Support NeoGAF

[Admiral Woofington]

Has there ever been an indie game full price that could finally bridge indie games to AAA studio releases? Kickstarter aside of course. No man's sky may be the flagship of indie developers to be able to make full fledged games at higher prices

 

[CJVaughn]

Considering this has been something they been working on for roughly 4 years by now and the game is 3 months away from release. What we've seen so far in 4 years will not change in a scant three months left until release. You will either get the premise of the game and similar games of it's ilk such as Starbound or Minecraft, or you won't get it and this concept doesn't appeal to you. It can't be put any more plainly then that.

I'm so glad you brought this up. I hopped on Minecraft during very, very early Alpha stages when it was just a dumbed down version of what is now creative mode. I get the concept. In fact, Notch did such a good job communicating the game mechanics that he explained exactly how he generated the world, and how he hoped to change things is subsequent releases going forward, YEARS before the game actually released. Again, in contrast to NMS which has been in development for 4 years and we still have very, very little information on how the actual game mechanics will work other than some vague concepts of what they're trying to accomplish.

 

[androvsky]

Ok, but notice what you said. It may not have shown that, and you are correct that those are flaws in the final product, but what it did show, which was 90% multiplayer, was exactly what we got in the final product, no?

Contrast this to all of the press footage and hands on impressions we have of No Man's Sky so far which appear to be purely scripted or heavily modified slices of what the final game will likely be. In fact, the demo impressions directly contradict the info released about the size of the universe and the likelihood of encountering everything the press did

What do you feel is a scripted event in the press previews? Everything I read sounded player-initiated, but I didn't get to read all the full articles.

What directly contradicts the info about the size of the universe? Everyone started out on the same planet, right? That doesn't mean the universe is small; everyone starts out on Earth in our universe as far as we know, but it doesn't mean our universe is tiny.

Sean's mentioned many times that he's putting the individual planets closer together on purpose because it looks cooler. I'm really not sure what you're talking about here.

 

[CarbonFire]

E92 M3 made the assertion that the press builds were made to be 'more exciting', I was simply acknowledging that was an assumption. What is smelly is the lack of transparency.
And yes, I have made it known many times in my posts that I want this game to be everything they've promised and more.

It's a lot easier for a big developer to be transparent when they can have dedicated community managers and internal PR people feeding information about that development process to the public.

Hello Games is TINY. Sean Murray, Hello Games closest equivalent to PR, is also the guy who is partially responsible for coding the procedural generation, and for the overall design of the game. I think this is way more of a case that they are putting their heads down and working hard, rather than wasting their time on "special builds" to make their game look good whenever they do happen to show it off.

 

[GribbleGrunger]

I'm so glad you brought this up. I hopped on Minecraft during very, very early Alpha stages when it was just a dumbed down version of what is now creative mode. I get the concept. In fact, Notch did such a good job communicating the game mechanics that he explained exactly how he generated the world, and how he hoped to change things is subsequent releases going forward, YEARS before the game actually released. Again, in contrast to NMS which has been in development for 4 years and we still have very, very little information on how the actual game mechanics will work other than some vague concepts of what they're trying to accomplish.

Read the previews, fella. Goodness me. Watch this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGXDCV9HiZ4

 

[OmegaDL50]

There's no scripting and all they've done is provided a seed to everyone that guarantees some life, some buildings and an interesting location. This type of thing will also appear in the game but will be harder to find.

I've tried to explain this but apparently despite the existence of other games that also are entirely based on procedural generation, some people think Hello Games is not telling us some secret we should be aware of.

Clearly the concept of procedural generation that has been around for years is something entirely new that is different for No Man's Sky, despite evidence that it IS indeed procedural generation. It makes you wonder if some people are trying too hard to analyze this game to be more than what it is actually trying to be.

 

[Icyflamez96]

I'm so glad you brought this up. I hopped on Minecraft during very, very early Alpha stages when it was just a dumbed down version of what is now creative mode. I get the concept. In fact, Notch did such a good job communicating the game mechanics that he explained exactly how he generated the world, and how he hoped to change things is subsequent releases going forward, YEARS before the game actually released. Again, in contrast to NMS which has been in development for 4 years and we still have very, very little information on how the actual game mechanics will work other than some vague concepts of what they're trying to accomplish.

This is all stuff that has been explained for NMS as well. You're only stopping yourself from knowing at this point. Dive into some of these articles, there's tons of info for you to look at. Your refusal to do the simple task of looking through some of the articles in the OP and then in the very same thread, complain with your "concern" that we know "very little" is the most blatant case of willful ignorance I've ever seen.

The gamespot article is particularly good for going over some of the game mechanics.

 

[GribbleGrunger]

I've tried to explain this but apparently despite the existence of other games that also are entirely based on procedural generation, some people think Hello Games is not telling us some secret we should be aware of.

Clearly the concept of procedural generation that has been around for years is something entirely new that is different for No Man's Sky, despite evidence that it IS indeed procedural generation. It makes you wonder if some people are trying too hard to analyze this game to be more than what it is actually trying to be.

A simple 'this game isn't for me' would be welcome. Then we can just get on with discussing the game with people it IS for.

 

[Wereroku]

I'm so glad you brought this up. I hopped on Minecraft during very, very early Alpha stages when it was just a dumbed down version of what is now creative mode. I get the concept. In fact, Notch did such a good job communicating the game mechanics that he explained exactly how he generated the world, and how he hoped to change things is subsequent releases going forward, YEARS before the game actually released. Again, in contrast to NMS which has been in development for 4 years and we still have very, very little information on how the actual game mechanics will work other than some vague concepts of what they're trying to accomplish.

Go read the Giant Bomb preview or many of the others. The mechanics are set the only thing left for HG to work on is UI and technical problems. You have 2 guns one more suited to fighting the other mining. You use these to gather resources to enhance yourself or you ship and to power said suit and ship. You can also scan wildlife and other features and submit them for payment. Your goal is to reach the center of the universe. To do this you need to upgrade you ship and find resources to power said ship. To get those resources you can gather them or become a trader buying a selling goods in the in universe economy. Very few planets will be super habitable or super barren with most falling somewhere in between.

The planets they have been showing were picked by the team because they are ideal for starting out and seeing many of the features that are already working. Your first planet will probably be the exact same since you need to resource gather to build a warp drive as the first mission in a sort of tutorial fashion. Also they weren't allowed to film it because the game is not running the greatest right now. They need the remaining months to finish up UI and performance. It's not some massive conspiracy since now hundreds of people have actually played the game.

 

[Icyflamez96]

Niche in this case means its appeal in presentation may be much larger than the appeal the gameplay experience provides

None of those goals are enforced by the game just because they can exist. Hell, the "main" goal is one Murray says he thinks most people won't get to anyway so if that doesn't say this game is unconventional low-on-aim (if you prefer), than we have different perspectives. Niche isn't a bad thing, it's at least looking like "playing this is likely a turnoff for more players than mainstream games by comparison" to me, regardless of respectable quality

Ok, so what exactly do you think is being misrepresented about the game?

Just because the game isn't explicitly enforcing you to do things doesn't mean there aren't clear goals that can be accomplished. (Getting to the center being the obvious one) This game isn't about forcing a set goal on you, and doesn't act like it's about that. If you don't like that about the game, then they've made it clear that's it's not for you.

 

[Netherscourge]

Hey, just noticed this while watching that IGN video, Is this a new Sentinel type?

Or maybe...mechanical lifeforms on planets? Looks like they're moving in a pack/herd...

Looks like they are moving WITH YOU.

Maybe you can craft "pet robots" to do your bidding on planets?

 

[Icyflamez96]

Looks like they are moving WITH YOU.

Maybe you can craft "pet robots" to do your bidding on planets?

I was thinking it's just footage of a free camera following the walkers, but that definitely sounds cool lol.

 

[CJVaughn]

A simple 'this game isn't for me' would be welcome. Then we can just get on with discussing the game with people it IS for.

Because I have doubts it isn't for me? I have played every *major* procedurally generated game released in the past 10 years simply because the technology and worlds fascinate me. In fact, posing questions about what will and won't be in the final product is discussing the game, and something I am interested in because I sincerely hope it is all there, but apparently you aren't allowed to express concern or the fanboys will attack.

Given the state of the industry, I am honestly surprised how apt everyone seems to be to take everything at face value. Look, I get it. In theory, this game has the potential to change the industry, and that is a very alluring idea to cling on to. Something to this scale has never been done before, ever. But have you ever stopped for just a moment to think why that is? All I'm saying is that a little bit of skepticism never hurt anybody.

 

[Blackleg-sanji1]

Because I have doubts it isn't for me? I have played every *major* procedurally generated game released in the past 10 years simply because the technology and worlds fascinate me. In fact, posing questions about what will and won't be in the final product is discussing the game, and something I am interested in because I sincerely hope it is all there, but apparently you aren't allowed to express concern or the fanboys will attack.

Given the state of the industry, I am honestly surprised how apt everyone seems to be to take everything at face value. Look, I get it. In theory, this game has the potential to change the industry, and that is a very alluring idea to cling on to. Something to this scale has never been done before, ever. But have you ever stopped for just a moment to think why that is? All I'm saying is that a little bit of skepticism never hurt anybody.

O my god every nms thread Jesus! Do you act like this for every game announced?(i doubt it)

 

[Stanng243]

Because I have doubts it isn't for me? I have played every *major* procedurally generated game released in the past 10 years simply because the technology and worlds fascinate me. In fact, posing questions about what will and won't be in the final product is discussing the game, and something I am interested in because I sincerely hope it is all there, but apparently you aren't allowed to express concern or the fanboys will attack.

Given the state of the industry, I am honestly surprised how apt everyone seems to be to take everything at face value. Look, I get it. In theory, this game has the potential to change the industry, and that is a very alluring idea to cling on to. Something to this scale has never been done before, ever. But have you ever stopped for just a moment to think why that is? All I'm saying is that a little bit of skepticism never hurt anybody.

So what do you think they will cut? If you're so concerned the final project won't have something in it, what is that something?

 

[Wereroku]

Because I have doubts it isn't for me? I have played every *major* procedurally generated game released in the past 10 years simply because the technology and worlds fascinate me. In fact, posing questions about what will and won't be in the final product is discussing the game, and something I am interested in because I sincerely hope it is all there, but apparently you aren't allowed to express concern or the fanboys will attack.

Given the state of the industry, I am honestly surprised how apt everyone seems to be to take everything at face value. Look, I get it. In theory, this game has the potential to change the industry, and that is a very alluring idea to cling on to. Something to this scale has never been done before, ever. But have you ever stopped for just a moment to think why that is? All I'm saying is that a little bit of skepticism never hurt anybody.

You are being overly skeptical. Hundreds of journalists have played the game. The systems are complete and functioning. They have explained how all the systems work in detail to the journalists. Hell in the bombcast Brad admits he knows more then he is allowed to talk about currently. Part of the mystery of the game is a purposeful choice by HG to obfuscate the game a bit. If you are really so hesitant that you are ignoring the large amounts of coverage that currently exists maybe you should just wait to buy the game a month after release when everyone knows everything and there is youtube videos detailing the game.

 

[CJVaughn]

O my god every nms thread Jesus! Do you act like this for every game announced?(i doubt it)

I'm sorry, I must have somehow horribly offended you by voicing my concerns over a game I'm looking forward to in an effort to prompt rational discussion on the subject as opposed to the usual fanboy circle-jerk.

Woops, I'm being to logical again, I mean 'O mah gawd yasss I love NMS GOTY 2017!1!'

 

[Netherscourge]

I don't know if this game is for me or not.

The good news is that Steam has a cumulative 2-hours within 14 days 100% refund policy.

So, I'll give it a go for 2 hours and if it hooks me or shows me great potential, I'll keep it. If not, I'll take my money back.

So, there isn't much risk for Steam users.

It's intriguing enough to check it out though. I just worry about the long-term value of this game, where there is no real chance of reaching the "end game", whatever that may be, if anything.

 

[Blackleg-sanji1]

I'm sorry, I must have somehow horribly offended you by voicing my concerns over a game I'm looking forward to in an effort to prompt rational discussion on the subject as opposed to the usual fanboy circle-jerk.

Woops, I'm being to logical again, I mean 'O mah gawd yasss I love NMS GOTY 2017!1!'

What rational discussion people are pointing you over and over again to the many previews in this very thread have you read any? Have you watched any? Your argument basically boils down to "how do i know this is real" when its right in front of you, you're being overly pessimistic

 

[androvsky]

I'm sorry, I must have somehow horribly offended you by voicing my concerns over a game I'm looking forward to in an effort to prompt rational discussion on the subject as opposed to the usual fanboy circle-jerk.

Woops, I'm being to logical again, I mean 'O mah gawd yasss I love NMS GOTY 2017!1!'

If you want rational discussion you're going to need to post specifics.

 

[KCroxtonJr]

I'm sorry, I must have somehow horribly offended you by voicing my concerns over a game I'm looking forward to in an effort to prompt rational discussion on the subject as opposed to the usual fanboy circle-jerk.

Woops, I'm being to logical again, I mean 'O mah gawd yasss I love NMS GOTY 2017!1!'

Rational discussion? This post comes across as smelly...

Keep ignoring all the information out there and using the fanboy card, great discussion!

Transparency

 

[Trouble]

Looks like they are moving WITH YOU.

Probably the other way around. If they aren't hostile to you, no reason you can't join their little march to wherever.

 

[Icyflamez96]

I'm sorry, I must have somehow horribly offended you by voicing my concerns over a game I'm looking forward to in an effort to prompt rational discussion on the subject as opposed to the usual fanboy circle-jerk.

Woops, I'm being to logical again, I mean 'O mah gawd yasss I love NMS GOTY 2017!1!'

You're more concerned with arguing things rather than actually reading up about the game. If that wasn't the case, you wouldn't be here ignoring the comments suggesting you to go through the many previews posted in this very OP. Again, I suggest you definitely check out the Gamespot one since it's probably reasonable not to want to look through every single one. Not saying that's the only one you should look at, just make sure that one is included

It makes sense to me that people would want to see raw gameplay to clear up some of their skepticism, but when people act like there just hasn't been much detail/info on the game, things get problematic (in my eyes at least). Especially when you're doing that in a thread in which various links in the OP go over a bunch of details. All the stuff you were talking about earlier has been detailed. Including Sean's after launch plans for the game (which he has talked about not only long ago, but in this recent press cycle as well). The info is right there if you really want it as bad as you act like you do.

 

[More_Badass]

I don't know if this game is for me or not.

The good news is that Steam has a cumulative 2-hours within 14 days 100% refund policy.

So, I'll give it a go for 2 hours and if it hooks me or shows me great potential, I'll keep it. If not, I'll take my money back.

So, there isn't much risk for Steam users.

It's intriguing enough to check it out though. I just worry about the long-term value of this game, where there is no real chance of reaching the "end game", whatever that may be, if anything.

Won't be a good judge of the game. Sean said it takes 2-3 hours to get off your starting planet

 

[Icyflamez96]

Won't be a good judge of the game. Sean said it takes 2-3 hours to get off your starting planet

He did? Where at

 

[More_Badass]

He did? Where at

I've seen a direct quote, but here's a paraphase from a recent hands-on

Murray said the game is balanced such that you can expect to spend your first two to three hours just on that first starting planet, finding what you need to leave it. The next two to three hours will be spent just in that first solar system, exploring it to find what you need to move on.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/no-mans-sky-hands-on/

 

[eyeball_kid]

So is there a 100% accurate list out of what will, and won't, be in the game from the devs? All footage I've seen of 'gameplay' so far looks heavily scripted and after disasters like Alien: Colonial Marines you can never be too sure about 'gameplay' footage.

I'm not really sure what footage you've looked at, but that's definitely not the case. True, the videos in the OP all use b-roll footage because the press are just describing their demo experiences and don't have footage to go with it. But all you have to do is go on youtube. Here, check out this IGN demo. It's a live demo controlled by Sean, and it's a good 18 minute primer to NMS some gameplay concepts. There's plenty of others out there; maybe do a little 10 seconds of work to find videos before you call a game heavily scripted.

As an aside to everyone else, in this same video at around 7:23 you can see one of the drone Sentinels in the background doing what looks like scanning the surface of the planet. I didn't know the Sentinels did anything besides waiting to punish lawbreakers.

 

[Blackleg-sanji1]

I've seen a direct quote, but here's a paraphase from a recent hands-on

http://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/no-mans-sky-hands-on/

June plz hurry!! Thats so sweet. You're basically stranded until you get enough resources.

 

[Elandyll]

I've seen a direct quote, but here's a paraphase from a recent hands-on

http://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/no-mans-sky-hands-on/

Im going to have the opposite problem...

So much to see and explore on any one (class M) planet, how do I know Im not going to miss something on the other side of the planet? Register all of its plant and animal species? See a Sunset/ sunrise in the best places? Check out the possible underwater locations and the aquatic flora/ fauna? What about cave systems, possible ruins and downed ships scattered across that world... god help me if I find a portal and am tempted to just go through.

Im afraid it will take me unkempt hours to leave the first world and go to my first space station to check out trade and ship upgrades, possibly helping a convoy being attacked or fending off some pirates. Then off to check the other planets in that system.. but which one??
The close by moon surrounded by asteroids and rocks, or that farther giant blue one that could be an ice or water world?

Completionists will be in quite the pinch imo.

 

[GribbleGrunger]

I'm not really sure what footage you've looked at, but that's definitely not the case. True, the videos in the OP all use b-roll footage because the press are just describing their demo experiences and don't have footage to go with it. But all you have to do is go on youtube. Here, check out this IGN demo. It's a live demo controlled by Sean, and it's a good 18 minute primer to NMS some gameplay concepts. There's plenty of others out there; maybe do a little 10 seconds of work to find videos before you call a game heavily scripted.

As an aside to everyone else, in this same video at around 7:23 you can see one of the drone Sentinels in the background doing what looks like scanning the surface of the planet. I didn't know the Sentinels did anything besides waiting to punish lawbreakers.

They scan the wildlife for some reason so that's probably what you saw.

 

[eyeball_kid]

Won't be a good judge of the game. Sean said it takes 2-3 hours to get off your starting planet

Not sure if this changes that initial window, but pre-orders give you a ship that already has a hyperdrive. Maybe you'll still need to get fuel for it, but I remember reading that you wouldn't be able to get out of the star system until you upgraded your ship. Was kind of disappointed that pre-orders will have a different experience.

 

[CJVaughn]

You're more concerned with arguing things rather than actually reading up about the game.
...
The info is right there if you really want it as bad as you act like you do.

I've looked through every video and article posted in the OP prior to making my first post (which is why in my first post I specifically said 'all footage I've seen'), as well as a lot of general Youtube browsing for information. Though, KCroxtonJr did post one I had not seen yet. But you are correct in that I am concerned, and am arguing for the side of skepticism.

Rational discussion? This post comes across as smelly...

Keep ignoring all the information out there and using the fanboy card, great discussion!

Transparency

Thank you for providing additional information, but your assumption that I'm ignoring information could not be any more wrong. You did a great job showcasing the fanboy card for me though, I truly appreciate all the help.

I've seen a direct quote, but here's a paraphase from a recent hands-on

Murray said the game is balanced such that you can expect to spend your first two to three hours just on that first starting planet, finding what you need to leave it. The next two to three hours will be spent just in that first solar system, exploring it to find what you need to move on.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/no-mans-sky-hands-on/

To everyone else I could not respond to, this is the type of contradiction I am referencing. 2-3 hours just to get off the starting planet seems drastically different than the 'gameplay' we have seen so far, no? It is obvious the videos we have seen are press builds, and of course that is what the 'hands on' pressers are reviewing. All I'm asking is are there any recent, 'real' gameplay videos out there?

 

[Icyflamez96]

I've looked through every video and article posted in the OP prior to making my first post (which is why in my first post I specifically said 'all footage I've seen'), as well as a lot of general Youtube browsing for information. Though, KCroxtonJr did post one I had not seen yet. But you are correct in that I am concerned, and am arguing for the side of skepticism.

I get this side in the sense that you want to see more "genuine/raw" footage, I just can't understand the denial of info especially considering you went through all of the previews.

Being skeptical of the whether or not the info is actually true, or just not "buying" everything they say until you have more concrete proof makes some sense to me, but again, just saying they haven't gone over it is false.

 

[Trouble]

Yesterday's Bombcast was pretty good. Brad went into his time playing the preview. They had a pretty good discussion about who this game will get its hooks into vs who will bounce off it.

Also they discussed how Hello Games' maths must somehow account for your starting planet having what you need to get off the planet and your starting system having what you need to build a hyperdrive and get to other systems. Otherwise players would find themselves stuck from the outset, which is a pretty unacceptable state of things.

How HG determines what are starting planets/systems and how they avoid having multiple players have the same starting point were also questioned. They said they hope they can get Sean on for an in-depth dive into the mechanics of the game a month or two after launch, like they did with Jonathan Blow for The Witness. I hope they can do that because the video with Blow was fascinating.

 

[eyeball_kid]

They scan the wildlife for some reason so that's probably what you saw.

Ah thanks, hadn't heard that. I wonder if they replentish elements that are collected.

 

[GribbleGrunger]

To everyone else I could not respond to, this is the type of contradiction I am referencing. 2-3 hours just to get off the starting planet seems drastically different than the 'gameplay' we have seen so far, no? It is obvious the videos we have seen are press builds, and of course that is what the 'hands on' pressers are reviewing. All I'm asking is are there any recent, 'real' gameplay videos out there?

It IS 'real' gameplay. All they've done is give them a head start so they can explore a meaningful amount in half an hour.

 

[Stanng243]

I've looked through every video and article posted in the OP prior to making my first post (which is why in my first post I specifically said 'all footage I've seen'), as well as a lot of general Youtube browsing for information. Though, KCroxtonJr did post one I had not seen yet. But you are correct in that I am concerned, and am arguing for the side of skepticism.



Thank you for providing additional information, but your assumption that I'm ignoring information could not be any more wrong. You did a great job showcasing the fanboy card for me though, I truly appreciate all the help.



To everyone else I could not respond to, this is the type of contradiction I am referencing. 2-3 hours just to get off the starting planet seems drastically different than the 'gameplay' we have seen so far, no? It is obvious the videos we have seen are press builds, and of course that is what the 'hands on' pressers are reviewing. All I'm asking is are there any recent, 'real' gameplay videos out there?

So you're saying that because the demos we've seen don't start you at the beginning of the game, it's drastically different then what we've seen? Tell me a gameplay demonstration where they start you at the beginning of the game. And if you're so concerned about things not being in the retail release, what are they? What specific things do you think will not make release?

 

[androvsky]

To everyone else I could not respond to, this is the type of contradiction I am referencing. 2-3 hours just to get off the starting planet seems drastically different than the 'gameplay' we have seen so far, no? It is obvious the videos we have seen are press builds, and of course that is what the 'hands on' pressers are reviewing. All I'm asking is are there any recent, 'real' gameplay videos out there?

Doesn't seem drastically different at all. Just sounds like the press aren't starting the game at the very beginning, which they almost never do for a demo.

 

[Icyflamez96]

We haven't really seen "real" gameplay in the sense that we haven't seen gameplay from a build that's mimics HG's plans for the final build. All of the builds we have seen gameplay from has been tailored to be more condensed or show off certain things. That's true.

It makes sense to me though that'd they would do that considering they would want to show off more than just lifeless planets and have some things happening to people in a short demo.

 

[Icyflamez96]

I've seen a direct quote, but here's a paraphase from a recent hands-on

http://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/no-mans-sky-hands-on/

Thanks. New to me. I like the sound of that. I'm pretty sure at some point he said we started off with a basic "lifepod" ship.

 

[CJVaughn]

I get this side in the sense that you want to see more "genuine/raw" footage, I just can't understand the denial of info especially considering you went through all of the previews.

Being skeptical of the whether or not the info is actually true, or just not "buying" everything they say until you have more concrete proof makes some sense to me, but again, just saying they haven't gone over it is false.

That summarizes things pretty well, in that my concern is whether the press builds accurately reflect what the final game will be. I've never claimed they haven't reviewed it, and if it came across that way then I apologize. Here is the first post I made:

So is there a 100% accurate list out of what will, and won't, be in the game from the devs? All footage I've seen of 'gameplay' so far looks heavily scripted and after disasters like Alien: Colonial Marines you can never be too sure about 'gameplay' footage.

Every post since then has been defending this stance, but 90% of the replies I received we're 'Have you even looked at the gameplay footage!?!'. I'm skeptical that what I have seen, and by extension what the pressers reviewed in their hands on, accurately reflects what the final product will be.

But at this rate it is a lost cause as no one seems to be willing even entertain the thought that could be the case. It is a truly ambitious game and if it can live up to what the dev's goals are then it could have a huge impact on the industry, but that same ambition is why it warrants a brief pause and possible discussion on the subject.

 

[Stanng243]

That summarizes things pretty well, in that my concern is whether the press builds accurately reflect what the final game will be. I've never claimed they haven't reviewed it, and if it came across that way then I apologize. Here is the first post I made:



Every post since then has been defending this stance, but 90% of the replies I received we're 'Have you even looked at the gameplay footage!?!'. I'm skeptical that what I have seen, and by extension what the pressers reviewed in their hands on, accurately reflects what the final product will be.

But at this rate it is a lost cause as no one seems to be willing even entertain the thought that could be the case. It is a truly ambitious game and if it can live up to what the dev's goals are then it could have a huge impact on the industry, but that same ambition is why it warrants a brief pause and possible discussion on the subject.

What do you think will be different/left out of the final build? How can we have a discussion if you won't say anything other then I'm concerned the real game might be different without saying how it will be different.

 

[OmegaDL50]

They are most likely going to hit the reset button on the games servers or whatever that keeps the universes online database storage when the game releases anyways.

Everyone starts on the same page in the retail / final build. Any discovery claimed in the preview footage won't somehow be already claimed before the public gets their chance to actually play the game.

There might be some things kept in for the sake of Developer Easter Eggs.

Like for example what if a player finds and lands on the first demo planet shown in any of the VGX 13 footage such as Oria V or even Soleth Prime, or even a preview planet Balari V.

Just being able to land on a world the Hello Games showed off would be kind of neat.

In any case. I think they were going to pretty much wipe the slate clean a day or two before the game releases just for the sake all of the day-one buyers get that first time experience for everyone.

 

[Saint of Killers]

Every post since then has been defending this stance, but 90% of the replies I received we're 'Have you even looked at the gameplay footage!?!'. I'm skeptical that what I have seen, and by extension what the pressers reviewed in their hands on, accurately reflects what the final product will be.

But at this rate it is a lost cause as no one seems to be willing even entertain the thought that could be the case. It is a truly ambitious game and if it can live up to what the dev's goals are then it could have a huge impact on the industry, but that same ambition is why it warrants a brief pause and possible discussion on the subject.

Their stance, be it right or wrong, is they want us to find out what there is to do. Murray is loathed to spell every little thing out and so only speaks of features in a very broad way. So, we'll just have to wait and see what the full feature list is once we play the game and find them for ourselves.
Previewers not getting the full flavour of the game doesn't mean the dev has nothing to show. I mean, before this latest showcase no one had seen those Roseta-like stones; we had no idea about NPCs speaking another language, nor did we have any notion of the fact that before even being able to communicate with a NPC, we first had to learn their language!

Being sceptical is fine. Personally, I'm choosing to take their word for it and will dump on them if turns out they told us a pack of lies.

 

[OmegaDL50]

What do you think will be different/left out of the final build? How can we have a discussion if you won't say anything other then I'm concerned the real game might be different without saying how it will be different.

The footage they showed back at VGX 13 has been consistant of what they showed of the preview builds shown off this month.

If the game has not changed much based on what we've seen and know in 3 years time. I don't think 3 months is going to change much either, outside of maybe last minute UI tweaks or some QA or hopeful performance improvements.

It's simply going to be a wait and see approach.

Using the playable preview and what the journalist who got their hands on experience is going to be our best source of information that is confirmed, but really being this close to release, I don't foresee any major / significant changes by the time June 21st rolls around.

 

[Stanng243]

The footage they showed back at VGX 13 has been consistant of what they showed of the preview builds shown off this month.

If the game has not changed much based on what we've seen and know in 3 years time. I don't think 3 months is going to change much either, outside of maybe last minute UI tweaks or some QA or hopeful performance improvements.

It's simply going to be a wait and see approach.

Using the playable preview and what the journalist who got their hands on experience is going to be our best source of information that is confirmed, but really being this close to release, I don't foresee any major / significant changes by the time June 21st rolls around.

I understand all that. I was trying to get CJVaughn to elucidate on their argument. They were showing a lot of concern, but being very vague and unspecific about what they were concerned about. I

 

[RiverKwai]

Every post since then has been defending this stance, but 90% of the replies I received we're 'Have you even looked at the gameplay footage!?!'. I'm skeptical that what I have seen, and by extension what the pressers reviewed in their hands on, accurately reflects what the final product will be.

But at this rate it is a lost cause as no one seems to be willing even entertain the thought that could be the case. It is a truly ambitious game and if it can live up to what the dev's goals are then it could have a huge impact on the industry, but that same ambition is why it warrants a brief pause and possible discussion on the subject.

If that's your actual stance, you just answered your own original question. How can there be a list of 100% true info about ANY video game, when everyone who's had access to it may be falsifying information? Nothing at all can be known about any game until you play it. If you don't believe what the developers, testers, reviewers, media, and etc. are telling you - then the only thing left is yourself.

Therefore, your original question has been answered. "No". Discussion over.

 

[eyeball_kid]

They are most likely going to hit the reset button on the games servers or whatever that keeps the universes online database storage when the game releases anyways.

From what I understand, all of the public footage of the game has been done with "alternate universes" – builds of the game that have different seed values (the numerical value which dictates the way the universe is created using their algorithms). Sean said that most devs have their own local, unique universes on their machines. There is a "true" universe at Hello, but I don't think we've seen it. But yes, I'm sure the cloud data will be reset before launch.

 

[kinn]

Do we know how many different types of speices there will be on each planet (i know all planets dont have life). Will it be something like 5 speices per planet or will that vary also?

 

[Icyflamez96]

That summarizes things pretty well, in that my concern is whether the press builds accurately reflect what the final game will be. I've never claimed they haven't reviewed it, and if it came across that way then I apologize. Here is the first post I made.

I was more looking at this comment http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=197980101&postcount=1102

But yeah I definitely think skepticism over that is fair. For me, Just from following the team so closely and seeing pretty every little interview and piece of coverage, they have a lot of goodwill as far as my view on them is concerned. Sean has always been a super humble guy in the things we see of him. He himself is wary about overhype and over promising (there are actually a few videos with him talking just about that). His passion for the game and sci-fi in general gives me some faith that him and his team are doing what they've promised.

They also always state how they're still holding a ton of things back, and how they value the player discovering things for themselves. Sean talked about how many modern AAA games just sort of spoil everything in preview cycles, how you already know everything before you play, and he longs for the time back in the day where a lot of games were a bit more cryptic and mysterious. He wants to recapture the feeling with this game. And I know how the "we want to hold a lot of things back" sounds like BS to a lot of people, but I personally don't doubt they're doing just that, and that's due to the goodwill they've built up for me as a person who follows them really closely. I think they're genuine.

Something happened recently that gave me more faith in them. Sean used to say that there were no traditional NPCs in this game, but in the recent press cycle, we saw that they started to show them off. Sean addressed that by saying "I didn't want to promise something we hadn't got working yet or wasn't sure of the state in which we'd implement it yet" or something like that. But it was something that was always intended.

But yes, I definitely understand that this is "faith" I'm putting into them, and I definitely understand people being really skeptical of how these claims will play out in the final game, I'm just not worried about it myself personally. And then of course, there's the case where they are being genuine, but things still don't quite come together at the end. There are quite a few particular things I'm skeptical about myself.