No Man’s Sky, the hotly anticipated sci-fi adventure game, will feature a whopping 18 quintillion planets. This is according to Hello Games’ founder Sean Murray, who had to write the incomprehensible figure on a whiteboard:
18,446,744,073,709,551,616
“If a new planet was discovered every second after the game comes out,” stated Murray, “it would take 584 billion years to visit every one just for a second.” In reality, the player could reach the center of the universe - the game’s overarching goal - in around 40 to 100 hours, assuming he/she elects to forgo any extra voyages.
No Man’s Sky is a procedurally generated game that allows gamers to approach its primary challenge from a number of angles. In doing so, they can barter their way to success, prey on vulnerable ships, or focus on exploration and discovery.
Players can travel to any given planet to explore its ecosystem, including the alien flora and fauna thriving along its surface, and begin collecting valuable resources. Players can then take to the skies and engage in intense space battles, before moving onto surrounding worlds.
The UK-based game development team has recently announced that players will be given the option to share the planets that they have visited in No Man’s Sky, online, with other players. After the player’s ship has been successfully upgraded to include hyperdrive functionality, they are presented with an enormous galactic map of newly discovered planets.
Gamers are incentivized to keep moving from planet to planet, through No Man’s Sky’s vast universe, in a bid to reach the universe’s core. A reward system is set up to ensure players keep sharing pieces of information with fellow travelers. However, according to Murray, it’s up to the player to decide whether divulging this data is “… as good as keeping it to yourself.” Adding to this, the further the player delves into the universe, the better the loot becomes, leading to better ship upgrades and more fuel.
Presented at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), Murray’s breathtaking universe was developed by a small team of just 13 people. Described as the “most ambitious video game” to date, the galaxies are actually generated by sophisticated computer algorithms.
While no release date has been given, No Man’s Sky is set for release on PC and PlayStation 4. Murray has recently described all the hype surrounding the game as “scary,” worrying that the weight of expectation could lead to crushing disappointment.
However, with 18 quintillion planets to explore, we doubt the gaming community will be disappointed.