It's only been a couple of days since "No Man's Sky" dropped on all of us, and we know you've been excited and ready to don your spacefarer cap and go exploring. The game's vast procedurally-generated universe can be daunting and overwhelming, especially if you don't know what to do first.
Not to worry, though, as GameSpot has put together a quick list of things you need to try doing in "No Man's Sky." Because the galaxy is vast and wide, and things could get a little repetitive, here are 11 things you can try in the game.
(Do) feed the animals
If you run into animals on a randomly-generated planet in "No Man's Sky" and you can feed it, you should try doing so. It's not just some petting-zoo fun you can have in the game—it's also likely to get you some resources, especially rare ones as the animal can be enamored with you and lead you to a stock of the resource.
Move around better and faster by flying horizontally
You can actually boost yourself up using the jetpack in "No Man's Sky." All you have to do is sprint, hit the melee button, and then turn on the jetpack right away, causing you to fly close to the ground. Just don't fly too high or you might take some fall damage when you land.
Travel around a planet by going into orbit
If you need to move around in bigger planets but don't have the patience to fly below the atmosphere, the best and fastest way to do this is to fly back out into space. Launch your ship into the planet's orbit and then travel to the other side, or wherever you were planning on going. It cuts down travel time by a lot.
Brakedrifting
This was added in the "No Man's Sky" day-one update. You can pivot your ship in a pinch by drifting ona brake—and it's real easy, too. All you have to do is turn around while braking, and it'll be much faster than simply turning.
Sell the Atlas Stone
One of the first things you get when you start playing "No Man's Sky" is the Atlas Stone, a strange item you receive after you first meet the Atlas. You can either decide to hold on to it and see what it really does for you, or you can go sell it for a lot of money. If you do decide to sell it, however, take it around different star systems to see which vendors will pay you the most for it. It's possible that vendors will buy it for millions of units, so be patient.
Refuel your ship via asteroids
You don't need to go find and land on a planet to refuel your ship. Asteroids are loaded with Thamium9 that can easily refuel your ship's pulse drive—and you can even get copper and gold minerals that you can sell later.
Resell items in space stations
Here's a bit of a dick move to earn some quick cash in "No Man's Sky": Go buy all of the wares from vendors in a space station, and then go find visitors who land in the station and resell them for a slightly higher price. You'll have to watch which deals are great between vendors, but if you play this right, you'll earn money real quick.
Follow trade routes
If you're brave (and bored) enough to kill some time for huge rewards, you can go follow the different trade routes that line the galaxy in "No Man's Sky." They're not easy flights, but there is literally gold at the end of the rainbow, as there are loads of resources to be found at their end points.
Go after cargo ships and planetary bases
When you land in a new planetary system in "No Man's Sky," you can immediately run into big cargo ships. They're armed to the gills, but the adventurous will be rewarded—shooting up their cargo ports will cause lots of resources to spill right away for the taking. This is also true for bases stationed on planets; they're very dangerous, but the reward matches the risk.
Get your items back when you die
"No Man's Sky" isn't a roguelike adventure, even if you're a rogue—you can get your items back after you die and respawn empty-handed. Just head back to the location where you died and get them all back, and make sure your inventory is absolutely empty so you can get everything you dropped.
Jump high cliffs using your jetpack
This is a really, really convenient "No Man's Sky" feature, and it's not even a hack. You might find high cliffs and pits that may be really tough to climb, but fret not—all you have to do is stand at the base of the cliff, and you'll see a prompt that will tell you to hold the jetpack button. Do that, and you'll clear over the cliff without even using any jetpack fuel.
Are there any "No Man's Sky" tricks you've discovered while playing the game? Let us know!