Questions concerning the release date for No Man's Sky may have driven Hello Games' managing director Sean Murray to near madness. On Sunday, Murray tweeted a video of screaming ducks with the comment "These ducks know how I feel."

Ever since No Man's Sky reveal at E3 2014, the gaming community has repeatedly pestered Murray to know when the game will be ready. The developer has always declined to give a concrete answer.

No Man's Sky's Vast Universe

Hello Games discussed about the game on the PlayStation Blog in early August. Much information was shared in the article.

There are exactly 18,446,744,073,709,551,616 planets in No Man's Sky. Each planet features its own specific biodiversity and geographical features.

Given the vastness of this simulated universe, even gamers in multiplayer may find themselves exploring new worlds alone. It will take 585 billion years to explore every single planet.

To make this possible, the game does not store the No Man's Sky universe on a hard disk or server. Instead, the world is generated every time the player enters the game.

Each planet has nights and days. Hence, players may encounter creatures that only come out during the night.

Exploratory Gameplay

No Man's Sky will not feature any story or campaign. In fact, there is no cutscene or character. The gameplay is strictly focused on exploration.

Players will have at their disposal an arsenal of equipment including ships, jetpacks and tools. Along the way, gamers may find ancient artifacts and derelict ships that can be used to improve their arsenal.

Gamers will only get one ship. So, it is important to choose wisely. Ships are designed for a variety of purposes including trade, combat and exploration. Fuel is also limited. So, players will need to plan carefully when travelling. It is possible to change ships by purchasing a new one at space stations. However, stock is limited.

The position of the planets dictates what the player finds. Planets that are closer to the sun tend to be barren, while those far away tend to be freezing. The rare planets in between are able to sustain life.  Even so, barren planets do contain resources that players can exploit.

Dangers Abound

Occasionally, players may encounter fellow gamers. Some may be explorers, while others have turned to piracy. It is difficult to know who to trust. That is why weapons are also included in the player's toolset.

Space and the planets can be equally deadly. For instance, some worlds are bombarded by radiation that can kill in minutes. In this situation, players will need to upgrade their suits.

Happily, No Man's Sky has one forgiving aspect. Should players die penniless and without a ship, they will be given a new ship. This spacecraft lacks hyperdrive. So, players will need to fly around locally to procure resources. 

Upon release, No Man's Sky will be available on the PlayStation 4 and Windows PC.