No Man's Sky - Interceptor

[cavalcade]

I assume I'm not the only person who's realised this (and perhaps it's in the thread somewhere), but if you have a grenade launcher on the multitool, you can mine and just as the beam is about to overheat, fire a grenade into the minerals (which still accrues you stuff) and the multitool auto resets and cools without having to wait. If you charge both up it makes for frustration free mining of a big lump of something. 

[Harmunt]

The lack of an in-game timer and statistics info is so annoying!!!!

I love statistic screens in games and this game is a perfect fit.

[CheekyLee]

23 minutes ago, Floyd said:

 

The Problem I've found with the crashed ships, is that they all seem to have only 1 slot more than my current ship. I've see around 6-7 now and all the same. I wonder if it's a coincidence or that's how the crash ship system works. I want to find a really decent one, which makes we go "wow, nice, lets spend some time fixing this up!" It's a lot of work for one extra slot.....

Everything I find now is 1 slot more, but too much bother for a not very good looking ship, or 1 slot less! What the actual hell? Ok, maybe finding a 48 slot monster might be considered to be somehow ruining the experience, but surely there should be a chance of me just happening across an an utterly badass ship? Make it so I have to fix 15 slots worth of stuff if needs be, I already happily spent 2 hours wandering a planet looking for Heridium to fix my current baby.

[Quest]

I'm that bothered about racing to the centre as I know I'll get bored before getting anywhere close, but thanks to an abundance of warp cells and drive schematics I've been zipping around a lot recently.

 

148758.4 light years from the centre. 

[Rev]

11 minutes ago, Harmunt said:

The lack of an in-game timer and statistics info is so annoying!!!!

I love statistic screens in games and this game is a perfect fit.

 

It tells you stats on the Galactic Trade thingumies if you don't click through to trade straightaway. (On PC, at least.)

[robdood]

22 minutes ago, cavalcade said:

I assume I'm not the only person who's realised this (and perhaps it's in the thread somewhere), but if you have a grenade launcher on the multitool, you can mine and just as the beam is about to overheat, fire a grenade into the minerals (which still accrues you stuff) and the multitool auto resets and cools without having to wait. If you charge both up it makes for frustration free mining of a big lump of something. 

You can also just let go of the mining beam for half a second, you don't have to wait for the bar to go back down!  It glitches back to zero.  

 

 

[Frosty]

1 hour ago, Davros sock drawer said:

Depends what your goals are. I always feel like I've achieved something every session, but that's because my goals are things like "Get a cool shot of my ship in the rain" or "Go for a swim".

 

You could use that argument to make out any game is good.  I'd like there to be a compelling core game to make those self-imposed distractions  enjoyable or at the least good gameplay so doing nothing feels good.  You need to use an exploit to make getting around even remotely tolerable in this.

 

The weak attempt to put a game in is really its downfall.  I think if it was just Proteus in space (with the Proteus price point) I'd be more ok with it, but it forces you to suffer through the awful mining and inventory management to actually get to the "getting a cool shot" or "going for a swim".

 

54 minutes ago, Floyd said:

 

The Problem I've found with the crashed ships, is that they all seem to have only 1 slot more than my current ship. I've see around 6-7 now and all the same. I wonder if it's a coincidence or that's how the crash ship system works. I want to find a really decent one, which makes we go "wow, nice, lets spend some time fixing this up!" It's a lot of work for one extra slot.....

 

That's how it works.  Don't bother fixing up more than you need to fly and just repeat the quest until you have the maximum.  It's that lazy.

[robdood]

36 minutes ago, CheekyLee said:

Everything I find now is 1 slot more, but too much bother for a not very good looking ship, or 1 slot less! What the actual hell? Ok, maybe finding a 48 slot monster might be considered to be somehow ruining the experience, but surely there should be a chance of me just happening across an an utterly badass ship? Make it so I have to fix 15 slots worth of stuff if needs be, I already happily spent 2 hours wandering a planet looking for Heridium to fix my current baby.

How far have you guys gone through the game?  I ask because I'm fairly confident you'll only find really basic stuff in the 'early' bits of the game...  Once you've covered a big distance, I'm sure you'll start to find some better stuff. 

 

I think a lot of people are finding things a bit frustrating because they are hanging around trying to get everything they can before moving on.   I'm kind of glad I'd followed the interviews etc and knew they wanted to keep people moving forward (and adjusted how I'm playing accordingly), because I see the 'limitations' i.e. limited cargo space, difficulty in navigating 'backwards', etc as ways of them trying to encourage you to continue onwards.  You know, people say things like 'I need more slots' - but I would challenge with 'why do you'?  You're doing the thing you do in all games - collect all the items but never use them 'just in case'.   I think it's wise to try and let that habit go, when playing NMS.   Because you generally only need the most basic gear to make headway to the centre.  And I'd bet a bollock the game drops the stuff you need  (i.e. improved warp drives) in your lap as you proceed further. 

 

Edit - I'm not trying to be preachy, for if I hadn't heard the bit about pushing forward I'd probably still be on the first planet too.. 

[Phelan]

What a day. Have a bad cold so spent the day at home. 

 

Found a planet with hostile sentinels but loads of glowing orbs that go for about 28,000 a pop. Get close and auto three star with dog sentinel chasing you. I named the planet Angry Sentinel. 

 

Made about three million after finding a landing pad and running around the who.e area mining emeril and grabbing those glowing orbs. 

 

I have about 7 million now and waiting to find a sexy ship to buy. 

 

This game. I've thought more about life, my job, my friends etc as I play. It's interesting how introspective this game makes me feel. 

 

This Wired article summed it up perfectly http://www.wired.com/2016/08/no-mans-sky-review/?mbid=social_fb

[TehStu]

7 hours ago, macosx said:

I'm going to to do PSN and usb backups of saves after every session. Too flaky to risk the time I've spent in this 

 

Isn't the PSN backup automatic?

[Kevvy Metal]

My God at the NeoGaf thread. I don't think anyone gets this game at all. It's an atmospheric adventure game that's kinda chilled out and leisurely. So many are just trying to ram to the centre of the Galaxy as fast as humanly possible. 

[Davros sock drawer]

21 minutes ago, Frosty said:

 

You could use that argument to make out any game is good.  I'd like there to be a compelling core game to make those self-imposed distractions  enjoyable or at the least good gameplay so doing nothing feels good.  You need to use an exploit to make getting around even remotely tolerable in this.

 

 

 

I'm not trying to "make out" that the game is good. To me it is good. Very good. Brilliant even. The distractions are not "self-imposed". I'm compelled to do them, because it's tremendous fun.

 

I don't use the movement exploit at all, the standard pace is absolutely fine.

[englishbob]

This game is such a massive time-sink. If I ever "complete" it, I'll look back on it as certainly something I should of been doing better with my life (such as learning the piano). but at the moment, everything I power it on, 3 hours gone in a flash. 

 

My main gripes are

 

(a) the takeoff thruster recharge system, totally daft. 4 take offs and its time to refuel it again, and again. OK I would understand that to leave the planet would take something like this, but the way it is it really stifles planetary exploration. 

(b) the inventory management is a pain. I am sure its been discussed at length here, but the way it limits slots and some items, even if they are duplicate items, each take a slot, is poo

 

Other than that, I'm enjoying it. Each new warp something slightly new happens. Had this been a game with horses, dragons, elves and wizards, I would of powered it off after a day or so. Due to the sci-fi nature, I am in for a penny...

 

Memories of my childhood playing Mercenary on the C64 come flooding back...

[englishbob]

12 minutes ago, Kevvy Metal said:

My God at the NeoGaf thread. I don't think anyone gets this game at all. It's an atmospheric adventure game that's kinda chilled out and leisurely. So many are just trying to ram to the centre of the Galaxy as fast as humanly possible. 

Depends on your work.life.gaming balance I suppose. I am certainly following the main track. I don't want to take 200 hours over this.

[robdood]

@englishbob land on the pads where possible to get free take offs.   The little bollards covered in twinkling lights do the same thing.  Otherwise you just have to keep a few staks of plutonium on you at all times.  I like it!

 

Ditto the inventory.  It's trying to put you off staying somewhere and mining / scavenging the shit out of it.  That's not the point of the game, even though you can do it if you really want!

[Unofficial Who]

10 minutes ago, Phelan said:

What a day. Have a bad cold so spent the day at home. 

 

Found a planet with hostile sentinels but loads of glowing orbs that go for about 28,000 a pop. Get close and auto three star with dog sentinel chasing you. I named the planet Angry Sentinel. 

 

Made about three million after finding a landing pad and running around the who.e area mining emeril and grabbing those glowing orbs. 

 

I have about 7 million now and waiting to find a sexy ship to buy. 

 

This game. I've thought more about life, my job, my friends etc as I play. It's interesting how introspective this game makes me feel. 

 

This Wired article summed it up perfectly http://www.wired.com/2016/08/no-mans-sky-review/?mbid=social_fb

 

 

That's a great piece of writing. I've found NMS to be almost meditative in the short time I've played it. In some ways playing it reminds me of the Empathy Boxes in Do Androids Dream of Electronic Sheep. Playing it and then discussing it here feels like the kind of shared hallucination Philip K Dick described (but more pleasant than Mercerism's "Getting Pelted By Rocks While Climbing Up A Mountain Simulator.")

 

It's the nearest thing to zen I've ever experienced with a quick five minute session turning into two hours. Game of the year for me.

[Mr Ben]

Noticed something odd last night while I was dealing with the drug addled Vy'keen hippy who wanted his garden tended to all the time; the camera height kept changing every time I entered and left his building. It was as if my character could change height every time I went through the door. At one point I was as tall as the Vy'keen, others only up to his lower chest. Clearly buggy as when you strafe left and right slowly the camera bobs up and down, and I cant see how or why that should happen.

 

Also anyone wanting Titanium should just shoot a few Sentinels - they give boatloads of the stuff, and are pretty common. So far they've been no threat, and don't seem to even dodge when shooting them.

[macosx]

22 minutes ago, TehStu said:

 

Isn't the PSN backup automatic?

Mine is, but it's a set time. Mine hadn't saved NMS when I got stuck under the map. Luckily I stuck with it and escaped.

[Davros sock drawer]

The time-sink nature of it is such that I'm going to have to ban myself from playing it in the week. I've not been to bed before about 2am in the time since it came out. Yesterday alone I played from 8pm until 1am, and I was really annoyed that I had to stop.

 

Not as annoyed as when the alarm went off at 6am this morning...

[Flub]

25 minutes ago, dood said:

How far have you guys gone through the game?  I ask because I'm fairly confident you'll only find really basic stuff in the 'early' bits of the game...  Once you've covered a big distance, I'm sure you'll start to find some better stuff. 

 

 

 

Someone on neogaf was saying with the new systems that he can jump to with the upgraded warp drives he was starting to see lots of new stuff, bigger animals etc so you might have something there.

[Sabreman]

It is easy to stagnate on a planet or in a particular system, getting bogged down in the resources / upgrades loop, but whenever I find myself moving forwards in plot or overall goal terms I always see something new that impresses or excites me. It definitely feels like the game is cleverly paced out to become more impressive as you progress.

[Flub]

17 minutes ago, englishbob said:

 

 

Memories of my childhood playing Mercenary on the C64 come flooding back...

Agree. Right down to the best way to do ship to ship battles is to fly backwards.

 

I suspect we`re in for a hell of a lot of balance changes to various systems as the devs take on board the feedback. Could feel like a different game in a few months.

[Flub]

[CheekyLee]

26 minutes ago, dood said:

How far have you guys gone through the game?  I ask because I'm fairly confident you'll only find really basic stuff in the 'early' bits of the game...  Once you've covered a big distance, I'm sure you'll start to find some better stuff. 

 

I think a lot of people are finding things a bit frustrating because they are hanging around trying to get everything they can before moving on.   I'm kind of glad I'd followed the interviews etc and knew they wanted to keep people moving forward (and adjusted how I'm playing accordingly), because I see the 'limitations' i.e. limited cargo space, difficulty in navigating 'backwards', etc as ways of them trying to encourage you to continue onwards.  You know, people say things like 'I need more slots' - but I would challenge with 'why do you'?  You're doing the thing you do in all games - collect all the items but never use them 'just in case'.   I think it's wise to try and let that habit go, when playing NMS.   Because you generally only need the most basic gear to make headway to the centre.  And I'd bet a bollock the game drops the stuff you need  (i.e. improved warp drives) in your lap as you proceed further. 

 

Edit - I'm not trying to be preachy, for if I hadn't heard the bit about pushing forward I'd probably still be on the first planet too.. 

I'm not what you'd call massively far, but then I'm also not really sure, as I have been mostly playing this blind. I have a feeling I'm 1/3rd of the way through the Atlas storyline, but for all I know I could be right next door to finishing it, or even 1/10th of the way through. I don't particularly care, I'm not playing anyone else's story. I'm playing my story. And, my story would be better if the possibility of gaining a few ship slots with a lucky find existed, because I already managed to do that once! Now, I'm reminded of the 'rules' a bit too often. I don't want to complain about the game at all, because it really is close to being everything I hoped it could be. There are some moments, though, where it reminds me that I'm at the mercy of what some bearded dude decided I should be able to accomplish. I'd rather it didn't do that, is all.

[SpagMasterSwift]

I started to doubt that there is an actual story to all this - I've been following the Atlas path and so far it just seems gear towards me going from one system to the next. I have faith something will kick in at some point tho.

[Mr Ben]

The ruins and monoliths are where the story is mainly, or at least the backstory to the races and what happened in the past, etc. Its quite an interesting read.

[John0]

40 minutes ago, Phelan said:

This Wired article summed it up perfectly http://www.wired.com/2016/08/no-mans-sky-review/?mbid=social_fb

 

Interesting read, thanks. In a sense it could do without the “game” aspects of it (leveling, crafting, unlocking, etc) – not least because other games do them a lot better - but they do keep nudging you along through the experience. Like most novels use similar story telling techniques to carry you through the story and reveal what they’re actually about. The whole “is games art?” thing is a bit cringe, but people are talking about it in ways I don’t often read, for a video game. Which is pretty neat!

[Cras]

1 hour ago, cavalcade said:

I assume I'm not the only person who's realised this (and perhaps it's in the thread somewhere), but if you have a grenade launcher on the multitool, you can mine and just as the beam is about to overheat, fire a grenade into the minerals (which still accrues you stuff) and the multitool auto resets and cools without having to wait. If you charge both up it makes for frustration free mining of a big lump of something. 

 

Min my experience you get a lot fewer minerals per amount destroyed if you use grenades compared to the mining laser.

[robdood]

I did ask this the other day, but am going to ask it again..  

 

Can the mining laser damage terrain? 

 

If not, wtf are the point of the upgrades to terrain destruction (that have a green laser icon)? 

[The Bag]