If you've squashed your tatty nub across the gaming landscape over the past week, it would've been hard to miss the backlash against No Man's Sky.
Said counteraction would appear to sluiced from two nozzles: the sheer amount of hype leading up to the game's release, over the past two years... and many of the promised features apparently missing from the finished product.
You could also speculate that the post-release wall of silence from NMS developer Hello Games hasn't helped; the company has scarcely Tweeted since the launch. That in itself has left a vacuum into which all manner of accusations and conspiracy theories have spewed.
This has all happened in a climate of rank entitlement from certain corners of the gaming community, which has only served to inflame passions further.
Indeed, a Reddit user compiled a list of everything that had apparently been promised for the game, which wasn't in the final version. Though the original poster has since deleted his account, an archive of it has been stored here.
Said counteraction would appear to sluiced from two nozzles: the sheer amount of hype leading up to the game's release, over the past two years... and many of the promised features apparently missing from the finished product.
You could also speculate that the post-release wall of silence from NMS developer Hello Games hasn't helped; the company has scarcely Tweeted since the launch. That in itself has left a vacuum into which all manner of accusations and conspiracy theories have spewed.
This has all happened in a climate of rank entitlement from certain corners of the gaming community, which has only served to inflame passions further.
Indeed, a Reddit user compiled a list of everything that had apparently been promised for the game, which wasn't in the final version. Though the original poster has since deleted his account, an archive of it has been stored here.
DONE NOW?
I think I'm more or less done with my time on No Man's Sky. I've played it for more than fifty hours, and
though I don't think I'm close to the centre of the universe, it's teasing me that I'm nearly at the end of the Atlas path. I'll at least keep playing until I finish that. Probably.
Interestingly, I'm a bit bored with the game now. If I'd reviewed it at this point - rather than 30+ hours in, when I was still enjoying myself - I'd have likely looked upon it less favourably. Not least in the wake of the above Reddit dossier. I'd have felt a little cheated, to say the least.
It hasn't evolved noticeably in the time I've spent with it, and I've been frustrated by the general lack of progress - the fact I'm only on my third ship, and still don't feel powerful enough to do anything other than run away from dogfights (despite trading, and scavenging until my lips bled), has led to a grating sense of repetition.
Even so, reviewing it now that I've become jaded wouldn't have been entirely equitable - because I was still liking the game up until the point where I felt I'd gotten my money's worth. Anything after that should be a bonus, right? Yet even I can't ignore my own feelings of disappointment.
The question is... how fair is that?
I think I'm more or less done with my time on No Man's Sky. I've played it for more than fifty hours, and
though I don't think I'm close to the centre of the universe, it's teasing me that I'm nearly at the end of the Atlas path. I'll at least keep playing until I finish that. Probably.
Interestingly, I'm a bit bored with the game now. If I'd reviewed it at this point - rather than 30+ hours in, when I was still enjoying myself - I'd have likely looked upon it less favourably. Not least in the wake of the above Reddit dossier. I'd have felt a little cheated, to say the least.
It hasn't evolved noticeably in the time I've spent with it, and I've been frustrated by the general lack of progress - the fact I'm only on my third ship, and still don't feel powerful enough to do anything other than run away from dogfights (despite trading, and scavenging until my lips bled), has led to a grating sense of repetition.
Even so, reviewing it now that I've become jaded wouldn't have been entirely equitable - because I was still liking the game up until the point where I felt I'd gotten my money's worth. Anything after that should be a bonus, right? Yet even I can't ignore my own feelings of disappointment.
The question is... how fair is that?
BASIC
Well, on a basic level - it's irrelevant whether it's fair or not. It's what I feel, and that's what it is.
Reading the broken pledges from Hello Games has left me with a sense of being cheated. And I'm more or less normal, so you can imagine how engorged with rage the entitled gaming weirdos are getting.
Strangely, the many over-promises of Peter Molyneux never really bothered me.
Molyneux always struck me as somebody who allowed himself to get too excited at the potential of a thing, rather then the conscious liar he gets painted at. And yet, somehow, the features and footage shown by Hello Games, and No Man's Sky's creative lead Sean Murray, have left more of a bitter taste in my mouth.
I've never designed a game - least of all a game as ambitious as No Man's Sky. I've no idea about the compromises which have to happen in order for a game to be released on time. I know about hard work, about giving your all to a project, but I don't know what that feels like when you're a small team dealing with enormous levels of expectation from people all over the world.
Let's face it - the hype surrounding No Man's Sky was pretty much unprecedented for a new IP. There was no way it was ever going to live up to the hopes of its rabid, sight-unseen, fans. Nevertheless, there's no denying that a lot of what we thought we were going to be getting in the game isn't there. It certainly doesn't look as good as the early demos.
Any sort of multiplayer component is absent; I stumbled into my first already-discovered solar system the other day - though there was no sign of the Columbus-like pioneer, fellatio_togo, who first discovered it.
It made me feel a little sad at the thought we two souls, two like-minded adventurers, wouldn't have a chance to connect. Like many of the compromises and apparently late-in-the-day design decisions, it pulled away from the reality of the No Man's Sky universe as much as all those identikit space stations, and jelly mould worlds. Yes, I was disappointed.
Well, on a basic level - it's irrelevant whether it's fair or not. It's what I feel, and that's what it is.
Reading the broken pledges from Hello Games has left me with a sense of being cheated. And I'm more or less normal, so you can imagine how engorged with rage the entitled gaming weirdos are getting.
Strangely, the many over-promises of Peter Molyneux never really bothered me.
Molyneux always struck me as somebody who allowed himself to get too excited at the potential of a thing, rather then the conscious liar he gets painted at. And yet, somehow, the features and footage shown by Hello Games, and No Man's Sky's creative lead Sean Murray, have left more of a bitter taste in my mouth.
I've never designed a game - least of all a game as ambitious as No Man's Sky. I've no idea about the compromises which have to happen in order for a game to be released on time. I know about hard work, about giving your all to a project, but I don't know what that feels like when you're a small team dealing with enormous levels of expectation from people all over the world.
Let's face it - the hype surrounding No Man's Sky was pretty much unprecedented for a new IP. There was no way it was ever going to live up to the hopes of its rabid, sight-unseen, fans. Nevertheless, there's no denying that a lot of what we thought we were going to be getting in the game isn't there. It certainly doesn't look as good as the early demos.
Any sort of multiplayer component is absent; I stumbled into my first already-discovered solar system the other day - though there was no sign of the Columbus-like pioneer, fellatio_togo, who first discovered it.
It made me feel a little sad at the thought we two souls, two like-minded adventurers, wouldn't have a chance to connect. Like many of the compromises and apparently late-in-the-day design decisions, it pulled away from the reality of the No Man's Sky universe as much as all those identikit space stations, and jelly mould worlds. Yes, I was disappointed.
MURRAY MINTS
Do I blame Hello Games for my disappointment? A bit, to be honest. I still think No Man's Sky is a brilliant game, but upon reflection - as I approach my own personal finish line - it feels like a signpost on the road to something better.
While playing I've fantasised about its potential, what a sequel - or an entirely different game from a different publisher with a full-size team - could produce, building on what No Man's Sky has achieved. Judging from statements they made during the development process, Hello Games see that potential too. No doubt, they're as frustrated and disappointed - if not more so - than many of us have been.
Nonetheless, it feels like a huge PR blunder to maintain a policy of silence in the face of mounting criticism. The company - and particularly Sean Murray - were very vocal in hyping it, while the potential was still up in the air.
Now that bubble has burst, it's hard not to feel aggrieved that they're not answering questions about the lack of multiplayer, or why other features were cut, or why it doesn't look quite as good as we'd all expected.
If they just came out, and held up their hands, admitting that time and the complexity of what they were building, was against them... people would be a lot more understanding. We all know that No Man's Sky was put together by a relatively tiny team. We all know that games development is hard. There's no shame in admitting that. Not least because what is there in No Man's Sky is still pretty remarkable.
However, the longer this silence goes on - and we don't know if we're going to get a lot of the missing features reinstated in future updates - the more the criticism and disappointment will mount. Sadly, that risks overshadowing everything the company has achieved.
Do I blame Hello Games for my disappointment? A bit, to be honest. I still think No Man's Sky is a brilliant game, but upon reflection - as I approach my own personal finish line - it feels like a signpost on the road to something better.
While playing I've fantasised about its potential, what a sequel - or an entirely different game from a different publisher with a full-size team - could produce, building on what No Man's Sky has achieved. Judging from statements they made during the development process, Hello Games see that potential too. No doubt, they're as frustrated and disappointed - if not more so - than many of us have been.
Nonetheless, it feels like a huge PR blunder to maintain a policy of silence in the face of mounting criticism. The company - and particularly Sean Murray - were very vocal in hyping it, while the potential was still up in the air.
Now that bubble has burst, it's hard not to feel aggrieved that they're not answering questions about the lack of multiplayer, or why other features were cut, or why it doesn't look quite as good as we'd all expected.
If they just came out, and held up their hands, admitting that time and the complexity of what they were building, was against them... people would be a lot more understanding. We all know that No Man's Sky was put together by a relatively tiny team. We all know that games development is hard. There's no shame in admitting that. Not least because what is there in No Man's Sky is still pretty remarkable.
However, the longer this silence goes on - and we don't know if we're going to get a lot of the missing features reinstated in future updates - the more the criticism and disappointment will mount. Sadly, that risks overshadowing everything the company has achieved.
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