Everything you need to know about No Man’s Sky
No Man’s Sky is an upcoming brand new IP from Joe Danger developer Hello Games. It’s a hugely open world game that claims to offer every player an entirely different experience.
The idea is that you can go anywhere, explore any planet and star and discover things that no-one else ever seen before. Call yourself a spaceman version of Captain Christopher Columbus if you will.
Originally announced at VGX 2013 with a trailer, the game was expanded upon at E3 2014 during the Sony presentation, much to the rapture of the crowd. In fact, we didn’t see many other games get so much applause.
Currently the rather intriguing game is set to land on the PS4 only, with a PC version potentially in the works too.
We’re collating all the No Man’s Sky news, rumours and gameplay information in one place until we get some concrete information as to when the game will be released.
No Man’s Sky Release Date – When is it coming out?
There’s currently no information on a No Man’s Sky release date, not even a vague year window. It’s expected that the game will arrive for PS4 in 2015, but that hasn’t been confirmed by developer Hello Games.
The game is only currently set for a PS4 launch, but a PC version hasn’t been ruled out yet.
“Basically we’re doing a console debut on PS4. That’s all we’re saying right now. But that leaves open a PC version, which we really want to do”, said Hello Games founder Sean Murray.
So for now, we’ll just have to sit and wait for Sony or Hello Games to provide a more concrete launch window for the interplanetary explorer.
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No Man’s Sky News
Bots used to explore the vast universe
Hello Games founder Sean Murray has revealed the developer is using bots to explore the No Man’s Sky universe. The universe is just so huge that automated bots have been sent out to explore the distant planets, take screenshots of them and then return to base.
"We are attempting to do things that haven’t been done before," said Murray to MIT Technology Review. "No game has made it possible to fly down to a planet, and for it to be planet-sized, and feature life, ecology, lakes, caves, waterfalls and canyons, then seamlessly fly up through the stratosphere and take to space again. It’s a tremendous challenge."
Just to give you a glimpse of the sheer size of the No Man’s Sky, "if you were to visit one virtual planet every second then our own sun will have died before you’d have seen them all."
Yeah, okay. That’s just showing off.
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No Man’s Sky Gameplay
The idea behind the No Man’s Sky is an exploration game without limits. If you see a planet you like the look of, you can just go and land on it, explore and more.
Hello Games says that "every star in the sky in a sun that you can visit", which gives you an idea of the scale of this game.
First and foremost a single-player game, you are alone and vulnerable in space and on each planet and you’ll need to be wary of threats. There will be potential dangers lurking in deep space, thick forests, deserts or dark oceans.
The game will not only revolve around exploration and survival, but trading too. You can collect precious materials and exchange them for ship upgrades or better suits or equipment.
Originally, Hello Games stated that "you will never see another player", but a recent interview suggests otherwise.
Apparently, to solve potential issues with space loneliness, you’ll all start in the same galaxy on your own planet, with a shared goal of reaching the centre of said galaxy.
Later on, you’ll be able to meet up with players, trade and battle or engage in other interactions.
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No Man’s Sky Universe
If you’re thinking that No Man’s Sky is a video game unlike any other, then you’re pretty much right. Although you can draw a few parallels with games like Minecraft, No Man’s Sky claims to offer each player a totally unique experience.
That’s thanks to the 10 man development team making sure each rock, tree, creature, flower and other planet contents are "procedurally generated". Apparently there are tens of millions of planets in the No Man’s Sky universe, all of which are unique.
"We talked about the feeling of landing on a planet and effectively being the first person to discover it, not knowing what was out there," said game creator Sean Murray. "In this era in which footage of every game is recorded and uploaded to YouTube, we wanted a game where, even if you watched every video, it still wouldn’t be spoiled for you."
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Rather than being hand drawn, each planet in No Man’s Sky is created by an algorithm that randomly generates the contents of that planet. Each one is subject to the laws of its solar system and can be vulnerable to erosion and other naturally occurring phenomenon.
The quality of the light on each planet will also be affected on what is contained within its universe, such as a yellow sun, red dwarf or red giant for example.
“[The algorithm has] simple rules, but combined they produce something that seems natural, recognisable to our eyes. We have come from a place where everything was random and messy to something which is procedural and emergent, but still pleasingly chaotic in the mathematical sense. Things happen with cause and effect, but they are still unpredictable to us.”
No Man’s Sky Trailers
There's only been three No Man's Sky trailers so far, but they're all pretty great. Take a look, go on. You know you want to.
Original VGX 2013 trailer:
A brief exploration of the game’s infinite worlds:
The latest E3 2014 trailer that was met with such great aplomb:
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