No Man's Sky

[alt3rn1ty]

".. eels swimming through my living room, detracts from the immersion .." I would have thought that demonstrated a very profound level of 'immersion'. <runs away>

Yes, very leaky tubes.

[Captain_Canard]

Hello!!! Here I am! I guess I need an avatar and all that..

Anyway, huge X4 fan here, but the latest update to NMS has caused me to pick up the game after years of hiatus, and it's sucked me back in pretty hard. For me personally, NMS only competes with X4 in terms of time (I don't have time to play both games), since the way I play NMS is radically different than how I play X4. I'll probably become bored with NMS soon enough, but since I started a new save, I'm still in the "I need to gather X to build Y so I can do Z" phase, which is keeping me pretty busy, and I'm enjoying the new scenery that's been added since I last played.

On the other hand, now that I've officially joined this forum, I now have access to the tool I need to mod X4, and I've got a bucket list of tweaks I've been wanting to play around with. Now it's a tug-of-war for my limited game time and affection.

[alt3rn1ty]

~ Now it's a tug-of-war for my limited game time and affection.

same. I'm not usually too interested in NMS Expeditions (although I have quickly done all of them for the rewards) .. But this new one which was inspired by "Starship Troopers" has sucked me in for a longer than usual Expedition, got to "Do your bit".
I'm supposed to be beta testing X4, but NMS has me developing carpal tunnel syndrome

[alt3rn1ty]

New update and new expedition.
We can now go fishing ..
https://www.nomanssky.com/2024/09/aquarius-update/

Its still Worlds Part 1 .. So more to come.

[mr.WHO]

Truly, NMS became something legendary.


Now, every game that sux at release try to be another NMS...and all of them fail to do so.

P.S. Hello games is making a spiritual sucessor to NMS, now in fantasy setting in one planet...real life size planet:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2719 ... t_No_Fire/

[alt3rn1ty]

P.S. Hello games is making a spiritual sucessor to NMS, now in fantasy setting in one planet...real life size planet:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2719 ... t_No_Fire/

Yep, Light No Fire seems to be using a similar engine as NMS but just for one whole 1:1 earth sized planet. There are some LNF resources in NMS .pak files, presumably Hellogames has been using NMS to test new things for LNF - Discovered by people data mining NMS.

Looking forward to its release .. But so far I haven't seen any mention of it on GOG. Fingers crossed. I cant see them not doing a GOG release though, NMS has widely supported cross platform. So I think they are just pointing at the major platform Steam to get things rolling .. Whenever that may be.

[alt3rn1ty]

Quite a lot of releases recently .. https://www.nomanssky.com/release-log/

The Cursed Expedition came out, then a few updates to fix the usual handful of Expedition bugs, then there have been all the Cross Save updates since with some PC / Memory optimisations ..

.. Sadly the long term Load lag stutters we occasionally get still have not been fixed. The most noticeable occurrence of this is when you take off from a planets surface, and just as you cross the boundary between planet atmosphere and space there is a 1-2 second load lag. The reason this happens was discovered a long time ago, the .pak files in the PCBANKS folder are archive files (like zips) and contain groups of resource files like textures / meshes / sounds. They are PSArc files, so are best suited to Playstation when it comes to decompressing them realtime for the game to load the files inside them. At some point Hellogames started using more compression on the file resources as they were packed into the .pak files.
First found was the resources for the Anomaly, this is the reason for that pause as we transition into space. A mod was created to unpack and decompress the files within, then repack them without compression .. Completely solved th pause when going into space.
Since then there have been many expeditions and lots more supporting resource files packed into the .pak files, and insidiously there are more and more load lag issues cropping up. One I noticed was that when you go from your Freighters hangar, and use the teleport to go to the bridge, as you materialiase the time it takes for you to materialise was getting longer and longer (without changing anything about the Freighters build as a base, no rooms added or ornaments etcetera). The formula for generating surface elements on a planet at one point was refined so that you could see those elements higher up in the atmosphere, it was a good change at the time, but since has degraded.

So where's this going .. Someone on Nexus has created a batch script which uses PSArc and a file signing tool, to decompress every single NMS .pak file, and then repack them without any compression. The signing tool then recreates a signature file so that the game does not complain about files not being originals.
It solves every load lag issue I have been keeping an eye on - NMS Decompressinator - https://www.nexusmods.com/nomanssky/mods/3126

Have a good read of the description. If the small ever mounting load lag issues in NMS are bugging you, give it a whirl it works brilliantly.

On my machine the whole process running the batch script takes about 5 minutes, I just run it again after any updates/verify files to the game, simple for the user.

The game originally was designed for Playstation, PC and other platforms came later. I dont have a PS but I would imagine PSArc .pak files work better when it comes to decompressing the files within. And people have been moaning at Hellogames about load lag for quite a few years now so I dont hold any hope for these minor issues going away on PC, as with each expedition they have to pack more resource files in to the .paks. So I think this batch script is a nice bit of self help.
Just make sure you have enough SSD space for the resulting larger .pak files when the process completes.

[alt3rn1ty]

No Mans Sky updated today, Worlds Part 2 update, really been looking forward to this ..

https://www.nomanssky.com/worlds-part-ii-update/

.. But, X4 7.5 beta 7 has also gone public, so NMS will have to wait

5.5 Patch notes

Spoiler

Show

NEW STAR SYSTEMS

A new class of stellar body has been added to the universe.
These purple-class systems are additional stars, allowing the universe to expand with increased diversity without regenerating existing planets or resetting the exploration and construction efforts of the community.

TERRAIN GENERATION

The terrain generation algorithm has been evolved and refined to generate more diverse planetary shapes, with mountains, deep valleys, and sprawling plains.
Specific improvements have been made to reduce repeating patterns on individual planets, increasing the range of different shapes and terrain styles seen on a single world.
Other improvements include the ability to generate significantly deeper oceans.
These new terrain settings have been applied to all planets found within purple star systems. Terrain in existing systems has not been regenerated, and bases have not been reset.
On all planets in all systems, large resource deposits can now appear underwater.

NEW WORLDS

Planets found in purple-class star systems feature a significant range of new environments and planetary characteristics.

Find gas giant planets, with their hostile planet-wide storms and challenging conditions. These titans dominate the collection of moons found in their orbit, warping the effects of gravity.

Other planets are totally dominated by water, with seas that dwarf even their highest mountains. Specialist aquatic landing technology will be required to land upon such a waterworld. These worlds feature exceptionally deep oceans, stretching down kilometres.

Find rare non-gas giants, colossal worlds on a scale never before seen.
Non-waterworld planets in purple-class star systems may also feature extremely deep water alongside their conventional terrestrial features.
Moons in purple-class star systems can now feature water.

Gas giants and waterworlds have their own unique and valuable terrain deposit materials, as well as new atmospheric gases to harvest.
All planets in purple-class star systems feature deposits of Quartzite, a new stellar mineral.
New refining crafting recipes have been added to take advantage of these new materials.

WATER RENDERING

Surface water rendering has been significantly improved, with a large increase in fidelity.
Clouds, nebulae, and other planets are now correctly reflected in the water surface.
Terrain reflections have been improved with accurate lighting and fogging effects.

Subsurface scattering has been enhanced, creating spectacular glows when the sun’s light grazes the crest of a wave.
Wave foam rendering has been enhanced.
Wave foam now benefits from a greater range of colours.
In rare circumstances, wave foam now pulsates with strange and alien effects.

Underwater rendering has been entirely reworked to feature accurate light scattering and transmittance, creating realistic and atmospheric deep water environments.
Support has been added for underwater crepuscular rays as light shimmers through the surface.
Water caustic effects have been significantly improved.

In rare circumstances, water can now settle into absolutely tranquility, creating a perfectly still surface.
Rain will now generate tiny ripples in the water surface.
Other objects - such as creatures, starships, vehicles, Travellers, and weapon systems - will also generate dynamic water effects as they move through the surface.

WATER VARIETY

Significant new levels of environmental diversity have been added to the seas of all planets, including those in non-purple systems.
The water environment has been enriched with a range of new effects, coming to life with bubbles, algae blooms, bioluminescent organisms, strange floating flora, and much more.

Additional levels of environmental diversity are to be found in the deepest oceans…

DEEP WATER GAMEPLAY

Swimming into deep water now has additional hazard effects, including an increased rate of oxygen consumption, increased strain on life support systems, and magnified planetary hazards.

A new technology has been added, the Pressure Membrane, which can be installed to offset some of the harmful effects of deep water.
The baseline amount of time a player can breathe underwater has been increased.
The bonuses provided by water breathing upgrades have been increased.

A valuable new item, Seaglass, has been added to ultra-deep water.
Find ultra-rich terrain deposits in the deepest waters, material seams with exceptionally high yields.

SWIMMING AND BUOYANCY

The player now responds accurately to the waves, gently bobbing in the water or being thrown around in a storm.

The swimming camera has been significantly improved, responding to the water state as well as player actions.
Fixed a number of popping and jerkiness issues with the swimming camera.
Fixed a number of visual glitches with player swimming animations.
Improved the responsiveness of player movement while swimming.
The camera now allows a much greater range of movement while underwater.

The depth of the sea floor beneath the player’s position is now displayed on the HUD.
Jetpacking straight up to ascend to the surface of the water now uses less jetpack fuel than boosting horizontal speed.
The jetpack’s water ascent speed has been increased.

When underwater, the player torch now behaves as a volumetric light.
The player torch is now more stable and consistent in its position, avoiding casting a bright light on the back or arm as you run.
Fixed an issue that could cause the player to drop to the bottom of the ocean if a popup appeared while they were swimming.
Fixed an issue that could cause the normal jetpack effects to play while underwater.

LIGHTING

The lighting and material rendering system has been totally overhauled, increasing the precision of light sources.
The engine's material model has been completely reworked, and the ambient occlusion shader (GTAO) has been rewritten from the ground up. Slice sampling is now stochastic, the shader has been extended to compute screen space bent normals, and many new heuristics have been added to the shader to make up for common issues inherent to screen space ambient occlusion techniques.
Light is now more accurately reflected and absorbed, adding richness and detail to all surfaces.
Specular highlights are now more pronounced and dramatic, particularly on distant terrain and metallic objects.
Indirect lighting is now more localised and representative of the environment around the player.

The brightness and colour of lighting in enclosed spaces such as bases, space stations and planetary buildings is more precisely localised.
External lighting conditions are more accurately occluded by opaque surfaces, creating cosier interior atmospheres.
Lights placed in planetary bases now more accurately illuminate their surroundings.
Lighting within caves is now more accurate and properly matches the expected darkness of the deep underground…
Shadow rendering has been totally reworked for a richer and more detailed experience.
The ambient occlusion system has been dramatically reworked, adding rich microshadow detail and increased contrast to everything in the universe - from lifeforms to ships to potted plants.

MISSIONS

A significant new chain of story-driven missions have been added, “In Stellar Multitudes”.
Work with the Autophage to uncover stories of the Atlas and Atlantid, and weave together time and space on an epic adventure to recover that which was lost…

A new multiplayer fishing mission has been added to the Nexus.
A new procedurally generated fishing mission has been added to the Space Station mission listings.

Fixed an issue that could prevent the Atlas Path from being displayed within the Collected Knowledge catalogue on very old saves.
Fixed a number of issues that could lead to a blocker in the Space Anomaly mission when players have no discoveries to present to Helios.
Fixed a rare issue that could lead to two copies of the Atlas Eternal mission running at the same time.
Fixed a number of issues that could lead to two copies of the Space Anomaly mission running after completing an expedition.

PLANETARY VARIETY

Planetary variety and diversity has been increased all across the universe.
Dense jungle worlds can now be found all across the universe.
New desolate desert worlds can now be found all across the universe.
Rare and strange ruined relic worlds can now be found all across the universe.
These new worlds have been added to both existing systems and the new purple-class star systems, but in such a way as to minimise change to existing worlds.
The diversity and variety of hazardous flora on all worlds has been increased.

On top of this, significant additional planetary diversity can be found in purple-class star systems.
A large number of new procedurally generated varieties of scorched, frozen, toxic and barren worlds have been introduced, as well as additional variety for worlds featuring floating islands.

A new resource, polished stone, has been added to relic planets.
Players who search the ruins of relic planets may uncover plans to construct replica ruins of their own.

Planetary weather hazards such as lightning and tornadoes have been reworked for additional visual impact.
Additional localised planetary hazards have been where appropriate, providing both visual diversity and additional exploration challenge.
Hazards included localised clouds of toxic spores; small-scale radioactive fallout; electromagnetic anomalies; volcanic eruptions; geothermal geysers; and localised gravity inversion zones.

QUALITY OF LIFE

When landing at a space station, the starship will now attempt to land at the closest free landing pad to the main terminals.
A “Favourites” tab has been added to the teleporter interface, allowing easy marking and retrieval of commonly used destinations.
Buttons have been added to the inventory to consolidate and sort items according to various criteria, including name, value, type, and colour.
East and west markers have been added to the compass.
Technologies and products in the Catalogue can now be visualised as a crafting tree, allowing players to see a full map of all construction steps.

The third person camera has been improved when in tight interior spaces.
Brood Mothers now drop a token of your victory, which can be donated to the Mercenaries Guild.
The Quicksilver Synthesis Companion has been made easier to interact with.
A number of smoothing improvements have been made to player locomotion.
When piloting in first person, the throttle and stick within the starship cockpit now respond accurately to player inputs.

UI

Improved the visual presentation of inventory and other popup headers.
When picking up an inventory item, the cursor is now slightly offset to allow a more clear view of the slots.
Inventory slots are now slightly highlighted on hover, improving feedback as to which slot is selected.
Fixed a large number of issues on the title and banner customisation screen.

Fixed an issue that prevented the components bar from displaying as 100% complete when a technology component is fully repaired or installed.
The responsiveness of interaction and target labels has been improved.
Preview holograms when summoning Exocraft, the Exo-Skiff and the Trade Rocket now behave more consistently.
Starship images in the summoning Quick Menu are now more correctly aligned.
Each type of Exocraft now has its own specific HUD and compass icon.

When copying a starship between an expedition and a main save, improved the clarity of messaging if the copy is an exchange that will replace the current primary ship.
Fixed a number of issues that caused starship alert messages to stay around on screen when no longer relevant.
Fixed a number of consistency issues when determining if gameplay-critical plants count as discoveries.
The mousewheel now scrolls the list of creature/plant/mineral discoveries correctly.
Fixed an issue that prevented some UI sounds from playing in the refiner UI.
Fixed an issue that caused the options menu to repeat the names of each button as a header next to the button.
When choosing to speak an alien word, the translated options now use the appropriate highlight colour for that language.
Fixed an issue that could truncate text when choosing words in an alien language.
Fixed an issue that prevented passing ships from having their distance displayed on the starship HUD.
Targeted starships now display their name in the ship HUD.
Pirate starships now have their own procedurally generated name.

COOKING

Cronus now maintains a market aboard the Space Anomaly. Each day, they will seek a different range of edible items. Travellers may donate large amounts of these items at a time, in exchange for nanites and esteem.
When presenting food to Cronus for judging, the options available will always include your highest-quality food.
Cronus’ station aboard the Space Anomaly now has a functional grill available.
The Exo-Skiff now has a functioning grill for mid-sea cookery.

The recipe catalogue has been overhauled. The catalogue is now sorted by output item, and variant recipes can be viewed by expanding the main recipe.
Recipe names are now presented more clearly in the catalogue.
The recipe catalogue now allows access to a crafting-tree style view of any recipe, allowing intermediate steps to be seen more clearly.
As well as in the catalogue, these recipe details are also available while using the Nutrient Processor.

Filter options have been added to sort ingredients by quality while browsing ingredients to place into the Nutrient Processor.
The Nutrient Processor’s ingredient storage can now be accessed at any time while nearby.
Procedurally generated tasting notes have been added to the descriptions of edible products.

A new Exosuit technology has been added, the Nutrient Ingestor. Once installed in the Exosuit, the Ingestor allows players to input large amounts of edible items, which will be consumed one at a time as necessary, providing powerful and long-lasting benefits.

TITAN EXPEDITION

Expedition Seventeen, Titan, will begin shortly after the conclusion of the redux edition of the Cursed Expedition and will run for approximately six weeks.
This expedition invites players to explore the beauty and the danger of the new planets and stars added in Worlds Part II.
Rewards include new posters; a dazzling new starship customisation material; an explorer’s cape; the Pillar of Titan staff; and the Wraith starship, a unique living fighter.

TWITCH DROPS

A new package of Twitch drops will begin shortly. Sign up and connect your platform accounts on the Twitch Drops page, then tune in to Twitch to earn exotic base parts, high-tech starships, fireworks, appearance modifications, and more.

OPTIMISATION AND FILE SYSTEM

The filesystem has been reworked to take advantage of cutting-edge compression technology, allowing for larger content updates without increasing download size, and making all future patches smaller.
Load times are up to 4x faster, and improved data caching reduces hitches during transitions, such as when flying from planetary atmosphere into space.

Introduced a memory and performance optimisation related to object physics.
Introduced a performance optimisation for planetary props.
Introduced a performance optimisation related to shaders.
Introduced a performance optimisation for many UI elements.
Introduced a number of significant memory usage optimisations.

Introduced a performance optimisation for the particle system.
Introduced a performance optimisation to the wind system.
Introduced a performance optimisation related to culling drawn objects.
Introduced a performance optimisation for cloud rendering.
Introduced a performance optimisation for terrain generation.

RENDERING AND VISUAL EFFECTS

120Hz display output and variable refresh rate (VRR) is now available on PlayStation 5 for supported displays, enabling ultra-smooth visuals, reduced latency, and higher framerates without introducing stuttering.
The particle system has been reworked to take advantage of 3D mesh particles.
Moving objects now interact more consistently and smoothly with foliage and grass.

The atmosphere entry effect has been overhauled.
New varieties of space storm have been introduced to purple-class star systems.
Fixed an issue that prevented clouds from rendering properly while near very tall mountains.

EXOCRAFT

The Colossus has been made easier to interact with.
Fixed an issue that caused the player to be placed underneath or inside the Colossus when disembarking.
Added the Mineral Processing Rig, an advanced refining unit that can be installed within the Colossus.
Added the Mounted Flamethrower, a new short-range weapon for all Exocraft.
Fixed a number of issues that caused technology to be categorised incorrectly when installing items in Exocraft.

Exocraft handling in first person, particularly when controlled with a pad, has been significantly improved.
The seating position within each Exocraft has been adjusted to improve visibility in first person.
When driving in first person, the steering wheel and throttle within the Exocraft cockpit now respond accurately to player inputs.
The Exocraft speed display now outputs in kilometres per hour rather than meters per second.

Specific “dive” and “surface” control options have been added to the Nautilon submarine.
The base speed and manoeuverability of the Nautilon submarine has been increased. The upper limit of the strongest Humboldt Drive upgrades has been tweaked slightly to compensate.
Fixed an issue that caused the Nautilon to slowly rise or sink by itself.
A Dredging Laser has been added for the Nautilon Submarine, allowing underwater terrain excavation.
The Nautilon can now activate a short boost to reach higher speeds, similar to other Exocraft. No technology upgrade is required to access boost in the Nautilon.
An alternative Floating Nautilon Platform has been added, allowing construction of a Nautilon chamber on the surface of the water.

CREATURES

New types of procedurally-generated fish have been added and may appear in any seas.
New types of procedurally-generated squid have been added and may appear in any seas.
New types of procedurally-generated hermit crabs have been added and may appear in any seas.
New types of procedurally-generated manta rays have been added and may appear in any seas.
New types of procedurally-generated seahorses have been added and may appear in any seas.
New types of procedurally-generated prawns have been added and may appear in any seas.
Particularly large versions of sea creatures can be found in the deepest oceans.

New types of strange and exotic creatures have been added and can be found on planets in purple-class star systems.
New types of bioluminescent creatures have been added and can be found on planets in purple-class star systems.

Creature navigation systems have been improved, allowing creatures to better select and reach destinations such as food or water sources.
Ragdoll and death effects for underwater creatures have been improved.

ABANDONED MODE

A new option has been added to the difficulty settings that allows players to remove all advanced alien life from the universe.
This option is only available when starting a new custom game, and cannot be changed once a save is in progress.
This option drastically changes the play experience and will disable the story and tutorial.

STARSHIP AND MULTI-TOOL ARCHIVING

Players with a capital ship can now make use of long-term storage for their starships.
Find the starship archive at the fleet management terminal on the bridge of your freighter.
Archive up to 18 starships, in addition to your active fleet.
Archiving a ship removes it from your list of available starships, freeing up space to acquire new ships.
Archived ships can be reactivated from cold storage at any time, as long as there is space in your active fleet.
Archived ships retain their installed technology but will be purged of all loose cargo.

The buildable Weapon Rack base part now serves as a point of access for Multi-Tool archiving.
Archive up to 18 Multi-Tools, in addition to your carried equipment.
Archiving a Multi-Tool removes it from your list of available equipment, freeing up space to acquire new Multi-Tools.
Archived Multi-Tools retain all installed technology and can be reactivated at any time, as long as you have space to carry them.

FISHING

A new array of fish have been added to waterworlds and gas giants.
Players may now fish in the moonpool of their underwater base.
Players may now occasionally catch a Child of Aquarius. Release this strange creature to attract the attention of a Deepwater Guardian…

New titles have been added for players who reach significant fishing milestones.
A collection of unusual customisation options have been added for players who reach significant fishing milestones. Apply these cranium/aquarium interchanges at an Appearance Modifier.

The float used in your fishing rig can now be customised. Apply these options from the Bait menu.
The colour of your fishing line can now be customised.

BUGFIXES

Fixed a crash related to NPC networking.
Fixed a rare crash related to texture rendering.
Fixed a number of rare crashes related to core maths functions.
Fixed a number of rare crashes related to starship and exocraft piloting.
Fixed a number of rare crashes related to creatures.
Fixed a number of rare crashes related to memory management.
Fixed a number of rare crashes related to marker rendering.
Fixed a rare crash related to homing projectiles.
Fixed a Nintendo Switch crash that could occur when playing in docked mode.
Fixed a rare infinite load on PlayStation 4.

Fixed an issue that could prevent recipes from being pinned while a mission to locate a salvaged interceptor was in progress.
Fixed an issue that made it difficult for Sentinel forces to target player Exocraft.
Fixed an issue that caused other player’s companions to move erratically while aboard the Space Anomaly.
Fixed an issue that caused the camera to get the wrong side of the player in combat while using left-handed mode.
Fixed a number of rare issues that could occur when finishing an expedition and converting the data back into the main save.
Fixed an issue that caused ships being redeemed from an expedition to fail to set up their inventory as expected.
Fixed an issue that could cause various quicksilver unlocks and other related items from correctly transferring when using cross-save.
Fixed a number of rare issues that could cause starships to reset themselves to an incorrect state.

Fixed a number of visual glitches when using the Ironclad ship material option on dropships.
Fixed an issue that caused the Mod Warning screen to flicker.
Fixed a number of visual glitches related to creature networking.
Fixed a number of visual issues related to NPC networking.
Fixed a visual issue with some leaves found on trees on lush worlds.
Fixed a rare issue that could allow the player starship to become stuck within a floating island.

Fixed an issue that could cause item highlighting to fail to detect living ship technology.
Fixed a rare issue that could cause settlement charts to be consumed despite not finding a settlement.
Fixed a number of issues that prevented discoveries with custom names from using that name in mission or dialogue text.
Fixed a rare issue that caused incorrect introduction voiceover to be used if starting an expedition aboard a freighter, then returning to the main menu to start a new game.
Fixed a number of animation glitches affecting the various gestures that involved posing with a hologram.
Fixed a number of visual issues affecting starship trails when viewed underwater.

Fixed a number of cases where storm warnings / storm passing alerts were displayed when not appropriate.
Fixed a number of cases where planetary hazard HUD would flash red when not appropriate.
Fixed an issue that could cause the “item is in a different inventory” message to be displayed when inappropriate.
Fixed an issue that prevented the audio of passing stars from working correctly in the starfield load.

[Alan Phipps]

I think that just a link to the relevant NMS changelog would be enough in future.

[chew-ie]

*scroll* *scroll* *scroll*

Seems they changed some things...

[alt3rn1ty]

I think that just a link to the relevant NMS changelog would be enough in future.

Yep will do, I was in a bit of a hurry so just copy pasted yesterday)

*scroll* *scroll* *scroll*

Seems they changed some things...

Spoilered the scroll fest. Huuuge amount of changes for the better, Hellogames and their dedication to this one title amazes me. A lot of it I think sounds like side benefits of their development of the new game Light No Fire, which has been back ported to NMS. I'm still hooked on NMS since day 1 in 2016, so its probably going to hold my attention for as long as I have been interested in X series.

[chew-ie]

Once they add a rpg system, add [bigger] personal space ships with turrets, remove the MMO-style timelimited content and concentrate on singleplayer gameplay without grind, I'd really try it out again. Right now it's nothing more than a (beautiful) techdemo / showcase for what might be possible, but sadly it's no real game [for me]. So I won't spend much (if any) time in it.

[felter]

Once they add a rpg system, add [bigger] personal space ships with turrets, remove the MMO-style timelimited content and concentrate on singleplayer gameplay without grind, I'd really try it out again. Right now it's nothing more than a (beautiful) techdemo / showcase for what might be possible, but sadly it's no real game [for me]. So I won't spend much (if any) time in it.

I don't understand most of this. What do you mean by a rpg system, the game is a role playing game where you play the role of a lost person making his way through a universe to work out what is going on and who and what the sentinels are and what the number 16 means. The MMO-style time-limited content is just events, they are not an essential part of the game you either play them or you don't, the rewards are all cosmetic and don't interfere with the main game at all, and it's not like you have to pay for them. At the heart of the game it is a single player game I nearly never play multiplayer on it, even the events I do, I do them in single player mode and I have over 1k hours of gameplay mainly all single player content to me, I have had the multiplayer turned on, but I have never actually played the game with anyone apart from by accident, I just notice a few others running around, but that's it.

[chew-ie]

Once they add a rpg system, add [bigger] personal space ships with turrets, remove the MMO-style timelimited content and concentrate on singleplayer gameplay without grind, I'd really try it out again. Right now it's nothing more than a (beautiful) techdemo / showcase for what might be possible, but sadly it's no real game [for me]. So I won't spend much (if any) time in it.

I don't understand most of this. What do you mean by a rpg system, the game is a role playing game where you play the role of a lost person making his way through a universe to work out what is going on and who and what the sentinels are and what the number 16 means. The MMO-style time-limited content is just events, they are not an essential part of the game you either play them or you don't, the rewards are all cosmetic and don't interfere with the main game at all, and it's not like you have to pay for them. At the heart of the game it is a single player game I nearly never play multiplayer on it, even the events I do, I do them in single player mode and I have over 1k hours of gameplay mainly all single player content to me, I have had the multiplayer turned on, but I have never actually played the game with anyone apart from by accident, I just notice a few others running around, but that's it.

I try to explain it a bit:

With rpg system I mean that adding player progression - think e.g. Starpoint Gemini series or Starfield (added both to not trigger Starfield hate train). By doing things the character levels up and can do things better or unlocks totally new things he can do (both on foot or when flying a ship). In fact I'd like to have X series something similar as well. I'm a huge rpg fan after all and only play X because I once found it and stuck with it. (I've way more rpg games across all genres than space games).

The MMO / grind stuff is just all over the place in NMS, in the core gameplay. You know to tell the difference if you are used to play a lot of rpgs with meaningful activities. Also, the timed events just mean that I miss most of them as I rarely play one game at a time - and I've to rotate games a lot. It's really not what I'm looking for in games and I hate it with passion. Either I'm able to breeze through the whole game by bringing enough time at a certain moment of my choosing or the game is simply not for me. NMS triggers that criteria hard and there is really no need for that IMHO. The devs should just drop it. Oh and customizing my character is a huge part for me as well - so it really doesn't help if I miss out on all those options because of timed events.

[alt3rn1ty]

Yep everyone's different, I love NMS, been playing it since day 1 and only occasionally dabble with multiplayer, I bought it originally because I liked it as an alternative to Elite Dangerous which flipped to being online only, love the beautiful visuals, love all the nostalgic sci-fi nods to yesteryear, and especially love the unique Chill out feeling playing the game. Things have changed since as the game originally was released as a Single player game, but you dont have to engage with multiplayer at all.
I did the very first time limited Expedition in Multiplayer, but the MP implementation is crap and occasionally very laggy, so I now start the Exped's in MP then switch it off. Done every one of them since the first that way.

Anyway for us fans who dont hate the game, a few new updates are out ..

https://www.nomanssky.com/2025/02/worlds-part-ii-5-56/

Spoiler

Show

Bug Fixes

Fixed an issue that could caused the Pillar of Titan reward to appear as already claimed after transferring back to the main save after completing the Titan Expedition.
Fixed an issue that prevented packaged technology from being deployed into the Colossus.
Fixed an issue in the Titan Expedition where building the floating variant of the Nautilon Chamber would not allow missions to progress.
Fixed an issue that could cause missions in the Titan Expedition to fail to detect waterworlds correctly.
Fixed a crash affecting players playing the PlayStation4 version of No Man's Sky on PlayStation 5.

https://www.nomanssky.com/2025/02/worlds-part-ii-5-57/

Spoiler

Show

Bug Fixes

Fixed an issue with the Hazard Pay milestone in the Titan expedition that could cause notification messages to flicker.
Fixed an issue that prevented an underwater crashed freighter from spawning at the second rendezvous point in the Titan expedition.
Implemented a recovery for players who have lost their hyperdrive in the Titan expedition.
Fixed a number of issues that could prevent Exocraft scanners from locating buildings.


Fixed an issue that could cause Specialist Polo to repeat some dialogue in the In Stellar Multitudes mission.
Fixed an issue that prevented the In Stellar Multitudes mission from detecting nearby dissonant planets while aboard the Space Anomaly.
Fixed a rare issue which could prevent the In Stellar Multitudes mission from restoring the first purple star system.


Fixed an issue that caused ships to lose their custom name when brought back from an expedition.
Fixed an issue that caused Multi-Tools to lose their custom name when brought back from an expedition.
Fixed a UI issue that could cause inconsistencies in the hold-to-confirm time for popups if the popup button overlapped a button beneath the popup.
Fixed an issue that could cause a mismatch between the colour of a dialogue box title and the race of the speaker.
Fixed an issue that could cause a significant dip in framerate when practising alien language.
Fixed an issue that prevented the Surge Battery recipe from being learnt in Abandoned Mode.


Fixed an issue that could cause the game to hang when changing graphics options in PCVR.

https://www.nomanssky.com/2025/03/worlds-part-ii-5-58/

Spoiler

Show

Bug Fixes

Fixed an issue that prevents completion of the Chronicle expedition milestones if the Rendezvous milestones autocomplete.
Fixed an issue that could cause players not to know the Terrain Manipulator recipe in the Titan Expedition.
Fixed an issue that caused misleading mission text when locating storm crystals for an expedition.


Fixed a rare mission blocker in In Stellar Multitudes.
Fixed a number of rare mission blockers that could cause players to have the wrong crafting recipes during In Stellar Multitudes.
Fixed an issue that could cause a second mission marker to persist when not needed during In Stellar Multitudes.
Fixed a rare blocker in In Stellar Multitiudes where Polo would offer the incorrect dialogue.


Fixed an issue that could cause the Under a Rebel Star mission to get stuck after fleeing sentinels.
Fixed a number of minor mission text issues that could occur when switching to a new settlement.
Fixed a rare mission blocker that could prevent players from acquiring a replacement radiant brain from Tethys in A Trace of Metal.
Fixed a rare mission blocker in They Who Returned.


Fixed an issue that could cause Sentinel Walkers to fail to spawn.
Fixed an issue that could cause the base building hologram to fail to collide correctly with the planet surface.
Players can now archive their current starship or Multi-Tool, as long as it is not the only one left.
Fixed a number of rare issues related to the Atlas Station.
Fixed an issue that prevented players from recolouring Solar ships in the starship customiser.
Fixed a number of issues that could occur after exchanging ships with an NPC.
Fixed an issue that could cause players to pop to the surface while swimming on moons.
If players die in midair while on a planet, their grave will now spawn on the planet's surface.
Fixed a text issue with the S-Wing Megalith Engine ship part.
Reloading a save made inside an Exocraft will no longer place you outside it.


Fixed an issue that prevented the Quick Menu from being accessible in Exocraft when using the swap Quick/Build Menu option.
Fixed an issue that prevented the full range of terrain manipulator modes being accessible in while in an Exocraft.
Fixed an issue that prevented hotkeys that were set for the Minotaur AI from saving correctly.
Fixed an issue that caused the Minotaur to sink into its geobay.
Fixed an issue that caused the Nautilon to dive slightly when using the keyboard to navigate the Quick Menu.
Made a number of improvements to buoyancy and control when piloting the Nautilon on the surface of the water.
Made a significant number of improvements to the Nautilon's visual effects.


Fixed an issue where an expedition reward Multi-Tool with a custom name would overwrite the primary Multi-Tool's name.
Fixed an issue that caused some inventory sort hover tips to clip off the edge of the screen.
Fixed an issue that caused expanded tech or cargo inventories not to reset properly when switching inventory pages.
Fixed an issue that caused some backpacks to appear very small in the inventory.
Localised weather anomalies are now tracked in the Analysis Visor.
Crabs can now be adopted as player companions.
Fixed an issue that could cause the "New Planet Discovered" UI to be squashed by the saving UI.
Fixed a number of audio issues in the loading starfield.
Fixed a minor animation glitch when using the Analysis Visor.
Fixed a number of clipping issues when wearing a cape and another cloth item at the same time.


Fixed a minor visual glitch with some specific barren trees.
Fixed a minor visual glitch with some specific lush trees.
Fixed a number of rare visual glitches with water rendering.
Fixed an issue that caused some large planetary objects to vanish shortly after spawning.
Fixed a number of visual issues with foam when in Photo Mode.
Fixed a number of minor visual issues with planet atmosphere rendering.
Fixed a number of minor visual issues with metal surface rendering.
Fixed an issue that could cause water effects to appear above the surface.
Fixed a visual glitch that could occur when loading into game on PC while alt-tabbed to a different window.
Fixed an issue that could caused the loading starfield to appear jittery.
Fixed an issue that could cause some starship trails to appear in front of the ship while moving at high speed.
Fixed a number of minor visual glitches with the display of moons in the Discovery Page.


Improved the quality of GTAO in PC VR.
Fixed an issue that caused flickering when rendering water in VR.


Fixed a number of ghosting issues on Xbox.
Introduced a significant memory optimisation for PlayStation 4.
Fixed an issue that prevent foliage being pushed properly by nearby objects on Mac.
Fixed a number of visual issues on Mac.
Fixed a specific performance issue on PlayStation 5.
Fixed a crash that occurs when playing the PlayStation 4 version of NMS on PlayStation 5.


Improved indexing in arrays of data, to help mod authors more easily merge in modded data. The index ID is also now clearly highlighted in the output of the SaveOutModdedMetadata option.


Fixed a rare issue that could cause a crash followed by an infinite load after claiming abandoned ships on water worlds.
Introduced a significant memory optimisation for all platforms.
Fixed a rare issue that could cause a softlock when opening the galaxy map after landing on a derelict freighter.
Fixed a number of rare crashes.

There were a few more updates prior to the Titan Expedition aswell, which came before the above.
You can find them all here https://www.nomanssky.com/release-log/

Cant see them "dropping it" anytime soon

[Terre]

Following the latest update, Voyager, the proximity doors nolonger work correctly, I think the proximity switch wiring is messed up. I teleported to my main base, which I've had for the least six years, and couldn't get out, so I had to teleport to a base which used holo-doors. I decided to break the wiring on one of the doors, at the main base, so I can, at least, get in and out.

It cost me 10000 nanites to upgrade from 'C' to 'B', 25000 from 'B' to 'A' and 50000 from 'A' to 'S', and a lot of storage augmentation units to get the Corvette usable.

I going to strip the upgrades from one my old fighters, and install them on the corvette, then It's just a case of gathering the parts.

I have a new project, in NMS.

[alt3rn1ty]

Following the latest update, Voyager, ~snip~

I was completely unaware of this update, thank you

I have a new project, in NMS.

Always good to have new projects, I just wish they would give us an epic veeeery long term mission.

I appreciate why they went the way of Expedition updates, but they are done within a week.

Anyone remember the original Elite ? (BBC Micro/C64/Amiga/Archimedes/Atari ST). It had a mission which literally took years for people to do, each stage of the mission had a timer counter which doubled at each stage before the next stage would trigger.
In the persuit of completing the mission you really had very long term pull, carrot on a stick.

For the sake of expanding the need to explore (exploration being the main pillar of this game when it was first released), a mission like this to keep us going would be very much appreciated. Something that has going through the centre of the current galaxy to the next, as a trigger for another stage would be good because you can literally take a few years just getting to the centre.
The game already has quite a few long missions in a new game start, but nothing meaty enough imho

Still love the game though, a bit distracted with X4 betas recently.

Anyway ..
Full details including patch notes = https://www.nomanssky.com/voyagers-update/
I like the Thunderbird names of some internals, I wonder if I can recreate Thunderbird 2 externally
And DLSS 4, yum!. Game probably needs a few weeks of patches to iron out any wrinkles, but thats par for the course with NMS.

[alt3rn1ty]

.. Par for the course with NMS major updates, a heck of a lot of really bad bugs present.
Waiting until they have caught up cleaning up the mess with a few more patch updates.

[alt3rn1ty]

Voyagers updated now to 6.06, I think they have finally finished fixing what the Voyagers update broke .. but maybe not.
Its always the same every time a new update/expedition comes along.
Anyway - https://www.nomanssky.com/2025/09/voyagers-6-06/