Starfield
Developers | |
---|---|
Bethesda Game Studios | |
id Software | |
Publishers | |
Bethesda Softworks | |
Engines | |
Creation Engine 2 | |
Release dates | |
Windows | September 6, 2023 |
Reception | |
Metacritic | 87 |
OpenCritic | 86 |
IGDB | 87 |
Taxonomy | |
Monetization | One-time game purchase, DLC, Subscription gaming service |
Modes | Singleplayer |
Pacing | Real-time |
Perspectives | First-person, Third-person |
Controls | Direct control |
Genres | RPG, Action, Shooter |
Vehicles | Space flight |
Art styles | Realistic |
Themes | Sci-fi |
Starfield is a singleplayer action RPG developed by Bethesda Game Studios, with additional assistance by id Software, and published by Bethesda Softworks.[1] The game marks the first new series created by Bethesda Game Studios since The Elder Scrolls in 1994.
Starfield released on Steam and the Microsoft Store on September 6, 2023, with the game also being included with Xbox Game Pass for PC. It was initially announced at E3 2018 and was given a 2022 release date at E3 2021, which was ultimately delayed to allow for additional development time.[2][3]
Starfield introduces a new version of Creation Engine and features improved lighting and global illumination effects, alongside implementing technologies from id Software's id Tech engine.[4][1] It also sees the addition of native 21:9 ultra-widescreen display and unlocked frame rates, which were absent in previous games by the developer.
The game released to generally positive reception from critics and the general gaming audience. Criticism has been raised about lacking performance, particularly on high-end Nvidia graphics cards, and the omission of DLSS and XeSS upscaling technologies without mods.[5][6][7]
General information
Availability
Source | DRM | Notes | Keys | OS |
---|---|---|---|---|
GamersGate | Premium Edition also available. | |||
Premium Edition also available. | ||||
Green Man Gaming | Premium Edition also available. | |||
Humble Store | Premium Edition also available. | |||
Microsoft Store | Xbox Play Anywhere. Included with Xbox Game Pass for PC. Premium Edition also available. |
|||
Steam | Premium Edition also available. |
Version differences
- Pre-orders included the Old Mars Skin Pack.
- Premium Edition includes the Old Mars and Constellation skin packs, the Shattered Space expansion, digital artbook, original soundtrack, and five days early access to the game.
Monetization
Type | Notes |
---|---|
DLC | Additional single-player content. |
One-time game purchase | The game requires an upfront purchase to access. |
Subscription gaming service | Available via Xbox Game Pass for PC. |
DLC and expansion packs
Name | Notes | |
---|---|---|
Shattered Space | Story expansion | |
Old Mars Skin Pack | Included with pre-orders and Xbox Game Pass for PC | |
Constellation Skin Pack | Included with the Premium Edition |
Essential improvements
Skip intro videos
- Does not affect the copyright/health warning.
Add custom values to configuration file[8] |
---|
sIntroSequence= uMainMenuDelayBeforeAllowSkip=0 |
Delete or rename video files[9] |
---|
|
Starfield Script Extender (SFSE)
- Only compatible with the Steam version.
- Expands the scripting capabilities of the game.
Game data
Configuration file(s) location
System | Location |
---|---|
Windows | %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Starfield\ |
Microsoft Store | %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Starfield\ |
Steam Play (Linux) | <SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/1716740/pfx/[Note 1] |
Save game data location
System | Location |
---|---|
Windows | %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Starfield\Saves\ |
Microsoft Store | %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\BethesdaSoftworks.ProjectGold_3275kfvn8vcwc\SystemAppData\wgs\<user-id> |
Steam Play (Linux) | <SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/1716740/pfx/[Note 1] |
Save game cloud syncing
System | Native | Notes |
---|---|---|
OneDrive | Requires enabling backup of the Documents folder in OneDrive on all computers. | |
Steam Cloud | ||
Xbox Cloud |
Starfield XGP Save Importer
A tool to import Steam save files into the Microsoft Store version of Starfield.
XGP-save-extractor
Does the opposite of the above, extracting Microsoft Store save files for use with the Steam version.
Video
Graphics feature | State | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|
Widescreen resolution | |||
Multi-monitor | Use Flawless Widescreen. | ||
Ultra-widescreen | Improved 32:9, 21:9 and 16:10 support introduced in 1.9.51.0 patch[10]. | ||
4K Ultra HD | |||
Field of view (FOV) | 70-110° (1st and 3rd person). Use Flawless Widescreen for weapon FOV. | ||
Windowed | |||
Borderless fullscreen windowed | |||
Anisotropic filtering (AF) | Default value is 4x,[11] see Anisotropic filtering (AF) | ||
Anti-aliasing (AA) | Forced TAA. See Anti-aliasing (AA) for a workaround. FSR can also be used as AA when Render Resolution Scale is at 100. DLAA was added in 1.8.86 update.[12] | ||
High-fidelity upscaling | FSR 2.2, DLSS 3.5 FSR 3 and XeSS are planned for a future update.[13] |
||
Vertical sync (Vsync) | |||
60 FPS and 120+ FPS | Some interface elements, such as the ship reticle, update at 30 FPS.[14] See Mods. | ||
High dynamic range display (HDR) | While a "HDR Brightness" option was added in version 1.8.86, displaying in HDR is reliant on Windows 11 Auto HDR[12][15] | ||
Ray tracing (RT) |
Ultra-widescreen
Remove pillarboxing
Use Flawless Widescreen |
---|
Notes
|
Use RoseTheFlower's fix to remove pillarboxing |
---|
|
Modify the config file to remove pillarboxing for 32:9 or wider ratios |
---|
[Display] fWideAspectLimit=X
Notes
|
Remove pillarboxing from photo mode |
---|
[Interface] bPhotoModeLetterBoxed=0 |
Modify the game executable to remove pillarboxing[16] |
---|
Notes
|
HUD scaling
Use Flawless Widescreen |
---|
|
Change HUD position manually |
---|
[Interface] fSafeZoneXWide=Y
|
Borderless Windowed Mode
- By default, the game only allows for the resolution to be changed when set to Windowed.
Add custom resolutions to the in-game resolution list |
---|
[Display] sSupportedResolutionsList=1280x720, 1366x768, 1440x900, 1600x900, 1680x1050, 1920x1200, 1920x1080, 2560x1080, 2560x1440, 2560x1600, 3440x1440, 3840x1600, 5120x1440, 5120x1600, 3840x2160, 5120×2160 Notes
|
Enable borderless windowed mode and allow custom resolutions |
---|
bBorderless=1 bFull Screen=0 iSize H=Y iSize W=X Where |
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Edit the custom configuration file to enable 16x filtering[17] |
---|
[Display] fMaxAnisotropy=16.0000 |
Anti-aliasing (AA)
Disable temporal anti-aliasing (TAA) through a config file:[9] |
---|
[Display] bTemporalAA_idTech7=0 Notes |
Input
Keyboard and mouse | State | Notes |
---|---|---|
Remapping | ||
Mouse acceleration | ||
Mouse sensitivity | ||
Mouse input in menus | ||
Mouse Y-axis inversion | ||
Controller | ||
Controller support | ||
Full controller support | ||
Controller remapping | ||
Controller sensitivity | ||
Controller Y-axis inversion |
Controller types |
---|
XInput-compatible controllers | ||
---|---|---|
Xbox button prompts | ||
Impulse Trigger vibration |
PlayStation controllers | See the glossary page for potential workarounds. |
---|
Generic/other controllers | See the glossary page for potential workarounds. |
---|
Additional information | ||
---|---|---|
Controller hotplugging | ||
Haptic feedback | ||
Digital movement supported | ||
Simultaneous controller+KB/M |
Sync Y-axis mouse movement with X-axis mouse movement
Change the Pitch ratio in the config file |
---|
[Controls] fIronSightsPitchSpeedRatio=1 fPitchSpeedRatio=1 |
Change the Mouse Heading Y-Scale Value according to Aspect Ratio in the config file[19] |
---|
[Controls] fMouseHeadingXScale=0.021 fMouseHeadingYScale= The
|
Audio
Audio feature | State | Notes |
---|---|---|
Separate volume controls | ||
Surround sound | Surround LPCM audio. No Dolby Atmos support. | |
Subtitles | ||
Closed captions | ||
Mute on focus lost | Game pauses when window is not active | |
Royalty free audio |
Localizations
Language | UI | Audio | Sub | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
English | ||||
Traditional Chinese | Fan translation mods: Unofficial Traditional Chinese Translation or Translation Chinese (zh-Hans To zh-Hant). | |||
Simplified Chinese | ||||
French | ||||
German | ||||
Italian | ||||
Japanese | ||||
Polish | ||||
Brazilian Portuguese | ||||
Russian | Fan translation, download. | |||
Spanish |
Changing interface language
Edit configuration file[20] |
---|
sLanguage=x
|
VR support
Other information
API
Technical specs | Supported | Notes |
---|---|---|
Direct3D | 12 |
Executable | 32-bit | 64-bit | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Windows |
Middleware
Middleware | Notes | |
---|---|---|
Audio | Wwise | |
Cutscenes | Bink Video | v2023.02 |
Hide message of the day
Add custom values to configuration file[21] |
---|
bEnableMessageOfTheDay=0 |
Mods
StarUI Inventory
- Improves display and functionality of inventory menus.
Undelayed Launching
- Bypasses all introduction screens, including the copyright/health warning and Bethesda logo. Increases main menu frame rate up to 120 FPS.
Undelayed Menus
- Improves responsiveness of the in-game menus and increases menu frame rate up to 120 FPS.
BetterHUD
- Provides a more immersive HUD.
Smooth Ship Reticle (120FPS Smooth UI)
- Changes the ship targeting reticle to update at 120 FPS, instead of the default 30 FPS.
Baka Achievement Enabler (SFSE)
- Requires Starfield Script Extender (SFSE) and is not compatible with the Microsoft Store version of the game.
- Prevents Steam achievements from being disabled and save games being flagged as modded from using mods or console commands.
Achievement Enabler
- Does not require Starfield Script Extender (SFSE) and is compatible with the Microsoft Store version of the game.
- Prevents Steam achievements from being disabled and save games being flagged as modded from using mods or console commands.
System requirements
Windows | ||
---|---|---|
Minimum | Recommended | |
Operating system (OS) | 10 21H1 | 10/11 with updates |
Processor (CPU) | AMD Ryzen 5 2600X Intel Core i7-6800K |
AMD Ryzen 5 3600X Intel Core i5-10600K |
System memory (RAM) | 16 GB | 16 GB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) | 125 GB | 125 GB |
Video card (GPU) | AMD Radeon RX 5700 Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 Ti DirectX 12 compatible | AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 |
Other | SSD required |
- A 64-bit operating system is required.
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Notes regarding Steam Play (Linux) data:
- File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data.
- Games with Steam Cloud support may also store data in
~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/1716740/
. - Use Wine's registry editor to access any Windows registry paths.
- The app ID (1716740) may differ in some cases.
- Treat backslashes as forward slashes.
- See the glossary page for details on Windows data paths.
- ↑ Disable TAA through the game console:
- Open the console with the ~ (tilde) key.
- Type
ToggleTAA Off
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 IGN - Bethesda Clarifies Doom Developer Id Software’s Involvement With Starfield - last accessed on 2023-09-07
- ↑ Eurogamer - Bethesda announces Starfield, its "next generation" RPG - last accessed on 2023-09-07
- ↑ Gematsu - Redfall and Starfield delayed to first half of 2023 - last accessed on 2023-09-07
- ↑ TweakTown - Starfield's new Creation Engine took 'so long to do,' Bethesda's Todd Howard happy with results - last accessed on 2023-09-07
- ↑ Hardware Times - AMD’s RX 7900 XTX Beats the NVIDIA RTX 4090 in Starfield Despite Being $650 Cheaper - last accessed on 2023-09-07
- ↑ DSOGaming - Starfield PC Performance Analysis - last accessed on 2023-09-07
- ↑ TechSpot - AMD denies blocking Bethesda from adding DLSS to Starfield - last accessed on 2023-09-07
- ↑ Verified by User:Litbeep on 2023-09-01
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Verified by User:Aemony on 2023-09-01
- ↑ https://bethesda.net/en/game/starfield/article/7rNcXwvJzZzHaDYkgjZclN/starfield-update-1-9-47-0-notes-january-18-2024-in-beta
- ↑ Verified by User:Shadowstealer7 on 2023-09-07
- Console output of
getini "fMaxAnisotropy:Display"
with Ultra graphics
- Console output of
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Steam - Starfield Update 1.8.86 Notes - November 20, 2023 - last accessed on 2023-12-14
- ↑ Reddit - Starfield Update 1.8.88 Notes – December 11, 2023 - last accessed on 2023-12-14
- "We’ve been hard at work on many of the issues you’ve posted, and expect an update early next year that will include a large number of “in-progress” quest fixes as well as FSR3 and XeSS."
- ↑ Verified by User:Shadowstealer7 on 2023-09-06
- ↑ Verified by User:Shadowstealer7 on 2024-01-31
- Tested on v1.9.47, disabling Auto HDR and running Starfield gives a SDR image while still showing the HDR Brightness option
- ↑ Reddit - Ultrawide Master Race - Starfield doesn't support 32:9 - last accessed on 2023-09-01
- ↑ Verified by User:Shadowstealer7 on 2023-09-07
- ↑ Starfield TAA Workaround - Reddit - last accessed on 2023-01-09
- ↑ Reddit - Starfield - How To Change FOV! Confirmed to work! - last accessed on 2023-09-11
- ↑ Reddit - Starfield - How to change the game language and other tweaks - last accessed on 2023-09-01
- ↑ Verified by User:Litbeep on 2023-09-05