Digital Foundry has looked more closely at the version of No Man’s Sky for Nintendo Switch, including the frame rate and resolution. Even though it’s great to have the game on Switch, it looks like a lot had to be given up to make it work.
Digital Foundry points out things like a fast draw-in, a performance that isn’t always stable, and more.
Digital Foundry highlights – No Man’s Sky
Almost every part of the Nintendo Switch screen is drawn in with a lot of force. Large pieces of level geometry snap into place when they are close to each other. As the player gets closer, the shadow map quickly fills in huge areas
– Larger pieces of foliage can be seen from a fair distance
– Small bushes and plants only appear near the player
– Most assets aren’t very good
– Clouds with volume look simple and low-resolution
– Animations of characters happen more slowly near the player
– Some low-resolution shadow maps flicker at medium distances
– TAA was used, but the coverage doesn’t seem to be very good because many of the parts have sharp, jagged edges
– The image seems to flicker all the time, and the moving pixels and sharp edges are distracting. When the Switch is docked, the resolution of No Man’s Sky is 1152648. Portable mode drops to 896×504
– Docked and portable modes are the same, except for the quality of the images. No Man’s Sky aims for 30 frames per second on Switch
– The game hits this mark when you’re walking around
– There are often drops in the frame rate
– Having trouble when going from planets to space
– Worst case scenario is when you turn up the complexity of base building, which slows down the frame rate and makes the game crash.
About No Man’s Sky
No Man’s Sky is a game about exploring and staying alive in a universe that keeps getting bigger and bigger.
No Man’s Sky is a game that lets you explore a galaxy full of unique planets and lifeforms, as well as constant danger and action. It was inspired by the adventure and creativity that we love in classic science fiction.
In No Man’s Sky, each star is the light of a faraway sun, and each has planets with life that orbit around it. You can go to any of them you want. You can fly smoothly from deep space to the surface of a planet, and there are no loading screens or limits. In this infinite procedurally generated universe, you’ll find places and creatures that no other player has seen before, and maybe never will again.
Start an epic journey
At the center of the galaxy, there is an irresistible pulse that pulls you on a journey to find out what the cosmos is really like. But when you face dangerous creatures and pirates, you’ll know that death has a price, and your survival will depend on how you choose to improve your ship, weapon, and suit.
Find your own path in life.
You decide where you go in No Man’s Sky. Will you be a fighter who preys on the weak and steals their money, or will you be a pirate hunter who kills pirates for their money? You can get power if you make your ship faster and give it better weapons.
Or a trader? Find worlds that have lots of useful resources and sell them for the most money. Investing in more cargo space will pay off in a big way.
Or perhaps an explorer? Go beyond the known frontier and find places and things that no one has ever seen before. You can improve your engines to jump farther, and you can strengthen your suit to stay alive in dangerous environments that would kill someone who wasn’t prepared.
Share your journey
The galaxy is a place full of life. Trade convoys move between stars, groups fight over land, pirates look for people who aren’t paying attention, and the police are always watching. Every player lives in the same galaxy, and you can share your discoveries with them on a map that covers all of known space if you want to. Maybe you’ll see the results of what they did as well as what you did…
