Hello Games previously revealed that this week, it will be releasing the next major update to No Man's Sky, named the Path Finder Update.
The developer did not provide much more detail on what to expect for the space exploration game, beyond the fact that it will be introducing a new vehicle to help players with their planetary exploration activities.
Hello Games has now released the Path Finder Update, and it brings with it much more than just the speculated dune buggy.
Path Finder Update Introduces Exocraft Vehicles
In the uploaded changelog for the Path Finder Update, Hello Games revealed that the vehicles coming to No Man's Sky is not just a simple dune buggy, but rather known as Exocraft. These Exocraft vehicles will allow players to travel quickly across their home planets, speeding up exploration and providing transportation through difficult terrains.
There are three kinds of Exocraft vehicles, namely the Nomad, the Roamer, and the Colossus, each with unique attributes. They can be unlocked and collected through Base Building, and then upgraded with weapons, mining equipment, and scanners. The Exocraft vehicles can also participate in races, another new feature introduced in the Path Finder Update, wherein players can create a course, set their time, and challenge other players to beat their record.
Other 'No Man's Sky' Path Finder Update Contents
The Path Finder Update for No Man's Sky is not all about the Exocraft vehicles though. Another new feature added to the space exploration game is the Permadeath mode, which is described to be designed for players "seeking the ultimate challenge." In the mode, players will see all their saves deleted if they die, which means that they would have to restart the game from the beginning. In addition, in Permadeath mode, the level of difficulty mirrors that of Survival mode, which has been made even harder with the introduction of damaged spacecraft possible crash landing into planets.
The update also introduces a Base Sharing feature to No Man's Sky, allowing players to discover and explore the outposts of other players. With the integration into the Steam Workshop, players can now upload their bases there to make it easier for players to visit, rate, and subscribe to the creations of other players.
With The Path Finder Update, players will also now be able to own multiple ships, which is made more significant with the introduction of ship specializations, classes, and a trading system for old ships when making new purchases. The new specializations are Shuttle, Fighter, Hauler, and Science, and there are also class ratings of C, B, A, and the ultra-rare S.
There is also a dedicated photo mode that will allow players to pause the game and change various environmental conditions to take the perfect snapshot. This will work well with the host of visual improvements that the Path Finder Update also adds to No Man's Sky, including PlayStation 4 Pro support for 4K gameplay and optimized 4K rendering for PC.
Enough To Give 'No Man's Sky' Another Chance?
Hello Games is not earning any money through the release of the Path Finder Update, as there are no microtransactions and it is not a paid DLC. The developer could be doing this just to be able to bring back the players that No Man's Sky surely lost in its controversial launch.
Will the Path Finder Update, in addition to the previous Foundation Update, be enough to push players to give No Man's Sky another chance? We will find out in the near future.
