Beacon lets you run up to four towns, introduces secret Autophage cities, overhauls settlement balance, adds new building sets, and bumps performance on every platform, including the coming Nintendo Switch 2. Here are the essentials, one step at a time.
Four towns, four stories
- Each settlement has its own quest, debt, and stats.
- You can retire as Overseer whenever the project feels done.
- Squadron pilots now scramble to fight pirates over your rooftops.
Deeper city management
- Every building adds happiness, population, and output. Your build order finally matters.
- Upgrade structures to S-Class for a facelift and richer bonuses.
- Special buffs jump from six to eighteen.
Hidden Autophage townships
- Robots hide behind cloaking fields—scan to spot them.
- Finish They Who Returned to claim an Autophage town.
- A synthesis terminal in the square lets you craft an Autophage staff and hunt more settlements.
Clear choices, fair disputes
- Quarrels now spell out the issue and hand you more ways to settle it.
- New requests pop up—from funding a mural to naming a newborn.
Fireworks and fresh threats
- Festivals, new buildings, even a newborn citizen trigger fireworks in the plaza.
- Sentinel raids use mixed drone waves: repair, summoner, heavy, corrupted.
- An insect queen sometimes tests your walls for weaknesses.
Weathered style and tighter snaps
- Rusted wood, stone, and alloy skins land in the build menu.
- 100+ scrap-metal parts arrive for hard-sci-fi bases.
- Floor and roof pieces snap together without fuss.
Production on your terms
- A debt-free town waits for you to pick what it makes.
- Export goods right from the admin screen or pocket them.
- Towers scan space, markets host guild envoys, saloons run your ByteBeat playlist.
Performance and voice tweaks
- XeSS 2 upscaling and new culling boost FPS indoors.
- Exosuit AI can switch to a deeper voice—or stay silent.
- Player grunts and breaths come in new pitches.
Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
- Full multiplayer, gyro aim, touch UI, cross-play, cross-save.
- Original Switch owners upgrade for free.
Key fixes you’ll feel
- Fewer out-of-memory crashes on PS5 and Switch.
- No more duplicate ships after portal trips.
- Settlers stop spawning underground and names dodge false profanity flags.
Beacon turns sleepy villages into real supply hubs, hands you sharper tools, and cuts the chore factor. Haven’t checked on your settlers lately? Might be time for a visit.
Source: nomanssky.com