The thing is its not so much what they promised and didn't deliver. It's more what they delivered is so simplistic on the gameplay side that it just leaves you wanting.
I think ultimately there are a couple of directions they could have went that would have been better.
A.) A multiplayer affair ala Minecraft. Even if you delivered the exact same game as they did, it would be still kinda disappointing but at least you would be rolling with friends while doing it which inherently makes anything better. If you redesigned the systems with multiplayer in mind from the get go, you could have really come up with something cool.
B.) Focus it more on the story. There is a game called Crashlands that I really like that is basically you crash landing on a planet and having to craft and survive and such. But you are always goal oriented because its like an rpg with a story. A more focused this is why you are doing this would have helped compared to the skeletal atlas "story" in the game they shipped.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/391730/C.) Go hardcore and make it really a survival game. Where survival is really tough. Almost like a dark souls rougue like where surviving and playing is really harsh and difficult and you design the game around those aspects. So advancing is a testament to your skill rather than just how much you are willing to grind harvesting resources.
I think all of those approaches would have been better than what they were necessarily going for. There is just is not enough game in that videogame No Man Sky currently.
