No Man’s Sky: Fixing Texture Pop-in via TKGRAPHICSSETTINGS.xml

No Man’s Sky uses a unique procedural engine that streams data constantly as you move. By default, the game’s “Thread” settings (NumHighThreads and NumLowThreads) are often set to conservative values that don’t match modern multi-core processors, leading to a bottleneck in asset loading. Additionally, the Vulkan texture streaming system can sometimes get “stuck” on lower-resolution mipmaps. This guide focuses on reconfiguring these internal settings to ensure textures load instantly as you enter new atmospheres.

Hardware Compatibility & Expectations

• Multi-core CPUs (Intel i5/i7/i9 or Ryzen): These tweaks are most effective on processors with 6 or more cores.
• High VRAM GPUs: If you have 8GB of VRAM or more, you can practically eliminate pop-in by increasing the texture page size.
• NVMe SSD Users: Faster storage complements these config changes, as the game can pull assets from the drive at the speed the engine now requests them.

Backup and Preparation

Editing the .mxml files can cause the game to reset your graphics settings to default if a syntax error occurs.

1. Completely exit No Man’s Sky.
2. Navigate to the SETTINGS folder (path below).
3. Right-click TKGRAPHICSSETTINGS.MXML, select Copy, and save a backup on your desktop.
4. Open the original file with Notepad++ (Standard Notepad can sometimes break the formatting).

File Location

The configuration file is located in the game’s installation directory: ...\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\No Man's Sky\Binaries\SETTINGS\TKGRAPHICSSETTINGS.MXML

Best Config Settings

Search for these specific lines and update the values based on your PC specs. For a high-end 8-core CPU, use these values:

<Property name="NumHighThreads" value="8" />
<Property name="NumLowThreads" value="1" />
<Property name="TextureStreamingVk" value="Off" />
<Property name="TexturePageSizeKb" value="8192" />
<Property name="UseTerrainTextureCache" value="true" />

Pro Tip: Set TextureStreamingVk to “Off” to force the game to load the highest resolution textures immediately rather than “streaming” them in over time.

Key Parameters Explained

Parameter	Recommended Value	Impact
NumHighThreads	Total Physical Cores	Assigns the number of “Performance” threads for asset generation.
NumLowThreads	0 or 1	Assigns “Background” threads. Keep this low to prevent fighting with High threads.
TextureStreamingVk	Off	Disables the “gradual” loading of textures; uses more VRAM but removes blur.
TexturePageSizeKb	4096 – 8192	Set to 4096 for 4GB-6GB VRAM, or 8192 for 8GB+ VRAM.
UseTerrainTextureCache	true	Speeds up the rendering of ground textures when re-visiting areas.

In-Game Settings vs. Config

To prevent the config from being overwhelmed, adjust these in-game settings:

• Texture Quality: Set to Ultra (now that you’ve fixed the streaming via config).
• Planet Quality: Set to Ultra to match the improved texture loading.
• Anisotropic Filtering: Set to 16x (Minimal performance hit on modern GPUs).
• Terrain Tessellation: Set to High. While beautiful, “Ultra” can still cause some terrain “morphing” pop-in regardless of config.

Troubleshooting & Common Fixes

• File Resets to Default: If your changes disappear after launching, right-click the file, go to Properties, and check Read-only. (Note: You won’t be able to change settings in-game while this is on).
• Stuttering/Lag: If the game stutters after changing threads, reduce NumHighThreads by 1 or 2. Some CPUs need a “spare” thread for Windows background tasks.
• Shader Cache Fix: If textures still look “glitchy,” delete the contents of the SHADERCACHE folder located in ...\No Man's Sky\GAMEDATA\SHADERCACHE.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Conclusion and Expected Results

By manually tuning the TKGRAPHICSSETTINGS.MXML, you are taking control of the procedural generation’s priority. You can expect instant texture clarity upon landing, no more blurry ground textures, and a much smoother visual transition as you explore the infinite universe.