Although the mystique has worn off somewhat, thanks to a mean leakster, No Man's Sky is very much still one of the most highly anticipated games of 2016.

It's a huge, huge space exploration sim that you wouldn't complete – not even a fraction of a millionth of a percent of it – even if you spent the rest of your life playing it.

Related: No Man's Sky tips and tricks

And if you live in US you can start playing from tomorrow, Tuesday August 9. Us here in Europe have to wait a whole 'nother day to play on Wednesday August 10.

We've had snippets of gameplay, lots of chatter from developer Hello Games and creator Sean Murray, plus the odd trailer, but there are still a lot of questions that the gaming community has about No Man's Sky.

We've done our best to round up the 20 biggest questions that you have about No Man's Sky and answer them here. Do let us know via Twitter if you have any other questions and we'll endeavour to find the answer to them.

Related: No Man's Sky preview – GTA meets Minecraft in space

1. HOW BIG IS NO MAN'S SKY?

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Many say that No Man's Sky universe is infinite, but in fact, it's not quite.

"Computers don't really do infinity very well," explains creator Sean Murray. "But there are 18,446,744,073,709,551,616 planets in the universe. If you visit each one for a single second, it will take you 585 billion years to see them all, so it may as well be."

If, like us, you find those numbers rather confusing, No Man's Sky has 18 quintillion planets to discover.

2. HOW LONG DID NO MAN'S SKY TAKE TO MAKE?

According to various sources, No Man's Sky has been in development for around six years. Creator Sean Murray started working on it in secret at first but then the team expanded to a four-person project who worked on the title until its first announcement in December 2013 with the title's first teaser trailer.

The final game is being worked on by 13 people.

3. IS NO MAN'S SKY A SINGLE-PLAYER GAME?

There's a bit of controversy around the multiplayer aspects of No Man's Sky. And it seems that the answer to this question is primarily yes.

From our extensive time with the game, we've not met a single other soul for example. But that hasn't bothered us one iota.

But, for some it's quite the issue. The internet outrage arose after two streamers attempted to meet up on a planet in the game, but they couldn't see each other when they arrived.

Sean Murray tweeted out that this was because it's early days for the game, and there will be more multiplayer functionality in the game going forward:

This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. We added a 'scan for other players' in the Galactic Map to try to encourage this happening. We wanted it to happen - but the first day? — Sean Murray (@NoMansSky) August 10, 2016

This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. We hope to see those happening... but too many of you are playing right now. More than we could have predicted — Sean Murray (@NoMansSky) August 10, 2016

This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. For instance over night we hit 10 million species discovered in NMS... that's more than has been discovered on earth.

WHAT IS GOING ON!!! — Sean Murray (@NoMansSky) August 10, 2016

4. WILL I MEET OTHER PLAYERS?

So the answer to this question at the moment is a big no, we're afraid. Whether that'll change in time is up to Hello Games and for the internet to discover.

5. IS THERE A STORY?

Yes, there are several strands of storyline that you can follow in No Man's Sky that give you goals and missions, such as heading straight for the centre of the universe or following the waypoints given to you by the Atlas or by the other alien life that you meet along the way.

Of course, whether you do any of that is totally up to you. You can choose whether to be an explorer, a trader, a space pirate or take on other roles, or even a combination of all of them.

Freedom really is the name of the game in No Man's Sky.

6. WHY IS NO MAN'S SKY ONLY 6.3GB IN INSTALL SIZE?

This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. For those asking - size of No Man's Sky on disc is just 6GB. A lot of that is audio (⌐■_■) — Sean Murray (@NoMansSky) July 10, 2016

If No Man's Sky really does have 18 quintillion planets, why is it only going to take up a tiny 6.3GB of your PS4 hard drive space?

Well, that's because the entire universe in the game is procedurally generated, with all the planets and worlds created using a complex system of maths and algorithms, meaning it doesn't actually all sit on the disc.

7. CAN I PLAY IT OFFLINE?

Yes, you can play No Man's Sky offline, but all your discoveries won't be uploaded to the cloud for others to see until you go online again.

8. WHAT WILL I BE DOING?

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As we've mentioned before, what you actually do in No Man's Sky is totally up to you, but there are several key gameplay pillars to consider.

Explore – With over 18 quintillion planets, it's safe to say that you're going to be doing a fair amount of exploring in No Man's Sky. All the flora and fauna can be scanned and named by you, meaning you could have a million creatures named after you if you fancied.

– With over 18 quintillion planets, it's safe to say that you're going to be doing a fair amount of exploring in No Man's Sky. All the flora and fauna can be scanned and named by you, meaning you could have a million creatures named after you if you fancied. Trade – One of the biggest parts of No Man's Sky is trading as it's got a robust economy and trading system to rival any RPG. Anything you discover on a planet can be sold or traded in, or simply used to build useful items that will help you on your journey. "We want trading to be fun," explained Murray. "We want it to be understandable, because already the game's already quite large."

– One of the biggest parts of No Man's Sky is trading as it's got a robust economy and trading system to rival any RPG. Anything you discover on a planet can be sold or traded in, or simply used to build useful items that will help you on your journey. "We want trading to be fun," explained Murray. "We want it to be understandable, because already the game's already quite large." Fight – If you so wish, you can be a space pirate in No Man's Sky, destroying planets' habitats, killing creatures, stealing from aliens and generally being a bit of a menace. From dogfighting in space to first-person combat on a planet's surface, you will face foes ready to overwhelm you at the drop of a hat.

– If you so wish, you can be a space pirate in No Man's Sky, destroying planets' habitats, killing creatures, stealing from aliens and generally being a bit of a menace. From dogfighting in space to first-person combat on a planet's surface, you will face foes ready to overwhelm you at the drop of a hat. Survive – Every solar system, planet, ocean and cave is filled with danger in No Man's Sky, and you are very vulnerable. Yes, you have a suit that will protect you for a limited time, but overall your suit and your ship are very fragile, with every encounter you have potentially pushing you to your limits.

– Every solar system, planet, ocean and cave is filled with danger in No Man's Sky, and you are very vulnerable. Yes, you have a suit that will protect you for a limited time, but overall your suit and your ship are very fragile, with every encounter you have potentially pushing you to your limits. Learn – There are alien factions occupying the universe and learning more about them can be key to unlocking time and space. Or at least some new languages. Discovering ancient relics can lead you to start to understand and help you learn the various alien languages, which will open up new adventures and trading opportunities.

9. ARE PLANETS ALL THE SAME?

Nope, each one is unique. Some will be barren, but could still be sources of great wealth in terms of resources. But others will be dense with animals and plant life.

The rule is that planets closer to the sun will tend to be more barren, while those further away will be colder. Anything in between will tend to be richer with life.

And don't forget, each one will have its own climate, weather system and day/night cycle. You can fly down to the night side of the planet and discover a land in darkness, which may mean different creatures and flora will be awake.

10. CAN YOU GET LOST?

Because planets are huge and you can only ping your ship when it's close to you, you can get stuck on a planet.

"This is an argument that we have about how much to allow players to have that experience, but I think it's important that they do," explained Murray to Digital Spy. "You see people who will lose their ship, and there is a button where you can scan and it will show you a little icon where your ship is right now.

"It's a bit like having your keyfob for your car and just pressing it. You think, 'Where did I leave it?' and you wait to hear the 'beep beep'. So that's a good compromise for us, that you walk around the planet going 'beep beep'."

"But what I really like – it's one of my favourite moments – is the fact that people will fly down to a planet, get out of their ship and they'll swim for 10 minutes. They'll get in the water and they'll swim for 10 minutes over to some island. Then they'll say, 'Oh, where's my ship?' It's obviously 10 minutes away and you have to go back and you have to think about that.

"I like that people will have to think about their space, and orienteer, and find their way around. Not just dumbly play the game. It'll make them think about the game in a different way. If you watch people play it for three or four hours, you'll see them start to mark out landmarks – I left my ship over by that tree or whatever – and I like that because it's becoming a real space for them."

11. CAN YOU DIE?

Oh yes. There are so many things that can kill you in No Man's Sky. The planets themselves can be toxic, be filled with radiation, be extremely hot or extremely cold or have other hazards that can kill you in minutes – with death delayed by only your suit.

If you start messing around on a planet - destroying stuff, killing creatures or other alien lifeforms – you'll find you've got a Wanted Level, just like in GTA 5. Little robots called Sentinels will come after you and unless you can attack them or retreat to your ship, you'll be killed by them too.

And of course, if you happen to annoy the native wildlife enough they'll dispatch you too.

If you do die, it's not game over. It's just a bit Dark Souls.

When you die, you'll leave a grave behind and either be transported back to your ship if you're on a planet, or you and your ship will be teleported to the nearest Space Station.

That grave will also hold all of your inventory that you had on you at the time though, meaning if you want it back you're going to have to head to the grave site (marked clearly on your radar).

12. WHAT IS THE ATLAS?

The Atlas is the big encyclopedia of everything that anyone has ever discovered in No Man's Sky. The game's logo is actually the symbol for The Atlas, which is the database of all the things that you and other No Man's Sky players have discovered and chosen to share with each other.

Hello Games describes it as "perhaps the most important thing in the universe" as it contains findings that even the developer has no idea about.

The Atlas is also your guide through the universe if you so wish it to be. It's the little fella that pushes you forward in the opening hours of the game, but also a great source of wisdom in the universe.

13. WHAT IS THE GALACTIC MAP?

The Galactic Map is the universe map that plots all the solar systems, planets, stars and more within No Man's Sky. It also shows you where your friends are in the universe right now, but they may be so far away that you'll never be able to get to them.

14. WHAT ABOUT THE GALACTIC INDEX?

This is the encyclopaedia of everything you discover in No Man's Sky. If you discover a planet, creature or plant, you can name it and add it to the Galactic Index, which feeds into the main Atlas.

Said item will bear that name forever, and anyone else who comes across it will know that you discovered it first and can admire the name you gave it. Praise be Planet McPlanetFace.

15. ARE THERE ALIENS?

Yes, there's plenty of intelligent life aside from you and other players in No Man's Sky. Some planets will be home to buildings and outposts built by the alien factions.

You won't be able to communicate with them at first. You need to discover the ancient artefacts to start unlocking their language, so to begin with your answers to their questions will be pure guesswork. But, the wrong guess may well anger or offend them, so it's best to step away from a conversation you're not comfortable with.

You'll also start learning the languages by having more encounters with a particular alien species. The better you are at communicating, the better your relationship with the various alien factions, and thus the better your trading options will be.

16. WHAT ARE THE CREATURES LIKE?

Planets are populated by procedurally generated, unique creatures that vary in size, shape, colour and behaviour. Even their calls are procedurally generated, with Hello Games creating special software that models throats to make sure the calls reflect the shape and size of the creatures' bodies.

Animals may attack you, but if you attack them first, the patrolling robot Sentinels will start attacking you. It's better to scare creatures or just run if animals start attacking, because that way you're preserving the natural balance of the planet. Animals may attack you but think twice about retaliating. If Sentinels see you kill a creature they'll attack you. It's often best to try to scare creatures or run away, and preserve the natural balance of the planet.

Mostly though, the creatures will keep to their natural routines. But you may see the food chain in action with certain species being eaten by others. But unlike Earth, you'll probably find you're rarely top of the food chain.

17. HOW DOES CRAFTING WORK?

Crafting is one of the mainstays of No Man's Sky, you'll need to do it in order to upgrade your ship, suit and your weapon. All three of those items have an inventory with a number of slots – the number depends on the type of weapon, ship and suit you have.

Gathering resources is crucial, especially for gathering fuel and fuelling the protection offered to you by your suit.

This is much more of a survival game than you might initially think, with all your resources being limited and often quite rare.

You can then craft technologies into upgrades with the rarest resources only being found in certain types of solar system.

18. CAN I GET A DIFFERENT SHIP?

Yes, you can upgrade your existing ship or get yourself a new one either by buying one or finding a crashed ship and repairing it.

"Ships offer varying capacity for being upgraded, whether speed, manoeuvrability, jump drive range or weapon power," explained Hello Games.

But you can only have one ship at a time, so you'll need to think about your needs. Larger cargo capacities are better for trading, those looking for a fight will need a faster ship with more weapons, whereas those just looking to explore will want a long jump drive distance.

19. WHAT IS THE IN-GAME CURRENCY?

Units are the universe's currency in No Man's Sky and you'll earn these Units for various things including selling resources at trading posts, shooting down pirates, uploading discoveries to the Atlas and more.

You'll discover that market prices for the resources you bring in will vary. It's possible to discover lucrative trading routes, where you mine in one solar system and sell in another.

If you want to do lots of trading, you might want to invest in a ship that has lots of cargo space.

20. WILL THERE BE NO MAN'S SKY DLC?

It seems there won't be No Man's Sky DLC as such, but more of an upgrade system for the game.

"There are things, post-release, that would be really exciting for the game that we could see how people were playing and iterate on that," Murray told PC Gamer. "This is definitely a game for updates. And actually, content-wise, DLC is less applicable."

Hello Games has already revealed that it's working on the game's first update already, so keep your eyes and ears peeled for that one.

21. WHAT ARE ATLAS STONES FOR?

The first time you come across an Atlas Stone you'll be allured by it's shininess, but also by its worth. BUT, before you selling them willy nilly, they're incredibly useful.

According to the crazy people who have actually made it to the centre of the universe, you need 10 Atlas Stones. We're not going to spoil it for you, but if you really need to know why right now, then watch this video courtesy of Kotaku.

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If you have any other big burning No Man's Sky questions, feel free to drop us a line on Twitter - @DigitalSpyGames.

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