# No Man's Sky - First star to the right, and straight on till morning
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mans-sky-first-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning/759701
**Category:** The Game Room
**Tags:** video-games-e-games
**Created:** [July 12, 2016, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mans-sky-first-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning/759701 "2016-07-12T01:16:17Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 14
### Author:  [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)
#### Post date: [August 16, 2016, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mans-sky-first-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning/759701/261 "2016-08-16T05:06:31Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#):
>
> …I’m seeing a big price difference between the GOG and Steam. Are there any differences between what they are selling? (GOG is $62 AUD, Steam is $90 NZD)
AFAIK they are identical. _Hello Games_ are running an experimental branch of the game on Steam trying to sort out bugs so in the end you may get faster patches through them.
So far I’m enjoying the game. It’s pretty much exactly what I expected, a slow, exploration-for-the-sake-of-exploring game with a 1960’s sci-fi vibe.
I’ve been messing around with the 64 bit version of [http://www.x360ce.com/](http://www.x360ce.com/) and with some tinkering I’ve gotten my Logitech Extreme 3D Pro joystick to work for the flight controls and a few basic buttons - I’m still using my keypad for some things like thrust, brake, scan etc. The handling is a bit odd at low altitude but it feels a lot nicer.
For PC there are some mods starting to show up [http://nomansskymods.com/](http://nomansskymods.com/) so far about removing some of the odd vignetting/CRT effect, changing some of the colour saturation settings and removing a few of the nagging low health/suit audio warnings.
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### Author:  [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)
#### Post date: [August 16, 2016, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mans-sky-first-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning/759701/262 "2016-08-16T09:19:27Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#):
>
> That’s why I don’t understand the preorder mentality. If a game is good, great, you can still get it after reading some reviews and not lose anything, but if a game is bad then you’re playing into their exact gambit of trying to make you buy their product before you can find out its bad. Why anyone volunteers to buy into that gambit I honesty have no idea. It’s not like you have to wait long - you waited months or years for the game, but you can’t wait a few hours to see if the game is a disappointment before committing your money to it?
I preorder for a few reasons - financial (I might have the money when I preorder but can’t guarantee I will when the game comes out), because I like the bonuses on offer, and also because sometimes I’m confident enough in a game that I want to be able to start playing it the moment it comes out.
Also, thanks to people on the internet with nothing better to do but play games all day, there’s a pretty high likelihood of running into spoilers for games if you don’t get into them sharpish - waiting a few days or weeks for the reviews to come in increases the likelihood of having the plot spoiled by then too.
And even if it’s not a plot-tastic game, you’ve also got people gaining valuable skills/knowledge of the game’s systems and maps, putting you at a disadvantage if you come in late to a multiplayer game, for example.
In short, there’s lots of cromulent reasons to pre-order and they aren’t about people being sheep unable to think for themselves.
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### Author:  [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)
#### Post date: [August 16, 2016, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mans-sky-first-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning/759701/263 "2016-08-16T12:24:28Z")
[Backtracking](http://www.gamezone.com/news/no-man-s-sky-founder-backtracks-could-get-paid-dlc-3442515) on the whole “no paid dlc, free content only” thing. Oh sure, he says it in the hypothetical, but he’s just laying the groundwork for introducing the idea to prepare people.
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### Author:  [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)
#### Post date: [August 16, 2016, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mans-sky-first-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning/759701/264 "2016-08-16T14:55:10Z")
> [@Kinthalis](#):
>
> Although it seems like it’s more than a few technical issues. Turning off frame caps (which default to 30, why??) and turning on AF + Vscyn outside the game, seems to cure most of the issues people are having.
What’s “AF”?
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [August 16, 2016, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mans-sky-first-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning/759701/265 "2016-08-16T15:42:31Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Quoth **Martini Enfield** :
>
> I preorder for a few reasons - financial (I might have the money when I preorder but can’t guarantee I will when the game comes out)…
This makes no sense whatsoever. Money doesn’t just evaporate: If you don’t spend it, then you still have it. The only way you could have the money at pre-order but not at release is if you spent it on something else meanwhile that you want or need more. In which case, the decision to pre-order is a deliberate decision to get something you don’t want or need as much.
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### Author:  [@Airk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airk)
#### Post date: [August 16, 2016, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mans-sky-first-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning/759701/266 "2016-08-16T16:35:37Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#):
>
> I preorder for a few reasons - financial (I might have the money when I preorder but can’t guarantee I will when the game comes out),
Because…your impulse control is so bad that you might’ve spent that $60 on something else? Or because an emergency came up that made you spend it? Because if it’s the former, this is still silly, and if it’s the latter, what happens when you preorder and then have that emergency?
> [@](#):
>
> because I like the bonuses on offer,
Except that the interesting bonuses are increasingly getting moved to collector’s editions and the like.
> [@](#):
>
> and also because sometimes I’m confident enough in a game that I want to be able to start playing it the moment it comes out.
Except that in cases like this, you couldn’t even predownload it, so even if you preordered, you haven’t gotten to the game any faster. You still have to sit down at your PC and wait for it to download. All you’ve saved is the like, 30 seconds of clicking “Buy now” and confirming your credit card. That seems like a pretty low value add.
> [@](#):
>
> Also, thanks to people on the internet with nothing better to do but play games all day, there’s a pretty high likelihood of running into spoilers for games if you don’t get into them sharpish - waiting a few days or weeks for the reviews to come in increases the likelihood of having the plot spoiled by then too.
As Beef pointed out, you don’t need to wait days or weeks to find out if a game is arse. Hours would suffice. And in this particular case, there’s really nothing to ‘spoil’.
> [@](#):
>
> And even if it’s not a plot-tastic game, you’ve also got people gaining valuable skills/knowledge of the game’s systems and maps, putting you at a disadvantage if you come in late to a multiplayer game, for example.
I got into a huge argument over this the last time, but really, who cares? If you wait a week, the advantage people will have over you in multiplayer will be laughable in a day or three. And this is a single player game.
> [@](#):
>
> In short, there’s lots of cromulent reasons to pre-order and they aren’t about people being sheep unable to think for themselves.
None of which apply to this particular title, yes.
---
### Author:  [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)
#### Post date: [August 16, 2016, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mans-sky-first-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning/759701/267 "2016-08-16T16:57:29Z")
I bought the game (for PC) off of Steam late Monday night, after watching some you-tuber (Markiplier) play it (on his PS4).
For me, the game ran a little choppy with default video settings (Windows 10, 8gb RAM, GTX970 video card). I turned shadows and antialiasing off, and restarted the game. (Really? Having to restart the game for video changes? Le sigh.) It ran fine for about 2 1/2 hours, then the entire game suddenly lagged down (permanently) to 1/3 speed. Restarting the game fixed the lag problem. Experienced one crash to desktop after that. The PC version feels slightly rushed out the door.
Otherwise, I am enjoying poking around on my starting planet, exploring stuff.
I am optimistic, and hoping that new biomes (and other stuff) will continue to be added to the world generator, new recipes to craft (like building my own mining corp w/ trade port, making me money!), too.
One of the things I like about some games on Steam (like Civ V, Skyrim or XCOM2) is the Steam Workshop, where user generated mods can be found and tried out. IMO, this is a big help in keeping these game interesting. No Man’s Sky sounds like it aught to benefit from something like this, but I don’t know if it’s possible to do…
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### Author:  [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)
#### Post date: [August 16, 2016, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mans-sky-first-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning/759701/268 "2016-08-16T17:30:21Z")
> [@mlees](#):
>
> One of the things I like about some games on Steam (like Civ V, Skyrim or XCOM2) is the Steam Workshop, where user generated mods can be found and tried out. IMO, this is a big help in keeping these game interesting. No Man’s Sky sounds like it aught to benefit from something like this, but I don’t know if it’s possible to do…
That’s going to be up to the devs. I sure as heck hope they integrate workshop support too.
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### Author:  [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)
#### Post date: [August 16, 2016, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mans-sky-first-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning/759701/269 "2016-08-16T19:42:32Z")
Someone on reddit made a rather [extensive list](https://www.reddit.com/r/NoMansSkyTheGame/comments/4y046e/wheres_the_nms_we_were_sold_on_heres_a_big_list/) of things that were promised but not delivered on, with cites.
Today’s peak, assuming the peak is at a normal time, is just a touch below 70k, so under 1/3rd the day one concurrent player base in 5 days.
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### Author:  [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)
#### Post date: [August 16, 2016, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mans-sky-first-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning/759701/270 "2016-08-16T20:49:18Z")
Some of us paid no attention to the hype and don’t give a crap about what was promised. 😉
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### Author:  [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)
#### Post date: [August 16, 2016, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mans-sky-first-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning/759701/271 "2016-08-16T20:58:19Z")
I’m trying not to go after you personally, but you seem feel compelled to respond to every criticism about the game.
If you didn’t care what was promised, why would you preorder the game? Isn’t that based entirely off promises? Could the game have done anything to disappoint you?
I can’t reconcile “didn’t listen to the hype” and “don’t care what was promised” with “I preordered the game” - if those had nothing to do with it, how’d you choose it to preorder? Dart board with all the upcoming games?
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### Author:  [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)
#### Post date: [August 16, 2016, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mans-sky-first-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning/759701/272 "2016-08-16T22:47:40Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> This makes no sense whatsoever. Money doesn’t just evaporate: If you don’t spend it, then you still have it. The only way you could have the money at pre-order but not at release is if you spent it on something else meanwhile that you want or need more. In which case, the decision to pre-order is a deliberate decision to get something you don’t want or need as much.
That assumes a person who always makes logical financial decisions. I know that in the past I have been terrible at setting money aside or saving and end up spending it bit by bit on shit I don’t need. These days video games are actually the shit I don’t need that my money gets frittered away on, so nothing much has changed for me, just the scale of my spending.
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### Author:  [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)
#### Post date: [August 16, 2016, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mans-sky-first-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning/759701/273 "2016-08-16T22:54:03Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#):
>
> If you didn’t care what was promised, why would you preorder the game?
See post 254. 🙂
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### Author:  [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)
#### Post date: [August 16, 2016, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mans-sky-first-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning/759701/274 "2016-08-16T22:58:05Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#):
>
> I’m trying not to go after you personally, but you seem feel compelled to respond to every criticism about the game.
>
> If you didn’t care what was promised, why would you preorder the game? Isn’t that based entirely off promises? Could the game have done anything to disappoint you?
>
> I can’t reconcile “didn’t listen to the hype” and “don’t care what was promised” with “I preordered the game” - if those had nothing to do with it, how’d you choose it to preorder? Dart board with all the upcoming games?
For my part, the promises that sold me on the game were:
1. Effectively infinite universe.
2. Procedural generation.
3. The ability to name things and upload to a central database.
4. The possibility that another player can find worlds you’ve been to and vice versa.
That’s about it.
So while there may be lots of things the game promised and hasn’t delivered on, those promises did not affect my decision making process. I don’t even know what most of them are because, despite my participation in this thread, I have not been following the NMS hype machine.
As it is, I haven’t had a chance to play it yet. It’s waiting at home for me.
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### Author:  [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)
#### Post date: [August 17, 2016, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mans-sky-first-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning/759701/275 "2016-08-17T00:25:11Z")
There’s been a lot of backlash videos about the game on youtube. Most are showing what was promised or what was said to be in the game vs what actually ended up shipping. Some of the commentary is fair, some not so fair. This one is on the unfair side, but it short and sweet and I can’t stop laughing:
[![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYNriatnYkE)
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### Author:  [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)
#### Post date: [August 17, 2016, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mans-sky-first-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning/759701/276 "2016-08-17T02:11:21Z")
With the exception of the ending (which I haven’t gotten to yet) and the crashes (which, on the PC, I have not experienced even once), [this review](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UDxquL370Q) pretty much sums up my thoughts. I’m about 17 hours in (it was a rainy weekend :D) and, though I’ve had great fun, it’s gotten repetitive. I’m not really sure what to do anymore, other than stuff I’ve already done, albeit on a different planet with slightly different flora and fauna. It just feels… not done.
I really do hope they put out some expansions. A few questlines, some more interesting/different things on the various planets, and it could be great.
They also need to fix some of the mechanics. As the review stated, space combat is miserable. Finding your way around a planet is totally random; you have no map, no compass, no way to set a waypoint and get back to it. As others have mentioned - find a cool crashed ship? You better hope you have everything on you to repair it, because if you head out to gather materials you might not have, good luck getting back.
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### Author:  [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)
#### Post date: [August 17, 2016, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mans-sky-first-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning/759701/277 "2016-08-17T05:20:49Z")
> [@Airk](#):
>
> Because…your impulse control is so bad that you might’ve spent that $60 on something else? Or because an emergency came up that made you spend it? Because if it’s the former, this is still silly, and if it’s the latter, what happens when you preorder and then have that emergency?
I do freelance work to provide an income for my hobbies. If I don’t have any money in my hobby/fun stuff fund, I don’t buy anything hobby related. The unreliable nature of freelance work means if there’s money in the hobby fund and there’s a game I am interested in, pre-ordering it means I’m guaranteed a copy when it comes out - even if there’s no money in the hobby fund otherwise.
> [@](#):
>
> None of which apply to this particular title, yes.
Where did I say I pre-ordered _No Man’s Sky_? Nowhere, because I didn’t pre-order it. People asked for reasons why someone might pre-order a game generally and I provided some of mine. Sorry they weren’t on your Approved List.
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### Author:  [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)
#### Post date: [August 17, 2016, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mans-sky-first-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning/759701/278 "2016-08-17T08:26:48Z")
Did anyone link [Total Biscuit’s review](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCG9YLeIB98), yet? Well, not so much a review as a discussion as to the nature of NMS’s fan hype and astute thoughts about the gaming community.
I’m giving this title a miss, which is too bad, because I had once held a great deal of hope for it.
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### Author:  [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)
#### Post date: [August 17, 2016, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mans-sky-first-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning/759701/279 "2016-08-17T12:29:52Z")
> [@Knorf](#):
>
> Did anyone link [Total Biscuit’s review](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCG9YLeIB98), yet? Well, not so much a review as a discussion as to the nature of NMS’s fan hype and astute thoughts about the gaming community.
>
> I’m giving this title a miss, which is too bad, because I had once held a great deal of hope for it.
I think there needs to be a video equivalent of TLDR. I don’t care how astute the guy’s thoughts are; I’d much rather read a transcript or (even better) a well-written article than spend 40 minutes watching a video.
I might try the game when it’s cheap. So maybe a year from now.
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### Author:  [@BrianJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrianJ)
#### Post date: [August 17, 2016, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mans-sky-first-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning/759701/280 "2016-08-17T13:19:13Z")
This game sounds a bit like Empyrion. Similar gameplay?
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