Fallout 4, Starfield Give The Elder Scrolls 6 Two Roads for…

Fallout 4's settlement feature became one of the most popular mechanics of the franchise, and was followed by Starfield's outposts. With this feature showing up consistently across Bethesda's games, it's possible that settlements of some kind may appear as a mechanic in The Elder Scrolls 6. While both Fallout 4 and Starfield feature a settlement feature, they have two very different approaches that both have advantages and drawbacks to offer The Elder Scrolls 6 on a mechanical and narrative level.

Settlements serve several purposes, in that they're a great mechanic for players to make visible changes to the world of the game, they allow players to express themselves, and they create a new system within the game that gives players meaningful goals and interactions. Fallout 4's settlement system in particular was very popular because of the different kinds of settlements that could be built, but Starfield's outpost system offered a great deal of versatility and creative freedom.

The Elder Scrolls 6 Should Be More Like Oblivion Than Skyrim in One Key Area

Despite Skyrim being well-loved, The Elder Scrolls 6 could benefit from following Oblivion's lead instead when it comes to a key story element.

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By Paolo Josiel Arias

Building in The Elder Scrolls and Other Bethesda Games

The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim introduced a basic but effective building mechanic with its expansion pack, Hearthfire. Skyrim's Hearthfire expansion allowed players to buy one empty piece of land in each Hold. They could then mine resources such as stone and clay, chop wood, and purchase materials to build a home from the ground up. The rooms could be customized by function, and be added or removed when desired. Services such as a bard, steward, and a personal carriage with a driver could also be hired.

Fallout 4's Innovative Settlement Mechanic

Fallout 4 expanded on Hearthfire's concept with settlements, where the Lone Survivor can create an entire town from resources found across the Commonwealth. These settlements can only be built at predetermined locations, but this also means that each settlement has an inherent personality that makes them unique and, in some cases, iconic, such as the Red Rocket Truck Shop settlement. There are 30 settlements in Fallout 4's base game, with more settlements made available in Fallout 4's content add-ons.

Starfield Emphasizes Creative Freedom

This system was further developed in Starfield. Rather than being limited to a predetermined location, players can create outposts in any viable location. Placing an Outpost Beacon sets the perimeter of an outpost, allowing the player to begin constructing the outpost with the resources they've accumulated. Much like Fallout 4, outposts in Starfield need to be functional and have resources to be self-sufficient. Players can build outposts anywhere and have complete freedom in their construction and appearance, with the goal of player expression.

How The Elder Scrolls 6 Can Adapt the Settlement System

The Elder Scrolls 6 has two paths it can follow, each with its own advantages and drawbacks. Fallout 4's settlement system offers more narrative control for Bethesda, which means more interesting NPCs, possible side quests tied to settlements, and overall more visually interesting settlement potential. Starfield's outpost system offers more player freedom, with the caveat that the outposts can feel repetitive and with no NPC or storytelling potential attached to them.

The direction that Bethesda decides to take will depend on its overall goals for The Elder Scrolls 6 and the role that environmental storytelling has in its world-building. Balancing role-playing, player freedom and expression, and storytelling is always a difficult task in game design, and whichever path Bethesda takes in regard to The Elder Scrolls 6's settlements may say a lot.

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