Summary
Fans ofNo Man’s Skyhave proven that just about anything imaginable can be built within the game’s universe, and one ambitious fan of bothNo Man’s Skyand theMass Effectseries has managed to recreate an entire mass relay above one of the game’s countless planets. This certainly isn’t the only instance of creativeNo Man’s Skyfans populating the virtual universe with iconic structures from other beloved franchises, though a mass relay is, in many ways, a fitting structure to see in the heavily sci-fi space exploration game.
Many gamers generally in love with the sci-fi genre have more than likely set foot in the Mass Effect universe at some point, but for those who haven’t, mass relays are giant alien structures essential to the series' world and story. Scattered throughout the Milky Way galaxy, these structures allow for the extremely rapid travel of starships across distances on a galactic scale. While mass relays themselves would somewhat be right at home in theprocedurally generated universe ofNo Man’s Sky, there are still plenty of ways spacefarers can get from one end of a galaxy to another.
Still, that didn’t stop one base building expert from constructing a whole mass relay of their own, albeit a non-functional one. This impressive project, built entirely by the player known as Colonel_Klank, was recently shared online to a great deal of acclaim. The build itself mostly uses standard alloy construction parts to comprise the structure of the relay, though several glitch-building techniques frequentlyused by seasoned builders inNo Man’s Skywere evidently utilized to perfect the overall shape. Though it can’t propel players' starships from one end of the galaxy to the other, the fan behind the build did demonstrate themselves activating their pulse drive while flying alongside it to capture the effect.
How This Huge Build Brings The Mass Effect Feel to No Man’s Sky’s Universe
Curiously,No Man’s Skyactually does feature a mechanic that works quite similarly tomass relays from theMass Effectgames. InNo Man’s Sky, players can actually fly their starships through black holes to cross massive distances in seconds, with most black holes transporting players to a somewhat randomized but ultimately fixed destination - very similarly to a mass relay. IfNo Man’s Skyfeatured the ability to build bases in space, it would surely be only a matter of time before players built around a black hole to construct a mass relay that functions just like in the games.
WithNo Man’s Skycontinuing to receive frequent content updates8 years after launch, though, some fans of the game do occasionally find themselves discussing the possibility of space base building being added to the game someday. Though this would seem rather unlikely, fans of the game are currently looking forward to part 2 ofNo Man’s Sky’s recent Worlds update, which focuses on expanding the variety of planets and quality of exploration throughout the universe.
