With less than a month to go until No Man’s Sky’s sixth birthday, developer Hello Games has finally, as of today, hit the big two-oh in terms of post-launch updates for its ever-expanding exploratory space sim, and the studio’s latest addition – titled Endurance – takes aim at space bases, aiming to make freighters great again.
Freighters were, of course, one of No Man’s Sky’s very first post-launch additions, arriving all the way back in November 2016 as part of its game-changing Foundation Update.
While the Foundation Update’s other major addition, base building, has undergone several revisions in the year’s since its debut, freighters – those giant, habitable, expandable space vessels Travellers are now given early on in their adventures – have not, and their limited building blocks have remained an ongoing frustration for players like me who’ve long dreamed of constructing something a bit more lavish for their home among the stars.
That day has finally come; following a number of revisions for other core systems this year, including space flight and combat, Hello Games has now turned its attention to overhauling freighters, and the results bring new tools enabling players get a bit fancier with their creations, building everything from external walkways to windows overlooking the cosmos – meaning I might finally be able to construct the scenic deep-space cocktail lounge of my dreams.