No Man's Sky News

No Man's Sky spruces up its visuals in the Next Generation update

No Man's Sky's next update isn't really for us. The Next Generation update was announced today, and its headline features only come into play if you end up buying either Microsoft or Sony's new tellyboxes next month. But bringing the space romp up to scratch for the new consoles comes with some nice visual benefits for those of us exploring the galaxy on PC. Cut through the console-specific new features (which, let's be fair, largely bring those versions up to par with the PC build), and you'll find some lovely new visual upgrades for players on 'Ultra' graphics settings. The density of detail models like grass, rocks, fungi and weird space hexagons has been ramped right up, while there's been a general bumping-up of draw distances for all objects. Model and texture definition has also been "significantly increased", and grass should now push aside nicely when walking through fields. It does all look quite nice, too, with comparison shots showing worlds that suffer less from that dramatic detail fallout I've come to associate with No Man's Sky's worlds. There's a few other fixes and improvements to go along with the visual upgrade. Target locking in orbital dogfights has been tightened up, a number of icons have been updated, and a particularly nasty crash involved in loading older, larger saves has been fixed. The full list is available to scroll through in the 3.10 Patch Notes at the bottom of the update page. No Man's Sky's Next Generation update will be free to download when the new consoles launch, which probably means it'll drop alongside the Xbox Series X on November 10. Until then, there's still time to dive into some eerie space derelicts to unlock goofy monster hats in No Man's Sky's Halloween update.

No Man's Sky is getting a free graphics update on PC

The randomly generated worlds of No Man's Sky are about to get all the prettier on your PCs. Hello Games has revealed that the space game is getting a free upgrade to make it next-gen ready. That's all well and good for the console folk, but there are some nifty bonuses for PC players, too.

No Man's Sky: Next Generation comes with a graphical upgrade that'll be available to you. Hello Games also explains that the upgrade will benefit from "fuller worlds". Basically, next-gen tech has allowed Hello Games to boost No Man's Sky's procedural generation to create "lusher, richer, and more densely populated universes than ever before". That means the planets you stumble across should be more detailed with rocks, grass, and exotic flora.

No Man's Sky: Next Generation is set to come out "in a couple of weeks' time", and should coincide nicely with those new toys you've likely been hearing about. While it's primarily console focused, having more vibrant worlds to snap pictures of sounds good to me, especially at the low price of, eh, nothing.

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Halloween Update

Hello Everyone!

Even though the drama, adventure and exotic colours of Origins are still fresh in our minds, as the nights have drawn in and the skies have darkened we can’t help but be drawn back to the lost ships and haunted wrecks of the Desolation update.

With Halloween around the corner, we wanted to give players a reason to return to the darkest corners of the galaxy. The corroded hulls of derelict freighters can now be mined for a strange new material – Tainted Metal – and rumours abound that highly valuable Quicksilver has begun to leak from their lost cargo holds…

These crumbling space hulks are more dangerous than ever. The aliens that lurk within have mutated into stronger, faster, deadlier versions; the security systems are in overdrive; and the haunting freeze of their sub-zero environment will chill you to your bones.

Those brave enough and strong enough to collect Tainted Metal from these ghastly wrecks will find the space station Scrap Dealer keen to exchange it for an assortment of ominous base decorations and creepy customisation options.

Scrap dealers now stock the sinister Orange Pustule and Detoxified Slime to infest and putrefy your bases, as well as a Wriggling Companion for those who hold the wailing interstellar abyss close to their hearts.

A selection of placeable decals and banners are available, to add a touch of macabre decoration to planets and profiles.

And, finally, dedicated wreck explorers may want to save their Tainted Metal to acquire the Horrific Flesh-Helmet. Transform your appearance via the application of a flesh-hungry parasite.

Development Update

Update 3.05 is available now. Alongside the new spooky content and derelict freighter rebalance, the update includes a number of fixes and improvements. Full patch notes can be found below and a community log of recent missions and creations can be found here.

This year has been so busy for No Man’s Sky, with the release of five major updates – including the massive Origins – so we hope this Halloween update comes as a nice surprise! We’re not quite done with this year yet, and should have a bit more news to announce very soon.

Our journey continues.

Thank you so much,
Sean

3.05 Patch Notes

Derelict freighters have been rebalanced for increased challenge.
Low temperatures are more extreme, security systems are tougher and more efficient at locating intruders, aliens are more aggressive, and all hostile lifeforms are more difficult to defeat.
Added the possibility of looting Quicksilver to derelict freighters. This will be available for the next few weeks.
The scrap dealer on Space Stations now stocks a range of base parts, decals, banners and a Horrific Flesh-Helmet.
The scrap dealer now trades in a new black market currency, Tainted Metal, which can be salvaged from derelict freighters.
The scrap dealer also now stocks Repair Kits.
Added two new player titles, which may be earned via in-game achievements and selected at the Appearance Modifier.
Improved the notification icons shown when entering freighters and derelict freighters.
Fixed an issue that caused hostile creatures to fall through the floor of derelict freighters.
Fixed an issue that caused derelict freighter doors to take too long to open.
Fixed an issue which could cause derelict freighter messages to linger after leaving the freighter without fully exploring it.
Fixed an issue which caused the Lost in Space mission to linger after leaving a derelict freighter.
Fixed an issue that could occasionally cause the guild envoy and scrap dealer rewards for completing a derelict freighter to be the wrong way around in Korvax systems.
Fixed an issue that could cause derelict freighters to despawn if the player attempted to fix or install technology on their ship while at a distance.
Fixed an issue that could cause aquatic fauna to be listed as “extinct” when discovered.
Fixed an issue that could occasionally prevent creatures from spawning where or as often they should.
Fixed an issue that could cause teleporters to display the wrong galaxy name for some early galaxies.
Fixed an issue that prevented the Exocraft mining laser from harvesting resources from terrain deposits.
Fixed an issue that could cause freighter base parts to be unpowered when constructed in specific locations within the freighter.
Fixed an issue that could cause weather effects to occur beyond the planetary atmosphere.
Fixed an issue that could cause frigate expeditions to reward deprecated products.
Introduced a memory-management optimisation and fixed a number of memory-related crashes on console.
Fixed some rare crash issues.

No Man's Sky: Origins "hints at new beginnings" for the game

Last week, No Man's Sky got a massive new update "doubling the variety in the game". Called No Man's Sky: Origins, the hefty new content drop was designed to "re-capture that feeling of those early travellers who never really knew what was over the next hill, on the next planet, in the next star system", developer Hello Games explained - but it seems the name 'Origins' also has another angle alongside this: it "hints at new beginnings".

In an interview by email, Hello Games founder Sean Murray tells us, "The main impetus behind the Origins update is to reinvigorate that sense of exploration and curiosity which has always been central to the No Man's Sky conceit. Over the past couple of years, it has always been there in the background as we've added VR, improved multiplayer, introduced and finessed base-building etc, but with Origins we wanted to bring discovery back to be front and centre".

So, as Murray explains, "The title 'Origins' was perfect for this update given that it harks back to where we started and reminded us why No Man's Sky was so ground-breaking in the first place, but also hints at new beginnings".

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