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Reddit Compiles Definitive List of All NMS Missing Features/False Marketing +Sources

On the subject of procedural generation as a whole. I'd like a studio like Ubisoft take a crack at a game like No Man's Sky. The procedural generation of NMS itself is pretty good, but limited by the amount of base models the generator pulls from. Ubisoft with their army of modellers/artists could really do something amazing with it.

or AMAZINGly bad.
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Best expectations are little to no expectations. Especially don't believe any hype bullshit marketing crap.
No. No to the 128th power.

The ONLY expectation is to not be lied to. The onus is not on the consumer as the developer sets the expectation.

This bullshit that it's the consumer's problem is why shit devs keep doing this.

The sooner folks wise up and put the blame where it belongs the sooner we can weed these practices out.

I get that you can tune the rules with procedural generation to set the boundaries on what can and cannot be made and that what these rules are is up to the developer. As it has been pointed out some games handle this better than others. My main point was that with the inevitable randomness that comes with procedural generation players will get a wider range of experiences that are harder to predict compared to a hand crafted level.

This is especially true of NMS (not necessarily true of all games that use procedural generation) but you don't have to look further than a few stories to see the wide range of experiences had by players from the start of the game. For example, as I mentioned in my first post, Tom Marks of PC Gamer visited 3 planets and found them each to be desolate and boring and as a result it turned him off to the game. On the other hand there is a player (don't remember where the article came from) that has put in 30 hours to the planet they started on because that world happened to be so dense and interesting. Two players, same game, same point in the game, vastly different experiences that go beyond just the personal interpretation of the same environment and on to objectively different experiences.
Still irrelevant.

I also feel their should be completely desolate planets. Lots of them.

The problem with different experiences is, well, look at what I posted above - expectations. Consumers don't create them, they only believe them.
 

SomTervo

Member

Some dude was talking about this back in the 'polite discourse' thread I think.

Basically, as far as we know, there's no legal basis for anything. 99% of the "lies" came from unscripted interviews which were probably paid for by somebody else (rather than paid-for marketing) although they may not have been.

And apparently if you bought the game your only legal right is to sell it off again, not sue or anything, because you bought it. Apparently. (Not saying I agree in any way.)

Did Sean lie yet? Haven't seen evidence of lying so far. Is that why this thread is still going? Because we're waiting for this barefooted babe to lie?

^ thats not funny. That's hurtful to Sean and me.

Cheeky, as always, TC
 

SomTervo

Member
I get that you can tune the rules with procedural generation to set the boundaries on what can and cannot be made and that what these rules are is up to the developer. As it has been pointed out some games handle this better than others. My main point was that with the inevitable randomness that comes with procedural generation players will get a wider range of experiences that are harder to predict compared to a hand crafted level.

Still irrelevant.

I also feel their should be completely desolate planets. Lots of them.

The problem with different experiences is, well, look at what I posted above - expectations. Consumers don't create them, they only believe them.

It sounds a lot like you're both having completely different arguments at each other.
 
Since I've pretty much completed my main save file (been through two galaxies, completed Atlas Path, finished almost all milestones, maxed out equipment), I decided to start a new save to test a theory. I wanted to get to my goal quickly, so I turned on some cheats to give myself infinite money and free crafting.

First of all, it's a little jarring how quickly and easily you can complete the Atlas Path when you don't have to worry about resources. In less than 3 hours, I was able to go from a completely fresh save to the "end" of the game. And I wasn't even going as quickly as I could. Honestly, fulfilling the tutorial requirements so I could trigger the Atlas questline took the longest. From there, literally all you have to do is 10 warp jumps and you've completed the main story of the game.

Now, I understand that by using those cheats I removed a significant chunk of what the game is. But I don't know anyone who plays this game and thinks the mining and resource gathering is actually "fun." It's filler to get to the next thing... which is more resource gathering. Obviously some people play this game purely for exploration and seeing the sights, and that's fine, but if you're looking for solid gameplay, it's just not here.

Now, on to my more important point... there are spoilers for the end of the Atlas Path throughout the paragraphs below, but I think it's important. You should read it if you can.

When arriving at the final Atlas station, you turn in 10 Atlas Stones and get a chance to "birth a new star." The game tells you that you've created a new system on the edge of the galaxy that a new explorer will start on. After all the other fishy stuff that's gone on with this game, I found that claim to be suspect. So I tested it by capturing network traffic to see if the game is communicating with servers, which it would presumably have to do in order to literally create a new system and mark it as somewhere a new player starts.

When you get to the station and interact with the red sphere, you get the option to birth a new star or turn back. Regardless of what choice you make here, there is no network activity from the No Man's Sky client. I'm not a trained network engineer, but I have an IT background, so I know a bit of what I'm doing, and I was never able to get the game to trigger any communication at this point. But uploading discoveries to the NMS servers and capturing the traffic from that is easily replicable.

So I'm inclined to believe that the claim you're birthing a new star, which reads completely literal in the game's text, is not actually happening. It's possible that somehow the trigger gets queued and is not actually communicated to the servers until later, but I doubt it. I have a save file backed up right at the point where you decide to birth a new star, so I'm going to do further testing. If anyone else wants to take a look, I can send you the save file as well.
 
Since I've pretty much completed my main save file (been through two galaxies, completed Atlas Path, finished almost all milestones, maxed out equipment), I decided to start a new save to test a theory. I wanted to get to my goal quickly, so I turned on some cheats to give myself infinite money and free crafting.

First of all, it's a little jarring how quickly and easily you can complete the Atlas Path when you don't have to worry about resources. In less than 3 hours, I was able to go from a completely fresh save to the "end" of the game. And I wasn't even going as quickly as I could. Honestly, fulfilling the tutorial requirements so I could trigger the Atlas questline took the longest. From there, literally all you have to do is 10 warp jumps and you've completed the main story of the game.

Now, I understand that by using those cheats I removed a significant chunk of what the game is. But I don't know anyone who plays this game and thinks the mining and resource gathering is actually "fun." It's filler to get to the next thing... which is more resource gathering. Obviously some people play this game purely for exploration and seeing the sights, and that's fine, but if you're looking for solid gameplay, it's just not here.

Now, on to my more important point... there are spoilers for the end of the Atlas Path throughout the paragraphs below, but I think it's important. You should read it if you can.

When arriving at the final Atlas station, you turn in 10 Atlas Stones and get a chance to "birth a new star." The game tells you that you've created a new system on the edge of the galaxy that a new explorer will start on. After all the other fishy stuff that's gone on with this game, I found that claim to be suspect. So I tested it by capturing network traffic to see if the game is communicating with servers, which it would presumably have to do in order to literally create a new system and mark it as somewhere a new player starts.

When you get to the station and interact with the red sphere, you get the option to birth a new star or turn back. Regardless of what choice you make here, there is no network activity from the No Man's Sky client. I'm not a trained network engineer, but I have an IT background, so I know a bit of what I'm doing, and I was never able to get the game to trigger any communication at this point. But uploading discoveries to the NMS servers and capturing the traffic from that is easily replicable.

So I'm inclined to believe that the claim you're birthing a new star, which reads completely literal in the game's text, is not actually happening. It's possible that somehow the trigger gets queued and is not actually communicated to the servers until later, but I doubt it. I have a save file backed up right at the point where you decide to birth a new star, so I'm going to do further testing. If anyone else wants to take a look, I can send you the save file as well.

Im sure its there...
you just cant see it
 
Since I've pretty much completed my main save file (been through two galaxies, completed Atlas Path, finished almost all milestones, maxed out equipment), I decided to start a new save to test a theory. I wanted to get to my goal quickly, so I turned on some cheats to give myself infinite money and free crafting.

First of all, it's a little jarring how quickly and easily you can complete the Atlas Path when you don't have to worry about resources. In less than 3 hours, I was able to go from a completely fresh save to the "end" of the game. And I wasn't even going as quickly as I could. Honestly, fulfilling the tutorial requirements so I could trigger the Atlas questline took the longest. From there, literally all you have to do is 10 warp jumps and you've completed the main story of the game.

Now, I understand that by using those cheats I removed a significant chunk of what the game is. But I don't know anyone who plays this game and thinks the mining and resource gathering is actually "fun." It's filler to get to the next thing... which is more resource gathering. Obviously some people play this game purely for exploration and seeing the sights, and that's fine, but if you're looking for solid gameplay, it's just not here.

Now, on to my more important point... there are spoilers for the end of the Atlas Path throughout the paragraphs below, but I think it's important. You should read it if you can.

When arriving at the final Atlas station, you turn in 10 Atlas Stones and get a chance to "birth a new star." The game tells you that you've created a new system on the edge of the galaxy that a new explorer will start on. After all the other fishy stuff that's gone on with this game, I found that claim to be suspect. So I tested it by capturing network traffic to see if the game is communicating with servers, which it would presumably have to do in order to literally create a new system and mark it as somewhere a new player starts.

When you get to the station and interact with the red sphere, you get the option to birth a new star or turn back. Regardless of what choice you make here, there is no network activity from the No Man's Sky client. I'm not a trained network engineer, but I have an IT background, so I know a bit of what I'm doing, and I was never able to get the game to trigger any communication at this point. But uploading discoveries to the NMS servers and capturing the traffic from that is easily replicable.

So I'm inclined to believe that the claim you're birthing a new star, which reads completely literal in the game's text, is not actually happening. It's possible that somehow the trigger gets queued and is not actually communicated to the servers until later, but I doubt it. I have a save file backed up right at the point where you decide to birth a new star, so I'm going to do further testing. If anyone else wants to take a look, I can send you the save file as well.
Man. Their servers are getting hit hard.

I'm blown away!
 
Crap, just thought of this.

When the two players (the ones that streamed it) found themselves on the same planet did they try to blast a hole in the ground, right where they where?

Just to check if the other player saw those changes in the terrain?
 
Crap, just thought of this.

When the two players (the ones that streamed it) found themselves on the same planet did they try to blast a hole in the ground, right where they where?

Just to check if the other player saw those changes in the terrain?

Terrain changes are local. No one else sees it but you. Until you walk too far away from it and it reverts.
 

Handy Fake

Member
Wait, so if I dig a huge hole on Planet X, travel to Planet Y, return to Planet X and the hole isn't there anymore?

It's there for you, that change is saved locally on your machine.

I think the only way they'd be able to show terrain deformation to other players is if there was some P2P streaming gadgetry in place that, if the other player was online, they could stream that data to the person who found it later. But that's not in place, as far as I'm aware.
 
Wait, so if I dig a huge hole on Planet X, travel to Planet Y, return to Planet X and the hole isn't there anymore?

Not sure about that. I was just talking about the way stuff you've mined or destroyed reappears when you move away from it only to disappear again when you get close. It doesn't draw in the changes until you're close enough.
 
It's there for you, that change is saved locally on your machine.

I think the only way they'd be able to show terrain deformation to other players is if there was some P2P streaming gadgetry in place that, if the other player was online, they could stream that data to the person who found it later. But that's not in place, as far as I'm aware.
No player data is ever sent anywhere. One of our Gaffers packet sniffed a bunch in an older thread.

The game sends/receives very little data and sometimes won't send anything for long periods of time.

Much of what you do is irrelevant to both you and other players.
 

autoduelist

Member
The problem with different experiences is, well, look at what I posted above - expectations. Consumers don't create them, they only believe them.

Thats not even remotely true. Consumers create their own expectations all the time. Just read threads from when this gen was announced. Or, better yet, go to a restaurant and read the menu. Or look at a red apple. We createour own expectations all the time.
 
Thats not even remotely true. Consumers create their own expectations all the time. Just read threads from when this gen was announced. Or, better yet, go to a restaurant and read the menu. Or look at a red apple. We createour own expectations all the time.
Hype.

Everyone knows if X was not announced and we create it ourselves then we usually don't bitch at the developer when it doesn't manifest.

When a developer answers "yes" to almost every question, knocks other devs because "herp derp they fake everything and we don't", etc - that's not the consumer creating expectation, that's the developer creating them and people hype it.
 

SomTervo

Member
Wait, so if I dig a huge hole on Planet X, travel to Planet Y, return to Planet X and the hole isn't there anymore?

> dig a hole on planet X
> back away from said hole, watching it
> at about 100 yards the hole will 'fill up' because the game de-loads your changes to the world
> walk forward again to within about 100 yards and the whole will re-appear because the game re-loads your changes to the world
> fly away to planet Y and come back to the same spot on planet X and the whole will re-appear once you're close
> if you were (hypothetically) playing with another player, standing next to the hole you made, you would see it but they wouldn't (the 'hole code' is only saved to your hard drive)
 
Did anyone actually get a refund from Sony?

After a week of waiting, here's what I got (ignore the bad grammar on Sony's part):

Hi xxxxxxxxxx,

Thanks for your e-mail to PlayStation Support.
I'm Sorry to hear your unhappy with No Mans Sky,

As you can understand Games released for play on the PlayStation Network are made owned by other company's, this game is made and published by Hello Games,

Hello Games have released a patch update on Monday the 22nd that advised it will fix 99% of issues with the game, And another patch update to come later this week for the other 1 %

In regards to a refund as the content has been supplied to you downloaded and played it does exempt it from our standard Refunds and cancellation policy,

If the game is faulty then as it is digital content a refund can only be offered if the game cannot be fixed within a reasonable timeframe.

I would advise that we wait for the patch update to be released before we can discuss a refund for the product, if you still experience issues with the game after the upcoming patch update i would need you to contact Hello Games and obtain a reference number from them and acknowledgement that the game is faulty.

I hope this helps, but if you have any other questions please contact PlayStation Support using the contact details below or by replying to this e-mail. Quote xxxxxxx-xxxxxx and one of our team will be happy to help you.

Thank you,


Jxxxxxxx
Player Support Specialist
PlayStation Support
 

Vidal

Member
Did anyone actually get a refund from Sony?

After a week of waiting, here's what I got (ignore the bad grammar on Sony's part):

Hi xxxxxxxxxx,

Thanks for your e-mail to PlayStation Support.
I'm Sorry to hear your unhappy with No Mans Sky,

As you can understand Games released for play on the PlayStation Network are made owned by other company's, this game is made and published by Hello Games,

Hello Games have released a patch update on Monday the 22nd that advised it will fix 99% of issues with the game, And another patch update to come later this week for the other 1 %

In regards to a refund as the content has been supplied to you downloaded and played it does exempt it from our standard Refunds and cancellation policy,

If the game is faulty then as it is digital content a refund can only be offered if the game cannot be fixed within a reasonable timeframe.

I would advise that we wait for the patch update to be released before we can discuss a refund for the product, if you still experience issues with the game after the upcoming patch update i would need you to contact Hello Games and obtain a reference number from them and acknowledgement that the game is faulty.

I hope this helps, but if you have any other questions please contact PlayStation Support using the contact details below or by replying to this e-mail. Quote xxxxxxx-xxxxxx and one of our team will be happy to help you.

Thank you,


Jxxxxxxx
Player Support Specialist
PlayStation Support

Just want to share with everyone that I am having the same experience with the above, and this is what I was asked to do, among other things:

-A transcript of your contact with the publisher of the game, confirming that they have not provided what is advertised.

"- Oh, Hi Hello Games, look, I want to get my money back, could you please confirm that you have delivered a product that does not reflect what was advertised?

- Hi there, yes, that's right, sorry we did that, ops! :) "


That probably wouldn't be enough. Next email they might ask if im sure that Sean Davis it is actually a human, not a Lizard. Lizards are our new overlords and are above the law.
 
^ Is that true?

I mean that would explain why HG aren't saying anything then. If they admit to anything it opens the floodgates for refunds.

Scummy thing to do if that is the reason.
 

Vidal

Member
^ Is that true?

I mean that would explain why HG aren't saying anything then. If they admit to anything it opens the floodgates for refunds.

Scummy thing to do if that is the reason.

Yep, here is part of the email sent by Playstation Australia:

If you would like us to look in to your request under the grounds of false advertising, please provide us with the following information:

-On the PlayStation Store product description for No Man's Sky, what part of the description do you feel is misleading, or not included in the game?
-In relation to the above question, please provide detailed examples from within the game itself, including screenshots if this is possible
-A transcript of your contact with the publisher of the game, confirming that they have not provided what is advertised.

Once this is provided, we will escalate your case for further consideration.
 
They are putting the onus on customers to try and pry and record a response from HG to give proof needed for a refund.

This is why Sony can fuck right off, I am done with them. I tried cancelling my preorder before it even released (was able to get the LE physical) but the fucking assholes wouldn't budge, I explained very clearly that I was still buying their precious game....

Fuck them, arrogant Sony is back in full force.

I should have never went digital with my ps4s because you get nothing but hassles from support anytime there are problems. I'm also never doing pre-orders again unless it's something like a GOTY edition since the game will have been fixed and properly assessed by then (hopefully).
 
They are putting the onus on customers to try and pry and record a response from HG to give proof needed for a refund.

Yeah this is bullshit. If digital distribution is to become the main form of games delivery then we need customer protection laws that will force these companies into action.
 

bj00rn_

Banned
Did anyone actually get a refund from Sony?

After a week of waiting, here's what I got (ignore the bad grammar on Sony's part):

Hi xxxxxxxxxx,

Thanks for your e-mail to PlayStation Support.
I'm Sorry to hear your unhappy with No Mans Sky,

As you can understand Games released for play on the PlayStation Network are made owned by other company's, this game is made and published by Hello Games,

Hello Games have released a patch update on Monday the 22nd that advised it will fix 99% of issues with the game, And another patch update to come later this week for the other 1 %

In regards to a refund as the content has been supplied to you downloaded and played it does exempt it from our standard Refunds and cancellation policy,

If the game is faulty then as it is digital content a refund can only be offered if the game cannot be fixed within a reasonable timeframe.

I would advise that we wait for the patch update to be released before we can discuss a refund for the product, if you still experience issues with the game after the upcoming patch update i would need you to contact Hello Games and obtain a reference number from them and acknowledgement that the game is faulty.

I hope this helps, but if you have any other questions please contact PlayStation Support using the contact details below or by replying to this e-mail. Quote xxxxxxx-xxxxxx and one of our team will be happy to help you.

Thank you,


Jxxxxxxx
Player Support Specialist
PlayStation Support

This is pretty damn amazing.. I don't know what's worst; saying that two patches will fix 100% of all issues in the game (first in history?), or telling a customer to get back to them with a confirmation from Hello Games saying that their own game is crap..
 

Seiniyta

Member
Oh, regarding the base building and people wondering about if they'd actually implement it.
Modders found outIt's actually almost completely implemented in the game code and ready to go. Placing blocks, the UI etc.

Of course, the UI, implementation of it can still change. But a huge chunk of it is already implemented.
 

Panajev2001a

GAF's Pleasant Genius
Yeah this is bullshit. If digital distribution is to become the main form of games delivery then we need customer protection laws that will force these companies into action.

... and first sale doctrine for digital content... you should be allowed to sell your license to other users.
 

Eccocid

Member
Did anyone actually get a refund from Sony?

After a week of waiting, here's what I got (ignore the bad grammar on Sony's part):

Hi xxxxxxxxxx,

Thanks for your e-mail to PlayStation Support.
I'm Sorry to hear your unhappy with No Mans Sky,

As you can understand Games released for play on the PlayStation Network are made owned by other company's, this game is made and published by Hello Games,

Hello Games have released a patch update on Monday the 22nd that advised it will fix 99% of issues with the game, And another patch update to come later this week for the other 1 %

In regards to a refund as the content has been supplied to you downloaded and played it does exempt it from our standard Refunds and cancellation policy,

If the game is faulty then as it is digital content a refund can only be offered if the game cannot be fixed within a reasonable timeframe.

I would advise that we wait for the patch update to be released before we can discuss a refund for the product, if you still experience issues with the game after the upcoming patch update i would need you to contact Hello Games and obtain a reference number from them and acknowledgement that the game is faulty.

I hope this helps, but if you have any other questions please contact PlayStation Support using the contact details below or by replying to this e-mail. Quote xxxxxxx-xxxxxx and one of our team will be happy to help you.

Thank you,


Jxxxxxxx
Player Support Specialist
PlayStation Support


Am i obligated to download patches to apply for a refund? If yes, then why did they release a broken game with a chance of crashing 90% of the time.
 

Kiko

Member
Am i obligated to download patches to apply for a refund? If yes, then why did they release a broken game with a chance of crashing 90% of the time.

I am still fighting with EU PSN regarding my refund. It went to a higher place after they initially denied.
 

Gator86

Member
Yeah this is bullshit. If digital distribution is to become the main form of games delivery then we need customer protection laws that will force these companies into action.

Sony doesn't even let you cancel online pre-orders months before a game releases. They aren't doing shit for customers until they're forced, either by market conditions or law.
 
It is really sad to see that there was no official (or unofficial) statement or anything released at this point by anyone involved. Dude has no shame. I wonder if it will ever release on other hardware now? With it proven Sean lied about so many things, I wonder what their plans are for future titles? And who is held responsible for the marketing?
 
Yeah, it's been weeks and this is beyond defending now. Seeing people get their refunds in some ways makes me happy because this whole situation has been handled so absolutely disgusting. At one point I really did think people were exaggerating a ton of stuff. The whole "Lying" angle is something I still disagree with but this silence is just all around disrespectful. Had this been any other company, with such an outrage like this, their PR teams would have prepped for a response long before today and it's sad to see Hello Games just like... Ignore it. I don't if it's shock, stress, depression... Whatever the situation is, Sean should of came out, said what he has to say and then put himself in isolation if he wants.

This has to be the most terrible launch of current gen, no doubt about it.
 

Jobbs

Banned
this is a dangerous way to go through life: believing everything, wandering cluelessly like some naive holy babe of pure innocence.

people are still going to lie to you even if you are being willfully blissful about it.

Give me another example of a major release where so many features were outright lied about. One example besides Fable, which, despite the hype/lies, turned out to be a decent game so people were more able to forgive.
 
this is a dangerous way to go through life: believing everything, wandering cluelessly like some naive holy babe of pure innocence.

people are still going to lie to you even if you are being willfully blissful about it.

It isn't like the guy was just briefly throwing ideas out there once or twice. Literally, for years, he talked about features that are not present. He lied about really important features as well and how they worked such as the central star, day/night, etc, etc.

There is one thing to be naive and another to be straight up lied to in dozens of interviews over a period of years.
 
this is a dangerous way to go through life: believing everything, wandering cluelessly like some naive holy babe of pure innocence.

people are still going to lie to you even if you are being willfully blissful about it.
Read the rest of my post, guy.

Don't be disingenuous by taking 1 sentence and forming a ridiculous response without the context it was put in.
 
True ; but it's odd other things made it in while these things didn't.

Tbh I think it might be more down to a substantial reduction in scope and scale earlier this year due to performance issues. I reckon when they had a late-dev build rolling they might have found out that the game just didn't fit in the ps4 and had to drastically down scale.

I think it is safe to say none of it was in the game to begin with and he was lying from the get go...
 
Am i obligated to download patches to apply for a refund? If yes, then why did they release a broken game with a chance of crashing 90% of the time.

By mentioning the recent and upcoming patches fixing the game, they are admitting it was not functioning correctly when it was purchased. I would have thought that would be grounds for a refund.
 

Lulu23

Member
By mentioning the recent and upcoming patches fixing the game, they are admitting it was not functioning correctly when it was purchased. I would have thought that would be grounds for a refund.

Also, the packaging doesn't state that you need an internet connection to play it, so their chance of "fixing" it would basically have to be them sending you a new patched disc.

So ridiculous how they're acting like it's a nice gesture to give out refunds when Hello Games basically committed fraud in a grand scale.

"Act of goodwill" my hairy ass.
 
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