Summary
- Starfield's ship-building editor offers endless customization possibilities as far as exteriors are concerned, allowing players to create unique starships with various construction modules.
- However, interior customization is lacking in Starfield, with fans unable to control where interior doors and ladders are placed, leading to frustrating maze-like layouts.
- Future updates or DLC content for Starfield could address these issues by allowing players to manually place interior elements and preview their ship's interior design.
One of the most appealing aspects of Starfield when it was initially revealed to the world was its ship-building mechanics, offering players the tools they need to customize the exteriors of their very own starships however they like. The feature definitely didn't disappoint when players got their hands on the game for the first time, but while some of the most creative members of the Starfield community have created some truly mind-blowing ships, the ship customization mechanic could still benefit massively from one specific addition.
While it can undoubtedly be tricky to get to grips with at first, the complexity of Starfield's ship-building editor absolutely pays off. The vast array of available construction modules, when paired with a little creativity, allows players to give their starship virtually any shape imaginable. Discovering ways to make vital systems such as grav drives and cargo modules fit in nicely with a ship's overarching design makes for an enjoyable challenge in itself, and there's really no single "optimal" ship design. Players can spend hours just fine-tuning the look of their craft's hull, and while there are a few community-favorite ship modules, every custom-built ship is pretty much guaranteed to be unique. Unfortunately, interior customization is where Starfield's ship building mechanic falls flat.
How Starfield's Ship Customization Could Be Perfected
Make no mistake, ship interiors have plenty of potential, with Starfield offering a considerable variety of interior habitation modules each fit for different purposes. These various types of on-board facilities add so much utility to ships, and even feature totally different internal structures and appearances depending on the manufacturer variant. The big issue with interior ship design is that fans barely have control over how these modules fit together, as the game decides where interior doors and ladders are placed rather than the player. This essentially leaves a mostly randomly-generated maze on the inside, often making it difficult to actually get around the ship.
This issue only gets worse with bigger ship designs, and is made all the more frustrating by the fact that players can't preview the interior of their ships in the ship editor. Of course, this is something that many Starfield players have been complaining about since the game itself launched, and it's true that some players have figured out methods of forcing specific door and ladder placements with careful usage of specific interior modules. Such compromises only counter the creative possibilities, however.
Starfield's DLC or Future Updates Could Finally Bring Interior Ship Customization
Starfield does have some DLC content somewhere on the horizon, but an update allowing ship builders to manually place interior doors and ladders while also providing a togglable preview of a ship's interior from the editor is all that's needed to solve all the mechanic's most glaring issues in one fell swoop. Of course, it's way too soon to know if the game will ever see additions to core mechanics such as the ship builder. Details on future content updates for Starfield are scarce, so it's quite likely that modders will be the first to address issues such as these. Still, it would be nice if Bethesda addressed complaints and allowed players to customize the interior of their ships, even if said customization is limited to door and ladder placement.
Starfield
- Released
- September 6, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
Starfield is the first new universe in 25 years from Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning creators of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Fallout 4. In this next generation role-playing game set amongst the stars, create any character you want and explore with unparalleled freedom as you embark on an epic journey to answer humanity’s greatest mystery.
The year is 2330. Humanity has ventured beyond our solar system, settling new planets, and living as a spacefaring people. From humble beginnings as a space miner, you will join Constellation – the last group of space explorers seeking rare artifacts throughout the galaxy – and navigate the vast expanse of the Settled Systems in Bethesda Game Studios’ biggest and most ambitious game.
- Developer(s)
- Bethesda
- Publisher(s)
- Bethesda
- Platform(s)
- PC, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
