After being teased less than month ago, the Frontiers update for No Man’s Sky is now live on all platforms. It adds randomly generated planetary settlements with aliens which players can discover and aid, helping them flourish in the process and becoming an overseer. Oversees can then decide what to build, organize festivals and even help settle disputes between NPCs.
Depending on the buildings constructed, you can increase a settlement’s productivity or make your citizens feel more comfortable. Frontiers also brings nebulae, resulting in even more variety to the skyboxes, and an overhaul to the base building menu. The latter now showcases all parts in a grid, providing quick access to everything available. Over 250 new base parts have also been added.
Players also gain access to additional save slots, from five to 15 and thanks to a new streaming system, larger saves are now properly supported. For more details on the Frontiers update, check out the patch notes here.
3.6 Patch notes
SETTLEMENTS
- Procedurally generated planetary settlements can be now found on inhabited planets all across the universe.
- Settlements are found naturally via a new mission that occurs after a small amount of post-tutorial progress.
- Settlements can also be found with maps purchased from the Space Station Cartographer.
- Mission Board missions that involve locating NPCs can also take players to settlements.
- Players may submit their credentials to the monument at the heart of the settlement. If accepted by the citizens, they will become Overseer of the settlement and may choose its name.
- Every settlement and its layout is unique. Each building is procedurally generated, using only parts available for player base building.
- Settlement status can be seen and managed from the central monument. Once players have constructed their Overseer’s Office, they can also manage the settlement from the terminal in their office.
- Settlements have five key stats: productivity, population, happiness, upkeep costs, and Sentinel alert level.
Improve their stats by researching new technologies, attracting new settlers to the town, constructing new buildings, setting settlement policies, and more! - Settlements where productivity is higher than its upkeep will generate valuable products for its Overseer to claim for themselves. Higher class settlements will produce more valuable goods.
- Settlements can fall into debt, for example after commissioning an expensive new piece of technology. Debt is automatically repaid from surplus production. While settlements are in debt, the Overseer may not claim the extra products.
- Key stat bonuses are awarded in the form of settlement features.