# 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:** 27
### Author:  [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2016, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mans-sky-first-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning/759701/521 "2016-09-29T21:15:36Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#):
>
> [Bit late there.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=19661477&postcount=488) š
Dāoh :smack:
---
### Author:  [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2016, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mans-sky-first-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning/759701/522 "2016-09-29T22:14:23Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#):
>
> It didnāt seem any worse to me than what Peter Molyneux has done promoting the Fable games. Perhaps what saved those games was that, even when stripped of the ridiculous promises, they were relatively deep with a story etc, while NMS was never going to be a deep game. I think that even if NMS had delivered on every little promise, implied and explicit, many gamers would have been disappointed as the reality of the promised gameplay would not have been as engaging as theyād imagined.
>
> I suspect that may be partly whatās happening here. Gamers were expecting to be deeply immersed and many werenāt. Because the game suffered from some hyperbolic marketing it has been easy to blame that for their disappointment, but I think they would have been disappointed anyway.
I think this is also a good analysis, personally.
For what itās worth, I think people decided to take some of what Mr Molyneux said with a grain of salt even at the time.
Itās been a while but my recollection of coverage of _Fable_ at the time (at least the stuff I saw) was less breathless _āThis will be the last game you ever need to play!ā_ (although Iām sure there was some of that about too) and more āWell, the bloke in charge of making it reckons that [improbable stuff] and we all know thatās not likely but heās the one saying it and not us; hereās some screenshots too.ā
Interestingly, Bullfrog/Lionhead had a reputation for putting out some stellar games that _had_ delivered on their promises - they werenāt an unknown indie startup.
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### Author:  [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2016, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mans-sky-first-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning/759701/523 "2016-09-29T22:22:40Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#):
>
> The thing to keep in mind is the denizens of todayās Internet, many of whom are reluctant to admit even the possibility of being wrong. About anything.
Theā¦ peopleā¦ that bought the gameā¦ based on promises that werenāt actually in the game at allā¦ and were disappointedā¦ are the ones who are too reluctant to admit the possibility of being wrong?
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### Author:  [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2016, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mans-sky-first-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning/759701/524 "2016-09-29T22:26:11Z")
\*\*Martini Enfield, _if you enjoy NMS I highly recommend having a look at [Osiris: New Dawn](http://store.steampowered.com/app/402710/)_ on Steam.
I gave it a go last night and within about 10 minutes I had one of those āmoments of wonderā that I was hoping NMS would provide more of - think Arrakis and āWormsign!ā :eek::eek:
I still play NMS and the modding scene on PC has made some major improvements but until Hello Games push out more content itās hit itās limit for me.
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### Author:  [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2016, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mans-sky-first-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning/759701/525 "2016-09-29T22:29:06Z")
What sort of mods? I havenāt heard about them so Iām curious whatās fixable or changable with modding. Since the universe is all synced up Iām guessing you canāt change fundamental things like planetary layouts or that sort of thing.
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### Author:  [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2016, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mans-sky-first-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning/759701/526 "2016-09-29T22:29:26Z")
Thanks for that - Iāll look into it!
Iām still putting a few hours here and there into NMS but am waiting for the next lot of updates or content before I really get back into it. Be interesting to see what happens.
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### Author:  [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2016, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mans-sky-first-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning/759701/527 "2016-09-29T22:38:26Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#):
>
> What sort of mods? I havenāt heard about them so Iām curious whatās fixable or changable with modding. Since the universe is all synced up Iām guessing you canāt change fundamental things like planetary layouts or that sort of thing.
These are the two main sites:
[Latest Mods at No Man's Sky Nexus - Mods and Community](http://www.nexusmods.com/nomanssky/mods/latestmods/)?
[https://nomansskymods.com/](https://nomansskymods.com/)
A few good examples would be
[Lowflight](http://www.nexusmods.com/nomanssky/mods/80/?) - removes the odd ground collision model and permits hovering and reverse flight (and lets your ship be a submersible if you really want).
[Big Things](http://www.nexusmods.com/nomanssky/mods/100/?)- Makes trees etc. huge making for more alien planets.
[Better Planets](http://www.nexusmods.com/nomanssky/mods/225/?) - More varied terrain, bigger mountains
[Wildlife](http://www.nexusmods.com/nomanssky/mods/154/?) - revamp of the wildlife spawning amounts and variety.
There are a lot of others, like reducing the amount of buildings on a planet so it feels more like a survival sim.
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### Author:  [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2016, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mans-sky-first-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning/759701/528 "2016-09-29T22:48:22Z")
Huh, cool. Good job on their part. I assumed since everything was generated on the same seed and synced up online that the game would have an anti-tamper (or at least made the process opaque) to prevent people from modding the terrain-generating assets at all. But it looks like theyāre at least able to make some changes to make it more immersive.
I donāt know why the lowflight thing is even needed - earlier demos showed people flying like that closer to the surface of the planet, but for release they put in that training wheels mode to make sure you could never get close to anything. But cool to them for fixing it.
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### Author:  [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)
#### Post date: [September 30, 2016, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mans-sky-first-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning/759701/529 "2016-09-30T02:19:31Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#):
>
> The thing to keep in mind is the denizens of todayās Internet, many of whom are reluctant to admit even the possibility of being wrong. About anything.
> [@SenorBeef](#):
>
> Theā¦ peopleā¦ that bought the gameā¦ based on promises that werenāt actually in the game at allā¦ and were disappointedā¦ are the ones who are too reluctant to admit the possibility of being wrong?
This is a warning to both of you. Knock off the bickering or take it to the Pit.
---
### Author:  [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)
#### Post date: [October 6, 2016, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mans-sky-first-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning/759701/530 "2016-10-06T16:39:34Z")
Interesting point on the $60 price tag, while I recall some people saying that it was Sonyās idea and that the studio was forced into it, it appears that the opposite is true and the developers pushed for the AAA price. [Mandatory - Laugh. Learn. Do Some Good.](http://www.craveonline.com/entertainment/1136045-hello-games-priced-no-mans-sky-60-not-sony)
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### Author:  [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)
#### Post date: [October 6, 2016, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mans-sky-first-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning/759701/531 "2016-10-06T19:33:16Z")
Okay, I finally played NMS, actually I played it twice, and I didnāt have to buy it. A work colleague bought it on Steam and installed it on his sonās laptop.
My friendās son, whoās 11 began playing it in August and stayed with it for a few weeks until he lost interest. His dad said he hadnāt played it in almost a month. I asked if it was okay if I tried and he and his son were very accommodating.
As I said, I played it twice. The first time was for approximately 30 minutes, with my friendās son hanging over my shoulder giving me pointers. The second time, which was a few days later was around 40 minutes or so.
His setup.
My friendās son had a few mods installed: low flight, dark skies, shipwreck spotter, atmospheric whether, hud enhancement, and a few I donāt remember. He even had a mod to turn all the mods on or off. There was a real difference in the gameplay experience and realism with all of his mods turned on compared to them all turned off.
My impressions.
My friendās son had 37 inventory slots in his ship, 44 in his suit, and 24 in his weapon, so he was pretty far along. I was disappointed when he said I couldnāt start a game from scratch without him losing his progress. I also had to be careful when flying outside of a planetās atmosphere as I would constantly be attacked. I was told this is because there was valuable merchandise in the shipās inventory.
Space in the system I was in, which consisted of 3 planets, 1 moon, and one space station, was visually appealing. Each of the planets were sufficiently unique-ish; one was snowy and cold, one was radioactive with intermittent radioactive storms, and one was temperate with more water than land. The colors, flora, and fauna on each planet were unique on each. What I didnāt care for was all the planets and the moon had islands that floated inexplicably in the air, which destroyed any sense of realism for me.
I had fun flying around the planet, landing at various locations to mine (??) with my weapon (??) and examine the various plants and animals along the way. Selling the items Iād mined or picked up seemed lucrative.
I visited a few monoliths to learn words in the language of the local intelligent life-form, and killed a few drones who didnāt like whatever I was doing at the time and attacked me.
I felt 30 minutes wasnāt nearly enough time to familiarize myself with the game so I invited myself over again for another round. š
All in all, I had fun. The game does seem very limited, but there are things I didnāt do, such as go to other systems. My friendās son mentioned something about Atlas that I didnāt understand, and speaking with other beings which, again, I didnāt do.
To me, NMS seems to be a cross between a game and a sim with elements you would expect to be in either a game or a sim conspicuously missing. Itās like a good start ofā¦something.
Would I play it again? Certainly. As I said, I had fun. My friendās son said he stopped playing because āeverything is samey,ā which really wasnāt my experience, but again, my experience was short.
Would I pay $60 for it? I donāt know. Iād have to see what else is in the game to determine that. Hopping around a planet and looting was pretty cool, but I imagine that would get old after a while.
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### Author:  [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)
#### Post date: [October 6, 2016, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mans-sky-first-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning/759701/532 "2016-10-06T22:18:30Z")
Is there a story line to follow or anything? Or is it just going planet to planet doing the same things?
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### Author:  [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)
#### Post date: [October 6, 2016, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mans-sky-first-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning/759701/533 "2016-10-06T23:40:41Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#):
>
> Is there a story line to follow or anything? Or is it just going planet to planet doing the same things?
There is supposedly a storyline you can follow by communicating with the other beings you meet on planets and space stations, and something called Atlas but I am speaking from ignorance as I didnāt engage anyone.
ETA: One thing I will say about NMS is time flies when youāre playing it. It is one of those games (if it can be called a game) that you look at your watch and wonder how the heck can it be 3 AM already. As I said, I played for a total of approximately an hour and 15 minutes, but it felt like 5.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [October 7, 2016, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mans-sky-first-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning/759701/534 "2016-10-07T02:06:45Z")
Isnāt that exactly the opposite of a ātime fliesā game? Thatād be one where you actually play for 5 hours, but it feels like much less.
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### Author:  [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)
#### Post date: [October 7, 2016, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mans-sky-first-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning/759701/535 "2016-10-07T02:48:55Z")
[Hereās an in depth](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kd8vLJ66Vhc) review of the game. Fast forward to 27 minutes for a kick in the pants.
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### Author:  [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)
#### Post date: [October 7, 2016, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mans-sky-first-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning/759701/536 "2016-10-07T03:32:03Z")
> [@RandMcnally](#):
>
> [Hereās an in depth](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kd8vLJ66Vhc) review of the game. Fast forward to 27 minutes for a kick in the pants.
Humor us and give the non-clickbait version. What happens at 27 minutes in?
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### Author:  [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)
#### Post date: [October 7, 2016, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mans-sky-first-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning/759701/537 "2016-10-07T05:21:14Z")
No Mans Sky seems to have found itself a niche audience at least. There is a sub-reddit about the game called āNo Manās Highā dedicated to those that like to partake in the recreational herb while playing. I donāt partake myself but it does seem particularly well sorted to that style of extremely chilled gameplay.
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### Author:  [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)
#### Post date: [October 7, 2016, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mans-sky-first-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning/759701/538 "2016-10-07T05:30:51Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> Isnāt that exactly the opposite of a ātime fliesā game? Thatād be one where you actually play for 5 hours, but it feels like much less.
I may not have expressed myself clearly enough. I played for about an hour and 15 minutes but it felt like 5 minutes.
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### Author:  [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)
#### Post date: [October 7, 2016, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mans-sky-first-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning/759701/539 "2016-10-07T07:48:00Z")
> [@TimeWinder](#):
>
> Humor us and give the non-clickbait version. What happens at 27 minutes in?
You can only do one warp jump at a time. At least I think thatās what heās referring to.
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### Author:  [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)
#### Post date: [October 7, 2016, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-mans-sky-first-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning/759701/540 "2016-10-07T08:26:46Z")
Heās just talking about the conclusion generally and what a pile of shit the ending is. āOh youāre going to be so amazed when you reach the center!ā - itās not even NewGame+, thereās nothing enhanced or different about the second run, itās just a clean wipe.
That guy does pretty thorough and thoughtful reviews.
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