Hello!
Already this year we have been delighted to watch Travellers the world over adopt weird and wonderful creatures in the COMPANIONS update, then jump into an all-new game mode with the first two EXPEDITIONS and unlock exclusive new content, including the SSV Normandy SR1 from Mass Effect. Further expeditions are planned very soon, and we look forward to sharing them with you.
Today we are pleased to release our third free update of this, our 5th anniversary year. We’re calling it PRISMS. Full patch notes are available here.
PRISMS brings with it a visual overhaul of No Man’s Sky. Virtually no part of the game has been left untouched - our small team have enhanced the technology and the art all across the game to make the entire universe more vivid and beautiful than ever. Planets, skies, stars, creatures, the weather, space stations and more - new technology and new content mean they look the best they’ve ever been. We can’t wait for players to discover the changes.
While exploring planets you’ll notice new weather effects, such as rain which refracts the light and surfaces that become slick and wet. Or if you venture underground you’ll find caves with new lighting effects, more detailed environments and greater variety of generation.
Fur has been added to creatures you encounter, bringing extra detail and variety to exploration and companion taming. Flying creatures, such as giant beetles, flying worms and colossal butterflies, as well as some of the more bizarre, exotic and description-defying alien creatures, can now all be adopted as your companions.
Above you, the night sky now shines with the light from thousands of distant stars. New audio and visual effects transform your interstellar experience as you warp between destinations. In the Space Station, your freighter, and other interiors you’ll notice volumetric lights, detailed surfaces from Parallax Occlusion Mapping and gorgeous reflective metallic surfaces.
And of course, with all these visual enhancements, it makes sense to upgrade Photo Mode too with improved depth of field and bloom controls. We love seeing the incredible creativity of our community, and are very excited to see what beautiful images you surprise us with next.
PC players with compatible Nvidia graphics cards can take advantage of DLSS, potentially seeing their framerate double.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a No Man’s Sky update without a long list of extras - see the full list here. Worthy of note this time is the ability to tame and ride flying creatures. This is something which has been requested ever since Travellers mounted their first creature in the BEYOND update and we can’t wait for you to take to the skies with your trusty airborne steeds.
We are seeing no slow down in the number of new Travellers coming into the No Man’s Sky universe, so we’d like to use this opportunity to thank players new and old for being with us so far on this five-year adventure.
Full patch notes are available here.
Our journey continues.
Sean