No Man’s Sky: Best Mods for 2020 (& How to Install Them)

No Man’s Sky had a rocky launch in 2016, but in the years since, the space exploration game has improved remarkably. In that time, it added capital ships and the ability to form fleets, base building, pilotable exocraft including mechs, the ability to create music, and many other things. The most recent update lets players explore derelict freighters which may not be entirely uninhabited. No Man’s Sky has had horror elements before, but this new optional gameplay element can be pretty terrifying, especially in VR. There are so many things to do now in No Man’s Sky.

Despite the fact that No Man’s Sky has over 18 quintillion planets thanks to procedural generation, they all start to look pretty similar after a while. Mods are a great way to add some longevity to games, upgrade graphics, or add some quality of life improvements.

The problem with mods is that sometimes when a game comes out with a new update, it means the mods no longer work or do not work as intended. Indeed, there have been some fascinating mods made in the past that no longer work with the current version of No Man’s Sky. The mods listed below do work with the current version of the game, which is titled Desolation Patch 2.62. These mods are only for the PC version of the game. Sorry to the Xbox and PlayStation players, but mods are much more difficult to get working on those systems. The mods here were found at nexusmods.com and nomansskymods.com.

2 How to Install Mods in No Man’s Sky

There are a few steps required to install mods in No Man’s Sky:

• Find the No Man’s Sky folder, then navigate to GAMEDATA, then PC BANKS.
• The Text Document DISABLEMODS has instructions for getting mods to work, but it is also what keeps mods from loading in No Man’s Sky. The file can be deleted, but it is recommended to simply change the name to something like _DISABLEMODS or ENABLEMODS.
• Create a new folder within PCBANKS called MODS.
• Upon downloading a new mod, add the mod .pak files to the folder MODS.

Now upon starting the game, players will get a message warning them that they are running a modded version of No Man’s Sky, and it might cause problems. This is to be expected. If a mod is causing problems, or if the player decides they no longer want to use a particular mod, they simply have to remove the appropriate .pak file from the MODS folder.

1 The Best Mods of 2020 in No Man’s Sky

• Stsh4lsons Real Clouds – Clouds in No Man’s Sky are weird. They move incredibly quickly and are constantly changing shape. Perhaps there is some scientific merit for these types of cloud formations on a planet with extreme temperatures and weather patterns like Harsh Toxic Wind, Flaming Hail, or Lethal Humidity Outbreaks. Or perhaps not. In any case, this mod makes the clouds look more like the ones found on Earth. They are flatter on the bottom, have more detail, and move slower, making them appear to be cumulus clouds.
• Fast Actions 2.4 – An odd game design in No Man’s Sky is that players often have to hold buttons in order to do actions. This is so that players have a limited amount of time to change their minds, but some players may find it annoying to have to press a key for almost an entire second. This mod changes the time required. There are different versions, allowing for fast actions, or instant actions, as well as making the cursor smaller. This mod can save a lot of time in the long run.
• Ship spawns for those who don’t want to punish themselves – An important part of flying around in space is looking cool while doing it. There are a number of ship types, and the S Class Ships are the ones with the best stats and most inventory space. These are found in wealthy systems and are incredibly rare. In order to get one in the base game, players will visit a starport and wait for an S Class version of the ship they want to land, which they can then purchase. This can take hours. The mod makes the spawns better. There are two versions, one that makes the spawns a little better, and one that makes the spawns a lot better, so players can get that fancy ship they always dreamed of.
• Better Scanning Icons – This is a fairly simple mod that makes the icons in the scanner view more colorful than their standard light blue. Now plant icons are green, buried technologies are brown, knowledge stones are purple, etc. More color to the game is always a welcome addition.
• Advanced Ship Decals V1.2 – This mod adds more varied decals to ships. This does nothing to change the shape of the ships but rather changes the decals that can be found on the hulls of a ship, including some interesting alien writing. No Man’s Sky is procedurally generated, but offering more options keeps things from looking the same.
• Advanced Ship Colors Palette V1.0 – In the same vein as Advanced Ship Decals V1.2 listed above, this mod adds a greater variety of ship colors. In No Man’s Sky, ships can come in one of 64 different colors. While this mod does not add any new colors, it does replace the color palette. There are more vibrant colors, and also some much darker, which gives a greater variety. Now, players can fly around in a bright pink ship, or a navy-blue ship, for example
• More Sky Colors for Cold Biomes – This mod is fairly self-explanatory. It makes the skies above cold biomes have a more diverse palette. It’s useful for those who want to build a snow base.
• Integrated Planets 1.1 – No Man’s Sky is already a gorgeous game, but this mod makes it even more so. Specifically, it makes planets look a lot better by adding an atmosphere effect when viewed from space, making them look more realistic and more beautiful.
• Natural Nights 2.0 – This changes the way lighting works in the game, so nights actually become dark. Now there is a reason to use the flashlight again. This can come as a standalone mod or can come paired with the Integrated Planets mod mentioned above.
• FAST START + NO TUTORIAL + Alternate multitool and ship – Upon starting a new game, players will have to go through a tutorial. There is no way to skip it normally. This mod allows that. There are two versions of this. First is the fast start with no tutorial, but with the standard ship and multitool. The second version gives the player a random multitool and random ship upon starting a new game.

No Man’s Sky is available now on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4.

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