The developers of No Man's Skyhave resolved a rare, frustrating bug that only seems to affect the most dedicated players. First released in 2016, No Man's Sky has had a long journey. Critically panned as a disappointment upon release, it has been extensively changed and built upon in the eight intervening years, up to and including the recent Cursed update. It's generally considered the subject of one of the best redemption stories in the gaming industry, and that manifests in ways both big and small.
No Man's Sky developer Martin Griffiths recently posted a thread on X (formerly Twitter) detailing the process of fixing a rare bug, reported by a player with over 600 hours in the game. The bug, which causes the screen to flicker in various colors as the player moves the camera. It's not necessarily destructive, but it is distracting, and potentially hazardous to players with photosensitive epilepsy. Griffiths called the experience "humbling," saying, "Although every bug is important we can’t help but take extra time when the save is in the hundreds or thousands of hours."
Griffiths was able to submit a fix for the bug, which he said wasn't unique to that one player. Since it appeared to have been caused by the engine reaching a certain limit, he suspected it'd have a similar effect on other players with enormous save files, like one with a record 4,000 hours in No Man's Sky.
No Man's Sky Has Come A Long Way
From Critical Failure To Lasting Success
Although it's just one bug, the No Man's Sky development team's quick, effective, and thorough approach to resolving this bug speaks to its dedication to improving the game over the years. Marketed as an immersive, thrilling space exploration simulator with multiplayer elements, No Man's Sky was highly anticipated from its 2013 reveal to its 2016 release. Upon release, however, it met with largely negative reviews, blasted for its tedious, repetitive gameplay, and lack of certain promised features in the launch version.
Star Wars Outlaws is receiving huge updates that promise to revamp its gameplay mechanics, giving it a redemption arc that rivals No Man’s Sky’s.
But rather than double down and shrug its shoulders, developer Hello Games took the criticism seriously, and began to improve. Over a series of updates in the next two years, it addressed many of the issues players took with the base game, adding a more robust system of progression, resolving its server overload issues, and much more. After that, it focused on creating new content, with a series of 29 major content updates released over the next six years - and every one absolutely free.
Watching No Man's Sky redeem its reputation in real time was stunning, and frankly, unheard of in the video game industry; most bad games simply stayed bad, fading into obscurity after the fact. But while its redemption arc was widely publicized, the smaller stories, like this bug fix, mostly got lost in the shuffle. However, they're both results of the same dedication to bettering No Man 's Sky, which has been the guiding principle of its post-launch development.
Screen Rant's Take: Dedication To Dedication
Other Game Developers Should Take Note
And apparently, all that effort has been met with an equivalent display of loyalty on the player's side. Many of these high-commitment players have been with No Man's Sky since the beginning. I personally have been playing on and off since launch, and have seen it go through various changes - both good and bad - over the years.
What keeps me (and I suspect others, too) coming back after all this time isn't the endless march of new content - it's a consistent dedication to improving No Man's Sky. Players appreciate it when developers respect their time, and nothing says respect more than spending extra effort on fixing an admittedly minor, but frustrating bug that only affects those with long playtimes. The result is a better game for everyone.
This dedication has also led to excitement about what Hello Games plans to do with its next game, Light No Fire. Before then, though, players likely still have a lot to look forward to from No Man's Sky.
An online action-adventure survival game, No Man's Sky sends players out into the deepest recesses of space. While exploring the procedurally-generated universe comprising over 18 quintillion explorable planets, players must gather resources to fuel their ship and ensure their continued survival. Developed by Hello Games, No Man's Sky also incorporates an optional story that tasks players with seeking out the mysterious entity known only as The Atlas.
Released August 9, 2016
Multiplayer Online Multiplayer , Online Co-Op
Engine Proprietary
ESRB T for Teen: Fantasy Violence, Animated Blood
How Long To Beat 30.5 Hours
X|S Optimized Yes
File Size Xbox Series 20.36 GB (September 2024)
Metascore 83
Platforms That Support Crossplay PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S
PS Plus Availability N/A
Supported VR Headsets Sony PlayStation VR , Sony PlayStation VR2 , Valve Index , HP Reverb G2 , HTC Vive Pro 2 , HTC VIVE Cosmos , Meta Quest 3 , Meta Quest 2 , Meta Quest Pro
Steam Deck Compatibility Verified
How Long To Beat (Completionist Runs) 150 hours
OpenCritic Rating Fair
Cross-Platform Play PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC
:quality(85):upscale()/2023/09/21/802/n/1922729/d9a11ce9650c8850437280.00070284_.jpg)
:quality(85):upscale()/2024/10/29/957/n/1922441/c62aba6367215ab0493352.74567072_.jpg)
:quality(85):upscale()/2024/10/30/711/n/1922441/c62313206722590ade53c4.47456265_.jpg)
English (US) ·