![]() Now, I'm not suggesting Cartographers is going to suddenly make you love an experience you've continually struggled to enjoy (No Man's Sky very much remains a game about mining for resources and making your own fun), but I found it to be a wonderfully focussing refresher and a handy reminder that there's genuine logic to the sometimes baffling tangle of systems squirrelled within No Man's Sky five years on. And who doesn't love a big, stompy robot? I did not know, for instance, that there's a fancy new visor upgrade that guides you to underground resources that can be automatically mined over time while you're away I did not know you could install a personal refiner in suit so you don't need to carry cumbersome machinery around with you I didn't have a clue about half the upgrades available that really boost the capabilities of No Mans Sky's anaemic starting equipment, and I'd certainly never had a go at stamping about in big sexy mech suit. I got a lovely refresher on construction, and was reminded that research stations are a thing and I'm not actually forced to leave a planet every time I want to get unlock something new I learned about combining chemical compounds, about setting up automated mining systems, electricity, efficient ways of scouring the planet for resources and handy landmarks, even archeological sites! Granted, Cartographers is far from exhaustive in terms of the stuff it covers (and at least one challenge is a nightmare if you're unlucky with your spawn point - tip: make Herox by combining ammonia, cobalt, and silver in a Large Refiner and thank me later), but what's there is supremely illuminating. You'll need to work through a series of set challenges to get off the planet and complete the Expedition. What I thought was going to be a relatively brisk few-hours distraction has completely revitalised my enthusiasm for the game. ![]() But now I feel like I've a far more solid framework for understanding the complex interplay of NMS' mountainous systems, meaning that, finally, I can set myself a goal in the sandbox and have a much clearer understanding of the steps required and tools available to get things done. I've always enjoyed tinkering around with No Man's Sky's sandbox, but, especially in recent years, it's usually been the tinkering of a slightly confused, definitely overwhelmed man. This way, you're able to focus on, and engage with, each newly introduced element one by one, rather than being immediately buried beneath No Man's Sky's quivering heap of systems, as tends to happen when playing normally.Īnd having completed Expedition 3 over the weekend, it was frankly a bit of a revelation. Completing one goal unlocks various rewards and these usually include the next bit of essential tech needed to complete another challenge, gain its rewards, and so on. Here though, they're mandatory for progression, spread across five tiers of challenges structured to encourage you to explore and tackle each objective in a relatively linear fashion. Gisto Major may be a toxic hellhole but there are definitely uglier planets to be stranded on. What makes Expedition 3 particularly great is that this elaborate reworking of No Man's Sky's intro scenario pulls in a significant number of the more peripheral systems and processes heaped into the game during its last five years of post-launch development - the kind of stuff that's all too easy to overlook alongside the flashier headline additions. Essentially, it's the main mode's opening ten minute tutorial expanded out into something considerably more involved as you try to restore the ludicrously extravagant technology inside your very, very fancy (but regrettably loan-only) starship. ![]() ![]() Previous Expeditions have sent players planet-hopping their way across the universe, but No Man's Sky's latest effort is something a bit different, taking place almost exclusively on a single planet as participants work through the steps required to get their incredibly broken ship airborne.
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