No Man's Sky News

Hello!
Our next update for No Man’s Sky, EXPEDITIONS, which launches today gives travellers a whole new way to explore together.

Expeditions is a seasonal and community focused mode and complements the existing modes like Normal, Creative, Survival and Permadeath. Every player will start out on the same planet with a journey plotted ahead of you across the galaxy. Each traveller starts with a custom collection of technology, customisations, new ships and weapons, providing a glimpse of some of the wild possibilities in the universe.

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As a community you will adventure through the season passing journey milestones and completing the different phases along the way to unlock increasingly valuable rewards, many of which are unique to the season. Everything you unlock will be available across all modes, and at the end of the season existing expeditions will be converted to normal mode saves allowing play to continue.

If you are a returning player looking for a fresh start, an experienced explorer looking to recapture the awe of your first moments in No Man’s Sky, or a new player wishing to join in a huge community experience - then EXPEDITIONS should be a great place to jump in.



Whilst Expeditions is a huge addition, this update also provides a whole host of quality of life and feature improvements. From a new UI, to scanning capabilities, to combat enhancements, to starship overhauls - there’s hundreds of improvements and tweaks to enjoy. This is one of our biggest updates for a long while. Full exhaustive patch notes are available here, but you can find some examples below:



SHARED EXPEDITIONS - Each of these events starts from a fixed point in the universe, bringing the whole community of travellers together to embark on a shared journey.

MILESTONES AND PHASES- Progress through exploration milestones to earn rewards, meet up with fellow travellers, and experiment with new ways of playing No Man’s Sky.

TARGET SWEEP MODE - A new extension to the Analysis Visor, Target Sweep brings a new element of exploration gameplay to missions. Use survey techniques and exploration skills to uncover mission destinations.

MISSION OVERHAUL - Core and optional missions have been overhauled to include the Target Sweep mechanic, as well as a large number of other improvements.

WEEKEND MISSIONS - Weekend Missions have been re-enabled. These procedurally generated missions unite the community around a common goal, and offer a large amount of Quicksilver as a reward.

UI AND HUD OVERHAUL - The in-game HUD has been completely refreshed, for a cleaner and more legible appearance. A large number of UI and marker quality of life improvements have been added.



BALANCE AND QUALITY OF LIFE CHANGES - Improvements to early game balance and a new smoothness to the automated instructions for building products and technologies mean this is the best time to get back into playing No Man’s Sky.

RENDEZVOUS POINTS - Reunite with other travellers on the same journey, group up with the community to build a settlement, or simply wave hello as you pass through.

EXCLUSIVE NEW REWARDS - Progressing through Expedition phases will unlock exclusive new rewards. The first expedition offers new content such as base parts, new customisation options, as well as an exclusive ship design and new jetpack style.

SEASONS - New expeditions will start regularly, recapturing the excitement of setting out into the universe for the very first time. Each expedition will have a theme, and offer a new way to look at the colossal universe of No Man’s Sky. This is just the beginning.

CROSS-SAVE REWARDS - The exclusive rewards earned from Expeditions can be redeemed on other saves in any game mode at the Space Anomaly.

BUG FIXES AND PERFORMANCE - As well as these brand new ways to play No Man’s Sky, we have been busy listening to player feedback and addressing bug fixes and frequently requested balance changes.



The team have been hard at work and this is already our second major update of the year (COMPANIONS launched just a few weeks ago!). We have loved watching players adopt, ride and forge relationships with a wide variety of weird and wonderful creatures they find in the universe. On planet, in the Nexus or on community missions, encountering and journeying with other travellers is now just as much about meeting their trusty sidekicks. And those creature friends are going to be good company on community Expeditions too. EXPEDITIONS is available to download now, free for existing players.

Our journey continues.

Sean

Hello Everyone,

Thank you to everyone playing the Companions Update, especially those taking the time to report any issues they encounter via Zendesk or console crash reporting.

We are listening closely to your feedback, and have identified and resolved a number of issues. These fixes have been combined into patch 3.21, which will be live on all platforms today.

• Fixed a crash that could occur when reading the text at some specific interactions, primarily distress beacons.
  
• On PC, fixed a crash that could occur when loading creature textures. This fix will be rolled out to other platforms as soon as possible.
  

• Aggressive companions will now correctly attack hazardous plants.
  
• A number of creature behaviours have been rebalanced to better match personality traits.
  
• Fixed a number of issues that caused players to appear in the wrong position when riding creatures.
  
• Fixed an issue that could prevent a small number of creatures from being customised.
  
• Improved the positioning of accessories on some four-legged creatures.
  
• Fixed an issue that caused some companions to only mine objects that were very close to them.
  
• Fixed a number of issues with the way companions aimed their mining lasers.
  
• Fixed a bug that could allow companions to attempt to locate a building while not on a planet.
  

• Fixed an issue that could very occasionally cause creatures to use speech options from an incorrect personality type.
  
• Introduced a number of tutorial hints for the first time players who use the Egg Sequencer.
  
• Fixed an issue that caused missing controller icons to appear when riding a pet using Vive controllers.
  
• Fixed a number of creature animation glitches that could occur in multiplayer.
  
• Fixed a glitch in the sleeping animation for blob-like creatures.
  

• Fixed an issue that could cause companion summoning icons to render incorrectly.
  
• Fixed an issue that caused inconsistent colour formatting in companion speech.
  
• Fixed a number of issues with companion particle effects.
  
• Fixed a number of issues related to network syncing creature interactions.
  

We will continue to release patches as issues are identified and resolved. If you experience any issues, let us know by submitting a bug report.

Thank you,
Hello Games

Hello Everyone,

Our tiny team is excited to let you know that our first free update for 2021, the COMPANIONS update, is available to download from today, free for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Win 10, Steam, Steam VR, GoG, XBox One and XBoxS/X players!

Every planet you land on in No Man’s Sky is full of varied creatures, but as wild animals players often didn't get to spend much time up close with them. Our creatures are weird, vibrant and surprising, and we wanted to give them a starring role in this update. With the COMPANIONS update, players can now tame, breed, train and even speak to the creatures they encounter.

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Travellers are now able to adopt the creatures they encounter and form close bonds with them. They will travel side-by-side with you as you adventure through the universe both as a friend and as a valuable aide on your voyage. Train them to scan for resources, mark out hazards, provide light, hunt dangerous fauna, find settlements, excavate buried treasure or even mine for materials with their own shoulder-mounted mining lasers.

If properly nurtured, your companion will lay eggs which can be collected and incubated. Watch in wonder as the new-borns hatch and grow from babies to full-grown adults! Or use the Space Anomaly’s new Egg Sequencer to genetically modify your companion’s eggs into ever-wilder species.



There are a wide range of customisable accessories and decals if you want to give your companion a unique look. And if you’ve bred a rare and noteworthy creature? It could be really valuable and sought-after. Why not trade their eggs with fellow Travellers?

Creature personalities are defined by their species and ecosystem, such that no two creatures are alike, and their personalities develop further as you deepen your bond with them. Your faithful friend will roam the planet with you as you explore, and can be patted, fed and played with. Upon encountering other Travellers and their companions, they may become frightened, playful or even aggressive, based on their own unique personality.



Every adopted creature is equipped with a neural harness that connects directly to the Exosuit. Your companion’s innermost thoughts will be translated and sent directly to your internal communication channels. Feel the connection with them grow as you play with them, feed them, and go on adventures together.

This proves to be a very exciting year for No Man’s Sky and we can’t wait to show you what else we have planned on the roadmap.



Hello Games had a very busy 2020, and it was heartening for the team to know we were providing some form of escapism for folks. It was our biggest year to date, and we’re enjoying keeping the momentum going as we head into 2021. The support of the wider community has allowed us to continue working on this game we love so much. We never take it for granted and genuinely thank you.

Full patch notes for the COMPANIONS update are available here.

Thank you,

Sean