Congrats HG, well deserved. Some developers need to learn a lot from you.
https://twitter.com/SXSWGaming/status/1107085678440001536
https://twitter.com/SXSWGaming/status/1107085678440001536
Game Discussions The No Man's Sky Thread
- Thread starter Dull Bladerunner
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Yup, CIG could really learn a lot from HG... like how to release a game
Really some developers need and can learn... Others have stopped in time, something like more than 30 years ago and are no longer capable of it.
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In particular i made three mods, one reduced the size of all the points of interest icons that appear on your HUD (from distant bases to minerals and plants etc) because on my PC gaming set up, which is a chair, desk and screen about 2 foot away from my eyes, i could tell they had made the icons to be played on console where you sit much further away from the screen (on a couch using a controller).
Another similar themed one reduced the size of many of the in-game particles and effects, like the rainbow streaks in space (i got rid of the 'space balls' all together), and the air particles etc. Just a general scaling down to make it less in your face and more pleasant to view in a 'normal' PC gaming situation (rather than for console).
The third mod i made took the alpha/beta file that deals with all your in game achievements and tries to balance out that data so your progress is more even (basic example is how quickly you achieve the financial achievements and get to max level (10) very quickly in terms of your overall game play time). I've not seen if they have changed these values in more recent updates, but going on those used upto Pathfinder, it seemed like a file that got overlooked and was set at 'testing' levels for progression. The modder Lo2k has an updated version of this mod that works with newer versions although he made his without being aware of my older one, so his changes are not exactly the same as mine (mine stretched out progress more than his iirc).
Other mods were to make space more dark overall (but not pure black as i liked some hint of the solar colours), reduce camera shake, introduce low-flight, reduce holding down the action button to activate stuff, reduce the amount of fuel used 'per launch' (just felt like an artificial design to increase grinding), improve the rewards for scanning all flora and fauna, change how space flight works to make inertia more important, improve the notice-ability of storms, remove the blue-flash from mining, put resources underground rather than in tall (obvious) stacks all the time, make asteroids be iron (and other suitable materials) etc etc.
Many of those mods became part of the main game, but not all of them. So i certainly 'need' atleast a half-dozen mods to not be annoyed at the default game.
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Thanks for sharing, all that goes to show how great it is when a game is able to be adjusted slightly to really focus in on the desired play style of the customer.
I think of all the little things in games past that help pull you out of the experience or turn you off that can add up and really cause a person to lose interest.
I played about 30 hours of NMS and enjoyed it and then the content started pouring out and I decided to shelve it for awhile and let it fill. Sounds like when this Beyond update drops might be a good time to pop back in and check everything out. Its good to know there's a mod scene to hone in the experience also.
Viajero
Volunteer Moderator
It is great that HG keeps at it. Let's see if this latest update manages to stick player concurrency in a more stable and longer term manner than the poor results of previous updates. One of the things NMS seems to be not really succeeding at is mantaining player fidelity medium/long term. Its updates tend to get lots of attention early on but that interest wanes quite fast.
On the other hand I will not easily forget how most of the money they are now probably bankrolling all these free updates with comes from outrageous lies in the first place.
And that is perhaps something absolutely no other developer needs to learn from.
As per the game, I have not re-installed it yet. I think probably the only thing that would make me try again is VR.
On the other hand I will not easily forget how most of the money they are now probably bankrolling all these free updates with comes from outrageous lies in the first place.
And that is perhaps something absolutely no other developer needs to learn from.
As per the game, I have not re-installed it yet. I think probably the only thing that would make me try again is VR.
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I followed NMS very closely prior to release and I was in no way surprised by what was delivered, and so I find the term 'outrageous lies' to be at best unhelpful.
NMS/Steam refunded a lot of those upset by their unfulfilled expectations, so this stance is to my mind utterly moot. We need to salute them for their efforts and for all that they have now achieved since August 2016.
Hence their well deserved award.
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Hmm.
If I bought a bottle of beer, and inside was water, and it wasn't a mistake it was water but the promise of beer was in fact a 'knowing misrepresentation' in order to get sales, and then a couple of years later I got an actual beer delivered to my door ... you're saying I should be grateful?
Same. I didn't expect the things people got so upset over and didn't have the same high expectations. I could tell everything was hyped up, so when it came out, I wasn't disappointed. It was what I thought it would be.
That is not an accurate or helpful analogy, so let me repeat that I followed NMS closely all the way to release and I was in no way surprised by what was delivered, and I was not disappointed. How you choose to feel is up to you.
However, I am incredibly impressed that HG has expanded NMS in numerous directions, all for free. For which we should be grateful, else to appear petulant.
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Viajero
Volunteer Moderator
I also was there and followed closely and can confirm Murray lied like few project heads in the past have lied before. Most of the funds he is using to continue developing come from those lies.
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And I can confirm that my memory of what he said is that he was very circumspect as to how he described player interaction. We all naturally suffer from confirmation bias, but to repeat, I was in no manner surprised by what arrive back in 2016. To describe 'most HG's funds as coming from lies' is at best unhelpful, and I believe inaccurate - not least due to refunds given at the time.
All are welcome to their own memories and view, but regurgitating the (imho) false outrage from August 2016 is unhelpful, and not only for this game.
I really wasn't trying to rake up old coals, but I find the tone of your comments excessive and unhelpful. Sorry.
Viajero
Volunteer Moderator
I disagree it is a fake outrage. And I must repeat I was there too. It was and is indeed well deserved. I personally do not hold much stock in it and will try it again if VR makes an appearance.
But trying to rewrite history ignoring/minimising how HG got all the funds they got is quite disingenuous though and a great disservice for the customer base imho.
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I`m a fan of No Mans Sky and I`m very glad and happy about all that HG do right now but dont kid ourselves - Sean many time was describing a game that was never in works, and not in a way that you maybe will be able to do certain things, but as like those things were already in game.
Guy: "Can you do X in NMS?"
Sean: "YES you can".
When in reality this X was never possible.
Guy: "Can you do X in NMS?"
Sean: "YES you can".
When in reality this X was never possible.
Viajero
Volunteer Moderator
Precisely. No more, no less.
Be happy with the game and its updates if you feel like it. By all means. But please let’s not forget or rewrite history about how we got here.
Yeah the start wasn't very elegant to say the least but what good does it do to keep hanging in the past, they came back with a lot of updates with a lot of content in a short time and all updates were free just as the one coming this summer.
Fdev hyped about iceplanets, carriers and whatnot but suspended or reprioritized those shortly before the actuall update and there's no substantial update coming for at least another eighteen months.
All devs make mistakes or say things they shouldn't, in the end it comes down to what kind of game I get to play, Hello Games definitely rectified their initial mistake in my book, I can't say that about Fdev.
Fdev hyped about iceplanets, carriers and whatnot but suspended or reprioritized those shortly before the actuall update and there's no substantial update coming for at least another eighteen months.
All devs make mistakes or say things they shouldn't, in the end it comes down to what kind of game I get to play, Hello Games definitely rectified their initial mistake in my book, I can't say that about Fdev.
