they say they will.

Sorry if i made it sound like i've played it recently. I haven't had a chance to play more or less since the launch build but had it on my to play list. The changes from these update change videos i have seen and it is definitely night and day difference in how the game was.

It's probably a lot like the way we wanted to play it first with friends in an open galaxy.