Discoveries

In the 20 or so hours that I've spent with No Man's Sky, I admit that the gameplay loop presented by this title has left me hopelessly bored on multiple occasions. And the one thing that has kept me going during those times is the sense of discovery. I wanted to see what sort creatures I'd find in the next planet, however weird and messed up they turn out to be (bouncing pineapples and all). In any case, you must first repair your busted Analysis Visor, then hold L2 and aim it at whatever wildlife you come across.

Each new creature you discover rewards you with units (money) after which you can head over to the Discoveries log in the main menu, and rename then upload your discoveries to the server should you choose to. You will also receive more cash for doing so. There is also a trophy awarded for discovering every creature on a planet so you can go for that as well if you're interested.

For birds or any other kind of flying creature, you can analyze them by zooming in on them with the analysis visor. If that doesn't work, you can simply shoot the creature to kill them then analyze the remains.