No Man’s Sky’s first Worlds update is version 5.0, released in July 2024. It overhauled how the game renders water, clouds, terrain, vegetation and environmental effects, while adding more planetary variety. The changes were intended to make planets feel more dynamic, not simply to add a new visual layer.
What did the Worlds update change about planets?
Hello Games described Worlds Part I as a broad refresh of planetary technology and environments. Its main changes fall into three areas: more responsive visuals, revised systems for generating and rendering worlds, and new environmental variety. The update also added a ship technology for landing on or summoning ships above water.
In the July 17, 2024 announcement, Hello Games founder Sean Murray said, “New water technology can create waves, reflections. Oceans that look so different to what we’ve had previously.” Hello Games’ announcement framed the update around new technology, planetary environments and gameplay.
How water, clouds and lighting changed
Water responds to weather and depth
Update 5.0 replaced the previous water rendering approach with a mesh-based system for generating waves and foam. The appearance of water can vary with local weather and depth, from large swells during storms to still ponds. The update also expanded water colours and added reflections of sunlight and planetary surroundings.
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Ships can be equipped with aquatic landing jets to land on the ocean or be summoned just above its surface. Living ships have an equivalent technology. These changes affect both how water looks and how players interact with it.
Clouds and skies vary by world and conditions
Hello Games rewrote the atmospheric and volumetric cloud system to increase detail and definition. Cloud cover can differ between planets and change over time and with weather. The update also introduced more varied daytime sky colours, planet-specific nighttime lighting and darkness, and cloud shadows that follow the sun’s position.
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What changed in terrain, vegetation and performance?
Terrain generation and planetary objects use revised systems
The update rewrote terrain generation using dual marching cubes voxel meshing. Trees, rocks and grass moved to a GPU-based rendering system. Hello Games says these changes reduce vertex counts, speed terrain generation, allow denser worlds, improve framerate and save memory. The notes describe wider memory and performance optimisations as well.
Those are the developer’s stated goals and effects, not independent, controlled benchmarks across platforms or hardware. The official notes do not establish a comparable performance result for every system.
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DLSS 3 is a PC feature with a qualified performance claim
The 5.0 notes added DLSS 3 for PC players with compatible RTX graphics cards. Hello Games states that it can “multiply performance by up to 4X compared to traditional rendering.” That is a developer-published maximum claim, not a guaranteed result for every compatible PC or a universal measurement.
How did Worlds Part I affect weather and planetary variety?
The update reworked wind simulation so it affects foliage, trees, smoke, dust, rain, fog and snow through a consistent system. Hello Games also revised storm effects, fog, particles and ambient planetary effects. The intended result is a more cohesive environmental system; the notes do not quantify a measured gameplay effect.
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Worlds Part I added varied planetary formations and conditions, including floating islands and changes across frozen, lush, desert, scorched, radioactive and toxic worlds. Its patch notes say the update did not reset existing planetary terrain shapes or move existing bases, an important distinction for players with established settlements.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How Worlds Part II differs from the first update
Worlds Part II, update 5.5, followed in January 2025. It added further terrain variety, deeper oceans, water worlds and purple-class star systems, along with additional water improvements. Its new terrain settings applied to planets in purple-class systems; terrain in existing systems was not regenerated, and bases were not reset. Part II also improved water reflections, underwater lighting and effects. These are follow-up changes, not features to attribute to Part I.
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When did Worlds Part I arrive, and which platforms are listed?
Hello Games’ official release log identifies Worlds Part I as update 5.0 and lists PC, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch and Xbox platforms. The update is part of No Man’s Sky; the official materials do not describe Worlds Part I as a separately sold product or specify an edition requirement. See the Hello Games release log.
The initial update was followed by patch 5.05 on August 19, 2024, which included fixes and optimisations, including work on clouds and water, as well as Mac support. Hello Games’ 5.05 patch notes document those post-launch changes.
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