Irina "Zemlia" Sukhanova Many hoped for a big space adventure from Starfield, but the reality was harsh, like the advice to upgrade your PC to make Starfield run smoothly. Space battles are just simple shooting games where you shoot targets in space. Exploring planets is also bland, as there's nothing to do on them. But originally, these mechanics were supposed to be more engaging.
Todd Howard spoke about the complexity of space battles in the AIAS Game Maker's Notebook podcast. It turns out, Starfield developers intentionally reduced the difficulty of space AI to make things easier for players.
Image credit: 3dnews.ru
Todd explained why they did this. He said real space combat would be too hard and unpredictable, like a duel in an arena. To not scare players with challenges, the AI was simplified. This affects its behavior, as virtual pilots intentionally stop evading and expose their ship to shots.
According to players, the developers went too far in simplifying the gameplay. Space battles became too predictable and boring. The same goes for planet exploration.
Image credit: nexusmods.com
In the same interview, Todd Howard also talked about the planet exploration system. Initially, the idea was great! Planets had their unique challenges. To survive on any planet, players had to gather equipment and prepare for landing. But again, developers treated gamers like fussy kids...
They thought players would be scared of such complexity. In the end, they abandoned the concept of dangerous planets and made their conditions average for all. Based on mods on NexusMods, the developers were wrong again. Fans are creating harder survival mechanics themselves, as that's what they wanted from a space exploration game.
Main image: starfielddb.com
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