No Man's Sky - Too good to be true?

[Jarhead0331]

Man...8 years in, and still going strong and raising the bar.

[ArizonaTank]

Man...8 years in, and still going strong and raising the bar.

It is an amazing game.

[JudgeDredd]

ok - after you wallopers mentioned this game again - I fired it up on my PS5.

So I have a couple of questions about the planet I'm on (I don't think it matters which)...

• I've been flying around and I've "found" some places...how do I find my way to them again. For example, I found a place where there was a vendor...how do I get back to that place...I now have a need for a vendor
• When I'm flying around, how do you find "places"...like places that may be of interest like capsules and the like. I've used the scanner within the ship - but I haven't found anything using that and only find stuff "by accident" it seems

I'm sure there's a thousand more questions because the game is so open...like how the hell do I get some sort of drive to get off this god forsaken planet to get to another one or how do I get an antimatter casing for some suit upgrade or something or...or...or...

[Gusington]

'Wallopers'

[JudgeDredd]

Right I've been playing this for a few days now. I'm on a planet with Hydrogen, Carbon, Ferrite etc, etc.

I've "stumbled on" the occasional site where there's a pod and not really garnered too much from that.

I found another site that has a exosuit upgrade(?) but I don't have an Anti-matter casing...so it's no good to me (yet).

So I'm wondering - for all you lot that say this is superb - I'm currently flying around aimlessly on a planet I know nothing about, have no map for, have no idea where anything is. Ok - it seems discovery is the name of the game.

But is there really nothing at all to help you navigate to more lucrative places on the planet you're stuck on until you get a warp drive?

And even if I did end up getting one of those, I'd only, presumably, find myself in the same position - wandering aimlessly on a planet that gives you some basic elements to make some basic things.

If the actual name of this game is "wander around aimlessly discovering random things in random places by stumbling on them accidentally", then the game isn't for me. I can dig that.

But if there's some way, some how, of getting some sort of mapping system or just a plain old planetary map and I haven't found that yet, I'm all ears.

[JudgeDredd]

And if none of you answered because I called you wallopers, then I'm sorry 

[Jarhead0331]

What mode are you playing in? You should start by playing in Normal Mode. This is the original way the game was meant to be played upon release. It has very light story elements that you can follow, or not, but you should because it acts as a tutorial by introducing you to all of the key game concepts as you go. It identifies the resources, technologies, crafting recipes, etc. and helps you along the way. It teaches you how to build bases and vehicles, how to upgrade your gear, how to travel to new worlds, etc. and it is all fun while doing it. The beauty of it is that you can through it totally at your own pace. I've restarted the game several times over the years and I always start in this mode. It never gets old to me because while being a tutorial, it is still open ended and the process of exploration in this game is so enjoyable.

It will literally answer all of your questions...most of them very early on.

Try it. You'll thank me later! 

[JudgeDredd]

lol - I am in normal mode! 

There's help there - like telling me what I need in order to craft something for example. Letting me know what's lying about.

But things like flying around...you can't "see" anything. It's not like a big icon turns up when there's something of interest close by.

I'm just finding it difficult flying around and landing in a barren spot to find there's nothing really of note except the same abundant elements I already collect (and some I can't because I don't have the Advanced multi tool yet).

I'm just missing a map I think. I've been to some places and even found a place where other "creatures" were willing to trade - but I had nothing of worth at the time so went on my way. Now I have cash and want something, I can't find the damn place again because there's no way (that I've found) of bringing up places you've fond and adding them to your compass.

[Lowenstaat]

I last played No Man's Sky on PS4 a couple years ago so my recollection may be out of date, but I thought the space ship had a scanner the player could use even when flying around the starter planet. Also, I remember coming across abandoned encampments with radio towers and/or com-links that, when activated, provided map data for the local  region to the player.

[Jarhead0331]

lol - I am in normal mode! 

There's help there - like telling me what I need in order to craft something for example. Letting me know what's lying about.

But things like flying around...you can't "see" anything. It's not like a big icon turns up when there's something of interest close by.

I'm just finding it difficult flying around and landing in a barren spot to find there's nothing really of note except the same abundant elements I already collect (and some I can't because I don't have the Advanced multi tool yet).

I'm just missing a map I think. I've been to some places and even found a place where other "creatures" were willing to trade - but I had nothing of worth at the time so went on my way. Now I have cash and want something, I can't find the damn place again because there's no way (that I've found) of bringing up places you've fond and adding them to your compass.

Are you using the "C" key? This will identify resources from orbit and it should identify most points of interest when flying in atmosphere. These will also show up on your little radar. There is a way to place navigation markers at points of interest, but i can't remember the key. I never seem to find the need to use it.

Once you've built a small base with a teleport module, you won't really need to worry about finding vendors because you can teleport from your base to stations you've previously visited. This is all covered very early on in normal mode, as is the crafting of a hyperspace module and the recipe for making fuel from antimatter.

[JudgeDredd]

I'm playing on PS5 and pressing the left stick down activates a scanner...but it only seems to show resources like oxygen ferrite, carbon etc. And it definitely doesn't show those from atmosphere. Flying around in my shop I can press that scanner but nothing is displayed.

I do have a scanner on my sit which does show places...things like drop pods etc.

[JudgeDredd]

I'll keep going for a bit. I'm finding out a bit more as I go along.

Very helpful JH...thx

[Jarhead0331]

^Ahhh...didn't realize you were playing on PS5.

Stick with it, though! It definitely pays off. Its a really cool game. 

[ArizonaTank]

Firstly, I love the game (230 hours and counting according to Steam). But navigating on planet is the most frustrating part of the game for me.

Yes, as JD mentioned, you can drop a beacon on key points of interest so you can find them later. But it just seems "suspension of disbelief" breaking that with all of the other technology at your fingertips, a good digital map navigation system on planet is not available to you.

I am pretty sure this lack of navigation systems on planet is a "feature and not a bug." The devs seem to want to make exploring harder on us, so that getting around on planet is more wonderous and interesting. At least that is my theory.

I'd love to see on-planet navigation get fixed. But the rest of the game is so good IMHO that I just work around it, and just go on loving the rest of the game.

[glen55]

Firstly, I love the game (230 hours and counting according to Steam). But navigating on planet is the most frustrating part of the game for me.

Yes, as JD mentioned, you can drop a beacon on key points of interest so you can find them later. But it just seems "suspension of disbelief" breaking that with all of the other technology at your fingertips, a good digital map navigation system on planet is not available to you.

I am pretty sure this lack of navigation systems on planet is a "feature and not a bug." The devs seem to want to make exploring harder on us, so that getting around on planet is more wonderous and interesting. At least that is my theory.

I'd love to see on-planet navigation get fixed. But the rest of the game is so good IMHO that I just work around it, and just go on loving the rest of the game.

It can be fun, navigating by landmarks and topography. But then you get lost and it's not so fun.