No Man’s Sky video game launches on Windows 10 and gets Xbox One and PS4 crossplay

It’s a pretty big day for fans of the No Man’s Sky video game. Not only is the latest update rolling out today on Xbox One with a number of new features and fixes, the Windows 10 version of No Man’s Sky is now available to buy and download on PC via the Microsoft Store and crossplay has been enabled for all players on Xbox One, Windows 10, and Sony’s PS4 console.

Oh, and No Man’s Sky is now also playable for free for Xbox Game Pass subscribers on console or PC.

“A tremendous amount of work has gone into this update and the underlying technology and systems,” an announcement on the official No Man’s Sky website reads. “We’ve moved to an entirely new networking architecture, with more flexibility for the future, allowing players to play together regardless of platform. I’m very proud of the team that has worked so hard to make this happen. Meanwhile we are continuing to work hard on new content updates, large and small for the future.”

Here’s the full patch notes for today’s update with details on each of the new features introduced today.

Game Pass

• No Man’s Sky is now available in the Windows Store and is on Game Pass for Xbox One and Windows 10 players.

Cross-Platform Multiplayer

• Replaced the entire network backend, so that players can now make multiplayer connections across all platforms.
• Cross-platform groups can be created or joined in game, or from the frontend.
• Ambient multiplayer on the Space Anomaly, in space, or on planets, can now match you with players from any platform.
• Players from your own platform are identified by your platform’s icon. Players from another platform are identified by a controller icon.

No Man’s Sky Friends

• When face-to-face with another player, a quick interaction has been added to smoothly create a new group or invite new players to your existing group.
• Once in a group with a player, you can use the same interaction to quickly add them to your No Man’s Sky Friends, allowing you to quickly find and join their game again at another time.
• No Man’s Sky Friends can also be added at any time by means of a unique code.
• No Man’s Sky Friends can be managed on a new screen available from the Network Options page.

Chat Options

• Re-enabled Voice Chat on PS4.
• An option to automatically transcribe voice chat has been added to the Network options.
• An option to automatically translate voice chat has been added to the Network options.
• Guidance text has been added to the chat window after typing an unknown command.
• Fixed a number of instances where incorrect auto-chat messages are broadcast.
• Added a system to prevent multiple instances of the same auto-chat message being broadcast.

Quality of Life

• It is now much easier to target other players to see their names.
• Added a warning message when leaving the Anomaly while listed for a Nexus mission that has not started yet.
• Iteration Ares now sells a range of basic upgrade modules.
• Improved the feeding experience when giving bait to large creatures.
• Introduced a small number of general optimisations.
• Introduced some small improvements to load times.

VR Improvements and Bug Fixes

• Upgraded the OpenVR implementation to 1.10.30.
• Cockpit exit handles can now be grabbed both ways up.
• Added an option to show the player’s body when playing in VR.
• Camera height now reflects the height of your character in VR.
• Improved the accuracy of hand tracking in VR.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue that could prevent rainbows from appearing on some platforms.
• Introduced some minor visual improvements to GTAO to improve quality and reduce smearing artefacts on moving objects.
• Introduced some improvements to the volumetric fog fading effect on planetary approach.
• Fixed an incorrect icon in multiplayer bone-collection missions.
• Fixed an issue that caused full-strength camera shake and controller vibration to be applied whenever a ship landed in multiplayer, regardless of how near that ship was.
• Fixed an issue that caused parts of the backpack to be visible in first-person mode.
• Fixed a console-only issue that caused additional, incorrect, terrain resource markers to appear near to real terrain resource deposits.
• Fixed an issue that caused a misleading “out of jump range” message when out of warp fuel in Creative mode.
• Improved the accuracy of the error message given when unable to summon your starship because you are in combat.
• Fixed an issue that prevented the Antimatter Reactor from being built on planets without atmospheres.
• Fixed an issue that caused some players to appear to bend their knees backwards when aiming at high angles.
• Fixed a stutter that could occur when summoning the Space Anomaly.
• Fixed an issue that could cause ship audio to play repeatedly in multiplayer.
• Fixed a VR issue that could make it difficult to target players who were near the Nexus.
• Fixed an issue that caused the Community Research update message to appear as soon as a player started a new Creative Mode game.

No Man’s Sky had a bit of a rough launch after it failed to meet the expectations of gamers but, after a number of updates, it’s gradually become one of this console generation’s greatest recovery stories right alongside Star Wars Battlefront II.

Do you play No Man’s Sky? Let us know which of these announcements excites you the most in the comments below and then follow us on Pinterest for more Xbox gaming news.

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No Man’s Sky

Developer:
Hello Games

Price:
Free