Starfield Cut Content Is Perfect For A New Survival Mode Difficulty
28.09.2023 - 12:25
/ screenrant.com
/ Todd Howard
/ New
Bethesda's CEO, Todd Howard has addressed some of the cut content in . The space ARPG was already an ambitious title, with a vast galaxy of over 100 planetary systems, and over 1000 planets — both handcrafted and procedurally generated — to explore, but Howard's recent comments suggested that exploring them could have been a more challenging task for players with resource management being more at the forefront of the game in its earlier stages of development.
As is the case with most AAA games, especially ones that have been in development for as long as, titles undergo several changes before they launch. Features are often removed or altered following rigorous testing, and in the case of, many of these would be perfect for a Survival mode or difficulty should the studio opt to implement one in the future as it has with previous titles.
Related: 10 Weirdest Planets In Starfield To Explore
Currently, while traversing 's Settled Systems, players have to monitor their ship's fuel capacity to determine how far they can jump from their current system, but such jumps don't spend fuel. Instead, players can just jump to a nearby system, and then instantly jumping from there to the system they originally wanted. This does encourage players to modify and upgrade their ship to include more additional engines or grav drives, but turning a journey that could simply be one jump into one that involves multiple is more of a nuisance than anything. It also seems nonsensical as players aren't encouraged to stop and refuel on a planet first, making the idea that the ship didn't have enough fuel to complete the initial jump seem redundant.
In an interview on the Lex Fridman podcast, Todd Howard explained that fuel consumption was a feature that was cut from the game at some point in its development due to being a "" In earlier iterations of the game, using the gravity drive resulted in the player’s spacecraft running out of power, at which point the game would abruptly end and make using such a feature feel more like a punishment. In the final game, with how large the map is, using gravity drives is essential for those looking to complete missions spanning multiple locations quickly, so it made sense for this to be changed.
If reworked slightly, however, fuel consumption could be a great addition for those looking for a more challenging experience, especially with a Survival-type difficulty. Such a mechanic would make players constantly more weary of the state of their ship the farther they travel from the major cities and settlements such as New Atlantis or Akila City. With refueling stations becoming more scarce as they venture away from civilization, this would encourage investing more in the outpost building