No Man’s Sky has just gotten its 19th major update on 16th February 2022, adding complete support to the Steam Deck. Dubbed ‘Sentinel,’ the patch also adds a long list of changes that makes the still-developing title the best version it’s ever been. Of which includes the addition of new salvageable parts that can be used to craft support drones or gigantic mechs. With this patch, the total file size of the game still falls well under 20 GB, meaning that even the basic version of the device will be able to launch it, without the need to opt for a Steam Deck SD Card to fully patch and enjoy the game.
No Man’s Sky Creator Speaks
It has been already six years since No Man’s Sky was released to the public. But while the game has had a disastrous launch for its barebones content and missed promises, it’s since adopted a live service model. With the game receiving its latest major update, it only makes the game superior to any of its previous iterations. But if its creator Sean Murray is to be heard, the game is far from being over.
In a discussion with IGN, Murray spoke of the development team’s laundry list of changes they’ve for the title. And one that does not seem to get any shorter despite adding checks to the bucket list.
“…. as many updates as we’ve done since launch and as many bucket list items we’ve checked off, our list of things we’re excited about never seems to get any shorter. The team are always coming up with new things that they want to do with the game: new content and features and areas for improvement.
“I’m amazed that the energy levels are as high now as they’ve ever been. We tend not to talk about what’s on that list publicly but suffice to say we’re not done yet by a long shot.”
Also, alluding to it as if painting on a canvass.
“I like to think that No Man’s Sky is such a large game that we have to paint in broad brush strokes, and then each update comes along and fills in some finer detail but also paints more new broad strokes.”
The ‘Sentinel’ update
While making No Man’s Sky work on the Steam Deck is certainly big news, especially for the owners of the shiny new console. But the update is more so about making the game a more engaging title. And what better way to do it than to introduce a slew of interesting features that makes playing or re-playing the still-developing title a rewarding experience.
As the name of the latest update suggests, it largely revolves around mechs called Sentinel that players will come across in their expeditions. But while the said machines are foreboding and grim, players are not entirely alone in their adventure. By gathering the right resources and having the ability to reassemble and reprogram, players are able to build their own AI companion. Then, of course, there are also the addition of new arsenals as well that are meant to make survival a higher probability for the player.
As a major update, Sentinel requires at least 7.8Gb of available space and will bring the game to version 3.80.
But while the news about No Man’s Sky is still far from being complete good news, fans can also hope for another good thing from Hello Games. This comes following last year’s revelation that the studio currently has its hands tied on a new project, albeit at an early stage of development.
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