How is the single player campaign these days?

[magnificent moose]

Content warning: general negativity and nagging about the game. I'm looking for a serious answer but if you want to give me a jester award without reading or whatever that's fine too.

Background: I preordered the console version of this game when it came out originally. I consider it to be one of the worst video game purchases I have ever made. I thought the game was literally broken beyond repair. I got the impression that the (arguably impressive) engine which can present a huge procedurally generated galaxy was the main focus of the development, and the actual gameplay was a mere afterthought slapped on top.

Everything you do in this game feels like a chore. You collect resources by drilling holes in rocks. Then your mining laser runs out of juice and you have to start picking space flowers. You use the space flowers to fill up a gauge which eventually lets you go back to drilling rocks again. The busywork is randomly interrupted by a flying robot, at which point a very clunky combat sequence breaks out. The combat is clearly designed for those who use a mouse to aim instead of a game controller. (It is really difficult to hit anything with the controller.) The combat didn't seem to have any gameplay purpose either; it was there to simply annoy the player it felt like, much like everything else including the extremely limited inventory space etc.

Another remarkable thing was that there was a waypoint system in place which highlighted points of interest for the player. This killed any joy of discovery, which is a really bad prospect for a game which is ostensibly about exploration and discovery. The planets are huge and full of nothing except premade very formulaic structures that are evenly distributed everywhere. The game HUD is patronizing and has a seemingly endless laundry list of chores for the player to complete, which I personally find really annoying.

I could complain about many things, but to cut this short I did not like almost anything about this game. There was a very brief moment I had some fun though. That was when I found a crashed spaceship which I was able to repair back to working condition. I took it to space and had a dogfight with some space pirates. I tried to sell the ship for space money but the game didn't let me do that for some artificial balancing reason I assume.

It feels like there could have been a good game in here. The basic game loop would have to be completely overhauled. The reason why I wrote this post is to ask maybe there has been some improvements in this area? I would certainly like to play a game where you can explore the universe, find interesting locations and have some adventure. Sean and the team has clearly taken it to themselves to improve the game beyond what anybody thought was reasonable. The game is on sale right now and the price is not bad. Would I get disappointed if I decided to give it another chance? Or should I stay clear? I'm not interested in multiplayer or visual improvements or anything of that sort. All I care about is the single player campaign as the title suggests.

[ItzaLaggin]

serious question here...what other games do you play that are similiar and thats better in your opinion and doesnt feel like a chore?

[The Basement Berean]

It sounds like your looking for the Game to provide you with everything, this is how most Games tend to be, Resident Evil 2 Remake for example does this, drops you in A limiting Scenario, with Story A, Destination Z & A selection of toys to execute walking forward & not dying with some puzzle solving, QTEs & some reflex testing.

NMS isn't really that way, it's A Mishmash of things, A big batch of Minigames in A cohesive environment, it HAS the things, but no one is really the proverbial lynchpin by which the Game succeeds.

I've found alot of people tend to end up making the Game theirs their own way, I personally enjoy it as A refuge from the mainstay style Gaming.

I don't like to tell people to shove off, but it sounds like you wouldn't really get much from this kind of Game short of A smaller attention span, A slightly lighter pocketbook & A dose of wasted time.

There are plenty of Games out there that WILL fit your bill, some are even Free, I've suggested it repeatedly & though I can't stand the games story, premise, characters & the whole Sick aspect of Cannibal Space Children possessing or possessed by Cyborg Ninja Suits bent on A Murder Spree because the Nice Lady told me to.

But Warframe might be right up your alley, it's pretty much everything NMS isn't, A Bizzaro version if I had to place it.

No harm no foul & Jester Awards should go to folks who REALLY can't state their case with any degree of tact or rationale thought & tend to use words like A Serial Killer uses Empathy, unoften & poorly.

[magnificent moose]

Originally posted by ItzaLaggin:

serious question here...what other games do you play that are similiar and thats better in your opinion and doesnt feel like a chore?

Minecraft, Valheim

[Idaho]

You don't play NMS.

It plays you.

[ItzaLaggin]

Originally posted by magnificent moose:

Originally posted by ItzaLaggin:

serious question here...what other games do you play that are similiar and thats better in your opinion and doesnt feel like a chore?

Minecraft, Valheim

interesting, not my kind of games , comes down to personal choice i guess and what makes a person happy spending time away from real life problems

[Chirico Cuvie]

To be honest, not much different other than expanded formula over the course of major updates.

[Shadow Strider]

honestly, if you didn't like the basic loop of the game before, you probably wont like it any more now...

The game has improved/expanded quite a bit since its release (I never would have purchased it otherwise), but the core of it remains the same.

I also think the use of the term "campaign" is a misnomer here... there is no campaign. It's a sandbox exploration game.
There are some story missions, but they act more as tutorials and lore building than anything else. I don't think I'm misrepresenting things when I say the story missions take a backseat for most players... Anyone who gets much mileage from NMS learns to make their own goals.

[The Vaudevillian]

You ask about the campaign, and say that's the only thing you care about, but then just vent about mechanics for paragraphs on end...

Which did you want answered?

Mechanics: The core gameplay loop remains mostly the same. You scrounge resources to get materials to explore worlds. You can pretty quickly get upgrades that significantly increase mining yields, or pump the credits for scanning flora and fauna to ridiculous amounts. Combat is still awkward at times, but it's easy to get overpowered there too - slap a paralysis mortar and the upgrade that makes all enemies take more damage while stunned and you can clear every Sentinel wave in minutes. You still have your scanner pointing out areas and items of interest near you. There are still specific waypoints in questlines, or from using charts to find specific POIs.
Honestly, by midgame, you don't really have to worry about the survival mechanics. hell, you can even do away with them entirely on the fly by in the options menu if you opt for custom difficulty. Ditto for combat, and other mechanics.

Campaign:
Main plotline is a bit fetchquesty, but the story is pretty good, involving the nature of reality, an AI broken by a subject it was simulating, loss and abandonment, rogue programs taking entire civilisations to a 'world of glass' for containment where the subjects are very much aware but still formless and unable to take action in the unlimited void...
It's basically the most Zen cosmic horror narrative ever.
But admittedly, a lot of this is the iceberg beneath the tip of what the game shows you. So much is found in terminals and logs or inferred from scant references you'll find in dialogue elsewhere. The FromSoft method of expanded narrative.

Ultimately, like most sandbox games, you'll have to find the aspects that bring you the most fun. Some players are prolific explorers - I have seen spots in the first galaxy where dozens of systems were all completely surveyed by a single player. Others build impressive mining colonies or fantastic outposts that stretch the limits of the base building system. Others are just here for new lore and expeditions...

[Ptah]

Since you have the game, just install it and play it yourself. Then you'll see if it suits you or not. The game has changed a lot since its release.

[Shadow Strider]

Originally posted by Ptah:

Since you have the game, just install it and play it yourself. Then you'll see if it suits you or not. The game has changed a lot since its release.

They may have gotten a refund... they don't currently own it on Steam anyway... (there's no mouse icon beside their name)

[maestro]

Originally posted by magnificent moose:

Content warning: general negativity and nagging about the game. I'm looking for a serious answer but if you want to give me a jester award without reading or whatever that's fine too.

I wouldn't complain about free steam points, lol.

Background: I preordered the console version of this game when it came out originally. I consider it to be one of the worst video game purchases I have ever made. I thought the game was literally broken beyond repair. I got the impression that the (arguably impressive) engine which can present a huge procedurally generated galaxy was the main focus of the development, and the actual gameplay was a mere afterthought slapped on top.

I had similar thoughts when I first started the game myself waaaaaay back years ago. I didn't buy it on launch, though I did buy it... I think it was right after Beyond, like right after base-building was added.

I came back to it awhile later, not sure when, and it was much better and I've been hooked ever since, coming back to it anytime a major update comes out.

Everything you do in this game feels like a chore. You collect resources by drilling holes in rocks. Then your mining laser runs out of juice and you have to start picking space flowers. You use the space flowers to fill up a gauge which eventually lets you go back to drilling rocks again. The busywork is randomly interrupted by a flying robot, at which point a very clunky combat sequence breaks out. The combat is clearly designed for those who use a mouse to aim instead of a game controller. (It is really difficult to hit anything with the controller.) The combat didn't seem to have any gameplay purpose either; it was there to simply annoy the player it felt like, much like everything else including the extremely limited inventory space etc.

A lot of these mechanics were changed. Mining Laser is recharged with Carbon which can be mined from any plant life or condensed carbon crystals you see, you can stockpile this ahead of time so you can recharge your mining laser when it runs low, there's still digging, but the digging tool is recharged by silicate powder (aka, dirt), etc. It's a way better system nowadays.

Another remarkable thing was that there was a waypoint system in place which highlighted points of interest for the player. This killed any joy of discovery, which is a really bad prospect for a game which is ostensibly about exploration and discovery. The planets are huge and full of nothing except premade very formulaic structures that are evenly distributed everywhere. The game HUD is patronizing and has a seemingly endless laundry list of chores for the player to complete, which I personally find really annoying.

Your analysis visor nowadays will point out some (not all!) Points of Interest (POIs) that are within 500u of your current location. 500u is basically "barely within visible range" though it will pick up stuff you can't see because of terrain, trees, etc blocking your view.

You still gotta explore to find stuff. Your starship, exocraft, etc can help you find what you're looking for as well.

I could complain about many things, but to cut this short I did not like almost anything about this game. There was a very brief moment I had some fun though. That was when I found a crashed spaceship which I was able to repair back to working condition. I took it to space and had a dogfight with some space pirates. I tried to sell the ship for space money but the game didn't let me do that for some artificial balancing reason I assume.

You can sell (or, well, scrap) ships for money now. Or fix them for your own use and sell them later, either/or.

It feels like there could have been a good game in here. The basic game loop would have to be completely overhauled. The reason why I wrote this post is to ask maybe there has been some improvements in this area?

I would highly suggest giving it a try.

I would certainly like to play a game where you can explore the universe, find interesting locations and have some adventure. Sean and the team has clearly taken it to themselves to improve the game beyond what anybody thought was reasonable. The game is on sale right now and the price is not bad. Would I get disappointed if I decided to give it another chance? Or should I stay clear? I'm not interested in multiplayer or visual improvements or anything of that sort. All I care about is the single player campaign as the title suggests.

The only thing I would like to mention here, is "campaign".

This is a sandbox game. The game dumps you in a universe, there is a long questline for you to do that unlocks several things and provides lore, but the main focus of the game is you existing in a universe and being free to do whatever you want.

You can go fishing, you can build a base, you can take control of a settlement, you can build a frigate fleet.

Now, some of these activities seem a bit superficial but in time, they add to each bit-by-bit and make improvements, but at the end of the day they ARE just a small team, and it's amazing what they've been able to make.

I think, maybe since the core game and its progression is way better, you may (or may not depending on picky you are) be able to forgive the game's other flaws, any flaws that you perceive that remain.

And since it's on sale, I say give it a try. What else would you use that money for, something you could do without? Once you buy it on Steam, it's yours indefinitely and you can always come back and check when the next major update comes out.

[magnificent moose]

Originally posted by maestro:

The only thing I would like to mention here, is "campaign".

This is a sandbox game. The game dumps you in a universe, there is a long questline for you to do that unlocks several things and provides lore, but the main focus of the game is you existing in a universe and being free to do whatever you want.

You can go fishing, you can build a base, you can take control of a settlement, you can build a frigate fleet.

This actually sounds good. Freedom is a big part of the appeal for me. I do enjoy sandbox games and games without a narrative or story, in fact I prefer it by a lot if there is not a rigidly scripted plot in the game.

I'm still thinking what exactly threw me off about NMS so badly. Incentive structure is one of those things I'm sure. In e.g. Valheim you also do "chores", but the incentive structure is better crafted it feels like. (At least in the early game.) For example you fall 100 trees in that game because you want to build a badass viking settlement and you need a lot of timber to do that. You don't do it because the game HUD tells you to or you need to fill up some arbitrary gauge. It makes more sense immersion-wise too. In many of these crafting games interesting and surprising things can happen while you're acquiring resources. I think this was not the case with the original NMS release. They were unable to shake off the feeling that you're required to grind for very little reason. I suppose the important difference is does it feel like its your own choice to do the grind, or does the game force you to.

From these responses it sounds like they have made some quality of life improvements and added depth which is nice, but I'm not quite sure if that's enough. Anyways thanks everyone who took the time to respond, I appreciate it!

For those who wondered I had this game for the PS4. I sold the console so I don't have it anymore. I miss Bloodborne but otherwise it was the right thing to do :)

[Foxglovez]

LOL Campaign? WTF language is that? Gotta quit watchin screamin' streamers.

My feeling after years of reading similar threads on this forum (and these are more frequent than you might suspect) is if you are still carrying around a grudge about the launch of this game and can't put that aside, that basically the game is poisoned for you. Anger and hate are a mighty difficult thing to get past, no matter how foolish the reason. A company spends 9 years making up and polishing a game but some folks can and will never get past that launch. Reading your post - your anger today is as fresh as if it happened yesterday. Scary.

If you can do something about your attitude then it might be worth trying again except you really aren't looking for a sandbox game that basically is composed of doing all the things you list that don't interest you and you don't find enjoyable - so frankly you should just give it a pass. There are thousands of games out there that won't be clouded by prejudice, never mind that they might have a game loop you would appreciate.

Sorry - no jester for you.
Valheim, great game but totally different vibe. Have a few thousand hours in it too but it scratches a different itch. And you get to kick greylings.
Travel safe.

[magnificent moose]

Originally posted by Foxglovez:

Reading your post - your anger today is as fresh as if it happened yesterday.

Bruh... I don't read these forums or even particularly follow the drama that surrounded this game. Maybe you have your reasons to why you project these feelings to other people. But I can assure you this is very much misplaced. I have nothing but respect for Hello Games, in fact that's one reason I was considering giving this game another chance. I would not mind supporting a developer who wants to set things straight and is not afraid to put in the hard work to do so.

The only thing is that my impression was that the improvements are in areas I don't care about that much. So I wanted to ask, that is all.

[Foxglovez]

Answer is still the same. You specifically stated your opinion of the game, as fresh today as it was 9 yrs ago. Give it a pass unless you can get over that - and learn to like the list of things you specifically stated you hate - because they are the core of the game, Bruh...