No Man’s Sky: NEXT Update - First impressions/previews

Kyuuji · Jul 20, 2018

Seems like places are opening up about the update now. No captured footage yet, just impressions:

Eurogamer

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-07-20-no-mans-skys-big-next-update-is-big

The first, most striking aspect of NEXT is, unsurprisingly, its visual overhaul - and, as the recent trailer will attest, it's genuinely remarkable just how different No Man's Sky looks. Its massively improved lighting, better atmospheric effects, and increased draw distances, alongside a gorgeous new cloud rendering systems, improved textures, better water, an optional new third-person camera, and more, combine to create a much more subtle aesthetic.

Perhaps more than anything though, it's the newfound sense of scale that impresses, with the game now sporting a more "earth-like" planetary generation system. Mountains tower above undulating valleys, populated by looming trees, larger architectural "props", and notably improved fauna. Creatures feature more nuanced animations, improved AI, and a broader range of sounds, all of which help sell the illusion of life just that little bit harder.

Additionally, your freighter is where you'll encounter the new frigate system. This wasn't a feature I saw myself during my playtime, but is described as something like Monster Hunter's Palico system. You can buy frigates - up to 50 in a fleet, which will be visible around your freighter - and each can have its own specialisations. Frigates are sent on procedurally generated missions which play out in real-time, and can be followed across the galaxy or simply left to complete their mission, reaping the rewards of a successful adventure.

With three massive updates under its belt, the team is keen to adopt a schedule of smaller, regular updates, to ensure a consistent run of new experiences. To that end, it's implementing something akin to a live events programme, in which players can work to achieve certain community goals in order to earn a second currency that can be spent in a new in-game rewards shop. This currency - and Hello is keen to stress that this is all free, and that there will be no micro-transactions - can be used to purchase the likes of emotes, customisation parts, and eventually unique ships and vehicles.

It certainly seems that the studio efforts over the last year have brought significantly more scope, scale, and depth to No Man's Sky's galaxy - and I can't wait to see and share more.

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IGN have posted a couple of videos with new elements:

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PC Gamer

https://www.pcgamer.com/what-its-like-to-explore-no-mans-sky-next-with-three-other-people/

You can pursue the No Man's Sky story path together or just explore or muck about, racing exocraft, creating scenic trails, taking on missions as a group, or building extravagant structures.

The ability to experience the world alongside other people is turned on by default. Players can switch it off if they want to be truly alone, but the way Murray explains it, having it enabled won't suddenly lead to those strange agglomerations of player characters you see in MMO questing hotspots.

Until now you could only set up home by finding an abandoned habitable base on a planet, so you weren't able to just set yourself up near an attractive cave system or a glut of useful resources. You could also only build your base out a certain distance from that point. Next will remove both of those restrictions, letting you build anywhere and letting you sprawl all over the place.

As with the previous mega updates, Next feels too big to be able to summarise everything here, and a lot of the changes which will make a lot of difference to players will be under the quality of life heading rather than the eye-catching trailer stuff which gets prioritised in top-level explanations. For example, I'm excited about being able to build a base underwater, but ecstatic about being able to drag and drop resources from one inventory slot to another.

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More to come..

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If you haven't played NMS since release or haven't been keeping up with the major updates, browse the links below to see what's been added between launch and now:
https://www.nomanssky.com/foundation-update/
https://www.nomanssky.com/pathfinder-update/
https://www.nomanssky.com/atlas-rises-update/

The trailer for NEXT:
https://youtu.be/h3HphgSn0o4

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I'm just going out for lunch but will update with more as I find them or are shared in here.

Cliff Steele · Jul 20, 2018

This sounds fantastic. Can't wait to dive back in.

Aters · Jul 20, 2018

Sounds pretty good to be honest.

bdwnfn99 · Jul 20, 2018

I've never played NMS but this looks so good and I'm ready to buy it on Xbox!

Mercenary09 · Jul 20, 2018

Props to them for continuing to work on the game and improve it. All of this sounds really great.

Robin · Jul 20, 2018

Watched the 28 Changes video, actually looks very promising! I'm not that interested in multiplayer but it looks good nevertheless. I might pop it back in.

Kyuuji · Jul 20, 2018

Robin said:
Watched the 28 Changes video, actually looks very promising! I'm not that interested in multiplayer but it looks good nevertheless. I might pop it back in.

Multiplayer is confirmed to be optional if you prefer the idea of a less busy universe.

Reckheim · Jul 20, 2018

looking forward to this, hopefully i like the improvements, wasn't a huge fan of the base game.

Robin · Jul 20, 2018

Kyuuji said:
Multiplayer is confirmed to be optional if you prefer the idea of a less busy universe.

I'm fine with the idea of happening into people, I just hardly ever find the time or energy to organize parties and play with friends.

Deleted member 35598 · Jul 20, 2018

As I said in the other thread Hello Games needs to be commanded. To go back to the drawing board, reworking the game while taking in consideration community feedback and the original vision is simply incredible.

uzipukki · Jul 20, 2018

Shame they weren't allowed to show off these changes but will definitely jump back in.

8byte · Jul 20, 2018

Everything in that Eurogamer article has me pretty excited.

Can't wait! Hope someone starts streaming soon

FreezePeach · Jul 20, 2018

Some of the quotes really does make this sound like NMS 2. ALmost makes me sad version 1.3 is gone forever. Actually i want GOG to put this on sale soon so i can buy it again and download 1.3 as a backup.

Lylo · Jul 20, 2018

But what do you do in this game?

/s

Sounds really good, i think it's time to get back to this game.

Noah Om · Jul 20, 2018

Will have to check out the ign videos tonight. Is there amy new info in the 28 changes video?

Spent most the day at work just reading through the interviews lol. Lots of good infornation in both the eurogamer and waypoint interview. The waypoint interview is incredibly long, but its well worth it. Sean gives some fascinating insight.

Finaj · Jul 20, 2018

My main issue is that the gunplay hasn't really been changed. The guns in Fallout 3 were more responsive than this.

Heckler456 · Jul 20, 2018

Definitely checking this out again. I felt somewhat disappointed when I bought the game at full price, but with all the love they've been putting into it, I feel like it has all been worth it.

Saint-14 · Jul 20, 2018

So can you randomly find other players in the world or it's invite only? I might give it a try if it's the first.

JoeBoy101 · Jul 20, 2018

For example, I'm excited about being able to build a base underwater, but ecstatic about being able to drag and drop resources from one inventory slot to another.

Thank JESÚS!!!

MythicReclaimer · Jul 20, 2018

I was hoping the Halo MCC 4K update (to replay all the campaigns) was going to be officially out in August to tide me over until Forsaken released for Destiny 2 but this looks pretty interesting and a helluva lot closer to what I wanted from it my first go around on release. Just being able to constantly explore and hopefully finding interesting rewards/loot/mats with the improved unique/classic sci-fi visuals is a huge draw for me.

giancarlo123x · Jul 20, 2018

Will buy for the cheap on ps4 eventually

smart patrol · Jul 20, 2018

Visual overhaul, frigate fleets, no microtransactions, third person view? Sounds absolutely wonderful.

MrConbon210 · Jul 20, 2018

If people come in this thread complaining about how Sean lied I'm going to lose my shit.

blitzblake · Jul 20, 2018

Do we think this will continue to show up for real cheap on psn, or does this justify them pumping up the price to new release levels?

8byte · Jul 20, 2018

Finaj said:
My main issue is that the gunplay hasn't really been changed. The guns in Fallout 3 were more responsive than this.

It's not a shooter. Gunplay isn't the focus, given the nature of the game they don't need twitch responsiveness.

Saint-14 said:
So can you randomly find other players in the world or it's invite only? I might give it a try if it's the first.

From what we've heard, you can see other people at random, though it is exceptionally unlikely unless you're seeking them out (for example vis portals).

FreezePeach · Jul 20, 2018

Buried treasure!

Also bases have 20k piece limit? How much is the limit currently?

8byte · Jul 20, 2018

MrConbon210 said:
If people come in this thread complaining about how Sean lied I'm going to lose my shit.

Be prepared to lose your shit, hahaha.

Erilex · Jul 20, 2018

I'm really looking forward to this update! Base building was probably the part of the game I had the most fun with, so it's good to know a lot of the annoying limitations around it are being lifted.

I assume space combat will remain hot garbage, though, which is unfortunate. I could deal with mediocre but unobtrusive space combat that erred on the side of being too easy, but instead it's actively aggravating.

RedlineRonin · Jul 20, 2018

Game just keeps on giving.

Sign me the fuck up.

Best $20 steam purchase of my life probably.

MrConbon210 · Jul 20, 2018

8byte said:
Be prepared to lose your shit, hahaha.

Anyway we can make a positive only NMS thread and ban anyone who brings up Sean's lies? Haha

Hellers · Jul 20, 2018

Super hyped. Hopefully I won't have to restart my two day old game to get my free freighter.

2Blackcats · Jul 20, 2018

MrConbon210 said:
Anyway we can make a positive only NMS thread and ban anyone who brings up Sean's lies? Haha

That's not allowed .

Someone tried to make a positive/neutral Destiny thread before and it was locked.

8byte · Jul 20, 2018

MrConbon210 said:
Anyway we can make a positive only NMS thread and ban anyone who brings up Sean's lies? Haha

I've utilized the ignore feature extensively the last few days. It's helped tremendously.

KujoJosuke · Jul 20, 2018

yeah I have my eye on this but I need some more impressions

But it looks real cool

MrConbon210 · Jul 20, 2018

2Blackcats said:
That's not allowed .

Someone tried to make a positive/neutral Destiny thread before and it was locked.

Yeah I know. I was just being facetious :)

SirMossyBloke · Jul 20, 2018

I'm still waiting on HDR for PC. The only platform that currently doesn't have it. Wonder when we'll get official patch notes.

OuterLimits · Jul 20, 2018

A part of me is sad the game is slowly moving away from the crazy 1950s-1970s science fiction look and feel. I'm assuming the Atlas Rises storyline will still be there hopefully since I haven't finished it.

zombiejames · Jul 20, 2018

Sounds like they've delivered, again. They've yet to release a post-launch update that hasn't drastically changed the game and made it better, and it's good to hear that's continuing. The new planet generation sounds impressive when it comes to scale.

LoudMouse · Jul 20, 2018

If players can join another player anywhere, no matter where they are in the galaxy, and then go off on their own, does that mean they can cheat and not even bother building up (and therefore earning) their status amongst the stars? If a player can join any other player and help build their base, does that mean they can cheat and not bother doing what is necessary to expand their building pieces? It seems to me that the way multiplayer is built, there's room for lots of cheating and cutting out the need to actually make an effort. From now on, the status is broken. We will no longer respect what another player has achieved because we won't know whether they cheated, just like lots of people do not believe PC players because of the mods they have. The game is changing as expected but I think the tone may well change to something entirely different from what we long term players wanted.

All the above may well not happen. Perhaps once the multiplayer session is over, the player then returns to where they were prior to the session, still having to work towards their status. Perhaps the base they build by getting others to contribute their pieces, only exists in multiplayer ... who knows. Either way, THIS is why most older players wanted multiplayer to be separate.

Lom1lo · Jul 20, 2018

This sounds amazing, the only reason why Im Not sure to buy it is the Claim of an user here that it will come to gamepass. Would not be happy if I buy it now and in 2 months its on GP..

RedlineRonin · Jul 20, 2018

SirMossyBloke said:
I'm still waiting on HDR for PC. The only platform that currently doesn't have it. Wonder when we'll get official patch notes.

+++++++1

enzo_gt · Jul 20, 2018

Haven't kept up with the game since I think the base building expansion, but have they done anything to fix the lifeless shooting/resource collection, ground movement mechanics, and core gameplay? Or are they just continually building more features on top of the core game without fixing any of that stuff?

DJtal · Jul 20, 2018

No surprise here, in general their updates are really meaty. Thing I never do, I will put my console on autoupdate this week-end (I'm sure lot's games have update that can get into NMS NEXT way on Tuesday). I will play this week-end so I will get a better judgement about the changes (last time I played was like six months ago).

FreezePeach · Jul 20, 2018

Just looked up the wiki, it seems currently base limits are 2000. The video says its now 20k. Thats a huge jump, but depending on how much they split the objects into pieces with this update it could maybe be around the same.

thezboson · Jul 20, 2018

FreezePeach said:
Buried treasure!

Also bases have 20k piece limit? How much is the limit currently?

I've read that it is 1000.

So 20 times. We are going to be able to build small villages.

LoudMouse · Jul 20, 2018

enzo_gt said:
Haven't kept up with the game since I think the base building expansion, but have they done anything to fix the lifeless shooting/resource collection, ground movement mechanics, and core gameplay? Or are they just continually building more features on top of the core game without fixing any of that stuff?

There's nothing to fix with the resource collection. It's a mainstay of the game, and relaxing.

zombiejames · Jul 20, 2018

enzo_gt said:
Haven't kept up with the game since I think the base building expansion, but have they done anything to fix the lifeless shooting/resource collection, ground movement mechanics, and core gameplay? Or are they just continually building more features on top of the core game without fixing any of that stuff?

You're going to have to be more specific but yeah, they changed all that. You can horde, store, and farm resources at your base, and you can craft items that automate resource collection. That's been in the game for over a year.

OuterLimits · Jul 20, 2018

enzo_gt said:
Haven't kept up with the game since I think the base building expansion, but have they done anything to fix the lifeless shooting/resource collection, ground movement mechanics, and core gameplay? Or are they just continually building more features on top of the core game without fixing any of that stuff?

The gameplay loop is still pretty much the same. If you didn't like it at launch, you may not like it now. Especially if you don't like grinding for resources. Yes, the combat still sucks on planets. Space is a bit better

Jessie · Jul 20, 2018

MrConbon210 said:
Anyway we can make a positive only NMS thread and ban anyone who brings up Sean's lies? Haha

I wish we could make positive only threads. I don't want to thought police or anything, but ResetEra skews very negative for some reason and gaming is supposed to be about having fun.

BMW · Jul 20, 2018

The change in scale is the number 1 thing that I am excited about. Ready for the planets to just dwarf the players.

No Man’s Sky: NEXT Update - First impressions/previews

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