Starfield Goes Gold as Developers Share New Details on Bethesda's Space RPG
Aug. 17, 2023Starfield Goes Gold as Developers Share New Details on Bethesda’s Space RPG
Starfield developers have recently held a Q&A livestream on the official Discord server to reveal more details about the world we are about to embark in.
After theStarfield Direct – Gameplay Deep Divea few months ago, Bethesda hasn’t shared any newupdateson the development, which prompted a lot of questions about how the RPG is doing. Lead Quest Designer Will Shen is joined by fellow Lead Designer Emil Pagliarulo to discuss housing options, Starfield experience for those who are new to Bethesda games, smuggling and jail systems, and more! So if you are eager to get to the bottom of things, then hop on board and get your jump pack ready!
Luckily, however, we are treated with a ton of new information on the things we can expect given that the long wait is about to be over. To start off, Will and Emil confirmed that there is housing in multiple cities. These can not only be purchased but they can, in fact, be acquired as a reward by completing specificquestlines. The question is, how challenging will these be such that you will get a house of your own? Unfortunately, they did not elaborate on the level of customization to be done to design our home.
Next is the new player experience, and by a new player, I mean those who have never touched a Bethesda game at all (they exist?). With this, Emil went on to say that being unfamiliar with those that came before Starfield won’t be an issue at all since they can take the game in strides and at their own pace. Even though everyone starts on the same footing, the background of your character will totally depend on the choices you make in relation to their Traits and Backgrounds.
There is freedom to be had since it is also possible to go with an anonymous background with no traits whatsoever so you will go in almost totally blind. More than anything though, everyone is encouraged to experiment and try everything, especially since there area thousand planetsto travel to and discover.
Because of theTraitswe choose, it is also possible to do a partial Pacifist Playthrough in which you will do your best to avoid combat at all costs. One system that supports this is called the Speech Challenge, allowing you to charm your way through the galaxy. But given the sheer number of interactions, a 100% Non-Lethal Mode will not be feasible because slaying Raiders is one of the core foundations of the game.
Talking about specific Traits, one of the things that popped up in the Starfield Gameplay Deep Dive is the Kids Stuff Trait. This makes it so that both of your parents are alive and kicking but that a portion of the credits you have will be sent to them automatically. What Bethesda has done is implement code that will match your character’s facial characteristics to that of their parents. Perhaps this could be extended to include similar mannerisms and behavior as well? We may know more as we near the game’s launch date.
Among the many systems Starfield has to offer, players will be able to smuggle “contraband” by adding ship modules for them to be transported undetected. One cheeky example is harvested organs but we are not sure if this is a legitimate product or just a taste of what’s to come. And since we are on the topic of illegal markets, it is also possible to get caught and therefore be imprisoned, unless you pay a hefty fine of course. Just like in Skyrim and Fallout 4, there are still laws and a governing body to follow because not everything is up for grabs.
Like with all Bethesda games, Starfield features several factions to choose from that will heavily impact the story. For instance, you have the Crimson Fleet and UC SysDef or the military equivalent of the United Colonies. In both instances, you can decide to betray either of thefactionsby pretending to be a double agent.
And it doesn’t end there because different religions that can also influence your choices. These include the Sanctum Universum and the Enlighted. The Sanctum Universum believes in one God who guides humanity toward space discovery to know more about Him. Meanwhile, the Enlightened are atheists who deny the existence of a deity and instead, serve communities by participating in outreach programs.
Will and Emil have confirmed that there will be over 20companionswhom you can recruit. 4 of these belong to the Constellation group. In addition to each of their backstories, they come with a specific set of perks such as being adept at wielding rifles or improving their gravity jump range since they specialize in Astrodynamics. Although they won’t level up likeplayer characters, they can join you at different ranks. Additionally, their skills can also stack with yours, allowing you to get significant boosts to succeed in combat and space flight.
When it comes to these crew members, you will be able to assign them to do work at different outposts by simply paying the upfront costs. You won’t be burdened by having to pay them on a regular basis, letting you focus on the other aspects of the game.
Be sure to hop on over to theStarfield Wikifor more info on the game!
Auberon
Writer at Fextralife. I really like vanilla ice cream.
