Starfield draws its space combat inspirations primarily from FTL and MechWarrior. However, you don’t need to worry about landing your ship onto a nearby planet after the fighting is over.
Starfield director Todd Howard explained to IGN (opens in a new tab) that Starfield wanted to give a unique spin to all the galactic shooters and space sims it was inspired by. Moments spent in FTL, deciding whether your engines should be powered to escape or your weapons to fight, are examples of how you choose where to redirect your ship’s power.
Howard states that “Your ship has different power systems.” Howard says that there is a little FTL in terms of how much power you put into the three weapon systems. Then your engines and shields are used, and then your engines and grav drive. This allows you to jump and get out of certain situations.
Howard says that MechWarrior is an unorthodox inspiration for dogfighting’s pace. Although he acknowledges that the game is slower when it comes to power systems and line ups, it’s still faster than a “twitchy” dogfighter.
Howard shared that you will be able board enemy ships to steal them, visit stations and live the life a humble smuggler. This will add variety to your space-faring routines.
Although there may be plenty to do among the stars’, Bethesda wants to keep space and planets separate. Once a fight is over, your ship will not need to be landed on another planet.
People have asked, “Can you fly the ship straight to the planet?” He tells IGN (opens in new window) that no. “We made the decision early on that the surface is only one reality and space is another.
Howard explained that engineering the inter-between of space and planet would be a waste of time that is “really not that important” to the player.
Howard clarified after Starfield was revealed at the Xbox, Bethesda Showcase, that Starfield has more handcrafted content than any other Bethesda title, despite having “a lot” of procedural generation that allows it to have over 1000 worlds to explore.
Starfield may have 1,000 planets but that doesn’t mean there will be 1,000 planets .