The conversation about tech slots and activated Indium has really sidelined just how great a job they’ve done with the Switch port.

There’s definitely some roon for improvement with the UI, touch screen integration, and expansion of custom game settings, but goddamn, the game feels really smooth considering its “only” 30fps.

And while there’s obvious graphical compromises to make this miracle port possible, its not nearly as compromised as I’d expected, and it packs in a surprising amount of detail. I notice distance objects tend to blur a little when you’re on the move, but when you come to a full stop the details sharpen up pretty quick, there’s obviously some clever ‘hierarchy’ the game has to determine what needs to look clear and what can be subordinated in a given frame. The results won’t be as flattering in a side by side with high end PCs, but it does a great job of giving your brain enough details to fill in any gaps subconsciously.

And some nice shading and lighting techniques are preserved from the main consoles /PC build, especially that sun-kissed translucent effect that massive funghi tend to have when the sun’s hitting the right angle.

The work they’ve done in previous updates on the overall scale of the world and its relative asset sizing translates well to the small screen, giving the impression of inhabiting these massive planets with imposing mountains, dense woodlands, and intimidating cave networks that feel easy to get lost in without a terrain manipulator as a last ditch “fuck outta here” measure. For a handheld game, the world it presents feels bigger than it has any right to be on such a dinky platform.

And the autosave system clearly seems designed with the Switch’s pick-up-put-down gameplay ethos. I don’t think I’ve made a single manual save since starting up a new save post-4.0. (Constructed save points still do double duty as permanent nav markers, so nothing is really lost here.) And with the new custom game parameters you can opt in to useful features that reduce the moment to moment busywork that might otherwise feel laborious in context of the ’20 minute loop’ that Switch lends itself to by its portable nature.

All in all, I’ve been playing since 2016 launch, and this is the most significant platform-driven update I’ve played since PSVR. (And we’ve still got the second-generation VR update to come!)

To be frank, I’ve often felt like I often preferred the ‘idea’ of No Man’s Sky and what it represents as a sandbox experience, rather than the more mundane reality of actually playing it. Maybe it’s the long boot times on PS4, but I often felt like the friction points of the grinding loop kept me from sinking into more substantive play sessions, and as a result I’d usually just derp around until my launch thrusters ran out, then not be bothered to go refuel, and so my playthrough would just fizzle out.

Now it’s on handheld, and it’s got custom game modifiers to tailor the moment to moment gameplay, I’ve found a sweet spot where I’m actually focused on doing the story, heading to galactic core, etc, and not getting bogged down in minutiae every time my mining laser or launch thruster runs out, nor getting slowed down by sprint being tied to life support systems. The pace of my moment to moment gameplay finally lines up with the spacefaring fantasy I picture in my head when I think about what No Man’s Sky represents.

So yeah, I think that’s pretty cool. 😊

This post will be refreshed every few days. The old post are still available for answering questions in those post.

Below are a few popular questions that we’ve received from our past FAQ thread. As always we ask that everyone be respectful and we welcome everyone’s contribution so have fun!

Q- I’m keen to start a new passive money making pursuit. What are some good ideas or guides post-Waypoint?

A#1-Gold farm, then take that stack and sell it at a terminal (not traders) in systems that sell gold. Sell all your gold to the terminal and crash the economy. Then buy it all back at 80% off discount. You just got free money and keep all the gold. All this takes is an initial investment on a gold farm, then you carry all that gold with you and just sell/buy back when you get to another system that sells gold. With 50 stacks in my ship’s cargo hold, I can make somewhere around 150 million units in each system I do this in.

A#2-Start a Farm, Fusion Igniters or Statis Devices Farm which will increase your profits to 100- 200 mil fairly quickly and you can even send out multiple freighter missions which will help you get aronium, magno-gold, Enriched carbon and more which will increase the profits even more.

A#3-Quickest way I’ve found to make a TON of units: Harvesting Storm Crystals. Find a VERY hot planet that has frequent fire storms. DURING STORMS ONLY – you can see the bright white light from Storm Crystals if you fly around low enough. Fly to them, land, quickly harvest them, get back in your ship and fly to the next before you burn up. Q-Where can I post ships and other cool stuff that I want to share with the public? A-You can always post on this sub and now the NMSGlyphExchange is live! Q-How do I get the Advanced Mining Laser? I don’t have the option to craft one, and the multi-tool upgrade vendor at the space station doesn’t have the blueprint for sale.

A-In order to get it, you have to look for the blueprints in crashed ships or abandoned facilities. You get it from the main story (awakenings) or you can buy it on the anomaly.

Q-What do I actually do in the game? I finished the tutorial, is there anything else beside gathering stuff, building a base and repeat?

A#1-It’s really whatever you want, there’s a base story, (assuming you haven’t completed it already), follow the quest log and you’ll figure it out, but things You’d want to do for end game? You can collect multiple multitools, ships, built a fleet for your freighter, etc.

Q-Is there a planet that is populated by many players, and they built their base close to each others like a city?

A- Yeah its the Galactic Hub Project, Its a place where many people have bases and each day the numbers grow. Please help yourself. There are many factions in NMS that do this, even NMS Pirates Hub.

Q-I’m still pretty early into the game, just making my way to the center of the galaxy, what should I be spending my credits on?

A-Go hang around a outlaw/pirate trading post. Cheapest S-class start at around 8-8.5 million without a trade-in. I recommend Vikeen pirate, as then you have two good and 1 remote chances at high-maneuverability S-class: fighter, solar, exotic.