No Man's Sky News

No Man's Sky' 4.1 Fractal Update adds an Expedition and accessibility options

Universe-spanning survival sim No Man’s Sky is releasing its 4.1 Fractal Update today, bringing along a new Expedition, tons of accessibility options, a VR overhaul, and much more. Developers Hello Games have updated the game so consistently their launch woes are a distant memory, sent to a faraway galaxy. Since then, No Man’s Sky has become a not just a space exploration game, but a city management sim and a generally nice place to chill with your odd alien pets, all in one package.

No Man's Sky Fractal Update

Hello,

We’re excited to let you know that today we are releasing our first major update of 2023. We’re calling it Fractal (version 4.1). Full patch notes are available here.

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All players can earn a stunning new starship, the Utopia Speeder, which allows travellers to skim across planet surfaces at high velocity. We’re also launching a new Expedition - “Utopia” - which challenges players to work together and rebuild an abandoned solar system for the mysterious Utopia Foundation. Other expedition rewards include an exclusive new helmet (the Fearsome Visor), a robotic drone companion and much more.

Steam Deck now supports gyroscopic controls, making exploring and scanning new discoveries more comfortable and precise than ever.

Speaking of which, the Wonders Catalogue shows off your most incredible discoveries, from tallest mountain to strangest creature, giving explorers a detailed record of their journey and allowing players to compare their records with fellow travellers.

We’ve also overhauled the game’s options for all platforms, introducing a raft of new accessibility features and giving players even more control over the way they play and experience the game.

The Fractal update brings a huge number of improvements and new experiences for everyone.

That’s already quite a large update, but there’s lots more! We’ve always been incredibly passionate about VR. No Man’s Sky is about exploration and there’s nothing quite like exploring the infinite universe in virtual reality. Our game has changed a huge amount since our small team introduced VR support back in 2019, and we were so excited to revisit and overhaul all virtual reality for all players.

Fractal brings a large range of improvements and quality of life changes for all VR players. Here’s a brief list of some of the features players old and new can expect when slipping on a headset:

Play the entirety of No Man’s Sky in Virtual Reality without compromise, with new levels of immersion.
Switch between VR and standard gameplay. Continue from an existing save to revisit favourite planets, bases and creatures in full virtual reality.
The HUD and user interface has been completely remade for virtual reality, to ensure every interaction available in the game feels natural and built for purpose. Including controlling Multi-Tool options via a menu embedded on the in-world Multi-Tool; and browsing the quick menu and inventory via a personal wrist-mounted display.
Lift open your starship’s cockpit, then reach out and grab the controls to take flight. Turn around for a full 360° view of the starship and vehicle cockpits, with incredible details only visible in VR.
Many interactions have been given special VR-only options, including: grabbing plants and other collectables with your hands; physically opening the cockpits of ships and exocraft; piloting starships directly with a VR stick/throttle; and punching objects to cause damage.
With complete head and hand tracking, interactions in virtual reality make No Man’s Sky more intuitive, tactile, and immersive than ever. Physically unholster your Multi-Tool from your shoulder. Intuitively aim and fire at targets, or put it away to engage in combat with your fists. Tap a button on your headset to toggle the Analysis Visor, then point towards fauna, flora, and minerals to scan and discover them.

2022 was a pretty packed year for No Man’s Sky with major free updates like Sentinel, Outlaws, Leviathan, Endurance and Waypoint, plus a bunch more of our popular expeditions, whilst also launching on Steam Deck and Switch. We’ve got an even bigger year planned for 2023, with Fractal marking just the starting point.

Full patch notes can be found here.

Thanks again so much for your continued support. It means a lot to us.

Our journey continues.

Sean

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