No Man's Sky borrows some of Light No Fire's fancy tech for a planetary overhaul in latest update
Plus angry bugs and flamethrower mechs.
If you've been hoping for another No Mans's Sky universe refresh, today's your day. The exploratory space sim's latest update is all about bringing more variety to planets - and it's chucking in angry Starship Troopers-esque bug hunts and a flamethrower mech too.
No Man's Sky's new Worlds Part 1 update owes at least some of its existence to developer Hello Games' upcoming fantasy planet sim Light No Fire. "Over the last five years making the game, " it explains, "we've learnt new things, and we're feeding that back into No Man's Sky".
Some of No Man's Sky's freshly expanded variety comes from the way its new simulated systems combine. There's new cloud tech that creates skies based on weather conditions, with planets now featuring their own wind patterns. Water has also had a significant overhaul, featuring dynamic waves that react to weather, reflections, and improved oceans.
Addtionally, planets have recieved new volumetrics and atmospherics, meaning explorers can expect to see the likes of rolling fog, more dramatic storms, blizzards, and lava sparks on their travels - and all these elements should interact, meaning clouds grow closer during storms while waves rise higher. And beyond the improved atmospherics, World Part 1 introduces new biomes with accompanying flora and fauna (including burnt, noxious, irradiated, and idyllic garden landscapes) for increased variety.
Other new features (and there's a lot) include aquatic landing jets so ships can land on water, flamethrower arm attachments for the new Liquidator mech, and new Vile Brood hunt missions. No Man's Sky's latest update also heralds the start of a new limited-time, combat-focused Expedition, this one sending player out among the stars to explore some of the planets now possible with No Man's Sky's improved tech. And while they're there, they'll need to work alongside the community to blast massive angry bugs, Starship Troopers style - earning Expedition rewards along the way.
No Man's Sky's Worlds Part 1 update arrives today on all platforms, and Hello Games hints more planetary improvements will follow - as the conspicuous "Part 1" in the title suggests. Lengthy patch notes for today's update are available on the No Man's Sky website, and there's even a behind-the-scenes video for today's update, giving some insight into its creation.
As for the studio's procedural planet adventure Light No Fire, we've not had an update on that since last year's reveal, but hopefully it won't be long before Hello Games shares more.