Why is this game so shallow?

[Pastor Whiskey]

I honestly felt like i was missing out not trying out this game for years. Recently i got the time and decided to try it, plus i will probably see the game in best state it ever was, right?

After spending over 90 hours playing NMS i came to the conclusion that game is very shallow. It lures you with the concept, you bite and learn there is no variety to the concept and no depth to it.

You get exactly ONE type of crashed freighter with same placement of cargo containers that each and every try to kill you with radiation once you open it.

You get ONE type of drop pod with exosuit upgrade.

You never feel in real danger, no planet is too dangerous for you. Some are annoying but that's about it. Bad weather? Dig a hole. Sentinels going too hard on you? Dig a hole. Honestly game would be way more fun without terrain manipulator. It would make more sense to delegate digging to exocraft like Minotaur.

Space battles? More like press S and hold left mouse button. The space battles situation is truly pathetic especially when compared to Elite Dangerous where unless you are an ace pilot every confrontation gets you on the edge of your seat and sweating. You FEEL every victory there. I personally don't feel a damn thing after sending another 10 pirate ships into oblivion in NMS. Heck even tearing a new one for pirate dreadnought gets mundane on the second encounter.

"Oh but you don't get it, it's a game about exploration"

Alright, strong argument. Lets explore! Oh but what is there to explore? There is just handful of variety to planets. They are all the same basically. There is so much life everywhere that finding dead planet gets me more excited than another inhabited one. Every planet is the same. Every planet has basic resources for player to not die. Why are there "dangerous flora" on planets without flora? Why are there oxygen plants? I can teleport to any place in the galaxy and find same basic resources.

Animals don't make any sense, there is no logic in their appearance considering the climate of the planet they inhabit. Every animal gets magically tamed with magic slop pellets.

So, once again, what is there to explore if every planet offers you the same experience? When you saw ~10 of different planet types you saw all of them that you ever visit.

"OH MY GOD LOOK A GIANT WORM LEAPING FROM THE GROUND OH ITS SO COOL!" Oh wait it's just a no-collision, unkillable decoration.

Space stations? Yeah, cool exteriors, ABSOLUTELY the same interior. Oh look an abandoned one! How cool and spooky. Oh wait it has all the basic necessities as inhabited station and a magic teleporter that makes concept of space exploration uninteresting and mundane.

This game does not challenge the player. This game does not offer any significant variety to any of the content it has. It's just same assets used over and over. Same buildings, same scenarios. Same brain numbing simple quests.

Why is hiring frigates for my fleet is such a chore? Why in the space age i have to fly directly to each of them to see what class they are and what their stats are? Just to drag on the gameplay time?

I am only this upset because over the years there was so much talk about this game, how ambitious were the developers, how much was promised. And i guess right now the game is at it's peak state, best it ever was and yet it's still very disappointing.

You can probably see all this game could offer in 30 hours. They were working on this game for over 8 years now, and it's nowhere near the grand experience that was promised.

[dreamrider]

If you have seen ALL this game has to offer in 30 hours of play...then you have NOT seen all that this game has to offer.

There are features of this game that you cannot even completely open, by design, until about a week after you first trigger them. And those are mostly NOT early game features.

I venture to say that you cannot discover all features and varieties of play in over 100 hours, even if those hours were RUTHLESSLY dedicated to finding and touching features, once.

[Shadow Strider]

Originally posted by Pastor Whiskey:

You can probably see all this game could offer in 30 hours. They were working on this game for over 8 years now, and it's nowhere near the grand experience that was promised.

Any yet it took you 90 hours to reach this conclusion... What where you doing for the other 60 hours?

Yes, the game lacks depth in many areas, but there is still near infinite variety in the landscapes and creatures you discover. Yes, many things will look similar, but not exactly the same.

If you're disappointed, that's ok, the game is not for everyone.
But for those of us who have spent 100s or 1000s of hours, the shallowness isn't an issue. It's the vibe that has caught us. The feeling you get while exploring a new planet, wondering what will be similar, and what will be different.
When I want a challenging gaming experience, I play something else (maybe Dark Souls or the like), but when I just want to chill and wander around some beautiful (or not) landscapes, NMS has my back.

[Pastor Whiskey]

Originally posted by Shadow Strider:

Originally posted by Pastor Whiskey:

You can probably see all this game could offer in 30 hours. They were working on this game for over 8 years now, and it's nowhere near the grand experience that was promised.

Any yet it took you 90 hours to reach this conclusion... What where you doing for the other 60 hours?

Yes, the game lacks depth in many areas, but there is still near infinite variety in the landscapes and creatures you discover. Yes, many things will look similar, but not exactly the same.

If you're disappointed, that's ok, the game is not for everyone.
But for those of us who have spent 100s or 1000s of hours, the shallowness isn't an issue. It's the vibe that has caught us. The feeling you get while exploring a new planet, wondering what will be similar, and what will be different.
When I want a challenging gaming experience, I play something else (maybe Dark Souls or the like), but when I just want to chill and wander around some beautiful (or not) landscapes, NMS has my back.

Most of the time i probably spent going around thinking oh that's neat, but is there any depth to this feature and then digging in and realizing there is nothing to "dig". Game has lots of crafting so you spend a lot of time hunting for resources. Worst thing that happened to me was hunting for quartzite for hours just to learn i won't be able to find it anywhere without story progression. That was infuriating honestly.

[gh0stwizard]

I suggest you play on permadeath with pvp on. This is space arcade and not space sim as ED. More than that, at release ED was not dangerous at all. They insanely increased mobs HP only in recent two years. But if talk about the taste, ED is not the same as very first Elite 1984. Period. Nobody since that time was able to create the real infinite space. ED as NMS and other dozens games are open worlds with dangeons like Skyrim (space station in ED is the separate location, any battlefield in ED is the separate location, etc).

[Cheeki Breeki]

Because its a stoner game. Not a stoner? Don't play it.

[zombygunner]

Because you have been playing on baby mode lol thats why. Why dont you try extreme survival if it so easy i did it so i bet you can too even though you wont. Its easy to yell for people to hear you but actions prove more than words and right now your yelling.

[zombygunner]

I looked at his achievements and nothing a new player couldnt handle imo. All of them are introductory and very easy to get. Looks like op never really tried.

[MycroftCanadaNS]

@OP, you are correct it is a shallow game. I've played for many hours which also includes from the first day of release of the game back in 2016 till now and although the game is full of content there is no real depth to the game.

Sure the planets can be very interesting to look at but all are the same.

The only way I can describe this is walking up to a table of the most delicious looking food from baked pies to barbecue spare ribs and it all tastes like chicken. Mind you I really enjoy chicken but I do have my limits (haa).

The game world or universe lacks a solid foundation to build upon which is why it feels so shallow.

To be honest I don't mind the game, and most important I do support the developer. My only hope is that Light No Fire will be different.

[Mr. Bufferlow]

At least for me, all games have a shelf life before I lose interest. 90 hours is a pretty good run IMO. I love Fallout 4 and playing Fallout London right now. It has a lot of depth, BUT- it becomes a load screen simulator after about 80 hours of play (current for London). You just start getting annoyed with waiting for the game to resume...especially when there are doors that just lead to more doors.

So all games have flaws, but NMS is very well crafted for a game built by 5 to 20 programmers. Procedural generation allowed them to build a huge game field that surpasses even what a triple A studio (with thousands of programmers and game designers) could do. It is mimicking that level of game, and it shows once you have 50 to 100 hours.

The basic game design, music, controls, environment, and drop dead beauty that can leave me struck in awe keeps me coming back. 5,000 hours, so must be doing something right.*

* Started at launch so getting to experience the evolution probably helped me get those kind of hours. Not sure if I played through for the first time today I would get those numbers.

[Mavin]

My guy spent a weeks worth of time playing a game... Spent only 40 dollars or less. Admits he had fun... but complains. Legit kind of want a scarlet letter situation for the entitled. Just a massive stamp to be added to their name, that goes every where, and everyone can know, expect complaints that make you want to shoot your own foot, so they have something real to think about. Like how they just made you insane.

[Felis_Exploria]

This game is only as shallow as you make it. That is both the gift and the curse of sandbox games.

[BrotherMurus]

Dangerous floras exist on dead planets are purely for balancing reason : to prevent the player from dying over and over again on a dead planet, with no hope of get enough materials and making a round trip back to starship and thus become stuck.

I played a small indie game called Star Explorers and Outer Wilds first before I play NMS, while the scale of the games are literally incomparable, but there is really one thing that I miss in Star Explorers and OW that i wish it could have been in NMS: Space is uncaring, in NMS fuel is essentially free, except you wrap / use pulse drive / launch, but Tritum is everywhere, and launch is a lump sump cost, if you failed to launch, you just stay on the planet to find resouce to craft a starship fuel, every single planet has the resources you need to go into space.

In short, you cannot die in space unless you get shot down by another starship,

in Star Explorers your fuel could get so low, there is chance of being totally stranded inside a star system, in that situation each landing/wrap becomes a gamble, because your suit slowly breaks on hazardous planets, and there is no guarantee that the planets holds the resource that you are looking for, pray to god that you have enough resources to repair your suit. so you may want to explore close to your mothership and used them as a gas station/vendor.

Planet scanning is also very different, In NMS, you have designations like "Torrid planet", "Life incompatible planet", "Terraforming Catastrophe"...etc and the resources it holds to give you an idea of the type of planet you are about to land.

In Star Explorers, you get infomation about the temperature, presence of liquid, day/night cycle, atmoshpere, and orbit size, the rest is up to you to decide whether that planet is worthy to land upon, there is more of a mystery element of not knowing what you could find, not knowing what resource the planet holds beforehand really forces you to explore. But one thing for sure is landing on a planet with extreme temperature/ swings from day/night cycle guarantees a costly trip.

You could also fly too close to suns /planets and get suck into a gravity well.

Still, I've put a 100hrs in NMS, and I have had a lot fun and I hope to return some day after some major update.

[Leper Messiah]

I got bored ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ with exploration in Elite Dangerous, NMS so much better in that respect IMO. OOOOh look a planet I CAN'T fecking land on.........

[E=d.u²]

I play on permadeath max difficulty with a set of personal rules, what greatly improves the challenge.

Most the time you live a calm life with everything under control, but if you drop the ball, bye bye 30h save.

[fyrelyfe]

It seems a that couple of replies and examples hit the nail right on the head. Like dropping a tank on a nail to drive it home, and some take offense to that.
Like it or not, agree or not, the game is very shallow/limited, and I have thousands of hours of playing over the years, so I think I have at least earned the right to be honest and say that.
Yes, the planets are almost literally carbon copies (thank god for planet types now, so there's some relief); the fauna and flora are always the same, as well as the buildings and ships. (HG:)"New?" You want something "New"? Ok, we'll change the palette, hope that works, and we'll ocasioinally add new content and things to do, so have a good day." And as for the look of the fauna and flora, especially being the (exact) same on every planet . . . . . well . . . not even getting into that, but just agreeing; most of them are absolutely ridiculous and not even suited, never mind look, like they could possibly have evolved from/into their environments. But at least we don't have elephants flying and fish on land (not quite). Though to be honest, a lot of the land creatures just glide across the terrain, if anyone hasn't noticed.
But there are things that keep me playing and coming back to NMS for more. The Expeditions, mainly, which breathe a little new life into the game. But some really take it away again (Relics? Really? Kudos for introducing something new into the game (Archeology), but not really something I would make an Ex for, too boring to drag out for two weeks or more. ("Relics", imho, should have been much more of an update kind of thing, like Fractal or Waypoint, Not a full Ex. Agree and like, or not and dislike, I don't care, It's true and I can admit it.) But these are the things that keep me coming back to NMS & pass the time, while waiting to see what the Devs/HG has brought/brings to the table now; glimpses of what comes next (with LNF, for example, which I believe/think they are bringing bits of it here to test before fully installing into LNF) and then, eventually, at some point SOON, hopefully, they will be releasing to us with LNF.
But don't be angry/defensive/upset or take it personally because someone else is honest with what they feel and experience with NMS. Like you said if it's for you, great, if not, that's ok also. If that's what you feel and think, great. Give it some time to get comfortable with and enjoy the ride, or don't and move on onto something else that gets your heart racing, if that's what you want. But whatever you choose, just enjoy & feel free to discuss, whatever your viewpoint. Learn something new with another's viewpoint and then like it or not. And then keep playing or find something else, if that's your choice.
Personally, I still am waiting to see if Worms become able to be scanned and huntable bosses or not, where you can have a dozen or more (30, 40?)players fight the Shai-hulud with absolutely rare armor and lootable items not in the game right now. Now THAT would definitely be Expedition-worthy to introduce!!!