No Man’s Sky update 5.0 out now, adds tons of new tech and features

Hello Games is still putting out huge updates for No Man’s Sky and its latest brings the game to version 5.0 alongside sweeping changes and additions.

The new No Man’s Sky update 5.0, titled “Worlds Part 1”, adds a whole host of new tweaks to worlds, in-game visuals, oceans with real waves, and some tech from their in-production and even-more-ambitious game Light No Fire.

Here’s a rundown on the update, plus a new trailer and a gameplay deep dive with Hello Games founder and CEO Sean Murray:

WORLDS PART I: INTRODUCING UPDATE 5.0

Update 5.0, WORLDS, transforms the universe into a richer, wilder, more varied and immersive place. Featuring huge leaps in water and cloud visuals, increased planetary diversity, new gameplay features, and more. Our journey continues.

BIG HUNT EXPEDITION: THE LIQUIDATORS

Engage in a galactic bug hunt in No Man’s Sky’s fourteenth community expedition. A vile brood is spreading corruption across the universe – join the Liquidator Vanguard to do your part and purge the rot from the stars!

Report for duty alongside other Travellers to liquidate biological horrors and hosts of giant insects in a high-paced combat expedition full of custom-balanced swarm combat.

An exclusive selection of rewards await those that do their part in the war on bugs, including mounted bug trophies, new posters, and a complete set of organic armour parts forged from the bodies of the brood themselves.

DISCOVERY RENAMING

Discovered systems, planets, flora, fauna, and minerals can now be renamed at any time, even after upload.

DRAMATIC NEW WORLDS

Planets across the universe have been transformed in wild and radical ways. Gravitational distortions have warped some lush and tropical worlds, shaking loose floating islands that now drift in the atmosphere above the planet’s surface. Hop from rock-to-rock with the jetpack or starship, build bases in the sky, or simply marvel at the dramatic waterfalls that cascade down from the sky.

NEW VOLUMETRIC CLOUDS

A total overhaul of the clouds brings vastly increased detail and definition. The cloud system has been rewritten from the ground up to improve performance, fix visual artefacts, and introduce fine details such as wispy cirrus clouds and dark, rain-laden nimbus clouds.

In addition, cloud coverage variety has been boosted, varying significantly from planet-to-planet, as well as over time and in response to local weather conditions.

CUSTOMISE SOLAR SHIPS

The Starship Fabricator now supports the crafting of Solar-class starships. Select and combine a vast array of unique components for cockpits, fuselages, wings, and sails to design your dream Solar starship.

DETAILED SHADOWS

Shadows have new depth and realism. Planetary environments are now more richly lit, with natural features, structures, starships, and Travellers accurately self-shadowing and representing exposure to sunlight – especially noticeable on finely-detailed flora such as grass. Additionally, shadows cast by clouds are now calculated in relation to the sun position.

HIGH DEFINITION WATER

An astounding range of sights await explorers on water planets, as seas, oceans, and lakes now ripple and sparkle with realistic wave formations and foam generation.

As well as these living, dynamic water conditions, a total overhaul of the water rendering technology also brings dramatic reflections and beautifully lit surface details.

OTHERWORLDLY LIFE

Discover strange new creatures all across the universe. Bizarre floral hybrids stalk some planets, exploring their environments with stamen-like whiskers and petal-like faces.

FULL WIND SIMULATION

The wind system has been reworked to bring planets to life with dynamic and consistent weather. Leaves and grass rustle in gentle wind while whole trees rock and sway during storms. Smoke effects, billowing dust clouds, rain, snow and other environmental effects all go through the same wind system, for an immersive and consistent exploration experience.

DYNAMIC WATER

Bodies of water respond to the weather – ranging from glassy lakes to turbulent oceans, depending on the stillness of the breeze and the depth of the water. Violent storms can generate dramatically choppy seas and huge ocean swells.

LIQUIDATOR COMBAT MECH

Carve through the toughest enemies in a new heavy duty mech suit. All those who do their part in the Liquidators expedition will unlock these new combat-focused components for the Minotaur.

As the community purge the vile brood from the universe, plans for these parts will become available at the Quicksilver Synthesis Companion for those unable to take part in the expedition.

SUB-ZERO WORLDS

Frozen worlds have been transformed with ice-laden trees and glittering glacial rocks. New planet surfaces as well as a significant number of new flora and mineral formations bring a new diversity to sub-zero planets.

DESERT DIVERSITY

Biodiversity of sand-swept planets has been expanded, with large feather-fronded palms adorning the horizon of some worlds.

SKY COLOURS

Step deeper into a 1970s science fiction palette with a range of new sky colours – including some especially rare hues for dedicated explorers to discover.

INSECT ARMOUR SET

Complete the Liquidators expedition to earn a full-body set of organic armour. Embrace the aesthetic of the vile brood – or flaunt the evidence of their undoing – with chitinous gauntlets, spurs, mandibles, and exoskeleton.

ENGINE ENHANCEMENTS

Many underlying systems have been reworked for improved visuals and increased performance.

Rendering of environmental objects such as trees, rocks, and grass has been moved to a GPU-based system, allowing for denser worlds with increased performance. Planetary flora, minerals and curiosities have improved levels of detail from further distances and a broader range of angles.

Terrain generation has been rewritten to incorporate dual marching cubes voxel meshing, increasing loading speed, improving framerate and saving memory.

NEW INTERACTION LABELS

Labels for interactive and destructible objects in the universe have been restyled and made more responsive, providing critical information without obscuring the view.

BEETLE DIVERSITY

A wide variety of new insect-like creatures can now be discovered scuttling across the universe. While some of these alien insects are hostile, many species are gentle, peaceful beings. Study their natural patterns, harvest their nourishing slime, or adopt them as companions.

DRAMATIC STORMS

Exploring a planet during a blizzard or thunderstorm is more exhilarating than ever. New ambient effects and atmospheric fog combine with wind-responsive particle effects to create dramatic storms that sweep across the planet’s surface.

TWITCH DROPS

Watch experienced Travellers stream No Man’s Sky on Twitch, and earn rewards! Even if you don’t own the game yet, you can earn rewards during the campaign, and claim them in-game at a later date.

To sign up, visit the Twitch Drops page. Then just sit back and tune into the campaign running from Thursday 18th to Monday 22nd July.

WALKER BATTLES

Walker battles are now framed by a detailed combat HUD, indicating the targetable vulnerabilities of these elite Sentinel units.

CHITIN FLIGHT PACK

A new jetpack is available to claim from the Liquidators expedition. A fusion of advanced technology and resinous organic secretions, the Chitin Flight Pack represents the apex of bio-organic engineering.

WATER COLOUR VARIETY

Discover oceans in a huge range of vibrant colours – from iron-rich red seas to algae-dense pools of green. Committed explorers may find some especially unusual colours on rare planets…

STRANGE NUTRIENTS

Brew, bake, churn and fry more than 40 new Nutrient Processor recipes from the flesh and larvae of alien insects. Impress other Travellers – or Iteration Cronos – with expertly baked Mucal Doughnuts, Seeping Pies, Juicy Thoraxes and many more new dishes.

LIVING BUILDINGS

Very rarely, in sectors where the anomaly field is strongest, planetary buildings have evolved legs and transformed themselves into sentient constructs that roam across the landscape.

AQUATIC LANDING JETS

New technology allows starships to land directly on the surface of water, enabling Travellers to dive directly into the sea from the nose of their ships. Starships may also be summoned to the water for a quick escape from the middle of the ocean.

SKYLIGHT BASE PARTS

Bring the view of the stars into your base with new skylight roofing parts. These new pieces are available for the stone, timber, and alloy construction sets and can be purchased aboard the Space Anomaly.

ATMOSPHERIC VARIETY

Planetary atmospheric effects are deeper, richer and more varied, with thick snowfall, flakes of ash and ember, heavy rain, whorls of dust, and storm crystals all visually enhanced.

VILE INSECT QUEENS

A vile brood of insects has begun to infest planets across the universe. Find and destroy their grubs and then confront the heart of the hostile swarm: their huge, hideous, brood mothers. These colossal lumbering bugs are heavily armoured, and will challenge even the most experienced exterminators with devastating spit attacks.

QUALITY OF LIFE

A significant number of quality of life features have been improved throughout the game.

The docking tractor beam at Space Stations and Freighters is now smoother; reloading can be interrupted to quickly cycle weapon modes; refiners can now be quick-filled with an entire stack of items; core technology can be instantly repaired from the Quick Menu; the range of the Analysis Visor’s Target Sweep has been dramatically improved, and much more – see the full patch notes for more detail.

NEW GESTURES

Express yourself with 4 new animated gestures. Browse the Quick Menu to get poised for action, ponder the landscape, fold your arms in readiness, or burst into energetic dance.

SPECTACULAR UNDERWATER BASES

Build cosy aquatic hideouts – or lavish underwater lairs – and enjoy improved views of the waterline.

DLSS3

Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) is an NVIDIA technology, available to PC players with compatible RTX cards, which uses a deep learning neural network to boost frame rates and generate beautiful, sharp images.

The latest iteration, DLSS3, multiplies performance by up to 4X compared to traditional rendering, while retaining great image quality. Learn more on the NVIDIA site.

VILE BROOD NEXUS MISSION

The observers aboard the Space Anomaly regret the spread of the vile brood across the universe, their queens and grubs disturbing the delicate balance of local ecosystems. They request that Travellers band together to cull these invasive species and restore balance to nature. Group up with friends or strangers at the Nexus to sign up for this new mission.

NOXIOUS WORLDS

Venture into totally unexplored toxic climates. These new worlds have horizons alive with alluring but poisonous flora, while the ground underneath your feet bubbles and oozes with living slime.

COLOSSAL INSECT TROPHIES

Decorate your living space with a set of bughunter trophies, earned by those who do their part in the Liquidator expedition.

HUNGERING TENDRIL ENCOUNTERS

Test your skills against pumped-up hungering tendrils. Their Many Mouths crave the soft flesh of Travellers, and will now spit acidic projectiles when fighting at range. Your progress in these challenging fights is now tracked with a detailed combat HUD.

IRRADIATED LANDSCAPES

Delve into the twisted forests of new radioactive environments. Irradiated planets are more colourful and diverse than ever, but remain a deadly exploration challenge without the appropriate protective gear.

INSECTOID HEADWEAR

Hunt and destroy insect queens to earn new player titles and harvest a variety of wearable insect headpieces. Strike terror into your foes with the Broodling Skull, assert your dominance with the Brood Mother’s Maw, or continue the hunt to earn even more…

MINOTAUR FLAMETHROWER

Incinerate enemies with a new flamethrower for the Liquidator armoured mech. This dedicated combat override deals extreme damage at close range.

BURNT WORLDS

Scorched landscapes have been transformed with a wealth of new and diverse fiery flora, superheated crystals, ash-dusted atmospheres and more.

NIGHT SKY VARIETY

Nights are more varied than ever, with a greater range of sky and lighting colours, and darkness levels that vary from world-to-world, from velvety black skies to glowing nightscapes. Light levels will also now change over time as the night progresses.

BLOSSOMING MEGAFLORA

New lush worlds have bloomed into life. Discover idyllic garden planets flourishing with exotic alien flowers, perfect for exploration, discovery, or the construction of a beautiful new base.