One Missing Starfield Mechanic Could Be Awesome & Terrifying (& Isn't Aliens)
From space battles and ship-building to setting up massive outposts to mine a planet for resources, Starfield has plenty of mechanics to help players immerse themselves in the vast Settled Systems. However, there are some features that could have been expanded upon to make certain gameplay elements even more immersive. While many have been hoping for more humanoid aliens to arrive in the game, there is one element of the game that could have been made even more elaborate: Space Combat.
Enemies Should Board Players' Ships In Starfield
If an enemy ship is weakened enough, players are even able to board it to get more individual loot that could prove to be more useful than the scraps that may be left floating around in zero gravity after completely blowing a ship up. Bizarrely, the opposite isn't possible, as enemy ships will go straight for the kill rather than weakening a player's ship and boarding it to steal all they can.
It's a shame, as space pirates would certainly take the opportunity to board a ship and loot it - in fact, the fallout of this tactic is often seen across other NPC ships in the game - and it would add yet another level of tension to such an encounter. If enemies could board a ship, players would have to engage in a gun-fight inside their weakened, stranded vessel to protect their cargo and any crewmates who have accompanied them on their ventures, which would extend a Space Combat sequence even further from the rather short-lived encounters that are currently present in the game.
The number of active crew members that can be on a ship at once can be increased by upgrading the Ship Command skill, which would essentially give players a small army should they get boarded.
Starfield's New Ship Builder Tools Could Make These Encounters More Exciting And Unique
Starfield's May 2024 update made it possible to place individual items and better decorate a ship's interior, starting with a blank slate rather than simply selecting from pre-arranged styles and allowing players to make their ship their own. The feature did this by adding in some features from Starfield's pre-existing outpost building mechanic - which let players completely build bases on planets either to house crew or to farm for resources - and while there were some issues with the placement of ladders and doors that were still fixed to certain points of the ship regardless of its build and had to be worked around, it was still an overall improvement for players who enjoy the building side of the game.
If enemies could come aboard a ship, it would add another layer of depth to this mechanic, as items could be placed strategically rather than just for decoration, letting players take cover or provide better points to attack from should their ship get boarded. This would give players an advantage, as the battle would be moving into their home territory, and players would already be familiar with various features that could tip the odds in their favor.
While space combat can be fun, a lot of the encounters currently available can be rather short and repetitive. While some mods have introduced more variety with warring factions and the option to assist in protecting some when passing by a random battle, Bethesda could still implement more features, such as occasionally taking the battles aboard a player's ship to add some more variety and tension as it won't always be clear how a battle will play out, while also being extremely in keeping with some of the factions' motives. Whether this would happen in another patch or via Starfield's Creations menu - where the studio has already added the controversial Trackers Alliance quest, The Vulture, for the equivalent of $7.99 - is yet to be seen. Maybe it will come down to a fan to use the Creation Kit to do it first for free.
