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53 ratings

Game Guide - TRY Before Reading

By Emsee (TheeMC) and 1 collaborators

Tips and hints for getting through the game.

Award

Created by

Alexis
In-Game
No Man's Sky

Emsee (TheeMC)
Offline

Category: Gameplay Basics, Walkthroughs

Languages: English

Posted

Updated

29 May, 2014 @ 12:34pm

7 Dec, 2016 @ 3:03pm

1,381	Unique Visitors
22	Current Favorites

Guide Index

Overview

Introduction

Navigation

Gameplay Tips

Discoverable Objects

Comments

Introduction

DISCLAIMER

Before reading this guide, I will say that part of CAPSULE's experience is feeling completely lost. Turn off the lights, plug in headphones, up the volume, and just try it on your own first. It's a lot of fun trying to figure everything out about this mysterious game. If you really feel stuck, here are some tips and tricks I used along the way.

Also, this is my first guide, so be gentle! :D

Note from Alexis: If you've come this far, consider that this guide is spoilertastic. While it's great if you just can't figure anything out, it might lessen the heart pounding experience ;)

Navigation

Once you get this little section learned then you can spend more time on hunting achievements and storyline. You can click images to enlarge them.

This image shows the movement screen of CAPSULE:

Maybe it appears that it isn't telling you much so here we will highlight the information available:

Alexis will do a video eventually, sooner if people say they want it in comments.

Gameplay Tips

Only use full speed to evade or find air
Full speed uses a lot of power, you get better "mileage" by traveling at slower speeds. If you're surrounded by lots of objects and running low on power, you can squeeze a decent amount of distance traveling very slowly, and gives you better steering.

For regular movement, I found traveling at the point where you're just below the straining engine is perfect (when listening to the sounds, one notch lower than the fastest). At this pace, you will be able to outrun drones (later segments).
Air before power and priming the engine
Obviously both are important, but once you are out of air, unless you drift into an air pocket, air tank, or Dopter it's game over. When you run out of power, you can prime your engine which will possibly give you a little extra power. To prime your engine, with empty power press and hold "down" until you hear it finish priming. You'll know it's set when the audio stops and the word "PRIME" holds steady under your power bar. Hold up until you hear the engine die out, then repeat. It's completely random, it won't always work. While out of power, your oxygen will deplete very quickly. If you manage to start it back up, look for air and power right away.

Pro Tip from Justin Wood (thank you!): Once you've prepared the engine to prime, hold up and wait for the moment where the engine makes a different noise. It's usually a fairly short wait, one or two seconds. When you hear this noise, release up and if you timed it right you should be back in action.
Pay attention to sounds
Sounds are important in this game, and serve as cues. Objects will let off noises that you will be able to distinguish, as well as low oxygen/power sounds and station sounds.
Where do I go?
Again, it's fun to figure it out for yourself. But if you still want the answer, here ya go. You want to travel in the direction that lowers the distance in the bottom left. This measures your distance to the next station.
Avoid backtracking
Traveling away from your objective wastes precious oxygen and power. You always want to be moving in the direction of your objective. Alexis: If you have to backtrack, use reverse to get onto the point you want to hit so you don't deviate away too much from your forward heading.
Use the compass
There's a compass at the bottom of your screen. It's helpful to be mindful of your heading, so if you have to go off course to grab supplies, you can head back in the right direction.
Be mindful of radar pulses
This concerns the later stages more, but your radar pulse may attract some unwanted attention. In the later stages of the game, use your radar pulse carefully. Alexis: I could swear that each pulse uses a little bit of oxygen...
The number above the distance meter is the next bearing
Make your bearing (The bar along the bottom of the screen) match this heading to get toward the next storyline point in the shortest distance.
However this isn't always the best route from the third story point onwards.
All enemies adopt dumb tracking
And some enemies only make one course change when triggered, driving in a straigt line or a shallow curve can 'break a lock' effectively while preserving power.
The more you panic the harder it gets
Oxygen depletes faster if the situation is tense, being chased, using lots of pings, and making lots of inputs all increase your O2 useage.

Discoverable Objects

Your radar pulse (spacebar) will identify objects and creatures around you. Here's what I've found, and their effects. Objects that have not yet been identified (non-ID'd) will either show up as a small or large diamond. Larger objects tend to be creatures or structures. Smaller objects tend to be things like air pockets, fuel tanks, etc.

Useful Objects/Creatures

Object name

Un-ID'd Shape

Description

Air pocket

Small Diamond

Replenishes a small amount of oxygen.

Air tank

Small Diamond

Replenishes a larger amount of oxygen.

Dopter

Large Diamond

Evasive Creature. Approach very slowly to replenish some oxygen.

Ion Vents

Small Diamond

Replenishes a small amount of power.

Fuel cell

Small Diamond

Replenishes a larger amount of power.

Waystation

Large Diamond

Fully replenishes oxygen and power.

Crate

Small Diamond

Low chance of providing oxygen or power.

Harmful and Miscellaneous Objects/Creatures

Object name

Un-ID'd Shape

Harmful?

Impedes Movement?

Description

Antenna

Small Diamond

Doesn't seem to have any effect.

Beacon

Small Diamond

Doesn't seem to have any effect.

Convoy

Small Diamond

Yes

Moving object. At low speeds, impedes movement. At high speeds, impedes movement and reduces power.

Cycad

Small Diamond

Yes

Stationary object. At low speeds, impedes movement. At high speeds, impedes movement and reduces power.

Drone

Large Diamond

Yes

Moving object. Not very fast but will continue to pursue until you lose it. When touched it will drain some power and may continue to pursue.

Ion Vortex

Large circle

Yes

Drains power in area of effect but is surrounded by Ion Vents.

Lichen

Small Diamond

Doesn't seem to have any effect.

Mine

Small Diamond

Yes

Stationary object. Touching the mine at any speed significantly reduces power. Just don't do it!

Nitrox

Small Diamond

Yes

Stationary object. Nitrox will reduce power at any speed.

Pylon

Small Diamond

Yes

Stationary object. At low speeds, impedes movement. At high speeds, impedes movement and reduces power.

Seeker Mine

Large Diamond

Yes

Moving object. Very fast and will attack in a straight line, but will not continue pursuit. Coming into contact with it will drain power.

Shrike

Large Diamond

Yes

Moving object. Very fast and will attack and pursue if it senses a radar pulse, but will not pursue on its own. Coming into contact with a Shrike will completely drain your power. A shrike will ignore you after you make contact. if you successfully prime your engine, make sure it is far away before using radar again.

...there may be more! Updating soon.

21 Comments

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Trent W. Buck 3 Jul, 2022 @ 2:43am

Thanks, this helped me a lot!

I docked at one station, then found another similar icon called "mine". I couldn't work out why I couldn't dock with it, even at low speed! Now I realize it was a naval mine (i.e. bomb), not a cobalt mining facility.

I also hadn't noticed the "next objective" heading marker, so I was still wandering aimlessly.

BlivetWidget 16 Dec, 2016 @ 3:38pm

I've done some futher testing and it appears there's also nothing to the claim that oxygen use increases with rapid input. Again, this is quite easy to test. Come to a full stop and mash the keys.

BlivetWidget 13 Dec, 2016 @ 5:05pm

Good guide. However, you say that using a radar ping consumes oxygen. I'm sure you meant power. Bring yourself to a full stop and use the radar ping, it's quite clear.

Alexis [author] 7 Dec, 2016 @ 3:03pm

Cheers Weaver! I've updated accordingly!

Weaver 28 Nov, 2016 @ 11:24pm

This guide hides from my default guide view because it isn't tagged as english, apparently.

Trash 14 Nov, 2014 @ 11:00am

Not a lot of traffic, but odd notes, a thermin will take out a shrike, a drone will take out a thermin with bunch of air pocket drops drone lives. A shrike will take out a drone and drop power 2 tops off my tank after a shrike hit. Mines and nitrox take out drones no drop.

Justin 6 Oct, 2014 @ 10:53am

No problem Knackles, I won't swear by it, but from my experience it seems to work, it got me through the final stretch of the game in one go after getting knocked about by a Shrike, and that's good enough for me. :D

Emsee (TheeMC) [author] 6 Oct, 2014 @ 10:50am

Hey Justin, thanks for the tip!

I've added it into the guide.

Justin 5 Oct, 2014 @ 7:42pm

I'm aware that this might not be updated anymore, but in the event that it is, I wanted to inform everyone that from personal experience, Priming the engine is not, in fact, random. Once you've prepared the engine to prime, hold up and wait for the moment where the engine makes a different noise. It's usually a fairly short wait, one or two seconds. When you hear this noise, release up and if you timed it right you should be back in action.

I will stress that this seems to be very specific about when you release, but once you've done it a few times, it becomes a little easier.

Emsee (TheeMC) [author] 6 Jul, 2014 @ 5:31pm

Weird, I didn't get it either, just when you posted Alexis. Thanks for the updates!

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