32 votes

No Man's Sky: Worlds Part II

15 comments

  1. MechanicalMagpie
    Link
    me reading this: "ooh, all that sounds cool, new biomes are super exciting, love the autophage, purple stars sound excellent -- record scratch INVENTORY SORTING?!?!?!?! šŸ˜šŸ˜šŸ˜ i have yearned for this...

    me reading this: "ooh, all that sounds cool, new biomes are super exciting, love the autophage, purple stars sound excellent --

    record scratch

    INVENTORY SORTING?!?!?!?! šŸ˜šŸ˜šŸ˜
    i have yearned for this for centuries since 2018
    finally the gods devs have answered my prayers

    24 votes
  2. [2]
    balooga
    Link
    It's been a while since I lost myself in NMS. Can't believe they're still updating it. This looks phenomenal! Can't wait to dive back in.

    It's been a while since I lost myself in NMS. Can't believe they're still updating it. This looks phenomenal! Can't wait to dive back in.

    11 votes
    1. RustyRedRobot
      Link Parent
      Quite literally looking at the ocean updates.

      Quite literally looking at the ocean updates.

      4 votes
  3. [2]
    0x29A
    Link
    This looks incredible. I haven't revisited since like 5-10 updates ago (and even then, the game was already in a wonderful state and already far away from the bad original launch). Having...

    This looks incredible. I haven't revisited since like 5-10 updates ago (and even then, the game was already in a wonderful state and already far away from the bad original launch). Having procrastinated on revisiting this game means it's going to be an absolutely new experience for me because so much has changed even in just ONE of the updates, I can't imagine playing after so many updates have gone by.

    I always read the patch notes for each new patch, but I just hadn't set aside the time to jump back in, until now. I need a chill game again, this might be it

    Last time I played or at least launched the game was Oct 2022

    7 votes
    1. sum4
      Link Parent
      Same here, it was lockdown I played last! This year might have to be the year to dive back in.

      Same here, it was lockdown I played last! This year might have to be the year to dive back in.

      4 votes
  4. [7]
    an_angry_tiger
    Link
    Kind of a rough unstructured thought here of a game I haven't played, so bare with me, but I caught this snippet from the playstation.com announcement...

    Kind of a rough unstructured thought here of a game I haven't played, so bare with me, but I caught this snippet from the playstation.com announcement (https://blog.playstation.com/2025/01/29/no-mans-skys-latest-update-introduces-billions-of-new-stars-planets-and-more-today/):

    One of the biggest reasons people play No Man’s Sky is for that sense of adventure and discovery, that feeling of flying to a planet, and landing to explore, knowing no one has ever been there before. With Worlds Part II, we added billions of new star systems and trillions of new planets to the universe. This allows us to push the boundaries of our engine and technology without changing the things people love about the game already.

    and I find it kind of funny, like, yeah I'm sure math-wise there's billions and trillions of new combinations of procedurally generated content.....but so what?

    Like I'm never going to have time to go to billions, nonetheless trillions, of star systems and planets and all that, and I know that they get to that number by doing something like, having 100 new shades of ground texture, or 50 new models of trees, or something, right? But between this type of game having 100 planets and it having a billion, it's effectively the same thing, and the difference between a ton of those planets is just going to be one small thing being changed anyway, without it really affecting the gameplay.

    I guess it's just the way procedurally generated games work out, it's easy to make new permutations, but a lot of the differences between them don't matter, and in the end, you could have just taken 100 of them, tuned them up by hand, added some custom hand-made content for each one, and it'd work out better. You could even lie to me and say its all randomly generated with infinite possibilities while just returning a random one of the 100 ones you made.

    Anyway didn't mean to be a buzzkill, at some point I've got to play the game, I mostly know it from its disastrous launch (as we all remember), and I've been glad to see its redemption arc over the years.

    4 votes
    1. [5]
      0xSim
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      Obviously you'll never going to see a fraction of a percent of the possible planets, but that's not the point. And anyway, if you explore for like a few hours, you'll indeed see practically...

      I'm sure math-wise there's billions and trillions of new combinations of procedurally generated content.....but so what?

      Obviously you'll never going to see a fraction of a percent of the possible planets, but that's not the point. And anyway, if you explore for like a few hours, you'll indeed see practically everything the game has to offer in terms of procgen. The point is that there is a gigantic infinite universe, and that you will set foot on planets that no other player has ever seen. That is the point: exploring the unknown.

      6 votes
      1. [4]
        bendvis
        Link Parent
        I find it difficult to get immersed in exploration of procedurally generated planets though. For example, I can write 573,609,725,082,183. I have extremely high confidence that I’m the first...

        I find it difficult to get immersed in exploration of procedurally generated planets though. For example, I can write 573,609,725,082,183. I have extremely high confidence that I’m the first person to ever type out that number, but it’s still made up of the same 10 digits we already know. It’s not terribly exciting or meaningful. Once you’ve seen all the variations of sky, ground, plants, animals, then randomizing them isn’t very exploratory.

        6 votes
        1. [3]
          BashCrandiboot
          (edited )
          Link Parent
          Edit: I mucked up the number entry, the number is not prime. Well, "exciting" is all in the eye of the beholder. For example, that number you just picked at random? It just so happens to be a...

          Edit: I mucked up the number entry, the number is not prime.

          Well, "exciting" is all in the eye of the beholder. For example, that number you just picked at random? It just so happens to be a prime number.

          I mean, that's pretty dang cool lol. Type another random string of 12 digits at that site and see how many prime numbers you can get. Less than 4% of all 12-digit numbers are prime, and you plucked one at random.

          5 votes
          1. [2]
            bendvis
            Link Parent
            I think you had an error in entry when checking the number. 573,609,725,082,183 vs 573,609,725,083 The original number I typed is not prime....

            I think you had an error in entry when checking the number.

            573,609,725,082,183 vs
            573,609,725,083

            The original number I typed is not prime.
            https://www.numberempire.com/primenumbers.php?number=573609725082183&action=check&_p1=2458

            But still, it highlights the idea that once you've seen a planet's component parts, you need to deliberately concoct reasons to make it interesting.

            1 vote
            1. BashCrandiboot
              Link Parent
              Damn, thanks for pointing that out, but I don't necessarily agree that my point would be "concocting a reason" to find something interesting. Plenty of people would find stumbling upon a prime...

              Damn, thanks for pointing that out, but I don't necessarily agree that my point would be "concocting a reason" to find something interesting. Plenty of people would find stumbling upon a prime number innately interesting.

              1 vote
    2. balooga
      Link Parent
      I think the appeal of the game isn’t actually the procgen planets. It’s the vibes. It’s the tiny, lonely feeling of being lost in an infathomably large and meaningless universe. It’s the personal...

      I think the appeal of the game isn’t actually the procgen planets. It’s the vibes. It’s the tiny, lonely feeling of being lost in an infathomably large and meaningless universe. It’s the personal arc from surviving, to exploring, to thriving. It’s about crafting and base building, not dissimilar to Minecraft actually, making cool stuff no one has ever seen before. And there is a healthy multiplayer component to it too.

      I think the story is an interesting one considering the limitations of the gameplay. There are a lot of interesting side directions you can go in, whether you’re into building stuff, upgrading your tech, combat, exploring for secrets and rarities, etc. And there are much more collaborative online ā€œexpeditionsā€ which add a lot more structure to the game.

      When the game first game out your points were more applicable, but it’s really evolved into something unique and fun since then. The procgen has improved, and the diversity of stuff to find is better now, but that’s still all just window dressing for what the game actually is.

      5 votes
  5. [2]
    carrotflowerr
    Link
    I haven't played NMS since 2020. Is it worth giving another shot?

    I haven't played NMS since 2020. Is it worth giving another shot?

    2 votes
    1. Wuju
      Link Parent
      I personally find that it's a nice game to go back for a couple weeks every couple years. Start a new save, find the new stuff they've added, build new bases, collect new gear, all that stuff. But...

      I personally find that it's a nice game to go back for a couple weeks every couple years. Start a new save, find the new stuff they've added, build new bases, collect new gear, all that stuff. But if you didn't enjoy it back then, I doubt you will enjoy it now. The same core gameplay is going to be more or less the same, along with much of the things you'll find.

      3 votes
  6. Rudism
    Link
    I've played a bunch on my Switch in the past, but this update made me decide to get a copy on Steam so I can play on a proper non-potato. Has anyone had luck getting a slot in the cross-save beta?...

    I've played a bunch on my Switch in the past, but this update made me decide to get a copy on Steam so I can play on a proper non-potato. Has anyone had luck getting a slot in the cross-save beta? Do new slots open occasionally? I guess I don't mind starting over, but it'd be nice if I could bring my Switch progress over to the PC.

    1 vote