Home Gaming No Man’s Sky’s day-one patch changes the game entirely, and that’s not ok

No Man’s Sky’s day-one patch changes the game entirely, and that’s not ok

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No Man's Sky's day-one patch is not ok 4

No Man’s Sky was ready five weeks ago. After delaying their game out of June, Sean Murray and the rest of Hello Games posed for a photo, disc in hand. On that was 6GB of data that encompassed the whole of No Man’s Sky – their ambitious, procedurally generated space explorer that has generated far too much attention for its own good. In the weeks after that, they’ve been working on a day-one patch, which is now ready for launch.

A patch that makes that photo look incredibly silly.

Yesterday Sean Murray tweeted out the contents of the day-one patch everyone planning to play No Man’s Sky should be downloading. It adds a lot of fixes to the game, taking out some exploits, improving graphics fidelity and and preparing the game for the thousands of people who will log on day one. What was a little surprising was the sheer number of bullet points on the change log that were anything but changes. They were additions – massive gameplay implementations that not only changed the way No Man’s Sky worked, but prepared it for even more in the future.

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Day-One patches aren’t new to this industry, but the over-reliance on them to deliver a stable launch has become a bit worrisome. For the most part though, they’ve been patches, adding a few bug fixes here, mending save corruptions there. Definitely stuff you want to be downloading if you can. These often come hand in hand with large file sizes, which still make them a little difficult for those with limited internet access to acquire. Still though, a game pre and post patch is still the same game. Except that No Man’s Sky is (one) of the exceptions.

There are core gameplay changes taking place in No Man’s Sky’s first patch, to the point where those looking to pick up the disc on day one and not patch the game are in for an entirely different experience to those who do. It’s beyond simple exploit changes (which make No Man’s Sky’s end goal a lot easier to attain). It’s things like the sizes of galaxies. The ability to feed wildlife food. The addition of a pseudo quest system that lets you map your progress through the galaxy. It’s core gameplay systems that simply aren’t on the disc.

No Man's Sky's day-one patch is not ok 3

Hello Games plan to continue this throughout development too, eventually adding features like base building and customisation, as well as the ability to own massive space freighters to do…something with. Even Sean Murray understands how these will, fundamentally, change the way No Man’s Sky works.

Next up we’re adding the ability to build bases and own giant space freighters. Temporal AA and my new cloud rendering tech should be coming soon too. It will really change the game again, and enhance it visually.

It’s additions that those looking to stay purely offline will completely miss out on too, and that’s a problem. It’s even more of a problem than performance tweaks and bug fixes because of how radically different it makes the game. Although in the minority (but certainly still significant, especially locally), there are still many players who look to retail releases as a mark of stability. That game on a disc is a promise that you’re getting a finished game that will work once off (and especially true in the console space).

No Man's Sky's day-one patch is not ok

That hasn’t been true for a while, but the limits to which this is being stretched is becoming alarming. Those lucky enough to have snagged a copy of No Man’s Sky before the weekend will have to delete the saves because of how different the game is going to conduct itself. And some of those players are already making it clear how different this patch is set to make the entire experience. Austin Walker, editor-in-chief at VICE Gaming, was just one of many.

There’s nothing wrong with Hello Games wanting to support No Man’s Sky faithfully after launch. As Rami Ismail from Vlambeer points out (in an incredibly insightful piece into what a headache certification is), the build that Hello Games went gold with might have been months old. With a team as small and nimble as theirs, adding this much content to the game might have always been on the road map. And that’s their prerogative – at the expense of those never able to download the patch they envisioned for launch.

It might be a causality of transitioning into the inevitable digital-only future (because that is past approaching), but right now there’s still a significant number of players who are potentially missing out on No Man’s Sky features. I personally know a few people who will inevitably be in this position. Should they be getting better internet infrastructure? Perhaps. But should they be missing out on a fundamentally different No Man’s Sky experience when buying the same game as everyone else? Definitely not.

Last Updated: August 8, 2016

116 Comments

  1. Seriously disagree – it’s not as if the base game is broken on the disc. People who don’t patch will still be able to enjoy the experience. Developers are no longer confined by going gold; it simply doesn’t mean what it used to. Sure, the 80s and 90s gamers in me is disappointed that games aren’t done in their physical form, but I also enjoy some DLC, and the fact that broken games can be fixed.
    The post by Rami explains so much – of course everyone has a day one patch. it adds necessary development time to any project, and means that we as gamers get a superior product.

    Reply

    • The Order of the Banana

      August 8, 2016 at 09:23

      Listen to Lady Zoe, she is infinitely wise!

      Reply

      • Captain JJ off track

        August 8, 2016 at 09:29

        I don’t listen to bananas! My psychologist told me not to!

        Reply

        • The Order of the Banana

          August 8, 2016 at 09:45

          Zoe isn’t a banana, she’s probably a strawberry or a pear. Stop mis-fruitening people. ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

          Reply

          • Pariah

            August 8, 2016 at 09:46

            Then why am I a bulbous root?

          • The Order of the Banana

            August 8, 2016 at 09:51

            Apparently, the autocorrect on my iPad has decided that you are a tuber… ????????

          • Pariah

            August 8, 2016 at 09:56

            DAMN YOU AUTOCOMPLEX!

      • Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0

        August 8, 2016 at 09:32

        No wonder it’s women’s day tomorrow 😛

        Reply

    • Sageville

      August 8, 2016 at 09:45

      I agree with you Zoe.

      Frankly, how is this an issue? Day one patches… so what.. most games do this to make a better game on release. It feels like the author is looking for drama for drama sake for this incoming title, cause you could basically write this same article for most games these days. Sure, for a small minority who believe they can game the latest and best games without touching the dirty internet, they will have to live with a lesser experience, it’s not a broken experience, so they get what was advertised, just miss out on tweaks, but that’s what they should expect neh?

      As for all the early release players having to delete a save game, shame boo hoo…

      Reply

      • BakedBagel

        August 8, 2016 at 09:47

        “As for all the early release players having to delete a save game, shame boo hoo…”

        As someone who had to do this, it really sucks if the devs dont give you a heads up before… Time, energy, and frustrations lost.

        Reply

        • Pariah

          August 8, 2016 at 09:47

          They weren’t meant to have the game in the first place. So why when they get the beta treatment is it an issue?

          Reply

          • BakedBagel

            August 8, 2016 at 09:51

            You do understand not everyone who had the game in the first place obtained them illegally.

            Edit: Its not an issue. but to have your save game deleted under ANY circumstance sucks ass.

          • Pariah

            August 8, 2016 at 09:55

            Oh I’m 100% aware of that. But it still defeats the object if they get that unintended head start. It has prompted 2 bug fixes though for other players on day 1, so that’s really nice. However, getting a copy early when you shouldn’t have, it should come as no surprise to get a server wipe. AKA the beta treatment. Makes sense to me.

          • BakedBagel

            August 8, 2016 at 09:57

            Yeah if your game is online like this or Dayz, you have to delete the current state and reset it.

            Especially in this, where your actions affect the entire galaxy.

        • Sageville

          August 8, 2016 at 11:49

          What would you have done differently if the Devs did give you a heads up before?

          Reply

          • BakedBagel

            August 8, 2016 at 14:17

            Oh man, various different things, You are going from a mentality of. This is my character and it does this, and this is what i want.

            To (or too?? Pariah halp) This character is going to be deleted , so lets experiment.(begin doing dumb things with character etc etc etc), not sinking dumb hours into a single character.

            If you knew that a save wouldnt mean anything on release your experience with that save would be different.

            Thats me anyway

      • Dave Carsley

        August 8, 2016 at 23:18

        Because it’s not an issue for you, it’s not an issue?? It IS by the way, a broken experience, as evidenced by the HUGE changes this patch makes.

        Inventory system broken; weapon progression BACKWARDS; trading ineptly designed?

        It’s people like you, who don’t think of anyone else, and make snide little comments about the “dirty internet” that have made the world what it is today.

        The internet isn’t dirty bud; it’s UNAVAILABLE, to (literally) MILLIONS of gamers in this country who simply want to live in a place where their kids can experience breathing fresh air, walking in the forest, or seeing wild animals.

        Not “dirty”, not “expensive”, not “hard to get”…. NOT AVAILABLE.

        There are gamers who drive 75 miles to relatives house, hook up their consoles, and download updates when they must.

        Is it ok that people who won’t do this are made to “suffer” by missing out on a few bug-fixes or a piece of DLC? Yup. Along with driving farther to work, that’s the price they pay for living where they live, and they understand that.

        But should they pay the same price as everyone else and get a significantly shorter game with worse graphics, broken progression, and less quests on day one? NO!! Nor should they be sold brand new cars without fenders, gallons of milk with holes in them, or cheeseburgers with no bun. That’s ridiculous.

        Reply

        • Sageville

          August 10, 2016 at 10:35

          Yes, yes, but we don’t suspend progress in order for people to catch up, neh?

          Sorry, but gaming is a privileged hobby, so you can’t honestly plead poverty. If you want to play the newest and best you must alter your expectations of what you are entitled to. Note I said “Newest and best”, that means cutting edge, there are many games which are available for the masses without internet, go play those. Meanwhile, if you want the newest and best, you also need the newest and best in terms of connectivity these days, the industry moves in that direction, that’s just the facts, hey bud?

          If your feeling got bruised, my bad, but as someone who was in your exact position before, I think I have a good idea of both sides of the argument. And you are right, it’s not fair, but it’s our reality.

          Reply

    • Jona

      August 8, 2016 at 16:59

      I can’t see any reason why visual upgrades to textures and the like should be included in a day 1 patch either. That’s vital stuff, that should be in before the game goes gold and almost always is.

      The other potential issue is that this is the only boxed copy of the game that exists. The only physical retail the game will get unless they’re some kind of DLC compilation or essentials re-release down the line. That’s a disaster for archiving, as the only hard copies of the game will be of a version that is VERY distinct from what the experience was designed to be.

      Reply

  2. Ottokie

    August 8, 2016 at 09:05

    The song “highway to hell” comes to mind.

    There is this little voice that tells me to rather wait a month after release and see how the game did.

    Reply

    • Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0

      August 8, 2016 at 09:20

      Been saying exactly the same

      Reply

  3. Captain JJ off track

    August 8, 2016 at 09:13

    The hype for the game certainly has died down a bit, but I’m still excited for it none the less.
    These day one patches, though bothersome, are not something that would change my mind about getting the game. As far as games go No Man’s Sky is seriously ambitious and if it needs a patch to add in elements it’s not the worst thing. Though I do agree that core elements should have been ready and not a part of this patch.

    Reply

    • Pariah

      August 8, 2016 at 09:22

      But you see the core elements were already ready. These extras are expanding on those core elements. Yes, they change the game’s dynamic. But since they’re improving on the core, already, before you even get the game. Well it’s no loss, only gain.

      Reply

      • Captain JJ off track

        August 8, 2016 at 09:28

        I agree. It doesn’t make a difference to me as a buyer.

        Reply

      • BakedBagel

        August 8, 2016 at 09:50

        If core elements had to be patched in on day 1, there would be justification for the tears.

        But they actually giving you some sort of road map for the years to come.(In all honesty they could have given you changelog that said “Fixed issues, updated certain elements”)

        Dayz players had to wait 3-4 years to get some sort of road map out of Dean Hall.

        Reply

  4. Yuma55

    August 8, 2016 at 09:18

    What a non issue lol.

    Reply

  5. Pariah

    August 8, 2016 at 09:20

    If I have to weigh in on this – if the additions made improve the game, why is there complaining? You’re aware that the internet in this country has significantly improved over the last 5 years alone. Hell, Darryn in PE has FIBRE internet. That’s faster than a vast majority of Americans have. The argument of “playing offline, no bandwidth, bad internet” is becoming moot, very very quickly. Even I, with my meager ADSL line, have had no bandwidth or downloading issues for years. The last retail game I bought was 4 years ago. I only got ADSL 2 years ago. I bought plenty games in those preceding 2 years. That was on 3G with a 9GB cap. Which incidentally would be no issue for No Man’s Sky.

    So anyway, my actual point is this: day 1 patches that improve on the already “ready-for-retail” game are a HUGE plus. There is no downside for me, and it seems like whining about them now, when the norm is minor bug fixes rather than good content additions; well It seems petty. Zoe nailed the rest.

    Reply

    • Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0

      August 8, 2016 at 09:31

      ADSL works perfectly, but only if you have a proper ISP. Stay away from Mweb for instance

      Reply

      • Pariah

        August 8, 2016 at 09:32

        Well yes, but that’s a separate issue and one that’s fixed pretty easily. 😛

        Reply

    • The Order of the Banana

      August 8, 2016 at 09:43

      Listen to this Potato, he is wise beyond his years.

      Reply

    • Dutch Matrix

      August 8, 2016 at 10:14

      What you say makes perfect sense. But: I am extremely limited in my game time. And if I buy a game, I want to play it as developers intended out of the box. When I get home, pop in the disc and play. Whilst yes, I might be able to play this out of the box, I am still, in esssence, playing only a half finished game.
      Having to wait for a patch to download is a waste of time and money.

      Reply

      • Pariah

        August 8, 2016 at 10:17

        No, you’re playing a finished game, that if you download a patch has extra features added on top of it. And the developers intended for you to download that patch – so if you want to play this as the developers intended, well then you should download that patch.

        Also, the game is 6gb’s full install. How big do you think a patch is going to be? Seriously. This isn’t ARK where a patch sits at 10gb’s sometimes.

        Reply

        • BakedBagel

          August 8, 2016 at 10:21

          Excuse me Pariah. but the last time i checked ARK continually downloads from the Workshop 😛 Unlimited gb patches 😛

          fk that noise

          Reply

          • Pariah

            August 8, 2016 at 10:23

            Yeah I usually leaves games I intend to play installed. But since the main install is 40gb’s, it’ll take less bandwidth to just download it fresh in a year when I plan on playing it. XD

  6. UltimateNinjaPandaDudeGuy

    August 8, 2016 at 09:38

    It isn’t the 90’s anymore. We live in an online age and this is the new standard really. It might not be easy for some, but you can get connection and download what you need to.

    This will become the standard (which it probably already is). I don’t buy physical copies anymore of anything really. I pretty much get everything on either Steam or GoG depending on what I feel like really.

    Reply

    • Dutch Matrix

      August 8, 2016 at 10:08

      I may be old fashioned, but I do not hand over R400.00 to a store and tell them go download the rest later. This changes the way the game works, and should have been included on the disc. A PS4 can read Bluray discs, which can store how much data again?
      So there is no excuse for releases like this.

      Reply

      • Kromas GG

        August 8, 2016 at 10:11

        Gaming is becoming increasingly online. Soon consoles will not have disc based gaming anymore.

        Reply

        • Dutch Matrix

          August 8, 2016 at 10:17

          Then that will be fine. But do not sell me a disc and tell me get the rest at home.

          Reply

          • Kromas GG

            August 8, 2016 at 10:17

            #Fuckonami

      • UltimateNinjaPandaDudeGuy

        August 8, 2016 at 10:23

        The actual excuse is that the discs need to get pressed and shipped a couple of months before the release date and with how fickle people are lately they still have to do work in the off period while the game sits in BT Games on a shelf waiting for release and the actual release date.

        It think it is inevitable that no matter what game you buy there will be some kind of an update needed somewhere. This is not even going into the sheer throng of things there are that the game needs to do perfectly nowadays that back in the day wasn’t even in people’s imaginations. (physics and hair physics and texturing bla bla bla. The list is insane.)

        There are many reasons why I moved away from physical games. I only really get collectors editions now and even that seems a bit meh…

        The problem here is more the issue with telecommunications in this country than with the game devs in my opinion.

        If I can use an analogy. I don’t think they are using this as an excuse either. It is like someone selling a car that doesn’t have off -road capabilities in a country where all the roads are gravel. It’s not the car manufacturer’s fault that this country hasn’t moved on to proper paved roads like the rest of the world.

        Reply

  7. Alien Emperor Trevor

    August 8, 2016 at 09:49

    Well it is meant to be an online game. I’d rather be happy that people can play it offline, rather than dwell on the fact they can’t play the game at all if they don’t have an internet connection, or even simply don’t want to play online. Sure it’s not the greatest situation for them that they don’t get content or changes that online players do, but that doesn’t mean the content they will have won’t be entirely enjoyable for them regardless.

    Reply

    • Alien Emperor Trevor

      August 8, 2016 at 09:50

      Unless the game sucks anyway. 🙂

      Reply

      • Captain JJ off track

        August 8, 2016 at 09:53

        You replying to yourself makes it feel like your initial comment is important to read 😛

        Reply

        • Alien Emperor Trevor

          August 8, 2016 at 09:55

          It’s the only way I get decent conversation.

          Reply

          • Mark Treloar

            August 8, 2016 at 11:21

            Here’s your quote.

            “I was talking aloud to myself. A habit of the old: they choose the wisest person present to speak to”
            ? J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers

  8. Kromas GG

    August 8, 2016 at 09:59

    Meh. As someone who plays DayZ/7 Days to Die/Ark:Survival Evolved and many many many many other games on early access this is really not an issue anymore.

    The only difference between those games and this game is that at least those games are honest calling themselves early access. Content (and core features) should be locked down for released games or kept for DLC/Expansions.

    Reply

    • Pariah

      August 8, 2016 at 10:00

      “Content should be locked down.”

      Why? If you have the tools to improve on your game, consistently. Why wait? Why constrain yourself to the cages set by retail limitations?

      Reply

      • Kromas GG

        August 8, 2016 at 10:01

        Easy. You are selling an apple then produce and orange you will annoy some people.

        Star Citizen comes to mind.

        Reply

        • Pariah

          August 8, 2016 at 10:03

          But this isn’t that. This is selling an apple. And you get an extra half an apple. For free. Just because they thought you’d like it.

          Reply

          • Kromas GG

            August 8, 2016 at 10:04

            No. You are wrong. Base building in an exploration games where the goal is to move on completely changes the game. At least that is what everyone is annoyed about. I don’t really care either way as I have zero interrest in that game. Also additional features have the potential to screw around with existing ones.

          • Pariah

            August 8, 2016 at 10:05

            But this game isn’t released yet, rendering the whole first part of that moot. Everyone will be getting the same start, with these extra features. Nothing to look back on and go “well shit”.

          • Kromas GG

            August 8, 2016 at 10:06

            Base building is not in the day 1 patch.

            As well as the supercruisers.

          • Pariah

            August 8, 2016 at 10:07

            So they plan on improving the game. Awesome! Why is that an issue? Just jump onto a new planet, keep on exploring like you’re meant to, and now you can do even more? Yes please!

          • Kromas GG

            August 8, 2016 at 10:09

            Improving is fine but unwanted features is not. The bloat will bog down your system and cause issues with current core features. As an example let us use Space Engineers. A few updates back they added planets. The game is unplayable now and all but the meatiest servers can even host a 4 player dedicated server. Really a good idea. At least the made it so you don’t have planets anymore.

          • Pariah

            August 8, 2016 at 10:12

            Sure, things COULD go wrong. But that can happen with a simple patch to fix a tiny bug, and suddenly your save files get corrupted or whatever. I’ve seen things like that countless times. But to not do something, because MAYBE something might change or break. That’s just dumb. Fear should not rule decisions. Especially not in a game about endless possibility. If you fear the unknown, or the possible maybe might whatevers. Well then you shouldn’t be looking anywhere near this game.

          • Kromas GG

            August 8, 2016 at 10:14

            Yep … I predict this game will die down quickly and it will be because of feature bloat crashing more systems than error 37 crashed servers.

          • Pariah

            August 8, 2016 at 10:15

            So very pessimistic.

          • Kromas GG

            August 8, 2016 at 10:16

            Seen it happen over and over again specially in MMO type games. So I am just basing it on what I have seen before. But like I said I won’t be playing this game because there are better games out there for me.

          • BakedBagel

            August 8, 2016 at 10:17

            Im still gonna pick this up bro, flying your ship around a galaxy, discovering planets. Fookin take my Randela’s please.

          • Pariah

            August 8, 2016 at 10:18

            YUS!!!

          • Kromas GG

            August 8, 2016 at 10:18

            I could have seen it being loads of fun but my personal experience taught me I hate games like these with no multiplayer capabilities.

          • BakedBagel

            August 8, 2016 at 10:19

            Everyone to their own fam! Im a stoner so anything that allows me to sit and potato infront of a screen gets me 😛

          • Kromas GG

            August 8, 2016 at 10:21

            Ever tried mining in Eve Online? 😛

          • BakedBagel

            August 8, 2016 at 10:22

            ………… bruh. to many hours.

            too many. i had to delete it

          • Pariah

            August 8, 2016 at 10:18

            You’ve seen it happen, sure. But you know, things do change. Things can change. And this isn’t an MMO. It’s like Spore or the Sims – you play locally, but can upload your creations to the cloud, where other people can access them. Except in this case – that’s just the name of things.

          • Kromas GG

            August 8, 2016 at 10:20

            Have seen it in other games as well. Just stating that MMO’s like to add core features out of the blue more than SP games. In fact BDO is having that exact issue right now.

          • Pariah

            August 8, 2016 at 10:22

            Except that these features mentioned aren’t really out of the blue. They’ve been tested, as much as the rest of the game has. So… I still don’t understand why you’re so averse to this, but yeah no worries. 🙂

          • Kromas GG

            August 8, 2016 at 10:23

            They are out of the blue for paying customers at least.

          • Pariah

            August 8, 2016 at 10:24

            What?

          • BakedBagel

            August 8, 2016 at 10:14

            Yeahhhhhhhhhh no.

            PTR is a thing for a reason. A slightest change in values of certain things will totally break a game. Now you adding elements untested, on a hope that it will make the game better….. recipe for disaster

            Dayz states when you launch the game that its in beta and bugs do happen. But its labeled as Early Access, so players have to deal with it.

          • Pariah

            August 8, 2016 at 10:15

            Who said they won’t test the features before they add them?

          • BakedBagel

            August 8, 2016 at 10:15

            No one. Blizzard tests everything before addition. But they have a PTR for this very reason.

            Edit: SC2 still has a PTR. how old is that?

          • Pariah

            August 8, 2016 at 10:28

            Sims never had a PTR. Still don’t. Yet they release expansions like nobody’s business. Breaking things or not – doesn’t matter. It’s a mostly SP game where you can share specific things with others online. That’s pretty much what NMS is. You can play offline all you want. Same game. You just won’t get the names other people have chosen. So why, pray do tell, is a PTR needed here? There isn’t a massive PvP focus like in SC2 or any Blizzard game (who so far are the only people to have PTRs). There isn’t a massive co-op drive either. This game is entirely different to MMO’s like WoW or competitive RTS like SC2.

          • BakedBagel

            August 8, 2016 at 10:34

            Yeah and sims has been perfect on release?
            Just because a dev tests the addition before adding it to the game doesnt mean that that product is now “tested”.

            Okay so lets say in the future your base determines how easy it is for another player to land on your planet ( not saying this is what will happen but its an example )

            Now on NMS side everything works as intended 100%.
            But when released to the public, its constantly being tested by players, who will find an exploit or bug to make this new addition simpler or easier.

            This is where the PTR would come in and whoever wants to test this feature will test it etc.

            In the current state it looks like NMS doesnt need a PTR, but in the future? who knows.

          • Pariah

            August 8, 2016 at 10:36

            Dude, I see what you’re saying. But literally every not-Blizzard game goes through this process. That’s why patches exist. Literally the reason they exist. Patches have been around since before ADSL, they were just less frequent, much bigger (relatively) and arrived on CDs with Magazines.

            At least now, unlike in the 80’s and 90’s – if something is broken, it doesn’t stay that way.

          • Kromas GG

            August 8, 2016 at 10:15

            This is exactly what I am talking about.

          • BakedBagel

            August 8, 2016 at 10:07

            I can see where Kromas is coming from.
            but i can see where Pariah is coming from.

            Problem is Customers wanted A.
            Customers got promised A.
            Customers get A + B
            Some dont mind A + B but alot of people were happy with just A.

            Meh its up to the user tbh. Im not a fan of base building, so i wont be building bases, but if in newer patches base building becomes something that you *must* do. I will drop this amazingly fast.

          • Pariah

            August 8, 2016 at 10:09

            I doubt it’ll be something you must do. That wouldn’t make sense in this game. This game is about possibility, not must-dos. So yeah if they make it required, I’d be upset. But the fact that they’re planning on adding them in? I’m happy that they want to do more and add more. Won’t change that the experience I get before that should be pretty awesome.

          • BakedBagel

            August 8, 2016 at 10:11

            Like i said in a lower comment.
            People should take this as a roadmap for what NMS will be in the future.

    • Deceased

      August 8, 2016 at 10:42

      +1

      Reply

  9. Disappointed

    August 8, 2016 at 10:30

    What a whine article, just a load of bitching about an issue that isn’t even an issue.
    Don’t know if you’re trying to write an article that stirs up heated debate, or you’re actually just an idiot.

    Reply

    • Pariah

      August 8, 2016 at 10:31

      *your

      Reply

      • Dutch Matrix

        August 8, 2016 at 10:36

        Is it not you’re as in you are trying to write?

        Reply

        • Pariah

          August 8, 2016 at 10:38

          I’m trolling dude. LOL.

          Reply

          • Dutch Matrix

            August 8, 2016 at 11:10

            Well, that is a fail then. 😛

      • Disappointed

        August 8, 2016 at 10:38

        Terrible attempt at a troll, try harder

        Reply

        • Pariah

          August 8, 2016 at 10:39

          Uh, it worked on Dutch. 🙂

          Also you missed a period.

          Reply

          • Disappointed

            August 8, 2016 at 10:59

            Dutch isn’t the brightest crayon in the box, you can’t judge your trolling skills on him.

          • Pariah

            August 8, 2016 at 11:01

            Of course I can. It’s trolling. It’s not the latest paper on the topic of space-time fluctuation and the effects it has on academic reasoning. 🙂

  10. Deceased

    August 8, 2016 at 10:38

    Still getting it 😛

    Reply

  11. Alfred Cash

    August 8, 2016 at 10:46

    The person who wrote this article does not have a clue about game programming. We are no longer in the 90s where games had a very predictable development cycle. We are now in an era where games are so massive and so ambitious that it would be nearly impossible to deliver a fully complete product on disc for day one. Even big companies like Square Enix are struggling to release their bigger games such as Final Fantasy 15. Hello Games did really develop, and continues to develop, an extremely complex game. It is not some random generic first person shooter that can be developed in a couple weeks.

    Reply

    • Gavin Mannion

      August 8, 2016 at 11:13

      weirdly he’s the only qualified game developer on the team…

      Maybe the person who wrote the comment doesn’t have a clue 😛

      Reply

      • Disappointed

        August 8, 2016 at 13:11

        Guess qualifications don’t mean what they used to.

        Reply

      • BacchusZA

        August 8, 2016 at 17:43

        It is amusing how many strange and unfamiliar usernames make an appearance in this article, all saying the same thing because they don’t like the opinion being expressed in the article.

        Is that the distinct aroma of fanbooi I detect?

        **sniffsniff**

        Yup, definitely fanbooi. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go snort something pungent to get the stench out of my sinuses.

        Reply

  12. Ottokie

    August 8, 2016 at 10:57

  13. Captain JJ off track

    August 8, 2016 at 11:01

    Well done Sandy for raking in the comments by writing something fans can go aapkak about 😛

    Reply

    • Pariah

      August 8, 2016 at 11:01

      XD

      Reply

  14. Darren Peach

    August 8, 2016 at 11:17

    These lucky peeps with their working consoles…

    Reply

  15. chimera_85

    August 8, 2016 at 11:34

    Then what the frak actually went gold haha

    Reply

  16. tenshi_a

    August 8, 2016 at 11:43

    Considering the amount of difference between the disc version and the patched version, these devs work incredibly fast, and as far as I can see it, they’ve just added a lot of good to the game, and added value to it in response to feedback they got from reviews of early versions.

    Can’t fault them for this, not even slightly.

    Reply

  17. Pieter Kruger

    August 8, 2016 at 11:51

    Speed runners are gonna ruin this game. By the time most people end up in the centre of the galaxy wouldn’t they find all planets there named already with a thriving long established monopoly on trading by a bunch of players with a big ass war machine to back them up?! ????????????

    Reply

    • Milo

      August 8, 2016 at 12:11

      Not really. You’re looking at it as the the center is smaller therefore less planets and more chance for people to find each other, kind of like looking at a circle you’d assume. But its not the case according to the layout, as an example look at our own galaxy. The center is much much brighter because it contains so many more stars and therefore many more planets, so its much more dense at the center than it is on the outskirts. So you’d have the same number of, if not more, planets in the center as you would outside of it. So technically, aside from the narrative point of view, the center should not be any different in terms of trade/players able to find each other.

      Reply

  18. Milo

    August 8, 2016 at 12:05

    This must be my first comment here in years, and at first I completely 100% disagreed with the original post. It seems ridiculous to me that adding in new changes/content would be a bad thing let alone something to complain about but now I think I kind of see the point, even though it was a bit hidden in the article. And I think the argument isn’t really particular to this game specifically but to the whole games industry.

    I understand that one thing was promised and now there are new changes that you might not have been interested in when originally being sold the idea. For example the game was always sold as an open ended ‘sandbox’ with a hint at ‘you should go to the center’ but even then its not really a narrative and you can pretty much continue to do what you want. But now, and this is maybe considered a spoiler if you don’t want to know what the patch does for the narrative/end game, there are three different paths. Why? This impacts on how the game plays out for you, supposedly in a ‘sandbox’ that you are free to do what you want in? So I get that and you have every right to hate that decision, or any other, if you were looking forward to the game as originally described.

    But now look at the other side of it. Why shouldn’t games continue to evolve and change? I guess we mostly see games as a form of entertainment like a movie or a book where one plot plays out and we get to experience it and that’s that, once we reach the end its all over. But why not look at games slightly differently where its an evolving experience set out for you by the creator. It something that can go way past a singular experience that you can continue to enjoy. Take World of Warcraft as an example, this game has changed and evolved so much from its original release (some hate it and some love it) and I think because of that its endured and had so many players for over 10 years. Image it stayed exactly the same through all that time, people would be bored without new content.

    My point is, even though its a little unrelated to this game in particular, that games can be so much more and provide so much in a completely new form of entertainment, so why should we judge them and their processes by standards set out for other mediums. Digital products have a life of their own that allows creators to tailor their products, for better or for worse, and to cater to their audience at any point in their lives, be it at release or the final shutdown of their servers its an experience that should evolve and change.

    Reply

    • Dean

      August 8, 2016 at 15:14

      TL;DR

      Reply

  19. ElimiNathan

    August 8, 2016 at 12:20

    I don’t have to say how much I disagree here as there are plenty of comments I agree with. I’m happy that they’re doing this!

    Reply

  20. Alien Emperor Trevor

    August 8, 2016 at 12:23

    But Sandy, doesn’t the fact that he dresses like a lumberjack make it kinda okay?

    Reply

  21. Dane

    August 8, 2016 at 12:29

    “Only 6gb game”

    Day-one “Patch”

    Sounds fishy to me.

    Reply

  22. Avithar

    August 8, 2016 at 14:47

    way i see it is, day 1 patches adds more after thoughts to the original product, everyone has dead lines to meet to ensure end users (us gamers lol) get the game we have been waiting for on time.

    Reply

  23. Kyle

    August 8, 2016 at 15:33

    The patch is 800 mbs people, wow, tether to your phone for 10 minutes to download it and then you free to play offline again, patch and all. Im in south africa, a 3rd world country, and even I can make a plan if I really want to.

    Reply

  24. David Maine

    August 8, 2016 at 16:01

    I’m guessing this guy got a job because he can create false issues like these. Just another gamer journalist looking for attention.

    Reply

  25. Dave Read

    August 8, 2016 at 16:06

    Did you purposely Not fix the typo in the last paragraph after you published this article because of the irony?

    Reply

  26. ThanosNMS

    August 8, 2016 at 17:32

    This article is trash, from Someone who doesn’t understand anything about game development. Instead I refer you to this one.

    Read this article
    http://ramiismail.com/2016/08/patch-the-process/

    Reply

  27. batsu

    August 9, 2016 at 01:09

    Sounds like someone is pissy because their headstart is going to be wiped…

    Reply

  28. The Order of the Banana

    August 9, 2016 at 12:47

  29. Thutothegreat

    August 9, 2016 at 21:31

    So far so good

    Reply

  30. VX2214

    August 10, 2016 at 01:22

    The sky is falling.

    Anyone who bought a disc…well, they deserve what they get if they’re not willing to patch. No sympathy. It’s not like this is a new trend in games. I mean, World of Warcraft has changed -tonnes- since vanilla.

    Honestly, I’m less worried about the content changes (all of which are positives) than I am the fact that they had to patch bugs.

    Reply

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