Welcome to No Man’s Sky OMEGA, version 4.5 The OMEGA update invites everybody to embark upon a new shared interstellar expedition. Featuring a complete overhaul of expeditions, new on-planet missions, claimable pirate freighters, and much more!
- A new expedition system allows Travelers to join with bespoke provisions, favorite starships, custom Multi-Tools and return with loot and exciting rewards.
- New Omega expedition invites all Travelers to answer the call of the universe together.
- A huge array of new planetary missions challenge players with quests specific to an alien lifeform’s locale, climate and personality.
- Defeat pirate freighters in combat and board them to demand control.
- For the first time, take on the universe with a fleet of frigates led by a dreadnought capital ship. The OMEGA update is the best time for players old and new to come together and explore the universe. For full details please see www.nomanssky.com. Our journey continues.
I’d be shocked if it wasn’t the latter. NMS doesn’t have NPC combat (outside of ship-to-ship fights) and adding that now would be a massive update. This is just creating a mechanic that would make defeating pirate freighters more rewarding.
Not creating the assets and AI for friendly/enemy NPC aliens from the big 3 was a colossal error. It could have created the foundation of everything from hiring gun hands at your outposts to fighting for control of pirate stations. Why did we never get an update for abandoned stations like we did for derelict freighters?
It seems like HG just doesn’t see the value in creating things that are multi-use case. Every update is just one more completely separate gameplay loop that doesn’t involve any of the others. So much could be added to different aspects of the game if they had just one or two more core systems that they used to influence their path going forward.
I hope LNF is better at creating a world where all aspects of their gameplay loops are integrated and emergent gameplay can occur.
I agree with the general sentiment that, as much as I Iove the game, NMS feels a bit too sprawling and disjointed with a mix of concepts and mechanics that are often shallow or half-baked.
But I don’t fault them for not building in NPC combat. They have a vision, and that vision doesn’t include turning the game into a full blown ground-based combat sim. I can respect that. If I want that I’ll play a different game.
Their vision includes fighting ships in space, fighting and boarding pirate vessels, fighting bug aliens on derelicts, and fighting sentinels of multiple varieties including walkers of various sorts, and you draw the line at fighting regular NPC’s that could easily just be a part of the aforementioned factions?
I just don’t understand the mentality, I’m not asking for Call of Duty: Atlas Warfare, I just think their vision already possesses multiple avenues of combat yet they have failed to include the one thing that would allow them to expand that gameplay logically to make things more fun.
Why would I want to destroy a ships guns and then walk onto the bridge when I could fight my way to the bridge with guns we already have and combat that already exists. How many weapons/weapon adjacent tools do you already have in your MT? I have over half a dozen.
Their vision is clear, and it includes combat as a central focus in every way except fighting pirates in ground combat.
I’m not drawing that line. HG is. I just don’t have a problem with it. Was my comment not clear on that point? I thought it was…
Fortunately I’m not asking you to. I didn’t make that comment to convince you, only to offer an alternative perspective.
More fun for you.
Personally, I’m fine not running around with my multitool littering freighters with Gek corpses. If I want to play space marine I can bust out Mass Effect. To each their own and all that.
Yes. Exactly what I said.
So why have any combat at all?
It’s just illogical, either the game IS about combat or it’s not, they obviously chose for it to be about combat, I’m merely pointing out that about half of their gameplay loops would be improved by just taking the one final step that they refuse to do.
Sure if all I wanted was combat I’d play ME as well, it’s my favorite game franchise, but that doesn’t mean NMS can’t or shouldn’t have ground combat (cause it already does) or that it should be the focus (it shouldn’t), but if they’re going to make a game about boarding pirate ships then it should logically include some kind of gameplay surrounding that instead of casually strolling in the front door and requesting command.
I’m just asking for consistency, really. That’s all.