8 years after its difficult release, No Man’s Sky is one of the most popular survival games on Steam. The developers continue to strive for the trust and favor of players, particularly of those gamers who have remained loyal to the game for years.
What was the problem? On October 25, 2024, Martin Griffiths, an engine programmer for No Man’s Sky, reported on X about a visual bug that greatly affected the gaming experience. Intense flickering made the game nearly unplayable for some players.
The programmer promised: He would find and fix the bug. Solving the problem of one of the affected players was particularly important to him – and he reported back with an update the very next day.
With his rescued save, the player should be ready for the new horror expedition in No Man’s Sky.
Those who have invested much time in the game will also get much back
Why was this bug particularly significant? As Griffith explained, every bug is important. However, one affected player had put in more than 600 hours into the buggy save – which made this a special case for the programmer: “We can’t help but take extra time when the save contains hundreds or thousands of hours.”
Because: “If a player has invested so much into our game, it deserves a technical solution. And this will benefit all our future long-term players as well.” However, these players have quite a bit of catching up to do, as the record for playtime is reportedly over 4,000 hours, according to Griffith.
You can find the entire thread here:
What did the update look like? On October 26, the programmer reported back with good news: He could fix the bug. And this, despite the complexity being “crazy” due to the multitude of platform combinations.
According to Griffith, it was a “general engine bug”; apparently, the save had reached a limit. The fix was also intended to help other large bases experiencing the bug on Xbox.
In the comments, players who experienced the bug on their PlayStation also chimed in (via X). It is unclear whether the solution also applies to them, or if Griffith needs to address this again.
For those interested in the background of the bug and the programmer’s approach, there is a detailed post on X, in which the bug tracking is worked through.
The developer’s engagement fits into the broader narrative of No Man’s Sky. Since the failed launch in 2016, the creators of the survival game have been striving to regain the trust of players. No Man’s Sky ruined the launch on Steam – 8 years later, the survival game is approaching a major milestone
