Hello Games has released the patch notes for No Man's Sky update 1.3, and they include a couple of surprises. As previously reported, the patch adds new story content and portals which allow you fast travel between locations. On top of all that, though, 1.3 actually adds a form of multiplayer. Kind of.

The developer is calling it "joint exploration". Essentially, you'll be able to see other active players -- up to 16 of them at a time -- as floating orbs. It's a very basic implementation of multiplayer, but Hello Games does say "while interaction with others is currently very limited, this is an important first step into the world of synchronous co-op in No Man’s Sky", so you can expect the studio to expand on this further in the future. What's more, proximity-based voice chat will be available when exploring with your new spherical friends.

It's safe to say 1.3 is a big update -- huge, even. You can get a brief overview via the video that we've embedded above, but if you just want the details in writing, be sure to click through here and check the official notes. There are new dynamic missions, terrain forming, improvements to the user interface, and a load of other things.

What do you make of this big update? Are you still playing No Man's Sky, or will this patch tempt you back? Jet off into the comments section below.

[source nomanssky.com]