Summary
- Starfield's initial scope was smaller and relied less on procedural generation, according to an interview with former Bethesda developer, Bruce Nesmith.
- While the Settled Systems in Starfield are massive, some think the procedural generation of planets hampers the game's exploration, and the layouts lack enough variety to make up for it. Major quest hubs like Akila City, however, still capture the Bethesda charm.
- The decision to incorporate procedural generation into Starfield's development was a result of the team's desire to widen the game's scope. While it had its tradeoffs, the core activity remained concentrated in the two dozen star systems.
The immense size of Starfield has been a contentious topic since launch, as Bruce Nesmith recently revealed that the game's original scope was much smaller, with less reliance on procedural generation. To be a Bethesda sandbox is to carry certain expectations, as fans have gotten used to the addictive nature of exploring content-rich, handcrafted environments such as Skyrim in The Elder Scrolls 5 or the Commonwealth in Fallout 4. By comparison, many felt the procedurally generated worlds of Starfield lacked the charm of its predecessors, even if the combat and overall gameplay were a step above.
As it stands, the common belief among players is that exploration in Starfield could use some changes. The scope of the Settled Systems is undoubtedly huge, but the procedural generation of its planets ultimately plays against the biggest strengths of a Bethesda title, and the layouts aren't varied enough to compensate. On the flip side, major quest hubs such as Akila City still exude that Bethesda charm, almost offering a glimpse into a different type of Starfield than the one players got at launch.
For Bruce Nesmith, the former lead designer of Skyrim, this vision of Starfield was very much real for a brief moment in development. In a recent interview with MinnMax, Nesmith said that there was a lot of discussion about scope during Starfield's development. Before the team decided to dive into procedural generation, Starfield was restricted to around two dozen star systems at most. However, the allure of widening the scope ultimately proved too irresistible, and so Starfield turned to procedurally generated planets at the expense of having a few tradeoffs.
Nesmith went on to state that Todd Howard pulled the concept of having one hundred systems out of thin air, but as development progressed under the new procedural approach, the number not only became feasible, but all the core activity in Starfield was still concentrated in those two dozen systems anyway. Bruce Nesmith theorized that Bethesda likely had to make some difficult choices to make the game's scope work, taking into account features such as Starfield's ship builder, fully aware that players would complain about the aspects of Starfield's exploration that didn't quite come through in the final product.
As the development of the next Elder Scrolls title kicks fully into gear, Bethesda faces an interesting predicament. The reception to procedurally generated content in Starfield has been less than stellar, which may prompt the developers to lean once again into handcrafted landscapes. However, the technology developed for Starfield could still prove to be useful, and Bethesda should nonetheless be commended for taking a risk – even if Nesmith's original vision may have potentially produced a more enjoyable game in hindsight.
Starfield is available on PC and Xbox Series X/S.