Update 1.03

The subject of this article is from the initial release.
The information from this article is up-to-date as of 25 November, 2016.

Update 1.03
Update date	8 August 2016
Steam build	1276924
GOG Version	2.0.0.2
Platform(s)	PS4, PC
Release	Initial Release
Update chronology
Previous update	Next update
1.00	1.04
External links
Update 1.03 on nomanssky.com

Update 1.03 is the first update to No Man's Sky.

Summary

Update 1.03 was the first PC version of No Man's Sky released on Steam and GOG.COM. For Playstation 4, it was the first update from Version 1.00 that was included on the physical disc.

It was a day zero update to No Man's Sky for the Playstation 4.

Official Patch Notes

Unlike Update 1.04 and later updates, there is no entry for Update 1.03 on the official release log. Instead the notes come from this blog post.

NOTES

If you had an early copy somehow, your save game will technically work post update, but you will miss out on new content and experiences if you don’t delete your save before updating (should be obvious why from notes below). We highly recommend deleting your save if you have played before updating your game (we won’t do this in future, but it’s a day zero update).

The Three Paths

• There are now new, unique "paths" you can follow throughout the game. You must start the game on a fresh save, with the patch, as early choices have significant impact on what you see later in the game, and the overall experience.

The Universe

• Changed the rules of the universe generation algorithm. Planets have moved. Environments have changed biomes. Galaxies have altered shape. All to create greater variety earlier. Galaxies are now up to 10x larger.

Diversity

• Creatures are now more diverse in terms of ecology and densities on planets.

Planets

• Added dead moons, low atmosphere and extreme hazardous planets. Extreme hazards include blizzards and dust storms.

Atmosphere

• space, night time and day skies are now 4x more varied due to new atmospheric system, which refracts light more accurately to allow for more intense sunsets.

Planet rotation

• Play testing has made it obvious people are struggling to adjust to this during play so its effects have been reduced further…

Terrain generation

• Caves up to 128m tall are now possible. Geometric anomalies have been added. Underwater erosion now leads to more interesting sea beds.

Ship diversity

• A wider variety of ships appear per star system, and are available to purchase. Cargo and installed technology now vary more, and ships have more unique attributes.

Inventory

• Ship inventories now store 5 times more resources per slot. Suit inventories now store 2.5 times more per slot. This encourages exploration and gives freedom from the beginning. This is probably going to increase even further in the next update, for people in the latter game phases, and will allow greater trading potential.

Trading

• Trading is deeper. Star systems and planets each have their own wants and needs, based off a galactic economy. Observing these is the key to successful trading. All trading values have been rebalanced across the galaxy, giving a greater depth. Some trade exploits were uncovered and have been removed

Feeding

• Creatures now have their own diet, based on planet and climate. Feeding them correctly will yield different results per species, such as mining for you, protecting the player, becoming pets, alerting you to rare loot or pooping valuable resources.

Survival

• Recharging hazard protection requires rare resources, making Shielding Shards useful again. Storms can be deadly. Hazard protection and suit upgrades have been added. Liquids are often more dangerous

Graphical effects

• Lighting and texture resolution have been improved. Shadow quality has doubled.

Balancing

• Several hundred upgrades have had stat changes (mainly exo-suit and ship, but also weapon), new upgrades have been added.

Combat

• Auto Aim and weapon aim has been completely rewritten. Sentinels now alert each other, if they haven't been dealt with quickly. Quad and Walker AI is now much more challenging.

Space combat

• Advanced techniques have been introduced, like brake drifting and critical hits. Bounty missions and larger battles now occur. Pirate frequency has been increased, as well as difficulty depending on your cargo.

Exploits

• Infinite warp cell exploit and rare goods trading exploit among other removed.

Stability

• Foundations for buildings on super large planets. Resolved several low repro crashes, in particular when player warped further than 256 light years in one session (was only possible due to warp cell exploit).

Space stations

• interiors are now more varied, bars, trade rooms and hydroponic labs have been added

Networking

• Ability to scan star systems other players have discovered on the Galactic Map, increasing the chance of collision. Star systems discovered by other players appear during Galactic Map flight

Ship scanning

• Scanning for points of interest from your ship is now possible. Buildings generate earlier and show up in ship scans

Flying over terrain

• Pop-in and shadow artefacts have been reduced. Generation speed has been increased two folds (planets with large bodies of water will be targeted in next update)

Writing

• The Atlas path has been rewritten by James Swallow (writer on Deus Ex) and Sean Murray. Early mission text has been rewritten to allow for multiple endings.

Observations

The Ability to scan star systems feature was misunderstood at the time to imply that there was multiplayer. Instead this feature simply allows you to scan for stars that other players have discovered close by, and there is no way to see the other player in this version of the game.

Terrain generation was confirmed to have changed significantly in this release compared to Version 1.00.

The update to Planet rotation led to misconceptions that planet rotation was removed in this update. However both Version 1.00 and this version, there is no planet rotation, just day and night sky cycles.