You just spent three hours hunting down that S-class hauler you’ve been dreaming of, it has perfect storage slots, great hyperdrive range, but the default neon pink and green paint job makes you cringe every time you land at a space station. If that sounds familiar, you’re probably wondering how to change ship color in No Man’s Sky to match your personal vibe. I’ve put over 800 hours into No Man’s Sky across PC and console, so I’ve tested every single one of these methods personally to make sure they work as of the latest game update. This guide covers every legitimate way to adjust your ship’s look, no risky glitches or game-breaking exploits required.
How to Change Ship Color in No Man’s Sky (Vanilla, No Mods Required)
The easiest and most widely accessible method works for all players, no matter if you’re on console or PC, and you don’t need to download any extra files to use it. The official ship customization terminal was added a few years back in a free content update, and it’s available in every major space station across the galaxy, plus you can craft one to place on your freighter or planetary base for easy access whenever you want to tweak your look. Console players don’t have access to modded customization options, so this vanilla terminal method is your only official way to adjust your ship’s look, and it works perfectly well for most use cases.
Basic color swaps are completely free, though special metallic, iridescent, or expedition-exclusive finishes will cost a small amount of nanites to unlock and apply. The process is straightforward, even if you’ve never used the customization terminal before:
- Head to any major space station, or access the ship customization terminal you’ve built on your freighter or planetary base
- Interact with the terminal and select the ship you want to edit from your owned fleet list (you can edit every ship in your collection, not just the one you’re currently flying)
- Navigate to the “Paint” tab to browse available color palettes, primary/secondary accent options, and finish types
- Apply your chosen design, and exit the terminal to see your updated ship immediately parked right outside the station hangar
You can preview every color combination before applying it, so you don’t have to waste nanites on a look you end up hating. Just scroll through the options and the 3D model of your ship will update in real time to show you exactly what the final design will look like. Keep in mind that some unique ship parts, like special alien hull markings or expedition-exclusive decals, can’t be edited with the vanilla terminal, so those will stay in their original color no matter what palette you pick.
Custom Color Options for Modded No Man’s Sky Players
If you’re playing on PC and want more flexibility than the limited vanilla preset palettes offer, modding opens up a whole world of customization options for your ship. You can find dozens of free ship customization mods on popular mod hosting sites, ranging from small packs that add 50+ new color palettes to full tools that let you pick any RGB value for every single part of your ship.
Mods only work for single-player or private multiplayer lobbies, and you’ll risk getting a ban if you use them in public official lobbies, so make sure you disable all customization mods before joining a public game with random players. Most mods are very easy to install, you just drop the mod files into your game’s mod folder, and they’ll be active the next time you boot up the game. Some of the most popular options let you add custom neon glowing accents, matte or chrome finishes, even custom decals you design yourself to put on your ship’s hull.
There are a few downsides to modded custom colors, though. You’ll have to reapply your modded color scheme every time the game pushes a major update, since most updates reset custom modded assets to their default state. Always back up your save file before installing any ship customization mods to avoid losing your fleet progress if something goes wrong during installation. I learned this the hard way a few years back when a corrupted mod wiped 40 hours of progress on my fleet collection, so don’t skip the backup step.
Can You Change the Color of Living Ships and Exotic Vessels?
A lot of players who hunt for rare ship types get frustrated when they realize the vanilla customization terminal has limited options for these unique vessels, so it’s important to know what you can and can’t edit before you spend hours hunting for a specific rare ship. Let’s break down the rules for the most popular rare ship types.
Living ships, the biological vessels you get from hatching a void egg, have entirely organic parts that can’t be recolored with the vanilla terminal. Their color is set the second you hatch the egg, so if you want a specific color living ship, you’ll need to reload your save right before hatching until you get the shade you want. There are modding tools that let you adjust living ship colors for PC players, but these are not officially supported, so you’ll have to use them at your own risk.
For exotic ships, like squid ships or royal class vessels, most of their special decorative elements (like the squid ship tentacles or the royal ship gold accents) can’t be changed, but you can adjust the primary hull color with the vanilla terminal. If you’re hunting for a rare ship with a specific color scheme, you can check the ship’s color preview before you purchase it to avoid having to make major edits later. I once spent two weeks hunting for a white and gold squid exotic, and I almost bought a blue one out of impatience, but waiting for the right color saved me from being disappointed every time I pulled it out of my hangar.
Pro Tips to Make Your Custom Ship Stand Out
Once you know how to adjust your ship’s color, you can take your customization to the next level with these small tricks that most players miss. You don’t need any mods to pull most of these off, they just require a little extra attention to detail when you’re editing your design.
First, match your ship’s color to your freighter and exocraft for a cohesive fleet look. The vanilla terminal has matching palettes across all vehicle customization options, so it’s easy to pull off a consistent theme for all your transport options. I have a full matte black fleet with red accents, and it always gets comments from other players when I land in public space stations.
Second, experiment with finish types instead of just sticking to the default glossy finish. Matte finishes look great for utility ships like haulers, while metallic chrome finishes make exotic and explorer ships look way more premium. Special gradient and iridescent finishes are unlocked as you complete expedition milestones, so make sure you claim those rewards even if you don’t plan to use the expedition-exclusive ships. These finishes are only available through expeditions, so you can’t unlock them in regular play otherwise.
If you’re using mods, you can go a step further and create a custom color scheme that matches your favorite fandom, your real life favorite car, or even your personal brand. Just make sure you test the design in different lighting conditions before you lock it in, since colors can look very different on a sunny planet versus the dark interior of a space station.
At the end of the day, your ship is your home away from home as you explore the billions of planets in No Man’s Sky, so there’s no reason to stick with a default paint job you hate. Whether you stick to the simple vanilla terminal or go all out with modded RGB customizations, learning how to change ship color in No Man’s Sky is a small tweak that makes a huge difference to how you feel about your gameplay sessions. Don’t be afraid to mess around with different color combinations until you find one that feels uniquely yours – you can always change it again later if you get bored of the look.
