No Man’s Sky: Everything New in the Foundation Update

It’s been a while since anyone heard from Hello Games, the creators of No Man’s Sky. They haven’t fallen off the face of the planet, though, and announced a huge update coming to the game. The new patch, titled the Foundation update, is said to be a “foundation for things to come”. In this article, we’ll go over the update and talk about all of the changes coming to the game.

The Big Changes

Before we dive too deeply into the changes made with this patch, let’s look at the big changes made with the Foundation Update. First on that list is base building. This is something that players have wanted for a long time, and quite frankly, it’s something that many fans expected the game to have at launch. The system isn’t overly robust at the moment, but it does offer a good deal of personalization and customization so that you can make your base look a little bit different than the stock bases you find when exploring.

The second big change is the introduction of two new game modes. The game originally launched in August with what Hello Games calls the “Normal” game mode. This is basically a more chilled survival style game mode where you still have to collect resources and deal with enemies, but you can do that pretty easily without much trouble. The two new modes, Survival and Creative, are vastly different. 

Survival takes the resource and enemy fighting of the original game mode and improves upon it, making it much more challenging. This is by far the most difficult version of the game available, and if you’re looking for a challenge, then this is where you will find it. It’s tough, unforgiving and will kick you in the teeth, so be ready for it.

The second new mode, Creative, is for all those Minecraft lovers who just want to explore mindlessly and build epic space bases on beautiful planets. This mode spawns you right into the action, outside of an abandoned base. We talk more in-depth about the base building system in our guide on how to build a base in No Man’s Sky, so be sure to check it out before diving in.

Not into settling down? Do you find that you’d rather explore the universe from a mobile base camp? Well, now you can with the all new Freighters, which have been added with the new update. These special ships cost a pretty penny to pick up, but once you have one, you can farm, collect resources, hire crew and even move to entirely new star systems while still enjoying the benefits of having a home base. It’s a great way to make yourself a home without actually settling down on a single planet. Of course, you’ll need plenty of money, so make sure you know how to make lots of money in No Man’s Sky.

The Small Things that Matter

Alongside the base building and new game modes, the Foundation Update includes a vast amount of smaller important changes. Not only does the game receive multiple bug fixes, but it also receives some improvements. Players can now place waypoints, allowing them to revisit previous worlds that might hold extreme amounts of specific resources. Players can also communicate with others in the universe through Communications Terminals, which allow you to leave messages for other players in the game. Other small changes include the ability to construct camps and things like save points, Signal Scanners and automated harvesters. 

Additions aren’t the only thing that were made to the game, though. In fact, Hello Games spent a good deal of time working on some bugs and issues that players reported around release. They introduced Motion Blur to the game, allowing fast movement to be more immersive. This is best seen in places like space flight and space combat, but it is also evident when exploring the surfaces of planets. They also updated the interface and several of the game’s icons. This makes them all much easier to see and read, which is something that many players struggled with in the game’s release version. You can also quickly recharge your items now, which is essential when playing the new Survival mode, where death is sometimes literally a second away.

The full patch notes for the big update can be seen on the official No Man’s Sky website. You can also return to our No Man’s Sky walkthrough, where we offer some of the best tips, guides and advice you’ll find available to help you survive the dangerous and endless universe introduced in No Man’s Sky. It’s dangerous out there, so let us help you become the greatest explorer or pirate that the universe has ever seen.