Me:
Do you know the game, no man’s sky?

ChatGPT:
Yes, “No Man’s Sky” is a well-known video game developed by the British studio Hello Games. It was first released in 2016 and is available on various platforms such as PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. The game is famous for its massive, procedurally generated universe, which includes over 18 quintillion planets, each with its own unique environment, flora, and fauna.

The core gameplay involves exploration, survival, combat, and trading as players journey through the universe. Players can upgrade their ships, suits, and weapons as they discover different planets and interact with various alien species. The game was initially met with mixed reviews due to the lack of promised features, but it has since seen numerous updates and expansions that have significantly improved the experience and added new content, such as base building, multiplayer, and improved story elements.

As of my last update in April 2023, “No Man’s Sky” continues to be a game that evolves, with Hello Games regularly releasing updates to enhance the game and keep the community engaged.

Me:
how many stars in that game?

ChatGPT:
In “No Man’s Sky,” the number of stars corresponds with the number of planetary systems players can explore. The game is built around a procedural generation system that allows for over 18 quintillion planets, which means there are nearly as many stars since each star typically hosts at least one planet.

This near-infinite number of stars and planets is one of the most prominent features of the game, as it provides a practically unlimited space for exploration. The number is so large that players collectively have only discovered a small fraction of what the game has to offer, and it would take many lifetimes to visit every star system in the game personally.

The 18 quintillion figure comes from the 64-bit seeding algorithm used to procedurally generate the game’s universe. It’s a number that is often cited to give an idea of the scale of the game’s universe, even though it’s not expected that every single star or planet will be visited by players.

Me:
How long would it take one person (given they are immortal) to visit every star system in the game?

ChatGPT:
To estimate how long it would take one person to visit every star system in “No Man’s Sky,” we would need to make several assumptions. Let’s say for simplicity:

• Each visit to a star system is very brief, just a flyby, taking about 1 minute on average (this is an extremely conservative estimate considering that even the fastest possible visit would likely take much longer due to loading times and the need to travel between stars).
• The player is engaged in this task 24 hours a day, without taking any breaks.

Given these assumptions:

1 minute per star system × 18 quintillion star systems (18 × 10^18 star systems)

= 18 × 10^18 minutes

Now, let’s convert the total minutes to years, knowing there are 60 minutes in an hour, 24 hours in a day, and 365 days in a year (ignoring leap years for simplicity):

18 × 10^18 minutes ÷ 60 minutes/hour ÷ 24 hours/day ÷ 365 days/year

= 18 × 10^18 ÷ (60 × 24 × 365)

≈ 18 × 10^18 ÷ 525,600

≈ 34.2 × 10^12 years

So, it would take approximately 34.2 trillion years for one immortal person to visit every star system in the game, assuming one minute per visit with no breaks. This time frame is several orders of magnitude longer than the current age of the universe, which is about 13.8 billion years.

Me:
What if the entirety of humanity were to participate and map each system, how long would it take to map every star system?

ChatGPT:
To estimate the time it would take for the entire human population to map every star system in “No Man’s Sky,” we’ll need to continue with the assumption that it takes about 1 minute to map each system. The current global population is approximately 8 billion people. For simplicity, we’ll use this number for our calculation.

Let’s continue from the previous calculation, where we determined that it would take approximately 34.2 trillion years for one person to visit each of the 18 quintillion star systems, provided they spent one minute per visit.

Now, we’ll divide that number by the current human population:

34.2 trillion years / 8 billion people = 4.275 million years per person

This is a rough estimate and assumes that every single person on the planet could and would dedicate their time to mapping star systems in “No Man’s Sky” non-stop, without accounting for the vast differences in access to technology, interest in participation, or any other logistical concerns.

In reality, the time it would take could be considerably longer due to many factors, including game mechanics that may limit how quickly star systems can be mapped, the fact that not everyone has the game or the necessary equipment to play it, and the reality that people would need to spend the vast majority of their time doing things other than playing the game.

It’s also worth noting that the actual gameplay mechanics of “No Man’s Sky” would not allow for such an organized and simultaneous mapping effort. There are in-game limitations to consider, such as travel time between stars, loading times, and the actual activities required to consider a system “mapped.” The process of discovery, documentation, and travel within the game is much more complex and time-consuming than a simple one-minute flyby would suggest.

Five years ago I wrote this:

“I cannot wait to boot up the game and just walk in any direction, exploring. To see what’s behind that cliff, or what’s inside that deep mysterious cave. Imagine climbing a mountain during sunset and just take a break up there. Hearing the wind and see how day slowly turns into night. Seeing blinking stars appear in the nightsky. Knowing that if you want to, you can get your own spaceship and visit those stars. I’m definitely ready to lose myself in this game. Experience the feeling of being completely lost somewhere and not knowing what to come next”.

This dilemma still holds up to this day.

It’s one of those games you can play however you want. As an adult with a full-time job and family, I value the chill exploration. No need to “keep up” with anything.

The link below is an email I wrote to Hello Games in September 2016:

(https://www.reddit.com/r/nomanshigh/comments/57z3rr/just_got_a_response_from_hello_games_today/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb)

With an incredible team as HG and their hard work, I can’t be anything else than grateful for what you’ve done for the game and yet alone, the community ❤️

Thank you.

// M a r c u s