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Someone really wants 'No Man's Sky' developers to apologize
The internet hivemind's vile side was at it again this morning. This time, by apparently hacking the Twitter, Linkedin and email accounts of No Man's Sky developer Hello Games. Buckle up because this gets messy. "No Man's Sky was a mistake." Following an extended period of silence from the developer, that (now deleted) tweet went out earlier today. Thinking something was afoot, Kotaku reached out to the developer via email and was told that, "No, the tweet was not a hack, but rather a disgruntled employee. The email that we sent however was official." Except the publication had received no prior emails.
'No Man's Sky' is being investigated for false advertising
After No Man's Sky hit shelves in early August, complaints arose around bugs and oversights made by its small studio Hello Games. But as the weeks wore on, a new uproar struck out at the differences between concept videos and the released game, which some players and press believe lacked many features promised in its early promotional material. Now the UK-based Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is launching an investigation into those disparities.
Sony's Shuhei Yoshida 'understands the criticism' of 'No Man's Sky'
The vast and ambitious No Man's Sky didn't have the smoothest of launches. Even after pushing out a huge day-one patch, some players still encountered glitches and crashes, and some players even feel like the game didn't deliver on what the marketing campaign promised. Speaking to Eurogamer, Sony Studios president Shuhei Yoshida said he understands complaints from players who don't feel like they're getting what was promised to them.
Upcoming 'No Man's Sky' patch will fix most issues
No Man's Sky was released for PlayStation 4 last week, but not without its fair share of problems. Developer Hello Games is aware of the game's many bugs and glitches, and is working on a patch that will solve "the most critical issues" in the "near future."
The Engadget Podcast returns!
In 2014 we said the Engadget Podcast was going on hiatus to "retool." Well, we haven't been sitting on our laurels. Over the last two years we've rethought our editorial mission, completely redesigned the website and, now, we're launching a new and improved podcast.
Crafting the algorithmic soundtrack of 'No Man's Sky'
While you've no doubt heard of No Man's Sky, the game, chances are you can't say the same of the band that scored its soundtrack. That's fair. UK noise/drone rock group 65Daysofstatic (65DOS) has quietly been releasing records since 2001. Its songs regularly stretch past seven minutes, and if they feature vocals, the singing is buried so deep in the mix that it's almost indistinguishable from the maelstrom surrounding it. All that is to say, the band doesn't write the type of music that gets stuck in your head. Which makes multi-instrumentalist Paul Wolinski's hopes for the score all the more surprising. "We wanted it to be hummable," he told Engadget.
Yes, 'No Man's Sky' has a few issues
No Man's Sky landed on PlayStation 4 this week, and it wasn't perfect. Cue a rash of backlash on Twitter, a few dozen angry Reddit threads and a handful of YouTube videos calling creator Sean Murray a liar and a fraud. Ah, the internet. Let's break down a few of the high-profile glitches that people have found so far:
What's on your HDTV: 'No Man's Sky,' Olympics, 'The Get Down'
Live streaming or tape-delayed to prime time, we're watching the Summer Olympics, but there's a lot more to check out this week than just the action in Rio. The highly-anticipated game No Man's Sky arrives on PS4 and PC this week, allowing gamers to visit some 18 quintillion planets in a quasi-multiplayer game. On Netflix, The Get Down revisits the birth of hip-hop with its first six episodes, and The Walking Dead crew gets together to preview season seven. On Blu-ray the Japanese series Female Prisoner Scorpion is arriving, and Oblivion is out on Ultra HD Blu-ray with a Dolby Atmos audio track. Look after the break to check out each day's highlights, including trailers and let us know what you think (or what we missed).
Day-one patches are the new normal
No Man's Sky will receive a massive day-one patch that adds a ton of content and gameplay elements to an already-humongous game. This would be just fine, except a few retailers across the nation started selling the game early -- it comes out Tuesday, but some people (including reviewers) were playing it late last week. The patch, which includes the actual finished game with all its bells and whistles, requires these early players to delete their saves and start over when No Man's Sky actually comes out. Developers at Hello Games wiped No Man's Sky's servers Sunday, and they're doing the same thing today. And there's nothing wrong with any of this.
Massive 'No Man's Sky' day one patch is live a day early
No Man's Sky's substantial first-day patch is available now for the PlayStation 4, a day earlier than the game's August 9th release date. The patch's file size is 824MB, which isn't too large considering the number of fundamental changes it makes to how the game plays, but it is roughly a quarter of the game's size, which is 3.69GB.
'No Man's Sky' day one patch changes large parts of the game
Many gamers are all too familiar with day one patches that fix bugs or add features that didn't quite make it in time for certification or shipping. However, the first-day No Man's Sky patch will be... more substantial. Hello Games has revealed that the 1.03 update arriving on NMS' August 9th launch will make fundamental changes to how the game plays. Most notably, there are now three "paths" to follow in the game -- choices you make early on will determine what you see later. There's also a deeper trading system, new combat mechanics (such as a revamped on-the-ground aiming method and critical hit systems in space fights) and even new universe and planet generation criteria. If you're one of the few to have scored a copy pre-launch, you may be in for a shock.
Fan-made 'No Man's Sky' app catalogs your interstellar journey
The galaxy-faring sci-fi fest No Man's Sky isn't out until next week but one enterprising fan has already made parts of the game perhaps a little less daunting. Reddit user Aleator83's NMS Ally is a companion app that will, among other things, generate custom names for the planets you visit and creatures you find, and upload your screenshots to share with other users of the app. Polygon notes that it'll also track where you find resources. It's live for Android at the moment, and Aleator83 says that the iOS version is pending approval from Apple.
Recommended Reading: President Obama, Commander in Nerdiness
Obama to leave the White House a nerdier place than he found it Gardiner Harris, The New York Times President Obama has accomplished a lot of things during his eight years in office. One of the causes he's championed is science and STEM education. The New York Times takes a look at how the commander-in-chief is leaving the Oval Office a much nerdier place than he found it with science fairs, advisory committees and more.
Listen to the full 'No Man's Sky' soundtrack on YouTube
No Man's Sky is just a few days away. If you're itching to explore its vast and colorful galaxy, there's an easy way to whet your appetite: by listening to its stellar soundtrack. 65daysofstatic, an electro math rock band from the UK, has uploaded the 10-track set to YouTube. It's just over 45 minutes in length, offering a hint of the atmosphere and depth that Hello Games is trying to deliver. And if you like what you hear, there's always the No Man's Sky tour to look forward to. Or one of these cool-looking vinyl records.
Take a look at how 'No Man's Sky' handles combat
In the almost three years since we first saw No Man's Sky, gameplay videos and previews have focused mostly on its exploration and survival aspects. Now, mere weeks ahead of its PlayStation 4 launch, we're getting a better look at how the game earns its "fantasy violence" descriptor from the Entertainment Software Ratings Board. The clip embedded above focuses on combat not only in outer space against armadas of ships, but also the various procedurally generated (and dangerous) creatures on the planets you'll galavant around.
'No Man's Sky' developer ends 'legal nonsense' battle over name
There's no sign that it contributed to the delay, but Hello Games founder Sean Murray said today that after "3 years of secret stupid legal nonsense," his company's game can be called No Man's Sky. They had to settle with trademark owner Sky TV to use the name that it's very protective of -- remember when Microsoft had to rename SkyDrive as OneDrive for the same reason? According to Murray's tweets, he's learned a lot about trademark law, and might have a good idea about why Skynet never happened. Seriously though, the highly anticipated game should be on track for its rescheduled release date of August 9th, and we can't wait to see it procedurally generated universe unfold.
E3's video game art picks include 'No Man's Sky' and 'Witcher 3'
The Into the Pixel jury has chosen the 2016 winners for its E3 art collection, and it's clearer than ever that video games can inspire artwork you'd be proud to hang on your wall. The 14 selections are mostly from titles where visuals not only play an important role, but set the tone for the entire game -- the sci-fi novel look of No Man's Sky gets its due, as does The Witcher 3's brooding fantasy atmosphere and Unravel's miniature world. There's even art from a virtual reality game (Insomniac's Edge of Nowhere) breaking some ground. Most of these pieces are concept art or models rather than what you'd see while playing, but they're worth a look if you've ever felt that game art is just as creative and thought-provoking as what you'd find in a gallery.
'No Man's Sky' is delayed until August 9th
The rumors are true: No Man's Sky isn't coming out in June, as originally planned. Instead, the world will have to wait until August to play developer Hello Games' ultra ambitious space-exploration game. Writing on the PlayStation Blog, lead developer Sean Murray says that the game will now launch this August 9th domestically and August 12th in the UK. The reason? He says a few bits weren't up to snuff. "We understand that this news is disappointing," he writes. "Making this game is the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, but we are so close now, and we're prepared to make the tough choices to get it right."
'No Man's Sky' lore comes from classic sci-fi and comics
"We always said we shouldn't have a narrative, but we should have a lore," says No Man's Sky mastermind Sean Murray. And honestly, with a procedurally generated universe that's staggeringly gigantic, it'd be impossible to create a traditional video game story with things like cutscenes. But to make the world feel more alive and less like a giant empty sandbox, Murray says the team at Hello Games turned to artist Dave Gibbons of Watchmen fame and scribe James Swallow who worked on the writing for Star Trek and Deus Ex: Human Revolution.
Step inside the artistic algorithms of 'No Man's Sky'
Even if you haven't played it yet, one thing is clear about No Man's Sky: It's stunning. The entire game hinges on the idea of procedural generation on a massive scale, meaning when artists at Hello Games create a patch of grass or a fluffy animal tail, these elements are mixed and matched in nearly infinite combinations across the entire in-game universe. But, it isn't all left to random chance -- there are complex algorithms working behind the scenes to make sure every planet is aesthetically pleasing in some sense. Controlled chaos, if you will.
