If you’ve ever found yourself squinting at your ship’s cockpit glass trying to spot a distant space station or avoid incoming pirate fire, you’ve probably wondered how to go third person in ship in No Man’s Sky. The default first-person view is immersive for takeoffs and landings, but it can be a huge pain when you’re navigating asteroid fields, trying to show off your custom ship paint job, or lining up a perfect screenshot of a nebula. I’ve spent hundreds of hours jumping between star systems in this game, and I’ve tested every possible camera setting to make this guide as straightforward as possible, no complicated modding or settings hacks required. Even if you’re a brand new player who just finished the opening tutorial, you can switch views in less than 10 seconds.
How to Go Third Person in Ship in No Man’s Sky: Default Controller & Keyboard Controls
The process to switch camera views is identical across all platforms, and you don’t have to pause the game or dig through multiple menus to do it. For players on PC using a keyboard and mouse, Press the V key by default to cycle between three available views: first-person cockpit, close third-person, and far third-person. You can press V as many times as you want mid-flight to swap between views immediately, no cooldown or restriction. If pressing V doesn’t work for you, head to the Controls tab in the Options menu, look for the “Cycle Ship Camera” bind under the Ship Controls section, and check if it’s been rebound to another key by accident. I’ve accidentally rebound this key to my scan button a couple times when adjusting settings for on-foot exploration, so it’s an easy mistake to fix.
For controller players on PlayStation, Xbox, or Switch, Hold down the down button on your D-pad for two seconds to pull up the quick access radial menu, then select the camera icon on the left side of the menu to cycle through the same three view options. You can also bind this action to a spare controller button in the settings if you don’t want to use the radial menu every time. This control works for every ship type in the game, from tiny one-seat shuttles to massive multi-person capital freighters, so you don’t have to learn different controls for different vessels.
Top Use Cases for Third Person Ship View
Most players stick to first person for their first few hours of play, but switching to third person can make a ton of common tasks way easier, and even help you avoid costly mistakes. I almost exclusively use third person when I’m exploring uncharted systems or hauling expensive trade goods, and it’s saved me from dozens of pirate ambushes I would’ve missed in first person. Some of the most common scenarios where third person view is better include:
- Fending off pirate ambushes when you’re hauling high-value trade goods like activated indium or luxury textiles
- Navigating tight asteroid belts to mine rare cobalt and tritium without scraping your ship’s hull on large rocks
- Showing off your newly purchased or recovered S-class ship to friends in multiplayer lobbies
- Lining up perfect screenshots of rare cosmic events like supernovas, gas giant auroras, or planetary alignments
- Practicing low-atmosphere flight to find hidden points of interest like ancient ruins or crashed freighters on planet surfaces
Third person view is also a huge help for new players who are still learning how to dock with space stations and freighters. You can see exactly how far you are from the docking port, and you don’t have to guess if your wings will clear the entrance, which cuts down on the number of embarrassing crash landings you’ll make in your first few weeks of play.
How to Customize Your Third Person Ship Camera Settings
The default third person camera settings work fine for most players, but you can tweak them to fit your playstyle if you want a better experience. Head to the Options menu, then select the Gameplay tab, and scroll down to the Camera section to find all the adjustable settings. First, you can change the third person ship camera distance slider to make the camera sit closer or farther from your ship. If you mostly use third person for combat, set the slider to a lower value so you can still see your crosshairs clearly and don’t have to deal with awkward perspective shifts when you fire your ship’s weapons. If you use third person mostly for screenshots, crank the slider up to the maximum value to capture more of the surrounding scenery in your shots.
You can also toggle off the “Show Ship HUD in Third Person” setting if you want a cleaner view for screenshots or video clips. This removes all the health, fuel, and navigation UI from your screen, so you can get unobstructed shots of your ship against beautiful backdrops. Just remember to turn it back on when you’re done taking photos, otherwise you won’t be able to see if your shields are down during a pirate attack. If you ever run into a common glitch where the camera gets stuck inside your ship’s model when you switch to third person, just swap back to first person and then to third person again. This fixes the issue 90% of the time, and you don’t have to restart the game or reload your save to fix it.
Limitations of Third Person Ship View to Keep in Mind
Third person view is incredibly useful, but it’s not perfect for every situation, and there are a few limitations you should know about before you switch over permanently. First, it’s far less immersive for roleplay, so if you’re the type of player who likes to feel like you’re actually sitting in the cockpit of your ship, first person will still be the better option for you. Second, your crosshair alignment can feel slightly off at very far camera distances, especially when you’re firing at small targets like enemy drones or tiny asteroids. If you’re struggling to hit targets, switch back to a closer third person view or first person temporarily until you’re done fighting.
If you’re playing on a smaller monitor or a lower resolution, the UI elements for your ship’s health and fuel can feel cramped when you’re in third person, since they’re pushed to the edges of the screen to make room for the ship model. You can fix this by adjusting the UI scaling slider in the Display settings, but it’s a common annoyance for new players who don’t know that setting exists. Also, you can’t switch to third person view when you’re parked inside a freighter’s hangar or on a planet’s surface. You have to be actively flying in space or in a planet’s atmosphere to swap views, so don’t waste time pressing the camera bind when you’re still grounded.
At the end of the day, learning how to go third person in ship in No Man’s Sky is a small change that can make a huge difference in how you enjoy the game, whether you’re a casual player who just wants better screenshots or a veteran explorer who needs every edge during pirate fights. You don’t need any mods or fancy settings tweaks to make it work, just a quick button press or menu selection, and you can switch back to first person whenever you want. Play around with the camera settings to find what works best for your playstyle, and don't be afraid to swap between views depending on what you're doing in the system that day. I still swap back to first person for takeoffs and landings on especially scenic planets, just to get that full immersive feeling of touching down on a new world for the first time.
