Update: Hello Games has officially announced Visions, another large update for its massive interstellar romp, No Man's Sky. It's also coming very soon. Sean Murray posted the trailer in a tweet today, along with a release date. It will launch tomorrow, bringing salvaging, archaeology, new worlds and, most importantly, rainbows to No Man's Sky. 

Original story: Hello Games is preparing to roll out the third No Man's Sky update for the year in the form of 'Visions'. While it's not yet officially announced by the studio, an unlisted video has emerged on YouTube detailing the many updates and additions the expansion will deliver.

The biggest focus is on environment diversity. "Exotic new worlds make exploration more exciting than ever," claims the trailer, while existing planets will be more "varied, vibrant and colourful". The trailer features the text "5x planetary biomes", but I'm not sure whether that means there are five times more than there used to be, or just five more. 

Also, folks: there will be rainbows. But if rainbows are too nice for you, expect harsher environments and climates where "precious new materials" can be foraged. Skies and "atmospherics" are being improved, too, and there will be more numerous anomalous planets.

It's not all about looks. You'll be able to dig for rare alien skeleton remains, and you'll also be able to collect rare alien artefacts with which you can decorate your base. On that note, there will be more base parts added, and you'll be able to construct celebratory fireworks too. 

Some other major points include "bizarre and otherworldly" new lifeforms, procedural crashed freighters, corrupt sentinel drones, community missions, new emotes and salvageable alien scrap.

There's no word as yet on when the update will roll out. It follows the release of Next back in July, which was one of the most comprehensive updates the game has received yet.

Hello Games has revealed new details about its new update to No Man’s Sky, which launches today. Titled the Abyss, the update focusses on overhauling exploration and play within the oceans that cover many of No Man’s Sky’s procedurally generated planets.

“We wanted to focus on improving underwater, and also on some of the eerier elements of the game for Halloween,” Hello Games stated in a press release. “Oceans were always vast in size in No Man’s Sky, but are now a huge, deep part of our gameplay.”

The announcement was accompanied by a launch trailer, which you can view above, and shows off many of the substantial list of new features. First off, Hello Games has spruced up No Man’s Sky’s underwater biomes, increasing both the frequency and variety of underwater flora and fauna. Much like the survival sim Subnautica, the types of aquatic creature you encounter will vary depending upon the depth you are exploring at. Descend to the ocean floor, for example, and there’s a chance you will encounter “terrifying creatures”, such as the luminous eye-beast depicted in the trailer.

Furthermore, “several hours” of story has been added that focusses on underwater exploration. Titled “The Dreams of the Deep” this new questline will see players investigating the fate of a crew stranded by a freighter crash, while new underwater ruins will form the stage for a mystery about a lost soul. Plus, no self-respecting ocean is complete without shipwrecks, so expect to find remnants of interstellar vessels decorating the ocean floor.

Alongside new reasons to delve beneath No Man’s Sky’s waves, the Abyss update also offers new tools to do so. The update introduces “over a dozen” new base parts designed specifically for underwater habitats. This includes the “Marine Shelter”, which lets you escape from the pressure of the depths, as well as new glass corridors and “submersible view domes” that let you stand in your base and coo at the wonder of the aquatic world.

Lastly, Hello Games has expanded the roster of exocraft with a submarine. Known as the Nautilon, the submarine can be summoned to any ocean in the galaxy and docked at underwater buildings. Like all other exocraft in the game, in can be upgraded to perform specific functions such as mining, and most importantly can be customised, which means that yes, your submarine can be yellow.

The Abyss is freely available to download from today. You can read the full patch notes here, but it’s safe to say that The Abyss has got me yearning to venture back into space again after the impressive work done by Hello Games in the NEXT update. The end of the trailer states that this is “another step in the long journey" of No Man’s Sky, so it sounds like there’s plenty more to come from Sean Murray & co. Check out a few extra screenshots of the update below.

No Man's Sky can, at times, be a bit spooky. Some planets are truly otherworldly with atmospheric weather and flora that , others are dismal and monochromatic and drenched with a feeling of dread. Plus, there's the occasional biological horror. So it makes sense that Hello Games might try to amp up the scares, especially since Halloween is approaching.

Hence the next No Man's Sky update. It's called The Abyss, Hello Games announced, and it's landing next week, free for all players.

"Whilst most of the team have been busy on weekly updates, a handful have been working on something else, our first titled update since NEXT," the post reads.

"A new free update is releasing next week for all players. We’ve called it The Abyss, because it focuses on some of the eerier elements of No Man’s Sky, in keeping with the theme of this season."

There's no further information on what The Abyss might contain, but I'm sure we'll find out soon. In the meantime, speculate away.