No Man’s Sky Updated With Free Fractal Update, Now Supports PS VR 2

Hello Games is still at it at updating their space simulator No Man’s Sky as their latest big update called Fractal is now live. The 4.1 update mainly improves the virtual reality experience but also has new additions like the Utopia Speeder Starship, a new Expedition, and more. Together with this update comes the PlayStation VR 2 support as the peripheral is now available worldwide.

It’s a big update as there are a ton of quality-of-life changes for various platforms including the Switch version of the game. 

Here’s a quick rundown of what’s in the Fractal update according to Hello Games.

Utopia Expedition 

The once-affluent system of Bakkin has fallen into decay: trade routes halted, the Space Station abandoned and rotting, intelligent lifeforms departed. Anomalous solar activity prevents the crafting of items beyond the shelter of a planetary base. Thankfully, for the good of all, the generous Utopia Foundation is coordinating a grand reconstruction project. Join the communal habitation team, settler, and help make Bakkin beautiful and productive once more!

Wonderous Discoveries 

Browse through your most impressive and bizarre discoveries in the new Wonders section of the Catalogue. Explore an ever-evolving collection of mementos from your journey: from the largest herbivorous creature, to the most ancient tree, to the planet most approaching paradise.

Improved HDR Lighting 

Color grading for high dynamic range (HDR) displays has been completely reworked, bringing the hues and tones of the universe closer to the look of a standard dynamic range display, while still enhanced by the brilliant lights and intense shadows of HDR.

Utopia Speeder Starship 

Complete the full program of Utopia Foundation assignments to receive the exclusive Utopia Speeder starship. This versatile craft is plated with radiation-resistant armor, and engineered with an aerodynamic profile for agility during atmospheric flight.

PlayStation VR2 Support 

Launching together with the new PlayStation VR2 hardware, No Man’s Sky is a more immersive Virtual Reality experience than ever. Travellers can explore the universe in up to 4K resolution, pilot ships and wield Multi-Tools with the new ergonomic Sense controllers, and benefit from a vast number of gameplay and quality of life improvements.

Nexus Missions on Switch 

For the first time on Nintendo Switch, sign up at the Space Anomaly to undertake challenging missions for Priest Entity Nada and Specialist Polo. 

The Nexus interface offers an ever-updating selection of missions at specific locations, ranging from discovery, to combat, to base building, and much more. 

Every day, with a bonus at weekends, the Nexus offers a new mission rewarding Quicksilver. Polo’s Quicksilver Synthesis Companion will be pleased to exchange this special currency for a wide range of exotic collectables.

Clearer Game Options 

Game Options are now available from the opening screens of the game, allowing you to tweak settings such as volume and resolution before loading into gameplay. Options have been reorganized for ease of use, and clarifying descriptions have been added to explain the function of each option.

Fearsome Visor

Utopia settlers will receive this exclusive appearance customization: the Fearsome Visor. Strike dread into the hearts of your foes with this oxide-strengthened helmet.

PlayStation VR2 Visual Quality 

The universe looks crisper and more beautiful in PlayStation VR2, with higher quality textures, improved particle rendering, terrain tessellation effects, increased planetary details, increased draw distances, and much more. 

These improvements, combined with support for AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.0 technology on PlayStation technology, create the best-looking PlayStation VR experience yet.

Twitch Rewards 

Tune in to Twitch streams of No Man’s Sky to earn in-game rewards. Sign up and link your platform accounts on the Twitch Drops page, then watch other Travellers explore the Fractal update to earn special companions, starships, appearance modifications, exotic base parts, and more! 

Alien Structure Ambience 

A deeper sense of mystery surrounds ancient portals, plaques, and monoliths, with the addition of ambient mist and dramatic new visual effects upon activation.

Virtual Reality Overhaul 

The experience of playing in virtual reality has been improved across the board. When playing with a controller tracked in each hand, the Personal Forcefield will move attached to your non-dominant hand, allowing you to reflexively and intuitively deflect enemy fire. 

Mission locations and power hotspots are more intuitive to pinpoint, with revamped Target Sweep and Hotspot Surveying controls for the Analysis Visor.

Dynamic Resolution Scaling 

Dynamic scaling on PS5 invisibly adapts your display resolution during play, ensuring a smooth framerate at all times, and a significant improvement to visual quality in situations such as space flight. 

Transitioning between deep-space exploration and low-altitude flight is now completely seamless and hitch-free.

VR Base Building 

Constructing a base in Virtual Reality is more intuitive than ever. Placement options now appear wherever you look, and you can select a position by pointing to it. Base parts can now be recolored in virtual reality, to enhance your base’s aesthetic with the full range of colors and materials.

Catalogued Treasures 

Your most lucrative treasures, from leather-bound anthologies to eldritch bio-anomalies, are now recorded in the Wonders section of the Catalogue. Planetary glitches, such as electric cubes and bubble clusters, are also counted here as you retrieve them from exotic biomes.

VR Galaxy Map

 Navigating and selecting warp destinations in the Virtual Reality Galaxy Map has been improved, and it is now possible to travel through the center of the galaxy in virtual reality.

New Accessibility Features 

A significant number of new game options allow you to customize your experience for accessibility and ease of use. New options include a range of tools to adjust visual effects, cameras, and controls for the most comfortable experience possible. 

Specific settings include a setting for the Analysis Visor to automatically scan fauna, flora and minerals when centered on screen, without requiring a second simultaneous button push. 

In addition to the existing HUD Scale option, some menu text can now also be enlarged to increase readability, especially from a distance.

Holographic Friend 

Contributors to the Utopia communal habitation project will receive this exclusive holographic base part, providing eternal friendship to even the loneliest of bases!

Customize Your Gameplay 

The player character may now be shown on the right side of the screen, operating the Multi-Tool with their left hand. The auto-rotation behavior of the third-person camera can be disabled, allowing complete manual control of the camera rotation. A network privilege can be set for which players are permitted to access the contents of your refiner. The game language may now be set from within No Man’s Sky, independently of your system language.

Quality of Life 

A polish pass has improved quality of life across a wide range of gameplay features. Quick charge allows base parts such as refiners to be fully refueled with a single button press. The system for synchronizing the contents of your refiner in multiplayer has been completely reworked for reliability and stability. An emergency warp button will now allow you to reset your position in your freighter, to rescue any ambitious builders who have become caught within the freighter base.

New VR Options 

When exploring on foot or piloting your ship in virtual reality, the distance of the User Interface (UI) and Heads-Up Display (HUD) can now be fine-tuned to your exact preference, to maximize physical comfort. While playing PS4’s PlayStation VR using a DualShock 4, you may now use motion controls to operate the cursor in menus. 

All virtual reality players can now adjust the intensity of the vignette effect at the edge of your vision, to suit your individual comfort level.

Robo-Warden Companion 

The Utopia Foundation provides its most hardworking settlers with an exclusive hovering valet, the Robo-Warden. This electronic companion is programmed to be meticulous and dependable as it assists you on your journey.

PlayStation VR2 Headset Feedback 

Subtle headset vibrations in PlayStation VR2 elevate sensory feedback to a new level of immersion. The visor will echo the quaking of the earth as titan worms thunder from the soil. Experience your cockpit rumble around you as you breach planetary atmosphere. Feel the blast of nearby lightning strikes, volcanic eruptions, and other terrestrial phenomena. The strength of these vibrations can be tuned to your preferences in the Options menu.

“A Trace of Metal” on Switch 

For the first time on Nintendo Switch, delve into the secrets of the Sentinels in the story-driven mission “A Trace of Metal”. Collaborate with Iteration: Tethys, befriend a drone and steal powerful Sentinel technology to upgrade your Minotaur Exocraft.

Motion Controls 

On PlayStation and Nintendo Switch, stick input can now be enhanced with gyroscopic motion sensor control. Achieve effortless precision when aiming at enemies with the Multi-Tool, and feel fully immersed as you tilt your hands to scan fauna with the Analysis Visor. Motion control can be enabled and disabled for individual contexts, and the sensitivity and smoothing can be fine-tuned in the Options menu.

Tactile PlayStation VR2 Controls 

Touch and manipulate the universe around you with the individually tracked PlayStation VR2 Sense controllers. Feel individual bolts click beneath your finger as each is released from your Boltcaster barrel. When your Multi-Tool begins to overheat, reactive feedback begins to resist your pull on the trigger. Dramatic moments such as launching your starship vibrate your hands and headset together, placing you directly in the centre of the action.

Smoke and Wreckage Effects 

Ambient smoke and fog now surrounds colossal archives, and swirls through abandoned planetary structures. The smoking and sparking of damaged machinery and crashed freighters has been updated with atmospheric new visual effects.

Milestone Titles 

Celebrate your Journey Milestone progress with dozens of new titles available at the Appearance Modifier.

Expanded Starship Fleets 

Grow and diversify your ship collection with three additional slots, raising the maximum fleet size to twelve.

And these are just features coming to the game. The full 4.1 patch notes for the rest of No Man’s Sky can be found here.

The last big update was the Waypoint update back in October 2022, which launched alongside the game’s official release on the Nintendo Switch.

The release of the Fractal update is the game’s 22nd major update release since its launch back in 2016. Yes, everyone is aware of No Man’s Sky’s abysmal launch but the constant updates have brought this game to a point that it’s now one of the most beloved sci-fi space exploration simulator games now out on the market, and it looks like they are not stopping anytime soon.

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