If there’s one thing that’s got us excited the most when it comes to everything on offer in Bethesda’s Starfield, it’s the extensive ship customization options available. From nimble bounty-hunting vessels to hulking cargo starships, the level of freedom you have in this RPG is astounding. Hell, you can even make your ship look like a Gundam-style mech – sort of. With this feature a major part of what makes Starfield look like one of the best RPG games of the year – maybe even all time – we really can’t wait to get stuck into ship-building and ship customization. However, it turns out we might have to wait a while before we’re able to actually do that.
Speaking to Mike Howard, Garry Whitta, and Parris Lilly during episode 143 of Kinda Funny Games’ Xcast podcast, Howard (the Bethesda one) revealed that Starfield’s ship-building is a “deep system” that’s mainly meant for this RPG’s “late game”.
“It’s not like you start the game and you’re gonna get right into ship-building”, Howard explained. “It costs a lot of credits. It is, in a good way, a very complicated system, and one that’s more of a longer-term thing in the game”.
If you’re worried that means keeping your ship in fighting shape is going to be tough, you’ll be pleased to know that “you can easily upgrade your ship” in Starfield. As reassuring as that is, it certainly sounds like creating the ship of your dreams will take some time. Looking at the footage from Starfield we’ve seen so far, we can see ships that cost upwards of hundreds of thousands of credits – which is a lot. We know your first ship might set you back around 98 sandwiches, but it’s clear that the price of these vessels can sky-rocket when it comes to switching out parts and making the most of what’s on offer.
As you can see below, each individual part can cost thousands of credits and there’s a lot of scope for creativity here.
Oh, but that means you can just steal a fancy ship and use that at the start of the game, right? Well, technically, yes. However, Bethesda Howard also added that “when you steal [a spaceship], we do make you register it. If you want to modify it or use it in those ways, you have to spend credits to go [and] register it”. So, while you can make your space pirate playthrough more authentic with this weapon, you’re still going to have to pay a sort of tax if you want to actually use the ship to it’s full extent.
This decision, Howard says, has been made to try and keep the in-game economy from spiraling – which makes a lot of sense when you consider the fact that this could be a really easy way to farm credits. You can check it out at the 31:30 mark in the video below:
One thing we don’t know just yet, though, is how much it will actually cost you to register said stolen spaceship. We imagine, though, that this price will vary depending on the value of the ship, and it’s size and stats. We feel as though it would be a bit unfair to charge players the same amount of credits to register a small shuttle and a humongous starcruiser. Although, Howard didn’t comment much more on that side of the system.
Something he did add that will interest you, though, is that the base-buidling outpost construction mechanics will also be a “very deep system” – and, something that isn’t “really meant as an early player system”. Starfield is a game that’s “meant to be one you play over a long period of time” and base-building is going to involve “a lot of resources”. So, while they can be a fantastic way to generate credits in the long-run, they’re an investment – a time investment, and a resource investment.
Is that something that’s going to make Starfield one of the best games of all time? Well, you should know that Howard also confirmed out worst fears when it came to exploration – so, this isn’t going to be the perfect sandbox space game. However, it’s certainly shaping up to be brilliant – with compelling characters and a wide array of weapons to take advantage of. The fact that this is going to be an Xbox Game Pass game, too, only makes it that much sweeter – if you’re on Team Green.
Still looking for more? While a good Starfield wiki can be a handy source of information, our new Starfield Database goes further, offering you daily news, searchable databanks, and even interactive tools.