Bethesda's space-exploration action RPG Starfield is finally on its way this September after about eight years in development. A game the studio has wanted to make for some time, the ambitious scope features over 100 star systems with more than 1000 planets to explore in Starfield. Players will also have the option to establish Outposts on the various worlds, populating them with NPC colonists.
Bethesda's experiments with base building arguably started with Skyrim's Hearthfire DLC in 2012, but Fallout 4's Settlements really got the ball rolling. Fallout 76 reworked the mechanics into its CAMP system, and the base building in Starfield makes it seem likely that something similar will play a role in The Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5. However, there's still plenty of room for future Bethesda games to build upon the foundation laid down in Fallout 4.
Settlements in Fallout and Starfield
While Hearthfire lets players build a house in Skyrim, Fallout 4's Settlements elevated the system to full-on town building. After clearing out a location or doing a quest for the locals, Fallout 4 players unlock a Workbench, letting them construct objects ranging from decorations and furniture to entire buildings. Players can then recruit Settlers to populate their towns, assigning them jobs and seeing to their needs.
Fallout 4's Settlements weren't perfect, of course. The controls can be awkward sometimes, and it's hard for the player to see when manipulating large objects. In addition, building pieces didn't always snap together correctly, Settlers struggled with pathfinding, and the game put a tight limit on the size of each town. The Settlements were also very micromanagement-heavy, requiring players to manage everything in person and frequently return to defend them from random attacks. The Settlement assets were also initially quite limited, and many found Fallout 4's Settlement focused DLC underwhelming.
Still, Fallout 4's Settlements proved very popular with fans. Bethesda implemented a similar system in Fallout 76, though players were limited to two CAMPS and couldn't recruit NPC settlers. However, the limitations of the CAMP system had a lot to do with Fallout 76's multiplayer focus.
Bethesda revealed Starfield's Outpost construction during the Xbox Showcase last year. As with Fallout 76, players can establish their Outposts anywhere on a planet's surface. Like Fallout 4, players can assign NPC crew members to the Outpost to help with production. The video showcased Starfield's build mode, demonstrating how players can assemble Outposts from prefabricated structures. However, Bethesda hasn't shared much beyond that, so it's hard to talk specifics.
Bethesda Games Can Build on Fallout 4's Foundation
Starfield probably won't be the last Bethesda RPG to feature some form of base building, so similar systems will likely appear in The Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5. If that's the case, there are a few key areas where new Bethesda games can build upon the concept. For example, Fallout 4 could feel quite empty if players don't engage much with the Settlement mechanics, and it's silly that the leader of the Minutemen needed to build every house in the Commonwealth personally. Most Settlers also lacked names or personalities.
These factors undermined Fallout 4's worldbuilding and made it feel like everything revolves around the player. Starfield is already making some improvements to Outposts, but Bethesda could always do more. For example, developers should include more non-player-controlled Settlements and give recruitable NPCs more unique personalities. These NPCs don't need to be fully fleshed-out characters, though that would be nice. Still, games like XCOM and Rimworld show how something small can go a long way.
It also wouldn't hurt if Starfield and later games gave players more options to automate their settlement's functioning and development, like the Sim Settlements mods for Fallout 4. While base-building is a lot of fun, it can also be nice to set things up and watch them go or have it be something players can manage in the background. Future Bethesda games should offer that in their town-management systems.
Starfield launches September 6 for PC and Xbox Series X/S.