No Man's Sky - Waypoint | Switch version out now

[SpagMasterSwift]

Oh snap!

 

 

[StephenM]

A lot to like in this and has a great few nights revisiting after the update, but ran into a glitch where you get a free freighter but the game doesn’t actually register it as yours and add it to the menus etc. 

 

It’s a real shame because, when the sense of progression is so spread out, having an interesting new addition taken away has had a huge impact on my interest levels. The grind to actually buy one seems like it would be looooong. 

[Ste Pickford]

Had a cute little bug last night.  Been using my freighter a lot and sending out frigates on missions,etc., but haven't moved it for a while. Decided to call it to a new system I was in.  Got on board and the race of all my crew had changed.  I'm guessing they'd changed to the dominant race on the system I was on, but it was very disorientating.  Hey, you're not my regular Navigation officer!

We all just carried on as if nothing happened.

[Pob]

34 minutes ago, Ste Pickford said:

Had a cute little bug last night.  Been using my freighter a lot and sending out frigates on missions,etc., but haven't moved it for a while. Decided to call it to a new system I was in.  Got on board and the race of all my crew had changed.  I'm guessing they'd changed to the dominant race on the system I was on, but it was very disorientating.  Hey, you're not my regular Navigation officer!

We all just carried on as if nothing happened.

That's pure Star Trek TNG. In particular the episodes 'Clues' and 'Conundrum'.

[tobert]

So am I right in thinking the whole galaxy in this is a single instance shared by everyone? In that you could visit any base ever created and, if people knew where to go, any number of people to contribute to a mega base?

 

If so that is pretty impressive, in fact I am struggling to think of any other console game with a single shared world like that.

[McSpeed]

Bit of a typical adventure last night

 

First I decided to discover the fifth and final planet of the system I've started in, which is basically a huge ocean save from a few tiny islands. (Reminded me of Interstellar again, too!)

 

 

Then decided I wanted a new starship instead of building a hyperdrive into the starter one. I really wanted a ship like the one I snagged in my original game back when the game launched, like this one.

 

 

However I couldn't find any good one that fit my bank account, despite both visiting all kinds of planets to harvest Vortex Cubes and other valuables while checking ship trade prices at outposts. Still, I kept being disappointed.

 

 

Then finally, as I saved up to just over 1,000,000 credits, one passed by that I really wanted. I was just and additional 45,000 short of make the swap, so I basically sold everything I had left - even dismantling some equipment on my old ship. But now this one is mine! 

 

[Pob]

Just now, tobert said:

So am I right in thinking the whole galaxy in this is a single instance shared by everyone? In that you could visit any base every created and, if people knew where to go, any number of people to contribute to a mega base?

 

If so that is pretty impressive, in fact I am struggling to think of any other console game with a single shared world like that.

Yeah, this is what I don't understand. Wouldn't that be unprecedented?

[cowfields]

Whether it's "Next" or this new save, I feel much luckier. 

 

Money seems like less of a grind, right? It's easier to find treasures - at first I was worried it would trivialise everything, but when you see nice looking ships for 25 million you realise you're not as rich as you thought and there's still some grinding you could do.

 

It seems more generous - After a coupe of archaeological digs ( keys and a chest ), farming those larvae things while avoiding horrors eating you, or crashed freighters I've just found myself making a lot of money faster which meant I was able to buy a new gun - something I never really was able to do in my last pre-next save in twice the time played, and I've got a second ship. Both of them are little but having some cash means I'm already going through some kind of upgrade progression. You don't have to farm everything, you can just buy bits for an upgrade and assemble a new blueprint fast. It's less punishing, less grindy, a lot more fun.

 

This vaguely reminds me from when Vanilla WoW went from a brutal grind fest into a game that was actually accessible and fun. 

 

Also in the luck factor, in the first system I visited after my starter, I found a lush red planet - it's basically a version of Earth but where chlorophyll is red. So I've started a base, but everything is outdoors. Didn't feel worth building a wooden shack considering there's absolutely no hazards at all, at any time. Lucky me. It's a lovely place, all there is so far is a few of the portable machines I could build anywhere, and a portal that I don't know how to use. But I've got big dreams after I've explored some other systems....

[Cool Ben]

Got given a freighter last night, but I've got this weird thing happening.  One of the missions says to interact with the base computer but it seems to be located just outside the hanger door so I can't get to it.  ANyone else had this issue, where is the base computer on the freighter normally located? 

[Davros sock drawer]

3 hours ago, Vorgot said:

This is what I would like. A pop-up mini base that you can deploy on a new planet for some shelter.

 

I've decided to play with some self imposed rules to keep it the game I want it to be. In fact, there is only 1 rule that will automatically make it perfect for me and thats no teleporting. 

 

So I'll have no home base, no jumping around space stations to get the best prices, just my freighter hopping from system to system, exploring and making my way through the galaxy. Works for me. 

 

And unless I am missing the point, that should work OK. I love how the base building is in there for people who want to do that, but I also like how it's not a thing you have to do. For me it's all about the little moments. I never stop to take an in game screenshot, but yesterday I was climbing a ladder on the outside of my frigate doing repairs, and there was an asteroid field and planetary rings in the background, it looked amazing. It's my new desktop wallpaper.

 

I usually hate sandbox games, but enforce some rules on myself, and this is the game I always wanted it to be

 

This is the way I play it sometimes. Quite a lot actually. Ignore what you want to ignore, focus on the bits you like.

 

One thing I really recommend trying is just walking. Leave your ship for a bit, and just walk until you maybe find a beacon to call it in (or I guess you can use the "call ship" feature now, although it costs two lots of launch fuel). That's where I've had some of my best times with the game. No advancement at all, but lots of little scrapes along the way.

 

[Ste Pickford]

Seems to be a common bug. I think it decides to point the quest at your base on the current system when it triggers, but if you don't have a base there it points it at the freighter instead.  I think the workaround is to build a base computer on a planet in that system (if you don't have one already), then save, quit out, reload your save, and it should then point the quest at the base computer you've built instead of the freighter.

[Davros sock drawer]

1 hour ago, SpagMasterSwift said:

Oh snap!

 

 

 

Ha ha! Amazing!

[tobert]

1 hour ago, Pob said:

Yeah, this is what I don't understand. Wouldn't that be unprecedented?

 

I would imagine it only exists locally so you need to be playing with another player to see their base. Would love to be proved wrong though.

[Pob]

1 minute ago, tobert said:

 

I would imagine it only exists locally so you need to be playing with another player to see their base. Would love to be proved wrong though.

According to this article you can just go and see it yourself. Which implies you can visit any man-made object:

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-07-31-no-mans-sky-fan-builds-giant-sean-murray-face-on-planets-surface-visible-from-the-atmosphere

[Mogster]

When I built my tutorial base I had the option to upload it, like a discovery. I imagine after uploading it would be visible to anyone like your renamed planets, systems, plants and animals would.

[Pob]

28 minutes ago, Mogster said:

When I built my tutorial base I had the option to upload it, like a discovery. I imagine after uploading it would be visible to anyone like your renamed planets, systems, plants and animals would.

So does that mean a proto-Coruscant planet exists somewhere?

[tobert]

20 hours ago, SpagMasterSwift said:

Here is the hotline...

 

 

So I can go and check out @SpagMasterSwift grand designs house in game if I put the above glyphs into a portal?  Perhaps take some snaps of my visit and build a space shed next door?

 

...now where do I find a portal?

[Cool Ben]

Good comparison of NMS Launch and Next

 

http://www.ign.com/videos/2018/08/01/no-mans-sky-launch-vs-next-graphics-comparison

[Guest]

Despite my criticisms of the game, I admire how they've improved the update wholly from a strictly design and implementation standpoint.

 

The absolute core of the game is repeatable experiences, with relevant currency types plus a whole lot of sinks and sources to allow you to spend those.

 

When we talk about currency from a game design perspective we have to include the crafting elements. Because some of these materials are so rare they can only be found. These are, in fact, a currency amongst themselves; alongside the credits, nanites, and quicksilver.

 

The quicksilver one is very smart, because you earn it (apparently) by becoming a part of community projects - which will be time limited. This is a classic technique used in a lot of games; you have a social goal and get special rewards. Rewards that cannot be gathered anywhere else. Thus you are pushing real scarcity and rarity to the quicksilver currency, meaning people are more likely to try and get it. This in turn leads to additional social interactions which then keeps the game alive amongst it's community (and beyond).

 

As noted that is a VERY smart move because people will always want to get this rare currency, and will soon become excited about new weekly/monthly challenges etc. Maybe you've not played for a week or two - it will keep people coming back. Especially if you feel you are missing out, and the rest of the community/your friends are getting stuff you won't ever get unless you participate.

 

With all these sources available, some titles may lack the sinks. A sink is where you spend all these gathered currencies [from the sources]. The sinks are the really important things, because people LOVE spending money - hey we often can't in real life, so let's get a million credits in NMS! YES! Oh shit, that ship is like 18 million credits! I'D BETTER EARN MORE.

^^^^^^^^

Smart, recognisable, and repeatable loop for many. Great engagement, and empowerment.

I've seen some games lack the sinks and they suffer - you need a lot of these in games to keep people pushing to get the next thing/item/unlock.

A really strong subtle sink example here is the backpack upgrades. They are really useful to get (people always want more space) and now to get them they either cost at space stations or need to be crafted from drop pods.

Similar is the ship repair slots. These get expensive REAL fast - yet you've found this old ship, want to repair it, and want the space! Another pretty standard example of an unlocking structure - start to increase the cost per level (double each time/exponential eventually) [note a lot of systems can use anywhere between a 1.1-1.4 incremental system for sources/sinks dependant on type and game, and these are generally the optimum range. However doubling up prices is straightforward and often puts things out of the player's reach after a while - making them come back to grind out to get that next unlock).

 

However this isn't the only decent repeatable loop. That's a longer term goal in many ways - what hits home is the granular mining and recovery tasks. Plus the one-planet exploration. Another hill, or deposit, or secret that you can find on every decent planet.

That drives a lot of people (myself included) to just have another quick go/hunt/fly around to look for stuff.

 

What's then equally smart about that is the barren or blasted planets. They have nothing on, so a flight to them may seem useless - however it pulls together because the player then has a lot more excitement/context when visiting a flora/fauna/more habited planet. "Yes, I found a good one!". It can also be argued that for some there is almost then a fear to leave it, because you've invested that time in exploring [and want to find more things here, you've got an attachement] and the next planet may not be as fun! Of course people eventually do move on, which loops us back to the barren/inhospitable planets + then additionally fulfils the galaxy exploration. Another very neat, smart system!

 

Back to the mining though. And not just the mining, that system. The scanning, discovering, uploading - that then pushes back into a sink. Easy nanites and credits! Let's focus on the mechanical aspects of actual mining though.

Because this is some classic design; it's pure Halo. Repeat the same [enjoyable] actions over and over. Yet this isn't quite as easy to do as it sounds. It works really well because you have little things like the mining laser overheat regulation - you have to take your finger off the button and re-apply. This means it's not just a hold and mine forever. That would become boring because our interaction with the game would be diminished. You are constantly interacting with the game.

As well as that the subtle movements of the camera/laser and the visual effects really round this off to feel hugely tactile. That it starts up, stops, spews laser goo - it's way above Minecraft, for all the talk that it's similar. That's some very smart tweaking and feedback - notably on the consoles you get rumble on the controller also which only increases the feeling that you are doing this yourself.

 

In summary, there's a lot that's smart about NMS and the recent update has taken that early core and really fleshed it out.

 

A lot of the above is why I keep playing; and then we could go onto discuss that actually the muti-faceted layers of the game keep other people playing for different reasons (base building, freightering, fighting, and taking pictures). I think I've done my bit for now though.

 

Solid design and great implementation here, and that's something to admire.

[Guest]

+ as an additional caveat I'd like to note that my frustrations at the non-smart creature behaviour and lack of ecosystem is because it COULD have been planned a bit better from the start - and it's because I'd LOVE to see that on a personal level.

 

So pretty much a selfish moan 

 

I am very much a homely player, I like to stick on a planet and explore it. I find it tough to leave a planet if there's something new just over that rise. Plus the idea of unlocking as much of one language as possible is hugely appealing, and travelling systems often means switching races.

 

As such I just wish they had thought about this a little more at the start; and it need not have been entirely implemented - rather stick some legacy dependencies in the back end code base so you can come back to it. Trust me that IS possible, however I understand why it wasn't implemented.

[SpagMasterSwift]

51 minutes ago, tobert said:

 

So I can go and check out @SpagMasterSwift grand designs house in game if I put the above glyphs into a portal?  Perhaps take some snaps of my visit and build a space shed next door?

 

...now where do I find a portal?

I may need to upload my base first - not sure. But if you want to find a portal then

Spoiler

first you will need to talk to a Monolith (those sub-portal looking structures you've no doubt happened upon and been given a riddle or sorts to answer). The bottom option (rather than answering the riddle since that will lock up the Monolith) will be to Locate A Portal, but will cost you a specific item. My payment was a Vy'keen Dagger which I did not have on me at the time so put down a beacon next to the Monolith so I could return once I'd sourced one. Then after payment was made it will give you the location of the Portal. Once you find the Portal you may want to put a beacon down to avoid losing it again...you can always pick up the beacon from the Monolith and use it when you reach the Portal.

 

 

[Flub]

[pastry]

What I love about that video of NPC ships protecting the player is it’s the kind of happy accident you get when people are just having fun building a game, when they say “hey, what if...”. 

 

It kind of reminds me of being at uni, where we’d all build these little Half Life/CS levels with various out-there inventions and concepts. 

 

Despite the hell they’ve been through at times, you can constantly see the passion and love that’s gone into it. 

 

 

[Flub]

New PS4 patch live right now

[grounded_dreams]

PS4 hotfix patch details:

https://www.nomanssky.com/2018/07/next-patch-1-52-1

and

https://www.nomanssky.com/2018/07/next-patch-1-52-2

 

Glad in 1.52.1 they fixed:

Fixed the Base Restoration mission failing to find a proper site for your legacy base

Fixed an issue where players would not know the Blueprint Analyser after upgrading their save

 

I was affected by both of these.

[Flub]

XBox live as well

 

 

[Pob]

10 minutes ago, grounded_dreams said:

PS4 hotfix patch details:

https://www.nomanssky.com/2018/07/next-patch-1-52-1

and

https://www.nomanssky.com/2018/07/next-patch-1-52-2

 

Glad in 1.52.1 they fixed:

Fixed the Base Restoration mission failing to find a proper site for your legacy base

Fixed an issue where players would not know the Blueprint Analyser after upgrading their save

 

I was affected by both of these.

Are these out now?

[Flub]

So I have a blueprint scanner but some of the stuff I presumed would be in there isn't. How do I learn how to make a big refinery? I'm on a pre-next game.

[Guest]

Is it safe to play old saves yet?

[grounded_dreams]

2 minutes ago, Pob said:

Are these out now?

 

According to the dev, they are