Is this game still extremely sandbox or is there a goal now?

[Lucid]

Is this game still extremely sandbox or is there a goal now? I see there's more stuff to do now.

Plus is this more controller or mouse and keyboard. Don't have a controller.

I tend to do better with goals

[Daedrius]

Aside from the beginning quest with Artemis, Atlas Path and the Purge it's still very much sandbox. Mouse and keyboard work just fine. The flying is very arcade-like anyway. You also have the expiditions which are a nice change of pace now and then.

https://www.nomanssky.com/2021/11/expeditions-revisited/

[Lindy Bomber]

Still extremely sandbox. There are a lot more side activities, but the core game play is the same and will not change.

[Mr. Bufferlow]

I have always used M/KB from day one. Some players prefer the controller. I think it is what your like. Also some players always choose Third person view and I have always used first person. Things look too cartoony to me in third person.

The game is really designed for players who come up with their own goals. There are a few "missions" but nothing like you might expect with an RPG.

[Not that]

missions will guide you to some unlocks that can otherwise be obtained through sandbox play. It's pretty dope how you can take the game any way you want it IMO.

I'm playing for the first time in some years and enjoying the story changes along with the progression changes and all that jazz.

Only hard goal is achievements, really.

[Zep Tepi]

Expeditions have a goal when they come around. Not sure if you want to get in on the current one though because it has a higher than normal difficulty level. (I did the current one in 11 hours, without any accidental deaths. Others have not been so lucky.)

[Lucid]

Originally posted by Not that:

missions will guide you to some unlocks that can otherwise be obtained through sandbox play. It's pretty dope how you can take the game any way you want it IMO.

I'm playing for the first time in some years and enjoying the story changes along with the progression changes and all that jazz.

Only hard goal is achievements, really.

I mean, my fear is it will get boring with no goal and achievements.

[Wylie28]

Originally posted by Lucid:

Originally posted by Not that:

missions will guide you to some unlocks that can otherwise be obtained through sandbox play. It's pretty dope how you can take the game any way you want it IMO.

I'm playing for the first time in some years and enjoying the story changes along with the progression changes and all that jazz.

Only hard goal is achievements, really.

I mean, my fear is it will get boring with no goal and achievements.

Then you gotta stick to the mind numbing AAA space. Indie games are actual games. Not idle passtimes

[Lucid]

Originally posted by Wylie28:

Originally posted by Lucid:

I mean, my fear is it will get boring with no goal and achievements.

Then you gotta stick to the mind numbing AAA space. Indie games are actual games. Not idle passtimes

Oh nice gate keeping. Wouldn't want to defile the real games that indies are known to be. Goals and achievements are for AAA peasants.

[MarStrMind]

The greatest thing about NMS is that you mostly set your own goals, and set your own rules to achieve these goals.

For example, establish a base in all 256 galaxies. That's a tough goal if you can only use 62 parts per base (16,000 part total limit). It is doable, just rough. You could make this a goal.

You could also set your own goal to set foot on at least, say, 500 planets per galaxy. Bonus for discovering everything a planet has to offer. If you'd achieve that you will have visited 128,000 unique planets.

Collect the best S-Class ships (you can have a total of 9, so choose wisely) and max them out with equipment.

Unlock the entire tree of blueprints for things to build, and unlock all technological upgrades. Plus, build each part in that tree and equipment items at least once. Does not apply to consumables you always need, such as Launch Fuel or Warp Cells.

There's no limit for your creativity concerning your goals or challenges you may set for yourself. That is the spirit of a real sandbox. And that is why I like this game so much.

[BlueLightning]

Originally posted by Lucid:

Originally posted by Not that:

missions will guide you to some unlocks that can otherwise be obtained through sandbox play. It's pretty dope how you can take the game any way you want it IMO.

I'm playing for the first time in some years and enjoying the story changes along with the progression changes and all that jazz.

Only hard goal is achievements, really.

I mean, my fear is it will get boring with no goal and achievements.

NMS never make it's player feels the need of a goal, aside of it's expeditions that just... Well, grant you some items (that actually can be cheated on anyway). Aside of expeditions, the game is purely sandbox, with wide and shallow features in it. Well, probably can't say the same for exploring part as this game is good sightseeing relaxing game, but it doesn't offer anything much other than that.

Wide and shallow features also limit your sense of progress and achievement: Combat is a joke, it takes 15 minutes for an AI to kill another, and it takes 5 seconds for you to kill one. NPCs is a pea shooters which doesn't pose challenge unless you are using stock ship and defeat the purpose of combat in this game. There's no point upgrading the ship and min-maxing the build for combat, it's has no use. Trading is broken: you can dump 9999 items to a station and rebuy them back, and get a lot of profit that way. There's no more incentive to find better trade routes, or better money income anymore. Base building: There's no use for defense system, it's not like some people will raid your base and you have to protect it. Not to mention that, NMS's optimizations sucked, they never optimize their models, results in HIGH poly base tiles. This takes a toll on graphic cards, to the point that other games with higher graphic settings like Elite Dangerous at High, perform MUCH better than NMS on low. Here's an example and yet to be fixed:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/275850/discussions/0/2850173019345001990/#c2850173019345113792
Too... much... tris! And imagine that's only ONE tile of basebuilding. Okay, now imagine using around 40-60 for just a base, not counting other stuff you put, your vehicle, etc. I wished they done better, or slowly fix this, but it has been years and not even single progress been made public. So I think they will never will do this.

This game feels like minecraft in space, except that, multiplayer is buggy and very limited, but it has good scenery and graphics. This game has no goal, and only intended for you to chill around, and relax yourself in this game. If that wasn't your intention, just stay away from the game. However, if you come here to relax and chill after a day's work, then this game is for you.

[Nostromo]

Originally posted by Lucid:

I mean, my fear is it will get boring with no goal and achievements.

It may be a big, wide, sandbox, but it does have plenty of built-in achievements (if you are referring to the "badges" you can earn).

[BlueLightning]

Originally posted by Nostromo:

Originally posted by Lucid:

I mean, my fear is it will get boring with no goal and achievements.

It may be a big, wide, sandbox, but it does have plenty of built-in achievements (if you are referring to the "badges" you can earn).

Probably he meant sense of achievement, a sense of "progression" that player continously to make, for example, getting better ship, getting better base, etc. Correct me if i'm wrong, OP, but he probably meant that.

For ex:
Case on Elite Dangerous
Player sets a goal on owning FDL (Fer-De-Lance, the "best" medium-sized ship for combat purpose)
When the player gets the ship after a lot of money grinding with smaller ship, he felt he just got an achievement as he finally reached his goal. He sets the goal further to properly equip the ship, he grinds again to fully upgrade the ship. As he finishes again, he felt that he achieved something great. Etc.

[Nostromo]

That may be, but rather than guess, it seemed worthwhile to point that out... :)

[wkitty42]

Originally posted by Mr. Bufferlow:

I have always used M/KB from day one. Some players prefer the controller. I think it is what your like.

kinda yeah but some use controller due to physical limitations or problems... i can more easily sit back with my controller and play for hours and hours than i can sit leaning forward trying to reach my keyboard for extended periods of time... i won't even mention the pain in my left shoulder when trying to use the keyboard...

other folks can't hold a controller well enough to use it so they use kbd/mouse... some people's hands are too small or too large to hold some controllers well, too... so there are various factors that play into which method someone uses...

aside: for some there is also motion movement factors that come into play... i can always tell a mouse player because of the "snap or flick turns" being made as they look around... with a controller you have slower smoother turning which some can handle a lot better than the snap or flick turns...

[wkitty42]

Originally posted by Lucid:

I mean, my fear is it will get boring with no goal and achievements.

you can set your own goals... for example: smuggling without using the teleport, work/build/live on only hazardous planets, progress in only yellow star systems, etc...