Starfield
There is a little less than a month left for the long awaited launch of Starfield, and today Emil Pagliarulo (main designer) and Will Shen (quest designer) took the opportunity to answer the main questions from fans and brought a lot of news.
Starfield launches September 6 for PC and Xbox Series X|S. The game will also be available through the Xbox Game Pass subscription service. Players who purchase the Digital Premium Edition will have 5 days early access to the game.
- Buying real estate in major cities
According to Will there is at least one house in every city in the game for players to obtain. While some will be purchased, others will have specific quests to get them. Emil even makes a mysterious teaser, stating that he will have a specific residence that will need to “complete… one thing”. - How Kids Stuff perk parents will be generated
One of the advantages that players will be able to choose when creating the character is Kids Stuff, which will make the protagonist still have living parents. According to Will, Bethesda's programmers created a system where parents are generated based on the appearance of the created protagonist. - Protagonist's Background
Although all players always start at the same point, the creators encourage everyone to create their own backstory for the character. The goal is for them to enter Starfield to live in this new universe. - Smuggling Cargo
In Starfield, players may carry out cargo smuggling. Some specific items are considered illegal everywhere, which means that they cannot be transported legally through security systems.
To smuggle cargo, players must install special modules on their ships, so that don't get caught. Some of these items will even have their own backstory. - Prison system
Just like previous games from Bethesda, committing crimes in Starfield means being arrested. Upon being caught, the player will be able to choose whether to serve his sentence in jail or pay bail, or simply try to escape the authorities. - Progression while out of the game
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Starfield will feature a heavy focus on the economy, with players able to have their mining and freight transport systems running in the background as they explore this universe.
However, the systems will only work while the player is inside the game. Background systems such as trade routes, outposts and mining operations do not continue to function when the player is not in the game. - Will it be possible to betray a faction?
Starfield will bring several factions and players will be able to participate in all of them, as they are completely independent. However, some quests will end up linking some factions.
For example, one of the quests will have you infiltrate as an agent in the Crimson Fleet on behalf of UC SysDef, a military branch of the United Colonies. It's up to you to decide whether to betray either of these two factions. Choosing one side won't make the other one happy either.
This particular quest the developers say was inspired by the classic movie Donnie Brasco with Al Pacino. - Finish the game without killing anyone
Many players would certainly like to finish the game in a non-lethal way, passing all the confrontations on the basis of dialogue. While this is something the developers considered early on in development, they ultimately decided it wasn't feasible based on the story and available quests.
The game will give players several options to complete quests non-lethally, either through dialogue or using non-lethal weapons, but it will not be possible to complete 100% of the game this way, with certain situations requiring a more violent approach . - Religion in Starfield
Starfield is set many years in our future, and much like our world, religion will play an important part in society. Existing religions in real life will be present in the game, but will not be the focus. Bethesda preferred to focus on new religions created for the game. - Check out Starfield's main religions:
Sanctum Universum strong> – The members, called “Universals”, believe that God exists somewhere in the universe. That a higher power is guiding everyone. Specifically, they believe that humanity's ability to travel the universe and jump in gravity is God's way of saying, “I'm here. Come find me.”
The Shining – This religion is basically organized atheists. They don't believe in any kind of higher power. Instead, they teach that human beings should care for each other and practice what they preach through various community programs.
House Va'ruun – A colony ship has departed to a new world, making gravitational jumps along the way. After one of the jumps, one of the passengers claims that he spent that time communing with a celestial entity known as the Great Serpent. What was a few seconds for everyone else, spent so much more for him. And he brought back a commandment, stating that all must "come aboard or be devoured when the Great Serpent encircles the universe."
House Va'ruun is one of the enemies in the game, and you will come across its followers during moments of the game, having to face them. - How many companions Will there be?
Like every Bethesda game, Starfield will bring companions for you to recruit on your journey. The developers claim that there are over 20 unique named companions for you to recruit into your crew.
Four of them will be from the Constellation, the main explorer group in the game, and these will be the companions with the most history and interaction with the players. Still, the other companions will all have backstories and be able to follow you on your journey. The companions will work as in previous games, accompanying you on adventures, being able to carry your things.
One of the points that Bethesda sought to evolve is the importance of companions. They've become a major focus for the studio and will tie into the main campaign. The developers also promise that there will be “some really great moments with them”.
In addition to these 20+ unique companions, it will also be possible to hire generic members that will serve to work on your ship and outposts. One of the mechanics that Bethesda even played with was paying monthly salaries to these employees, but in the end they ended up opting for just a single initial payment so as not to fill the player with things that they would need to be controlling from behind. - Companion Perks
Each companion will come with their own set of perks, from rifle prowess to watch your back or astrodynamics skills allowing you to do even greater gravitational jumps with your ship.
The perks of companions cannot be upgraded, but they have different ranks depending on the companion. In addition, they add to the player's advantages, giving even more benefits. - Watches
In a recent Starfield animation, players saw mecha and wondered if we would have that in the game. Unfortunately the mechs cannot be used, as they are in ruins.
According to the developers, the mecha are remnants of the Colony War. This was a war fought between the United Colonies and the Freestar Collective, where both sides used fuses.
While the Freestar Collective dominated mecha creation, the United Colonies were not as proficient, having to also utilize controlled alien beasts created by the Xenomilitary division.
- Starfield's main influences
Although it is a futuristic game, Will claims that one of the main inspirations was history programs like Hardcore History and The Story of Rome. The way historians know how humans behave in situations like war and technological inventions is something the team wants to bring to the game, but on an even larger scale. Another inspiration was the Greek and Nordic mythologies, which Will claims to have great stories with characters who have flaws.
Emil, on the other hand, is inspired by science fiction content from the 80s, being a big fan of series like Star Wars, OG Battlestar Galactica, Space: 1999, Buck Rogers, Battle Beyond the Stars, Ice Pirates and Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jaryd Syn. Books by Arthur C. Clarke and Robert Heinlein, and films such as Contact, Interstellar, 2001: A Space Odyssey and Enigma Horizon were also influential.