No Man's Sky: Major Foundation update adds base-building, new game modes, farming and more

Hello Games said the new update is not its biggest, but is a 'small step in a longer journey'.

Hello Games has launched a massive new update for its space exploration adventure No Man's Sky, which introduces a slew of new features, modes and bug fixes. As the first of many free updates, version 1.1 "adds the foundations of base building and is a foundation for things to come."

The long-awaited patch adds Creative and Survival modes to a Normal mode, which is the game as it was. Creative mode allows players to explore an unlimited universe and build bases, while Survival mode offers players a more "challenging endurance experience".

Players will now be able to establish elaborate bases on chosen home planets, using "modular structures and decorations" which act as shelter and storage for resources.

They can also purchase huge interstellar freighters for storing large quantities of resources. These can be summoned to anywhere in the galaxy by players.

Alien life forms found on space stations can be hired to help conduct research on new technology. These include scientists, as well as farming, weapons and engineering specialists.

Terminus Teleporters found in Space Stations can be used to teleport players to and from base. Players who wish to move their base to a different planet can simply dismantle their homestead to reacquire their spent resources.

The new update also adds a new farming system that allows players to cultivate new ten varieties of crops that grow and regrow over time.

Hello Games also released a video (at the foot of this article) offering a brief overview of the various changes and new features introduced in the patch. Complete patch notes for the Foundation Update can be viewed on the game's website. Here are some of the new features included in the update:

Players can save points anywhere in the world which will be crucial for Survival mode
Players can build essential equipment in the field on any planet
Players can purchase gigantic interstellar Freighters to transfer resources, man them with alien specialists and summon them from anywhere in the galaxy. These freighters can also be customized within the new base-building section to expand its capacity and cultivate rare resources.
Players can discover new biome and star specific resources types throughout the universe.
A new intelligent Quick Access Menu has been added to streamline access to your inventory
Temporal Anti Aliasing (TAA) has been added to remove jagged edges and improve visuals clarity
Terrain generation and colourisation algorithms have been tweaked to generate more aesthetically interesting planets to explore
The UI has been improved visually with the removal of colour tint and addition of arrow indicators to emphasise shield and life changes. Scanned primary resource elements now have specific symbols to allow players to easily differentiate between them.

Hello Games founder and No Man's Sky creative director Sean Murray also broke his silence on Twitter to announce the patch saying, "If you could have lived our lives over the last months, you'd know how meaningful this is."

Since its launch in August, No Man's Sky has endured a deluge of complaints, criticism and discussion over bugs and glitches at launch, missing features, allegedly misleading marketing prior to release and Hello Games' near non-existence communication post-launch about updates or the controversies.

However, the development team recently said that while they have been mostly silent during the ongoing "intense and dramatic" discussions, they have been carefully listening to feedback.

"We have been quiet, but we are listening and focusing on improving the game that our team loves and feels so passionately about," the team wrote in a post on 25 November. "Positive or negative feedback, you have been heard and that will truly help to make this a better game for everyone." They also noted that the Foundation update won't be its biggest, but it will be the "start of something" and the "first small step in a longer journey."

No Man's Sky is available now for PS4 and PC.