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No Man's Sky could 'fundamentally change' on PlayStation 4 Neo

No Man's Sky creator Sean Murray has said that a powerful console upgrade would let Hello Games "fundamentally change the experience."

Chris Kerr, News Editor

August 10, 2016

1 Min Read
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No Man's Sky creator Sean Murray has said that a powerful console upgrade -- such as Sony's upcoming PlayStation 4 Neo -- would let Hello Games "fundamentally change the experience."

In an interview with British paper The Daily Star, Murray spoke about how a remastered version of No Man's Sky would be different to its reworked peers due to the game's procedurally generated nature. 

According to Murray, most remasters push aesthetic upgrades such as high-res textures and improved framerates because they're built on a locked-down base geometry. 

No Man's Sky's fluid procedural tech gives Hello Games more control, allowing them to make huge, cosmic changes at will. And if the team had more power at their disposal, the game's very nature could be altered. 

"For our game, it's procedurally generated. So more powerful hardware doesn’t just mean upgraded textures or a bigger framerate. It means we can fundamentally change the experience," said Murray. 

"We can have more trees, more leaves on those trees. The density or immersion of worlds, or new types of worlds could exist. 

"It's a really fun thing to think about, its a really fun thing to think about what impact more powerful hardware could have on our game and tech in the future."

The Neo's existence was confirmed by Sony Interactive Entertainment chief, Andrew House, earlier this year. 

House described the system as a "high-end" device, but explained it's being designed to "sit alongside and complement the standard PS4."

The Sony boss added that all PS4 titles will be supported by the base model, casting doubt on whether devs will be free to use that extra power to implement game-changing features.

About the Author

Chris Kerr

News Editor, GameDeveloper.com

Game Developer news editor Chris Kerr is an award-winning journalist and reporter with over a decade of experience in the game industry. His byline has appeared in notable print and digital publications including Edge, Stuff, Wireframe, International Business Times, and PocketGamer.biz. Throughout his career, Chris has covered major industry events including GDC, PAX Australia, Gamescom, Paris Games Week, and Develop Brighton. He has featured on the judging panel at The Develop Star Awards on multiple occasions and appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live to discuss breaking news.

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