NoMansSky v2.1.0

Changelog | Release Date: May 04, 2022

WARNING

This guide is out of date and is NOT supported! It may contain information that is incorrect or not in line with the current state of the game.
Go to the latest supported NoMansSky Guide.

WARNING

DO NOT USE THIS GUIDE IF YOU HAVE UPDATED TO NMS v3.94!!!

This Guide is currently outdated due to No Man's Sky update v3.94+ (Endurance). Once the tools are updated to support the new game version, this Guide will be updated.

Until the Guide is updated, users have two options:

If able, skip updating the game and continue using the modded setup until this guide is updated.
If installing for the first time or the game is already updated, then mods must be disabled until this guide is updated. Else...

...skip this guide, and install individual mods on your own, being mindful of conflicting files and that they've been updated for latest game changes.

About Step

A Foreword

Created by TheCompiler (Daniele Ferraro), Step is a collaborative project with input from the modding community, technical volunteers, and project administrators. The goal is to provide tested and validated methods for establishing and maintaining an enhanced modded Skyrim. Thus, the Guide provides detailed, well-tested build instructions for a solid modded Skyrim that achieves an enhanced, vanilla experience. It's meant to be installed in its entirety and not piecemeal.

The Step team collects information from the modding community through extensive mod testing, detailed reviews, feedback, and suggestions exchanged on the Step Community Forums. Posting rules apply, so be sure to read and follow them. Engage and enjoy a warm welcome and plenty of high-quality support from a large community of experienced members.

Step NoMansSky Guide

General Information

This is the official Step modding guide for No Man's Sky. Its goal is to provide an "enhanced vanilla" look and feel and is built for No Man's Sky on the PC without VR. Other situations by vary. For a full list of features to expect from this Guide, please see our Nexus Mods page.

Supported Game Version: NMS:The Cursed v5.2+

Visit the forums to learn more or contribute.
Also follow Step Modifications on Facebook.
To support hosting and maintenance of this website, consider donating to the project.

New to Modding?

We recommend that you ...

read through this Guide at least once before attempting installation.
follow all linked guides and read through them, as well.

There is a lot of information to absorb and learn in order to successfully build a modded game. We and the community, have brought together a lot of this information into guides as a free and hopefully convenient resource for all. New and experienced modders alike will find many answers within these guides and linked resources. This Guide is written in such a way that it expects users to know the basics of modding and related tools (e.g. mod managers, LOD optimizers, configuration utilities, etc.). However our support forums are always available for our users.

Nomenclature

The following nomenclature is used throughout this guide and should be understood before proceeding.

'tick' means 'check': Frequently, the word 'check' or 'checked' can mean 'ensure' in addition to "check mark", so 'check' is not used where it is synonymous with 'tick' to avoid any mistakes that can (and have) happened from this conflation.
Baseline: An installation of a mod using the recommend file option listed within the Baseline column of the mod tables below.

System Requirements

NoMansSky should be run on a relatively modern Windows 10/11 64-bit desktop or laptop at 1920x1080 or higher.

The minimum specs should allow most users run the game on High settings
The recommended specs should allow most users to run the game on Ultra settings
CPU/GPU hardware listed below are "performance-class examples", and many alternatives lie within or outside of these classes.

Hardware	Minimum	Recommended
CPU Mark Range	6,000 - 7,000	> 8,000
System RAM	8Gb	16Gb
GPU G3D Mark Range	10,000 - 12,000	> 13,000
Game Drive	HDD	SSD

For those wishing to use high quality settings at resolutions higher than 1920x1080, be advised that a more powerful system will likely be required.
This game will also consume a lot of VRAM, so the more VRAM available the better the performance will be; since files will not be offloaded to slower system RAM.

STEP 1

Installations & Setup

Follow the System Setup Guide!

Those who have not completed the System Setup Guide should STOP and do so now!

The Setup Guide is a perquisite for this Guide.
Once it has been completed, return here and continue below.
Deviate from these instructions at your own risk! Instructions in this guide presume that previous instructions have been followed.

As suggested in the Setup Guide, for supporting No Man's Sky this Guide uses the following folder structure below:

Drive:\Modding\
- ..\NoMansSky
  - ..\StepNoMansSky
  - ..\AMUMSS
  - ..\PSArcTool

Mod Organizer - NMS Setup

The below instructions describe how to set up a No Man's Sky instance in Mod Organizer (MO), which should have been completed within the Setup Guide. If MO was installed as a Portable application, the instructions below will need to be reinterpreted accordingly. Those who already have a MO instance for NMS can skip this setup and move on to the Profile Setup:

➕ [Click to show]➖ [Click to hide] Setup Steps

Launch MO by running its executable (e.g. ..Modding\Tools\Mod Organizer\ModOrganizer.exe)
Upon load, click the Instance Manager button on the tool (first button).
Click [Create new instance] button.
Select No Man's Sky and click [Next].
If it didn't find the game, users can manually browse to the game's location.
Name the instance something like No Man's Sky or keep the default. Click [Next].
(optional) change the location of data stored. Step recommends the default location, unless space restraints prevent this. Click [Next].
A confirmation window will display with the installation information. Click [Finish].
MO is now ready to use with this guide.

Profile Setup

Mod Organizer's profile feature allows the creation of multiple mod lists. Begin by creating/editing two profiles for use with this Guide:

➕ [Click to show]➖ [Click to hide] Profile Creation Steps

Launch MO, choosing the No Man's Sky Instance.
Click the button on the menu bar.
Select the Default profile.
Ensure the Use profile-specific Game INI Files box is ticked and click [Copy].
Name the new profile Step NoMansSky, or anything similar.
Ensure the Use profile-specific Game INI Files box is ticked.
Close the window by clicking [Close].
Select the Step NoMansSky profile from the profile selection down-drop.
- If users receive a notice saying some INI files were missing and will be copied. This is normal.
- If an error is displayed about missing "modlist.txt" files, restart MO (or do a system reboot if one hasn't been done yet).

Enable Mods

Mod support for No Man's Sky is disabled by default, thus, users need to enable support after the game is registered with the system. To do this:

Navigate to the game's PCBANKS folder (i.e., ..\Steam\steamapps\common\No Man's Sky\GAMEDATA\PCBANKS)
Locate the DISABLEMODS.TXT file.
Rename this file: ENABLEMODS.TXT
In fact, this file can be renamed to anything or simply removed from the folder structure. To disable mod support again, simply rename the file back the the original name, or place it back in the PCBANKS folder. Users will have to do this step every time the game updates because Hello Games resets this file every update.
If it doesn't exist, create a new folder within PCBANKS and name it MODS.

This completes the initial game setup.

Tools Installation and Setup

Users should install the tools to the location created above (i.e., ..\Modding\Tools). Install the following tools to that location:

				Mod Name	Baseline	Instructions

				AMUMSS		Detailed Instructions available
Download the latest release from GitHub (AMUMSS.7z) Right-click on the archive, click on Properties On the new window tick the Unblock checkbox at the bottom, then click [Apply] and close the window. If .NET6 Desktop is not installed, download and install it to the system. If AMUMSS is already installed, please ensure the latest version is being used! Extract the archive to the new AMUMSS folder (e.g., `..\Modding\Tools\AMUMSS`)

				PSArcTool		Detailed Instructions available
Manually download the file from Nexus Mods. Place the EXE in the new PSArcTool folder (e.g., `..\Modding\Tools\PSArcTool`).

AMUMSS

Initialization

AMUMSS will be set up for use below:

Run BUILDMOD.bat by double-clicking on it.
When first ran, it will check for updates and ask to install each one. Allow it to install all updates available.

Users should see this in the log: Path to NMS_FOLDER is >>> GOOD <<< game files found
At the prompts enter [N] and let it run.
Ignore the No user .lua Mod Script found in ModScript... warning, as this is just an initialization run. If there are other warnings, user should investigate.
Close when complete.

➕ [Click to show]➖ [Click to hide] Initialization Troubleshooting

Firewall / Internet Security / Antivirus Software:

AMUMSS connects to the internet to check for MBINCompiler updates. To allow this process, users may have to create an exception in their software for: <pathTo>\AMUMSS\MODBUILDER\MBINCompilerDownloader\curl.exe
To check if this working, users should see the following in their BUILDMOD.bat log when an update is available and downloaded, else only an error message will be displayed:
>>> Added MBINCompiler.x.xx.x.exe to Extras\MBINCompiler_OldVersions folder...

>>> Your new MBINCompiler is version: x.xx.x
If the CMD window closes immediately (or is blank) when double-clicking BUILDMOD.BAT, it could be security software blocking the program from running. Try creating an exception in the software and rebooting the PC.

NMS PCBANKS Explorer

This is a program that enables the easy exploration of the game's files and other features, however, it must be set up before it can operate. The instructions have been separated into groups to help users follow along easier.

Run NMS PCBANKS Explorer.exe
At the Would you like to use .\DEFAULT_UNPACKFOLDER as your 'MAIN' Unpack folder? prompt, click [Yes]
At the Would you like to use .\DEFAULT_UNPACKFOLDER as your 'Results' folder for Un-packing results? prompt, click [Yes]
At the Would you like to use .\DEFAULT_EXMLsaveFOLDER as your 'MAIN' folder for saving EXML files? prompt, click [Yes]
At the Would you like to use .\DEFAULT_EXMLsaveFOLDER as your 'Resutls' folder for saving EXML files? prompt, click [Yes]
At the Explorer Usage prompt, click [Ok] and allow NMS PCBANKS Explorer to load

➕ [Click to show]➖ [Click to hide] Unpack

Once complete, click the Unpack Options menu and select Unpack Latest NMS Files
At the Please, choose your unpack folder location... prompt, click [MAIN]
At this point NMS PCBANKS Explorer will unpack the game files. Please wait for it to complete (1-5 mins).
Click [Ok] at the unpack completion prompt and ensure the "Explorer" tab is selected on NMS PCBANKS Explorer

Unpack, Step 1

➕ [Click to show]➖ [Click to hide] Decompile

On the Explorer tab, click the [Decompile] button
At the Please, choose your unpack folder location... prompt, click [MAIN]
At the Please, choose your EXML folder location... prompt, click [MAIN]
- At this point NMS PCBANKS Explorer will decompile all the unpacked game files. Please wait for it to complete (10-30 mins).
- If a prompt appears that any files other than METADATA\INPUTTEST.MBIN couldn't be decompiled, please verify the game files using Steam and try again. Files from Steam will sometimes be corrupted, which causes this.

Decompile, Step 1

➕ [Click to show]➖ [Click to hide] Import EXMLs

On the Explorer tab, click the [Import EXML Files] button
At the Please, choose... prompt, click [MAIN]
Include MODELS and SCENES folders?, click [Yes]
Include LANGUAGE folder?, click [No]
Read the prompt and click [Ok]
- At this point NMS PCBANKS Explorer will import all the decompiled EXML files, which allows them to be explored. Please wait for it to complete (40-60 mins).

Files are importing

AMUMSS is now set up and ready to use.

STEP 2

NoMansSky Mod List

At this point the modding environment should be fully set up and ready to install mods. Installing individual mods for NMS is done so via Mod Organizer 2. (see: installing mods)

Mod Installation Notes

Mods that have no conflicting files are installed via MO, as is. Mods that do have conflicting files are incorporated using AMUMSS and LUA scripts.
- When installing mods using MO, only install the PAK files. (see example below)
- After installing a mod, always enable the mod in MO unless otherwise instructed.
To maintain compatibility, it's important to install mods as described in their respective Detailed Instructions; thus, ensure to click on [Expand] when it's available on the mod listing.

Install Example

General Mod List Notes

Mods are listed in alphabetical order within each ModGroup and any deviations from this are purposeful to achieve the desired outcome.
If no Detailed Instructions or Step recommendations are provided for a particular mod, all options are valid. Step encourages user customization.
Since LUA scripts are used, no mods are required besides the Resource Files; users are free to customize as they wish. Yet, all mods are recommended for the intended outcome. Users who deviate from the Guide will have various results.

Mod Table Reference

Supported Game Version: NMS:The Cursed v5.2+

			Table Flags	Red vertical bars indicate the mod requires an update and should not be installed. Yellow bars indicate the mod is used with AMUMSS. Blue bars are not used at this time.
			Mod Name	Nexus mod name presented as a link to Nexus for download.
				Link to the mod's wiki page, which includes various information about the mod.
			Baseline	This notes the Step Baseline version or option of the corresponding mod that should be installed, and usually refers to options affecting performance/quality. General suggestions are located in the "Notes" column; see below.
			Instructions	Brief notes that apply to the mod or installation. In some cases, mods with several options will include a suggested option. These suggestions will take the form of: "Step recommends: Option A Main File." In other cases, there may only be one appropriate option, which fits the Step Mandate. These instructions will take the form of: "Install Option A Main File." Users will also see links displayed as: [Expand]. Users should click these links to expand the mod row to reveal detailed instructions for installing the mod.

Animations & Physics

				Mod Name	Baseline	Instructions

				Better Asteroid Explosions

				Rotating Atmosphere

Models and Textures

				Mod Name	Baseline	Instructions

				Black Carbon

				Blackhole BAAA		Detailed Instructions available
Download the file of choice manually from Nexus Mods Extract the PAK file from the downloaded archive to the game's MODS folder: `..\No Man's Sky\GAMEDATA\PCBANKS\MODS`

				Clean Analysis Visor		Step recommends: Clean_Analysys_Visor_With_Helmet_by_RogerHN

				Clean Ship Space Map

				HD Clouds	2K

				Mangroves

				Remove Lag when Leaving Planets

				Windrex		Step recommends: Windrex main file

Sounds and Music

				Mod Name	Baseline	Instructions

No Suit Annoyances

Detailed Instructions available

There are two options, and either are valid for the guide.

Step recommends the Main File since it will silence most of the audio, but not all.
The Optional File will silence all the audio notifications.

This mod is optional but included for players who have experienced all they care to experience from the exosuit audio notifications. The notifications are okay for new players; however, it doesn't seem to take long for most to become annoyed by the constant notices.

Fixes

				Mod Name	Baseline	Instructions

				Space Station Interior Fix

Gameplay

				Mod Name	Baseline	Instructions

				Better Base Sites		Detailed Instructions available
Download the Main File manually Extract the PAK file from the downloaded archive Drag and drop and PAK file on top of PSArcTool.exe to unpack it Move only the LUA file from the unpacked PAK file to the ModScript folder in AMUMSS: `..\AMUMSS\ModScript`

				Better Buildings Scans		Detailed Instructions available
Download the Main File manually from Nexus Mods Extract the LUA file from the downloaded archive to the ModScript folder in AMUMSS: `..\AMUMSS\ModScript` Rename the file by removing the " _MOD_ " at the beginning of the file name: `_MOD_Better...` `Better...`

				Better Ship Transfer Ranges		Only install Better Ship Teleport Module Range main file

				Gumsks Base Building		Detailed Instructions available
Download both Main Files manually from Nexus Mods Extract the gBase Boundary 2k from the Boundry archive to the ModScript folder in AMUMSS: `..\AMUMSS\ModScript` Rename the file by applying a " + " to the beginning of the file name: `gBase...` `+gBase...` This ensures this script is used before other conflicting scripts.

				Quick Crates		Detailed Instructions available
This is an optional mod, since its goal is fixing an annoyance rather than a bug. It removes the junk (i.e., rust, goo, slime, etc.) from the green drop pods/crates. The material is typically useless and discarded by most players; however, if the material is really needed, it can be found elsewhere.

				Sensible Planetary Charts		Detailed Instructions available
Download the Sensible Planetary Charts LUA ONLY miscellaneous file Extract the LUA file from the archive to the ModScript folder in AMUMSS: `..\AMUMSS\ModScript`

Interface

				Mod Name	Baseline	Instructions

				Fast Actions		Step recommends: Fast Actions main file

				Fullscreen Warps

				Gumsks Cameras		Detailed Instructions available
Download the Main File manually Extract the LUA file of choice from the archive to the ModScript folder in AMUMSS: `..\AMUMSS\ModScript` Rename the file by applying a " + " to the beginning of the file name: `gCam...` `+gCam...` This ensures this script is used before other conflicting scripts.

Lighting and Weather

				Mod Name	Baseline	Instructions

				Integrated Planets		Detailed Instructions available
Download the file manually from Nexus Mods Extract the LUA file from the downloaded archive to the ModScript folder in AMUMSS: `..\AMUMSS\ModScript`

				LightFix	Soft	Detailed Instructions available
Step recommends: _LightFixSoft main file Whichever option is chosen, rename the PAK by removing any underscores from the name Example: _LightFixSoft.pak renamed to: `LightFixSoft.pak`

				Natural Nights

				ReLight

Resource Files

				Mod Name	Baseline	Instructions

				Step NoMansSky Resource Files		Detailed Instructions available
Download the guide's Resource Files from Nexus Mods Extract the LUA files from the downloaded archive to the ModScript folder in AMUMSS: ..\AMUMSS\ModScript

STEP 3

Construct Guide Patch

To wrap up, the LUA scripts placed within the ModScript folder must be merged and compressed into a PAK file so it can be used as the Guide's patch. This process is done using AMUMSS.

WARNING:

First, it is extremely important within ModScript folder the beginning of the file names match the image below; else, the scripts will not process in the correct order:

ModScript Final Reference

Build Patch

Once the ModScript folder is indeed correct, please continue below to build the Guide patch:

Open the AMUMSS folder: ..\Modding\Tools\AMUMSS
Run BUILDMOD.bat by double-clicking on it.
At ??? Do you want to create a COMBINED mod[Y] or INDIVIDUAL mod(s)[N], enter Y
At ??? Do you want to use a COMPOSITE combined MOD named just like that, enter N
At ??? Do you want to use a NUMERIC suffix[Y] or the current DATE-TIME[N] to differentiate your mod name, enter Y
At ??? Would you like or [N]ot to COPY [S]ome or [A]ll Created Mod PAKs to your game folder and DELETE [DISABLEMODS.TXT], enter N
Now AMUMSS will build the patch from the LUA scripts. Please allow it to complete (1-2 mins).

When complete, the report will show 22 Warnings and 3 Conflicts. This is normal and can be ignored.
Close the command window when finished.

Install Patch

Open the CreatedModPAKs folder: ..\AMUMSS\CreatedModPAKs
Rename the PAK file to: ___StepNoMansSky.pak
The " ___ " is intentional to force the archive to load last. The TXT file is for reference and can be deleted.
Create a new mod in MO named: Step NoMansSky - Patch
Copy and paste the new Patch into this new mod: ..\ModOrganizer\No Man's Sky\mods\Step NoMansSky - Patch
Ensure this and all mods are enabled.

Game Settings

The following are only recommendations for in-game settings. Launch the game using MO and set the following:

Video Options

Window Mode: Borderless
Flight Field of View: 85
This will help prevent the HUD clipping on some ships. Users playing at screen resolutions other than 1920x1080 may have to adjust for their systems.
Vignette & Scanlines: Disabled
This is just one part that will help alleviate some of the motion sickness effect the game can have.

Graphic Options

All settings on High or Ultra
Anisotropic Filter: 16x
GTAO: High
Anti Aliasing: TAA

Other settings are user preference.

Go...rule the galaxy!

That is a wrap on this short Guide. Enjoy your enhanced gameplay!

To start the game with mods enabled, run the game's executable from MO's drop-down list.

Quality of Life Mods

For those that have played the game a great deal, there are some mods available that will take away some annoyances that crop up from repetitive play. They are listed here, at the bottom the Guide, because these mods are outside the Step Mandates. As such, users will be on their own to on installing them, but should be able to do so at this point. They are also listed to assist us in covering a broader audience.

HauntedKobra's Skip tutorial

This mod will allow players to skip the repetitive tutorial when starting a new game. It's ideal for players who are rolling for specific start systems. Players will be able to take off immediately upon reaching their ship.

Install: Use the LUAs

Notice: Be sure to interact with the beacon before leaving to start the quests.

The starting ship may have the broken effects still attached to it. Once satisfied with the system, travel to the space station, exit the ship to save and close the game. Relaunch the game and load up the save that was just created and the ship should have the effects removed.

Reduced Launch Cost

This mod will reduce the fuel cost of taking off from a planet. It's options are either 0 (doesn't cost fuel), 5% or 10% vs vanilla's 25%.

Install: Use the LUAs

Credits

Thank you all!

The Step Team would sincerely like to thank (from the bottoms of our fuzzy little hearts):

The authors of mods recommended within our Guides
The authors of mods who granted permission for their mods to be incorporated into the Resource Files
The core Community for feedback, suggestions and input
The Beta and Mod Testers for their good humor and rigorous analyses
The Nexus community
Hello Games for their games

The following mods had open permissions (or permissions were granted by author) and were merged into the Guide's Resource Files

Better Landings
Clean Space Origins
Exosolar's Abyss | Only part of the changes from this mod are merged.
Fine LOD

The following mods were used for references:

Step Staff

The following staff are associated with this Guide:

Administrators

TechAngel85
- Lead Release Coordinator, Patch Coordinator, Lead Forum Administrator, Mod Author

COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTIONS

Help build Step

Step Modifications can only get bigger and better with help from the community. It is very time consuming for the Step team to ensure that our Guides are consistently maintained at the highest quality possible. We need people to help us identify mods that improve the vanilla game while adhering to our Mandate. We also need ongoing bug reports, reviews, and updates on mods that may cause problems or that stray from the Mandate.

In order to suggest a mod for inclusion, visit the Mods section of the Forums.

Call for Mod Testers

Community members interested in becoming Mod Testers, please contact TechAngel85 via PM on the forums. Once registered, Mod Testers will be given access to Staff forums that houses useful information. For more information about our mod testing process, read through the Mod Testing Guide to get a sense of what's involved.

Call for Forum Moderators

Regular community members interested in becoming moderators, please contact TechAngel85 via PM on the forums. Forum Moderators will be determined based upon level and quality of activity within our community.

Thank you for reading and enjoy the game!

NoMansSky:2.1.0