No Man's Sky players are now sharing messages across the stars
The Communications Terminals added in the Foundation update actually work.
The Foundation update to No Man's Sky brought a number of big new features to the game, including base building, freighters, the Survival Mode, and stackable inventory items. But one especially interesting feature has gone largely overlooked: The addition of communications terminals that "allow explorers to leave sub-space messages for others to find."
There was some initial confusion about how, or even if, the new communication devices worked, based on some early messages posted in the No Man's Sky subreddit. But players now have them figured out, and they're currently sharing messages with one another across the cold void of space. The missives are short and sweet, kind of like an intergalactic Twitter: Some of the communications provide directions to significant landmarks, while other simply offer up some variation of "hello."
Hello Games took a big hit for promising, and then not delivering, the ability for players to meet each other in the game. And this obviously isn't the same thing, but like the Foundation update itself, it's a step in the right direction. Regardless of what you think about No Man's Sky, it is undeniably a vast and sprawling game. Amidst all that, I think that stumbling on proof that you're really not alone out there would make for a very cool moment indeed. Quite whether that quells all the angry spacefarers out there is another matter.
More images of the new messaging devices in action can be seen on imgur.
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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.