Why Everyone is Wrong about STARFIELD Planets

[@oreroundpvp896]

I don't think you can get the feel of space without a decent number of completely barren planets. That said, even those barren planets can be interesting in their own way, either due to their star, environmental effects unique to those planets and brief descriptions off those planets. The first Mass Effect did this so well. Combine the hand crafted content and I'm hyped.

[@starfieldsignal]

I'm with you. I actually really enjoyed ME1's exploration on other planets. Sure the MAKO wasn't great, but they did some really interesting storytelling through that system.

[@beefcake1876]

Mining planets n shit would be cool for the barren ones

[@ZacharyBeamz]

I got the same vibe of Mass Effect if they can expand on that, theyre in major buisness

[@OrangeYoshi333]

My main hope is they do non-planet celestial bodies in a varied and interesting way. Like having trinary and binary solar systems

[@stellarhyme3]

You can’t get the feel of space if you can’t fly from world to world or land manually. Starfield is just like Mass Effect & Outer Worlds, there’s no actual space & distance between worlds. You point & click on planets then a cutscene plays as the ship lands. Talk about not moving things forward at all.

[@LeonardBMCcCoy]

Bethesda - and by extension Starfield - is very fortunate that No Man Sky had the rough start they had. It gave them a blueprint for what to prepare for when building out this type of game. And being offline, there is more freedom for the Modding community to come in and fix holes / add content. I'm actually excited for all the new AI tools that are hitting the market. Modders being able to add to barren planets, whole storylines, and have them voiced thanks to AI, so much content to look forward to!

[@captaincobalt2111]

Can we just bully Bethesda into fixing thier game like Fallout 76? The community needs to stop picking up the slack for AAA industries.

[@tnc7399]

@@rondoanderson creation engine 2, which seems actually really promising.

[@tnc7399]

@@captaincobalt2111 76 has more issues than just being buggy. I doubt the creation engine can handle the physics or performance of online games. It is truly more than possible to perfectly fix

[@BrighamMike]

i always said one day someone will make a great game on the engine called no mans sky lol

[@Jlewismedia]

They're a different type of game though, I think that was the point of this video. No-mans sky is a procedural sandbox game, this is an rpg game with sandbox elements, they're both space games but that's where the gameplay similarities end. Once you get the game you won't likely ever generate anything on your PC, it will all be completed, baked, compressed, etc. to your build just like any other game that doesn't take place in space.

[@MFSpaceboy]

This is the kind of content and insight you’d expect to see from the “big” gaming sites, yet don’t. Well done!

[@starfieldsignal]

Wow, that is high praise. Thank you for the kind words. I'd love it if you subscribed to the channel. I'm really wanting to create some thoughtful content and not just hype pieces. Any and all feedback is welcome.

[@MFSpaceboy]

@@starfieldsignal I subscribed not long into the video. Keep up the great work! 1k subs and counting!

[@prome3us550]

Holy cow. Saw your comment early in the vid, but only at the end saw your sub count. This is a great take with good insights, you now have +1 subs :)

[@QIKUGAMES-QIKU]

? Copying no man's sky isn't amazing. Feels like they stole his coding

[@QIKUGAMES-QIKU]

@@starfieldsignal Great Video however it feels like they stole NO MANS SKY

[@Perjoss]

Thing is if the modding tools are good then the mod makers can add some really interesting things to some of the more barren planets, it feels like it might be the best Bethesda game ever in terms of modding

[@CoDroStyleHD]

This is exactly it. Modding has ALWAYS carried Bethesda games and the modding potential for this is insane. Different ship modules, outpost modules, alien fauna and flora. Literal new plants and moons with hand crafted POI's from modders. It will be truely insane.

[@SubZyYT]

As long as I can have my modded waifu’s follow me around.

[@tlcsr66]

This would be a good idea. We, as players, could look at Modders as Tera formers or settlers :)

[@harrisonchr]

I'm wondering if the modders can eventually recreate a Fallout and a Skyrim planet?

[@testoftimegaming5219]

wow what a suprise the best part of a Bethesda game will once again have nothing to do with Bethesda 😂😂😂

[@TorQueMoD]

This is why procedural is awesome. It doesn't mean everything has to be generated by the computer. It just means that you get some awesome variation on some artist crafted designs which is the best of both worlds.

[@PsychoticEwok]

The thing I'm really looking forward to with starfield is it's a space game with an actual story, I can't wait to get my hands on it

[@0Sirenn]

What space games don't have stories?

[@PsychoticEwok]

Elite (without going outside the game), star citizen, space engineers a few others I can't think of off the top of my head and as for starfield the difference will be the story is the core of the game unlike others that the core of the game is a tedious never ending grind

[@0Sirenn]

@@PsychoticEwok Well if you want a really good space game with a focus on story you should try playing Outer Wilds, it's a space exploration/puzzle game where your only means of progression are the knowledge you hold about the world around you. It's a literal once in a lifetime experience because once you know everything, you can never experience it the same way ever again. There are a lot of people that wish they could erase their memories just to play it again.

[@brohvakiindova4452]

imo bethesda games are always rather weak on the story side but make up for it with how the whole world and especially history of the world blend together and fell really fun to explore. The best story bits in their games are usually from a sidequest or really interesting locations. I'd say Fallout 4 did, relatively speaking, pretty good with the main quest and I think maybe starfield can build up on that.

[@0Sirenn]

@@brohvakiindova4452 I'm hoping that Starfield will be the start of a new era of Bethesda games, hopefully with better storytelling. Also I do respect your right to have an opinion, however I would like to state my own opinion for no reason and say that I think Fallout 4 was the absolute worst Bethesda game ever made, especially in the main story.

[@firstnamelastname9237]

Nice video! I can’t say I’ll be convinced until I play it myself, but I would believe that it’s quite possible to procedurally generate good and enjoyable environments. I mean heck isn’t that basically what minecraft does. So if you layer extra effort, like the handcrafted chunks and stories, on top of it, i could see it going very well.

[@Fromatic]

Not only possible to do, but the fact they limited the number to where they can individually go and validate each one should mean they all at least meet a minimum standard they expect, sounds very promising

[@testoftimegaming5219]

they couldnt validate each 1000 planets every inch unless they got millions of play testers 😂

[@firstnamelastname9237]

@@testoftimegaming5219 They don’t really need to. They just need to know the system works well enough. Minecraft is an example of that kind of system, you even have people that mod it to make it even more extreme. And it works fairly well. I see no reason why a newer version wouldn’t be able to accomplish that.

[@Fromatic]

@@firstnamelastname9237 exactly, land on any planet in no man's sky and you immediately have a sense of what the whole planet is like and whether to stay or move on

[@Reginald-Erasmus]

You cant possibly be comparing minecraft to a game that has multiple star systems

[@ILLiteSociety]

Isn’t the purpose of an open world game…to EXPLORE said open world? Yes, not every square inch is going to be fun and interesting, but geez people love to complain. We live in a “speed run” era. Everybody is in such a hurry for some reason. Just enjoy every aspect of this game. We won’t have another amazing game from Bethesda until at LEAST 2026 I imagine, so enjoy it! Great video man.

[@petekwando]

Interesting perspective. Having played many hours of NMS, there are "things to do" on most planets: outposts, settlements, crashed ships, pirates, hostile creatures, and ruins/abandoned facilities of various types. Where the trouble shows up is the same-ness of all these. After the first dozen or so systems explored, it quickly becomes apparent that the engine just plops down "points of interest" from categories A through G, that are virtually identical. It seems to me that it wouldn't be that difficult with Bethesda's resources to up-level that same approach with just enough variation to hide the cookie-cutter nature of it all, or a least make it less obvious. Essentially radiant quests on steroids. Anyway, fingers crossed.

[@gamingtonight1526]

NMS's story though is that an incredibly old civilization existed that built many of these buildings, so I am okay with "sameness" on that count. I would also say, about every 10th planet you see a creature that is totally different, and every 100th planet is out there all on its own. Let's see if Starfield can be supported by Bethesda, like Hello Games does, let's see how good the story and characters are, as they weren't so good in Oblivion or Skyrim, lets see if they add free content, or just end up with a dozen $10 DLCs!

[@Qureas]

This is what drove me away from NSM pretty quickly. Every planet I went to it never felt like I was there first. Always these same ruins, drones and artifacts absolutely everywhere and every system had a space station. It didn't feel like I was exploring space, just travelling through it.

[@Ks021]

@@gamingtonight1526 lmao why u dick sucking nms so hard. it’s a good game and the devs have redeemed it but it’s still shallow after a certain amount of time. comparing these two projects is crazy. starfield is gonna have the charm of the space exploration in nms while also having an entire bethesda story, rp elements, and magnitudes of cultures and cities and people to talk to.

[@ayeyuh6920]

@@Qureas I mean that's kind of fitting considering you play as "The Traveler" in NMS lol

[@WillowLiv]

There is also an interesting aspect that Todd touched on during his interview. Each planet will show an interesting and beautiful simulated environment. If it's a moon of a gas giant you will be able to see the gas giant in space as it moves. Perhaps even eclipses are a thing. But having individual locations that have this uniqueness is very interesting to me. I would love to spend a long time deciding on the prettiest cratter of a moon to plop down my base. As he said, it's not a very interesting thing for most people, but for some, it's very, very interesting. I think I might just enjoy looking for locations with a unique look to them.

[@KageWilly]

Todd saying they built tiles then pressed ctrl+v a bunch of times is more worrying. Theres a reason procedural is meant to create randomness, im expecting to see the same mountain range over and over again now.

[@roberthollar3409]

Fantastic opinion and refreshingly positive! Really appreciate this kind of insight. Subbed today, good job sir

[@leukarlung]

same

[@starfieldsignal]

Thanks for the kind words. I'm hoping to make thoughtful content and not just be a hype channel. Thanks for subbing, and feedback is always welcome to keep me honest. Thanks for stopping by the channel!

[@MFSpaceboy]

Same!

[@nathanknepper1431]

Dude’s content has more polish and creativity than every “game journalist” article in the past year combined.

[@dalecantrell6873]

There is a lot of potential for some amazing dlc content in this massive yet defined space.

[@CptMagnus]

Also... modders!! Just imagine modders unleashed on a playground of 1.000+ Planets

[@ravenheartwraith]

I'm only really in for the modders, I don't have any hope the base game will be all that amazing, but as long as a good base is there, the Modders will make it better, like Skyrim, a crap game that the modders made 1000x better.

[@lightbender17]

This style of reporting/content is so heavily missing from the industry today. Breath of fresh air this is. Thank you! Your perspective was intriguing, your take is based on your interpretations, and genuine. Whether it be Starfield or any other game, I hope you continue to grow. We need this level of balance from content creators. Your "Why people HATE Starfield" video really captured that balance.

[@starfieldsignal]

Thanks so much for the kind words! It's been a great challenge to bring something new to the content space. And really encouraging to see so many people connecting with it. Glad to have you on the channel!

[@Stayler17]

Wow. This is a very good video. You deserve more views. What you said about the planets I agree. People aren't quite getting what Todd's vision is for the planets.

[@starfieldsignal]

Thanks so much for the kind words, @Stayler17, and thanks for stopping by the channel. I’m just getting started to try and get ahead of all the big channels that will eventually cover Starfield. I’d love if you subscribed and help keep me honest. I want to make good quality videos that aren’t just puff videos with no value. Thanks again!

[@woulfhound]

@@starfieldsignal As far as I can tell, Todd is talking about his procedural generator like it is one of those AI art generators.

[@schlagzahne6741]

So repeated handcrafted tiles wrapped on planets. The only thing I'm thinking Is you may see repeats. Despite how big things are we recognize those patterns. Not a great answer on what to do with all the space but I'm OK with just having areas to admire, even if there isn't gameplay pushing me there.

[@primetime8634]

@@schlagzahne6741 There will be lot's of repeats in the world. But I think they know how to cover them. It's like in Elder Scrolls. There are lot's of repets as well but they are covered really good so you have to search for them to find one. For example the same dungeon looks and feels completly different when the biome is changed.

[@gamingtonight1526]

@@primetime8634 It's easy with foliage and creature in a real-world situation. But in a Sci-Fi game, where everything has to be "weird", it's a lot harder!

[@ariel-y-e-m]

This is a great perspective, and also what I thought of when I saw the number 1000, especially since we already have No Man's Sky which has a virtually infinite number of planets. They're restricting themselves in order to allow for a level of detail that you wouldn't be able to pull off with more.

[@cameronreed1411]

Exactly. The problem with No Man's Sky, while a very cool game due to the unlimited possibilities of planets, is that they end up feeling empty and too similar.

[@I_Am_Wasabi_Man]

@@cameronreed1411 like planets in real life

[@WadeFrick]

This just might be the game I've fantasized and hoped for most of my adult life. This game is either going to blow minds or let down thousands of players. I'm keeping my hopes and excitement in check this time because I remember the hype about No Mans Sky, I've learned not to get my hopes up.....we'll see. Excellent video by the way......subscribed.

[@TwistedSisler]

People also either forget (or just never knew) that every one of the main title RPG's Bethesda Game Studios has ever made used procedurally generated terrain that was hand decorated after generation. They are no stranger to procedurally generated worlds and it's something they've always done well with.

[@theslay66]

Still there's a difference between a terrain that have been generated procedurally, then reworked and saved as it is, and a terrain that is generated in real time (that's what we think about when we say "procedural"). But in fact the first games in the Elder Scroll serie were mostly procedural. Daggerfall (Elder scrolls 2) had a huge land, thousands of town and dungeons and other points of interest, and it's all procedurally generated and populated, with only a handfull of locations added manually for guild and main quests. And even a game like Skyrim heavely rely on procedurally generated content. Not only for the infamous radiant quest system, but also random encounters in the world or bandits populating a fort.

[@TwistedSisler]

@@theslay66 this is both methods. Lots of segments of terrain that was procedurally generated then hand decorated, then stitched together to form a whole planet and blended so it looks like one seamless terrain.

[@Billy-RPG]

Your literally making better videos than most MASSIVE Channels and Game journalist Companies, Nice one.

[@starfieldsignal]

Thanks so much. I'll keep doing my best.

[@TheMfgcasa]

Actually i'm even more scepical now. The way to use procedural generation is to use it to build out your level and then come in and touch it up(So that each area feels unique, but shares common elements). It sounds like Bethesda is doing the reverse. (So each area is made up of hand crafted elements, but those elements are just duplicated all over the place) So that will mean lots of copy pasted environments. Expect Starfield to feel like this: You travel to planet A Wow what a really cool zone. Then you'll travel to planet A1. Huh isn't this zone just like planet A? Then you travel to planet A2 yeah I'm starting to see a pattern. Honestly expect starfield to be full of fetch quests and kill quests.

[@cmdr.jabozerstorer3968]

1000 ProcGen planets isn't that many. As an Elite Dangerous: Odyssey player, I've landed on more than 1000 planets. I've not explored everyone in detail but you have the same feeling Todd is speaking about because Odyssey uses a tile system, as well as a star-set/star-rise system. It sounds like Starfield is using a similar system to Odyssey with its tile-generated ProcGen planets but because it's only about 1000, they'll feel more unique.

[@starfieldsignal]

Interesting. I loved Elite Dangerous, but got kind of burned out after about 40 hours, I was never that good at space combat, and the other elements fell a bit flat to me. Thanks for stopping by the channel!

[@cmdr.jabozerstorer3968]

@@starfieldsignal I'm unsure when you last played it but there's a lot more content now. It's still principally the same game though. Focus currently is on the Thargoid War though but there's still exploration and on-foot stuff to do as well. The best way to play it is to dip in occasionally and not burn yourself out. I've not played it since December but that's because I'm taking a break.

[@cmdrHeliaxx]

@@starfieldsignal oh yea, definitely, Elite's just really not a game for everyone, Its a true sandbox experience, it does NOT hold anyone for hand, and one just has to really find his own way in the universe for himself. Me, it really fitted a lot, to the point I have more than 3000 Hours in it now, and don't feel like stopping to discover and experience new things any time soon. I view Starfield as hopefully a really good new Space game, but also not really as any kind of competitor for ED. The games just Focus on totally different things.

[@paulleach3612]

@@cmdr.jabozerstorer3968 Heh. Until you've docked your ship 1000 times manually, playing the original game on an 8-bit home computer, then you're not truly Elite. o7 (Disgruntled console peasant who is rather miffed at how they have split the game between platforms...)

[@jcaesar19871]

@@starfieldsignal I have like, around 300 hours in total of Elite Dangerous. lol

[@keanuvassell6756]

the mods are gonna be crazy, i wouldn’t be surprised if someone actually made a mod that would allow the game to generate 18 quintillion planets.

[@SuperCocoKiller]

Looking more forward to the mods than the game itself.

[@thepackdog]

I just hope that the planets are somewhat realistic in size. Nothing makes a planet less immersive than knowing its area size matches the size of Rhode Island. I hope they're at least the size of a moon or something. Even if the additional area isn't utilized to a great degree, it still gives the impression of reality, and that's huge to me in a game like this.

[@Cernunn0s90]

Not sure I agree. Outer Wilds has the best planets ever made in video games, and they are absolutely ridiculously tiny, and it just works...

[@thepackdog]

@@Cernunn0s90 Personally, I find Outer Wilds planets very cartoonish. Just not my style. I guess it just depends on your point of view.

[@Cernunn0s90]

@@thepackdog They absolutely are. But they have so much soul!

[@yous2244]

No

[@thepackdog]

@@yous2244 And they said you had a limited vocabulary.....

[@lynackhilou4865]

Honestly i really think they should have survival mode at release , especially after they delayed it and having more time to work on it , it would make the empty barren planets way more interesting

[@spatrk6634]

if not, someone will make survival mod soon after release.

[@lynackhilou4865]

@@spatrk6634 True but i think it's better to have it at release so modders can expand it instead of making it from scratch

[@josiewoodrose7616]

This should leave room for a lot of story in future DLC. Also I like to explore and mine "empty" planets.

[@maddog123tj]

True. I loved subnautica and grounded where I just collected resources and made a small town surviving. Also fallout 4 I used the zombie walkers mod, green wasteland and modern firearms mod and just focused on building my settlement and survivors. I sunk countless hours into that alone lol.

[@fnunez]

Star Citizen uses something similar to what Todd Howard describes. They have a system where artists "paint" a planet with mountains, forests etc and the procedural generation fills in the individual trees, hills, rocks etc. Then the artists go back in and add locations like outposts in places that look good, like a Hollywood producer scouting a location for a movie scene. The end result is a planet that looks as good as a fully hand-made one but was a lot faster to make (and has many of the advantages of procgen, like not needing hundreds of GB for just one planet). There are a lot of clips on twitch and youtube where you can see the results.

[@TheBaldr]

I love the four capital cities in Stanton. I just wish there was more of them. Most of the outpost on the other hand are just cookie cutter designs, they need a little more variety. The next system Pyro looks amazing.

[@garyalfrey1002]

The biggest thing i think people miss, is with all of these planets, modders are going to have so much freedom to craft amazing things for us.

[@Summon256]

Great! Just what i need! More of those amateur modders unbalanced buggy/glitchy poop, that will make my game crash more times than already buggy vanilla experience on it's own! No thanks, i'll pass! I'll keep my planets, nice clean and empty then! Lol

[@ianbailey3924]

You're mad. Bethesda can't make a game that isn't full of bugs that modders have to fix.

[@WastelandJedi]

@@ianbailey3924 guarantee they'll look at the mods for Starfield as soon as there is some available 🤣

[@russellmcguire7137]

@@Summon256 That is because you don’t know how to mod buddy.

[@82habbal30]

@@Summon256 actually there are a lot of pretty amazing mods having dlc sized adventures and not even buggy. Having lots of mods might crash the game indeed, but with modlist it's a lot easier nowadays to have a stable game with a couple of hundred mods.

[@PoeLemic]

Thank you for such a great analysis and an incredible explanation of how things will probably end-up being and working. I really liked the positivity toward my fav Game Developer. Subbed.

[@marketingmark]

Love to see this video blowing up! Well deserved. Subbed and pumped for more of your content.

[@sols-music-77]

Thank you for creating a well thought out, informative video. I enjoyed not watch the same tiny nugget of information regurgitated over 15 minutes. Also the lack of clickbait was nice. 5 star for me.

[@starfieldsignal]

Thanks so much.

[@celeroon89]

Can't wait for this game. Feels like it has everything I've ever wanted in a scifi game

[@juanumana5688]

I just want a Futurama open world game

[@CompPerformanceFreak]

@Zlysess To be fair this is almost every fanbase from every AAA release. The game gets over hyped, expectations are set on the moon. Then the fanbase revolts on release, developer apologizes, developers starts fixing the issues that shouldnt have existed on release. It's like a never ending cycle. Lol

[@subfreakuent]

@Zlysess even if it's complete garbage... ^^ ppl are stupid af

[@milordas]

@Zlysess Larian is the best :)

[@YanniMago]

@@CompPerformanceFreakI already know this is going to happen . I won’t be surprised if it does end up happening

[@coltonbishop1384]

this aged well.

[@greggaminger]

Very good and well thought out vid, thanks for posting. The amount of rubbish I've seen from YTers when it comes to Starfield has been unbelievable - it's informing who I'll watch content from in future and who gets ignored forever.

[@starfieldsignal]

Thanks so much. I wholeheartedly agree with you and it is one of the reasons I started the channel. Thanks again!

[@Jlewismedia]

As far as it seems, they're using "procedural tools" not "procedurally generating" a galaxy. Pretty much every modern game uses these tools to some extent to save time placing thousands of trees, rocks, etc. by hand. I think people comparing this to nomans sky like games really don't get what Bethesda is talking about. Like everyone who plays the game isn't going to get 1000 different planets, theyll all be the same 1000 planets on every playthrough but if they made each one entirely by hand placement of trees, rocks, terrain, particles, etc. they'd be working on this until the day we can actually go visit the planets IRL. They could legit generate 1000 planets then hand them off to 500 artists (two planets each) and within 6 months probably have some pretty damn good experiences laid out.

[@starfieldsignal]

Interesting insight. Thanks for commenting.

[@braddishv3146]

Well THIS aged poorly.

[@hexafexofficial9689]

Not to mention modders are gonna make the starfield universe insane

[@starfieldsignal]

Oh yeah!

[@chrisbenson6753]

Some pretty big leaps in your interpretation. Bethesda has never been good at sewing together hand made things with an automated system. They’re just the largest AAA dev to do it.

[@vast634]

I guess it will work like this: players can approach a system, do a scan, planets with story or side mission POIs will be marked. Player flies to planet or moon, and the scanner will reveal the location. player selects to autoland there. Then there will be a handcrafted POI or settlement with a mission or at least populated raider base to loot. Players are never forced to land somewhere in the wilderness, or have to manually scan or travel the landscape to find major sidecontent. But could find some here and there if they want to engage with that. But story players can skip that and just follow the quest markers.

[@crackheadjonezzz]

Everyone was right, you were wrong 🤣

[@vgaportauthority9932]

I really wish Starfield was destined for VR, but it doesn't seem to be in the cards. I think it could have been an incredible VR game. I can't really see myself spending any time in a flat space sim again, sadly.

[@donaldduck7628]

As always they have a way to keep exploration interesting.

[@timothym7608]

Liked and subscribed!

[@starfieldsignal]

Thanks so much. We're all excited for the journey. Good to have you along.

[@ChessArmyCommander]

I hope Starfield's scale of space, is not ridiculously reduced like in NMS. I play Elite Dangerous and I'm use to and I love, Elite's 1:1 scale with the game's simulation of our Milky Way Galaxy.

[@ummerfarooq5383]

Are you referring to nomanssky 4.0? Or the original?

[@TwistedSisler]

It's definitely going to be scaled down significantly for the sake of it being an RPG first and foremost. I think you'd be very disappointed if you expect a 1:1 scale of space. I expect similar scaling as they do in Fallout where the towns are a lot closer than they would realistically be. I expect a similar thing in space as well. And it makes sense too as they want you to explore the space between planets to find space stations and other points of interest without making each system you visit take hours and hours of just flying around and you can progress through the game. Again, this is a story RPG, not a simulator. Space travel is your means of getting around from point A to point B, but is not where a majority of the content will take place. That will still be feet on ground.

[@ummerfarooq5383]

@@TwistedSisler a game like Infinity Earth had a demo that did the space thing perfectly.

[@ChessArmyCommander]

@@TwistedSisler _It's definitely going to be scaled down significantly for the sake of it being an RPG_ I never said I think its not going to be scaled down. I said I don't want it to be too much, to where its very noticeable and unrealistic. Right? _I think you'd be very disappointed if you expect a 1:1 scale of space._ I never said I expect that, don't imply that I did. I said I don't want the reduced scale to be too obvious. _I expect similar scaling as they do in Fallout where the towns are a lot closer than they would realistically be._ No, I don't think so. Things can be further apart in a space game and it shouldn't matter. Due to the hyper space flight that'll be possible. _I expect a similar thing in space as well._ Definitely not. A space setting is way different. _And it makes sense too_ Not really. A space game is a lot different. It can be bigger without causing any problem. Its just space to a large extent. _as they want you to explore the space between planets to find space stations and other points of interest_ That wouldn't be a problem with a more realistic scale. Again, due to the hyper spaceflight that'll be possible . _without making each system you visit take hours and hours of just flying around_ That's a non sequitur . It doesn't follow that if the scale is more realistic , that the problem you're describing will be the case. Again, due to how hyper spaceflight will be possible. _and you can progress through the game._ Not a problem with a more realistic scale. Due to the hyper spaceflight. _Again this is a story RPG_ However , the setting is humanity's future , and the story takes place in a simulated Milky Way Galaxy, so some realism is important. Right? At least some, or enough to where its not glaringly obvious that something is unrealistic. In a game meant to depict mankind's future in the Milky Way. _not a simulator._ We already established that. Still, a fair amount of realistic graphics are important so it'll feel like the Milky Way in humanity's future. Right? It doesn't need to be 1:1 to be good. It just needs to be enough, to where its not too noticeable, or to where its not obviously unrealistic. _Space travel is your means of getting around from point A to point B_ Yeah, and its really important in a space RPG. The ships need to be fun , with interesting interiors and things to do in there. Not to mention ship combat. They need to really nail that. _but is not where a majority of the content will take place._ Ship content cannot be lackluster. Ship content is a big part of the larger context of things which are most important in a space RPG. Right? _That will still be feet on ground._ There will definitely be lots of content on surfaces. However, there will be lots to do in space also. We saw it alluded to in the previews. Right? Spaceships are meant to be one of the fun aspects of Starfield. From building our own ships, to the combat, the ship interiors, ship to ship docking, etc.... . The ship to ship docking sounds really nice. I'm looking forward to seeing what that will entail!

[@ChessArmyCommander]

@kevone I know what you mean. But sometimes people argue. Right? I'm sure you've been in an argument before. I just came out of a big argument somewhere else. My interlocutor was defending Putin's war. And I showed them how that Russia's blood bath in Ukraine, is indefensible and inexcusable.

[@ShaddyzZz]

I see so many starfield channels poppin up it's crazy, but i feel like you're actually doing something good here. Nice analysis of the interview. Starfield is going to be amazing. Also, your voice is very soothing to listen to. Well done sir.

[@MikeVermeire]

Great video! I've had my doubts, but this has reinstated some hope for this release. I just really hope they nail down the combat this time.

[@starfieldsignal]

Oh man. me too!

[@MikeVermeire]

@@starfieldsignal it's the mechanic we've seen the least content on for the game. What we did see was questionable in terms of enjoyment so far... Fingers crossed!

[@smnbee75]

When it comes to empty, lifeless planets. I can imagine you scanning it from orbit, finding a pirate base, land their, raid it, find lots of lovely loot and walking away happy.

[@Targonis1]

And that is the formula for a game that gets boring fairly quickly.

[@Ronnet]

@@Targonis1 replace lifeless planet with "dungeon" and you have the basic Formula of any open world RPG. A gameplay loop enjoyed by millions around the world. A loop that can also be incredibly boring if done poorly (looking at you AC Valhalla). However, add in interesting lore and storytelling and it can keep people entertaint for hundreds of hours.

[@Rhekluse]

Great editing & writing with a solid voice to orchestrate it all. Nice work! I'm really excited for this game too.

[@starfieldsignal]

Thanks so much for the kind words. Just started, so I'm still dialing everything in, but I'm just happy I got started. haha. Thanks for stopping by the channel!

[@Mirmu.]

♪Tell me lies tell me sweet little lies♪

[@old_skewl_gamer9932]

you have made some very interesting points about how they are aproaching the universe build, and given the issues with traditional proceedural generation, i think your assumptions are spot on! Earned yourself a sub.

[@NOBODY-ck6fk]

Its a bit of a typical Bethesda's "hold on we got this" video to lead us to believe its all going to be fantastic. I'll believe when I see it.

[@starfieldsignal]

Fair enough. No pressure here. What games are you into now?

[@wyntyr_7096]

Also...DLC dropped into Starfield could intertwine with the original story line, or not, just by where it's placed and fleshed out in those outer or empty but inner star systems. Talk about playability in the long run.

[@gamingtonight1526]

Oh no - DLC.... Ugh!

[@wyntyr_7096]

@@gamingtonight1526 lol ikr 🙃

[@TheRagingRayn]

People are really coping that this will be a good game. I'm glad we're getting a space game from Bethesda, but this isn't the Bethesda of old. I worry for the next Elder Scrolls game.

[@tdarassp]

What, you didn't enjoy Pay-to-Win Blades? Todd said it was a real, genuine Elder Scrolls experience!

[@albertrand71]

Interesting content, well presented with great commentary.... you got yourself a new sub!

[@starfieldsignal]

Thanks so much! I really do want to create thoughtful content here. Any and all feedback is welcome.

[@J4Koro]

Why everyone is wrong about Starfield Planets. They are gonna have 16x times the detail so get your canvas bags ready for 200+ endings.

[@citizenkyew3977]

A good take on procedural generation in general. Having recently gotten into NMS, I find that PG isn't quite as bad as I assumed it was to begin with. Sure, you start recognizing "samey" things pretty early on in NMS, but the game itself keeps you pretty occupied with other things, to the point I myself don't notice the patterns as much. Having said that, I really hope BGS gets it right. NMS is good, but better is, well... better. I want Starfield to be a smashing success. The genre really needs something fantastic to present to the gaming community, and Star Citizen is still in the oven for at least a few more years. (Edit) Interestingly enough, Star Citizen uses a very similar method with procedural generation as was described in this video. I can tell you first hand that everything looks handcrafted and beautiful. I hope Starfield follows suit.

[@jbsc888]

This video is incredible! Please keep up the excellent work. Liked and subscribed!

[@GunterThePenguinHatesHugs]

My worry is that I'm going to have the same problem I did with No Man's Sky trying to decide where to build my base? I would land on some relatively pleasant looking planet, but I'd always be like _'Hmm if I looked at the next star system, maybe I could find an even _*_nicer_*_ planet'_ , and I ultimately never even ended up building anything at all lol 😆 ...Hopefully there'll be a nice mountainous, forested planet with a nice view to build a house on 🙏

[@TheFos88]

I did the same in nms but once I found "that spot", I was satisfied. Main home there and little sub bases in other planets.

[@renagornquickblade997]

I had that problem too, but I solved it by telling myself "Hey I can always build another one!" So I ended up with a bunch of bases, and then would go back and delete the ones I didn't like as much.

[@DonnaPinciot]

It might have the Fallout 76-esque system where you can build a base, and then pack it up and take it with you. That would neatly solve the 'but what if...' problem of finally deciding to settle down.

[@SuperCocoKiller]

Doubt Starfield is gonna have ground deformation as No Man's sky has, so thats gonna make it even harder for you to decide, I recomend a flat surface.

[@SnapWireOnlyOne]

As a seasoned Unity developer with expertise in procedural planet generation, I can assure you that the process is quite straightforward. Simply ensure that one planet is generated correctly, then create a prefab from it. Next, populate the environment by adding multiple planets and adjusting their settings. A few code tweaks may be necessary, but overall the task is manageable and not overly complex.

[@SnapWireOnlyOne]

Watched the Video Yep they just using prefabs and adding them in with code not too hard and works really well.

[@starfieldsignal]

That's awesome. Simplicity is the way to go.

[@MiaJoBella]

This is what I've been thinking! I have put a lot of thought into world building settings like this and when I heard the settled systems are only 50 lightyears out from Earth, it stuck out to me how small this was. Refreshingly small

[@fmartingorb]

The only issue is the land and explore. It means point and click exploration through planet interface, landing animation and then we will see if you can walk or visit the entire planet on foot or with a vehicle. So the planets you see from Space are placeholders, then when you transition to a landing, only a relatively large sandbox loads. So you click to take off, get in another "space sandbox environment" pew pew, warp, then point and click on the planet, land animation and explore the relatively large sandbox... wanna visit the next quadrant, click on the plant take off and land animation again and explore that area

[@BrokenVisorStudios]

Sure most of the planets are barren at release, but give it a few months to let the modders fill them up. I think that's an aspect of the planets that a lot of people don't focus on: that modders have a thousand places to work with. Edit: I guess I should clarify. It is absolutely up to Bethesda to release a good game from the go, and should never rely on the community to make up for their shortcomings. However, Bethesda games have been very well known to allow modders the freedom to add to their framework and have in turn created some truly amazing things. All I was saying is that Bethesda, most likely inadvertently, gave modders a space to work with. And I'd like to point out that of course some planets, if not most will be barren with nothing to do. Not only is it reflective of our real universe (lots of space with nothing of note) but it could also be an indicator of humanity's progress into space (it would take dozens of generations just to colonize a planet to a comfortable level, let alone thousands of planets) and you would be hard pressed to find any developer capable of pulling this off in the first place as not only is the tech not in place to fully build a populate enticing worlds to play on and the time involved would be insane.

[@whatlennartwant]

Honestly, I have lost a lot of love for Bethesda with fallout 4 and specially with fallout 76. And all tho I agree that it will allow modders to do great thing with all the planet, that is also part of the problem. I am scared that is not going to be a great game, and we and Bethesda should not rely on modders to make it good or even great, mods should be an add-on to an already amazing game. But time will tell, and will see how good the game will be.

[@xinsanedefeatx]

So basically people are expecting Bethesda to release the framework of the "real game" aka fully modded, patched, and grown into a full product by the consumer (whose money they already took) It's insane to me that people have just accepted the fact that Bethesda will release a half baked, not fully fleshed out product, then applaud the predatory tactic of letting modders bring the game to its own full potential If EA tried a similar tactic, they'd be burnt at the stake, but since the gaming community as a whole has embraced Bethesda, this practice has just been accepted As long as consumers support devs like this with their money, it sends the message that what they're doing is okay and it will only propagate the practice throughout the industry. Just look at how pervasive micro transactions are despite being universally despised

[@BrokenVisorStudios]

@@xinsanedefeatx Saying Bethesda will release a half baked game kind of shows that you don't know much about Bethesda games. They have always released massive games from the start with rich worlds and more than enough memorable characters, not to mention the stories and moments people talk about to other gamers. And rarely are they game breaking to the point where a game is unplayable. The modding community is so large for Bethesda games because the framework that is there is so enjoyable.

[@xinsanedefeatx]

@@BrokenVisorStudios "RARELY are they gamebraking to the point where a game is unplayable" you're literally proving my point As long as the game functions on some level, you will have fanboys praising Bethesda You literally have a separate metric where as long as the game functions, it's considered acceptable There's a double standard for Bethesda vs other devs because "its not a bug, it's a feature" has been memed so hard it's ingrained into people's mind as an acceptable part of Bethesda games I never said they don't have rich stories and characters (although if you compare FNV to Fallout 4 or 76 there's a clear drop in quality). I never even said they make games that aren't extremely captivating and fun to play. I enjoyed Fallout 3, FNV, and to a much lesser degree, Fallout 4 They always release half baked games (or force Obsidian to), but just keep blindly defending them and giving them your money

[@whatlennartwant]

@@BrokenVisorStudios Have you ever played a Bethesda game just after release, fallout 76 was a complete shit shows, and fallout 4 had game breaking bug, like save games being corrupt to the point of never working again. And just because something is not game breaking, those not mean it's accapable. And if my memory serves me well, fallout 4 had bugs that the modders fix years ago that are from the oblivion days, yet Bethesda never fixed it them self, they always let the modders do it. That called negligent! I do not know if they fixed now, but let's hope that it will be not be a problem in their new engine.

[@KmonSTa-f5o]

If they can make 1000 reasonbly detailed planets, they can make 1 really detailed planet. So not just hyped for starfield but really looking forward to see how they use this with Elder scrolls or Fallout.

[@starfieldsignal]

Yep, same here. I imagine this tech will only get better over the years. My bet is they use it in expansions and DLC down the road. Thanks for watching!

[@ENTI7TY77]

Man I legitimately love your production and style on the way you describe things! Def earned my sub! I love the positivity keep it up!!

[@starfieldsignal]

Thanks so much!

[@EPiQ_cR]

TBH I'm worried about Bethesda making this game work with its engine, more than I am about content to play on the planets. There hasn't been a single Bethesda title on the creation engine that didn't come with TONS of issues, Skyrim included. Some of the issues that are fixed with mods have literally existed 20 years, and Bethesda has never addressed them themselves. Looking forward to the story and aesthetic, but until Starfield is a functional game, I won't be holding my breath.

[@TwistedSisler]

This just comes from a lack of knowledge of what game engines really do and are (no offense meant at all). Creation Engine is the sole reason their games can be what they are. They have a custom engine for a reason. You couldn't make this game in the same way that they do with the amount of detail and persistent objects in the game world as they do without their engine. It specializes in doing just that. It's not a bad engine by any means, It's heavily reliant on databases so bad database entries or missing records (especially with mods) can crash the game, but the engine they use is absolutely necessary for the type of games that they make.

[@EPiQ_cR]

@@TwistedSisler Absolutely. While I'm not saying they need to adopt an off-the-shelf solution, there are next to no excuses to not address items that can be easily addressed. I'm not saying mods CAUSE issues, I'm saying that modders commonly FIX issues. Issues present in Fallout 3 for example, have identical fixes in Fallout 4. I'm all for aspirational goals (I'm a Star Citizen player who also works in the games industry), but I'm also a fan of giving teams enough time to realize their POLISHED vision. The day a Bethesda open-world RPG fully works before it's inevitable remaster or a year of DLC, is the day I'll be truly happy.

[@Nameless_One_]

Comes back, get ready for some action Got couple bugs in here, some broken scripts right there The fans will fix it anyway so we don't care They'll patch it through micro transactions

[@michalkleszcz]

Love your take, i wish more people could see and accept what Bethesda is going for instead of projecting their own ideas like they are owed something. People complaining about empty planets in my mind don't really want to explore space and i for one see no issue, in fact i love how starfield seems to be handling everything. Great video

[@chrisheilman7612]

You Nailed it! Thank you for this great video. Keep them coming

[@starfieldsignal]

More to come!

[@mrlagout6785]

I love the way you did this video. It doesn’t degrade Todd, roast Bethesda (despite it being a meme I it’s own right), and the most exciting thing I can’t wait for, is the modding potential for Starfield. Just the possibility for what it could become is mind boggling. Another game that could be interesting in comparison would be Star Citizen. It’s the definition of quality over quantity, even if it is in Alpha stage, but 3.18 is going to be big!

[@p0tat0_Child]

Many Great points about the game and what Todd has said. I am still not convinced that it will end up that good. The fact that you load into Planets and not just fly into the planet as it loads is going to take some immersion away. I would like to see the game be awesome and fun but I will wait until its release to see if it all is true. Great video and great insights and explanation. I am still looking forward to the game regardless.

[@UlissesSampaio]

Also: mods. Imagine 1000 planes as canvas for 1000s of modders to add hand-crafted content. Imagine where Starfield will be 1 year from now.

[@starfieldsignal]

YES! Oh man, this is part of the idea that got me excited about starfield. This will definitely be a great game in it's own right, but what Bethesda is actually wanting to do is develop a platform. Think of it in terms of what Apple did with the app store, or what Facebook is trying to do with the metaverse. Haha, there are definitely good and bad ways to go about this, but I'm hopeful Starfield will land in a good place. Thanks for stopping by the channel. I'd love for you to subscribe and join us on our Starfield journey.

[@mowglia7212]

Good job. Waiting is driving me nuts, but insightful videos like this at least provide welcome respite :)

[@Dennis-DK2]

If i want White knight fanboys defending a game as if we are all blind and stupid, ill go back to star Citizen.

[@michaelpease2103]

Fantastic video. You EARNED my sub. I have a strong vibe that you will gain about 10K subs in the coming months.

[@TheEnderPearl]

bro shat all over

[@killerrick9643]

I think it's going to be like no man sky with giant empty planets with a few quests here and there. I just don't trust Bethesda to put passion into their games anymore

[@RangerJosey]

What I heard when I heard "1000 planets" is that Todd and crew are leaning into their biggest strength. Mods. There is endless space for mods. Bandit camps. Unique locations. Unique biomes with unique flora and fauna. There will be an endless stream of custom locations up to and including major cities added by mods. And there is so much room that nobody is going to get on anyone else's toes. Little to no worry about mods conflicting because of their locations outside of hub worlds. That's what I heard.

[@CitizenGattoMatto]

I spend hours in star citizen just in exploring moons and outpost or just to see the sunshine .. gonna be pretty the same in SF 🥰🥰

[@muppetarms8406]

I'd like to see someone make a Mod based on the movie Pitch Black, when the three Suns are blocked by a Gas Giant then all hell breaks lose.

[@stylie473joker5]

One of my favorite movies of all time i still think about it sometimes lol

[@happy__amoeba]

When comparing Starfield to Spore, the main mistake the article makes isn’t the two mentioned, but that Spore’s disappointment came not from the procedural generation but from the hand-crafted design of the stages. It had the opposite problem the article claimed. If anything, the procedurally generated creatures were the highlight of Spore for *everyone* and the only reason it wasn’t a lackluster duct-taped 4x and RTS game everyone forgot existed. It *still* sells well because you can’t find anything like it yet.

[@CoFRTheGamerXxX]

I pretty much agree... its not that they cant do more planets... its that in a story driven game, whats the point of just more. Really looking forward to enjoying the scenery, etc.

[@TwistedSisler]

This. I think far too many people are getting hyped about this being a space exploration game and it's just not. I mean to an extent it is, but that's part of the lore of the game, not the core mechanic of the game. This is an RPG very much like TES and Fallout and most of the content is going to take place feet on ground.

[@kariko07]

Wow.. randomly came across this channel.. and it’s really really good. Nice presentation dude! I am literally booking a week off work to play Starfield.. Skyrim in Space (Over simplification, but you get it) it’s gonna be awesome fun!!

[@starfieldsignal]

That is so kind of you to say. Thanks very much. And that is awesome! I hope they don't delay it again at the last minute and screw over your time off, haha. Would love for you to subscribe and join us on the journey. Thanks for being here.

[@kariko07]

@@starfieldsignal done, and done… let’s see where this goes..

[@CryptoLiveTrading]

Extremly professional video. I'm shocked it's still a small channel. Was expecting 500k+ subs. Keep it up and you'll achieve this

[@starfieldsignal]

Wow, thanks so much. Excited that so many people are connecting with the video.

[@danielc9967]

I wasn't planning to, buttt I enjoyed your video, very well made.

[@starfieldsignal]

Thanks for the kind words! This was my first video so I'm still dialing it all in, but it feels good that it connected with so many people. Glad I'm not crazy, haha.

[@smoothlyrough512]

Guys, it just works. And every planet will have 16 times the detail. On that busted game engine, this game will be a 24 hour plane crash. Skyrim STILL has day one bugs. Let that sink in. No confidence in this what so ever.

[@Danny_On_Wheels44]

The Engine sucks, it's 2023 FFS time for a diff game engine.

[@Welshy180]

This was one of the best videos I’ve watched in a while. Your insight and take on things that have been said is wonderful!

[@starfieldsignal]

Thanks so much! I’d love for you to subscribe and join us on the journey.

[@Welshy180]

@@starfieldsignal I subbed before I left my comment!

[@Omiicron]

Maybe people don't realise, but these are generated in the studio not your PC. They can still retain the option to add in secrets, special hidden content to these worlds. Maybe a secret alien gun in some cave on a distant ice moon. And then you start to realise, it's just a larger version of Oblivion which also featured procedural generated landscapes.

[@samdroid37]

duuuuude this game is going to under-deliver so hard.

[@heywoodjablome2018]

Hearing the wind blow or seeing the sun set is only beautiful and fun for about 5 minutes then it gets boring

[@starfieldsignal]

Haha, for sure. I actually think this could be one of those games like The Witcher 3 and Ghost of Tsushima that people use as a chill kind of vibe. Thanks for stopping by the channel.

[@heywoodjablome2018]

@@starfieldsignal both of those games are smaller and have things to do other then collect resources. I'm hyped for the game just don't want No man's sky

[@kentuckyjones7242]

imagine the modding possibilities with all that open canvas to work with. i think thats why im so excited about how big it is. we will have mods the size of entire DLC with room to spare

[@kevinduran7698]

Totally agree, Also the unofficial patch is worth looking forward to. It is a Bethesda game after all :)

[@TwistedSisler]

Only issue I see is how planets will be using the random encounter system from their earlier games to generate towns, outposts, facilities, etc. So unless they add in a way to slot your mod content into that system, I could see it causing problems if the game wanted to generate something on top of where your mod content is placed.

[@SuperCocoKiller]

Hopefuly isn't gonna crash and corrupt your savefiles every 6-8 hours of gameplay like modded Skyrim does.

[@TwistedSisler]

@@SuperCocoKiller you don't get crashes if you understand how to install all of the mods you are using correctly. Also never remove mods if you plan to keep playing that save file and never revert back to a save file that existed before you installed the mods. Those lost database records will still be there and can cause crashes.

[@TwistedSisler]

@@SuperCocoKiller also if your game crashes after 6-8 hours of playing, you should probably take a break anyway lol

[@finfrog3237]

Well done. Subbed. This game is becoming more interesting.

[@Pharesm]

So glad that Todd builds just the stuff that's relevant for the experience! And of course it helps that he is using his own company's money, with a finish line, so he can earn the money for his and his company's work, while Chris has no monetary incentive to finish, as it is doubtful, that people will keep buying ships for thousands of dollars after release. Star Citizen still sits on a single star system. Thankfully, Todd Howard has our backs!

[@XTCMatrix]

I think they made the modified engine before 2023, its really hard to keep working on the game engine and implement all the assets at the same time. It must have been completed a few years ago. Skyrim was actually prized as a game that did not use procedurally generated landscape, if you've used the creation kit engine you would know how long it takes to mod the game and it's landscape. What Todd described was something we had years ago, look up what Asobo studio did with Fuel. A great amount of games may use the same. I love the editing and how your video was put together, and I really hope what you said in the end holds true!

[@bnblasercleaning]

Space is the definition of Abundance and Scarcity bonded perfectly together.

[@starfieldsignal]

Noice.

[@ACM-GKM]

So for anyone that played Daggerfall, all dungeon as procedurally generated, however when you accepted a quest from a npc, the quest item was entered into that dungeon. I have a feeling that planets are going to be this way in Starfield. That planet will always be there, what it looks like, will always be the same, but when you get quest, the BBG is now on that planet.

[@starfieldsignal]

Very interesting! Thanks for stopping by the channel.

[@TwistedSisler]

The quest designer said recently that Starfield will be using a bit of the daggerfall quest style. They will be using the random encounter system from previous games to generate outposts or facilities/towns that might have a problem and give you a quest to go to another location that will be placed somewhere after receiving the quest. So the planets will always be the same, but what's on the planets will be different every time.

[@Jacmac1]

I feel like Starfield is going to be a game very much like Starflight. Starflight 1 and 2 had probably 100 or so planets that could be landed on. When you could land, you could land anywhere. There was a story in the background with some level of time pressure, but much of the game was about exploration and discovery, with a few mysteries that the player could try to understand or ignore. It seems like their goal was to take the old school games that were 2D 3rd person from back in the DOS era and come up with a 1st person games with the same sense of openess that those older games had. I think Starflight was probably the earliest open world style game ever made.

[@DrStrangeface]

Very good point! Subbed and looking forward to your next vid.

[@starfieldsignal]

Thanks so much. I'm hoping to make some thoughtful content and not just hype stuff. Thanks for stopping by the channel!

[@High-Tech-Geek]

Every in-game shot looks so barren and empty. Is anyone listening to Howard's words? The game is gonna SUCK. "What's fun about landing on a planet where there's potentially nothing? There's nothing on them. Let's Lean in on that. It can be a lonely experience. Listen to the wind go and watch the sun set. You can watch the moon. It will rotate. It's really happening. Most people probably won't notice that. I want to go see that. Landing on a strange planet. Being the only person there."

[@oowaz]

dude, really well done video. you compelled me to subscribe in 3 minutes, that doesn't happen often

[@starfieldsignal]

Wow, thanks so much! So glad to have you on the journey with us.

[@ruskyalmond1977]

OMG dude you're my go-to for Starfield news. I was able to analyze this on my own as well just by watching interviews. Glad we see eye to eye.

[@Spyro_2076]

1000 planets for future modders to go crazy with 👍😄

[@williamr3162]

7:35 😂 I like how Howard practically swallowed his Yawn 🥱 Where do you receive training for that?!

[@starfieldsignal]

lol, I know. I have to bang my freaking head against a wall to stop a yawn. This guy just eats it, haha.