Thank you HG

[JackieEstacdo]

Pretty cool thing HG is doing for the community, you know, after everything… I was one of the players who felt burned at launch but never enough to be viciously vocal about it (my inner chi eventually won over my gamer rage) nevertheless I always held on for it’s potential. Decided to sign up to this seeing as they’re really trying for the fanbase (and I may or may not be trying to get a steam key )

Although… I may have named some planets nasty names after initial release, but only because I needed to vent and I’m sure we were all disappointed so you must understand
However, I didn’t feel the need to go to the internet about it, so I’m not exactly one of those devilish characters you’ve probably been haunted by the last year.

Anyway, this Arg may be slow but it’s a fun substitute for a couple more months of silence, and on top it’s a new hype train you surely must’ve planned for? Because I don’t know if you’re paying attention to reddit or not but people are expecting all sorts for this update, I’ve seen many people jump straight back into ‘It’s gonna have cities, ringed planets, tornadoes, time travel, waves!’ etc… And I won’t lie, with this arg i’m getting a little excited too, but I must defend my emotions at all costs so I’ll remain skeptical till the day, BUT, hats off to you sirs and siress’ I don’t know how your personal lives have been since release (hopefully your inner chi’s showed you the way) but it’s nice to see you have fun with the community while teasing new content, albeit without saying a god damn word
So thank you, keep it up and goodluck!

[stryker99]

I’m one of those nitwits who was always super happy and enthusiastic about NMS, even in the face of unrelenting hate and trolling all over the net.

I didn’t let my imagination run away with me and create a game that didn’t exist. I didn’t believe Sean was being coy and misleading us with low expectations while hinting that the game would have multiplayer, epical space warz and romance with alien princesses in sprawling city scapes. A few were sure that Sean was lying when he said there wouldn’t be multiplayer, and all that and more was just waiting to be revealed.

But I poured over every interview and expose, and watched as the game shrunk a bit towards release, so I realized that this was going to be a solitary exploration game in which you were constantly foraging for resources and new tech to survive. I couldn’t believe all the hysteria and outrage when a few days into it, we found out that, sure enough, there was no multiplayer, no romance with space babes, no sprawling civilizations and no Star Warz Battlefront game inside. Everyone hyped themselves into a frenzy making a dream game all in their own heads, so they only have themselves to blame for that.

I was disappointed that the Lore in the game ended up being a kind of spotty window dressing here and there to lead us on our way - heck, the races have no discernible homeworlds! But other than that, the game actually exceeded my expectations, and is as engrossing in its own way as Fallout 4 for me. LOVE discovering new worlds and environs, except the really nasty ones. LOVE encountering aliens and dialoguing with them. LOVE discovering new tech and new Lore, though that grows thin pretty quickly. Don’t love how the jump pack was nerfed, and how specific the uses for some of the elements becomes forcing you to hoard more of it, but that’s another story.

So yeah, huge Hello Games and Sean Murray fan. Love them dearly.

And of course, I love this ARG. I can’t contribute much except to postulate on the information everyone else digs up, but I can sure yack at length about it. I’m a hobbyist SF/fantasy writer myself. So the whole premise being laid out of a diverse scientific project that combines into something that goes out of control from its makers and even seems to trap them in some inescapable dilemma is quite a thrill to watch unfold, in weekend episodes. I do wish there was more through the week, but it usually takes some time to digest what everyone figures out through the week anyway.

This is pointing to something more substantial than what HG has updated in the game so far. I think a reboot isn’t out of the question. But whatever it is, it’s as big as this ARG which had to cost a small fortune and a lot of work to make. Good lord, this thing is crazy cool and involved! I look forward to every new post and speculation so I can chime in and make myself feel important.

And August? Well, the rest of the ARG unfolding, the Anniversary and a solar eclipse as well as my birthday, give me a LOT to look forward to. My Multitool is tingling…

[kesbet]

For HG this project is something more than just a game, I believe that’s what they’ve been saying. Also this ARG is a proof for me it is, to be honest.

I’m always happy to hear people are coming back to the game, even if they were a bit upset at first.

I will share a bit of my story here, so you could see another point of view.

I’ve never played the game, because my current PC won’t allow me to run it in a decent way. Ironically, what brought me to the game community, first on Reddit, then here, was the amount of hate it got. I thought: “Hey, it can’t be so bad as people are saying, right?” So I opened YouTube, searched for NMS Let’s Play videos, and after ~15 minutes of watching one, I knew I’m already loving the game. After that I couldn’t stop watching it, reading about it on Reddit and enjoying how others were enjoy it. Then the first update came, and it was something amazing. I started commenting on one of the NMS Let’s Plays encouraging the player not to stop, because ‘more will come’. It was quite selfish of me too, because I liked the content, enjoying the play but couldn’t play on my own. Then the second update come, it was just great news, but also my interest of this strange portals started. Then the ARG…

For me, the simple answer why I loved the game at first site, was the way how every play through was unique, and that you could never stop playing it. The game is almost like a life itself, where we have some level of randomness, and we can always learn something new after years of living it. It’s a unique experience. This kind of games are the future, in my opinion.

Going back a bit. I may understand players who were disappointed, because they’re expecting something like thousands games created before, and thousands developed now and in the future, and since NMS was something different, it didn’t match with their expectations.

Though, have to say, since not all the advertised features were in the game at start so most abandoned it, it wasn’t the great HG move. But now, I think, more and more understand HG better. We shouldn’t forget about Sony’s role here too.

To end my long comment. Sometimes I have this strange feeling, that all the updates, this ARG were planned since the beginning, before the launch. HG wanted to do something different, but as usual, when we’re involved into something it’s hard to forget about it and try to look at it from a distance.

I’ve wished them good luck before (when I’ve heard about all that hate) and wish them even more now. So my big thank you for them too

[Mad-Hatter]

I too followed the progress of NMS as it first appeared and then gradually came closer to actually holding it in my hand.
Eventually it arrived and I was stoked. I didn’t care that some features were missing. I knew that H.G. had run into issues and couldn’t deliver the game that was first envisioned. I understood that and accepted the game the way it was. The different worlds and old style sci-fi look was so different to the sharp cut details in other games. It was softer and that ‘feel’ made the solitary wanderings a relaxing chill out time.
I enjoyed learning about the lore and I always felt that things like the dormant portals must at some point come into relevance, either through updates or through achievements. Will they? I don’t mind either way. All updates are welcome; big or small. I’m hoping crashed freighters to explore and loot might appear. Who knows? it’s fun just speculating.

I was saddened that H.G. and in particular S.M. copped such a serving of hate from the gamer community, when it became apparent quite early the game had been cut down. I could see why they had cut it down and I accepted it the way it was. Lot’s of things get edited and shortened before release…AND lets face it: having entire planets build from scratch as you get there is super cool and personal.
It was a pity the game didn’t arrive in it’s entirety and I guessed that somewhere in the H.G. bunker was a full fledged running prototype of the game that would blow my socks of if I had a go. I understand that the code to run a game like this is immensely complex and I understood that if it isn’t right and the game keeps crashing it will be hated as a crap game. Instead they trimmed it down and delivered a useable package that I am still enjoying 100’s of hour in. Some people just expected too much and over-hyped their expectations.
H.G. then updated it with fun extras which simply made the game deeper and more complex.

The inventory is a nice (sometimes annoying) challenge but that is part of keeping yourself on your toes in a hostile space environment. I have a 40 slot “C” class explorer craft (looks like a cross between a mosquito & a crash-helmet with wings)
and my base is a kind of blue glass-domed nursery where I return to do my gardening, do a bit of trade, organise my stores and then set off again. My suit is maxed out and my multi tool is huge and full of enhancements. It’s a fun yet relaxing game and I love it. I even sent an email to H.G. and told them so during all the hate-hype, (which they replied to).

So once again: thanks Hello Games. Great game and I look forward to whatever comes next.

As for the ARG, well I don’t even do these things normally so this has been a fun interaction for me and a intriguing introduction to the world of ARGs. So thanks again H.G. and whoever else has been involved, I’m having a lot of fun.