Book cover styled art showcasing No Man's Sky artwork

Interceptor: Introducing Update 4.2

Venture to forsaken Sentinel worlds in update 4.2, INTERCEPTOR! Explore corrupted planets, fight a legion of challenging new robotic guardians, hijack their technology, steal their ships, harvest their resources, destroy their freighters, and much, much more!

Salvaged Interceptors

Expand your fleet with your very own salvaged Sentinel Interceptor starship. Hunt down your perfect Sentinel ship, or collect a whole range of these sleek procedurally-generated Interceptors.

Corrupted Planets

A darkness spreads through the Sentinel horde. Many fortified worlds have succumbed to corruption, with strange crystals sprouting from the earth and their robot guardians twisted into bizarre new forms. Explore these purple-hazed worlds to find new buildings, crashed interceptors, secret equipment and more…

Movable Wrist Projectors

The high-tech projector interfaces for accessing menus in VR can now be grabbed and moved, allowing full custom control over their position. Reattach the wrist projectors to any location around your hand or Multi-Tool.

Interceptor Variety

Sentinel fleets have evolved. System authority ships now appear in hundreds of procedurally-generated variations, dramatically diversifying their silhouettes and styles.

Corrupted Sentinels

The strange power flowing through corrupted worlds has warped the Sentinels beyond recognition. Colossal semi-arachnid machines stalk these discordant worlds, ready to pounce upon unwary Travellers. Those who take on the corrupted swarm should beware their devastating flamethrowers and long-distance explosives.

Aeron Turbojet

Explorers who delve into the mysteries found on corrupted worlds will uncover plans for unique Sentinel jetpack customisation, with high-tech engines precooled by a constant flow of pugneum and nitrogen.

Interceptor Cockpit

For the first time, step inside a Sentinel ship and see the universe from the perspective of an Interceptor. Operate and interact with this advanced Sentinel technology up-close, piloting an Interceptor ship from its unusual vestigial cockpit.

Harvest The Corruption

As you wander dissonant worlds, direct your Mining Laser towards the ethereal radiant shards bursting from the terrain. Collect the anomalous crystals to fuel your salvaged Sentinel technology, or harvest and refine new resources directly from the remains of defeated Sentinel forces.

Sentinel Ship Technology

Interceptor ships are powered by unique Sentinel components, hungering for radiant shards. Engage the Anti-Gravity Well to lift off, and follow the gaze of the Crimson Core to dash through tunnels in spacetime.

Improved Sentinel Quads

Sentinel quadruped combat units have been improved with new animations and intelligent pathfinding, tremendously improving their mobility and agility when hunting Travellers.

Crashed Interceptors

Sentinel Interceptor ships, though supremely powerful in deep space, have begun to fall from the skies on de-harmonised planets. Explore the secrets of these strange worlds to locate a crash site, and undertake a new mission to install a Pilot Interface, melding your mind with that of the ship and adding it to your fleet.

Corrupted World Nexus Mission

The inhabitants of the Space Anomaly, disturbed by the disharmonious corruption of the Sentinel swarm, request that Travellers band together to root out the corrupted Sentinels and destroy their foul machinery. Group up with friends or strangers at the Nexus to sign up for this new mission.

Spawning Cowl

The Quicksilver Synthesis Companion is engineering a blueprint for a traditional Gek Spawning Cowl. Synthesise this exotic customisation to don the appearance of an esteemed Trade Lord.

Robotic Curiosities

Scraps of robotic anatomy can be found littering corrupted planets, but it remains unclear how they relate to the crystalline power seeping from these discordant worlds…

Sentinel Multi-tools

Explore corrupted worlds to add two unique Multi-Tools to your arsenal. These unconventional weapons are bolted together from the scraps of Sentinel machinery, their hostile optics hijacked and repurposed for use as a high-powered mining laser.

Swarming Quadrupeds

Face off against a swarm of corrupted Sentinel spawns. These aggressive mini-machines know no fear, and will relentlessly pursue their Traveller foes all the way to the bitter end.

Salvaging Mission

Repairing and modifying a crashed Interceptor requires a degree of skill and expertise. With guidance from the Mission Log, gather specialised materials to bypass Sentinel security and prepare these once auto-piloted ships for manual flight.

Geometric Cape

Polo’s robotic companion is designing an upcoming cape blueprint, soon available to synthesise aboard the Space Anomaly. Woven from a star silk blend, this attractive customisation bears a classic geometric design.

Advanced Drones

Corrupted Sentinel drones have a new visual style, and range of intelligent behaviours and attacks. Their weaponry varies from rapid-fire energy weapons, to grenades, to a corrupted flamethrower, and they will tactically repair heavily damaged drones.

Cursed Machinery

Ominous Dissonance Resonators drill into the crust of corrupted Sentinel worlds, pumping out whatever decay and darkness simmers below the surface. Built from rare Sentinel materials, destroying these machines is both lucrative and highly dangerous…

Abandoned Encampments

Mysterious Harmonic Camps can now be found across corrupted planets. Explore these abandoned sites to solve puzzles, reclaim technology, and perhaps learn the secrets of whoever constructed and then fled these scrapyard encampments.

Xbox Visual Improvements

On all Xbox consoles, the rendering resolution now situationally adapts in real time to improve visual quality wherever GPU bandwidth allows, and maintain a consistent framerate in visually complex scenes. This advanced technique has been combined with Xbox support for AMD’s FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.0 technology to provide the smoothest and best looking visual experience yet.

Explosive Swarms

The volatile circuitry of the corrupted swarm makes them prone to spontaneous combustion, especially when their armour integrity is compromised. Keep your distance, and beware of their aggressive pounce…

Unseen Enemies

All Sentinel quadrupeds have upgraded their carapace technology, developing the ability to phase in and out of stealth and catch unwitting Travellers with surprise attacks.

Custom Wonder Records

Curate your own collection of favourite discoveries with the Personal Records section of the Wonders catalogue. Bookmark spectacular planets, bizarre alien creatures, favourite flowers and more.

Sentinel Capital Ship Battles

Sentinel capital ships, deployed to counter extreme citizen insubordination in space, can now be damaged and even destroyed. Defeat a Sentinel freighter to claim victory in space combat, forcing nearby interceptors into retreat and earning high-value rewards.

4.2 Patch notes

SENTINEL INTERCEPTORS

  • Hostile Sentinel interceptor starships are now procedurally generated from a wide variety of parts.
  • Players are now able to track down and repair a crashed Sentinel interceptor in order to repair it and claim it for their own fleet.
  • A unique repair mission has been added to guide players through the salvage process.
  • There are a variety of ways to locate a downed interceptor, including destroying a Sentinel capital ship; completing a bespoke story encounter; defeating new corrupted Sentinel planetary forces; and via mysterious new abandoned encampments.
  • Player-owned interceptors use their own unique array of core technologies, though they still benefit from the installation of general starship upgrades.
  • Player-owned interceptors have a unique cockpit.
  • Player-owned interceptors have a unique planetary flight model, with the ability to hover.

COMBAT

  • A number of improvements have been made to the locomotion system for Sentinel Quadrupeds, reducing visual glitches and jittering.
  • Sentinel Quadrupeds are now more mobile in combat, moving frequently and making better use of their pounce and jump attacks.
  • Sentinel Quadrupeds now have a wider range of targeting, allowing them to track players without having to reposition.
  • Sentinel Quadrupeds can now use active camouflage to cloak themselves while evading player attacks.
  • Corrupted Sentinel drones have been reworked visually.
  • Corrupted Sentinel drones can now heal each other.
  • Corrupted drones now make better use of cover.
  • Corrupted drones now choose from a range of weaponry, including rapid fire projectiles; a close-range blaster; long-distance grenades; and a flamethrower.
  • A large, ground-based corrupted Sentinel unit has been added.
  • This heavily-armoured semi-arachnid machine benefits from its own stealth mode and long-distance pounce attack, as well as a flamethrower and grenade based weapons.
  • Their highly mobile body and leg setup allows rapid sideways movement and continual player tracking.
  • These enemies come in both large single varieties, and a smaller, swarming variety. The swarm variant is more aggressive in melee range, and will self-destruct at low health levels…
  • A new unique resource has been added as collectable loot from these corrupted quadrupeds.

CORRUPTED WORLDS

  • Some planets that previously generated extreme sentinels have now become corrupted worlds.
  • Corrupted worlds have their own unique array of planetary Sentinel forces.
  • Corrupted worlds are also home to dissonance resonators, strange extraction machines guarded by corrupted Sentinels.
  • Corrupted Sentinel planets have their own unique resources and objects.
  • New refiner recipes have been added for corrupted Sentinel resources.
  • Corrupted worlds have a new unique lighting/visual effect.
  • Newly corrupted worlds that previously had superheated rainstorms have new and stranger storms.
  • A new building type, the Harmonic Camp, has been added exclusively to corrupted worlds. These mysterious abandoned encampments are home to many secrets…
  • A new mission is available at the Nexus, requiring players to work together to destroy the new machinery found on corrupted worlds.
  • New player titles have been added for those brave enough to battle corrupted Sentinels.

RENDERING AND OPTIMISATION

  • Dynamic Resolution Scaling has been added for all Xbox platforms. This technology allows the game to maintain a consistent framerate across all scenarios, and results in a significantly improved image quality in some situations, such as during spaceflight.
  • All Xbox platforms now support AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.0 technology, providing high image quality and improved framerates.
  • Introduced a significant improvement to image quality in PSVR2.
  • Fixed an issue that caused visual glitches in particle rendering in VR.
  • Fixed an issue that caused a drop in image quality when rendering distant stars.
  • Introduced a loading/warp time optimisation for PlayStation 5, Xbox One X, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S.
  • Introduced a number of rendering and memory optimisations for PC and PlayStation VR.
  • Introduced a number of rendering and memory optimisations for PlayStation 5.
  • Introduced a significant memory optimisation for PlayStation 4.
  • Introduced a memory optimisation for Xbox Series S and X that reduces hitching.
  • Introduced a number of significant memory and rendering optimisations for all Xbox platforms.

VR

  • VR players can now customise the position of their wrist and Multi-Tool projector menus. Simply grab the menu while it is being projected and drag it to a new position.
  • An option has been added to allow VR players to choose between base building holograms being shown based on where they are looking or where they are pointing.
  • An option has been added for VR players to change the behaviour of the flight stick, so that the yaw/roll axes are switched, and moving the virtual stick to the left/right will roll the ship rather than turn it.
  • The wrist projector menus now instantly disappear so that players can use their Multi-Tool immediately after changing weapon mode.
  • Fixed a rare issue that could occasionally block interactions when they should be available.
  • Fixed an issue that could occasionally cause player hands to immediately disconnect from Exocraft controls.
  • Fixed an issue that could cause the customiser tooltip to use the wrong text in VR.
  • Fixed an issue that caused the option to allow the switching of the sprint and scan buttons to fail to work in PSVR2.

CUSTOM WONDERS

  • A new section has been added to the Wonders catalogue, “Personal Records”.
  • This section allows players to assign any planet, creature, flora or mineral discovery to its own custom wonder category.
  • Personal records are all assigned their own player-chosen name.
  • Personal records can be assigned from within the catalogue, or directly from any of the discovery pages.
  • Personal records can be overwritten with other discoveries, or discarded entirely to create space for new categories.

SENTINEL MULTI-TOOLS

  • A new class of salvaged Multi-Tool has been added.
  • These hybrid Sentinel/salvaged tools are found at mysterious harmonic encampments on corrupted Sentinel worlds.
  • These Multi-Tools come in a range of classes, C to S, and are unlocked by defeating the harmonic lockdown at the encampment.
  • Salvaged Multi-Tools are acquired for free but will require custom repairs to fully unlock all available inventory slots.

CUSTOMISATION OPTIONS

  • A new style of jetpack customisation has been added, the Aeron Turbojet.
  • Unlock this new Sentinel-themed jetpack by following clues found at mysterious encampments on corrupted Sentinel worlds.
  • A number of new customisation options have been added to the forthcoming items for the Quicksilver shop, including cloth-based hoods for Geks and a new cape design. These items will appear for unlock via community research in the near future.

UI

  • The various maintenance and repair UI screens now use a more informative error message when unable to repair the selected item.
  • Technologies that are ready to repair are now highlighted with an inventory slot animation on the various maintenance and repair UI screens.
  • Extreme or corrupted Sentinels are now highlighted when looking at planetary information through the Analysis Visor.
  • The mission notification now has a darker backing when piloting a starship in first person, to make mission text more readable when displayed over cockpit details.
  • The “Switch Multi-Tool” option has been repositioned in the Quick Menu for easier access.
  • The “Change Secondary Weapon Mode” icon in the Quick Menu has been redesigned for clarity.

SENTINEL CAPITAL SHIP BATTLES

  • The Sentinel capital ship deployed at a 5-star wanted level in space is now destructible.
  • Defeating the capital ship will clear the wanted level back to 0, and will award players a unique item to help them track down their own crashed Sentinel interceptor.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Sentinel capital ships to use an incorrect warp-in effect.
  • Fixed an issue that prevented Sentinel capital ships from launching additional interceptors when their current complement was defeated.
  • The starship’s final usable weapon will no longer be damaged by enemy fire.

BUG FIXES

  • Fixed a significant number of memory-related crashes on consoles.
  • Fixed a rare hang during loading.
  • Fixed a Nintendo-Switch specific hang during combat with Sentinel drones.
  • Fixed an issue that caused first-person Exocraft cameras to be pointed at the ceiling.
  • Fixed an issue that caused randomised options (such as player customisations or Multi-Tool appearance) to remain fixed for some players when starting a new expedition.
  • Fixed an issue that prevented the third-person starship camera from wandering during pulse-engine driven flight.
  • Fixed an issue that could cause errors in creature navigation after the terrain was damaged by the manipulator or by grenade fire.
  • Fixed a Nintendo Switch-specific issue that could result in players getting stuck in a loop of visiting graves in the A Trace of Metal mission.
  • Fixed an issue that could prevent the living ship from contacting the player at the appropriate mission stage if key mission items were stored in the inventory of a starship that was not your current primary ship.
  • Fixed a mission flow error in the hand-in stage of the Nexus mission to cleanse an infested planet.
  • Improved the name of the current objective used in the UI when using the Analysis Visor’s target sweep mode to hunt specific resources that are currently too distant for a signal lock.
  • Fixed an issue that caused the wrong building name to be used when looking at buildings through the Analysis Visor.
  • Fixed an issue that could cause some core Exosuit technologies to be duplicated within the inventory.
  • Fixed a number of visual glitches with the jumping animation of the Exotic Wingpack.
  • Significantly improved the quality of the active/inactive particle and lighting effects for Gravitino Balls.
  • Fixed a number of networking issues with the player cloaking device.
  • Fixed an issue that could cause Sentinel drones to attack the player while they were using an interaction or otherwise in a situation where they did not have camera control.
  • Fixed a number of issues that could result in the wrong controller button icon being used in various pieces of in-game text.
  • Fixed an issue that caused an empty “Button Preferences” section to appear within the options menu in certain configurations.
  • The message displayed when unable to interact with something because of its cost has been improved.
  • Fixed an issue that would cause the number of free slots required when the inventory is full to be overestimated by 1.
  • Fixed a number of issues where in-game text would not use the correct names for various starship technologies when using a living ship.
  • Fixed an issue that prevented players from engaging the pulse engine within 5 seconds of loading a save in space.