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[Maiden Voyage]

Sean Murray Says No Man's Sky Isn't Finished 'By a Long Shot' - IGN

No Man's Sky creator Sean Murray says his galaxy-spanning sandbox isn't close to being finished, despite receiving its 19th major update today.

www.ign.com

Nearly 20 updates later and No Man's Sky has a ways to go.​

No Man's Sky creator Sean Murray says his galaxy-spanning sandbox isn't close to being finished, despite receiving its 19th major update today.

Speaking to IGN, Murray said the team at Hello Games is continuously coming up with new features they'd like added to No Man's Sky, and each new update inspires more and more ideas.

He said, for "as many updates as we've done since launch and as many bucket list items we've checked off, our list of things we're excited about never seems to get any shorter. The team are always coming up with new things that they want to do with the game: new content and features and areas for improvement.

"I'm amazed that the energy levels are as high now as they've ever been. We tend not to talk about what's on that list publicly but suffice to say we're not done yet by a long shot."

Murray explained its roadmap and development schedule as similar to a painting that never quite seems complete:
"I like to think that No Man's Sky is such a large game that we have to paint in broad brush strokes," he said, "and then each update comes along and fills in some finer detail but also paints more new broad strokes.

"That's certainly the case here. If you look at our patch notes [for the Sentinel Update], you'll see an absolute ton of refinements, but also huge new features too."

That list of updates that Hello Games has planned for No Man's Sky is being worked on alongside a new game from the studio that, in September 2021, Murray said was "very early" in development. The only morsel of information revealed is that it's a "huge, ambitious, game like No Man's Sky", though not a sequel.

This will likely be the case for a while, as Murray also said "we've learned our lesson" on talking about their games too early after No Man's Sky open (and controversial) pre-release.

The new Sentinel Update completely overhauled the game's combat by adding new weapons, updating old ones, and bringing a hoard of new enemies to use them on.

While the update is available on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC today, Nintendo players can enjoy the update alongside the rest of No Man's Sky when it comes to Switch this summer.

Seems to have done a complete redemption arc. Good on them for continuing to support. I really should give the game a go in VR at some point.

 

[Kenpachii]

Give me 60m, i will start my own redemption arc for the rest of my life.

 

[TheDrunkenMerchant]

Cool mentality. Full support. Reminds me of why they shouldn't have stopped releasing DLC for Smash Ultimate and why I support the DLC for Mario Kart 8. What would making a new game really achieve if they want to continue with this idea? Just keep adding upon this base that has been near perfected.

Only issue is if they're still going to be financially stable if they continue giving these major updates away for free. I think Hello Games must truly feel fulfilled making these and perfecting their game to make their players and themselves happy. It truly is amazing considering all the greed and disgusting business practices in the modern day.

 

[ByWatterson]

It's already one of the best games of all time.

Incredible dedication.

 

[bitbydeath]

Cool mentality. Full support. Reminds me of why they shouldn't have stopped releasing DLC for Smash Ultimate and why I support the DLC for Mario Kart 8. What would making a new game really achieve if they want to continue with this idea? Just keep adding upon this base that has been near perfected.

Only issue is if they're still going to be financially stable if they continue giving these major updates away for free. I think Hello Games must truly feel fulfilled making these and perfecting their game to make their players and themselves happy. It truly is amazing considering all the greed and disgusting business practices in the modern day.

They've said before that sales soar whenever they release a new update.
I'm glad this game worked out for them, their passion is inspiring.

 

[Rex_DX]

Sean Murray Says No Man's Sky Isn't Finished 'By a Long Shot' - IGN

No Man's Sky creator Sean Murray says his galaxy-spanning sandbox isn't close to being finished, despite receiving its 19th major update today.

www.ign.com

Seems to have done a complete redemption arc. Good on them for continuing to support. I really should give the game a go in VR at some point.

Actually I'd hold off on that VR play through.

Every time I see a new update release I cross my fingers that this one will be a VR focused one.

As it stands now, the VR side of things hasn't got much attention since it launched and the atrocious performance on top of an extremely ugly and barren graphical experience is only compounded by poor implementation of VR controls - especially where flight is concerned. Which is a shame because in pancake mode the game has become gorgeous and seated, cockpit gameplay is an opportunity for VR to excel (see Elite for an example of great cockpit gameplay in VR) but in NMS's case the control scheme makes even simple dogfights frustrating. At least give us a couple of options for control. Having a VR controller act as a HOTAS sounds neat in theory, but without a physical anchor in the real world it's just a frustrating, imprecise input.

I personally would trade the past ten updates for a VR experience that doesn't reduce the game graphically to an empty wasteland with a shoehorned control scheme that feels as though it's still in early beta.

NMS has become a phenomenal and often beautiful experience on a monitor but it's one of the worst implementations of VR I've seen even across a wide range of hardware and HMDs.

Avoid it and hope they give it some love in between doses of mechs and janky music players.

 

[GHG]

Give me 60m, i will start my own redemption arc for the rest of my life.

Me too.

 

[lh032]

I want ACTUAL things to do in each planet. Like random encounters, groups of NPC roaming around and such...

Its still barren and you just running around mining things.....

 

[Oddvintagechap]

In 10 years i’ll finally reach where he wanted it to go.

 

[ReBurn]

I bought it day 1. I always thought it was a great single player zen kind of experience, like Minecraft in creative mode. I don't think I ever hated it even though it really didn't have a point. Glad it's still around.

 

[Maiden Voyage]

Actually I'd hold off on that VR play through.

Every time I see a new update release I cross my fingers that this one will be a VR focused one.

As it stands now, the VR side of things hasn't got much attention since it launched and the atrocious performance on top of an extremely ugly and barren graphical experience is only compounded by poor implementation of VR controls - especially where flight is concerned. Which is a shame because in pancake mode the game has become gorgeous and seated, cockpit gameplay is an opportunity for VR to excel (see Elite for an example of great cockpit gameplay in VR) but in NMS's case the control scheme makes even simple dogfights frustrating. At least give us a couple of options for control. Having a VR controller act as a HOTAS sounds neat in theory, but without a physical anchor in the real world it's just a frustrating, imprecise input.

I personally would trade the past ten updates for a VR experience that doesn't reduce the game graphically to an empty wasteland with a shoehorned control scheme that feels as though it's still in early beta.

NMS has become a phenomenal and often beautiful experience on a monitor but it's one of the worst implementations of VR I've seen even across a wide range of hardware and HMDs.

Avoid it and hope they give it some love in between doses of mechs and janky music players.

Good to know. Thanks for the info man.

 

[Doom85]

 

[Hendrick's]

The game must continue to sell. I wonder where the all time numbers are at.

 

[Inviusx]

Cool but they just keep dumping random features into the game rather than improving the core. The planets are still boring regardless of if I have a mech, vanity pets, freighters etc.

My complaint from 2016 is still valid today. Make the planets interesting.

 

[gow3isben]

THIS MAN CAN'T STOP WINNING

 

[legacy24]

the next star citizen?

 

[Neolombax]

My issue with these updates, while they are great, is that it feels daunting to get back into the game and experience what they added. I'll give the game a go again, for sure. Seems like a solid update.

To me the hassle is always the trading bit, to get the nicer and bigger ships, as I understand it, you require a lot of resources and credits. If there was a way for me to just explore and live the space pirate way, I'd be more into this game.

 

[Hawking Radiation]

I want ACTUAL things to do in each planet. Like random encounters, groups of NPC roaming around and such...

Its still barren and you just running around mining things.....

Believe me these guys have thought of that and are planning to address that issue. This is also my biggest issue with the game.

 

[Solarstrike]

There needs to be complete overhaul of the main character(s) animations while in first or third person view. The way it is now looks poor, substandard. Jank can be q word too which best describes it. Let's utilize motion capture for hominids adding more detail and mannerisms where due. Whereas characters can limp, crouch, crawl, prone, fall down, jump and grab a hold, throw, fish, wade in the water, swim up/down, fish, pick up and put down objects. Extra details like rubbing hands when it's cold or near a fire source in the cold.

 

[Rex_DX]

Good to know. Thanks for the info man.

Despite me lambasting the VR by all means check it out if you want to.

Definitely worth experiencing so you can drive yourself mad wishing for a VR update like me.

 

[LordOfChaos]

Pretty incredible how he went from villain number one of the internet to just putting their heads down and working on it and still supporting it to the point of what I hear is it being a pretty great product to this date and beyond

 

[Kerotan]

I'm still not ready to jump in. Maybe if it works well on psvr 2.

 

[Nobody_Important]

I am impressed as all hell at what they have done here. They took a shit ass launch and took all of the money they made and infused it into fixing the game. More than that they did it without any bitch ass excuses about the costs and whatever. There was no microtransactions. There were no full price expansions.



They just did right by their players. And that in this day and age is a god damn oddity. Nobody does that anymore.

the next star citizen?

Nope because NMS doesn't scam the fuck out of it's player base and doesn't charge for any of the improvements.


If NMS was made by the SC people each hotfix would have been $200 and a vial of your blood along with a contract that says your $200 is their's no matter what because fuck you and your expectations.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

It needs this:

Right now, it's just cool tech with basically nothing interesting to do.

 

[Hendrick's]

It needs this:

Right now, it's just cool tech with basically nothing interesting to do.

Not every game needs to have a narrative arc. There are plenty that already do that.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Not every game needs to have a narrative arc. There are plenty that already do that.

I'd argue that you're correct, every game doesn't need a narrative arc. I'd also argue that No Mans Sky desperately needs one in order to transcend being more than just a novel tech demo.

I'm not referring to cutscenes either. They just need add smart incentives to coax out some interesting stories from the players.

 

[TheMan]

Shipbuilding, random towns do it

 

[Catphish]

the next star citizen?

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Actually I'd hold off on that VR play through.

Every time I see a new update release I cross my fingers that this one will be a VR focused one.

As it stands now, the VR side of things hasn't got much attention since it launched and the atrocious performance on top of an extremely ugly and barren graphical experience is only compounded by poor implementation of VR controls - especially where flight is concerned. Which is a shame because in pancake mode the game has become gorgeous and seated, cockpit gameplay is an opportunity for VR to excel (see Elite for an example of great cockpit gameplay in VR) but in NMS's case the control scheme makes even simple dogfights frustrating. At least give us a couple of options for control. Having a VR controller act as a HOTAS sounds neat in theory, but without a physical anchor in the real world it's just a frustrating, imprecise input.

I personally would trade the past ten updates for a VR experience that doesn't reduce the game graphically to an empty wasteland with a shoehorned control scheme that feels as though it's still in early beta.

NMS has become a phenomenal and often beautiful experience on a monitor but it's one of the worst implementations of VR I've seen even across a wide range of hardware and HMDs.

Avoid it and hope they give it some love in between doses of mechs and janky music players.

I expect this to get a big VR update with PSVR2

 

[Darchaos]

He has done more than most studios will ever do in theyre lifetime, thx mr sean! Now teach the small studion that maked Cyberpunk 2077 hot to make a game, do it wrong and be humble about it. Good Luck!

 

[Darchaos]

He has done more than most studios will ever do in theyre lifetime, thx Mr sean! Now teach the small studio that maked Cyberpunk 2077, how to make a game, do it wrong and be humble about it and then do it right. Good Luck!

 

[Hugare]

I'd argue that you're correct, every game doesn't need a narrative arc. I'd also argue that No Mans Sky desperately needs one in order to transcend being more than just a novel tech demo.

I'm not referring to cutscenes either. They just need add smart incentives to coax out some interesting stories from the players.

You're asking for an avatar quote, man

Its not a tech demo today. Its gameplay loop is enough to generate fun for a lot of players.

Narrative was never their focus. Neither was for Minecraft, Fortnite and etc.

 

[three_muffins]

Hey Chris Roberts....this is how you do it. I bet if you ask nicely Hello Games will offer you a workshop how to actually listen to your player base, focus on finishing a base product with lots of support afterwards.

 

[Fredrik]

It needs this:

Right now, it's just cool tech with basically nothing interesting to do.

It’s essentially Minecraft in space at this point, with a ton more stuff added on top. There is a sci-fi story, base building, farming, breeding, survival, trading, exploration, shooting, settlements managements, looting, collecting, mining, and more. If you can’t find anything interesting to do at this point then it’s simply not a game for you. You could spend hundreds of hours doing nothing else than building bases.

 

[N1tr0sOx1d3]

Hopefully they’ll spruce the combat mechanics in both space and land combat. It’s so unsatisfying……

 

[Cyberpunkd]

Give me 60m, i will start my own redemption arc for the rest of my life.

You can also do like Bioware with Anthem, make the game fail due to your incompetence and then ditch it.

 

[b0uncyfr0]

It needs a performance/engine upgrade - this game should be running 3200x1800 @60 on a series X for the visuals its pushing. It's very average compared to today's standards.

 

[Holammer]

Maybe add O'Neill Cylinders, Ring Worlds & Matrioshka Brains to explore.
The Sky's not the limit for what they can add.

 

[tassletine]

Of course it isn't. It can't be. There was never a goal.

Apart from cash.

 

[Majukun]

still can't take the guy seriously, once a con, always a con, but good on him on getting his audience back...too bad he did it using money he acquired in a sketchy manner

 

[cash_longfellow]

This is how you fix a mistake and earn trust back.

 

[Rudius]

I played enough of this game, but would play again one last time with a PSVR2 port.

 

[STARSBarry]

Of course it isn't. It can't be. There was never a goal.

Apart from cash.

?!? I mean they haven't sold a single DLC...

you buy the game once and get everything from release until now... I'm unsure what there game plan is outside of "sell a copy to a new player"

Compare this to say Minecraft which is filled with tons of DLC and MTX packs... if there goal was purely money based they would have charged for something by now.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

It’s essentially Minecraft in space at this point, with a ton more stuff added on top. There is a sci-fi story, base building, farming, breeding, survival, trading, exploration, shooting, settlements managements, looting, collecting, mining, and more. If you can’t find anything interesting to do at this point then it’s simply not a game for you. You could spend hundreds of hours doing nothing else than building bases.

It's currently not ranked on XBox Live Most Played (Top 50) and it's #116 on Steamcharts.

"You could spend hundreds of hours doing nothing else than building bases." You could also spend hundreds of hours watching paint dry. If the game isn't engaging enough, very few will actually do it.

I maintain that No Mans Sky has loads of potential that it's not living up to. Sean Murray may agree.

 

[Deerock71]

Does anyone else think this game needed a little more time in the oven before it launched a decade ago?

 

[Dust-by-Monday]

GaaS?

 

[Fredrik]

It's currently not ranked on XBox Live Most Played (Top 50) and it's #116 on Steamcharts.

"You could spend hundreds of hours doing nothing else than building bases." You could also spend hundreds of hours watching paint dry. If the game isn't engaging enough, very few will actually do it.

I maintain that No Mans Sky has loads of potential that it's not living up to. Sean Murray may agree.

Building bases is fun. And NMS has had a constant player base after the launch circus stabilized with multiple increases over the years when big patches has dropped. It’s an old game now but still do well if you look at Steam charts. Forza Horizon 5, 13K users. God of War, 8K. No Man’s Sky, 7K. It’s doing fine.

 

[Panajev2001a]

still can't take the guy seriously, once a con, always a con, but good on him on getting his audience back...too bad he did it using money he acquired in a sketchy manner

Curious what things / companies you are a fan of like that then… .

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

It’s an old game now but still do well if you look at Steam charts. Forza Horizon 5, 13K users. God of War, 8K. No Man’s Sky, 7K. It’s doing fine.

I don't consider #116 on Steamcharts as "doing fine" for a GAAS title with as much potential that NMS has.

I wouldn't be shocked if the game skyrocketed in popularity over the next few years provided they're smart about their updates. God of War and Forza Horizon have no such potential.

 

[Majukun]

Curious what things / companies you are a fan of like that then… .

none to be honest, i would have called myself a nintendo kid but i haven't got switch (yet?) so guess that strips me of that title i guess, would have called myself a platinum fan but the only home run they ever released is the first bayo so that's out too.

i'm just a consumer, one that doesn't get lightly being lied to in the face...if he wants to release and unfinished game and finish it later, there's early access