Science Fiction
noun
a form of fiction based on imagined future scientific or technological advances and major social or environmental changes, frequently portraying space or time travel and life on other planets.
When it released back in 2016, it was pretty clear that the game wasn’t ready for launch. But after a couple years of the hype-train gaining more and more momentum and the sometimes infamous gaming community growing impatient, Hello Games found themselves in a precarious situation. People were pissed, and that’s putting it lightly.
Why were people so upset? Let me provide you with some context.
The trailers for this game showcased some pretty impressive stuff. This is a game about survival and exploration. An entire shared, procedurally generated universe filled with real planet sized planets, each differing from the last—with their own weather conditions, materials to gather, unique alien life, plants, animals, and ancient ruins filled with history to discover. On top of that, you also have a space ship that can fly off world in real time, get into space battles, mine asteroid fields, travel planet-to-planet, and between space stations and other star systems.
It’s an incredibly ambitious project made by only a dozen people. Unfortunately, the game that came out was missing some of the promised features. The ability to find and see other players was a primary missing feature noticed in the first week of launch. Portals didn’t activate, and procedural planets turned out to be a lot of a little and the game seemed to be lacking in giving players enough to do in such a large place. This created enough backlash for Hello Games to even be investigated for false advertisement.
However, the backlash against Hello Games was like a double edged sword. Sure, one side plunged into their belly and left them wounded, but they didn’t give up and just let the project bleed out. Rather than taking the money and running like most studios would do, they used it and shoved that sword right back into the monster that is the game industry. After some months of silence they released their first major update, the Foundation Update.
Foundation is the key word here. This update included new game systems, such as portable technology you can craft and place freely, base building, and the ability to purchase freighters of your own as well as several bug fixes/performance improvements. It also included a new difficulty setting called survival mode, and a creative mode. It injected a foundation of new systems that would be improved upon in future updates. Which brings us to three months later with the Pathfinder update.
Pathfinder expanded on base building, making them sharable online and adding more blueprints. It also added ground vehicles that are called exocrafts. Starships also got designated class types, ranging from Hauler, Fighter, Explorer, and Shuttle. And players gained the ability to own more than one. New shops and traders also made it in this update to go with a new type of currency which could be used to purchase new blueprints directly. If that wasn’t enough, they even did a graphical overhaul and made the game 4k compatible.
So after two updates this was starting to look like the game we were hoping for and then some. Sure, you could argue that some of these features should have been there at launch, but you could also argue that sending death threats to a small studio for pushing back an unfinished game is counter productive.
When it had been a year since launch, Hello Games added a once again free update that was even bigger than the last two. The Atlas Rises Update.
This is what I signed up for. This game was now pretty much everything I had anticipated. Portals were now activated and 30+ hours of story and lore were added. You could finally loot crashed freighters, with the new terrain manipulator multitool attachment. Ship handling mechanics were overhauled, as well as a general graphical overhaul. They included procedurally generated missions for the less self-motivated that you can accept at space stations for various rewards. Even the ability to see other players was added. It was just a little floating sphere, but it was something.
Besides, this game was always about being alone in a unfathomably big place. And you can’t blame Hello Games for that. They’re nerds, what do you expect? But despite that, they really do care about the fans. Because what I’ve failed to mention is the loyal community who have also added an unexpected element to this game.
People started to gather and upload everything in a section of space. Literally scanning 100% of every planet in every star system. Someone even made a star map app where you could do math and find a way to the hub from wherever you are at. That was beyond me, to be honest, but it’s awesome! Hello Games took notice and began interacting with them online with puzzles and clues. You know, nerd shit.
They took what we had to say very seriously, and after a year with no updates we all could hear the collective whispers and occasional roars around the world asking for one thing. MUL-TI-PLAY-ER.
And so it is. It’s official, you and your friends can explore the universe together. With multiplayer finally here and a new 3rd person mode, the galaxy suddenly feels less lonely. But why stop just there? They also put in yet another graphic update making the game look better than ever, as well as completely revamping all the materials and crafting recipes which make the experience much deeper and more fulfilling. Hello Games will be featuring weekly updates and community events. So it’s safe to say we will be having a lot more to look forward to.
This is No Man’s Sky. This is a universe that belongs to everyone and no-one. To our friends, enemies, and strangers alike. Tiny blips in a massive space. A place where you start with very little, and must find your own path to the top. What ever that may be for you. It is a proper sci-fi game. They took a foundation and found a path that would rise them up, and I can’t wait to see what happens next. (Yeah, I know. I went for it. Can you blame me?)
No Man’s Sky is available on PlayStation 4, Steam, and now Xbox one.
