What happens when you finish no man‘s sky?
Reaching the climax of No Man‘s Sky‘s central storyline quests and "beating" the game does not fundamentally change the underlying experience or cause you to lose any items, ships, bases or progress you‘ve earned. The procedurally generated universe carries on around you, with over 18 quintillion planets across hundreds of galaxies left to explore according to official figures from Hello Games. You retain everything earned up to that point and can continue journeying through endless alien vistas.
Key Post-Story Goals and Milestones
While the scripted, main narrative paths eventually conclude, there are still near infinite goals and milestones left for players after the credits roll. Some of the most popular activities include:
- Maxing Out Your Gear: Players invest hundreds of hours to fully upgrade their exosuits with storage slots, hop up their ships for hyperjump range and damage, or customize the perfect multi-tool for their playstyle.
- Constructing Elaborate Bases: You can spend as long as you want designing everything from practical mines and farms to resplendent trophy rooms to show off rare collectibles from across the cosmos.
- Journeying Through Galaxies: At the center of each galaxy waits a jump to the next, untouched set of planets. Diehard explorers chain these galaxy centers together in pursuit of newly generated worlds.
| Milestone Types | Examples |
|---|---|
| Knowledge | Discover all animal species on a planet |
| Exploration | Visit X number of star systems |
| Survival | Withstand extreme planetary environments |
| Combat | Defeat pirate raids in space |
The game also tracks an extensive set of milestones covering all aspects of gameplay. Completing these earns you titles and Chromatic metal rewards. They provide structure around an otherwise open ended experience.
New Features and Content Updates
In addition to the above goals, Hello Games continues actively developing No Man‘s Sky years after launch. Major content updates add new ships, mechanics, mission types and gameplay modes:
- 2022‘s Outlaws update brought a contraband smuggling system and solar ships modeled off jets to hunt down.
- The mech update let you stamp around planets in a heavy duty Minotaur exocraft equipped with weapons to target colossal worms.
- The Normandy SR1 from Mass Effect can be unlocked to fly as your frigate after a recent 2022 crossover expedition.
These big feature drops give existing players new goals while rewarding loyal players with iconic starships from other series.
Over 19 major free updates have arrived since 2016 launch, supported by a community of millions of passionate explorers logging over 26 million hours played on Steam according to latest public figures.
Why Gameplay Feels "Endless"
No Man‘s Sky leverages procedural generation to automatically construct worlds seeded by mathematical rules. Each planet the game builds on the fly pulls from vast pools of potential flora, fauna and landscapes. This tech underpinning eliminates the need for developers to manually craft designs.
Hello Games founder Sean Murray compares this to the way films can Remix permutations of old ideas into new stories. The algorithms fueling No Man‘s Sky essentially remix archetypal sci-fi planets like lava worlds, paradise planets or dead moons at a staggeringly vast scale.
“If you could see the entire universe in one image, it would look quite repetitive. But as an explorer, you’re only ever seeing one planet at a time,” said Sean Murray in an interview with The Guardian.
This combination of procedurally generated exploration paired with meaningful milestones provides practical infinity. There is no set narrative endpoint, just endless potential worlds rich with secrets. You chart your own journey while uncovering vistas never before seen.
My Personal Journey After "Finishing" No Man‘s Sky
As a passionate player logging over 800 hours, I can say firsthand that No Man‘s Sky offers near infinite goals after you complete the main story. For me, the joy comes from gradual accomplishments like studying alien languages word by word to understand local lore. I chart moons searching for beautiful photo mode scenes. One generated planet can occupy days scanning exotic wildlife or experimenting with base construction layouts.
My magnificent organic capital ship The Verdant Venture and its crew feel like old friends after years hopping galaxies together. While the quest lines fade, what remains is a whole universe simulated down to the geology awaiting my custom footprints. No Man‘s Sky‘s depths continue revealing themselves long after any notional end.
