Why Starfield is Different than No Man's Sky

This topic came up in conversation with someone and I just had to write about it.  Starfield is NOT like No Man's Sky for the following reasons:

• 
  While there is a scanner in both games, it definitely doesn't work the same.  Plus, resources are not as plentiful in Starfield as they are with No Mans Sky.  In NMS, you can break down with a laser beam just about everything plant and rock and there are wide varieties of plants and rocks with different and varying resources that you get from them.  In Starfield its a mining Cutter tool which you get as part of a story in the beginning and it only breaks down varieties of rocks.  There are nodes in both games, however you can't break down a node in Starfield like you can in No Mans Sky.  I have also found the building of extracting devices much easier in NMS.
• The strength of Starfield comes in the Ship Battles, Zero G FPS fights, and the battles with factions on the ground.  There are a variety of weapons that can be modded and improved.  And a host of ammo to go with them.  Think Fallout in space on steroids.
• There are no followers in No Man's Sky.  In Starfield you have a choice of several and they each have their own stories and traits which they bring to bear.  You can even romance some of the followers in Starfield (similar to what you could do in Fallout 4).
• No Man's Sky feels VERY BIG and pretty endless.  And, to me, there seemed to be no real end to the story.  I also found it very vanilla and uninteresting at one point.
• With Starfield, the stories and missions take shape in a more compacted universe (still big, but not too big that its overwhelming).  For example, I first was a member of Constellation, then fell in with the pirates because I was kidnapped by the UCC (jerks).  I've helped the pirates gain ground against the UCC and helped them find a huge treasure that had been missing and presumed lost.  I learned all about their founder and the prison riots he caused on such and such planet.  With Constellation, I have discovered these ancient artifacts that lead you to obtain interesting abilities.  While doing that, I have been in fights with other factions and I rescued a girl from a planet whose parents were believed to be dead.  This specific mission was important to my follower which lead me to have a greater relationship with her.  
• I'm not done yet though.  I also went to a planet called Neon which is very Tokyo/Steam Punk.  There I got involved in squabbles with the top leaders of the city and wound up framing one of them to try to improve things.  Further, there were two rival gangs and one was more violent than the other and I infliltrated the least violent gang to help them take out the other gang (while also discovering the source of their weapons).
• I also became a Marshall for a city and I've been busting people on-planet and on various planets in the system.  The standoff with hostages that I did where I had to act as a negotiator was super fun.  Everyone was also dressed in wild west gear which was super cool.
• There are other side stories I've done, however the point I'm trying to make is that the relationships and stories are much more interesting and intricate in Starfield than No Mans Sky.  And surprisingly, the stories and characters all blend well together.  I really enjoy too how you can make choices throughout the game that make your experience rich, colorful, and interesting.
• Did I mention that the Zero-G gun battles are FREAKING SWEET?!?
• Buy, building, and upgrading ships is also very different in Starfield than NMS.  While in NMS you can wait for that perfect ship to come into a bay where you are and there is some building you can do....Starfield offers an entire tool dedicated to customized ship building down to individual parts.  Further, while you can buy and sell whole ships in either game, if you just want to upgrade a part in your ship, there is a separate tool in Starfield where you can do that.  
• The interface to do the ship building/servicing is very different between the two as well.  In NMS, you go to a terminal in a space port to do the building.  In Starfield you go to an actual ship technician (a person) to do it.  You also have different variations of ship parts and ships available depending on the planet you are on.  In NMS, it pretty much offers you parts or ships based on what is available to your class.
• The skill driven aspect of Starfield...and how it relates to ship building is interesting as well.  Ships are divided in classes (A-C) and you have to rank up in skills pertaining to ships before you can get access to greater class ships.  In No Mans Sky, you can do a cheat and get a TON of money and buy a nice ship (lame).
• Another aspect of ships, particularly in regards to planet exploration is that in No Man's Sky you have the flexibility to fly your ship around the planet, whereas in Starfield you cannot.  Further, No Man's Sky has the ability to create vehicles that you can use to travel around the planet, and Starfield does not.  I do hope they have a vehicles expansion eventually for Starfield...I think this would improve the planet exploring experience.
• There are no aliens walking around in Starfield.  Everyone is human.  That may bug some people...and I like that aspect of NMS.  What it lacks in intelligent alien life walking around, it does make up though with the variations of factions and the wildlife you have to fight.
• 
  Speaking of alien wildlife.  I think confrontations with it on the planet is much more interesting and engaging in Starfield.  While you may not learn everything about the creature when you scan it, I feel like how it behaves with you and with other creatures around it is more involved.  Pretty often in Starfield I come across a group of animals fighting another group of animals and you fighting one of those animals can change how the scene unfolds.  I feel like in NMS, you come across these creatures but they pretty much keep to themselves and don't attack others in their vicinity.  What I am trying to say is that Starfield focuses more on how creatures interact with each other and NMS focuses more on the resources they can provide you and how they interact with you.
• The final thing I want to mention is that I find the ship battles much more involved and interesting in Starfield than No Mans Sky.  I feel very engaged when I am in battle and I have to think constantly about how my ship is outfitted and how I want to allocate energy to different systems that will make me better in dogfights.  You are constantly taunted by the enemy as well and it feels way more human to be in a battle in Starfield than NMS.  I do warn you though...there is a learning curve with ship battles in Starfield.  I hated the battles at first.  But...as I learned about ship improvements and the skill tree that could help me and about using asteroids to duck behind...I enjoyed the battles way more.  And whatever you do...upgrade the first ship you get...not the prison one.  That prison ship is garbage.