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24

Never Enough

August 9, 2019 by Tim

No Man’s Sky is one of my favorite video game comeback stories. It’s turned into a pretty damned decent game in the past year. That praise is not meant to excuse the massive over-promising that took place to hype the game, but the past couple of years have been an amazing example of putting your head down, getting to work, not giving up, and turning the ship around. I think it’s a good case of someone making some mistakes, but working hard to fix those mistakes and earn back the public’s goodwill.

With that said though, I feel like no matter what they add to the game, there’s always going to be a sentiment of “Okay, but what about X feature?” simply because the scope of the game originally pitched was so massive, and because the game universe does in fact feel so infinite.

It seems like a problem of having a game so very ‘open world’ and boundless by design that it also maybe feels impossible that it would ever really be finished, in the sense that people feel it has delivered on all they imagined for it (again, an echo consequence of the overhype during development). Every time I check in on NMS, no matter what they’ve added (and it is leagues better now than it was), I can’t shake the feeling that I should still wait through a few more years of updates, so I can play the “real” No Man’s Sky.

Regarding the beyond update, though, while the creature riding and community hub look neat, the VR support has really piqued my interest. NMS is the sort of title that could take on a whole new dimension (pun not intended fully committed to now) in Virtual Reality. I have a lot of hours in the PS4 version, but still… I am very tempted to rebuy it on Steam just to check it out in VR on my Oculus (it’s a cheaper route than buying a PSVR).


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GPedia
GPedia
5 years ago

too much too much too much too much; is never enough, huh. https://youtu.be/bD6sTDH9Zdc

Scortch
Scortch
5 years ago

This is a game I haven’t played yet, just for that reason. I have been hearing about the updates, how it’s turned the game around, but I keep feeling like I’ll give it just a little bit longer before I jump into it. I will definitely have to pick it up at some point if for no other reason than to support game, where the developer listens to the negativity, and continues to work on improving their game. Unlike so many other big studios these days who shrug their shoulders and move on.

Lilitha
Lilitha
5 years ago
Reply to  Scortch

This is why I almost never buy games right away. The longer you wait the cheaper they are and the more features they have. Some games you can wait a few years and you end up getting them dirt cheat with like a dozen free dlc and all the patches fixed any initial release issues. The double whammy of cheaper and better makes waiting very appealing.

No Guy Buy
No Guy Buy
5 years ago

Comeback story? This game can never come back. It doesn’t matter how many times they update this thing, it doesn’t excuse their initial behavior and I could never justify a purchase of this game. And they’ll never earn back my goodwill this way. No Man’s Sky is a dead horse. Hello Games needs to stop beating it and move on to new projects and prove they can launch finished games that don’t need years and years of updates only to still be not done. Only then will they earn back goodwill. Right now, all they’re doing is reminding us of… Read more »

Scortch
Scortch
5 years ago
Reply to  Tim

Yeah I agree. A game company that screws up, but works to fix it earns a lot of points in my book.

CTown
CTown
5 years ago
Reply to  Tim

I think his post’s huge negative rating rating pretty much speaks for itself, lol. There are always spiteful folks out there. Why, just yesterday I chased a guy in GTA online who had some valuable goods (that I could actually claim, it was a competitive freemode crate), and he outran me completely and made it home and claimed the loot without a scratch. Then he proceeded to angrily spew hatred in my general direction for a full 10 minutes, call a bounty unto me and then rage-quit the lobby. I mean….. wow, dude, I didn’t do anything to piss someone… Read more »

Scortch
Scortch
5 years ago
Reply to  CTown

Pretty much this. My biggest thing with the game wasn’t so much it didn’t have everything promised, whatever a lot of games do that and put it in later. It was more when it first came out, it didn’t look like enough to hold my attention, so I said I’ll wait until they add more to it a s evaluate from there. Pitching a fit over something so trivial, that they offered something and didn’t have it in right away? Dude get over it, and stop playing video games then.

KaoGen
KaoGen
5 years ago
Reply to  CTown

Yeah, there’s no real reason to be a douche to other people just playing the game in GTA Online (especially given hackers could have just teleported him into the ocean, which is a far less enjoyable experience), but i can definitely understand the frustration of dealing with other players in free roam. Given how the Online component is so shite when it comes to making money in ways that don’t involve hoping you can find a group to grind stuff like heists. Those mission type things are the second best manner of earning money, and they force you to do… Read more »

k.a.e.b.
k.a.e.b.
5 years ago
Reply to  Tim

Exactly.
Devs screwing up and not trying to fix it are… not nice.
But these guys are obviously doing all they can (enough or not) to do right by everyone. The game is not for me, but their behaviour earns major brownie points with me.

Devin
Devin
5 years ago
Reply to  Tim

I will NOT disagree with you on EA, Mr. Buckley. My problem with hating on EA, is that they own BioWare. And I love BioWare. I love the SWTOR MMO, I love the Mass Effect and Dragon Age Series (my wife & I even got into the tabletop Dragon Age game, & immensely enjoy it), I love a lot of the stuff BioWare puts out. I want to hate EA with everything I have, but can I hate on EA & still love a subsidiary? It’s a ? I ponder often, when I’m looking at video games at the store.

Roborat
Roborat
5 years ago
Reply to  No Guy Buy

Considering how HG have worked their asses off to make the game more like it was supposed to be, with several major updates that other firms would have charged for as DLC, I disagree with your opinion. Particularly as a lot of that hype was caused by the unrealistic expectations of the slavering hordes, not the developer. I picked up the game after the NEXT update, and I have had a blast with it. I have gotten much more than my moneys worth so far, and there is still more coming.

SmiliZ
SmiliZ
5 years ago
Reply to  No Guy Buy

I actually agree with you. I’m sure the game is much better now, but I think people are too quick to forget the controversy around this game. I don’t think the company needs to tank, but guys, they launched an EARLY ACCESS game at a FULL RETAIL PRICE. Unacceptable. Not to mention the myriad of issues and missing features – remember the controversy involving stickers on the gameboxes to hide the advertised multiplayer functionality? Sure, they’ve come a long way and they’ve worked their asses off to do right by the consumers, but that does not excuse the absolutely immoral… Read more »

raven0ak
raven0ak
5 years ago

I still wait until I buy it, gotta wait until its finished 🙂

Kaitensatsuma
Kaitensatsuma
5 years ago

I got a little bit over it once I figured out that planet hopping in hopes of a slightly better ship was uh…

Boring. It was boring. Just……boring.

I will literally spend a hundred hours space-trucking in Elite Dangerous and Rebel Galaxy, but somehow I can’t bear to have to keep touching down on planet after planet, building my little shelter, then huffing it in the general direction of a resource while dodging space nazi-orbs that get ruffled when I mine some rocks.

CTown
CTown
5 years ago
Reply to  Kaitensatsuma

Your ship is a shelter in that aspect… TBH it sounds like you somehow missed out on some really fundamental things because that scenario you described should have been over and done in less than 2 hours.

Kaitensatsuma
Kaitensatsuma
5 years ago
Reply to  CTown

It was, but then you need to go to a station, then you need to go to another planet for more resources, to craft more fuel, to take off to get to the next station, to go to another planet for more resources, to craft more fuel, to take off to get to the next station…. And I mean you *could* use your ship as your base, but you need to waste fuel to take off and move it and *that also is a pain in the ass* so you’re better off not doing that…. You’re seeing what I mean,… Read more »

CTown
CTown
5 years ago
Reply to  Kaitensatsuma

Oh I do, but this problem is something that normally gets solved pretty quickly. Players figure out that Uranium is a super efficient launch fuel that can be bought at space stations easily, and that explorer type ships are inherently twice as efficient, for example. And just like that, no more than 5 or 6 hours in, launch fuel is no longer an issue

KaoGen
KaoGen
5 years ago
Reply to  CTown

Also keep in mind that if you play a game that was started back on the original release, its a complete and total mess to go back into. Seriously, the game basically didn’t put any effort into making a way for those games to really get back into the new way things go. They just treat your 12+ hours like those 12+ were in the new game and you already know everything.

My sweet as fuck ship from the old game is garbage now for no real reason. My guns aren’t nearly good enough for where i am now.

Roborat
Roborat
5 years ago
Reply to  KaoGen

Were you one of the lucky ones who got a big ship before they made the maximum cargo size smaller? Just curious, but why don’t you just get a new ship and deck it out the way you want.

Leon
Leon
5 years ago

Why do we ALWAYS need to have sex with aliens?…..

Kaitensatsuma
Kaitensatsuma
5 years ago
Reply to  Leon

Blame it on William Shatner

Leon
Leon
5 years ago
Reply to  Kaitensatsuma

I blame Mass Effect

Mark
Mark
5 years ago

Well I was going to say no no no no to NMS and then you said VR support…

Honestly I resisted Elite Dangerous for a long time because of the vapidly shallow gameplay, but ED in VR is one of the most immersive Video Game Experiences I have ever had.

Kaitensatsuma
Kaitensatsuma
5 years ago
Reply to  Mark

I find just putting on a podcast or a history youtube video chain and doing some space trucking is very relaxing.

Tumbleweed
Tumbleweed
5 years ago
Reply to  Kaitensatsuma

Podcasts, that is probably what I should do when void opal core mining. So much money doing that, but boy is it boring as hell at times.

Orlando Salinas
Orlando Salinas
5 years ago

I wish I could see more comebacks like this from other games that have been dissapointing or not finished (like Metal gear 5 or maybe diablo 3 but thats debatable) rather than just starting over.

Mr. Casual
Mr. Casual
5 years ago

If this game can come back, maybe that means Colonial Marines ca– No, I can’t even finish that sentence. 😛 Comparing this to A:CM is interesting to me. Both games have verifiably improved since the beginning, but there just seems to be this sense of forthright earnestness about Hello Games’ trying to atone for the botched opening and actually make this something people will love that one just doesn’t get a sense of from Gearbox. Also, there’s the fact that Sean Murray learned his lesson and clammed-up, just buckling down and doing the work, while Randy Pitchfit has continually been… Read more »

Just Marty
Just Marty
5 years ago

You either release on time and become No Man’s Sky, or delay release and see yourself become Star Citizen.

ArdentSlacker
ArdentSlacker
5 years ago
Reply to  Just Marty

Damn. Just… damn.

Tumbleweed
Tumbleweed
5 years ago
Reply to  Just Marty

Fingers crossed for Rebel Galaxy outlaw. I hope it is at least as good as the original, but man do they need to work on their story endings.

Eldest Gruff
Eldest Gruff
5 years ago

Some games just start lackluster and turn out great. That was Minecraft. That was Splatoon. It’s also No Man’s Sky. The only difference here, as far as I can see, is that NMS pretended that all of these amazing features would be there at launch. And I have a hunch that it’s not something they did just to be evil. NMS was a huge marketing event for Sony, one of their most hyped exclusives that year. I’m not surprised that things were extremely exaggerated. Just happy to see it looking like something I would gladly pay $60 for now. And… Read more »

Admiral Casual
Admiral Casual
5 years ago

okay, gotta ask…for someone who was not taken in by the initial hype, didn’t listen to the press reports, knows nothing of the devs’ initial behavior, and….well, the fact that there is a game called “No man’s sky”, and it involves sandbox elements is the sum total of my knowledge.

Is the game any good now?

KaoGen
KaoGen
5 years ago
Reply to  Admiral Casual

‘Good’ is probably too subjective to really make a claim one way or another, but the best way to put it is that it is more or less finally the game they claimed it was meant to be. Whether the content is actually up your alley is something else entirely.

CTown
CTown
5 years ago
Reply to  Admiral Casual

If nothing else it’s half off till the 21st, pretty much everywhere that sells it.

Urazz
Urazz
5 years ago

Hello Games did partially regain the trust of the customers I think but I’m thinking a lot of people will not be preordering their games ever again. They’ll definitely give them a chance but they’ll wait for reviews of their next game first before they decide to buy it.

pyrodice
pyrodice
5 years ago

It honestly feels like the spiritual successor to Spore, and Escape Velocity.

KaoGen
KaoGen
5 years ago

While im still quite impressed by the way they knuckled down and actually went and did what was right in fixing the game up (lets be honest, with the way EA was basically pretending Anthem doesn’t exist, any dev that actually works on a game that isnt perfect is a good thing, no matter how much deception was involved with the initial launch), going back into NMS still doesn’t make me feel like its a particularly amazing game at all. Its certainly tons better than its original release, and i refuse to ignore the considerable effort that no doubt went… Read more »

Drachenjaeger
Drachenjaeger
5 years ago

Honestly, my biggest disappointment with NMS is that I overwrote my save with a maxed out ship and maxed out suit from the earliest versions. No idea if I would have kept my 40 slot ship through the updates, but I regret not finding out.

will
will
5 years ago

i like NMS but the reason i left and struggle to return is flight, it is just sooo cliunky.

will
will
5 years ago
Reply to  will

Join the discussion…to NMS i keep coming back and i enjoy the on ground stuff but for flight i will h old off for star citizen at this stage. NMS just doesn’t do space flight for me.

Stef
Stef
5 years ago
Reply to  Tim

Sorry for the slow response, busy at work. I always have your cad-comic.com open on a tab. Don’t really touch the facebook at work