I don't think it's that either. I think the people who made this are fundamentally coders and have very little idea about gameplay at all.
At the moment they're discovering what works. I wouldn't expect to see a decent game there until at least three years away, given the current wait -- but when it arrives it could be spectacular.
I'm actually quite a fan of this title BTW, in case this post comes across negative, I just don't believe the developers have any concrete goals as such. They're just adding to the sandbox to see what emerges.
Currently I think they're gone a bit too far in one direction. The game seems overpopulated, given the type of game it is as the amount of craft and aliens is at odds with the aesthetic and story.
I don't believe the developers have any respect for players time though, simply because they are in this for the long hall. I've had a great deal of fun just dipping in and out of this title, seeing where it's headed etc.
I agree that they're coders above all else and I do think it comes across in some of their choices. I can't count the amount of times I've been frustrated at seeing a new asset overused. There needs to be someone at the studio who understands what makes exploration interesting and take the difficult decisions that go along with it.
Take the new biomes for instance. We have bubbles, electronic trees, jacks, spinning tops and monolith like spires. We've also got new planets that fully utilise the increase in size and the use of filters to give them an alien feel, the reason I believe they've removed the use of filters during gameplay. The problem is, when you come across a planet with these on them, they're everywhere. Once you've seen it, you seen all of it. They need to REALLY embrace the concept of 'rare'.
Let's take those electronic trees for instance. We now have huge caves, something I'm happy with, especially because they're cut down on junk and removed the santa's grotto effects of lighting. BUT, these are unique environments just waiting to be populated with rare content.
Imagine you've never come across any of the above environments. Imagine that they're rare enough that not many other people have either. You decide to investigate a cave on a planet covered with giant underwater props that tower above you, moving in the wind as they would in the ocean. As you get deeper into the cave system, you hear an electronic humming, a sound you have never heard before. Inspired by the new sound, you delve deeper. There, in a huge cavern, you see a little copse of these electronic trees. They light the environment and shimmer as they hum. On farming the new tree you discover a incredibly rare material worth millions but before you can mine them you have to deal with the NEW and strange creatures protecting them (those now wasted near derelict buildings).
What I've just described is something that would light the internet up and have everyone exploring even more for other potential rarities. There are so many ways they could add little immersive moments like this but for some reason they're scared of making something rare and don't seem to consider what makes exploration interesting or even WHY we explore. We've got huge props on land like the witches hat with a thick brim but once again, when you see them they're everywhere. Why not just have one or two and the occasional planet to make them objects of interest instead of yet another prop. How about they put a door in the side of it? How about if you entered that door you are confronted with a complex maze? How about if, on finding your way through that maze, you come across a sacred stone and on answering the question correctly you are awarded something of great worth. A rare tech or material.
Little and rare moments like this would create mystery and unique stories for people to tell. Instead of going to reddit and seeing yet another post about 'found this (insert photo)' and finding it's yet again something you've seen a million times, it's something you have never seen before. There are so many props they've thrown away like this it drives me insane. They could still have planets covered in these props but make them so rare only a handful of people would ever see them. Then those who have seen them can post the portal co-ordinates up and BANG, you have a tourist attraction.
It's so easy to see how NMS could be changed for the better but currently the player base thinks: 'easier, faster, cheaper, more common' and Hello Games seem to be catering to it. I've mentioned this many times and always get the same answer which is 'but people don't want them to be rare. They want to see them'. What we don't know exists wouldn't impact anyone's enjoyment of the game. These people can only look at it as something 'removed' rather than something 'rare' because they've already seen them. This is the constant frustration I feel with Hello Games.
Have the balls Sean. Make things RARE.
-- but I wouldn't say it's out of a lack of respect for players' time. Rather, I think it's the result of a focus on a kind of sci-fi realism. Planets should actually be big, and distant from each other. Refining a metal should resemble a real refining process. Farmed plants should take time to grow. Etc.
