NO Ground Vehicles in Starfield, but…

Today, Kinda Funny Games released an interview with Bethesda’s ever enthusiastic Todd Howard. During the interview, the hosts asked many of the burning questions we’ve all been wondering about since the Starfield Direct info dump that just happened last week.

Thanks to the hosts at Kinda Funny Games, and the write-in questions from their audience, we now know a lot more about Starfield.

Here is the most important and interesting take-aways from the interview:

What percentage of planets in Starfield have life?

About 10%.

What is biome diversity like across planets?

Some planets have a single biome (think Star Wars) but some have many biomes per planet.

How does weather/environments effect builds/clothing/spacesuit choices?

You’ll need to choose your gear or space suit and prepare it for different types of weather or environments. For example, radiation can be higher on some planets than others.

Can you sell the data you collect?

Yes. Surveying an entire planet can be very lucrative.

Can enemies interact? What about aggressive species?

One of the challenges in the development of planets is the possibility of high-level creatures attacking and killing other creatures. You might notice a bunch of dead animals around and then realize a predator is nearby.

Are there vehicles or mounts?

Nope. No vehicles to ride on. You taming and saddling up on a creature. Your main method for faster travel when on foot is your jet pack.

What if I don’t want companions and I wanted to play solo?

There are solo traits to help with this. No need to bring companions if you don’t want to.

Can I “space” companions I don’t like? Send them off?

You might not be able to make them walk the plank, but you can send them away, assign them to empty ships or settlements, or otherwise not interact with them.

What if I wanted a crew made of entirely robots?

Yes! Well, sort of. Todd says it’s technically possible, but there are more humans than robots to bring onto your crew. This reminds me of the few robots in Fallout 4 compared to a majority of human, ghoul, or super mutant companions.

Are we getting radio stations like in Fallout?

There is one, but it’s only in one location. Sorry, no interplanetary tunes playing all the time.

What if I’m a pirate and want to steel your ship and upgrade it? Can I do that?

Yup. Stolen ships are upgradeable.

Can I use a stolen ship as a main ship? Will I get scanned and in trouble with law enforcement?

Yes, but you have to register a stolen ship first. Details pending on this one.

Does the ship builder we use work for every ship in the game?

Yes. All ships in the game are built with this tool.

Can I dive right into designing ships at the beginning of the game?

Ship building becomes more expansive and possible as the game goes on. Lots of late-game options, and ships are expensive.

In order to make Starfield, Bethesda updated their game engine with many new systems and improvements. What can we expect?
They’ve really pushed the technology forward. We’ll see volumetric fog which interacts with GI lighting, and a lot of physics and gravity improvements that will affect our gameplay in new and interesting ways.

So what’s the deal with this 30fps limitation? Is Digital Foundry right about why you decided to go with this?

Todd praised Digital Foundry, and explained that their priority is always about the quality of the experience they can provide to the player. He also confirmed that even at 30fps, they’ve improved how smooth the game feels compared to previous titles. This includes reduced control latency, motion blur, and other “tricks” to make 30fps feel as good as possible.

So… is Starfield built for modding?

“Starfield is a modders paradise,” Todd Howard. Yes, mods are supported. They love that people are still modding and playing their other games and plan to support modding for Starfield well into the future.

How do Outposts work? Are they similar in Starfield to Fallout 4?

Like ship building, Outposts are a system that really come to life in the late game. It’s “deep” with many options for building and how you connect them together. Also, outposts can be a smart choice for generating money.

How many companions are romanceable?

Four. And they’re all from Constellation.

Are there black holes in Starfield?

Todd passed on this question. Maybe this is a big plot point?

Can Vasco wear a hat?

Nope, but maybe someone will mod that in.

But what does this all mean?

Well, we have our thoughts on everything. Check out this week’s episode of The Starfield Lorecast here for a more in-depth explanation of everything.

Great interview, Kinda Funny Games crew. You can check out the full video here.

For more deep dives into Starfield’s details, join me and my co-pilot Dave on the Starfield Lorecast. Listen or watch on YouTube. We’ll see you in the stars.

Written by R0B0TS.

Creator of the Robots Radio Network and host of The Starfield Lorecast, Elder Scrolls Lorecast, and Fallout Lorecast.