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. 😊

Experimental 12/10

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• A new difficulty setting has been added which allows players to lock themselves out of any further difficulty settings changes. Once enabled, this action is permanent.

• The strength of starship specialisation bonuses have been increased, so that higher-grade ships receive greater inherent bonuses to their stats. This scales steeply with both class and ship specialisation, so that eg the Explorer class ships will have significantly further warp ranges.

• As well as damage, shield and warp bonuses, starships now also have an inherent agility-based stat, which benefits all maneuverability upgrades in the same way as the other specialisation stats affect their relevant upgrades.

• Stat bonuses on procedural jetpack upgrades have been increased.

• Stat bonuses on procedural hazard protection upgrades have been increased.

• Stat bonuses on procedural pulse engine upgrades have been increased.

• Stat bonuses on procedural hyperdrive upgrades have been increased.

• The drop rate of Spawning Sacs retrieved by the living frigate from fleet expeditions has been increased.

• Significantly reduced the likelihood of incoming damage to break a piece of technology while the Exosuit shields are charged.

• Fixed a number of issues where different popups would take the same scrolling input.

• Fixed an issue that prevented changing tabs in the freighter inventory while hovering over an empty slot.

• Fixed an issue that caused critically damaged Hazard Protection to appear to become recharged and functional when sitting in the starship.

• Hazard Protection now notes on the HUD when it is critically damaged.

• When reporting a base, the owner’s name is now more clearly displayed in the UI.

• Fixed an issue that caused missions to fail to recognise when Exocraft technology was correctly charged.

• Fixed an issue that caused some items (such as projectile ammunition) to build the wrong amount when first crafted.

• Fixed an issue that allowed players to salvage their only operational starship.

• Fixed an issue that could strand players on the space station if they managed to dock with a broken pulse engine.

• Fixed an issue that could leave some players floating in space when reloading their save.

• Fixed an issue that prevented players with very large inventories from seeing all their items when transferring to another inventory, such as a storage container.

• Fixed a number of clashes between changing inventory tabs and changing stack sizes.

• Fixed an issue that could cause some newly acquired inventory items to be visually missing from the main inventory.

• The “Starting Slots” difficulty setting now adds additional inventory slots as well as additional companion and squadron slots.

• The visual quality of stars has been improved when using TAA and FSR 2.0.

• The visual effects for the final Atlas Station of the Artemis path have been improved.

• Fixed a network matchmaking issue.

• Fixed an Xbox Series S/X crash related to the file system.

• Fixed a PlayStation 5 crash.

• Fixed an inventory-related crash that could occur when loading the game.

• Fixed a memory-related crash on PlayStation 5.

• Fixed a crashed related to the recipe page within the information portal.

I thought I’d weigh in on the latest update.

For context I’m a day one player that has well over 3,000 hours in the game, and I have spent hundreds of hours getting the best X-class modules (before the chances of good stats were massively improved). I love the game, and I think Hello Games has done a phenomenal job of supporting No Man’s Sky and the community.

That said I’m not a fan of this particular update. It has good elements but overall I think HG have abandoned a lot of the structure they put in place over the years.

I think it has been said ad nauseam at this point but the new tech limitations directly affect game play. Slower maneuverability in ships and less jet pack power makes traversal less fun than it was previously. I see a lot of dismissal of min/maxing as “you just want to be over-powered”, but for me personally I like the accomplishment. You see the fruits of your labour, I worked hard and I’m rewarded for it. Like most games the more you put in, the more you get out. If I’ve grinded powerful shields, I want to be able to take a hit. If I’ve grinded powerful pulse engine upgrades, I want my ship to glide through the air. There is now a tangible difference in that.

Now I’ve heard a lot of people say this brings balance, but If HG wanted to change the dynamics and bring in new technology, they may have been better off holding this element until they had a suitable substitution in-game. For me it’s not a sticking point, as I think HG will address this part soon.

The menu makes sense in to be seperated as tech and cargo, I have no arguement with that (beyond that the tech cap should have been adjusted to match current standards). I think we may have gone a little overboard with stacking and space, but I have no problems with it. I do think the menu looks more cluttered now, and would prefer to see tech and cargo as two seperate tabs as opposed to two scrolling screens on the same page. I hope this part is addressed very soon as it’s harder to navigate, and looks much more cluttered in my oppinion.

As for customisation, I have no issue with being able to customise your game. Hell I like the idea of a custom mode, it’s not for me, but I think it has it’s place. My personal gripe is with how it’s been implemented. Being able to change the rules of the modes on the fly, has diluted each of the modes identities. What is the point of a custom mode, when it really applies to all of them? There is no difference between Normal, creative, survival and custom, those are just pre-sets that can change on a whim. Bear in mind HG introduced these modes in foundations, and now they have been eroded and seemingly abandoned.

Now I’m not affected by how other people play their game, but before you simply selected the mode that was right for you. But I see a loss of community over this. Before if people were struggling they would turn to the community, and that brought the best out of us; struggling to find an item? “Let’s meet up in game and I’ll transfer you one”. Short on units? “We’ll send you some to get you started”. Struggling with a sentinel pillar? “We’ll join and help”. Why would people turn to communities, when it’s all solvable at a touch of a slider? I think Hello Games may have sacrificed one of the best elements of this game, the community itself, in the name of accessibility which was already there in the form of different modes. I think it will be easier for new players to just bypass struggles, than seek out this game’s wonderful community for support. Many groups and civs thrive on player interactions beyond just “look at my base”, there’s trading, pvp matches and other competative events all of which will be nigh on impossible to fairly balance (apparently after testing the settings can affect pvp not just pve). That in itself is a crying shame.

Now people will say that there is still ship hunting as a community activity, for example. But if Hello Games is really focusing on accessiblility, do you think full ship customisation is not on the horizon? The removal of ‘game’ elements, severly diminshes a lot of the groups that have become staples of the community. I’ve seen a lot of issues on both sides of the arguement, but no one wants to see a playerbase exodus from the game, Sean said it himself, development only happens if the team and the community, continue to turn up for it. A lot of people that have not liked this update, have many hours in the game and add to the active player statistics, even if you disagree those oppinions and players should not be disregarded. As I said I can see the benefits of a custom mode, I would have preferred if it didn’t encroach existing modes.

The trade rocket looks great, it’s fun to see it break atmoshere and head to the station. Unfortunately most existing players will have little need for it. Every station, most bases and freighters have a trade station built in. Couple that with the added slot capacity, you end up thinking am I ever really going to be in desperate need to sell my inventory this second? I would much rather have seen the very cool looking rocket serve a new and unique purpose, as right now it just feels a bit wasted.

Some of the new visual elements look absolutely stunning, and I do like the improvements to the Nexus (although there may be a bit of HDR issue in there again atm).

Overall I feel like this update seems to focus so heavily on inclusion that it disregards elements that long term players enjoyed. I think every single element could have been included, and with a bit more consideration to how they were implemented, recieved a much warmer reception. There are plenty of people that are enjoying the update, and that’s absolutely fine, this is just my oppinion. I don’t think any of the suggestions I’ve made, would directly affect their enjoyment, but I’m happy to have a discussion if you disagree with me.

Just remember whichever side of the fence you sit on, we all love this game, and there is nothing wrong with criticism as long as it’s constructive.