I really commend these guys, they’ve built one of the most expansive space survival sandboxes ever created after probably the worst launch in video game history. They didn’t stop and abandon the...
I really commend these guys, they’ve built one of the most expansive space survival sandboxes ever created after probably the worst launch in video game history. They didn’t stop and abandon the game, they kept going and going and it shows how much they really care for this game, kudos to these guys for their perseverance and dedication.
Well said. I just can't believe they just released major update # 17 !!!! Like the 16 before, it's free. They could have charge people for this but no. Kudos to them.
Well said. I just can't believe they just released major update # 17 !!!! Like the 16 before, it's free. They could have charge people for this but no. Kudos to them.
Looks like I'm diving back into NMS again! This is legitimately the greatest redemption arc in gaming history. I have no idea how Hello Games continues to be profitable but I wish them great...
Looks like I'm diving back into NMS again! This is legitimately the greatest redemption arc in gaming history. I have no idea how Hello Games continues to be profitable but I wish them great success as a company. It goes without saying I'll be first in line to pick up whatever they release post-NMS too.
Man, I really must be missing something because I always see universal praise for this game now but the last time I played it (admittedly around a year and a half ago), it felt like the same...
Man, I really must be missing something because I always see universal praise for this game now but the last time I played it (admittedly around a year and a half ago), it felt like the same clunky, janky game that it was at launch, but with random disconnected systems glued on like a bad mod. I normally love games like this and ive been desperately wanting a good space sim but it just has far too many issues. The planets are still boring and monotonous, the flight model can barely be called that, the controls and UI are clunky and unresponsive, and it still seems to lack any attempt at making the galaxy look alive.
Not just you. I feel the same. Nothing about NMS engages me on any meaningful level, even with all the updates. I feel like they started out trying to make a psychedelic version of Elite Dangerous...
Not just you. I feel the same. Nothing about NMS engages me on any meaningful level, even with all the updates. I feel like they started out trying to make a psychedelic version of Elite Dangerous (an idea which I was very into), completely failed because they dumbed down everything, especially flight, way too far; then pivoted to try to make interstellar Minecraft - and didn't get that right either. I've got a decent amount of into NMS from launch day to various big updates and some pretty views aside, it's just not fun. It's the worst sort of grinding - completely pointless grinding, and thanks to the size of their universe, endless pointless grinding.
They make such a fuss about procedurally generating everything and I don't get why. Creating an infinite amount of stuff - no matter how visually impressive, and to give them credit it often is visually impressive - doesn't add up to an actual game.
I doubt I'll even bother downloading this update, frankly. I should just delete the game really.
It has been five years. If nothing they've done up to now entices you, then you're probably not likely to miss out on much by deleting it. Assuming deleting = uninstall, you can always reinstall...
It has been five years. If nothing they've done up to now entices you, then you're probably not likely to miss out on much by deleting it. Assuming deleting = uninstall, you can always reinstall it in a few years and see if they've pivoted towards more of a game than a sandbox environment.
For me personally, I wouldn’t say nothing they’ve done entices me, especially since I bought the game on a sale. It’s an interesting experience for what I got it for. However, it’s hard to shake...
For me personally, I wouldn’t say nothing they’ve done entices me, especially since I bought the game on a sale. It’s an interesting experience for what I got it for. However, it’s hard to shake the odd existential feeling the game imparts. There’s just this feeling of incomprehensible vastness, but it all feels meaningless. Overall, I can’t really say I’m a fan of that particular aspect of the game and it impacts my enjoyment.
So it's interesting to contrast this with how Elite Dangerous feels. ED is also incomprehensibly vast but there are significant differences in how that is presented to the player and how it feels...
There’s just this feeling of incomprehensible vastness, but it all feels meaningless.
So it's interesting to contrast this with how Elite Dangerous feels. ED is also incomprehensibly vast but there are significant differences in how that is presented to the player and how it feels as a result. ED feels big in a way NMS doesn't. NMS you fly up off a planet in too-short a time, warp somewhere else, appear reasonably close by, land or dock, rinse and repeat. So it's not really big, it's just a lot of planets/systems. There's no sense of scale.
ED feels huge, in part because you have to fly much further - sure you have supercruise which gives you speeds up to 2001c, but there's still a decent amount of sitting around appreciating just how many times you could have gone down the road to the chemist's and back at 2001 times the speed of light. ED's space is enormous, it doesn't just have lots of systems, it has all the space inbetween them as well. Then when you do eventually traverse all the nothing and get up close to things they are also BIG, be they stations or planets. It's a huge galaxy and you're a tiny, tiny speck in it and it feels like that. NMS feels smaller, even though it's effectively infinite.
It really highlights the difference in design philosophy between the two games. At its core, ED was meant to be a more faithful simulation, but they also kept in mind the gaming aspects...
It really highlights the difference in design philosophy between the two games. At its core, ED was meant to be a more faithful simulation, but they also kept in mind the gaming aspects (frameshift drives allow us to cover massive distances). NMS seems catered to a more casual playstyle. What I find interesting is that they both have means to close the gap between celestial bodies but I think what drives that feeling to smallness in NMS is the fact that all the planets look ridiculously close to one another. They're scattered throughout space, rather than in orbit around a star. And the star is just part of the skybox.
Personally, I'd be way happier if they had done what ED did. Generate more true-to-life systems, and give us either a system map, a viewing mode that gives you information of detected celestial bodies, or both.
I still enjoy NMS, but it definitely doesn't scratch the same itch as ED did.
One of my favourite things about Elite Dangerous is that the skybox is accurate within each system. If you start flying towards a nebula, that stretch of sky will continue to grow larger until...
One of my favourite things about Elite Dangerous is that the skybox is accurate within each system. If you start flying towards a nebula, that stretch of sky will continue to grow larger until you're inside of it. Or, if instead you fly towards the galactic center, the starscape becomes more and more dense until everything feels lit up.
It's very subtle, but it sneaks up on you. Suddenly you gaze around and realize you're in a very different section of space. I think this really adds to the sense of scale in the game.
That's understandable, yeah. If I'm to be completely honest, I get a bit of that feeling lately when I was waiting for the settlement to progress through the project construction. I think for me,...
That's understandable, yeah. If I'm to be completely honest, I get a bit of that feeling lately when I was waiting for the settlement to progress through the project construction. I think for me, part of it is because I'm here for the new settlement feature and I'm forced to wait to see it all. Not to mention a new expedition is coming soon, so whatever I do in my current save has no impact on the expedition character I'll have to make. Only previous expeditions have any real impact beyond the save I did the content in.
Sometimes, I take it as a good thing. Having no pressure to fulfill any objectives, I'm free to just do whatever i feel like in the moment and relax.
Out of curiosity, what do you think they could've done to make the game feel less nihilistic to you?
I really commend these guys, they’ve built one of the most expansive space survival sandboxes ever created after probably the worst launch in video game history. They didn’t stop and abandon the game, they kept going and going and it shows how much they really care for this game, kudos to these guys for their perseverance and dedication.
Well said. I just can't believe they just released major update # 17 !!!! Like the 16 before, it's free. They could have charge people for this but no. Kudos to them.
Looks like I'm diving back into NMS again! This is legitimately the greatest redemption arc in gaming history. I have no idea how Hello Games continues to be profitable but I wish them great success as a company. It goes without saying I'll be first in line to pick up whatever they release post-NMS too.
Man, I really must be missing something because I always see universal praise for this game now but the last time I played it (admittedly around a year and a half ago), it felt like the same clunky, janky game that it was at launch, but with random disconnected systems glued on like a bad mod. I normally love games like this and ive been desperately wanting a good space sim but it just has far too many issues. The planets are still boring and monotonous, the flight model can barely be called that, the controls and UI are clunky and unresponsive, and it still seems to lack any attempt at making the galaxy look alive.
Not just you. I feel the same. Nothing about NMS engages me on any meaningful level, even with all the updates. I feel like they started out trying to make a psychedelic version of Elite Dangerous (an idea which I was very into), completely failed because they dumbed down everything, especially flight, way too far; then pivoted to try to make interstellar Minecraft - and didn't get that right either. I've got a decent amount of into NMS from launch day to various big updates and some pretty views aside, it's just not fun. It's the worst sort of grinding - completely pointless grinding, and thanks to the size of their universe, endless pointless grinding.
They make such a fuss about procedurally generating everything and I don't get why. Creating an infinite amount of stuff - no matter how visually impressive, and to give them credit it often is visually impressive - doesn't add up to an actual game.
I doubt I'll even bother downloading this update, frankly. I should just delete the game really.
It has been five years. If nothing they've done up to now entices you, then you're probably not likely to miss out on much by deleting it. Assuming deleting = uninstall, you can always reinstall it in a few years and see if they've pivoted towards more of a game than a sandbox environment.
For me personally, I wouldn’t say nothing they’ve done entices me, especially since I bought the game on a sale. It’s an interesting experience for what I got it for. However, it’s hard to shake the odd existential feeling the game imparts. There’s just this feeling of incomprehensible vastness, but it all feels meaningless. Overall, I can’t really say I’m a fan of that particular aspect of the game and it impacts my enjoyment.
So it's interesting to contrast this with how Elite Dangerous feels. ED is also incomprehensibly vast but there are significant differences in how that is presented to the player and how it feels as a result. ED feels big in a way NMS doesn't. NMS you fly up off a planet in too-short a time, warp somewhere else, appear reasonably close by, land or dock, rinse and repeat. So it's not really big, it's just a lot of planets/systems. There's no sense of scale.
ED feels huge, in part because you have to fly much further - sure you have supercruise which gives you speeds up to 2001c, but there's still a decent amount of sitting around appreciating just how many times you could have gone down the road to the chemist's and back at 2001 times the speed of light. ED's space is enormous, it doesn't just have lots of systems, it has all the space inbetween them as well. Then when you do eventually traverse all the nothing and get up close to things they are also BIG, be they stations or planets. It's a huge galaxy and you're a tiny, tiny speck in it and it feels like that. NMS feels smaller, even though it's effectively infinite.
It really highlights the difference in design philosophy between the two games. At its core, ED was meant to be a more faithful simulation, but they also kept in mind the gaming aspects (frameshift drives allow us to cover massive distances). NMS seems catered to a more casual playstyle. What I find interesting is that they both have means to close the gap between celestial bodies but I think what drives that feeling to smallness in NMS is the fact that all the planets look ridiculously close to one another. They're scattered throughout space, rather than in orbit around a star. And the star is just part of the skybox.
Personally, I'd be way happier if they had done what ED did. Generate more true-to-life systems, and give us either a system map, a viewing mode that gives you information of detected celestial bodies, or both.
I still enjoy NMS, but it definitely doesn't scratch the same itch as ED did.
One of my favourite things about Elite Dangerous is that the skybox is accurate within each system. If you start flying towards a nebula, that stretch of sky will continue to grow larger until you're inside of it. Or, if instead you fly towards the galactic center, the starscape becomes more and more dense until everything feels lit up.
It's very subtle, but it sneaks up on you. Suddenly you gaze around and realize you're in a very different section of space. I think this really adds to the sense of scale in the game.
That's understandable, yeah. If I'm to be completely honest, I get a bit of that feeling lately when I was waiting for the settlement to progress through the project construction. I think for me, part of it is because I'm here for the new settlement feature and I'm forced to wait to see it all. Not to mention a new expedition is coming soon, so whatever I do in my current save has no impact on the expedition character I'll have to make. Only previous expeditions have any real impact beyond the save I did the content in.
Sometimes, I take it as a good thing. Having no pressure to fulfill any objectives, I'm free to just do whatever i feel like in the moment and relax.
Out of curiosity, what do you think they could've done to make the game feel less nihilistic to you?