No Man’s Sky. The gift that keeps on giving. I’ve said it before when speaking about the Origins update and then again when the Companions update was released. This is the game that shows every other live service game how it’s done. You can take EA, dropping Anthem like a sack of rocks before the game is even finished, and Square Enix, likely carving Marvel’s Avengers tombstone before my coffee gets cold, and mock them in their shame. Then you point to Hello Games.
Hello Games, the developer that has now released yet another major update for a game that, by all rights, would have a sequel soon-to-be-released if it was by any of the “AAA” publishers. Well, if it ever got as far as this has. Anyway, enough of my pointing out that No Man’s Sky is great not only because it’s a game that (eventually) went far and above promises made before launch, but also because it’s a game that truly puts the gamers first. Right. Update. Let’s talk.
It’s time to go on an expedition. That’s the major new feature, setting you and other people on a long, shared, journey. Each expedition starts from a fixed point in the universe and you, with other members of the community, will set off on a shared journey. A shared journey that will be measured and reward you with each milestone you reach and is designed to encourage you to experiment in how you play No Man’s Sky.
Other features that work with this pushed online focus are the return of weekend missions; procedurally generated missions that are designed to bring the community together to meet one common goal, with a reward of a large amount of quicksilver. Further bringing people together are rendezvous points, letting you reunite with other people on the same journey you happen to be on. Will you build a settlement, or will you just give a polite wave as you pass? That’s up to you.
All of this is said to be enhanced with exclusive rewards as you progress through phases of the expeditions. The very first expedition, for example, will reward you with base parts, new customisation options, as well as an exclusive ship design and a new jetpack style. These rewards can also be redeemed on other saves in any game mode at the Space Anomaly.
Then we get to the simple statement that this is only the first expedition and that new expeditions will start regularly. If Hello Games have proven anything, it’s that they can genuinely be trusted to follow through on a promise of even more content. Each of these future expeditions is said to have its own themes and will each offer its own unique way to look at the universe within No Man’s Sky.
Then we come to extra changes. One major feature is a new extension to the Analysis Visor. This extension, Target Sweep, is said to add a new element of exploration gameplay as you survey and explore to uncover new mission destinations. In line with this, missions within No Man’s Sky have been overhauled to make use of the Target Sweep mechanic, while adding a variety of other improvements.
Finally, if that all wasn’t enough, there are just the regular updates. Hello Games have gone ahead with a complete refresh of the in-game HUD, designed to give it a much cleaner appearance, with other UI and quality of life improvements, including a number of bug and performance fixes. All of these, and the remainder of this massive update, can be found over on the games’ website.
