No Man’s Sky Update Made Player Inventories “Unrecognizable”

Last week’s comprehensive update for No Man’s Sky brought with it a series of changes. Some made a game far more flexible and affordable, while others, like tweaking inventory mechanics, have been the subject of controversy within the community. Seemingly in response to the backlash, Hello Games appears to be making some adjustments to how inventory works in the experimental PC version of the game.

No Man’s SkyThe “Waypoint” update brought with it a sudden change to the game’s inventory system. Of course, the term “inventorygate” developed in response. The result was the usual rush memes, review bombs, since locked reddit threads with players arguing over whether or not the game is “ruined”. Those upset about the changes have a point, however: the updated inventory layout limits players to three tech upgrade slots, limiting potential power levels below what they were before the update. However, the October 10 experimental version of the game added additional upgrade slots, suggesting that the developers are looking to address the rather widespread anger of the player base.

The experimental update, however, may not be enough to quell the frustration many have been airing. Steam reviews themselves have taken a recent trend towards “Mixed” status, with many specifically calling out inventory changes. “The latest update basically wiped out dozens of hours of grinding,” reads one Steam review. “With the new 4.0 update my inventories are unrecognizable and after all the grinding time I spent everything seems useless,” another reads.

However, the reaction was not universal. While many “complain that they worked over 100 hours for upgrades that are now functionally useless,” as a reddit thread states thisothers have found that the settings and limitations bring more balance and challenge to the game. The negative responses seem to be the loudest, however, and it’s uncertain whether they influenced Hello Games’ decision to expand the slots in the beta.

The experimental patch notes on Steam note that Hello Games has added “additional free tech slots”, both for players who are just updating their game to the Waypoint version, and for people who already have an existing save. You can access No Man’s SkyThe experimental version by right-clicking on the game in your Steam library, selecting “Properties”, going to “Betas”, entering the password “3xperimental” and selecting “Experimental”.

The changes are clearly visible on a brand new save I made for testing. As expected, the regular stable version of the game only provides three possible tech slots at the top. Updating to the experimental version, however, doubles the slots in the top row. Further updates to the beta branch since October 10th also address other issues many have had with unlocking inventory slots and navigating the menu in general.

Although these changes have yet to be merged No Man’s Sky‘S stable build, no indication yet when or if they will become permanent. my box has contacted Hello Games for comment.