Gaming News Essentially, Starfield was a much more difficult RPG and Todd Howard said so!
Starfield could have been much more difficult than it is now. Following Todd Howard’s statements last year, new documents reveal more about Bethesda’s initial ambitions regarding the difficulty of its latest addition.
In space, no one will hear you suffer
Last year’s event publication, Starfield didn’t necessarily have the critical success we expected, but it still managed to give us several dozen hours of fun under the stars. Bethesda’s latest title still benefits from a certain depth in terms of space exploration mechanics, while ensuring players an experience that is more or less accessible without being too punishing. But originally the software was supposed to be significantly more sophisticated than it currently is.
Todd Howard explained it last SeptemberThe developers initially wanted to implement a rather complex system of resistances and atmospheres. However, due to its difficulty, this system is widely used weakened so as not to punish the players too much. Therefore, Bethesda initially wanted to offer different types of spacesuits that would have made it possible to explore planets depending on their environment – radioactive, frozen, burning… a system that was completely abandoned, even if in fact it remains a system with environmental weaknesses.
Through the universe at full speed
Beyond this system, Bethesda also wanted to implement fuel management, which would therefore have required refueling between different trips. However, during testing, the studio once again realized how crippling such a system could be. Ultimately, the developers decided on a fast travel system whose maximum distance is determined by the ship’s equipment. Recently, a player on Reddit shared a glimpse of what Starfield originally looked like.
On this map we therefore see the systems we have been talking about: fuel management as well as the environmental peculiarities of the planet – here Leviathan IV. For example, we can see a “micrometeoroid” feature that could lead to “catastrophic shutdowns”. We therefore imagine that the planet would have been difficult to reach. This type of functionality can still be found in the game, but is far less restrictive than originally intended.
