Starfield boasts an expansive universe, teeming with places for intrepid spacefarers to journey through. But how did Bethesda assemble an entire galaxy for you to explore?
The concept of procedural generation isn't new to the gaming world. No Man's Sky famously employed procedural generation in its development, offering players an entire universe filled with near-infinite possibilities, albeit with a less handcrafted feel.
Procedural generation can sometimes lend a game a more spontaneous, less meticulously designed atmosphere. This might lead you to ponder: Is Starfield also utilizing procedural generation? And if so, to what extent? Does the game offer a fully crafted campaign experience? Don't worry; we've got answers to all these questions.
Does Starfield Utilize Procedural Generation?
Yes, Starfield indeed harnesses the power of procedural generation. The game presents players with a staggering array of over 1000 planets to explore. Crafting each of these planets manually would have been an insurmountable task without the assistance of AI.
However, Todd Howard, the game's director, reassures players not to fret. Procedural generation has been a part of every Bethesda game to some extent. In an interview with IGN, he explained, "We do a lot of procedural generation in Starfield, but I would keep in mind that we've always done that. It's a big part of Skyrim in terms of questing and some other things we do. We generate landscape using procedural systems, so we've always kind of worked on it."
Is Starfield Predominantly Procedural Content?
No, Starfield doesn't rely solely on procedural content. According to Todd Howard, the game incorporates the most hand-crafted content ever seen in a Bethesda game. Howard elaborated on this design philosophy during an interview with Kinda Funny Xcast, stating, "What we do is we handcraft individual locations, and some of those are placed specifically."
Moreover, he emphasized that Starfield features an abundance of handcrafted content, with over 200,000 lines of dialogue. If players choose to follow the game's main questlines and experience the game in a more traditional Bethesda fashion, they'll find a blend of meticulously designed experiences alongside procedurally generated elements.
Be sure to check out some of our other articles on the website:
Vasco Location In Starfield - How To Get Your First Spaceship In Starfield - Starfield: 5 Skills Every New Player Should Get - How To Bind Your Weapons In Starfield - Starfield Lockpicking Guide - How Many Main Quest Missions Are There? - How To Change Your FOV
