The charm behind the "update" of No Man's Sky

No Man's Sky has been updated again. ON JULY 7ST, HELLO GAMES RELEASED THE TWENTIETH UPDATE OF UNMANNED DEEP SPACE "ENDURANCE", IN WHICH HELLO GAME BRINGS A LOT OF UPDATES TO EVERYONE, ESPECIALLY THE SHIP SYSTEM IN THE GAME. The updates are roughly as follows: 1. The fleet system has been fully updated, the internal design of the cargo ship has been redone, and the entire cargo ship is open to players, players can customize the internal space, add new modules, and directly arrange and walk on the outside of the cargo ship. 2. Renovation of hangars and bridges of cargo ships and frigates; Optimize the detailed performance of in-game spaceships and space stations; The visuals of black holes, nebulae, and asteroid belts have been reworked to make them look more textured. 3. Brought a new expedition "Polaris Expedition" as well as a new biological frigate.

It can be seen that this update is mainly a big update to the in-game spaceship interaction and visual effects, but through various social media channels, it can be learned that the response of this update among gamers, especially non-gamers, is much more enthusiastic than usual。 In the past, the same version was greatly updated, and some versions of the update were difficult to find even the translation of the update content. Except for super updates such as the "Expedition" and "NEXT" versions, the other updates have actually received a mediocre response in China (the official community of "No Man's Sky" abroad has always had a high degree of popularity). After this update, there has been a significant increase in videos, news, and player participation related to video sites.

I think the reason why this update is so popular that there is even a hint of going out of the circle (the game fixes the circle of players) is first of all due to the extremely textured infinite universe and the very attractive custom cargo ship shown in the promotional video, which intuitively shows the grandeur of the game's exploration and the freedom of the game for the first time, thus attracting the relevant topic. Coupled with the fact that this update is the twentieth major update, players will inevitably compare the previous game with it, which has brought deeper discussion and more attention to the game, and many old players have stood up to applaud the game.

A record of twenty version updates to the game

The second is that many players' impression of the game is still stuck in the particularly bad impression when it was first released in 2016, and this update has triggered a series of attention from players as a fuse, allowing players to feel the huge gap between the previous updates and the previous updates, forming a kind of contrasting surprise, attracting the return of old players and the fame of new players.

And in the final analysis, it is the excellent quality of the game itself and the accumulation of twenty updates.

Why it's important?

Industry side:

Game makers and gamers are more enthusiastic about space sci-fi and exploration themes than ever before

Some new games have gradually released relevant trailers and actual machine demonstrations, which has increased players' attention and understanding of this kind of theme

At the same time, there are relatively few adventure and sci-fi exploration games launched in recent times, except for the recently released "Lost", most of the others are independent games or promotional films

User side:

Non-hardcore sci-fi works with a certain fantasy or mystical overtones have gradually gained popularity in recent years.

From the explosion of Rick and Morty to the widespread spread of Cthulhu to the strange story of zoo rules, these seemingly deviant works with a touch of fantasy and mystery have gone from an unpopular niche culture to a large following. In addition to some classic IP works at the recent XBOX press conference, there are also some demos that have achieved good reviews from players, such as "Contempt" in the style of dark creatures, "High on Life" produced by Rick and Morty, and "Ganymede" that fights mutated creatures in aliens. And these games are more in line with the above characteristics, not traditional orthodox, hardcore technology, but the combination of technology and weird alien mutations (Ganymede), technology and unique biotechnology, giving people a sense of solemnity and an uncomfortable sense of weirdness (contempt), A combination of technology and fantasies (high on life).

Game Scorn

In addition to the "1000 planets" part, I think there is also a part that the content shown in the demo is too serious and traditional, only showing the traditional spaceship, transporting goods, exploring planets and other functions that other sci-fi exploration games have already explored, and lacks some magnificent fantasy or mysterious elementsThe mystery, the sense of solemnity that makes you want to explore, and the shock of facing things in space that are completely different from ours (such as huge prehistoric buildings on planets, giant beasts in space, etc.).

Game Starfeild

Compared with what "Starfield" shows, the theme of "No Man's Sky" is not limited by realistic technology, it will be more utopian, and in the recent version update, there are even fictional beasts such as Leviathan and space sandworms, as well as huge unspeakable religious buildings often mentioned in the Cthulhu theme, abandoned cargo ships that can be explored, and so on. Therefore, the last few updates of No Man's Sky will be more in line with the current tastes of players and more in line with the current trend.

Open exploration games that focus on the sense of engagement and immersion of the exploration experience will be more popular.

An important part of this update, the complete open exploration of the cargo ship, is a point that has attracted the attention of players, the complete opening of the cargo ship means that players can freely linger in every corner of the cargo ship, free to build DIY, so that many players have a feeling, this is the feeling of belonging to my cargo ship from beginning to end. And this spaceship, which allows you to explore every corner, is one of the biggest selling points of the yet-to-be-released game Star Citizen.

A cross-sectional view of a spaceship that can be explored in Star Citizen

In No Man's Sky, you can explore the interior of a cargo ship

Explore the exterior of a cargo ship in No Man's Sky

One player commented, "While the spaceship in Star Citizen is indeed a work of art, and the custom cargo ship in No Man's Sky is like a playground, I want to play the game more than visiting the Palace of Versailles and just watching." It can be seen that in this type of game, players will care more about their level of participation. In addition to cargo ships, other gameplay features in No Man's Sky are also highly engaged, such as space stations, settlements, bases, milestone systems, and more.

In addition to the engagement, the immersion of the exploration experience brought to players in this update has also been widely praised by players recently, from the initial barrenness to the current realistic asteroid belt in space, the wonderful experience of seeing other planets on the planet, the behemoths that appear from time to time, the huge and magnificent space buildings full of technology, and various planets with different styles, although they are not the top level, but these elements can be appropriately present where they should appear, all trying to create a grandiose, unknown, mysterious world with different styles, and all of them point to one theme - no man's sky. This design brings players a very good exploration experience and immersion, making players feel like they are exploring in a real universe.

游戏更新后优化的小行星带以及新增的星云效果

There is also a similar design of the game "Hogwoods: Legacy", the player needs to play as a student in Hogwoods, from the actual demonstration of the game, players can take various courses in different houses, make their own reagents, explore every room in the school, participate in Quidditch matches that are only found in the original books, etc., these parts have been carefully designed to ensure that players can have a good playing experience, so that players can have a sense of participation, involvement and belonging. At the same time, the scene design of the game is also very similar to the style of a magic school, without the disturbance of "Muggles", and the moving photos in the original book, the mysterious places and the way of teleportation (I don't know much about it) also point to the word magic, showing players a vivid and lively magical world from all aspects in a limited time. It is precisely because of this in-depth development around a theme that it has become one of the most anticipated games by players this year.

The counter-example is Cyberpunk 2077, which does a lackluster job of both of the above points, and the handling of the details of the game feels very dramatic, making it feel like there are several metropolises and lack of depth.

Therefore, when players pay more and more attention to the experience in the game, how to better show the theme of the game and better bring it into themselves has become a common concern for game manufacturers and players

The most well-known games in this category of space sandbox exploration games are Starfield, No Man's Sky, and Star Citizen. However, considering the uncertain time of the launch of "Star Citizen", there are only a few well-known games, so there is still a lot of potential for games in related fields. Due to the inclusiveness and novelty of the pan-sci-fi theme, it is expected that in the future, this kind of theme game will still be the area of concern for players, and it is also a paradise where there will be a lot of fresh elements to explore.

Worth learning from the entertainment industry

1. Theme selection

The interests of science fiction players are constantly changing, and from "Cyberpunk 2077" to the current trend changes, the choice of themes can take the science fiction + magic/fantasy approach, the traditional hardcore science fiction is rigorous and profound, and the grand theme is desirable, but there are many restrictions, and it is easy to appear that the process is rigid and boring, and after adding some themes such as Cthulhu, alien biotechnology, alien ancient religions, supernatural mysterious events, etc., It will broaden the boundaries of technology and achieve a kind of attraction to players due to the mysterious combination of the grandeur and depth of extraterrestrial exploration and the unknown.

2. Art style

The art style is not static, you can learn from the practice of the game "No Man's Sky", and when the overall style is finalized, continue to improve the areas that still need to be improved in the game and the expressiveness of the art, and improve the experience brought to the player, and find ways to make the player have a better sense of immersion。 "Glory of Kings" has done a good job in this regard, but due to its subject matter, it is difficult to further improve its expressiveness. The "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" game can completely improve the graphics in the existing game, such as using the octahedral sketching technology in "No Man's Sky" to color and draw long-distance buildings and vegetation to improve the drawing distance of the map, improve the realism of the guns in the game, increase some interaction, add some animation sand and dust in the desert map, such as the first two shots will have sand and dust shake off, improve the graininess and texture of the desert under the player's feet, etc., to serve the theme of the game or map, Make players feel more immersed.

The game's original starry sky effect compared to the present

3. Pay attention to the sense of belonging of items in the game to the player's sense of achievement and satisfaction

It can be seen from "No Man's Sky" and "Starry Sky" that those players have the ability to freely explore spaceships after they are launched, and they have received the love of players. Therefore, if the player obtains an item in the game, it is best to place it freely or display it, in the Moore Manor game, the player can freely place any medals, trophies, etc., in the NBA2K series, any honor the player has won in the NBA will be placed in their own court. Doing so will give the player the impression that this is what they really have, rather than a value after receiving the hint.

Players will be on display in their own arena for NBA2K's accolades

At the same time, more interaction and customization are added to the links that players often come into contact with, such as after players get a car, they can place a small item they like on the dashboard, open the trunk of the car, open the back door of the car and enter the air-conditioned window, etc. Although it is only a small detail, it greatly increases the player's sense of belonging and immersion in the game. The same is true for Star Citizen's spaceship gameplay.

4. Add radical feature improvements to the game

For the game that investors and players are looking forward to if the start is mediocre, there is no need to rush to announce the failure of the game project, you can invest stable research and development efforts in the game you have confidence in after consideration, update and expand the game content, and if players need to redo some of the game content, such as "Cyberpunk 2077", without considering other factors, you can continue to completely redo some of the underlying interaction logic, instead of abandoning the game.