Although it had all the hype in the world going for it, Starfield hasn't managed to set the world on fire the way that Bethesda and Microsoft likely hoped. Still, the game is being ed to make it the title that it could have been, seeing updates that add a rover and its first big expansion, called Shattered Space. With the , there is a world in which Starfield can make a comeback of sorts, similar to what Cyberpunk 2077 managed to accomplish after its initially rough start.

With a game as large and as detailed as something like Starfield, there are bound to be left over bits and cut content that didn't make the final product. Both Skyrim and Fallout 4 have some famous examples of this, such as the cut quest that led to having the Sole Survivor's spouse revived as a Synth by the Institute. Starfield is no exception due to its size, but unlike other Bethesda titles that have cut quest lines, there is an entire mechanic that didn't make it to the final version, which could have changed how the game is played.

The Cut Starfield Mechanic That Would Have Changed The Game

Bethesda Should Consider Bringing It Back

According to an interview with Bruce Nesmith (an ex-Bethesda systems designer) for KIWI TALKZ, Starfield originally had a ship building mechanic that required the mining of natural resources. The idea was to have the player mine materials, send these resources to factories around the galaxy, and then give the player the ability to build ships in these factories. It would have given the game strategy and resource management mechanics on top of being a massive, galaxy-spanning RPG.

Nesmith has worked extensively with RPGs, having contributed to a myriad of Dungeons & Dragons books in the 1980s and 1990s before working for Bethesda.

It isn't entirely clear how far Bethesda got in the production of this mechanic, although Bruce Nesmith did mention that the developer wanted to have an entire economy that worked with the mining and automated factories as a foundation. These factories wouldn't have made whole ships, but they would have made the modules that would come together to make the ships. The ship module system obviously made it to the final version of the game, but it is interesting that they were once going to be made in factories.

Although mined materials can be used for crafting and outpost construction, this automated factory mechanic would have given mining more to it. It would have given Starfield more depth too, since the added mechanics could have potentially kept some players hooked when they got bored with the RPG elements. This would have been an even better mechanic if the ship customization was even better too, but as it stands, the best Starfield ship parts need to be bought.

Starfield's Cut Mechanic Is Similar To Fallout 4's Settlement System

Extra Management Could Keep Some Players Hooked

The idea of Starfield's mining and automated factory mechanic is somewhat similar to the idea behind the Fallout 4 settlement system. The system wasn't implemented in the best way, but building a town in the ruined Commonwealth while managing these areas to house settlers was a nice distraction from the main story. It could be annoying at times, but the management and building kept many players hooked, helping them to turn places like Red Rocket and Sanctuary into proper towns to reclaim the wasteland.

Fallout 4 has 37 unlockable settlements, with 30 in the base game.

Although Starfield already has an outpost building system that is the natural evolution of Fallout 4's settlement system, ships should be the star of a spacefaring adventure, and having extra mechanics around the ships would make them the real time-killer of the game. It would also expand upon the outpost system, since the resources from the outposts would be sent to factories to make ships. The extra management would keep players engaged and would make resources a bigger deal in the game as a whole.

Ultimately, Bethesda decided that adding this mechanic to Starfield would simply be too much. There is a lot to do in the game already, but having a wealth of things to do is the point of a Bethesda game. Adding it back in would give the game more depth, things to do, and would help link ship building with outposts and resource collecting. It would make everything feel more interconnected as a whole while possibly hooking players in if more modules are added to customize these ships.

Source: KIWI TALKZ/YouTube