Home Gaming E3 2015 – No Man’s Sky: Out of this world

E3 2015 – No Man’s Sky: Out of this world

5 min read
105

NMSE3

No Man’s Sky is coming to PC and PS4 and is a highly anticipated game. The fact that it’s made by the incredibly likeable Sean Murray of Hello Games feels like a footnote compared to the massive scale of the game. It may not make sense to everyone, but it should appeal to most.

NoMansSky1

In case you don’t know, No Man’s Sky allows players to engage with a universe that is as mind-bogglingly enormous as the real one. Thanks to some incredibly brilliant maths, Murray and his team have generated a game where not even they know what can be found. Every galaxy is procedurally generated – just like in reality, not every sun will necessarily have planets around it. However, for the sake of not being totally stranded, they have included space stations if there is an absence of planets. Each planet is planet sized, with day/night cycles, wildlife, eco systems and unique environments. Even the galaxy and planet names are procedurally generated.

Players can choose their own play style. If all you want to do is travel the universe, charting the galaxies and discovering new things, you can do exactly that. However, you could also choose to be a trader, or a fighter, or a pirate. Players won’t know if the ship they’re shooting at is human or AI, and the penalties are to be expected – if you keep shooting innocent victims, you will become a wanted killer and punished.

NoMansSky2

As you explore, you build your own encyclopaedia. Of course, the more you see, the bigger this gets. It’s a part of the game that Murray hopes to see shared – strange discoveries are reason enough for me to hit the share button with this game.

Discoveries are uploaded at beacons found on the planets – these can be new flora and fauna, or even the new planet names; that’s right, if you’re the first to discover a planet, you can rename it. However, much like usernames, there will be some limitations to ensure the community doesn’t create a universe of salaciously named genitals (although Murray acknowledge that people exhibit a lot of ingenuity in that regard and we might very well be landing on planet B4ll5ack in the future.)

NoMansSky3

Considering the shared information element, I asked if the game always needed to be online to be played. Bandwidth starved gamers rejoice – the game can be played offline. Additionally, if you so wish, you could download and upload once a week if that’s what your internet allows, letting you still get an updated experience of your creations without sucking up all your internet ability.

When you travel to new planets, you can find resources. After shooting them (that’s one way to destroy the environment) you can mine these resources. When you gather them, they are actually in atomic form according to a strange version of the periodic table. These can then be combined to create molecules. Often, the molecules are worth more than the atoms, making it a lucrative business for those who choose to earn units as traders.

NoMansSky4

If you mine a planet too aggressively, or choose to attack the wildlife, sentinels will come and attack. If you kill them, more will come and your wanted rating or notoriety will increase. During the demo, the wanted level become so high that eventually a swarm of floating sentinels descended, plus an AT AT sentinel walked over a nearby hill to pursue Murray. It resulted in his death, but was rather cool to see. When players die, they respawn at their ship having lost unuploaded discoveries or resources.

Your ship can be upgraded by combining resources in a specific pattern in your cargo bay. Similarly, players can spend resources to get new upgrades for guns and armour. These must be placed in free slots and arranging these can become part of the strategy. Ship upgrades include weapons and armour, although the most important is the hyperdrive – this determines how far players can jump through space. In a way, the size of the hyperdrive will be an indication of a player’s progression through the game (seeing as there aren’t levels in the traditional sense).

NoMansSky5

Multiplayer will be tricky if your primary goal is finding your friend. Much like finding anything in the universe, it might not happen – the distances are massive and you don’t always know where you are in relation to other things. Instead, the multiplayer experiences will be through happenstance and probably won’t last very long. Players might find each other and band together for a short while, before moving on in their separate paths. There’s something almost too beautiful about that concept.

What I love the most about No Man’s Sky is its instant appeal to such a range of players. In the demo, people were asking about things I couldn’t care less about – I don’t want to play the game and shoot things, I want to travel the universe and explore, charting new planets and discovering all that there is to discover. However, the fact that some people could be so passionate about the game for such completely disparate reasons is a sign of how universal (*cough*) the appeal is. We need to reclaim the true meaning of the word awesome because it’s the only thing that fits something of this scale and design – it inspires awe.

Last Updated: June 17, 2015

105 Comments

  1. Captain JJ Browmehn

    June 17, 2015 at 15:06

    I think I shall pick trader – or maybe pirate posing as a trader 😉

    Reply

    • Kromas,powered by windows 10.

      June 17, 2015 at 15:14

      I shall pick killer of Ewoks and scour the planets till I find Ewok or Ewok adjacent critter to kill. 😛

      Reply

      • Blood Emperor Trevor

        June 17, 2015 at 15:14

        Ewoks live on moons. *cough* *run*

        Reply

        • Captain JJ Browmehn

          June 17, 2015 at 15:15

          What you said. 😀

          Reply

        • Kromas,powered by windows 10.

          June 17, 2015 at 15:16

          Traditional Ewoks yeah. But considering the scope of this game they may very well be on planets other than the fourth moon of Endor.

          Reply

          • Blood Emperor Trevor

            June 17, 2015 at 15:17

            Could also be E-wookies. Same difference, really 😀

          • Kromas,powered by windows 10.

            June 17, 2015 at 15:19

            Also NDT has not officially called the fourth moon of Endor “Not a planet” and just like Pluto he can reclassify it as a planet. 😛

          • Captain JJ Browmehn

            June 17, 2015 at 15:22

            I really hope they formed through evolution and not because a wookie fell in love with an ewok. That’s a whole side of the internet/universe that you do not want to venture into.

          • Kromas,powered by windows 10.

            June 17, 2015 at 15:22

            Join the Dark Side … of the net.

      • Captain JJ Browmehn

        June 17, 2015 at 15:16

        Sies. Ewoks are gentle fluffy creatures. Until you piss them off. Then they beat the sh!t out of mechs and troopers with sticks and stones.

        Reply

        • Kromas,powered by windows 10.

          June 17, 2015 at 15:17

          Still better comic relief than Jar Jar.

          Oh wait I would rather kill of all the Jar Jars in the game!

          Reply

          • Captain JJ Browmehn

            June 17, 2015 at 15:18

            Yes. We should start a “Jar-Jar hunting squad.”

          • Kromas,powered by windows 10.

            June 17, 2015 at 15:20

            To rid the world of all that is Evil. Jar Jar Squad Assemble!

          • Blood Emperor Trevor

            June 17, 2015 at 15:21

            Need a catchy name though. I vote for Jason & the Jar-Jar-gonauts.

          • Kromas,powered by windows 10.

            June 17, 2015 at 15:22

            How about Bad Robot. Cause #Jar Jar Abrahams. 😛

          • Captain JJ Browmehn

            June 17, 2015 at 15:22

            Wack-a-jarjar-Warriors

          • Kromas,powered by windows 10.

            June 17, 2015 at 15:23

            Yousah gonna die!

          • RinceTheElfRoot

            June 17, 2015 at 16:14

            You should feel bad!

          • Captain JJ Browmehn

            June 17, 2015 at 16:15

            HAHA!
            First, he must learn what it means to feel. 😀

          • RinceTheElfRoot

            June 17, 2015 at 16:17

            True!

          • Blood Emperor Trevor

            June 17, 2015 at 18:22

            I don’t feel bad! I’m the Jar-Jar-gonaut, bitch!

          • RinceTheElfRoot

            June 18, 2015 at 07:39

            lol

        • HairyEwok

          June 17, 2015 at 16:47

          Ok i take it back you respect us…..

          Reply

      • HairyEwok

        June 17, 2015 at 16:45

        :O why you got to disrespect me brah…

        Reply

  2. Jaded_Reprobate

    June 17, 2015 at 15:09

    This is what i want…. takes me back to freelancer, once the story was finished… i can’t tell you how many months i spent traveling the the galaxies trying to figure out where i could make the best deals…

    Reply

    • Kromas,powered by windows 10.

      June 17, 2015 at 15:13

      I think Star Citizen will fill the particular niche better if you are looking at Freelancer.

      Reply

      • Jaded_Reprobate

        June 17, 2015 at 15:24

        i’m worried about SC… too much hype can ruin a game… so i have been avoiding it… will wait to see what happens when it comes out…

        Reply

        • Kromas,powered by windows 10.

          June 17, 2015 at 15:26

          Played it and had loads of fun. Getting a HoTaS system just for that game.

          Reply

        • Blood Emperor Trevor

          June 17, 2015 at 15:27

          NMS is coming out way before SC anyway.

          Reply

          • Jaded_Reprobate

            June 18, 2015 at 07:07

            at the current rate of development, i think, Half life 3 will be done before SC

    • GooseZA

      June 17, 2015 at 15:27

      Try Elite: Dangerous?

      Reply

      • Jaded_Reprobate

        June 18, 2015 at 07:05

        was looking at it yesterday… is it any good?

        Reply

        • GooseZA

          June 18, 2015 at 08:48

          I’m really enjoying it so far.

          Reply

  3. Blood Emperor Trevor

    June 17, 2015 at 15:10

    50+ awards & nominations according to the video. So it’s almost as good as Evolve. 😉

    Reply

    • Kromas,powered by windows 10.

      June 17, 2015 at 15:12

      Or colonial marines. 😛

      Reply

    • Captain JJ Browmehn

      June 17, 2015 at 15:17

      HAHAHAHA

      Reply

    • Captain JJ Browmehn

      June 17, 2015 at 15:24

      I was checking out metacritic scores the other day on games. Came across a few EA games.
      Professional reviewers average scores were around 70-80
      User revier scores were around 30-40
      So the games are great, as long as you don’t spend your own money buying them.

      Reply

      • Rock789

        June 17, 2015 at 15:27

        Or are paid to like ’em… **runs** :p

        Reply

        • Captain JJ Browmehn

          June 17, 2015 at 15:28

          You said what I couldn’t 😉

          Reply

          • Rock789

            June 17, 2015 at 15:29

            I just don’t have a conscience… Or a filter… 🙁

          • Captain JJ Browmehn

            June 17, 2015 at 15:30

            Way more filter than Trevor at least ;P

          • Rock789

            June 17, 2015 at 15:30

            lol 😀

          • Rock789

            June 17, 2015 at 15:30

            **heard CSI Miami intro music as I read that** 😉

          • Blood Emperor Trevor

            June 17, 2015 at 15:30

            What did I do? O_o

          • Captain JJ Browmehn

            June 17, 2015 at 15:31

            Just appreciate that I’m kind enough to include you in the conversation 😀

          • Blood Emperor Trevor

            June 17, 2015 at 15:33

            something something makeup and your face. 🙁

          • Captain JJ Browmehn

            June 17, 2015 at 15:34

            Where’s the appreciation? Darn it.
            😉
            (you forgot the brow thing. and the 3kg thing – jeez, I have way too many things you guys tease me about)

          • Captain JJ Browmehn

            June 17, 2015 at 15:34

            Where’s the appreciation? Darn it.
            😉
            (you forgot the brow thing. and the 3kg thing – jeez, I have way too many things you guys tease me about)

          • Blood Emperor Trevor

            June 17, 2015 at 15:34

            Didn’t forget, it’s just so hard to choose. ;P

          • Captain JJ Browmehn

            June 17, 2015 at 15:34

            Hahaha

          • Blood Emperor Trevor

            June 17, 2015 at 15:34

            Didn’t forget, it’s just so hard to choose. ;P

          • Rock789

            June 17, 2015 at 15:35

            Was gonna say – me thinks we have enough without you helping us by reminding us of all the ones we don’t mention… 😉 🙂

          • Captain JJ Browmehn

            June 17, 2015 at 15:40

            I feel like it hurts less when I join in myself ;P

          • Rock789

            June 17, 2015 at 15:35

            Was gonna say – me thinks we have enough without you helping us by reminding us of all the ones we don’t mention… 😉 🙂

      • Pieter Kruger

        June 17, 2015 at 15:40

        OR it’s just hip to hate on EA? ????

        Reply

        • Captain JJ Browmehn

          June 17, 2015 at 15:42

          I actually did my first refund on Origin the other day.
          I gave them another chance out of the goodness of my heart by buying on Origin. Was super disappointed. Refunded within 12 hours.
          Very impressed with their customer service though, so there’s that at least.

          Reply

          • Kromas,powered by windows 10.

            June 17, 2015 at 15:44

            Refunding Wither:wild Hunt on Origin does not count. 😛

          • Captain JJ Browmehn

            June 17, 2015 at 15:47

            Haha. NEVERRR!

          • Kromas,powered by windows 10.

            June 17, 2015 at 15:48

            I confess. I have not nearly played it as much as I should have. Other games came out and distracted me.

    • Rock789

      June 17, 2015 at 15:27

      Ooooo… **Trevor punches below the belt** 😉 🙂

      Reply

      • Blood Emperor Trevor

        June 17, 2015 at 15:28

        Rince or OVG can confirm that. huehuehue.

        Reply

        • RinceTheElfRoot

          June 17, 2015 at 16:15

          hahahah Poor OVG

          Reply

          • Blood Emperor Trevor

            June 17, 2015 at 18:20

            At least you could ice yours straight away, right Sub-Zero? *run*

          • RinceTheElfRoot

            June 18, 2015 at 07:40

            *Backhands in your face!

      • The King Shopper

        June 17, 2015 at 19:00

        IN PAINS ? ,?ANnxiety?, have SLEEP issues? we got good ?PainsPILLS? n good?BUD n Mary. j ? n the ?Purple/leann? TXT us????) 464-60???. Low key delvry. Real shit. no bs. hghgh hg

        Reply

    • The King Shopper

      June 17, 2015 at 19:00

      IN PAINS ? ,?ANnxiety?, have SLEEP issues? we got good ?PainsPILLS? n good?BUD n Mary. j ? n the ?Purple/leann? TXT us????) 464-60???. Low key delvry. Real shit. no bs. nmmjkj

      Reply

  4. Rock789

    June 17, 2015 at 15:25

    The more I see of this game, the more impressed I become… Can’t wait to see the finished product – it’ll be dope if they can pull it off!

    Reply

  5. WitWolfy

    June 17, 2015 at 15:25

    I prefer quality to quantity.. This whole game is just one big smoke screen, making it seem like its a full game when actually its DESTINY’s ugly cousin.

    Now hear me out.

    This whole game looks gorgeous but its gonna be repetitive as fudge. Sure there are millions of planets out there. But they’re all gonna be so similar if not the same, that its gonna feel like you’re exploring the same place over and over again.

    Plus, whats’ there to do except exploring planets? Nothing really..

    Just my 5c

    Reply

    • Captain JJ Browmehn

      June 17, 2015 at 15:27

      I wish my money went as far as your 5c 😉

      Reply

    • Kromas,powered by windows 10.

      June 17, 2015 at 15:28

      In games such as these repetitiveness is part of the package.

      Hell I have probably collected over 50 000 narco berries in ARK alone.

      I am sick of Narco berries!

      Reply

      • Captain JJ Browmehn

        June 17, 2015 at 15:29

        I’m seriously considering getting ARK now.
        The dragon-thing put me off, but since they’re only there if someone summons them it makes the game way more appealing.

        Reply

        • Kromas,powered by windows 10.

          June 17, 2015 at 15:31

          Been hosting a server since launch and can confirm that not a single one of the large tribes have even tried summoning the spider. Hella load of work. You need special artifacts that only appear in caves and you still need to prevent other bastards….. uhm players from harrasing your base.

          We are planning on summoning the spider this weekend though cause most of my tribe rolls T-Rex style.

          Reply

          • Captain JJ Browmehn

            June 17, 2015 at 15:32

            That sounds damn excellent.
            So the game’s pretty stable then for an alpha build it sounds like. I was watching Dino Riders the other day and got super excited about ARK. 😀

          • Kromas,powered by windows 10.

            June 17, 2015 at 15:34

            Define stable.

            Decent pc gets around 30-40 FPS om medium settings.
            Lag on 70/70 players is horrible.

            Still the most fun I have had in a game in ages and well worth getting. They pretty much patch the game every 4 hours or so. 😛

          • Captain JJ Browmehn

            June 17, 2015 at 15:39

            I saw they patch it super regularly.
            I’ve played quite a few alpha games the past year or so- The Forest, Beasts of Prey, Don’t Starve, 7 Days to Die. So I’ve seen some super unstable alpha builds. The fact that you’re able to have as much fun as you are says a lot about the game’s stability. Or, enough for me.

          • Kromas,powered by windows 10.

            June 17, 2015 at 15:43

            I coincidentally own all of those ea games you mentioned so I am no stranger as well. This game right off the bat features way more content than any of those other games at launch. Plus it looks beautiful and the devs are amazing at getting performance patches out of the gate. Hell 1 week in and we already got a new content patch. These guys are amazing and the game even more so. Plus they gave my T-Rex shades cause I owned The Stomping Dreams.

            The Shades are worth it!

          • Captain JJ Browmehn

            June 17, 2015 at 15:46

            Haha. Okay. That sounds awesome. I’ve been very cautious about it, but considering I bought Beasts of Prey (and considering the state that was in when I got it) this sounds well worth it.

          • Kromas,powered by windows 10.

            June 17, 2015 at 15:47

            Also. Since the last patch 2 hours ago we have modding.

            So expect Dino Riders Style mount mods to flood the game soon. 🙂

          • Captain JJ Browmehn

            June 17, 2015 at 15:47

            O_O

          • Kromas,powered by windows 10.

            June 17, 2015 at 15:34

            Define stable.

            Decent pc gets around 30-40 FPS om medium settings.
            Lag on 70/70 players is horrible.

            Still the most fun I have had in a game in ages and well worth getting. They pretty much patch the game every 4 hours or so. 😛

      • loftie

        June 17, 2015 at 15:41

        lvl 54 stego with about 45 level ups put into SPEEEEEED

        Reply

    • PestControl

      June 18, 2015 at 09:43

      I agree… I’m afraid that this game will turn out the same as Spore… sure the concept is cool, however it’ll need something really brilliant to lure players back every day… Let’s hope they prove me wrong. Due to the nature of this concept which could be a total failure ( *cough* Destiny) I’ll definitely wait for the game to be released and reviewed before buying it.

      Reply

  6. Graeme Selvan

    June 17, 2015 at 15:27

    Im going to pirate and shoot the crap out of everyone *TROLL*

    Reply

    • Captain JJ Browmehn

      June 17, 2015 at 15:27

      *hosts private server* ;P

      Reply

      • Graeme Selvan

        June 17, 2015 at 15:28

        We can pirate together and start our own band of pirates… we can call it piratebay!

        Reply

        • Captain JJ Browmehn

          June 17, 2015 at 15:29

          XD

          Reply

    • Brady miaau

      June 17, 2015 at 16:59

      Yeah, I misread that. Sorry.

      Or is the start of the mall shooting spree?

      Reply

  7. Ranting Raptor

    June 17, 2015 at 15:40

    I’m so looking forward to this

    Reply

    • Captain JJ Browmehn

      June 17, 2015 at 15:40

      Would you say, top seven games at least?

      Reply

      • Ranting Raptor

        June 17, 2015 at 15:41

        I’d go that far yes. In fact I’d place this game at number 7 just because it deserves such a highly regarded spot

        Reply

        • Captain JJ Browmehn

          June 17, 2015 at 15:42

          Haha. Well played. 😀

          Reply

          • Ranting Raptor

            June 17, 2015 at 15:48

            😉

  8. RinceTheElfRoot

    June 17, 2015 at 16:13

    Sick. So keen for this!

    Reply

    • Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

      June 17, 2015 at 19:18

      My body is ready!

      Reply

  9. chimera_85

    June 17, 2015 at 16:21

    This game makes me so wet. Cannot wait to get my paws on it <3

    Reply

  10. konfab

    June 17, 2015 at 16:23

    There are 18,446,744,073,709,551,616 planets in No Man’s sky. Enough I say for one of them to be called “Team D”

    Reply

  11. CypherGate

    June 17, 2015 at 16:53

    I wonder how they will keep things interesting for players. I mean I dont mind the whole exploring planets etc etc, but there should be things to keep stuff interesting. Maybe im just used to games having a specific direction or a goal for me to work towards whereas this doesnt really have a main goal at all. Sounds amazing, but im a bit worried the bore factor will weigh in fairly quickly.

    Reply

  12. Ghost In The Rift

    June 17, 2015 at 17:06

    Is it okay if i find a planet dead of life and name it Darryn’s Ego?!?!..:-P*runs*

    Reply

  13. Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

    June 17, 2015 at 19:17

    Pirate all the way… YAARRR!!! Screw all you goody toe-shoes jedi-wannabes! I will be out there making a name for myself, pillaging like a boss! NO MAN SKY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Reply

  14. Irene E. Zimmerman

    June 17, 2015 at 22:11

    <-+++ My best friend's step-aunt makes $65 hourly on the laptop. She has been out of work for 7 months but last month her pay was $18355 just working on the laptop for a few hours. She actually started four months ago and pretty much immediately began to make more than $542… Every week.

    Reply

  15. drunkmonkmeth

    June 18, 2015 at 04:39

    im cowboy bebop’n this game so hard!

    Reply

  16. Sageville

    June 18, 2015 at 09:39

    If you played Elite Dangerous, sometimes massive generated galaxies are just too big, I hope this isn’t an issue with No mans Sky, I’ll get this regardless…

    Reply

  17. Sabin Snake

    October 14, 2015 at 20:10

    they need to edit this article, it’s not an AT-AT that chases after you, it’s an AT-ST Walker, the AT-AT are the huge 4 legged Walkers. http://www.starwars.com/databank/at-at-walker

    Reply

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