Topic: No Man's Sky

Is it just me, or has Hello Games added more templates for the randomly generated animals in the last few updates? Recently I feel like I've come across new animal physiognomies that I've never seen in the game before. For example, last week I found a species of fish-looking creatures who fly in the sky by farting blue clouds. And you can ride in them sky even though they're only half the size of the player character, which looks really funny.

Or maybe the farting sky animals have always been there and I just haven't been lucky enough to come across them before?

I guess this is the only No Man's Sky thread here, so I thought I'd just revive it to mention that last autumn Hello Games added an AI upscaling feature (FSR2) customised for the Switch version, and an update late in 2023 made the upscaling even better. The game is visually much better than it was at launch, with a crisper image and less jaggies, better-looking textures, and better performance.

In handheld mode especially I think it's one of the most impressive looking Switch games now, on par with other "miracle ports" like Nier: Automata. I have NMS on PC too, but I rarely play it there anymore, because the Switch version is good enough for me now.

Last spring there was a period where the latest all-platform update kinda broke the Switch version for many players (not for me, thankfully) because it was too demanding for the Switch, and Hello Games got some flak because of that... But I'm glad they've since put effort into improving this port too, with things like the customised FSR2 making things better for us Switch players.

Think they will make this game perform better on Switch 2? This is one of several Switch games I want but I don't want quite enough to buy a sub-par version.

Well, Hello Games has been adding constant content updates and patches to NMS for all platforms, so if Switch 2 will have backwards compatibility, I could imagine them adding an update which would add higher-quality textures, higher FPS, etc. to accomodate for the better performance.

That said, I don't think the game as it is on Switch is really sub-par. Like I mentioned above, with the recent updates it looks about as good as the best Switch ports of other graphically demanding PC/Playstation/Xbox games. Of course your mileage may vary, but I'd say that unless you absolutely want 4K resolution and 60+ FPS, the Switch version is perfectly fine.

The only features missing from this port compared to the other platforms are multiplayer and settlements. (You can still see and visit structures, messages, signs, etc. left by other players in the Switch version, you just can't meet other player characters.) Obviously the lack of multiplayer might be a dealbreaker, though if there'll be a Switch 2 update of the game, I can't imagine Hello Games not adding it then. As for the settlements and settlement quests, they're procedurally generated and not that interesting IMO, I haven't put much effort into them in the PC version either.

I'll bump this thread to note that this July Hello Games added some new water effects (more realistic ripples, wind and storms affecting the water surface in a dramatic way, etc.), new wind and particle effects, more realistic clouds, new animal types, etc. to the game. I play NMS both on PC and Switch, and while all these obviously look fancier with 4K resolution, they look pretty cool in their pared down Switch versions as well. All in all NMS is now one of the best-looking Switch games I've played, it's awesome how much they've improved this version alone in the two years since it launched.

At the moment they have a new fishing expedition going on, which is a kind of a showcase for all the new effects mentioned above, and obviously it also added a new fishing subgame to NMS, which it didn't have before. I've really enjoyed playing the expedition on handheld mode while bed, it's appropriately chill and relaxed.

I heard You can do almost nothing with freighter like building rooms and decorated them in full without the game crashes every time , did they solved it?

Just saw the new update for Switch 2, and it looks stunning. Hopefully they make an article about it soon:

I was expecting them to provide a free Switch 2 upgrade, but not so soon, so this is great news! Ever since they added cross-saving I've been playing on the same save file on the Switch and my gaming PC, using the Switch for handheld play only and the PC for TV play... But I guess I won't need to use the latter anymore, because if the graphics on that video are for real, they look just as good on the Switch 2 as on a tabletop PC.

Yeah, the graphics look absolutely fantastic and I can't wait to see and try the new features as I only played on Switch. I had the feeling that something like this would happen, in fact I expected the announcement on the Switch 2 direct but I don't know, maybe they weren't sure they would have it ready in time.

I'd like an update on Light No Fire, Mr. Murray. Its been years.

Maybe during Summer Games Fest?

Wait, let me see. No Hello Games listed. Dang. Well, some other time then.

Dipping a toe back in. Found a near-perfect planet. Now I just need to get a survey device. Locate an electromagnetic hotspot. Unlock the ability to build electromagnetic generators. Put down a permanent home base and teleportation portal.

Things to do.

Ten hours in. Found a blue solar system with a near-perfect mostly-water planet on my first blind warp. Guess I'm building a water home? Got my survey device, got the electromagnetic generator. Just need certain mats to build this and that.

I appreciate the ease of progression compared to the launch version of the game. The blueprints for the early to mid-game stuff is available at the Space Anomaly, if you have the currency for what you want. Years ago, you would have to just be lucky when opening damaged crates, RNJesus be praised.

Anywho, just glad to have hit my stride.

First the home base, then get an economy going, and who knows what after that.

I'm going to hang out for a physical release on Switch 2.

Despite installing a 1TB microSD in my Switch 2, I'm already down to around 850GB due to the Game-Card releases I purchased at launch.

65 hours, earned the platinum trophy for the base game, and began a permadeath playthrough for the last two trophies. My time in NMS over the past week reminded me why I feel like this is a top-5 space experience. It's a wonderful blend of Minecraft and Star Trek. If you enjoy either, you'll have fun here.

If you enjoy both? Well, then I'd say you're out of excuses to not play this. The wild thing is...the trophies / achievements are mostly tied to the launch version of the game. There's almost a decade's worth of updates that have created a sandbox that you could stay in for hundreds or even thousands of hours. If you wanted to.

Over 100+ hours playing the game and still learning. The first several hours of playing permadeath were a little sweaty. I spawned on a mildly icy planet. I've been scrambling the cosmos for a normal world to put a base down on, just looking for a little normalcy while scraping by on oxygen for life support and crafting. Lo and behold, the planet on spawned on a planet rich in dioxite, which is super-potent for charging life support.

Something like 10 pieces for 100%, which I think is wild. And then the next warp jump I take...I find a mostly safe planet I've been looking for. sigh Anywho, now I can put down a home base and begin the search for a galaxy portal, which will take me inside 5000 light years from the center of the galaxy in one jump.

I couldn't image attempting to make it to the center of the galaxy only traveling 100-1000 LY per warp.

yeesh

@Magician 65 to 100+ hrs in two days? They're the kind of figures I daren't even dream of. Please know that you're playing for me too and I'm happy for us both. I started this game... probably last year some time, but fell off when I could see how crafty it was, which is only a problem due to demands on my time, so I shifted to another game (who am I kidding, it was probably Animal Crossing 😆) and haven't dipped back in yet. Some day.

No, not 100+ hours played in two days, I meant collectively. I'm on my third playthrough in...nine years. I played through NMS at launch, then again recently, and now I'm on the permadeath run. I was just surprised to find that I'm still learning the ins and outs, even after all this time.

That aside, after eight hours into the permadeath run I think I found a planet suitable to call home. A humid (normal) planet with vile brood and dissonance, which is great for missions and gear. The trade off is the planet has gravity storms, which are equally cool and unsettling at the same time. Just...random pockets of earth being lifted high into the air, as though the planet is tearing itself apart.

Shortly after I found a galaxy portal. Now I just need to locate graves and portal glyphs.

Ten hours, permadeath run done. Finding a normal planet was surprisingly difficult (bad luck?), but once I did I was off to the races. Being able to gather resources without the need to refill life support and hazard protection reduced the grind from stressful to being care free. Although my home base nearly killed me a couple times due to its gravity inversion events.

Kind of terrifying when your planet is trying to push you off itself.

With the trophy / achievement chasing done, I'm now back in my custom game to build out my settlement. I'm fortunate to have a settlement within range of an S-rank electromagnetic source, an A-rank copper source, and a B-rank oxygen source. Even though I have five more compass points to investigate for whatever other goodies might be within range out in wild, this is a great start.

It's unfortunate that there isn't a in-game counter for base parts laid down (3,000 parts being the max number allowed for a base to be uploaded to the server), because I'm ready to get my hands dirty and build...build...build.

A couple things.

1) I sat down and watched Ridley Scott's The Martian last night. I think it feels very similar to a permadeath run in NMS.

2) Going back to my custom save, I actually miss the thrill of my permadeath save. Toggling the crafting / building costs to zero in a custom game is neat. But it doesn't feel earned. For the first time I finally understand why folks enjoy permadeath runs over casual play. I kind of miss the struggle.