Skip to main content

Botched bonus: ‘No Man’s Sky’ pre-order starship leaves PC players stranded

botched no mans sky preorder bonus leaves players stranded nmsbug
Image used with permission by copyright holder
If you’re among the many players to pick up a pre-ordered copy of No Man’s Sky this week, you might want to leave your bonus ship docked at the starport. Several players report that an oversight related to one of the game’s pre-order incentives is stalling campaigns and ruining save files.

Affected players report that redeeming the Horizon Omega ship in the PC version of No Man’s Sky leads to game-breaking issues after several hours of campaign play, with little hope of recovery. Making matters worse, No Man’s Sky actively pesters players into activating their unredeemed pre-order bonuses throughout the initial tutorial missions, making it very likely that pre-order customers on PC will encounter late-game glitches.

Recommended Videos

The Horizon Omega ship — offered exclusively as a pre-order bonus for the digital PC version of No Man’s Sky — comes with a pre-installed Hyperdrive, essentially allowing players to skip much of the game’s tutorial sequence. The No Man’s Sky‘s campaign normally requires players to track down a Hyperdrive blueprint before they’re given access to the bulk of the game’s sprawling universe.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

While the Horizon Omega ship is initially promising, players will eventually want to upgrade to a different starship for greater storage capacity and upgrade potential. This is where pre-order customers will encounter game-breaking glitches, as purchased ships do not include Hyperdrives and are thus limited in their ability to traverse the stars.

After buying a new ship in No Man’s Sky, players normally have the option of constructing a Hyperdrive using a blueprint found during the game’s tutorial missions. Pre-order customers who pilot the Horizon Omega ship are likely to have missed their opportunity to pick up the blueprint, however, leaving them stranded with a ship that’s incapable of carrying them through the rest of the game.

While necessary blueprints are randomly distributed across the game’s millions of planets, many prerelease players report unsuccessful attempts to track down the Hyperdrive blueprint after encountering the Horizon Omega bug. Developer Hello Games has not commented on the bug, and will likely issue a patch in the coming weeks to address the issue. Until then, affected players advise against redeeming the Horizon Omega ship until after discovering a Hyperdrive blueprint.

Danny Cowan
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Danny’s passion for video games was ignited upon his first encounter with Nintendo’s Duck Hunt, and years later, he still…
Top strategies for winning with every deck in Balatro
Balatro is a game of choices. The first is choosing a deck that fits your play-style. Here's how to win high-stake runs with all 15 of them.
A list of Jokers stacked together from Balatro.

There’s no “correct” way to play Balatro. But there are fundamental strategies that can help you navigate the many micro-decisions you’ll be making during your runs. The very first decision you’ll be making -- assuming you have them all unlocked -- is which deck to build your game-plan around. Each deck comes with their own ups and downs and unique ways of carrying you through the higher antes. Whether you’re new to Balatro and trying it out on mobile or the game has had its hooks in you since its initial release in February, here are some sure-fire ways to complete runs with all 15 decks. 
The Red Deck  

Unlock Condition: 

Read more
How to get Dawn Fluff in Infinity Nikki
Dawn Fox in Infinity Nikki.

There are many common and rare materials to collect in Infinity Nikki, whether you're crafting a simple piece of clothing or the Miracle Outfits like Wishful Aurosa or Silvergale's Aria. Dawn Fluff is one of those hard-to-find materials you can only collect once daily.

Read more
Is Dynasty Warriors: Origins cross-platform?
A warrior charges into a battle on a horse in Dynasty Warriors: Origins.

After transitioning to the Muesou-style games we know and love, Dynasty Warriors has been the ultimate power fantasy franchise. This series -- and its spinoffs -- have become legendary for letting the player loose on a massive battlefield with thousands of units waiting to be slaughtered. Dynasty Warriors: Origins is the latest entry in the series that changes up a few elements, such as having a deeper focus on the story and a more in-depth combat system, but is still the same game at its core. Historically, Dynasty Warriors has been one of the most fun co-op games where you and a friend could team up to mow through the helpless enemy armies. Now that we're in the era of cross-platform games, is Dynasty Warriors: Origins keeping up with the times, or is it a relic of ancient history?
Is Dynasty Warriors: Origins cross-platform?

No, Dynasty Warriors: Origins is not cross-platform, but the bad news doesn't stop there. Not only can you not play it online with friends on PS5, Xbox Series X, or PC, but you can't even play it online at all. That's right, even if you and a friend both purchase the game on the same platform, there is no online play whatsoever.

Read more