No Man’s Sky: Fractal Update

February 22, 2023.

Hello,

We’re excited to let you know that today we are releasing our first major update of 2023. We’re calling it Fractal (version 4.1).

 

All players can earn a stunning new starship, the Utopia Speeder, which allows travellers to skim across planet surfaces at high velocity. We’re also launching a new Expedition – “Utopia” – which challenges players to work together and rebuild an abandoned solar system for the mysterious Utopia Foundation. Other expedition rewards include an exclusive new helmet (the Fearsome Visor), a robotic drone companion and much more.

 

 

Switch, PlayStation and Steam Deck all now support gyroscopic controls, making exploring and scanning new discoveries more comfortable and precise than ever.

Speaking of which, the Wonders Catalogue shows off your most incredible discoveries, from tallest mountain to strangest creature, giving you a detailed record of your journey and allowing you to compare your records with fellow travellers.

For Switch players there’s a ton of new content including access to all the Nexus and Quicksilver missions, as well as the “Trace of Metal” story – which includes a drone companion and powerful upgrades for the Minotaur Exomech.

We’ve also overhauled the game’s options for all platforms, introducing a raft of new accessibility features and giving you even more control over the way you play and experience the game.

 

 

That’s already quite a large update, but there’s lots more! We’ve always been incredibly passionate about VR. No Man’s Sky is about exploration and there’s nothing quite like exploring the infinite universe in virtual reality. Our game has changed a huge amount since our small team introduced VR support back in 2019, and we were so excited to revisit and overhaul all virtual reality for all players, as well as to add support for PS VR2 which also releases today.

Fractal brings full support for PS VR2 with new immersive controls and next generation visuals, as well as a large range of improvements and quality of life changes for all VR players. Here’s a brief list of some of the features players old and new can expect when slipping on a headset:

  • Play the entirety of No Man’s Sky in Virtual Reality without compromise, with new levels of immersion.
  • PS VR2, using the power of PlayStation 5, provides a truly next generation virtual reality experience. Featuring reflections, terrain tessellation, increased draw distance, denser foliage, ultra quality textures and refraction.

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  • PlayStation VR2-specific functionality includes headset vibrations, 3D audio technology and intelligent tracking, haptic feedback and adaptive triggers from the PS VR2 Sense controller and more.
  • Swap seamlessly between VR and standard gameplay. Continue from an existing save to revisit favourite planets, bases and creatures in full virtual reality.
  • The HUD and user interface has been completely remade for virtual reality, to ensure every interaction available in the game feels natural and built for purpose. Including controlling Multi-Tool options via a menu embedded on the in-world Multi-Tool; and browsing the quick menu and inventory via a personal wrist-mounted display.

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  • Lift open your starship’s cockpit, then reach out and grab the controls to take flight. Turn around for a full 360° view of the starship and vehicle cockpits, with incredible details only visible in VR.
  • Many interactions have been given special VR-only options, including: grabbing plants and other collectables with your hands; physically opening the cockpits of ships and exocraft; piloting starships directly with a VR stick/throttle; and punching objects to cause damage.
  • With complete head and hand tracking, interactions in virtual reality make No Man’s Sky more intuitive, tactile, and immersive than ever. Physically unholster your Multi-Tool from your shoulder. Intuitively aim and fire at targets, or put it away to engage in combat with your fists. Tap a button on your headset to toggle the Analysis Visor, then point towards fauna, flora, and minerals to scan and discover them.

 

 

2022 was a pretty packed year for No Man’s Sky with major free updates like Sentinel, Outlaws, Leviathan, Endurance and Waypoint, plus a bunch more of our popular expeditions, whilst also launching on Steam Deck and Switch. We’ve got an even bigger year planned for 2023, with Fractal and PS VR2 support marking just the starting point.

The full patch notes for Fractal are available here.

Thanks again so much for your continued support. It means a lot to us.

Our journey continues.

Sean