No Man’s Sky ‘Fractal’ Update Launches Today, New Ship, Expeditions, Gyro Controls Added

The developer behind No Man’s Sky, Hello Games, has today announced that the space exploration title will be jetting off into ver. 4.1 with the all new Fractal update.

Much of this update makes improvements on the VR side of things, but there is still a lot of new content to be had for Switch players. This includes the introduction of the Utopia Speeder — a new starship for traversing planet surfaces at high speeds — an all new Expedition mission called ‘Utopia’, new rewards, access to all of the Nexus and Quicksilver missions and much more besides.

On top of all of that, the Switch will also be getting full gyro controls, so you can now be even more precise when aiming and traversing your environment.

For a more detailed look at everything added to the game as well as some new screens, check out the Fractal update’s full patch notes from Hello Games:

No Man’s Sky ver. 4.1 (22nd February 2023)

Wonders

• A new section has been added to the Catalogue – “Wonders”.
• The Wonders Catalogue tracks your play and records notable discoveries, planetary extremes, and unusual objects collected.

• Sections include:
  • Planetary records, such as temperature, toxicity, highest point reached, overall hostility quotient, and so on.
  • Creature records, including various size records and noteworthy environmental adaptations.
  • Flora and mineral records, measured against a range of categories.
  • A record of rare items with the highest market value on the galactic exchange.
  • The number of times you have interacted with rare planetary glitch objects.

• Any entry in the Wonders catalogue can be selected to take you to its detailed entry in your discoveries list, allowing you to easily mark and visit its parent star system.

Gyro Controls

• Nintendo Switch and PlayStation players can now enable motion-sensor based gyro controls.
• Gyro controls allow for accurate fine-tuning of camera movements using controller motion on top of thumbstick control.
• Gyro controls can also be used to move the cursor in UI screens.
• Gyro controls can be enabled from the Motion Sensor section of the Controls options.
• A wide number of tuning options are available for players to customise their gyro experience.

Options

• The various options menus have been reworked and reorganised to accommodate a new suite of options, as well as to help players quickly navigate to whichever option they wish to change.
• Options can now be adjusted from the boot and save select screens, allowing for customisation before starting a game.
• On PC, video and graphics options have been merged into one page for ease of use.
• An option has been added to allow players to set the in-game language to be different from the default system language of their device.
• An option has been added to reset your current position while aboard a freighter, to provide a safe return aboard after becoming stuck.
• An option has been added for all non-Switch platforms to use the enlarged menu text already used on the Switch.
• An option has been added to allow players to customise who has access to the contents of their refiners.
• An option has been added to remove all white flashes from the game and replace them with fades to black.
• An option has been added to allow players to adjust the strength of various hazard-related screen effects, such as visor frosting.
• An option has been added to allow players to disable all automatic “follow” camera movements in third-person.
• An option has been added to allow players to adjust the handedness of their player character in first-person mode.
• An option has been added to allow players to adjust the handedness of their player character in third-person mode and to move the character to the other side of the screen.
• An option has been added for PlayStation 4 VR users to use their DualShock 4 to directly control the cursor while in menus, instead of using the thumbsticks.
• A number of options have been added for VR players to adjust the distance from the screen of various menu elements.
• An option has been added for VR players to adjust the strength of the vignette effect deployed to reduce motion sickness.
• An option has been added to allow players to scan objects with the Analysis Visor without being required to hold down the scan button.
• An option has been added to allow players to toggle the behaviour of the jump button on gamepads, so that it can be used as an alternative “Build” button while in base-building mode.
• An option has been added to allow players to swap the functions on gamepad thumbsticks, i.e. to toggle which stick is Sprint and which stick is Scan.

Rendering & Optimisations

• Dynamic Resolution Scaling has been added for PlayStation 5. This technology allows the game to maintain a consistent framerate across all scenarios, and results in a significantly improved image quality in some situations, such as during spaceflight.
• PlayStation 5 now supports AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.0 technology, providing high image quality and improved framerates.

• The HDR rendering system has been overhauled for all platforms for a richer and more dynamic colour experience while playing on an HDR display.

• The particle rendering system has been improved to add support for high-quality additive particles.

• Introduced a significant optimisation for all platforms when loading large numbers of bases within a single system.
• Introduced a significant number of memory optimisations for all platforms.
• Fixed a visual glitch with tornado rendering on Nintendo Switch.
• Fixed an Xbox-specific issue that could cause occasional flickering.
• Fixed a camera issue that could cause jittering in various anti-aliasing systems.

UI and Quality of Life

• A significant number of new player titles have been added, earned by progressing through various core and factional milestones.
• The maximum number of owned starships has increased from nine to twelve.
• Players can now “Quick Charge” a technology, without having to drag and drop the fuel into the selected slot. Select and drop functionality has been retained for players who wish to fine-tune the amount of charging substance used.
• Additional filters have been added to the Expedition and Twitch reward menus, accessed via the Quicksilver Synthesis Companion.
• Players can now begin an expedition at any time before the current expedition ends, rather than needing to start two days before the expedition times out.
• A variety of new cooking recipes have been added, making use of various titan worm-related products.
• The accuracy and input tracking speed of inputs on PlayStation controllers has been improved.
• The hint system for crafting components that you cannot currently afford has been improved.
• Objectives in pinned installation or crafting missions now correctly skip sections for subcomponents if the player already has enough of the parent component.
• Fixed an issue where text and highlighting in the build popup would not correctly reflect the amounts needed, if the item in question is built in multiples greater than one (such as projectile ammunition).
• Fixed an issue that caused the Personal Refiner to always show 0 as its current progress while it is being highlighted by a mission hint.
• Fixed an issue that prevented crafting highlights from working in the Multi-Tool inventory.
• Technologies are now always installed fully charged when playing on a difficulty setting that does not use up fuel.
• Fixed an issue that could prevent a base computer from being moved before it had been claimed as a base.
• Fixed an issue that could prevent Exocraft weapons from being correctly auto-selected after installation.
• Fixed an issue where an Exocraft would not become your primary selected vehicle after building its geobay.
• The Ship Launch Auto-Charger now requires a solar mirror rather than a magnetic resonator to install.
• The “Stories Learned” count in the Catalogue no longer counts every individual word of alien language as its own story.
• The selection highlights for the various collections in the Catalogue have been updated.
• The selection highlights for the various game mode options when starting a new game have been updated.
• Fixed an issue that could cause the words PREV | NEXT to become stuck on the screen after teleporting aboard a frigate.
• Fixed an issue that caused the “destructible” target icon to appear low res.
• Fixed an issue that could cause the creature icons in the Analysis Visor to appear low res.
• The icon used to indicate the presence of a biological horror has been updated.
• Fixed an issue that caused the preview of the jetpack/starship/Multi-Tool etc to be rotated when scrolling a scrollbar in the inventory.
• Fixed an issue that caused base parts to still be flagged as new and unseen in the base building menu despite having been built.
• Fixed an issue that caused descriptions to vanish from the base building popup panel in some circumstances.
• Fixed a visual glitch that could cause flickering lines when viewing expedition milestones.
• Fixed an issue that caused the scrollbar to be in the wrong visual state after changing from one story to another in the Collected Knowledge section of the catalogue.
• Fixed an issue that caused there to be no page count dots on the bottom of some catalogue categories.
• Fixed a large number of issues that could cause cropping text, particularly in VR.
• Fixed a large number of typos and spelling errors.
• Fixed an issue that could occasionally cause some NPC dialogue boxes to be skipped over.

Bug Fixes

• The networking system for persistent interactions has been rewritten for increased stability and robustness. This fix addresses a number of issues that could cause the saved state of objects such as refiners to be reset upon entering or leaving a multiplayer session.
• Fixed an issue that prevented camera shake from applying correctly while in the vicinity of a black hole.
• Fixed a number of issues that could cause volcanoes to block access to mission critical buildings.
• Fixed a number of issues that could cause players to become stuck inside volcanoes.
• Fixed an issue that caused some planetary objects to appear low detail, even at close range.
• Fixed an issue that caused various buildable doors to fail to connect to power grids (and thus never shut).
• Fixed an issue that prevented base part variants from being duplicated.
• Fixed a rare issue that could occasionally cause freighter bases to fail to sync to other players.
• Fixed an issue that caused freighter colours and engine effects to fail to sync to other players.
• Fixed a number of issues that could cause freighter bases and freighter inventories to be lost or fail to apply correctly when examining a new freighter to purchase.
• The chat message sent to other players upon entering your base now correctly references the name of the specific base.
• Fixed an issue that prevented NPCs from navigating correctly around planetary settlements on PlayStation 4.
• Fixed a visual glitch in the starship heads up display during landing.
• Fixed an issue that caused some substances in the catalogue to offer a non-functional “Locate Substance” button.
• Fixed an issue that could cause mission markers for expedition rendezvous points to use incorrect icons after reloading a save.
• Fixed an issue that could cause duplicate entries to appear in the teleport terminus list during the tutorial.
• Fixed an issue that could occur when cancelling the discovery naming process on Switch.
• Fixed a number of Switch-specific issues that could block progress or cause incorrect mission selection near the end of some expeditions.
• Fixed an issue that could cause visual glitches in starship trails while flying in hailing formation.
• Fixed an issue that could allow VR players to break the mission flow in Nexus missions by taking off too early.
• Fixed an issue that could cause the Nexus Sentinel Pillar missions to fail to find a destination system in particular circumstances.
• The amounts gained and used when refining Di-Hydrogen jelly have been adjusted for logical consistency.
• Fixed an issue that could cause the Minotaur to fail to deploy weapons correctly when under AI autopilot and equipped with a Sentinel Hardframe arm.
• The Minotaur AI will now make correct use of Bio-Mechanical Stun weaponry.
• Fixed a rare crash that could occur while deleting Exocraft race checkpoints.
• Fixed an issue that could allow starship cargo probes to continue after the ship has landed.
• Planetary rings are now correctly rendered while inside a freighter base.
• Fixed a number of navigation and AI behaviour issues that could occur when biological horrors attempted to pursue the player while despawning.
• Fixed an issue that prevented some technologies from correctly appearing in the Exosuit Technology section of the catalogue.
• Fixed a visual glitch that caused NPC ship trade routes to render incorrectly in some circumstances.
• Fixed an issue that caused cape and cloth movement to lag slightly out of sync with player movement.
• Fixed a number of visual issues with the Exosuit backpack seen in the Inventory screen when wearing a cape.
• Fixed a number of visual issues with the status bar lights on the Retro jetpack unit.
• Fixed a number of visual issues with the status bar lights on the Exotic jetpack unit.
• Fixed an issue that caused the Boltcaster to use incorrect audio.
• Fixed a rare hang related to audio playback.
• Fixed a rare audio issue that could cause incorrect environmental effects when in caves.
• Fixed a number of audio issues that prevent correct volume settings from being applied in the mode and save select menus.
• Improved the audio related to meteor impacts.
• Fixed an issue that could cause the pulse engine effects to continue to play after cancelling a pulse jump.

Missions

• All Nexus missions, including Quicksilver rewards, are now available to Nintendo Switch players.
• The “Trace of Metal” mission chain is now available to Nintendo Switch players. This story-driven mission has a number of unique rewards, including a drone companion and Sentinel-related customisation options for the Minotaur.
• Introduced a significant optimisation to the mission system during expeditions.
• Fixed an issue that could cause a blocker during the segment of the living ship mission where players must visit the graves of fallen Travellers.
• Fixed a number of issues that could result in duplicate living ship components being awarded.
• Fixed a number of mission issues where an incorrect number of enemies remaining was reported in the mission text.
• Fixed an issue that could cause players to miss out on some recipes while progressing through the Base Computer Archives mission chain.
• Fixed an issue that could cause a blocker in the Trace of Metal if the Sentry drone was dismissed at mission-critical moments.
• Fixed a visual issue in the log that could show Nexus mission objectives as completed before the players have left the Space Anomaly.

Utopia Expedition

• A brand new expedition, “Utopia” will begin shortly after the release of the Fractal update.
• The Utopia expedition will see players working for the mysterious Utopia Foundation as they attempt to rebuild the planets of an abandoned solar system.
• Strange goings on in the system require the shelter of a Utopia Foundation base in order to craft items or install technologies, requiring explorers to plan ahead before venturing out into the wilds, and to work together to establish a network of bases across the system.
• Rewards for assisting the Utopia Foundation in their noble efforts include a set of unique posters; a buildable holographic friend statue; an exclusive new helmet customisation; an exclusive new robotic drone companion; and the brand-new Utopia Speeder class starship.

Particles

• The visual effects for portals and their interactions have been significantly improved.
• The colour diversity of non-Euclid galaxies in the galaxy map has been improved.
• Damaged machinery effects have been reworked for improved quality and to match up with audio effects.
• The visual effect for breaking through a starship’s shielding system has been reworked.
• Crashed freighter atmospheric effects have been significantly improved.
• The atmospherics and other visual effects for monoliths and plaques have been significantly improved.
• Abandoned building atmospheric effects have been significantly improved.
• Door explosion visual effects have been reworked and improved.
• The visual effects for Hexaberry harvesting have been improved.

The Fractal update is available to download now. Now if you’ll excuse us, we’re off to team up with a giant robot…

What do you make of these new additions? Blast off to the comments and let us know.