Update 2.0 for No Man’s Sky has arrived on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Simply titled Beyond, the latest major update for the ambitious space explorer marks the three year anniversary of its initial release by adding a veritable bucketload of new features and improvements, from massively expanding the multiplayer experience, to adding fully-fledged VR support.
If you haven’t taken the plunge with No Man’s Sky yet, now might be the best time to do so. The early game has been streamlined and revised to better teach new players its multitude of disparate mechanics, while a new catalogue has been introduced that automatically adds substances, crafting products, and new technologies to its pages when first encountered. A useful rework of the Pinning system also allows you to get detailed step-by-step instructions on how to find and build any item in the aforementioned catalogue. Meanwhile, new story content has been added in order to weave together the three main narrative pathways that encompass No Man’s Sky’s story.
Perhaps most excitingly, you can now play the entirety of No Man’s Sky in virtual reality using either Steam VR or PlayStation VR. The multiplayer introduced in the NEXT update has also been expanded upon, with the Space Anomaly transforming into an all-new hub area able to support up to 16 players at a time on all platforms. Throughout the rest of the universe, the player count has been raised from four to eight on console and from four to 32 on PC. Any other space explorers you discover are now represented with full character models, too, allowing you to see each other’s character and ship customisations.
As well as giving you the ability to browse and visit other player’s bases via the Space Anomaly, Beyond will also highlight the best bases created by the No Man’s Sky community and allow you to visit them. Multiplayer missions are also now initialised from the Space Anomaly via the Nexus. A large set of unique missions is currently available, including base construction–a new type of mission centered around building specific structures.
Once you’ve touched down on other planets, you can now mount and ride various creatures by taming them with bait. Any tamed creature can be peacefully harvested for a variety of cooking ingredients, such as milk, eggs, and “edible clusters”–which is a polite way of saying “poop.” When it comes to cooking, there’s now an increased variety of harvestable flora on every planet surface, with a nutrient processor allowing you to discover more than 300 recipes for bait, consumables that boost your Exosuit, and dishes you can present to Iteration Cronus aboard the Space Anomaly for culinary critique and potential rewards.
Base building has also been improved, there are dynamic NPCs that will now walk around and interact with elements in their environment. More than 60 new dialogues options have been added for alien encounters, the galaxy map has been made more concise; gameplay balancing has alleviated grinding, relaxed inventory limitations, and provided longer stretches of uninterrupted mining without sentinels bugging you; the game has been further optimised on PC along with adding more graphics options, and you can even sit in chairs now.
It’s a comprehensive list of changes, improvements, and new features that aren’t all mentioned here. As with any updates of this size and scale, there have been some teething problems with players reporting crashes and numerous bugs and glitches. Developer Hello Games is already on the case, however, with founder Sean Murray tweeting that fixes are on the way.
Below you’ll find the entirety of No Man’s Sky Beyond’s patch notes:
VIRTUAL REALITY
- No Man’s Sky is now fully playable in virtual reality.
- 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.
- Introduced special VR menus: 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.
GRAPHICS AND PERFORMANCE
- OpenGL has been replaced by Vulkan. Many players, particularly players with AMD graphics cards, should see a performance improvement.
- Significant optimisations to asteroid generation.
- Significant optimisations to planet generation.
- Improved loading times.
- Significant optimisations to 2D rendering.
- Reduced memory usage across the game generally.
- Significant optimisations to cloud and terrain shaders.
- Significant optimisations to the animation LODing system.
- Added level-of-detail mesh optimisations to the majority of in-game assets.
- Significant optimisations for large bases.
- Revised HDR support, updated output curve in line with advances in HDR calibration.
- Adaptive and Triple-Buffered V-Sync are now selectable from Graphics Options.
- Players with more than one GPU can now select which is used from Video Options.
- Many graphics settings no longer require a restart to apply.
- The ‘LOADING SHADERS’ load step has been removed, improving the loading experience.
CONTROLS AND OPTIONS
- Added support for full rebinding of PC controls via Steam and OpenVR.
- Reworked all settings and options pages, making graphics settings more clear for PC players.
- Added options to disable vignette and scanline effects.
- Added the option to remove button holds and make all non-destructive clicks instant.
THE SPACE ANOMALY
- Added the ability to summon the Space Anomaly to your location from anywhere in the galaxy.
- Significantly expanded and reworked the interior of the Space Anomaly.
- The Space Anomaly now serves as a hub, bringing together all the Travellers who are onboard regardless of their physical location in the universe.
- Removed orbs from the game and replaced them with fully simulated other players, met ambiently as you explore.
- The network player cap has been raised to between 8 and 32 depending on platform and current location.
- Added a new teleporter to the Space Anomaly. This teleporter allows players to visit the base of any other player currently on the Anomaly with them, as well as highlighting featured bases from the community.
- Moved multiplayer mission selection to the Nexus, a new hub area in the Space Anomaly.
- Added an interface for quickly finding other players to join on multiplayer missions.
- Added many new types of multiplayer mission.
- Automatic chat messages are broadcast when performing game actions, including making discoveries, attacking pirates, installing tech, performing gestures, and fighting biological horrors.
- Multiplayer missions now warp players directly to the mission location as they leave the Space Anomaly.
- Added the ability to display a custom player banner, adjustable at the Appearance Modifier.
- Player graves in multiplayer games will get reset to the current player’s system when returning to single player.
- A new save icon is used in multiplayer to highlight that while progress is saved, the player’s current position is not.
- Reworked the story missions to integrate Nada and Polo’s journey better with the story of Artemis.
- Added new story content for Nada and Polo.
- Reworked the tutorial and much of the early game mission flow.
- Added new and unique visuals for new NPCs aboard the Space Anomaly.
- Added an NPC to the Space Anomaly who will exchange a different product for nanites each day.
- Added an NPC to the Space Anomaly who will exchange milestone progress for nanites.
- Added an NPC to the Space Anomaly who will exchange different categories of discovery data for nanites each day.
USER INTERFACE
- Added a tech-tree style display for all the technologies, products and other recipes available in the game.
- Added technology and base part research stations to the Space Anomaly, allowing players to browse the full tech tree, plan their upgrades, and purchase new technologies with nanites.
- Tweaked the visuals of HUD and compass markers for improved clarity and consistency.
- Some HUD icons now shrink to reduce visual noise.
- Adjusted the behaviour of compass markers while in the ship to better reflect the reality of navigating 3D space.
- Improved the UI for comparing and purchasing ships, Multi-Tools and freighters.
- Added a warning when trying to swap starships if you still have cargo aboard your old ship.
- Improved the inventory page, including making inventory sub-categories more clear.
- Changed text scrolling to a full wraparound rather than a bounce.
- Reduced the amount of bloom in cases that caused photosensitivity issues.
- Refiner output readings now correctly update when more resources are added to an input slot.
- Improved the visual style and clarity of the Buy/Sell filters on trade screens.
- Improved the icons used to display the class of ships, Multi-Tools, and other purchasable items.
- Updated the ‘Summon Vehicles’ icon on Quick Menu.
- The icons for summoning other ships in your collection now accurately reflect the appearance of those ships.
- Updated the visuals for the in-cockpit ship screens.
- Significant improvements to the chat box, including the ability to choose whether messages are sent to your group or the entire system.
- Moved substances, products and technologies to their own ‘Catalogue’, separate from the Guide.
- Added Guide entries for several new features.
- Increased the size of icons in the Catalogue.
- Improved the appearance of the dialog / NPC speech UI.
- Mission notifications / objectives are no longer hidden by the build menu, inventory or refiner screens.
- Added a new style of mission notification that gives more context to complex mission steps.
- The Galaxy Map has been totally overhauled for clarity and visual style.
NPCS AND INTERACTIONS
- NPCs can now walk around their environments and interact with environmental elements.
- Player locomotion is more responsive when running.
- Players can now sit on chairs.
- Improved the camera handling when sitting in a confined area.
- NPCs will respond to gestures performed by the player.
- NPCs now occasionally browse holographic creatures, ships and more on their handheld devices.
- Added all new NPC interactions at planetary salvage sites.
- Added all new NPC interactions at crashed ships.
- Significantly reworked all factory and monolith interactions.
- Changed the reward sequence for factory interactions to allow players to choose which product recipe they would like to learn.
- Reworked a large number of existing NPC interactions.
- Added a range of biome specific interactions for NPCs at planetary buildings.
- NPC pilots now leave their ships when landing at Space Stations and Trade Outposts.
- NPCs can now choose a chair to sit on, sit down for a while, then continue with their day.
- Geks occasionally swing their legs while sitting.
- Expanded the range of NPC moods and animations.
- Increased the richness of text interactions with additional audio, colours and NPC animations.
- Added different text printout speeds for each alien race, giving them their own style of ‘speech’.
- Added a chance for guest NPCs to visit Space Stations, eg the occasional Korvax may be found in the Space Station of a Vy’keen system.
- The Trade Outpost is treated as a building (for the purposes of providing hazard protection), but plays correct outdoor audio ambience.
- Added AutoTranslator technologies to the Exosuit that allow random words to be translated without being permanently unlocked.
- Fixed an issue where }} alien speech brackets would appear on a new line by themselves.
- Alien words are grouped together to prevent learning words very similar to ones already known (e.g. interloper/interlopers).
- Alien word learning has been overhauled. Players may direct the flow of language acquisition when interacting with NPCs.
- Players can practice using the words they know when speaking to alien lifeforms and observe the results.
BUILDING
- Reworked the Base Building Menu: improved visual clarity; improved usability; and allowed quicker access to parts, including adding the ability for parts to be in more than one group.
- Day/night cycles are now deterministic and synced between players.
- Significant improvements have been made to the base part snapping system, allowing for faster and more convenient building.
- Added a new photo-mode style building camera to allow easier placement of complex structures.
- Added the ability to scale some base parts.
- Added the ability to rotate some base parts around more than one axis.
- Added new power generation base parts: Biofuel Reactors, Solar Panels, Electromagnetic Generators and Batteries. Each offers a different way to generate power for your base.
- Added wiring, allowing you to connect base parts that need power to your generators.
- Removed the manual fueling of many base technologies and replaced it with power grid requirements.
- Added power requirements to existing parts such as lights.
- Added a range of logic gates and switches, allowing for creative control of powered parts.
- Added new large-scale mineral and gas extractor base parts.
- Added mineral/gas pipelines, allowing players to connect their new extractors to remote depots for ease of collection.
- Added a new Survey Device upgrade for the Analysis Visor, allowing player to hunt out the optimal spots to place mineral/gas extractors and electromagnetic generators.
- Overhauled the gravity simulation, improving the experience on dead planets.
- Added Short-Range Teleporters. These pads may be placed around your base and wired up to create a network of near-instant transportation.
- Improved the management of base options when interacting with the base computer, including improving the ability to take screenshots of the base.
- Added the ability to jetpack while the Build Menu is open.
- Improved the visual effects of the Terrain Manipulator.
- Unified the functionality of the Message Module and the Communications Station and added a new unique art asset.
- Added several new roof pieces, allowing players to build complete sloping roofs.
- Added new exocraft-sized doors that can be powered to open and close automatically as you approach.
- Added new interactable props, including customisable light boxes and audio frequency generators.
- Added a powered Sphere Generator that allows players to generate large movable spheres.
- Improved the visual effects when constructing base parts & technology.
BUG FIXES
- Increased the tolerance of trader ships participating in a freighter battle so that they do not report friendly fire as a crime unless the shot is fatal.
- Fixed an issue where Sentinel drones would become stuck when scanning a player who was entering and exiting their ship.
- Fixed an issue where the third person player model would never look directly at the camera.
- Fixed an issue where ship rain audio was being played when it was not raining.
- Added creature sounds to the weird biome creatures.
- Fixed a Multi-Tool animation glitch when firing the Mining Beam from sheathed in first person.
- Change Asian numerical separators to be correct format.
- Fixed an issue where the starship can appear floating above the terrain if the player is spawned at a long distance from the ship.
- Fixed a number of item duplication exploits.
- Fix for the starship HUD reading ‘Moon of Unknown Planet’ when the planet is known.
- The Mining Beam is now the correct colour when upgraded with a procedural upgrade module.
- Fixed an issue where the wrong impact particles were sometimes used when shooting Sentinel Quadrupeds.
- Miscellaneous text fixes.
DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATION
- Overhauled the Analysis Visor. Scanning of flora, fauna and minerals no longer begins automatically, but begins when the player holds a button while looking at the relevant object.
- In VR, the Analysis Visor becomes Analysis Mode. Objects are scanned by aiming at them with the Multi-Tool.
- Custom Markers placed from the Analysis Visor now drop a physical object at the marker location.
- Significantly overhauled the Discovery Page to show a graphical representation of the system, as well as close up 3D representations of all discoveries and long text entries for fauna.
- Made butterflies and other flying creatures much easier to scan with the Analysis Visor.
- Added a new set of rare vibrant colour palettes for lush planets.
- Creature markers in the Analysis Visor now display how far away the creature is.
- Fixed an issue where creatures would never poop once they had been scared by a predator.
- Predator creatures no longer target and attack players when they are in an interaction.
- Creatures will no longer attack players who are in their ships.
- Improved the clarity and display of warning icons on predatory or angry creatures.
- Fix for biological horrors not playing their death effects for network players.
- Fix for incorrect fauna level being displayed in the Analysis Visor.
- Added creature marker to display their current mental state.
- Added new wild plants to all biomes.
- Added the ability to cook plant and animal products in a Nutrient Processor to produce a wide variety of food. Experient with combinations to create unique and complex foodstuffs.
- Eating food provides a boost to your life support.
- Added bait products, created in the Nutrient Processor, that allow creatures to be harvested for food products. Scan creatures to learn their bait preferences.
- Killing creatures also allows the harvesting of several new food products.
- Added an NPC to the Space Anomaly who will judge the player’s cooking ability.
- Renamed Coprite to Faecium.
- Added compass and HUD icons to Faecium deposits.
- Improved the visuals of Faceium deposits.
- Added a base part that will attract creatures to your base and automatically feed them.
- Added a base part that will automatically extract milk and other relevant resources from nearby creatures that are ready to be harvested.
- Throwing bait can attract a large number of creatures to one location.
- Throwing specialist carnivore bait can distract and placate angry or predatory creatures.
- Creatures that have been tamed by supplying their desired bait can be ridden. Creatures will still attempt to go about their own business, but their routines can be shaped by their rider.
- Upper body gestures may be used when seated or riding a creature.
- The Nutrient Processor and the Portable Refiner now display a marker when they are not placed within a base.
VISUAL POLISH
- Nada and Polo now use a larger range of animations.
- Improved the visuals for the Space Station entrance beam.
- Entirely reworked and expanded the cockpits of all ships.
- Increased the amount by which you can look around the starship cockpit.
- Added fully modelled cockpits / interiors for all the Exocraft and the Nautilon Submarine.
- Starship exteriors can now be seen while inside the starship.
- Improved the particle effects for the Scatter Blaster and the Blaze Javelin.
- Increased the scale of starships. Landing pads and docking areas across the galaxy have been expanded to cope with the new larger ships. As a result, landing pads in existing bases have been refunded.
- Improved the visual detail on fighters, haulers and shuttles.
- Added ramps to the front of the Space Station balcony platforms.
- Fixed a number of issues where trees and rocks could not be run over by Exocraft.
- Trade Outposts now have ladders to climb up to the platform.
QUALITY OF LIFE
- The Exosuit torch can now be turned on whatever the time of day.
- While the Pulse Engine is engaged, the central ship screen now displays a clearer message about fuel use.
- Technology can now be installed in stages, allowing incomplete tech to be placed in an inventory and its individual components added over time.
- Technology can now be moved after installation.
- Significantly overhauled the system for pinning instructions for building technologies, products and base parts.
- Added the ability to pin a substance and receive directions for where to find it.
- Removed the Advanced Mining Laser requirement from large trees on lush planets.
- Added an Antimatter Reactor base part that generates antimatter over time.
- Added specific efficient Starshield Batteries for use in starship combat.
- Added ‘Warp Hypercores’, a large hyperdrive fuel unit with five times the capacity of a regular Warp Cell.
- Increased the base mining speed of the Mining Beam.
- Fixed a bug that caused resource notifications to stack up while playing without the HUD.
- Reduced the length of time resource notifications are displayed when you have multiple resources stacked up.
- Added alerts when new items are encountered or recorded to the Catalogue.
- Added the Optical Drill, a Mining Beam upgrade that increases the resources gained from mining.
- Added the Launch System Recharger, a starship upgrade that automatically recharges the Launch Thrusters over time.
- Added an extra slot to the starting Multi-Tool.
- When installing an upgrade module, the correct inventory is automatically selected.
- Adjusted the probabilities of low, medium and high security planets in Normal Mode.
- Adjusted the timers of Sentinel patrols on lower security planets.
- In normal mode, allowed some planets to never spawn Sentinel drones.
- Added a chance to collect geodes when mining rocks or asteroids. Geodes can be analysed to extract large quantities of substances.
- Increased the base speed of all Refiner units.
- In normal mode, increased the slot storage limit for substances from 250 to 10,000.
- Increased the wealth levels at which higher tiers of pirates will attack.
- Increased the base energy levels of the Mining Beam and the Terrain Manipulator, allowing for less frequent recharging.
- Replaced the ‘Find specific building’ component of the Signal Booster with a system of planetary charts. Acquire planetary charts from Space Station Cartographers.
- Navigation Data can be traded for planetary charts. Collect Navigation Data when saving and charting at waypoints and save beacons.
- Using the Terrain Manipulator to mine basic ground will award silicate powder, which can be used to refine glass.
- Added a note on the interaction label of NPCs that have already been visited.
- When craftable products are the current mission objective, they are automatically pushed to the top of the product list.
- Adjusted the frequency of rare asteroids.
- When buying a freighter, it now comes with some basic cargo already in the inventory.
- Increased the minimum speed while in space combat, creating better combat handling in most conditions.
- Increased the maximum speed while flying in space.
- Added a degree of roll when banking in planetary flight.
- The warning triangle in the cockpit is no longer displayed when the Pulse Engine is not being requested.
- Added a cockpit throttle indicator to show current thrust settings.
- The ‘Shields Down’ message is no longer displayed when claiming an abandoned ship.
- The ‘How to land the ship’ notification no longer displays immediately after planetary takeoff.
- When charging the Pulse Engine, the current autopilot target marker is now highlighted.
- Missions now add hints to highlight the relevant items in the build and crafting menus.
- Inventory popups are now closed automatically if you click outside of them.
- Tweaked the weighting of mission selection in the mission board to give a better range of available missions.
- Increased the likelihood of procedural upgrade modules being relevant to the player’s current tech setup.
- Added several new environmental protection Exosuit upgrades.
- Ammunition is automatically promoted to the top of the crafting list if players try to reload but have no available ammo.
- Increased the default stack size for Ammunition.
- The Mining Beam now has a much higher base heat capacity.
- Reworked the Mining Beam overheat mechanic: the beam now cools down correctly rather than instantly resetting; the Mining Beam does more damage as it approaches max heat; the Mining Beam changes colour as it approaches max heat.
- Innes has walked over 1400 miles. His journey continues.
