A month after the Omega expedition, here comes Orbital
Hello Games may be working on Light No Fire, but they're not done updating No Man's Sky either. The latest update is its 27th and it's called Orbital because it overhauls the game's space stations. In addition, it contains what Hello Games calls "our most requested feature of all time", a ship editor for customizing your shiny space vehicle.
"We haven't introduced customisation previously," Hello Games explained, "because so many players love exploring to find the perfect ship already out there to purchase." Ship customization has only been added after the designers came up with a way to integrate it into the exploration loop. Players will have to salvage ship parts as they travel, trading them to get the exact right piece. Those salvaged parts will let you change how your craft looks and works, and even let you create new kinds of starship.
As for space stations, they're perhaps the only part of No Man's Sky that hasn't been revised in a previous update. But as of Orbital, they're now much larger and contain new shops and activities, as well as being procedurally generated to suit their location—no longer clashing with the vibe of any given system.
One of the new things you can do on those space stations is meet with the local Guild envoy, registering to join a guild and then boost your reputation with it by making donations. In return, Guilds will reward you with rare items and supplies.
The last major feature of Orbital is the option to send your fleet of frigates off on missions of their own. If they get into a spot of bother while away, you can swoop in to rescue them with a squadron of fighters. Less major additions include a UI refresh, and the engine overhaul that made embiggening space stations possible.
To tie in with its status as the 27th update for No Man's Sky, the Orbital update is being released on March 27 and you can read the full patch notes here.
