Bethesda has presented the changes, improvements, and bug fixes coming to Starfield this month. Among these are some quality-of-life changes that I was personally waiting for, meaning it’s time to dust off my save files.
Since I lean more towards science-fiction stories, I was quite hyped when Bethesda – or as many like to call it, Bugthesda – announced an RPG in space. Unfortunately, when the game came out, hype became disappointment as I discovered the game didn’t live up to my expectations. I’m not saying that it was complete trash or unplayable. In fact, the game ran fairly well, even if there was definitely room for optimisation. So, my issues were more related to gameplay.
For example, I have the bad habit of picking up every single item I find on the map since I don’t check their value beforehand. Everyone who plays RPGs knows that’s not how you do things, and I do too. Nevertheless, I keep hoarding them until I am completely full and can no longer sprint. While not a perfect solution, this month’s update brings a little change that may help me. Now the game allows the player to modify a bunch of rules, among which is Carry Capacity. Some of the notable ones include Ammo Weight, Combat Damage, and Vendor Credits. Though these innate mods affect your XP gains, so be careful not to give yourself too much of an advantage.
My second issue was regarding map navigation. I had a hard time finding vendors in the main cities, especially those with multiple sectors. In many instances these NPCs are quest-bound, meaning I couldn’t finish them. I know I sound like a noob who doesn’t know how to find his way, but point-cloud maps are useless compared to a true representation. Thankfully modders and fans came to the rescue with tools like MapGenie, but it was too late for me. I already had enough of searching for vendors.
With this update, we get a proper map with detailed positions and 3D representation. The developers even added HUD indicators that show whether your destination is left or right, up or down. Great, I don’t need to open the map anymore.
My third major issue with the game was its empty planets where you had to run literally kilometres on foot and with limited stamina! Add to this my first problem and you get an idea why it was frustrating. I get it, Bethesda can’t make every planet as detailed as possible. Still, wasting time walking an empty desert cuts the immersion. Thankfully, this will soon become a thing of the past, too, as developers teased land vehicles.
These are not the only improvements in the update; you can find much more in Bethesda’s changelog here. To sum it up, this is, without a doubt, the biggest Starfield update, in my opinion. So, it’s time for me to download 142GB once more. But before that, I need to finish Resident Evil Village: Shadows of Rose DLC to free up some space.