2021 updates (old)
Limited time events have been a thing now apparently. You start a fresh save, do some things, then unlock stuff that you can use in any of your saves. Here's the official page for the current Expedition:
https://www.nomanssky.com/2021/05/no-mans-sky-expedition-2/
WARNING: Once on Nessie Q8 in the Doppen VII system, do not quit to main menu, quit the game, leave the planet, or even wander too far away until you have cleared Echo Through the Ages and Historical Paragon.
You do not want to come this far just to glitch the milestones and have to start over.
Here is a walkthrough, spoilers etc.:
https://www.fanbyte.com/guides/no-mans-sky-beachhead-expedition-guide-all-steps-rewards-tips/And here's a speedrun video that I haven't watched and which probably contains spoilers.
I wrote a bit of a guide to quickly/efficiently clearing Expedition #2: Beachhead. I wish I had more time to polish this, especially adding pictures. By the time I did that, it would be over, so it is what it is. I hope it's of some use.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vR9Hl5MVgYJL-l1W4ku-TP-h0wg7ZDGxIo5By649UGloTNrapmP7Gzsxeu2WxCrcrGkTWUWXdiRZLn-/pub
I have no idea what else has been going on with this game, Sean Murray is a crazy person.
Massive 2020 update like whoa
I'll be honest, I haven't been keeping up with this game but it's constantly been updated; there are, like, mech suits now? And you can farm animals somehow? Hello Games please stop, you can't keep adding this much stuff, it's too much!
Massive August 2019 update like whoa
- bases can be bigger and can have logic and electricity in them
- revamped multiplayer with some kind of social hub that will have bases highlighted
- multiplayer missions that announce you're embarking on them and invite other players
- you'll be able to ride animals, and also farm them or something?
- the intro stuff has been sped up or streamlined or something
- when did submarines get added to this?
- they're
STILL working on this???
- oh yeah you can play in VR now I guess
I haven't been keeping up to date on this so there are probably a bunch of features that have been added between the big updates but anyway here is what I've heard about this one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PM7ArMxUFR0Massive July 2018 update like whoa
- bases can be built anywhere now
- freighters are more customizable
- tech and upgrades are now procedurally generated
-
some kind of interactive map?
- ringed planets, continents, more detailed graphics
-
so many minor changes, I don't even know what they all are
- character editor
- third person camera
- actual multiplayer where you can group up or encounter random people
- they're
still working on this???
So because this game now has multiplayer (what?!)
here is a Google Sheet for usernames, if people want that, and a
link to the G&T Discord server.
Also, because some of the above changes are substantial, it is recommended that you start a new game (the planets and tech and resources are all changed now). But supposedly you can pack up your base and restore it in new spot if you do wish to continue an old save.
https://youtu.be/h3HphgSn0o4Massive August 2017 update like whoa
- permadeath mode
- interplanetary portals
- basic mission system
- lots of tweaks
- you can crash your ship now
- some kind of almost multiplayer where you can see other people as glowing orbs??
- they're still working on this???
https://youtu.be/5328iuzHw-wMassive November 2016 update like whoa
- normal, survival, creative modes
- base building
- a freighter???
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hI9PvjJJijYRave reviews:
Game keeps finding new ways to disappoint me.
Nah it's a pile of horseshit. It's not even "it's not what they promised!", that isn't the issue. It's just not good. The fundamental design of the game doesn't work well.
OK, this is getting really, really boring.
Procedurally generated crap.
But what is it?
No Man's Sky is a procedurally generated disappointment engine, featuring a very large number of stars to visit, each with some number of planets to explore, all populated by technically unique but suspiciously similar disappointments.
It was developed by Hello Games, a tiny indie studio co-founded by Sean Murray, aka Satan, the Devil, who sold everything you would have liked about it to Sony, also the Devil, for 60USD.
But for real:
There are a lot of people legitimately disappointed with the game and/or Hello Games' communication. The game definitely doesn't "feel" like a "full price AAA" game, and a lot of promised features are very cut down or removed entirely.
For a thorough catalogue I recommend
One Man's Lie, which lists everything ever said about the game. Some of it is reasonable, some of it is... less so.
Perhaps it is better to start with what No Man's Sky is
not:
- it is not Star Citizen With Colors: this ain't a space sim; the flight mechanics are extremely simplistic, the combat is light, you aren't even allowed to crash into things without mods. Oh and no, there is no multiplayer. UPDATE: you can crash your ship and you can see traces of other players now supposedly. ANOTHER UPDATE: there is now multiplayer.
- it is not Minecraft In Space: while the (natural) environments are fully destructible down to a base layer, you won't be building anything or making permanent changes. There's no ecology or farming or stuff like that. UPDATE: the Foundation patch has added a base building blocks thing and some farming type stuff. ANOTHER UPDATE: the Atlas Rises patch has added a terrain editing tool. ANOTHER ANOTHER UPDATE: bases can now be built anywhere.
- it is not Ark Except Bigger: the survival aspect is not very challenging (nearly nonexistent, really), you will almost never be in a truly dangerous situation, your upgrades will make you more resilient but it's more of a convenience thing. UPDATE: the Foundation patch has added a Survival mode that is quite hard for the first couple of hours. ANOTHER UPDATE: the Atlas Rises patch has added a permadeath mode.
- it is not Skyrim But Also Spaceships: it is like Skyrim if you took out the quests, the equipment, most NPCs, much of the combat, the cities, and the story. You basically get to keep the plant collection. UPDATE: there are now missions; simple ones, but they exist.
What the game actually
is:
Here's what I put in my Steam review, which was rated highly unhelpful within minutes.
This game is a space walking simulator. It's a galactic berry picker. It is boring.
It's also amazing. If it happens to be the sort of thing you like.
If you like survival sims, or space sims, or building things, or complex combat, or varied NPC interactions, or sick loot... this doesn't have those things.
The game elements serve only as the lightest incentives to wander around collecting stuff, with the reward being the wandering, not the stuff. If you like cresting a ridge and seeing a valley spread out below you, the sunset tinting it vibrant colors; if your heart beats as you see a faint fluorescent glow emanating from a cave entrance that you almost missed; if you have to dive into a lake to see what's beneath its surface; if you long to point your ship at a distant star to see what worlds you find there: you might like this game.
I've put 36 72 hours into it and I've not even maybe gotten halfway through the things I want to do, and seen only a fraction of the things I hope to see.
More specific stuff:
The gameplay elements are extremely repetitive; you'll come across almost identical buildings, harvest the same minerals, see the same freighters, have the same conversations, do the same puzzles, etc. It is 100% about the journey from one place to the next, seeing the sights along the way. Your most important tool is the screenshot button.
There are no items to collect besides minerals and the occasional upgraded multitool, so there are no treasures the bottom of a lake or in the deepest recesses of a cave or on some distant moon. I cannot stress enough that this game is barely a game; there are things you do, yes, but really they're only there to get you to wander around a planet and see the sights. And they are some great sights.
The space controls are extremely arcadey; think Star Fox or Rogue Squadron. The combat is generally very simple, aside from recharging your shields mid fight, which is garbage. Combat is much like a minigame: enemy ships show up, and you can engage or try to run. But it's always just gonna be you versus a pack of 4 to 8 (maybe more) ships. UPDATE: other ships can help you out nowadays.
On foot (which is probably how you'll be spending most of your time), there's practically no combat. Sometimes you shoot things attacking you, but mostly you shoot rocks. The wildlife just wanders around, and there's very little interaction with anything. You can scan stuff and store it in a journal type thing, kind of like Metroid Prime.
The crafting is very limited: you have to find random blueprints, and cannot build anything otherwise. The fun comes from managing the layout of the upgrades you craft to link matching types, which makes them better.
Ship types may not affect much, if anything, so the only reasons to get different ships are 1) more cargo space, 2) looks, and 3) ship health can also vary, it turns out. UPDATE: ships have classes and ratings and presumably are better or worse at certain things now.
There are no maps or anything, so there's functionally no turning back. There's no storing things in a base or anything. You have your ship and your suit. Toss your junk, rip out the guts of your new stuff, always be crafting. UPDATE: bases have been in for a while now. You can always get back to your base and the last few stations you've visited once you unlock the teleporter.
One of cooler gameplay things are the words: you collect words from the three alien languages, and they translate your interactions with NPCs. So you slowly understand more and more of each conversation, letting you choose your responses better. This also helps freshen up the interactions, because they are very repetitive.
In short, the game stuff is definitely lacking. But the environments and the sense of discovery are great. It's a game made for screenshots rather than streaming, I think.
Some info for when you're starting out (just one big spoiler (don't worry, it's marked) I think, but in case you want to figure stuff out on your own):
BIG BOLD NOTE: it is highly recommended that you do the base building questline early on, since it unlocks a bunch of stuff. Don't worry about finding the perfect spot for a base, you can pack it all up and move it to a better spot later.
"Story" paths:
There are three "paths" you can choose to take: you can follow the call of the Atlas, you can help Nada and Polo in their research, or you can head towards the center. You can switch between the paths, and there's no urgent reason to do any of them. UPDATE: there is an additional storyline now, the Artemis questline.
Atlas path (very useful):
Worth following at least until you get the Atlas v1 pass, which lets you unlock the doors on one side of the space stations, which always have a suit inventory slot for sale.
You should hang on to the stones if you plan to complete this path (but it is possible to reacquire them if needed). UPDATE:
this now works differently I guess?
Nada/Polo path:
This will help you find black holes, which move you closer to the center.
Center path (spoiler for what is at the center):
If you're having a good time and don't really care about what is at the center, I recommend skipping this. This actual for real spoiler is included because many find it disappointing, so if you're interested in getting the game to find the big secret... maybe think twice about it?
You either get sent back to the edges or to a "new" galaxy that is pretty much the same.
Items/resources:
When you break an upgrade down it'll sometimes create a stackable version of an item used to create it, which lets you store them way more conveniently. Keep these stacks in your suit, because they will explode into individual items if your ship blows up. UPDATE: I believe this has been "fixed."
You'll find there are some elements that you always want to have on you, and some rarer ones that are often used in crafting. The rare single items are not worth saving unless you are going to use one soon. Nothing is so rare that you won't find more of it.
Buildings and stuff on planets:
- drop pods contain suit inventory slots
- ruins/plaques/monoliths give you words
- transmission signals will sometimes lead you to crashed ships
-
UPDATE: you can now build things! Press up on the D-pad or Z to open the build menu
New ships:
The ships may not have any differences besides looks health; some combat looking ones may have a lead indicator but maybe that's an upgrade. UPDATE: ships are different now like whoa. They have shield/damage/warp stats along with different classes and handling.
Moving inventories around is a pain, but planning ahead helps.
Upgrades:
- link them (by putting ones that are for the same thing next to each other)
- try the plasma launcher
Scanning animals:
- birds are assholes, but if you just track them long enough while zoomed in they'll usually scan now they scan fine!
- animals out of sight will show up as grey dots while scanning; might be limited to land/water/caves, depending on which you're in
- scanner upgrades on your multitool let you "see" farther away dots
- the dots will turn red or green as you approach to indicate if the critter is something you've already scanned or not; there's a mod that adds colorblind-friendly indicators
- sometimes you'll get a floating gray dot that never materializes; this is just a bug
Oh and there are mods.
(If anyone would like to be removed from this frankenpost, or has corrections/additions/suggestions, just shoot me a PM.)
Posts
I figured it might be cool to have a gallery of various posters' favorite screenshots, so just tag me and I'll update this post with 'em.
I also thought the new thread title in my head every time I saw the old thread.
Played a bunch more last night. Making progress, making progress. This game is comfort food right now. I'm really settled in. Trying to get all of the fauna on ten planets and trying to make bank. I think I'll save the space combat trophy for last... have to make money, get a better ship, and then get there. In the meantime, I'll just participate in the "kill a pirate or three" stuff that I bump into naturally.
Shooting the barges in space seems to be the best way to get the space kills. They almost constantly attack you so make sure you have enough Zinc/Iron to repair your shields and go to town on them.
I think I read that somewhere previously - thank you for the reminder. Do they just launch a bunch of fighters that you can attack?
The barge will shoot at you (which you can destroy) and then they send about 2 - 3 ships at you at a time. I think you have to clear 4-5 waves until they stop bothering you.
Edit: only issue, the pearls respawn but the game realizes you've already collected them so when you open the plant thing you can't actually grab the Pearl that shows. An easy way I found to tell which are respawns is there's a little puff of dirt animation that happens when you approach if it's a respawn.
HEY YOU GUYS!
Pretty purple planet provides perfect pauses.
Same planet during the day. Lots of trees and vegetation.
Life support is at 25%, your hazards are still at 75/50/25. Which is okay for me.
Also made it to rank ten in the kill sentinels milestone, and no trophy popped...
I would like for there to be no voice notifications at all. Whoever thought that was a good idea apparently loved how cars in the 80s and early 90s would have a voice repeatedly telling you 'Your door is ajar'. It just grates on me like crazy having it repeat everything I do (refilling shields, life support, whatever, while also mentioning things that are low, inventory full, AAAAARGH).
Just have warning and confirmation sounds for fuck's sake.
There Vy"keen don't want to be distracted in battle.
PS4 or PC? There's a mod on PC, it's glorious. I didn't realize how sick of hearing the protection falling voice and units received a million times until there was no voice.
I've yet to 100% a planet, I find it so fucking frustrating I just give up. I even have the TemplarGFX Wild Life mod installed which supposedly does a better job with the animal distribution and I'm still at 11/12 animals on a planet I went from 0 to 6 stars on the extreme planet progress...
- drop down into caves and water occasionally; critters don't show up on the scan unless you're in the same "type" of area
- after a bit of looking around, pack up and fly somewhere else. Planets are huge and spending an hour looking around on foot only covers a tiny area
- day/night cycles and possibly storms cause different species to hide/appear, so check various places again during different times
- if you get really sick of it, just move on to a new planet; I really didn't like doing this, but in the end there's no real reason to try and complete a specific planet when there are so many others. Sometimes I would spend hours on a planet only to find everything on a new one in thirty minutes.
Edit: and it doesn't help that I seem to have some weird ass bug where animals are being tagged as undiscovered, so I scan them, the game gives me the 200 space bucks, it shows up in the discoveries to upload but a message pops up acknowledging it's not a new species...
Hmm it might actually be the mod causing these issues, going to try without it. As I think it makes subspecies within the same species which is kind of cool but a pain when trying to go for 100%.
It might not be a bug or a mod. There are often 2 variations of each species of land animal (never seen it for flying or swimming ones) that are tracked separately. Think male/female versions, though the gender terms they use are more varied.
If you scan one you get credit for discovering the species as well as that variation. That gives you the 200 units plus 1500-2500 more when you upload it. The second variation will still get the undiscovered dot until you scan it and you'll get the same unit bonus, but the message will say it belongs to an already discovered species.
In short, if it says there are 10 species on a planet, you might have to scan 16+ critters to "catch them all". (There are usually 1-2 in the air, 1-2 in the water, and then 2 variations of the rest.)
On the bright side, animals tend to travel in mixed gender groups, so you can usually get both at the same time.
Well that makes a heck of a lot of sense, I was getting to the point of tired where basic shit was making no sense to me so I probably should have called it a night.
In other news, I very quickly found a cooler ship after installing the theta warp drive, because of course.
Haven't had much of a chance to play this week; I'm hoping to see a couple new planets this weekend, though.
* as usual, if anyone doesn't want to be included or wants me to change something or add some info, just let me know.
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Yeah I had 10/10 once but apparently I was still missing the other gender or whatever so it wouldn't give it to me.
After that I said fuck that noise.
You can't ever actually build the base components of stuff because you can't demolish it, but you can still "learn" their blueprints. You can't link upgrades to the jetpack because its default spot doesn't give you any room to do so.
Yea, it kind of hints at some sort of exosuit building or different way of upgrading. Any screen shot or video I've seen of the default items has jetpack top left, hazard protection to the right of it and life support directly underneath.
If I was able to built the life support system I learned in the screenshot I'd have it away from the jetpack for the sake of linking all the upgrades. Not sure if linking makes a huge difference but looks nicer.
I just got those too.
I think that it's curious those would be given as tech upgrades when when all get them standard. Why would they have those if we were supposed to build something more?
I seem to recall some theory/maybe interviews that suits might have been like ships at one point in development, in that you could find or buy new ones to get more slots, instead of the current "add a slot" system.
So you don't "need" to connect to the base component because the upgrades can boost each other.
EDIT: Nope, on a moon that doesn't have any crazy atmosphere animations going on and I'm still not able to play more than a few minutes before it becomes a slideshow. I haven't tinkered with my settings or anything at all, why the fuck is this happening.
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
Supposedly on PS4 clearing out some kind of cache helps, maybe the same is true for PC?
Some more planets that I came across this weekend:
This one had an underwater cave system underneath the first layer of water, which I thought was pretty neat.
This one was causing massive lag as I was flying over it; not sure if it was warm in the room and overpowering my fans, or if it had a bunch of flora that would load while in flight.
This one just had some neat colors.
Once I platinum it, I'll put it down for a while and see what HG's updates bring. But I've really gotten my money's worth at this point, and I've really enjoyed going for the Platinum trophy.
Buying a nice ship and really upgrading the hell out of it and myself once I cracked a few million credits made a huge difference. Space combat is actually a blast now.