Before I start this "Impressions" article, I want to make something perfectly, crystal, clear.
I find this game to be thoroughly entertaining. It's the kind of game I will play for what feels like 30 minutes, only to find out 2 hours have passed. This will not be everyone's impression, some will find it tedious and boring, but it is mine and I want it to be fully understood that I really enjoy this game. However, this article is about far more than if I "like" the game or not.
This article is about what No Man's Sky is NOT.
This game is not, at least in any conventional understanding, a "Universe". At very best it is a "Galaxy" and even then, it defies the conventional understanding of how one is structured. This is an important bit of information to note for anyone who is interested in Astronomy, or Astrophysics; and was hyped up for this game. It's even more important because Sean Murray himself specifically stated "This is a universe, with multiple galaxies", going so far as to blame it being listed as a "Galaxy" as a 'marketing mistake' on their website before being 'fixed'.
Our understanding of our Universe is admittedly small. We are incredibly ignorant to the exact makeup and nature of it. For instance, we cannot account for the vast majority of either energy or mass in the cosmos. Instead we give the 'missing bits' mysterious names like "Dark Energy" and "Dark Matter". That all being said, there is a great deal that we DO know about it, and while I won't bore you with an entire lecture on all that we know about the universe (we'd be here all day) , there are a number of things that need to be pointed out for comparison to this game.
Our home, the planet Terra (commonly referred to as 'Earth'), resides in what has proven to be a small and unremarkable system of terrestrial, gaseous, and ice planets orbiting a small and unremarkable single star named "Sol". (Hence the term 'Sol'ar System). Our system is located inside a cluster of star systems known as a Galaxy. (Ours is the Milky Way) and the center of our galaxy (and every other one we've looked at) sits a Super-massive Black Hole which all the star systems orbit around. In turn, Galaxies appear in Galactic clusters (In our case, a super-cluster named "Laniakea"). From there we move up to the classification of "Universe".
To summarize:
Planet
Star System
Galaxy
Galactic Cluster
Universe
Everyone following so far? Ok, good.
In addition to this basic structure there are 2 certain features that are incredibly common based on our observations of the universe:
1.) Gas Giants appear to be the most common type of planet.
2.) Binary systems (systems with 2 stars) are far more common than Single star ones.
There are also a number of interesting variances of structures out there, particularly related to star types. Of which, our 'sun' is only one. (A yellow dwarf, categorized as such because of it's color and size) Standard stars can be red, blue, yellow/orange, & green. There are also brown dwarfs, which aren't technically stars, because they do not generate nuclear fusion in their core. Then there are also the various dead star types; Neutron stars, pulsars, magnetars, white dwarfs, and the infamous black holes. Let's also not forget comets or rogue planets and stars.
To say the least, we have a varied and fascinating Universe. Nearly all of which, it seems, Hello Games throws the out the ****ing window.
Now, obviously there are a grand number of complications in creating the game-world that Hello Game's has presented us. What they HAVE created is a technological marvel from the user-end of things. The sense of scale and vastness of space on display is grand and honestly jaw-dropping from a game-play perspective. It's understandable that a great deal of compromises no doubt must have been made in order to bring us such a product. To be clear, I do not pretend to understand the complexities of the algorithms that procedural generate such a vast and incredible game-space.
As I will continually repeat though, this article is not a comment on the games design. It is a commentary on what Hello Games claims this game to be, what it actually is, and what it most certainly is not. So now that we know what it's claimed to be, let's look at what it IS so that we can understand what it is NOT.
No Man's Sky's galaxy (Not universe) is comprised of only single star systems (of the Red, Yellow, Blue, & Green varieties). These are populated only by terrestrial planets and moons that do not follow any orbital path around their unreachable stars. The star systems are randomly scattered in what appears to be a loose ball of a 'galaxy', with a shining bright light at the center representing the end-game goal. While 'normal' black holes are present to an extent, none of the other more interesting dead stars or cosmic curiosities are on display here... That's it.
(Regarding the center of the galaxy, I have thus avoided researching what resides there to avoid spoilers. However at this time I do not suspect it is a Super-massive Black Hole)
Now, some of the discrepancies between our understanding of what makes up the cosmos and what makes up No Man's Sky have been explained; and even make sense (sometimes). For instance, moons 'orbit' their planet far closer than physics would allow. In fact, all planets are drastically closer than would be allowed in Newtonian physics. This is because no one wants to ride the pulse engine for hours on end just to get to the next planet/moon. Sean Murray also stated that gas giants were opted against early in development because Hello Games felt they provided no valuable gameplay experience... One can assume this relates to the ice giant classification as well (i.e. Neptune & Uranus style planetary bodies)
Personally, I beg to differ, considering their incredible amount of moons present in our system (nearly all of which orbit the giants) represent some of the most active and varied geology in the solar system. To say NOTHING of the fact they also claim the highest chance of us discovering life on another world. Then there is the ring systems of these giants, Saturn's being a prime example. They would be a fantastic source of resources in the outer systems... something that would no doubt be a central mechanic of deep exploration on said moons. Regarding the giants themselves, make it unable to go into them. NASA's own probe only lasted an hour and a half on it's descent into Jupiter's atmosphere before complete annihilation... That's just my opinion though, and it's to say nothing of what it would add to the already complex algorithms that generate the game-world(s). My point with this paragraph is that it renders their reasoning of "no gameplay value" a little absurd by comparison.
All in all, what I'm getting at is a few short bullet points.
1.) This is not a "universe". It is a galaxy, and a very odd one at that.
2.) Sean Murray specifically stated it was a universe... which means he either lied, or has no idea what he's talking about.(Given the large amount of people online who can't even tell the difference between a solar system and galaxy, I'm betting it's the latter.)
3.) Even in galactic terms, this is a drastically watered down version of the cosmos. One where some of the most interesting, beautiful, and strange features are not present.
The reason I felt this article needed to be written is because of Hello Games approach to pre-release information. The little they provided was absurdly vague, and in some cases, outright false. All of which was compounded upon by the massive amount of hype that they refused to address... save for a small article from Sean Murray saying "It's not for everyone" on the day before release.
In closing, despite all of this... the game is fun. I really enjoy it, and I may even write an article on that once I get through the main-game.
'til then...
Game-on.
~SkyHighGam3r
