No Man’s Sky’s Worlds update adds walking houses, fancier weather and a touch of Starship Troopers

No Man’s Sky is receiving a significant update called Worlds, which brings a stunning overhaul to the space simulation game’s countless planets. This update utilizes technology developed for Light No Fire, a fantasy sim game with a single, massive Earth-sized planet inhabited by dragons. Check out the in-depth trailer for the Worlds update below.

The Worlds update introduces new water features with realistic ripples, foam, and reflections, dynamic clouds that form and dissipate in real-time, and various weather effects like rolling fog, rain, and blizzards – all affected by an enhanced wind system. Skies now display a wider range of colors, icy planets showcase shinier glaciers, and deserts feature more diverse vegetation. Additionally, the lighting has been improved to ensure that objects, including trees and clouds, cast shadows based on the sun’s position.

Apart from the visual enhancements, the update introduces new solar ships, known as space sailboats, the potential for encountering sentient walking houses on unique planets, and a variety of new creatures to discover. Studio head Sean Murray explains, “We want to do things that people haven’t seen before,” teasing that the new creatures can be tamed as pets or mounts. The Worlds update also includes a new Expedition featuring a mech equipped with a flamethrower, inspired by “Starship Troopers” and possibly influenced by a popular squad-based game.

The update also includes performance improvements. The changelog mentions, “Rendering of environmental objects such as trees, rocks, and grass has been moved to a GPU-based system, allowing for denser worlds with better performance. Planetary flora, minerals, and curiosities now have enhanced levels of detail from greater distances and various angles. Terrain generation has been revamped to incorporate dual marching cubes voxel meshing, enhancing loading speed, framerate, and memory efficiency.”

There’s much more to explore in the update, including new cosmetics and underwater base structures, but be warned that the patch notes contain numerous autoplaying videos. Scrolling through them may lead to performance issues on some devices.

“Six months ago, we introduced Light No Fire,” Murray mentions in a press release. “It’s an incredibly ambitious game. Through the process of developing it over the past five years, we’ve gained valuable insights that we’re now implementing in No Man’s Sky. It feels like we’re bringing technology back from the future!” If you’re curious about Light No Fire, Hello allowed me to preview it a few months back. Personally, I’m fascinated by the kingfishers in that game.