NMS: Genetically Engineered Pets 1

The Companions update was released in No Man's Sky last week, letting you tame wild fauna as pets that can provide company, be helpful, protect you from hostile creatures, or act as mounts. You can also genetically engineer their eggs to customise their offspring and change how they look or behave. You start off able to have 2 pets, but you can unlock up to 6 pets with the nanites currency.

Original: Wuleytosu

My first pet was Wuleytosu, named after the lush planet he came from. He's like a large feathered teddy bear - he's 1.5m tall, playful and gentle. 

Wuleytosu profile in the Companion Register

After 24 hours of pet ownership, I could obtain an egg, and after another 24 hours the egg was ready to hatch. I took it to the Space Anomaly to the Egg Sequencer for modifications.

Modified colouring and behaviour

Wuleytosu's genetically modified egg

The egg was ready to hatch so I went ahead and hatched it from my inventory. The result? Meet Molochitso.

Making friends with Molochitso, Wuleytosu's offspring

I used Ionised Cobalt to change the colouring and so Molochitso is green and gold instead of green and silver like his Dad. Wuleytosu was 26% independent, while Molochitso is only 6% independent, so Junior should be more likely to stay nearby and follow instructions instead of doing his own thing.

Molochitso's profile in the Companion Register

When Molochitso grows up, I'll be able to get eggs from him and future generations could evolve. I like the green/gold colouring - Wuleytosu's home planet had green grass and golden skies so it preserves the nostalgia, but maybe we could try modifying size or make a more devoted pet, or maybe see if we can develop antlers or more feathers or who knows what other options are possible?

Unfortunately, because of the limited pet spaces, we can't keep every pet we breed. I might have to "abandon" Wuleytosu (I prefer to think of it as releasing him to the wild) to make room for the next generation or another pet.

*Updated 13 March 2021*

Generation 1: Molochitso

Molochitso has grown up and laid an egg, which we modified in the Egg Sequencer. We increased the size of the offspring (oxygen), tried changing their anatomical features (ammonia), changed the colour (pugneum - on another pet this turned them red) and reduced their independence even more by increasing their devotion (radon). The result was Oranginnia. Quite appropriate, that randomly generated name, as the offspring is almost orange.

Generation 2: Oranginnia

Wow! What a change! The head is totally different - more of a snout instead of a beak and instead of the feathers framing the face and chin they're now at the back of the head. The pugneum definitely made them redder too. You can't tell by looking at them, but according to their profile, Oranginnia will be 2m tall instead of 1.5m and is mildly devoted (14% attached) instead of mildly independent (6% aloof) like Molochitso.

I'm afraid I don't really like how Oranginnia looks so when they lay an egg I'll try using ammonia again and see if there are other head possibilities (and we'll see if we can change the colour back to green and gold).

NMS: AGT Sprina and the Fighter Ships

While exploring the Itchecat Sector in Eissentam galaxy, I found a star system with 7 nice looking fighter starships. Usually I find I like maybe two or three out of all the ships in a system, but I actually like all the fighters in this one. AGT Sprina is a Vy'keen system with a 2-star economy (with 2 suns and 4 lush planets!). It might take some patience or luck to find S-class versions; I decided to grab one of the lower grade ships anyway (the Rutosus Scanner) because it looked cool and had a bigger inventory than the fighter in my collection.

The portal glyphs for Agen L (a lush planet) in this system are:

AGT Sprina in Eissentam galaxy

The Fighters:

1. Hasuya's Champion (A:29/5)

2. Sojai QD4 (B:25/4)

3. Rutosus Scanner XII (A:29/5)

4. JI3 Yamada (C:15/2)

5. Mamogata of Providence (B:18/4)

6. Inuya's Decree CB7 (C:16/2)

7. The Sword of Truth (C:23/4)

Which one of these would be your favourite?

NMS: Screenshot of the Day

 

Eissentam galaxy / Urchinui system / Kojir MTxts (Normal PC)

 

I was exploring star systems in Eissentam with 3-star economies and found this beautiful planet. It was described as a tropical planet, which sounded great, but upon arrival at dawn I found it was actually an extreme toxic marsh with patrolling sentinels and frequent storms. 

What could have been ...

NMS: Survival Part 4 - Warpspeed and the Anomaly

 

Distress beacon: crashed ship

 

Before I left the barren moon, I spotted a distress beacon and a crashed ship. It was an A class shuttle with better stats than my starship, but it was ugly and quite damaged. I fixed up the pulse engine and launch thrusters then flew it to the space station (without guns or shields; so glad no pirates attacked!) to be salvaged. I made 770,000 units which was enough to buy the microprocessors I needed for my hyperdrive. I built the hyperdrive on my ship and then I received a message I needed to make a warp cell to power the hyperdrive. I received the co-ordinates for an abandoned base on the hexagon moon that had blueprints for antimatter, the key ingredient in a warp cell.

Warp cell made, hyperdrive operational. Time to travel faster than light!

Warping through space

I reach a new star system and soon receive a message. Nada has mistaken me for Artemis, a missing Traveller. They invite me to the Anomaly to meet. As soon as I agree, the Anomaly warps into the star system right in front of me. Pirates announce their imminent attack so I quickly fly to the Anomaly.

Nada and Polo at the Anomaly

Nada, Polo and friends have made a little enclave outside of normal time and space. They hide from the "Crimson Eye" (Atlas) and the Sentinels. They assist Travellers and sell many equipment upgrades and construction blueprints, and they like to buy information about planets, minerals, flora and fauna. They also offer missions and have a variety of unique decorations and rewards. Nada and Polo promise to help me find Artemis. I head back to space.

Now that I've unlocked the Anomaly the game really opens up - Polo can show me how to find black holes to get closer to the centre of the galaxy, or he could show me Atlas stations and I could complete the Atlas quest line and uncover the mysteries of the universe. I could do Quicksilver missions and unlock the Void Egg to get my own Living Ship, or I could just explore and build bases as I see fit.

The Nexus (source of Quicksilver Missions) at the Anomaly

I'd like to work on two things I haven't done before: reaching the centre of the galaxy, and getting a Living Ship. So, we'll start doing some Quicksilver missions ... next time.