No Man's Sky

[dreamstation (James)]

Greetings all. Not sure how many of you here are into video games but due to the nature of this particular game I thought some of you may be interested. The game is titled 'No Man's Sky' and is releasing on August 10 in Australia on both the PC and Playstation 4 platforms.

Almost all aspects of the game are procedurally generated so even the creators of the game don't know exactly what we're going to find out there. The planets, the star systems, the plants and animals we will encounter, the starships and even the game's audio and music are generated by mathematical equations and art assets created by the team.

The absolutely incredible part for me and probably the main reasons I am so looking forward to this game is the exploration and discovery aspects. The fact that you can fly around in space then seemlessly fly down to a planet's surface (which are absolutely huge in scale by the way - please watch the videos I've linked down below to see this), get out of your ship to explore and search for elements and life forms, then jump back in your ship and take off back into space is mind blowing. By the way, you can also name any and all planets or life forms that you encounter on your journey, and you are credited as the discoverer should any other player in the world ever encounter those particular planets or life forms that you have named.

Instead of trying to explain everything about the game, I will instead quote paragraphs from the wikipedia page on the game which I think sums it up nicely.

No Man's Sky's gameplay is built on four pillars—exploration, survival, combat and trading—in which players are free to perform within the entirety of a procedurally generated deterministic open universe, which includes over 18 quintillion (1.8×1019) planets, many with their own set of flora and fauna.

Players take the role of a planetary explorer in an uncharted universe. They are equipped with a survival spacesuit with a jetpack; a "multitool" that can be used to scan, mine and collect resources as well as to attack or defend oneself from creatures and other entities while on a planet; and a spacecraft that allows them to land and take-off from planets and travel between them and engage in combat with other space-faring vessels.

Players also gain materials and blueprints to upgrade their character's equipment and purchase a variety of starships, allowing them to travel deeper into the center of the galaxy, survive on planets with hostile environments, interact in friendly or hostile manners to computer-controlled space-faring factions, or trade with other ships.

Trailers: EXPLORE Trailer | FIGHT Trailer | TRADE Trailer | SURVIVE Trailer (Coming soon)

Official Website: http://www.no-mans-sky.com

[pluto (Hugh)]

Been looking forward to this for a long time but I must admit as more details become available the less excited I get. For example I just read the other day that they're only doing rocky planets so that all planets are able to be landed on, but I would have much preferred to have a nice diversity of rocky and gas planets (maybe something new too as they're using fantasy physics) when exploring systems (like Elite Dangerous).

Don't get me wrong, it still looks awesome and I'll be buying it on the 11th but I'm worried I like the idea of it more than the actual execution.

[SimmoW (SIMON)]

Yep, can't wait for the game to be released next month! A quintillion planets should keep us occupied in the rainy season. Getting the PC version

[AG Hybrid (Adrian)]

I pre-ordered it on steam. I don't normally pre-order anymore after getting burned previously but there is enough gameplay and dev-talk with this one that I felt it was a safe purchase.

Can't wait.

[stefang (Stefan)]

I can recommend The Universe sandbox 2 on the HTC Vive VR headset.

If you want to swim in our universe, and experiment with throwing a few extra moons into orbit around our universe and watch the carnage in glorious HD Virtual Reality there is nothing better.

https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&s...MZIW9ccwHRoDzg

sG

[dreamstation (James)]

Great to see that I'm not the only one looking forward to this. Can definitely see myself losing hours and hours exploring and taking pictures of all the different planets and wildlife that I come across on my journey. On the topic of Universe Sandbox, I've got the first one on steam which I did have some fun with. I wasn't lucky enough to have a VR device though!

[pluto (Hugh)]

So, now that it's out, what do we think?


I had tempered my expectations but still I'm a little surprised at how rough around the edges it is. It's all well and good having 18 quintillion planets but it doesn't mean much when they're all basically the same with just slight variations.

When you see screenshots or video you think it looks great, and it does - sometimes - but when you're playing it you're seeing the same stuff over and over again. Like every planet has many, many, buildings on it but there are only about 4 different types of buildings so it gets really repetitive. Same goes for space stations - they're in every system, so there's no accomplishment in finding them, and they all look and function basically the same.

They tried to do so many things with the game (like planetary exploration, space stations, ground combat, space combat, etc) but each of those things just doesn't feel like it's that good. For example the space combat is really basic and annoying and if that's something you're into there are some really good space combat games out there.

It's also very repetitive and "grindy" - always trying to get money to upgrade things and keep your ship running so you can warp a few more systems and do it all again.

That being said I am finding it quite addictive, and it does have occasional "wow" moments, so I'll keep going until I reach the centre

(I've played about 17 hours of the PC version, the first 5 of which were really buggy, but then they patched it and it's been ok since)

[rustigsmed (Russell)]

I might wait for a sale before getting it.

Space Engine is another one worth looking at if you want to fly around the universe.

[bugeater (Marty)]

I've been underwhelmed by it. As Hugh has said, there is a lot of repetition, both in what the planets look like and what you do. It also doesn't feel like you are "discovering" a new planet when it is already full of buildings and those stupid flying robots.

It would be fun in VR, because of the wow factor of feeling like you are standing on one of these alien worlds, but it isn't clear if they will eventually add that.

[pluto (Hugh)]

Originally Posted by bugeater

I've been underwhelmed by it. As Hugh has said, there is a lot of repetition, both in what the planets look like and what you do. It also doesn't feel like you are "discovering" a new planet when it is already full of buildings and those stupid flying robots.

It would be fun in VR, because of the wow factor of feeling like you are standing on one of these alien worlds, but it isn't clear if they will eventually add that.

It's been hinted that it may be a PSVR title, which could be interesting.

Obviously it doesn't have the procedural planetary surface stuff (yet) but Elite Dangerous has everything else that NMS has and it's much better - plus it works really well in VR. Drifting by millions of asteroids in some gas planet's rings in Elite, in VR, was nothing short of astounding

Also in ED there is much more of a sense of exploration and discovery, especially when you're hundreds of lightyears away from the nearest inhabited system hoping you don't run out of fuel and get stranded

[bugeater (Marty)]

Originally Posted by pluto

It's been hinted that it may be a PSVR title, which could be interesting.

Obviously it doesn't have the procedural planetary surface stuff (yet) but Elite Dangerous has everything else that NMS has and it's much better - plus it works really well in VR. Drifting by millions of asteroids in some gas planet's rings in Elite, in VR, was nothing short of astounding

Also in ED there is much more of a sense of exploration and discovery, especially when you're hundreds of lightyears away from the nearest inhabited system hoping you don't run out of fuel and get stranded

They've been hinting at it becoming a VR title, but nothing has been confirmed, which is a bit strange. I think VR could add a lot to the game.

I've played heaps of Elite Dangerous (with a TrackIR) and have been trying to get it to work with my Vive the last few days. It is pretty immersive - particularly giving you a sense of the scale of the ships you are piloting. I just wish the resolution was a bit higher. It also random freezes on me, which has been quite frustrating.

I do find it amusing that I first played Elite something like 30 years ago on our Commodore 128. I would have been around 10 and was blown away by the wireframe graphics. I even made one of the little ships out of balsa wood. Now I walk around inside the cockpit of one in VR.

[pluto (Hugh)]

Originally Posted by bugeater

I've played heaps of Elite Dangerous (with a TrackIR) and have been trying to get it to work with my Vive the last few days. It is pretty immersive - particularly giving you a sense of the scale of the ships you are piloting. I just wish the resolution was a bit higher. It also random freezes on me, which has been quite frustrating.

I do find it amusing that I first played Elite something like 30 years ago on our Commodore 128. I would have been around 10 and was blown away by the wireframe graphics. I even made one of the little ships out of balsa wood. Now I walk around inside the cockpit of one in VR.

Haha that's great

I only played ED with the Oculus DK2 so it's even lower resolution and the text was quite difficult to read - but still usable. Like you say the scale of the ship interiors really got me, also being able to look around as you were trying to land somewhere was really helpful. It was rock solid for me with the DK2 so I hope you get to the bottom of your troubles


As for NMS I think I'm actually liking it more as I play more. Not sure if I was just unlucky for the first 15 hours or so but the last couple of nights playing I've seen some really beautiful and diverse planets and have enjoyed it heaps more than I was. The problems are still really prominent but I've learned to ignore them.

[KISSMAD (Bruce)]

Good Game will be reviewing the game on Tuesday night at 8:30pm on ABC2.

[SimmoW (SIMON)]

Ooh thanks Marty, I'm reinstalling Elite Dangerous after your comments. It looks more impressive than I remember (I tried it at early beta stage).

I'll give NMS more time to mature and expand re features and possibly online play. Don't have much spare time nowadays, so maybe both will keep me amused!

[StuTodd]

No Mans Sky hasn't a hope of running on my laptop but EvE Online does so I will stick to EvE.

Citizen Sky looks like it could be good too for those with meatier rigs.

I know EvE is a completely different game too..

Stu

[AG Hybrid (Adrian)]

Well. The developers were lying pieces of **** and No Man's Sky has turned out to be quite average after all. Next time I get tempted to pre-order a game I couldn't test or see reviews of before release, I'm going to give myself an upper cut to remind myself not how it feels.

[noeyedeer (Matt)]

Originally Posted by bugeater

They've been hinting at it becoming a VR title, but nothing has been confirmed, which is a bit strange. I think VR could add a lot to the game.

I've played heaps of Elite Dangerous (with a TrackIR) and have been trying to get it to work with my Vive the last few days. It is pretty immersive - particularly giving you a sense of the scale of the ships you are piloting. I just wish the resolution was a bit higher. It also random freezes on me, which has been quite frustrating.

I do find it amusing that I first played Elite something like 30 years ago on our Commodore 128. I would have been around 10 and was blown away by the wireframe graphics. I even made one of the little ships out of balsa wood. Now I walk around inside the cockpit of one in VR.

haha I remember Elite awesome for its time, on the Atari 520ST instead of the c128. I'm surprised no ones mentioned the X series of games in this thread. :/ or wing commander ....

also if NMS is to be successful it needs to be friendly for modifying so a community can develop the game further and add enhancements which can be adapted into the game, like many games allow which keeps them alive.
Matt

[AG Hybrid (Adrian)]

Yeah I'm already using mods so I don't lose the will to live when trying to play it. A good one is removing the delay when activating items or things.

[LewisM]

Bought it today.

Played it.

It sux. BIG time.

Modded it.

Slightly better.

Still sux.

Over hyped nothingness. Droll, repetitive nonesense with no real rhyme or reason and graphics repeated ad nauseum ad infinitum.

Money wasted.

Uninstalled.

Back to Kerbals.

[LewisM]

PS: I was running that on my new laptop - a serious gaming laptop - and it was still laggy and slower than a wet week in July.

The pastel nature of most of the environment gets old quickly.

And walking makes it look like you are crawling on your stomach like in an FPS game.

Not impressed at all - it needs SERIOUS revision and a revamp from the Survivalist nature it is now to the promised explorer/discovery nature. Hello has also been caught red handed showing pre-rendered and recorded footage as their demo - not even remotely procedurally generated as promised.

NOt planning on reinstalling this one until they revamp it in a major way.