Highlights
- A fan proposed a redesigned user interface for Starfield's inventory, which received widespread approval from the fandom.
- The proposed overhaul features a grid-based system that offers more information on a single screen, addressing common complaints about the current inventory system.
- While some players raised concerns about controller navigation with the new design, other games with similar UIs have proven successful, sparking a debate among fans about streamlined UIs in Bethesda games.
One Starfield fan authored a thoughtful inventory redesign that significantly improves on the game's existing user interface, with some caveats. Their proposal received widespread approval from the fandom at the tail end of Starfield's five-day early access period.
While Starfield is one of this year's highest-rated games, most reviewers were quick to point out that the space-faring RPG still suffers from some flaws that have been plaguing Bethesda titles for many years. One such common point of criticism centered on its inventory, which is near-identical to the one from The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, presenting players with ever-growing lists of items to scroll through while being light on sorting options and lacking in any other quality-of-life features beyond the ability to rename weapons and armor.
Reddit user turbokacperel recently went through the effort of mocking up a well-received inventory overhaul that would massively improve on Starfield's existing UI with respect to those complaints. Their redesign ditches long loot lists in favor of a grid-based system that fits much more information on a single screen. And while the trade-off comes in the form of a more cluttered display, many fans reacting to this proposal responded positively, stating that they'd gladly look at a busier screen if they could spend less time scrolling through the inventory, which is an inherent advantage that grids offer over lists.
Not everyone agreed with that sentiment, with some Starfield players pointing out how the redesign would potentially make controller navigation more cumbersome, especially while playing the game on a TV, and thus possibly struggling with making out some of the proposed mockup's smaller elements. Whether that argument is valid enough to dismiss the entire underlying premise of the overhaul is debatable, not least because Cyberpunk 2077 had an extremely similar UI that worked reasonably well on consoles, at least in the sense that it didn't attract widespread criticism. Several 2023 hits such as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and the Resident Evil 4 remake also offered grid-based inventories that managed to be TV- and controller-friendly.
The debate stemming from this redesign pitch underlines the fact that while Bethesda games' UIs have certainly evolved over the years, the studio's continuous attempts at streamlining them remain a fairly polarizing topic among its ever-growing fandom. As a result, UI overhauls are likely to be among the most popular types of Starfield mods in the long term, as was the case with most of the company's past RPGs.
Nevertheless, it might be a while until the modding community puts out any in-depth inventory redesigns for Bethesda's latest game. While the developer vowed to make Starfield a modder's paradise, its official modding toolkit is still without a release date, which is bound to inhibit any serious attempts at third-party customization and content.
Starfield launches September 6 for PC and Xbox Series X/S.