Starfield players call for overhaul to “lame” spacesuit mechanic spoiling exploration
BethesdaStarfield features a variety of systems and mechanics that help flesh out the sci-fi RPG. But players have deemed one of these systems to be “cartoonishly bad” while asking the devs to overhaul it.
Beneath the space exterior, Starfield is a Bethesda RPG through and through. This means that the game features many of the systems associated with the studio, including NPC schedules, romance and affinity mechanics, crafting and outpost building, skill trees, and more.
With Starfield, Bethesda also went all in on procedural generation as the devs worked up a way to piece together the geometry of a random planet before adding points of interest automatically. Another in-game system that looks to have received extra attention is resistance and afflictions.
Prior Bethesda games like Fallout 4 featured Radiation status effects that could stack up and give the player illnesses. The system was expanded for Starfield as exploring different planets will quickly inflict environmental damage and eventually turn into a full-blown ailment like Heatstrokes or Frostbite.
BethesdaA mechanic like this sounds right at home in a game that encourages planetary exploration. Unfortunately, some players are dissatisfied with its implementation.
A Reddit post by user ‘HighwayNo9702’ on the Starfield subreddit sparked a discussion around the topic. In it, the OP criticized the mechanic saying, “All of the environmental resistance crap needs to be reworked because it’s cartoonishly bad, but the airborne and even the corrosive damage needs to go away.”
Users chimed in with their own complaints in the comments section, with one of them questioning the logic behind it, “Yeah, getting a lung infection from a planet with a sandstorm that has zero oxygen in my space suit is pretty lame.”
Another user also stressed the same point but with a different example, “I was on a planet where it was -32 C, and a little foggy. My suit’s protection lasted for all of a minute. The INSTANT it went away, I got frostbite. Then I got hit with hypothermia not long after.”
They continued, “I have personally lasted much longer in that sort of actual cold, without any sort of special space suit. So why can’t my fancy future space suit protect me better than even a modern jacket could?”
The primary complaint looked to be the lack of resistance spacesuits offered, which users deemed to be “unrealistic.” They also provided multiple instances where the status effects just didn’t make sense.
There were also calls for the entire system to be reworked. But it’s unclear whether Bethesda will address these complaints in the future.
For more on Starfield, check out our picks for the best weapons and best ships in the game.