Game Settings - No Man's Sky

No Man's Sky Game Settings Guide

No Man's Sky offers a wide array of settings that let you tailor the experience to your hardware and preferences. This guide covers every major settings menu, explains what each option does, and provides recommended configurations for low-end, mid-range, high-end, and ultra hardware. We also highlight settings that are easily misconfigured and point out special considerations during initial setup.

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1. Graphics Settings

Graphics settings have the largest impact on performance and visual quality. The game uses the proprietary engine from Hello Games, which is well-optimized but can be demanding in dense planetary environments or during base building.

#### Key Graphics Options (PC)

Setting	Description	Recommendation
Display Mode	Fullscreen, Borderless Windowed, Windowed	Fullscreen for best performance. Borderless Windowed can cause slightly higher input lag.
Resolution	Native monitor resolution	Match your monitor's native resolution. Lowering can boost FPS significantly but makes UI tiny.
Resolution Scale	Renders at a percentage of chosen resolution	Leave at 100% for native. Lower to 75-85% if struggling. High-end GPUs can use 125-150% for super-sampling.
Monitor	Select display if multiple	Ensure correct monitor is selected.
VSync	Synchronizes frame rate with monitor refresh	Off unless you experience screen tearing. If on, use Adaptive or Triple Buffering (NVIDIA Fast Sync) to reduce input lag.
Fullscreen Mode	Exclusive or borderless	Choose Exclusive Fullscreen for lowest latency.
Anti-Aliasing	Controls jagged edges	TAA (Temporal Anti-Aliasing) is recommended for best quality/performance balance. FXAA is lighter but blurrier. None for maximum FPS.
Texture Quality	Affects sharpness of surfaces	High on GPUs with 4GB+ VRAM (6GB+ for Ultra). Medium for 2-3GB cards. Low is very blurry.
Animation Quality	Skeletal and object animation detail	High is fine for most. Low reduces creature animation complexity, may cause stiffness.
Shadow Quality	Resolves shadow sharpness and draw distance	Medium provides a good balance. High and Ultra are heavy on GPUs. Low causes blocky shadows.
Post-Processing	Bloom, motion blur, depth of field	Medium is safe. Disable motion blur if it bothers you. High can cause haze.
Reflections	Screen-space reflections (SSR)	Medium works well. High is expensive on water and metals. Low disables SSR, using cube maps instead.
Light Shafts	God rays from sun/light sources	On for atmosphere. Off gains ~10% FPS in daytime planets.
Planet Quality	Multi-resolution texturing for terrain	High for detail. Ultra can drop frames on complex planets. Medium if VRAM limited.
Terrain Tesselation	Adds 3D displacement to ground	Off is recommended for performance. On increases GPU load significantly and may cause flickering on older GPUs.
Terrain Shadows	Shadows on ground from terrain	Ultra is very expensive. High is good. Medium for performance.
Motion Blur	Blurs fast movement	Off for clarity and responsiveness. Only enable if you are motion sick without it.
GTAO	Global illumination approximation	Off or Low. High is heavy. This adds ambient occlusion but can darken caves too much.
HBAO (NVIDIA only)	Horizon-based ambient occlusion	Slightly better than GTAO but same performance cost. Use Off for more FPS.
Volumetric Clouds	Adds 3D cloud formations	Low for performance. Ultra looks fantastic but can cut FPS in half on older GPUs.
DLSS (NVIDIA RTX)	AI upscaling	Quality is recommended for clean image. Balanced or Performance for higher FPS. Ultra Performance is blurry.
FSR (AMD)	Spatial upscaling	Quality is decent. Performance is softer. Use if DLSS unavailable.
Reflex Low Latency	Reduces input lag (NVIDIA)	On + Boost for competitive feel. Enable if you have NVIDIA GPU.
Frame Rate Limit	Caps max FPS	Set to monitor refresh rate (e.g., 60, 144) or leave uncapped. Use limit if you experience screen tearing or to reduce GPU heat.
Brightness	Adjusts gamma	Follow the on-screen calibration: the middle logo should be barely visible.
FOV	Field of View	Default 75 is fine. Increase to 90-100 for wider view, but it reduces FPS slightly.

#### Console Settings
On consoles, graphics settings are limited to Resolution Mode (4K/30 FPS) vs Performance Mode (1080p-1440p/60 FPS) on PS5/Xbox Series. PS5 also has VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) support. HDR can be calibrated under Video Output.

#### Recommended Presets by Hardware Level

Low-End (GTX 1060 / RX 580 / 8GB RAM)

Resolution: 1080p

Quality Preset: Standard (or custom as below)

Textures: Medium

Shadows: Low

Reflections: Low

Volumetric Clouds: Low

Post-Processing: Low

All AO, tessellation, motion blur: Off

Anti-Aliasing: FXAA or TAA (light)

FSR Quality or DLSS Performance (if available)

Frame Limit: 60

Mid-Range (RTX 2060 / RX 6600 / 16GB RAM)

Resolution: 1080p or 1440p

Quality Preset: Enhanced (with tweaks)

Textures: High

Shadows: Medium

Reflections: Medium

Volumetric Clouds: Medium

Post-Processing: High

AO: Low (GTAO)

Anti-Aliasing: TAA

DLSS Quality or FSR Quality

Frame Limit: Match display, or 60 if 1440p

High-End (RTX 3070 / RX 6800 / 16GB RAM)

Resolution: 1440p or 4K (with upscaling)

Quality Preset: Ultra (with some compromises)

Textures: Ultra

Shadows: High

Reflections: High

Volumetric Clouds: High

Post-Processing: High

AO: High (GTAO or HBAO)

Terrain Tessellation: Off (still expensive)

Anti-Aliasing: TAA

DLSS Quality (4K) or Balanced (1440p)

Reflex: On+Boost

Ultra (RTX 4090 / RX 7900 XTX / 32GB RAM)

Resolution: 4K native (or with DLSS Quality for extra smoothness)

Quality Preset: Ultra – all sliders to max

Volumetric Clouds: Ultra

Terrain Tessellation: On (if you like the look, but FPS may drop 10%)

Reflections: Ultra

Shadows: Ultra

Post-Processing: Ultra

AO: HBAO High

Anti-Aliasing: TAA

DLSS: Off or Quality (personal preference)

Frame Limit: To monitor max (120/144/165)

Special Attention Points:

Terrain Tessellation is one of the heaviest settings. It adds real geometry to ground but often causes micro-stutters even on high-end systems. Most players leave it off.

Volumetric Clouds on Ultra can tank FPS by 20-30% on planets with thick atmospheres. Consider keeping it on High or Medium.

Anti-Aliasing: TAA is preferred but can cause a slight blur. FXAA is sharper but shows more jaggies. Do not use MSAA as it is not supported.

DLSS vs FSR: DLSS is superior in image quality. If you have an RTX card, always use DLSS Quality. For AMD, FSR Quality is fine. Do not use FSR Ultra Performance as it becomes mud.

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2. Audio Settings

Setting	Description	Recommendation
Master Volume	Overall game volume	80-100%
Music Volume	Ambient and combat music	70% (helps with immersion without overpowering)
SFX Volume	Sound effects (engines, tools, creatures)	100%
Voice Volume	In-game dialogue and NPC speech	100%
UI Volume	Menu sounds and clicks	50-70% (can be annoying at high levels)
Dynamic Range	Compression vs wide range	High for headphones, Low for TV speakers to avoid loud peaks
Voice Chat	In-game proximity chat (multiplayer)	Mute if not needed. Push-to-talk recommended.
Sound Output	Stereo, Surround, or Headphones	Headphones for 3D audio. Surround only if you have genuine 5.1/7.1 setup.
Subtitles	Display spoken text	On recommended, especially for lore
Subtitle Background	Darkens behind text	On to improve readability

Special Attention Points:

Dynamic Range: If you hear explosions or ship engines as distortion, set to Low. High dynamic range is fine for quiet environments.

Voice Chat: Default is open mic; it can pick up background noise. Switch to Push-to-Talk and bind a key.

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3. Controls Settings

#### Keyboard & Mouse

Setting	Recommendation
Mouse Sensitivity	Start at 50%, adjust for comfortable turning. Higher for quick 180s.
Mouse Smoothing	Off for raw input
Invert Y-Axis	Personal preference
Flight Controls	Normal (roll with mouse) or Legacy (yaw with mouse)
Quick Menu	Default 'X' – consider rebinding to a thumb button
Inventory	Tab – keep default
Scan	'F' – keep default
Sprint	Left Shift – hold vs toggle (toggle recommended)
Melee	'Q' – keep or rebind to mouse thumb
Jetpack	Space – hold to boost
Build Menu	'Z' – useful to have on a side button
Photo Mode	'X' (with menu) – rebind if you use it often
Markers/Place Waypoint	'E' (use button) – keep default
Hotkeys	Use 1-9 for weapon/multi-tool modes

#### Controller (Xbox/PlayStation)

Setting	Recommendation
Controller Sensitivity	60-80%
Dead Zone	Default (10-15%) is fine. Lower if you have drift.
Invert Y	Off default
Button Layout	Standard or Custom – can swap triggers for flight
Vibration	On for immersion, Off for battery saving or competitive
Trigger Threshold	Default – no need to change

Easy to Misconfigure:

Flight Controls: The default Normal mode uses mouse roll/joystick roll. If you prefer yaw (like in most space sims), switch to Legacy mode. This changes how you steer ships.

Melee/Jetpack Boost: This is a popular movement tech. It requires pressing Melee then Jetpack quickly. The default bindings (Q then Space) work but some rebind melee to a thumb button for speed.

Quick Menu: The 'X' key is used for context actions, but also opens the quick menu. Rebinding to 'V' or a mouse button can reduce accidental activations.

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4. Accessibility Settings

No Man's Sky has robust accessibility options.

Feature	Description	Recommendation
Color Blind Mode	Filters for Protanopia, Deuteranopia, Tritanopia	Enable if applicable. It recolors UI elements (hazard icons, discovery names).
Large Text	Increases font size	On if you play on a small screen or TV far away
High Contrast Mode	Inverts or enhances UI contrast	On reduces eye strain. Can look jarring – test in menus.
Hold to Confirm	Requires holding a button for actions	Off for faster interactions, On to prevent misclicks.
Auto-Move	Continues moving forward without input	Off default. Useful for long flights.
Auto-Jump on Planets	Automatically hops over small obstacles	Off (can interfere with precise movement). Enable if you have difficulty with jumping.
Dialogue Auto-Advance	Moves to next line automatically	Off (helps when reading)
Subtitle Size	Adjust subtitle text size	Large recommended for readability
Screen Reader (PC only)	Reads UI text aloud (Windows Narrator)	Requires activation. Useful for visually impaired players.
Controller Remapping	Full remapping for analog and buttons	Use if default layout is uncomfortable.

Special Attention Points:

Hold to Confirm default is Off. If you find yourself accidentally selling items or deleting bases, turn it On.

Auto-Jump can cause you to stumble into hazards (e.g., jumping into water on a toxic planet). Keep it off until you are comfortable.

5. Language Settings

Language: No Man's Sky supports many languages (English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Simplified/Traditional Chinese, Korean, Russian, Portuguese, Polish, Dutch, Swedish, etc.).

Voice Language: Covers in-game dialogue and NPC voices. Not all languages have voice acting; if a language has no voice, it falls back to English.

Text Language: Independent of voice – you can have English voices with Spanish subtitles.

Change during game: Language can be switched at any time in the Options menu under Language. No restart required for text, but voice change may take effect after loading a save.

Easy to Misconfigure:

The language setting is separate from the system language. If you accidentally switch to a language you cannot read, navigate blindly by remembering the menu order: Language is under Options (second tab) and the first option is the language dropdown. You can reset by moving left/right.

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6. Network Settings

Setting	Description	Recommendation
Online Discovery Services	Connect to servers for player discoveries	On (default) – without it, you won't see other players' named planets.
Multiplayer	Enable/disable joining other players	On if playing co-op, Off for single-player to avoid unwanted visits.
PvP	Player versus Player damage	Off by default. Turn On only if you want to fight other players.
Voice Chat	Enable/disable voice	Off or Push-to-Talk
Crossplay	Play with users on other platforms	On (recommended) – No Man's Sky has true crossplay.
Network Mode	Precision setting for connection quality	Auto works well. If you have a poor connection, try Low Bandwidth mode to reduce lag.
Show Other Players	Display player models, markers, and names	On (you can hide them individually)
Base Sharing	Allow others to see/edit your base	Friends Only (default) is safest. Anyone can cause griefing.
Report Player	When you encounter offensive behavior	Use the quick menu > Report function.

Special Attention Points:

PvP is OFF by default, but if you join a group, the group host can force PvP on. Always check the group settings before entering potentially hostile areas (e.g., community events).

Discovery Services sometimes become overloaded; if you see yellow 'ON' text at the top right of the Discovery screen, you are connected. If it is red, try restarting the game or waiting.

Base Sharing set to Anyone can allow strangers to build or edit your base (if you have permissions enabled). Change to Friends Only or Nobody to protect your builds.

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7. Gameplay Settings

This category includes difficulty modifiers and gameplay toggles.

#### Difficulty Settings (Customizable)
No Man's Sky offers a Difficulty Presets system (Creative, Normal, Survival, Permadeath, and Custom). You can change difficulty at any time via Options > Difficulty. Key toggles:

Subsetting	Effect	Recommendation
Damage Received	Multiplier on incoming damage	Normal (1x). Survival (2x) is harsh.
Depletion Rates	How fast hazard protection, life support drain	Normal (slow). Survival (fast).
Fuel Usage	Starship, vehicle, base fuel consumption	Normal (1x). Survival (3x).
Resources Availability	Amount of resources from mining	Normal (1x). Abundant (more resources per node).
Start with Technology	Ship and Exosuit initial tech	Normal (basic). Rich start gives better gear.
Enemy Damage	Damage from sentinels, pirates, predators	Normal (moderate). Survival (lethal).
Death Consequences	Lose items? Drop on death?	Normal: lose inventory items that break. Survival: lose items permanently. Permadeath: save deleted.

Easy to Misconfigure:

If you crank up Resources Availability to Abundant, you may get bored quickly because everything is too easy. Conversely, Scarcity forces you to scavenge.

Switching to Permadeath cannot be undone (the save itself is deleted on death). Do not toggle Permadeath accidentally – it is clearly labeled but still easy to misclick.

Start with Technology can give you a head start, but may spoil the early progression. Recommended for second playthroughs.

#### Gameplay Toggles

Setting	Description	Recommendation
Auto-Move	Forward hold not required	Off default
Auto-Jump	Automatic hopping over obstacles	Off default
Camera Roll	Head-tilt when turning in ship	On for immersion, Off to prevent motion sickness
Screen Shake	Screen effect from explosions	Off if it distracts
Motion Blu r (separate setting)	Overlap with Graphics	Off recommended
Show HUD	Toggle head-up display	On for info. Press H to hide for screenshots.
Marker Limit	Maximum waypoints shown	50 (default). Lower if map is cluttered.
Photo Mode Settings	Camera controls, filters, depth of field	Access with 'X' (default) – no performance impact.
Cursor Speed (UI)	Speed of pointer in menus	100% default. Speed up if you find menus sluggish.

Special Attention Points:

Camera Roll causes the cockpit view to tilt when you bank. This can induce motion sickness for some players. If you feel dizzy, turn Camera Roll Off.

Screen Shake is on by default and can be intense during storms or combat. Many players turn it Off for clarity.

Marker Limit: If you use many custom waypoints, you may have trouble seeing them all. Increase the limit if needed.

Summary of Easy-to-Misconfigure Settings

Terrain Tessellation

Flight Controls

PvP

Hold to Confirm

Difficulty Presets

Language

Final Tips for Setting Up No Man's Sky

First Launch: After installing, go directly to Options > Graphics and apply a preset that matches your system (options: Standard, Enhanced, Ultra). Then adjust from there.

Console Players: On PS5/Xbox Series, choose Performance Mode for 60 FPS unless you prefer 4K visuals. Note that Performance Mode still looks great.

Cloud Saves: If you play on PC Game Pass, save files are synced via Xbox cloud. On Steam, cloud saves are automatic. Do not manipulate save files externally unless you know what you're doing.

VR Users: Settings for VR are the same as flat, but you may need to lower Graphics to maintain 90 FPS. Use DLSS Quality if available. Enable Comfort Mode in VR settings to reduce motion sickness.

Experimental Branch: On Steam, you can opt into Experimental for the latest fixes and features. This may introduce bugs. Settings may reset after switching branches.

With these settings, you'll be ready to explore the universe comfortably. Tweak them further as you discover what matters most to you—whether it's breathtaking vistas or smooth combat.