Understanding the Upcoming: No Man's Sky

Alrighty, let's just jump right into it: what's up with No Man's Sky? We have about a month until the exciting game from Hello Games is released around mid-August, but many people still don't understand it. This literally massive open world game will put players in a literally infinite, procedurally generated universe. Spacefarers will explore, chart and blast across endless planets and galaxies, each one different from the last.

As of June 7th, Hello Games developer Sean Murray announced that No Man's Sky had officially gone gold, and will hit markets as early as August 9th. Gamers have been waiting a long time for this, seeing as the first look at this title appeared at the 2014 Electronic Entertainment Expo. Its E3 trailer and introduction as an actual living universe enthralled audiences almost immediately, and arguably stole the entire show.

No Man's Sky has garnered a lot of hype and media, so how are you, the player, supposed to understand it all? By reading this article, you adorable dummy! Game Chop delved into some serious research to bring you the most up-to-date info on this upcoming release. First off, this game is an online adventure game. Explorers will set out for glory in this massive universe together. While together, Hello Games has elaborated several times that players will rarely run into each other accidentally due to the scale. With this unique characteristic, players will have the opportunity to actually discover and name planets, galaxies and even alien lifeforms. Many people have been asking if this procedurally generated universe will ever run out. The short answer is no, but the long answer is technically yet, but you'd have to spend billions of years to find everything. There are 18 quintillion individual locations to be found, so if you've been questioning the legitimacy of this whole "massive universe" thing, trust us, it's very for real.

Another facet of this "do-it-yourself space opera" is that it may redefine the open world genre. Simply put, it is an actual open world, as we've previously mentioned. Anything that is within sight can be charted and logged in you handy-dandy intergalactic space explorer notebook. So many gameplay videos have highlighted the procedural nature of discovery this game has to offer. Whether or not its functionality will be flawless is yet to be seen, but the promise it shows is fascinating.

These videos showcase a lot of interesting things, but some do pose some more questions. One of the biggest questions is who will players encounter if other players are so spread thin? The answer is simple: AI. Peace keepers, ancient robotic guardians, traders and even pirates will populate the vast galaxies of No Man's Sky. The most interesting part of this is that there are an infinite number of races, civilizations and factions for you to introduce yourself to. Alien races will use their own language, and you'll need to spend time with them in order to translate them successfully.

This game will be a survival game. Traveling to remote planets and space stations will allow players to trade for better equipment and ships. Upgrading your stuff will increase your survival rate on some less than hospitable planets. Alien races can enhance your technology giving you better suits, ships and weapons. You'll collect resources and tools to craft new devices and ways to survive intense heat or cold. It's all about living in this big ol' universe, folks. An age-old open world game trait that has been multiplied by the quintillions.

As you've probably noticed from these videos, nature is not the only thing you'll be pinned against. Pirates, hostile spacefarers and robot sentinels will butt heads with you from time to time. Hello Games has shown us quite a lot of space combat, which will likely be one of the more intense parts of the game. Blasting your way through a fleet of hostiles looks exciting and beautiful. On the ground, aliens and sentinels may think you're a threat and move to terminate you, terminator style. Upgrading your weapons and armor will be the best way to prepare for a planet that ain't the nicest.

There you have it, gamers. No Man's Sky is finished and will hit the shelves August 9th. PS4 and Microsoft Windows are the only recipients of the game so far, but we will keep you posted on any updates and information that comes out between now and the release date.

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