When No Man’s Sky originally released in 2016, it was subject to harsh criticism due to a perceived gap between the game’s appearance in marketing and how it actually looked on launch. (None of that kind of nonsense here at Paste, though—we’ve loved the game from the very beginning.) Developer Hello Games has since taken to regularly updating the game, creating an experience that is more inline with how the game was originally perceived. On Wednesday, Hello Games released the Update 3.0, Origins, for No Man’s Sky, bringing major changes to numerous aspects of the game including new planets, flora, fauna and weather patterns.
The game’s procedural generation engine has been updated to feature new planets and star systems, adding millions of unique places for players to explore including rare binary and ternary star systems. Newly generated planets will have more dramatic landscape features, from taller mountains to wider plains. Volcanos, enormous archive buildings, and new anomalous buildings will also dot the landscape of planets.
The update also features a new generation system for flora and fauna, giving planets more diversity in their wildlife. Previously unseen creatures such as insect-based animals and immense sand worms will start creeping around planets. The update only affects new planets, and previously explored planets will remain the same as they were before the update.
Planets now have more severe weather patterns depending on their environment. Extreme temperature worlds can host spontaneous fire storms, tornadoes can ravage across planets, and lightning storms can pick off unlucky explorers. Other more mellow weather patterns, like increased cloud cover and meteor showers, have also made their way into the game.
New NPC encounters, quality of life improvements, and a new photo mode are just a few of the other changes included in this massive update. Check out the full patch notes here, and the Update 3.0, Origins trailer below.
Nicolas Perez is an editorial intern at Paste and opinion co-editor for New University. He’s rambling on Twitter @Nic_Perez_.