Summary
With the upcoming launch of theShattered SpaceDLC forStarfield, Bethesda has the perfect opportunity to make changes which will breathe new life into the game. As a full expansion,Shattered Spacewill focus on new story elements, likely following up on dangling threads from the base game. However, along with a new story,there could come new planets to explore, meaning even more areas for potential outposts.
New worlds might mean new resources to be mined or grown. For those who use the outpost system, that will unfortunately be when the headache begins. Outposts are paradoxically too simple and too complex. As they exist now,Starfield’sbases serve little function beyond decoration or gathering resources, which arehampered by complex resource requirements and the obtuse cargo link system. Luckily, there are some changesShattered Spacecan add, changes which would be simpler to implement since several are based on Bethesda’s other titles likeFallout 4.
“An Instant Classic”: Starfield Review
Starfield has plenty of captivating tales and dynamic mechanics that make it an epic science fiction adventure - and an instant classic.
Starfield: Shattered Space Should Increase The Number Of Outposts That Can Be Built
Expanding Our Reach: Building More Outposts in Starfield
A Spacefarer first stepping into the world ofStarfieldhas the ability to construct only eight outposts. This limit can be increased by investing in the Planetary Habitation skill, which eventually increases themaximum number ofStarfieldoutpoststo 24. However,the player cannot acquire or increase this skill for quite some time, because because it is in the final tier of theScience skill tree, so the player will need to invest 12 points in the tree before investing in this Planetary Habitation. This is sure to frustrate players who enjoy building.
Assuming they can survive Preston Garvey’s calls for help long enough, Fallout 4’s Sole Survivor has up to 30 settlement locations in the Commonwealth.
The problem becomes even more glaring when considering previous Bethesda titles with similar systems. Assuming they can survive Preston Garvey’s calls for help long enough,Fallout 4’s Sole Survivor has up to 30settlement locations in the Commonwealth.Fallout 4’s DLC adds 7 more for a total of 37 outposts. The player has less of a choice about where to build, and the area is often smaller inFallout 4, butthe player has many more options than inStarfield- no extra perks needed.
Bethesda could address this difference with a simple change: allow more outposts inStarfield. Mods exist to accomplish this on PC (Starfield’s Creation Kit hasn’t yet released, so mods haven’t made their way to Xbox consoles yet), but an official add-on would allow for a more in-depth, robust version to be enjoyed by PC and console players alike. There are dozens of resources scattered acrossover 1,000 planets, andadditional outposts would allow the player to be truly self-sufficient for their resource requirements. However, to make use of those resources, there would need to be changes to the cargo link system.
Starfield’s Cargo Link System Needs To Be Overhauled
Streamlining Supply Lines: A Cargo Link Overhaul for Starfield
InFallout 4, caravans could be set up between settlements so all stored resources could be used at any connected workbench.Starfieldis not that simple. Instead of one settler brings any necessary resources to a location, the Spacefarer has to build cargo links which collect and slowly deliver resources. While a cargo link can transport multiple types of resources,the process is so needlessly obtuse and unintuitivethat there is no shortage of guides on how to use them.
There are a few ways forShattered Spaceto simplify this system.The first is to make it more akin toFallout 4’scaravan system. This would involve each cargo link tying the inventories in the supply chain directly. The cargo limits would need to be removed so there are no jams as well. Then, the player could use the existing cargo link interface to pick which outposts will be connected without needing to worry about incoming or outgoing details.
Another way forStarfieldto change this system would be allowing the player to order resources directly from a computer console at the outpost. The game already includes radiant quests referred to as “Supply Missions,” which allow the player to fulfill contracts for resources. This would be the inverse situation, in which the player is allowed to request resources instead.Ordering resources could serve as another credit sink for the playerand resources ordered in this way could be more expensive to still encourage purchasing resources at vendors. Spacefarers could alternatively purchase shipments like inFallout 4.
Shattered Space Can Add Actual Colonists To Starfield’s Outposts
Breathing Life into Outposts: Introducing Colonists in Starfield
On mission boards throughout the Settled Systems, players may take jobs which require them to transport people or survey systems for LIST. This makes it clear that there is an abundance of potential colonists looking for a place to put down roots. Despite this,the Spacefarer is incredibly limited in creating homesfor these people. Crew members can be assigned to outposts instead of a spaceship, but there are no true colonist options.
Because there are so few NPCs allowed at outposts, they can feel rather lonely. While they are not necessary for resource extraction,they could still serve as merchants or increase gathering efficiency similarly to robots. There are less than 30recruitable crew members inStarfield, so this would likely require a recruitment beacon similar to the one fromFallout 4. This could be passive, as it was in that game, or a more active system in which the player has to specifically request colonists and pay for their transportation to the planet.
Shattered Spacecould also create new activities for colonists to perform.
While on-base, the colonists could engage in many of the activities which have already been programmed intoStarfield.They could eat at player-created cafés, work at stores, sleep, chat, and live out their lives, turning outposts into true colonies.Shattered Spacecould also create new activities for colonists to perform, similar to how theVault-Tec WorkshopDLC ofFallout 4added things like gym equipment, drink dispensers, and bike generators.
Down the line, Bethesda could also enable colonists to travel between the player’s outposts. Management would have to be doable regardless of their locations to be feasible, but this system would further add to the illusion of people living out their daily lives. WhileStarfieldplayers explore the story ofShattered Space, they will know they have a home to return to.
Starfield
Bethesda Game Studios presents Starfield - the first original IP from the studio in twenty-five-plus years. Set in the year 2310, the United Colonies and Freestar Collective are observing a shaky truce after a war set 20 years prior. The player will customize their character as a member of a space exploration team called Constellation while navigating The Settled Systems and the conflicts between the warring factions. According to Bethesda, players can explore over 100 systems and 1000 planets to find resources and build their ships, living out their own sci-fi journeys.
