I had NMS from a sale a while back and even at the reduced price was pretty dissatisfied.
Testing out the update I am actually impressed! I would still say wait for a sale because the market is saturated with this style of game, many offering much more freedom.
Here are the changes that really helped better the experiance:
-Optimization! NMS runs really well now makings things much smoother to enjoy the beauty.
-The UI and tech have much more depth now that allow you to get immersed, feeling more intuitive.
-Terrain and movement are more alive, inviting you to explore.
-Building has been reworked to be more organic and customizable, before it was just painfully plastic.
-More rover options were added a while back but the optimization will makes it all useable.
-The third person perspective was not a feature I had thought needed but draws you in, looks great and feels "present" vs the first person.
All in all great work by the devs salvaging the game. What was a regretted purchase is now an enjoyable experiance for what I paid.