No Man's Sky has gone gold

An image of the master disc released on Twitter perfectly captures the small team's jubilation at nearing the finish line of their four-year odyssey.

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Sean Murray of Hello Games announced on Twitter that No Man's Sky is, at long last, finished and ready for distribution.

"It's happened. No Man's Sky just went gold. I'm so incredibly proud of this tiny team. 4 years of emotions," he wrote alongside a picture of the tiny Hello Games team celebrating complete with the first pressed disc containing years of blood, sweat, tears, and procedurally generated planets.

"Gone gold" is industry jargon for a developer producing a master copy of a game's code and sending it off for mass replication, packaging, and distribution ahead of release. That doesn't preclude things like day-one patches, but indicates that a feature-complete version of the game exists and is one its way to digital and physical stores and, ultimately, into your hands.

No Man's Sky is a science-fiction-themed adventure and survival game in which you will explore a procedurally generated universe made up of 18 quintillion planets purportedly containing unique landscapes, inhabitants, and vegetation.

Hello Games has been on a procedurally generated journey of its own. Since the game's inception, development has been a long, winding road littered with delayslegal disputes, and floods. The team rose above adversity and is proud to announce that No Man's Sky will be available on PS4 and PC on August 9.

Congratulations to everyone at Hello Games.

Long Reads Editor

David L. Craddock writes fiction, nonfiction, and grocery lists. He is the author of the Stay Awhile and Listen series, and the Gairden Chronicles series of fantasy novels for young adults. Outside of writing, he enjoys playing Mario, Zelda, and Dark Souls games, and will be happy to discuss at length the myriad reasons why Dark Souls 2 is the best in the series. Follow him online at davidlcraddock.com and @davidlcraddock.

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From The Chatty
  • reply
    July 7, 2016 1:36 PM

    David Craddock posted a new article, No Man's Sky has gone gold

    • reply
      July 7, 2016 1:47 PM

      Congrats to the NMS crew. Good work.

      I'm still hesitant to pre-order the game, but I'm looking forward to the reviews.

    • reply
      July 7, 2016 1:47 PM

      OMG this is amazing! I can not even imagine how Sean and the team feel right now.

      Can't wait to play No Man's Sky. This news just makes me happy.

      4+ years of hard work and a heck of a ride, must be crazy to look back now, I hope the game does really well.

    • reply
      July 7, 2016 1:59 PM

      That picture of the team is great!

    • reply
      July 7, 2016 2:01 PM

      "Gond gold"

      Jeff Gone Goldblum?

    • reply
      July 7, 2016 2:11 PM

      Man I hope this turns out good.... so excited!

    • reply
      July 7, 2016 2:12 PM

      HERRGGGGGHHHHHHHRRHHH

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      July 7, 2016 2:15 PM

      I can't wait to post about how not excited I am for this game!

    • reply
      July 7, 2016 2:25 PM

      [deleted]

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      July 7, 2016 2:38 PM

      I'll be interested in it after seeing people play it for a bit, as I'm still completely in the dark on what you actually do in the game.

      Good to see it's finally made it to production though! It's been in the news long enough that a SC vibe was being emanated.

    • reply
      July 7, 2016 2:50 PM

      1: Woah, gone gold!
      2: Shit, another game I wanna play! I just started the new Doom, damnit, and I still haven't finished MGS V.

    • reply
      July 7, 2016 2:51 PM

      [deleted]

      • reply
        July 7, 2016 2:56 PM

        They need another month to iron out the remaining show stoppers to make it playable.

        duh

      • reply
        July 7, 2016 3:16 PM

        Gotta use the month to add some gameplay mechanics to it.

        • reply
          July 7, 2016 3:36 PM

          lols I'm seriously curious.

          • reply
            July 7, 2016 3:38 PM

            I suppose the serious answer would be to give the publisher time to market the game, seal up some deals here and there, generate keys, manage services, maybe some further/last minute playtesting for critical bugs and time to patch them.

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              July 7, 2016 3:40 PM

              No I mean I'm seriously curious if there's any compelling gameplay to be had. Like many shackers I'm burnt out on "let's explore this randomly generated world for the hell of it." Needs to have appeal other than pure exploration.

              • reply
                July 7, 2016 3:42 PM

                No one really knows, it seems. But most people won't be surprised if it's like Elite: Dangerous: Horizons: Another DLC, a mile wide and an inch thick. There's only so much gameplay you can offer with procedural generation before it all starts to look and feel the same. There needs to be a ton more variables in procedural generation for us to feel like it offers more on the plate than just scraps.

              • reply
                July 7, 2016 5:57 PM

                I strongly suspect that if you're not interested in exploring new (procedural) world's, this game is not for you. Everything else about the game centers on moving from place to place, upgrading via combat/exploration/trade, and then repeating that process on successive planets.

                To me, it sounds like a great game for just vegging out on the couch with, especially when combined with say, weed.

      • reply
        July 7, 2016 5:12 PM

        Certification

      • reply
        July 7, 2016 8:52 PM

        They need to pay off the reviewers now. Thing is gonna get shit on so hard when it is released. 6.5/10 at best

    • reply
      July 7, 2016 3:15 PM

      Positive opinions goes here.

      • reply
        July 7, 2016 3:17 PM

        [deleted]

      • reply
        July 7, 2016 3:18 PM

        FUCK NOTCH

      • reply
        July 7, 2016 3:21 PM

        What even is No Man's Sky? I don't care! It's pretty!

      • reply
        July 7, 2016 3:24 PM

        [deleted]

      • reply
        July 7, 2016 5:13 PM

        The VR version might be good.

        • reply
          July 7, 2016 10:03 PM

          I'm worried about on foot movement. If it's standard FPS analog movement, it's a no go for me and a shit load of other VR owners.

        • reply
          July 8, 2016 5:46 AM

          Does it support VR right now?

          • reply
            July 8, 2016 6:24 AM

            No, nor have they confirmed that it ever will. It was rumored at one point that it might launch with PSVR, but that got shot down quite some time ago.

            I guess I'd be surprised if they didn't eventually support it, but I'm not expecting it to happen soon.

      • reply
        July 7, 2016 6:02 PM

        [deleted]

        • reply
          July 7, 2016 6:03 PM

          I don't think anyone will dispute that. It's "for how long" that everyone is curious about.

          • reply
            July 7, 2016 6:04 PM

            [deleted]

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              July 7, 2016 6:06 PM

              That's been the case with Elite: Dangerous: Horizons: DLC Name Here. Most people got pretty bored of it after about 20-30 hours, but there's a small community that have no problem playing the same, boring mechanic over and over and over again for endless hours on end. I'm definitely not one of them. Once a game loses its challenge or I beat it, I move on to find a new game.

              • reply
                July 7, 2016 6:15 PM

                [deleted]

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                  July 7, 2016 6:17 PM

                  Yeah, it was surprising how quickly the hype built up for NMS. It might bite them in return if the game turns out as shallow as everyone fears, but then again they probably got a boatload of money out of it. Can always form a new dev studio, though it might hurt the reputation of Sean a bit.

                  I really, really hope it's not shallow but as complex, challenging, and fun to explore and play as I had hoped Elite: Dangerous to be.

              • reply
                July 8, 2016 1:34 AM

                [deleted]

          • reply
            July 7, 2016 6:08 PM

            "Until you beat it at least once" would be an acceptable answer. Honestly I'm not expecting game of the forever, even though they've trumped up their procedural generation. If that does happen though I won't be displeased.

      • reply
        July 7, 2016 7:24 PM

        Space exploration and combat being taken seriously as a game core is exciting as fuck.

      • reply
        July 7, 2016 7:30 PM

        It's weird but I can't stop thinking about the game and all of the possibilities. Last time that happened was when Q3A was coming out. And I don't even play games that much anymore! I just finished playing Dead Space for the first time.

        Insta buy for me. ugghg

      • reply
        July 8, 2016 1:02 AM

        It will be the best game ever! CAN'T WAIT!!!

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        July 8, 2016 1:27 AM

        Yeah it looks good, reads good, etc. I've been looking forward to it.

        Too bad it will probably be a letdown and an sooner-than-later bore. That's what my friend keeps on telling me. He's not believing the hype and he's probably right.

        For some reason I still have high hopes.

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        July 8, 2016 5:10 AM

        I'm really looking forward to this. I've never really put any time into some of the games that it takes after, so this will largely be a fresh experience for me.

        I can't wait to explore a previously unexplored universe, even if it's virtual.

      • reply
        July 8, 2016 5:18 AM

        [deleted]

    • reply
      July 7, 2016 3:15 PM

      Angry opinions goes here.

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      July 7, 2016 3:23 PM

      [deleted]

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        July 7, 2016 3:28 PM

        [deleted]

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        July 7, 2016 3:32 PM

        Has anyone ever point blank asked them if you can be at the same spot on the same planet with someone? They've never shown anything like that I'm pretty sure.

        They do seem to be kinda weirdly cagey about it, or else I've missed some coverage somewhere.

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          July 8, 2016 5:09 AM

          The last I saw it mentioned, they were pretty clear that if you somehow were in the same place at the same time as another player, you would see them, but that you wouldn't necessarily even know it was another player.

          They never clarified what that meant though. I suspect it means something like the "ghosts" in Dark Souls, but that they won't be obviously different from other NPCs.

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            July 8, 2016 6:41 AM

            That makes no sense to me though. Do they really have all this net code in there for something that statistically will never happen?

            Maybe it's nowhere near real time and you can't really interact.

      • reply
        July 7, 2016 3:32 PM

        Think Dark Souls IN SPACE.

        Except good luck finding a summon pad IN SPACE.

      • reply
        July 7, 2016 3:40 PM

        [deleted]

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        July 7, 2016 11:46 PM

        I've never thought of them as "playing both sides of the fence." Everything I've seen said it would be an enormous feat to actually meet another player, left alone a friend you'd want to play with. I've never had any illusions about the multiplayer aspect in this game.

      • kek legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
        reply
        July 8, 2016 7:18 AM

        I read the "goal" of the game is to reach the center of the galaxy. With everybody heading to the "same place" you'd think the chances of running into someone would rise over time?

    • reply
      July 7, 2016 3:57 PM

      Great news, i hope its really awesome. Ambitious projects like this is what makes this industry so much fun.

    • reply
      July 7, 2016 4:07 PM

      I preordered this for PS4, now thinking I want to go PC.

    • reply
      July 7, 2016 5:10 PM

      We're still explaining what "Gone Gold" is on a gaming website in 2016.

      /sheds tear

    • reply
      July 7, 2016 6:00 PM

      [deleted]

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        July 7, 2016 6:01 PM

        Because it's free marketing.

      • reply
        July 7, 2016 7:28 PM

        For the longest time I thought "going gold" meant it sold a million copies or something. I always found it weird that so many games went "gold" before they came out.

    • reply
      July 7, 2016 6:22 PM

      So... do I buy this? It looks interesting but I still have no clue if the gameplay will be interesting after an hour.

      • reply
        July 7, 2016 6:24 PM

        Wait a week for reviews to come out and suckers preorderers to opine about their experience.

        • reply
          July 8, 2016 7:38 AM

          Maybe wait 3-4 weeks just to be sure it's not hypepinions. A period of time known as one Fallout4.

    • Zek legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
      reply
      July 7, 2016 7:03 PM

      I would love for this game to be awesome. Waiting for reviews because I can foresee a dozen different ways that it might not be.

    • reply
      July 7, 2016 7:53 PM

      I upgraded my computer on time.

    • reply
      July 7, 2016 8:48 PM

      THE SCREENSAVER HAS BEEN COMPLETED!!!

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      July 7, 2016 8:53 PM

      Anyone know if it supports multiple cores, and/or DX12? Probably not DX12 I'm guessing, but I pray it supports more than 2 cores...seriously, it's 2016, support at least 4 cores :P

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        July 7, 2016 9:06 PM

        I'd assume so, I think most current gen console titles have multicore support.

      • reply
        July 7, 2016 11:56 PM

        LOL dat beard!! you can see the long nights in it's unkemptness

      • reply
        July 8, 2016 12:19 AM

        That workplace doesn't look very diverse at all.

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          July 8, 2016 6:40 AM

          they've got a girl and a brown person, what more do you want

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        July 8, 2016 7:26 AM

        A few of them look like they might have gone insane during the development process. Sean looks straight up Cast Away talking to volleyballs bat-shit for one.

    • reply
      July 8, 2016 1:03 AM

      Great news! I hope it sells like crazy. Such an ambitious, crazy project!

    • reply
      July 8, 2016 5:44 AM

      I want to go to there

    • reply
      July 8, 2016 6:16 AM

      From what little they've shown I'm not convinced this is a 60€ game.

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      July 8, 2016 6:50 AM

      Yay! Really looking forward to this one!

    • reply
      July 8, 2016 7:23 AM

      I'm very excited for this game. Even if it was just a playable version of the demo they have showed a million times... it will be fun for me. Just walking around exploring planets and hopping into ships and checking things out. I could get many hours of fun out of just doing that stuff.

    • reply
      July 8, 2016 7:25 AM

      [deleted]

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      July 8, 2016 8:53 AM

      Exciting; the game looks very cool. It seems like No Man's Sky and Astroneer are destined to be compared to one another, rightly or wrongly. It's definitely a good time for sci-fi exploration. It must be awesome to be 10-12 years old or so right now--in that period where you have those really big thoughts about space and planets and other worlds--and then these games hit.

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