• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

No Man's Sky previews (03-03-2016)

amnesiac

Member
Here's a good Gameinformer article which talks about multiplayer: http://www.gameinformer.com/b/featu...ng-of-no-man-s-sky-as-a-multiplayer-game.aspx

Summary from Reddit Wiki:

  • This is not an MMO.
  • Your friends will show up on the galaxy map, but they will be a long way away.
  • You will be able to see other players, but can only see a few at the same time. So if loads of people gathered in the same place, they wouldn't all see each other.
  • Friends will not take priority when it comes to who can see who.
  • If you do see another player, then there won't currently be any indication that it's another player rather than just another AI.
  • The first time you see another player will be the first time you see what you look like. It'll still just be a suit though, so you won't see inside.
  • The player character looks different than anything else you'll see.
  • There will be a way for players to communicate with each other, and leave little messages. And there will be a place where you can leave them, which will be connected. So from one place you could see things from other places as well.


Granted, the information was from late 2014, but I would assume most of it has stayed the same.
 

BigDug13

Member
They said they might add multiplayer lobbies post launch

The only way I could see it working would be for it to be a separate character that you launch in "wingman mode" or something where you and a buddy can spawn new characters together and explore together.

In the meantime, if you want to be able to reach your friends, buy the game on PC. I'm sure there will be some sort of command-line stuff that will get you warped to specific systems and planets that people will discover.
 

RedSwirl

Junior Member
The ultimate question of how long you'll be able to play before the procedural generation get's repetitive, sadly, can only really be answered post-launch after people have had 40-50 hours with the game. The recent previews revealing elements like NPCs sound really nice but they potentially fall under the same problem.

Before though I said one promising aspect is that Hello Games has tailored the game to where different kinds of things will show up in different parts of the universe (close to the center). That theoretically means that even if planets and systems get repetitive in one sector of the game, even one galaxy, that you should begin to see some new things as soon as you travel to another sector that's a different distance away from the center.

Just as a heads-up, after like 70 hours of Elite Dangerous I have yet to find two star systems that are significantly similar (other than lone stars), and there's a lot less to do with the planets in that game. I've been to around 300 star systems so far. I should add that planets themselves definitely got repetitive early on, but without Horizons you really only just look at the planets in this game. I don't know about Horizons in that regard. I'm just saying in my experience the configurations of star systems haven't gotten repetitive. I still feel interested in finding out what's going to be in the next system.
 
Yeah, this is my problem as well. I was expecting more spectacular space explosions, since these are giant ships, but they seem incredibly arcadey.

Yeah... the space battles look like a PS2 game, with the floaty controls, pew pew lasers, and janky explosions. I love dogfighting in space, but the NMS space combat just doesn't grab me, so I'll probably spend most of my time on planets.
 

0racle

Member
What I dont understand is this,

I get how generated environments will make for neat new encounters but isnt it all created from the same asset pool?

I mean its not creating itself. There are certain design paramaters be it trees, rocks, animals, grass etc that are all being mixed together with just color changes? it seems ( depending on how much they have created ) this would get old rather fast.
 

Carn82

Member
There are certain design paramaters be it trees, rocks, animals, grass etc that are all being mixed together with just color changes? it seems ( depending on how much they have created ) this would get old rather fast.

Correct. Not just 'colour changes' tho, there is a nice tech-video where Sean Murray shows a bunch of archetypes that are used (there are quite a lot of them actually). But yeah, that's pretty much the biggest 'challenge' Hello Games will have to beat; making sure you are still surprised every now and then, and are not just looking at '4 legged lizard-dog variation but now it has a different beak #8' for the x-th time.

edit: the video in question: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-kifCYToAU&feature=youtu.be&t=1290
 

GribbleGrunger

Dreams in Digital
What I dont understand is this,

I get how generated environments will make for neat new encounters but isnt it all created from the same asset pool?

I mean its not creating itself. There are certain design paramaters be it trees, rocks, animals, grass etc that are all being mixed together with just color changes? it seems ( depending on how much they have created ) this would get old rather fast.

Think of those games that have sliders for everything when you're designing your character. A slider for jaw line, for nose width, length or size, a slider for lips, for hair, for colour, for tattoos. There is a base model for everything but that base model gets modified by these sliders, by the colouration or features such as spikes or teeth. Take those base models and mix them with other base models. Once that's done layer in movement, slow or lumbering for large, fast or scurrying for small. Now add procedurally generated animal sounds that also reflect size, level of aggression or environments. Just like on earth, anything related to canines look like canines, anything related to felines look like felines. There's a common strand of species running through them.
a1.PNG

BuIFw5uIEAAEiCO.jpg


saltwaterspecies.jpg

A261.jpg
 

amnesiac

Member
Here is a more critical reaction to the preview event: http://www.gamekult.com/actu/preview-no-mans-sky-ps4-A160203.html

A Redditor has summarized the article:


  • The journalist played mostly on PS4 and was shown a PC version before
  • Crappy FPS and low details on planets on PS4 vs PC
  • Shooting feels boring (no feedback)
  • No reward/loot for killing on planets or in space, confirmed to be like this at release
  • Sloppy controls of both walking and flying (walking is too slow, and flying is too simple to be interesting)
  • Space station (big crystals) are big and empty (just a terminal to buy/sell stuff)
  • Police robots on every planet, even unexplored ones, kills the immersion
  • The feeling is that the developers were pushed to show it to the press, but it feels like as if they did not like the idea of showing their game in this state
  • This all looked scary for the journalist with the June release date in mind, based on his game-previews experience


Really don't like the idea that the police are on every planet. I knew they said that would be the case awhile back, but it kinda sucks knowing you'll never be truly alone on a planet.
 
Does anyone recall a preview talking about a scenario where the player was trying to get past forcefield and there were enemy drones. I remember reading you could find a different way around such as swimming underwater. Can't find the articles where I read about that
 
Here is a more critical reaction to the preview event: http://www.gamekult.com/actu/preview-no-mans-sky-ps4-A160203.html

A Redditor has summarized the article:


  • The journalist played mostly on PS4 and was shown a PC version before
  • Crappy FPS and low details on planets on PS4 vs PC
  • Shooting feels boring (no feedback)
  • No reward/loot for killing on planets or in space, confirmed to be like this at release
  • Sloppy controls of both walking and flying (walking is too slow, and flying is too simple to be interesting)
  • Space station (big crystals) are big and empty (just a terminal to buy/sell stuff)
  • Police robots on every planet, even unexplored ones, kills the immersion
  • The feeling is that the developers were pushed to show it to the press, but it feels like as if they did not like the idea of showing their game in this state
  • This all looked scary for the journalist with the June release date in mind, based on his game-previews experience


Really don't like the idea that the police are on every planet. I knew they said that would be the case awhile back, but it kinda sucks knowing you'll never be truly alone on a planet.

I remember reading before that the cops wouldnt be on every planet. I guess they changed it which sucks but ehhh. Killing something should reward loot, that's just a decision I don't understand. Everything else I can live with. Never planned to do too much shooting and expected stations to be empty. Just make the framerate smooth and speed up on foot movement.
 
I remember reading before that the cops wouldnt be on every planet. I guess they changed it which sucks but ehhh. Killing something should reward loot, that's just a decision I don't understand
Could it be a instance of the translation being unclear? Sentinels on every planet doesnt seem to fit with the whole atmosphere and sense of exploration they're going for
 

VARIA

Member
Here is a more critical reaction to the preview event: http://www.gamekult.com/actu/preview-no-mans-sky-ps4-A160203.html

A Redditor has summarized the article:


  • The journalist played mostly on PS4 and was shown a PC version before
  • Crappy FPS and low details on planets on PS4 vs PC
  • Shooting feels boring (no feedback)
  • No reward/loot for killing on planets or in space, confirmed to be like this at release
  • Sloppy controls of both walking and flying (walking is too slow, and flying is too simple to be interesting)
  • Space station (big crystals) are big and empty (just a terminal to buy/sell stuff)
  • Police robots on every planet, even unexplored ones, kills the immersion
  • The feeling is that the developers were pushed to show it to the press, but it feels like as if they did not like the idea of showing their game in this state
  • This all looked scary for the journalist with the June release date in mind, based on his game-previews experience

Sounds like the review from a disgruntled XBOX fan. ;-)
 

amnesiac

Member
Could it be a instance of the translation being unclear? Sentinels on every planet doesnt seem to fit with the whole atmosphere and sense of exploration they're going for

I don't think it's a translation error. It's been mentioned in the past.

It might only be exclusive to the demo builds though.
 
Here is a more critical reaction to the preview event: http://www.gamekult.com/actu/preview-no-mans-sky-ps4-A160203.html

A Redditor has summarized the article:


  • The journalist played mostly on PS4 and was shown a PC version before
  • Crappy FPS and low details on planets on PS4 vs PC
  • Shooting feels boring (no feedback)
  • No reward/loot for killing on planets or in space, confirmed to be like this at release
  • Sloppy controls of both walking and flying (walking is too slow, and flying is too simple to be interesting)
  • Space station (big crystals) are big and empty (just a terminal to buy/sell stuff)
  • Police robots on every planet, even unexplored ones, kills the immersion
  • The feeling is that the developers were pushed to show it to the press, but it feels like as if they did not like the idea of showing their game in this state
  • This all looked scary for the journalist with the June release date in mind, based on his game-previews experience


Really don't like the idea that the police are on every planet. I knew they said that would be the case awhile back, but it kinda sucks knowing you'll never be truly alone on a planet.


That sounds a little too hyperbolic and just focus all on the negatives to really take serious, maybe he is right though who knows.
 

OuterLimits

Member
Some of the stuff I'm reading has me a bit concerned. Especially the performance on PS4. Still excited, but a bit cautious. This game could be amazing or a huge disappointment.
 

davepoobond

you can't put a price on sparks
isnt whatever preview version they have going to be vastly different from the final product? they only have 30 minutes to experience as much as possible, its not going to be indicative of a final experience.

i would be a little disappointed if police robots were on EVERY planet.
 
Some of the stuff sounds reasonable to me. People have been pointing out the screen tearing in the recent footage. I'm sure it's not where they want it to be performance wise yet.

It also doesn't surprise me that someone would think the walking is slow. It does seem pretty dang slow from all of the footage we see. (though there is a sprint button). Sean in one of the recent interviews said that they're definitely still tweaking controls to get them right.

I think the sentinels being on every planet is a bit of misinformation though. We've been told before that they're not on every planet. They're mostly on planets that are more eco rich.

Also you can get loot from killing ships in space.

Here are some more points translated by a french reddit user.

they feel the UI Does not feels polished and is not intuitive.

you can transfer resources from your suit to your ship

developer hints at a scanner (ship upgrade) that can scan a whole planet from space
flying the ship is very arcady and with lots of assist. Same for aiming. Random pirates where easy to dispatch.

they oversaw a planet made mainly of oceans with only few small islands.

they felt the developers were aware of the problems and not totally happy with the idea of showing the game in this state.
 

RedSwirl

Junior Member
Here is a more critical reaction to the preview event: http://www.gamekult.com/actu/preview-no-mans-sky-ps4-A160203.html

A Redditor has summarized the article:


  • The journalist played mostly on PS4 and was shown a PC version before
  • Crappy FPS and low details on planets on PS4 vs PC
  • Shooting feels boring (no feedback)
  • No reward/loot for killing on planets or in space, confirmed to be like this at release
  • Sloppy controls of both walking and flying (walking is too slow, and flying is too simple to be interesting)
  • Space station (big crystals) are big and empty (just a terminal to buy/sell stuff)
  • Police robots on every planet, even unexplored ones, kills the immersion
  • The feeling is that the developers were pushed to show it to the press, but it feels like as if they did not like the idea of showing their game in this state
  • This all looked scary for the journalist with the June release date in mind, based on his game-previews experience


Really don't like the idea that the police are on every planet. I knew they said that would be the case awhile back, but it kinda sucks knowing you'll never be truly alone on a planet.

Not getting anything from killing surface life was confirmed, but I thought they confirmed that you DO get loot and money from killing other ships in space. It's supposed to be one of the main viable upgrade paths.
 

davepoobond

you can't put a price on sparks
Not getting anything from killing surface life was confirmed, but I thought they confirmed that you DO get loot and money from killing other ships in space. It's supposed to be one of the main viable upgrade paths.

isn't most/all of the looting in the game relegated to the periodic elements?

its not like you need to get meat or bones or the like, right?
 

c0Zm1c

Member
Not getting anything from killing surface life was confirmed, but I thought they confirmed that you DO get loot and money from killing other ships in space. It's supposed to be one of the main viable upgrade paths.

You can see loot pickup in space in one of the recent videos so that does indeed confirm that.
 
I remember reading before that the cops wouldnt be on every planet. I guess they changed it which sucks but ehhh. Killing something should reward loot, that's just a decision I don't understand. Everything else I can live with. Never planned to do too much shooting and expected stations to be empty. Just make the framerate smooth and speed up on foot movement.

Killing something should reward you with loot? I have a feeling Sean would say, "That's a very American thing to say." ;) I mean, do you want Hello to add the ability to sell animal body parts? Sell the tusks of alien elephants for their space ivory? That's not the game Hello wanted to make, hence why the Sentinels are there. I do think it's odd that the Sentinels are on every planet, but there must be some narrative reason for that. As for the walking speed, Sean has said that there's a run button.

The comments about shooting and flying aren't surprising, that's basically what I was talking about earlier. Just a lack of physicality to the combat aspect. I don't mind arcadey flying controls, but they still have to feel like there's weight. The best vibe I get from the NMS flying is going in or out of the atmosphere; you really feel the acceleration there.
 

koryuken

Member
Here is a more critical reaction to the preview event: http://www.gamekult.com/actu/preview-no-mans-sky-ps4-A160203.html

A Redditor has summarized the article:


  • The journalist played mostly on PS4 and was shown a PC version before
  • Crappy FPS and low details on planets on PS4 vs PC
  • Shooting feels boring (no feedback)
  • No reward/loot for killing on planets or in space, confirmed to be like this at release
  • Sloppy controls of both walking and flying (walking is too slow, and flying is too simple to be interesting)
  • Space station (big crystals) are big and empty (just a terminal to buy/sell stuff)
  • Police robots on every planet, even unexplored ones, kills the immersion
  • The feeling is that the developers were pushed to show it to the press, but it feels like as if they did not like the idea of showing their game in this state
  • This all looked scary for the journalist with the June release date in mind, based on his game-previews experience


Really don't like the idea that the police are on every planet. I knew they said that would be the case awhile back, but it kinda sucks knowing you'll never be truly alone on a planet.

Honestly the thing that is killing my hype the most is the police robots on every planet. That just sounds like a poor design decision. I wish a big ass T-Rex would come and eat you if you killed too many aliens, instead of the same police robots on every planet.
 
isn't most/all of the looting in the game relegated to the periodic elements?

its not like you need to get meat or bones or the like, right?

In this case rare elements would be the stand-in for rare loot drops. There are also blueprints you can find for crafting new items as well, but whether those can only be found at POIs, or also "looted" from blown-up ships I'm not sure we know yet.
 
Killing something should reward you with loot? I have a feeling Sean would say, "That's a very American thing to say." ;) I mean, do you want Hello to add the ability to sell animal body parts? Sell the tusks of alien elephants for their space ivory?

Yup. I'm tryna get my space poaching on. While they're at it they should also add some towers for me to climb
 

NotBacon

Member
Even reading the OP I feel like I still no relatively little about this game in action.

I think that's the point. Sean has mentioned a few times now he really wants it to be a learning experience when you first pick it up (minimal tutorials, etc.). I think he is also trying to keep the mechanics/details of everything under wraps until release. I understand why too. The feeling when you see something new/confusing/amazing in a game is great, and I think he is trying to save all those moments for when the public start playing.
 
There are also blueprints you can find for crafting new items as well, but whether those can only be found at POIs, or also "looted" from blown-up ships I'm not sure we know yet.

You can find blueprints in crashed ships, and steal them from alien buildings (I think via hacking computer terminals).

Yup. I'm tryna get my space poaching on. While they're at it they should also add some towers for me to climb

I think you're SOL on being a poacher, though Sean said that currently there's a bug of sorts where you can get an animal on your ship and then fly it into space. So maybe you could be more of a space cattle rustler. Don't know if there are towers, but there are mountains that are high enough that you can see the curvature of the planet from the top of them.
 
Honestly the thing that is killing my hype the most is the police robots on every planet. That just sounds like a poor design decision. I wish a big ass T-Rex would come and eat you if you killed too many aliens, instead of the same police robots on every planet.
Police are not on every planet. Sean said that there are plenty of unregulated planets
 

Karak

Member
Police are not on every planet. Sean said that there are plenty of unregulated planets

Interesting. Just last week while watching one of countless videos and interviews, on one of them he said there "will be this police presence on every planet"
Now its not that. Thats good news.
Thats actually great news. I am still not hyped up like most but that's one bad thing out of the way.
 

davepoobond

you can't put a price on sparks
Interesting. Just last week while watching one of countless videos and interviews, on one of them he said there "will be this police presence on every planet"
Now its not that. Thats good news.
Thats actually great news. I am still not hyped up like most but that's one bad thing out of the way.

i can understand maybe if certain special elements of every planet are regulated. it could be a middle ground -- much of a planet is unregulated, but whatever special parts there are could be intentionally more challenging which is why the police robots might be there.
 

Alienous

Member
What a difficult game to market. I really feel for Hello Games in that regard.

Part of the appeal is the mystery, yet that isn't an easy thing to sell some people on. I'm sure they've had to hold back more than a few "You can do X" statements just to let players discover it in the game.

Anyway, I wonder if you can ride some of the larger creatures.
 
Can you even properly review a game base on everything you will never seen?

-technically it has multiplayer but you will never see your friends and may not see many other people
-Massive number of worlds, 99.9 percent of which you will never see

I feel like this game may get plenty of bad reviews basing it on what they experience rather than what the game offers and maybe that's the way it should be.
 
Can you even properly review a game base on everything you will never seen?

-technically it has multiplayer but you will never see your friends and may not see many other people
-Massive number of worlds, 99.9 percent of which you will never see

I feel like this game may get plenty of bad reviews basing it on what they experience rather than what the game offers and maybe that's the way it should be.
How did people review Elite: Dangerous? That's a game without an ending, with 400 billion star systems and now millions of planet-sized planets to land on

If people can review E:D, they can review No Man's Sky
 

Karak

Member
i can understand maybe if certain special elements of every planet are regulated. it could be a middle ground -- much of a planet is unregulated, but whatever special parts there are could be intentionally more challenging which is why the police robots might be there.

Ya it will be interesting as they made a very big point about them for sure being there. So that means a switch later which is good news for all. I think having them in some locations makes sense but...space is big and in many place lawless and you would want a bit of that you would think
 

Elandyll

Banned
Here is a more critical reaction to the preview event: http://www.gamekult.com/actu/preview-no-mans-sky-ps4-A160203.html

A Redditor has summarized the article:


  • The journalist played mostly on PS4 and was shown a PC version before
  • Crappy FPS and low details on planets on PS4 vs PC
  • Shooting feels boring (no feedback)
  • No reward/loot for killing on planets or in space, confirmed to be like this at release
  • Sloppy controls of both walking and flying (walking is too slow, and flying is too simple to be interesting)
  • Space station (big crystals) are big and empty (just a terminal to buy/sell stuff)
  • Police robots on every planet, even unexplored ones, kills the immersion
  • The feeling is that the developers were pushed to show it to the press, but it feels like as if they did not like the idea of showing their game in this state
  • This all looked scary for the journalist with the June release date in mind, based on his game-previews experience


Really don't like the idea that the police are on every planet. I knew they said that would be the case awhile back, but it kinda sucks knowing you'll never be truly alone on a planet.
It's been specifically said in the past that "cops" would not be on every planet.
Every planet with a form of civilization though (landing pads)? That's probably to be expected.

Pc vs PS4 is the usual thing, not even going to bother.

Shooting feedback and loot for killing? Methinks the journalist was expecting a very different game to start with. This is not Skyrim in space, or worse Borderlands, in spite of my earlier jokes.

Reading all this it seems to me that this journo wanted to see a space shooterbang frankly. Surprised he didn't mention the lack of multiplayer lobbies and rankings being a deal breaker...
 
How did people review Elite: Dangerous? That's a game without an ending, with 400 billion star systems and now millions of planet-sized planets to land on

If people can review E:D, they can review No Man's Sky

I have no idea how people reviewed that game.

I don't literally mean un-reviewable. I meant that you may see a massive divide on reviews based on the perspective of the reviewer. In this case base on what the game has vs what they experience. I don't know if reviewer would be expected to tally in credit for the game 'having so much' when it's not part of what they see and play.
 
I have no idea how people reviewed that game.

I don't literally mean un-reviewable. I meant that you may see a massive divide on reviews based on the perspective of the reviewer. In this case base on what the game has vs what they experience. I don't know if reviewer would be expected to tally in credit for the game 'having so much' when it's not part of what they see and play.
But I think the general structure and loop of the game is going to be similar no matter what permuation of planets you get. You'll still be landing, gathering resources, surviving, upgrading, moving closer to the center. Of course no one will see every planet (which is actually part of the appeal), but everyone will experience the same basic structure.
 

OmegaDL50

Member
I have no idea how people reviewed that game.

I don't literally mean un-reviewable. I meant that you may see a massive divide on reviews based on the perspective of the reviewer. In this case base on what the game has vs what they experience. I don't know if reviewer would be expected to tally in credit for the game 'having so much' when it's not part of what they see and play.

This doesn't make sense.

Review copies are usually sent out earlier before a games release and the reviewer needs to play the game with the concept that they are on a deadline to have their judgement ready by the games release.

Games like Skyrim and Fallout 4 have hundreds of hours of content and I can almost assure you that most day one reviews for these sorts of games manage to do a solid review on the premise of the game, what it has to offer, when naturally there would be hundreds of hours worth things they did not get to experience.

Same thing goes for open ended and non-narrated experiences such as Minecraft and Terraria in which one can put a decent amount of time into it and give their assessment on the experience they had.

Case in point - http://steamcommunity.com/id/OmegaDL50/ I put over 600 hours into Skyrim. I still haven't even finished the game, nor have I seen all there is to be seen, but I have enough accumulated knowledge to give a proper review.

There are plenty of games reviewed and the reviewer doesn't get the chance to see everything possible there is to do. It's all about meeting your expectations and what you have to work with in the time you have available to play through it, compile an analysis of the games pros and cons, writing / typing down your thoughts and eventually publishing your opinion piece for the public to assess it themselves.

Just because a significant portion of the reviewers may not experience every possible thing to a game, does not mean they cannot give a fair review on a game, nor does it imply that a game will be panned in it's assessment / score.
 
Top Bottom