Online game "No Man's Sky"

Imagine a game about space, where trillions of unique planets orbit around you. You can take a starship and visit any of them, and on the surface you can mine minerals, build a base, study flora and fauna, or explore the mysteries of an ancient civilization. If you want, take your friends with you on an adventure, and if you don't want to, you can also find something to do alone. But to give each of the worlds at least a second, a person will not have enough even a thousand lives, so no one is destined to fly around the entire virtual universe. Agree, such a bold concept excites the imagination of any science fiction fan, but it seems too unusual for a game. Nevertheless, in 2013, when Hello Games studio presented No Man's Sky for the first time, many people took the developers at their word.

The story of Hello Games studio began in 2008, when several gentlemen, having gained experience in corporations like Electronic Arts, decided to found an independent company. According to the leader of the young team, Sean Murray, in his previous job he only did what he did to create endless sequels, and his soul in the meantime demanded freedom of creativity. Therefore, together with his comrades Grant Duncan, Ryan Doyle and David Rome, he took on the realization of fundamentally new, no similar projects. The debut was the platformer Joe Danger, where a brave motorcyclist rides through levels full of obstacles. Here it was important to find a balance between stunts and collecting bonuses, and the enemies, although they interfered, if desired, allowed to ignore at all.

Critics received the first Hello Games game favorably - now it is available on all platforms, including smartphones. But the public was much more interested in the atmosphere reigning within the development team. They were publicly teasing each other, constantly joking in chats with fans - it seemed as if they were friends gathered in a pub, not game designers in the office. Needless to say, with such an approach there were no obstacles for the realization of crazy ideas. It's no coincidence that this company won the Develop Awards and was recognized for innovation by The Guardian in 2010. Back then, no one knew how far Murray and company would go. But they had something big in mind - to create a space simulator based on procedural generation that could be played endlessly.

Now, in the age of neural networks, such ideas don't seem outlandish, but back then the technology was groundbreaking. The main principle of No Man's Sky is that each world exists in the form of a mathematical equation, and only when the hero gets into it, the planet is depicted as it should be. Then the starship leaves the system - and again there is emptiness. It seems nothing complicated, but the generation here is procedural, not random, that is, you can return to any of the visited planets, and it will take the same appearance as before, including landscapes, animals and plants. In addition, the algorithm takes on the role of "artist": it monitors the diversity and logic of color combinations, life forms, physical and chemical conditions to make all systems not only unique, but also free from outright absurdity.

The developers decided not to stop there and promised to add a story campaign, unprecedented graphical beauty and multiplayer to the game, so that gamers would travel through space together with their friends. For more than three years Hello Games had been working, and the public was teased with videos of purple skies over green cliffs, flying past gas giants and outlandish creatures, as if escaped from "Jurassic Park". What was people's surprise when, in the summer of 2016, they suddenly learned that the ads were far from the truth. Instead of cute animals on colorful planets - endlessly dull landscapes, where waddling freaks who want to kill out of pity. Instead of beautiful graphics - bugs and critical errors. Not to mention that there was no multiplayer in No Man's Sky at the moment of release.

The game overnight broke the record of popularity and slid to the bottom under the weight of negative reviews. It turned from a space simulator into a money-back simulator, and its developers were sued. In parallel, a joker hacked the official Hello Games social network account and wrote that No Man's Sky was a mistake. And Sean Murray in this situation did not think of anything better than to give an interview, where he explained with a wide smile on his face that, yes, there was a mistake - and gamers will have to wait for the promised indefinitely long time. Subsequently, the frame from this video became a meme, with phrases like "One Man's Lie" being added to it. It's hard to imagine a company that could withstand such a blow to its reputation.

But it turned out that it was easier for a small independent studio to cope with problems than a large corporation. Sean Murray surprised the world twice. The first time - when he laughingly admitted to deception and almost put a cross on his life's work. And the second time - when he fought off the advertising commission in court and corrected all the mistakes. The developers improved their creation with enviable stubbornness - added more plots, quests on planets, robot partners, starships, battles with boarding, crafting and construction and, finally, made the long-awaited multiplayer. And version 5.0 got a full-fledged water world - with simulation of sea inhabitants and weather.

Let's start with a piece of advice: it's better to install the game on an SSD drive, so that the downloads don't drive you crazy. Even though NMS was released a few years ago, it will make your outdated PC puff and hum while trying to calculate the virtual universe. Next, you get a choice of mode. You can take the path of least resistance and click on "Standard" - it is actually present in No Man's Sky from the very release. But if you don't want to search for and count resources, which are never enough, it makes sense to ease the task in the "Relaxed" format, go to "Creative" (in it you don't need to get anything at all) or set your own settings - so that enemies, for example, hurt, but in other aspects there were indulgences. Meanwhile, hardcore fans will definitely choose Survival.

At the very beginning of the adventure, the game lands the hero on the surface of a random planet in an uncharted corner of the galaxy. It can be a cozy world where nothing is trying to kill you, there are plenty of resources around, and life forms are friendly. Or it could be a hellish scorcher, scorching you with lava flows and pouring acid rain on top. Or an icy desert with blizzards on its surface, drastically reducing health, mobility and field of vision. In addition to these troubles, there are robot guards flying around, opening fire at the first attempt to extract something useful from plants or animals. In short, you can't guess what kind of surprise fate will bring. On the other hand, if circumstances are clearly not in your favor, nothing prevents you from starting over.

The only thing that protects a space explorer from death is what is at hand. The cutter, which we later upgrade to a landscape converter, allows you to stab ore and extract useful elements from it or simply fight off attackers. There is also a spacesuit that gives oxygen in a hostile atmosphere and protects from all harmful influences. However, the more aggressive the environment, the more often you have to refuel the life support system, and this adds to the running around in search of suitable fuel. It is easier to find it with a scanner - the gadget will highlight the places where there is more oxygen, copper, iron, nickel or whatever else you need. A jetpack helps you jump high and not break your legs when falling, and you can fly anywhere on the ship - from continent to continent, to a neighboring planet, or to a distant star.

But here's the catch: the starship is broken, so it needs to be repaired. At this point, the game teaches the newcomer how to get resources, turn them into something (like a sheet of plating) and fix the problem. Along the way, we learn that there are artifacts of the Geek civilization, the first intelligent race to populate the entire galaxy, left on the planet. There's also a portal on each world. These ancient devices move you from planet to planet without any flights, but only from point A to point B - there is no choice. In addition, here and there are smoking wrecks of satellites, beacons, containers with supplies - and everywhere you can get if not material values, then at least information. The inquisitive player learns all this while fixing the ship. And even the fact that wild animals can be rewarded with pieces of food.

And further everything according to the precepts of the classic of science fiction Robert Heinlein: "I have a spacesuit - ready to travel". Engines to start - and the first takeoff from an alien planet. First the ship breaks through the clouds, then soars into orbit, from which you can see the neighboring celestial bodies, moons, asteroids, stars, stations. Every object in the space gloom can be reached, if there is enough fuel. Only it is worth considering the activity of pirates under the control of artificial intelligence - barely seeing the hero, they are sure to attack him. Before entering the battle, it's better to master transportation management. There seems to be nothing complicated in it - three types of acceleration, buttons A and D are responsible for turning around the axis of motion, and the mouse sets the direction. But the matter is complicated by inertia, so it's worth getting used to it.

No Man's Sky doesn't pull you by the hand. You are free to pave the way, moving from one signal source to another. Or you can take on one of several quest chains, or even go through the main plot. If you don't want to unravel the scripted mess, just explore. All planets are different, no two are alike. Having found a nice world, you can stake it for yourself and build a base there. This matter will not require any special efforts - just deploy the computer and continue to collect materials to build walls, make windows and doors, arrange furniture and special equipment. Day is replaced by night, alien ships fly over the horizon, meteors or hurricanes pass by, and bizarre creatures walk by your possessions.

This is the very case when the main thing is not to win, but to participate. There is nothing to think about going around the entire universe or getting ownership of all the planets. But wanderings give mixed feelings of the first discovery and danger, as in Strugatsky's book "Inhabited Island" and other science fiction. The music complements the impressions - it balances on the edge of alternative rock and symphony, and also automatically adjusts to what is happening on the screen.

It's hard to believe, but with complete freedom of navigation No Man's Sky has quite clear storylines, information about which you can get from terminals, dialogues with NPCs, studying the ruins of extraterrestrial civilizations and archives of crashed ships. By the way, Dave Gibbons (author of the comics "Guardians" and the screenwriter of the movie "Kingsman: The Secret Service") and James Swallow, known for the game Deus Ex: Human Revolution, took part in the work on the script. So virtual space has a powerful backstory, and at the same time several campaigns - according to the number of DLC that came out in different years. It all started on Earth in the modern era, when famous businessmen founded the Atlas Foundation, a company engaged in the study of AI, digitization of the mind and simulation of reality.

Over time, the artificial intelligence "Atlas", created by this company, not only allowed people to get outside the solar system, but also began to model its own universe, in which, in fact, the characters of No Man's Sky. During the whole evolution of the supercomputer several versions of the Matrix have changed, echoes of which can still be found if you carefully explore the space. The first dominant race here were the Geeks, aka the Primordials, who founded their own empire, the Dominion. We find its ruins on various planets. Along with the brute force of the Geeks, mechanical Corvaxes and Aerons began to assert their power - the latter settled almost all worlds and became guards, attacking any troublemaker. They act as police, so that gamers are not too keen on destroying all living things.

The confrontation between living organisms and machines resulted in a series of wars on a galactic scale, as a result of which Korvaks managed to rewrite the DNA of the Geeks to make them more peaceful and malleable. Thus came the final Dominion, and its former hegemons switched to the study of technology, diplomacy and trade - in the game, the primogenitors are engaged in the sale of resources, ships and various devices on the stations. Instead of a military empire, the Alliance has established itself in the universe, so your hero's adventure takes place in the era of prosperity, when no one fights with anyone. However, the plot will still make you realize that not everything is so smooth - and small skirmishes still prevent the Alliance from living peacefully. And when the main story comes to an end, you can take on additional stories - NPCs known as wanderers are invited to take part in them.

Wanderers first appeared in the Atlas Rising addon, and then their number grew - along with the release of add-ons. Each offers players to pass a chain of missions. In the story from Artemis, for example, we have to decide the fate of this wanderer - whether to upload her consciousness to the Corvax servers or to release her soul and let her die. From Apollo we learn how the guards are connected to the portals and solve the riddle of the ancient Monolith, corvax-cultist Nada will help with the extraction of booty from the Anomaly, and a geek named Polo for the fulfillment of quests will provide the hero with a new ship and exocostume. And the very study of Anomaly, a giant space station that exists outside of time and space, will fascinate fans of the genre.

If you pass No Man's Sky not in creative mode, you will definitely know what resource hunger is. Because there are a lot of resources in the game, more than a hundred varieties, but there are always not enough of them - you have to spend a lot of time searching for and extracting them. The easiest way to collect substances is to destroy rocks, plants and everything else with a multitool (this is the name of the very tool you are given at the start). Also on the surface of any planet you can install an automatic collector to put the routine on the shoulders of the machine. And in some cases, you don't need to destroy anything. If you need fecal crystals, for example, you can get them after feeding some animals or from grown rotten flowers. Anyway, resources are an important part of the game, so it's worth getting to know them better.

All elements in the game's universe can be categorized into four types based on their application:

• Building materials, such as ferrite and cobalt. These substances come in handy when you need to build or repair something.
• Fuels like oxygen and dihydrogen are needed to fuel various systems, from spacesuits to starships.
• Mixed-purpose resources like carbon are used for both building and recharging equipment.
• Values. These substances do not have any special functions, but they can be sold profitably at the nearest station. For example, if you shoot an asteroid in space and catch some gold bars, you will have a good commodity to trade.

Materials come in different rarities: if it is easy to find ordinary hydrogen, you will have to try harder to find its isotope tritium. And without this substance there will be nothing to fuel the pulse engine! But it is not enough to extract raw materials from a laser-destroyed stone or flower, it still needs to be processed to obtain the desired element. And for this you need equipment like a portable purifier - it will quickly turn ferrite dust into pure ferrite, and after a second run will give magnetized metal. As a result, a brave cosmonaut who decided to build a base is forced to carry a bunch of different crystals, minerals, powders - from the abundance of inscriptions in the inventory, the eyes go wild. It's good that in each drawing there is a hint, what is needed for assembly.

The longer you play and the more archives you open, the richer your arsenal of blueprints, allowing you to build anything from a floor lamp and a rug to a robot helper and an all-terrain vehicle. If you decide to develop your base, you need to hire a builder at one of the stations to give you tasks and replenish your set of recipes. The same character, only a technician, will help with the development of the equipment park. But you should keep in mind that not every place is suitable for colonization. Still, it is better to settle on a beautiful and friendly planet, where there are few predatory creatures, climatic extreme and aggressive chemistry. Ideally, it would be good to have rare resource deposits nearby.

Of course, we should not forget about automatic guards. If you deploy activities near their swarm, they will certainly react to it and will constantly call for help. Without shooting, the matter will not do without, and this will destroy the dreams of robinsonade on an exotic planet with a view of lilac sunsets. And while we're on the subject of battles, it's time to discuss pumping. Since No Man's Sky is not an MMORPG, it doesn't have the usual progression with classes and levels. Nevertheless, there is still a progression, because the gamer starts with empty pockets and a smoking wreck, and then gets a lot of everything - from gold and credits (that's how the virtual currency is called here) to a ship that can kill any pirate and carry an industrial amount of cargo at once. The only question is whether to improve the starship by adding cells to the hold, or to get a new one.

It is important to note that there is no paid content in the game. You can't buy a blaster with enhanced power or a spacesuit with bonus armor. You can't order any "Starter Pack" with resource crates either. All upgrades, blueprints and materials must be obtained during missions, by your own efforts, and in no other way. You can't put most of the routine processes on automatic for any currency in the world either. In 2022, it got to the point where NMS fans created a special cryptocurrency that allows you to pay for base designs and interior designs, as well as help with installing modifications. In short, you pay off the cost of No Man's Sky only once - by purchasing it in Steam or any other store. And then you get all DLC, their scenarios, characters and items at once.

Now imagine that everything described above can be done together with friends. In 2016, Sean Murray seemed like a rascal who lied out of his ass and risked turning the lack of promised multiplayer into a joke. But since then, the developers at Hello Games have changed a lot of things - and added the long-awaited online. To invite a person to the party, you just need to find him in the lobby and select - then you will appear together on the same planet. Otherwise, both of you have to go through the end of the story campaign and cross paths in Anomaly, where players who are looking for partners gather. As it is, the universe is full of heroes under the control of other gamers. If you load a save in multiplayer mode, all of them will be marked on the galactic map.

You can fight or be friends with people - just like in any other online game with PvP. But you should take into account that up to 32 heroes can be in one system at the same time. This is if you play on PC - on consoles and even less. In addition, since 2021 in No Man's Sky available expeditions - purely multiplayer mode, which can not pass alone. Its essence is that in a certain point of space starts an event. To take part in it, you just need to fly to this point and meet other travelers who are ready to pass the test. And then everyone moves from one stage to another with increasing complexity of tasks. Of course, after reaching the final stage, the squad members are rewarded with unique blueprints, upgrades and resources.

You can play No Man's Sky endlessly - and still you won't have a lifetime to explore even a hundredth of the cosmos. There's no key goal here, like destroying or saving galaxies. But there is an opportunity to make your own way in the universe, staying in any of the worlds for as long as you like and settling on planets to your liking. For some people, such nuances will be an advantage, and for others - a disadvantage. If you like calm gameplay without the race for great victories and digital jackpot, you will definitely like the work of Hello Games studio. The rest of us should take a closer look and check out the price, if it's just not your format.

Zarium. August 2024