No Man’s Sky developer Hello Games has unveiled the Worlds Part 2 update, which it says “allows us to push the boundaries of our engine with new technology.”
Chief developer Sean Murray said the update adds billions of new solar systems and trillions of new planets to the procedurally generated space game, as well as new biomes and terrains.
“I’ve been working on a new terrain system for a little while now,” Murray said. “Terrain is more detailed and far more varied with huge mountains and these massive features. I’m genuinely at my happiest working on this stuff.”
The update also brings with it gas giants, which are 10 times bigger than No Man’s Sky’s existing biggest planet. “It’s truly end-game stuff to explore them with huge storms that rage across the surface,” Murray said.
He continued: “New tech allows oceans that can be several kilometers deep. A new lighting system makes them look so different. New caustics, light shafts and the deeper that you explore the darker it gets. I’ve had these moments where you’re exploring and suddenly some huge creature comes into view and it’s just incredible.
“Every element of our lighting has been rewritten. Shadows show more details, light flickers through the leaves, caves are dark and immersive. Oceans now reflect the clouds and stars to create these beautiful sunsets and night skies.
“Water reacts physically to the world around it. Creatures wade through it. There’s little dimples in the rain, and there are large waves as ships fly overhead. Sometimes there’s these moments where a ship just flies past the still ocean and the water ripples underneath and it’s just so peaceful to watch.
“In the depths of the ocean and on land there’s these new creatures to discover. I think we’ve gone probably weirder than ever before. When you land on a planet all the tech combines to create an emotion, that feeling of knowing that no one has ever been on this world before. I think it’s what makes this game really special.
“There’s tons of new gameplay too. There’s this huge quest that ties together some strands that we’ve been building for years. We’ve got an expedition that takes you on a tour of all the new worlds that we’re building and it’s got some incredible rewards.
“This is our ninth year since release. I think we’re doing things that the community probably never thought would happen. I honestly can’t wait for people to play.”
In November, Hello Games hailed No Man’s Sky hitting a ‘very positive’ Steam user review user rating for the first time, eight years after the game’s controversial launch was slammed by players.
No Man’s Sky launched in August 2016 on PS4 and PC to tens of thousands of negative reviews on Steam, with players complaining about broken promises and a lack of meaningful content, particularly on the multiplayer side. The game quickly settled on the dreaded ‘overwhelmingly negative’ Steam user review rating, a clear sign to anyone who visited its Steam page that something was very wrong.
But Guildford, England-based Hello Games has continued to update No Man’s Sky over the years, improving player sentiment to the point where it is now considered superb. It took two years to hit ‘mixed,’ then another three to hit ‘mostly positive.’ At the time, five years after launch, Tim Woodley, Head of Publishing at Hello Games, explained how hard it was to claw back Steam user reviews from such a low base.
As Hello Games continues to work on No Man’s Sky, it’s developing its next game, Light No Fire. It’s about adventure, building, survival and exploration together, set on a fantasy planet the size of Earth.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
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