Bethesda wanted to avoid Mass Effect's pitfall with Starfield's planets
Bethesda’s Todd Howard said only 10 percent of Starfield planets have life on them, but the space game still creates a unique experience on every world. Howard made the comments in a recent interview with Kinda Funny Games’ Xcast team, when Parris Lilly asked if Starfield would avoid the Mass Effect problem of presenting players with exploration options – only for them to find nothing of value on the planets.
10 percent of Starfield’s 1,000 planets is 100 planets, so presumably, that means 900 planets are devoid of life and exist solely for gathering resources. Howard didn’t expand on why the galaxy needs 900 lifeless planets, but he did say the team wanted to create a universe where, if you saw something in the distant stars, you could reach and explore it.
Howard said that the Starfield team balanced making hand-crafted material for planets and using procedural generation to create a unique experience every time you land on a planet.
They created a “Goldilocks zone” in the galaxy where it makes sense for life to exist and created different biomes for these worlds. Others will have layouts and resources determined as soon as you land on them, which Howard hopes will preserve the feeling of being the first one to step foot on this strange world and see these sights.
Starfield’s crafting and building are still wrapped in mystery even after the Xbox showcase, though it seems likely these resources will play a role in building your ship and outpost, among other things.
Starfield and its NASApunk vibes launch for Xbox Series X|S and PC on Sep. 6, 2023.
Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF