Inside Starfield: The Secrets Behind Creating Countless Planets

Todd Howard, the director of Bethesda's highly anticipated space RPG Starfield, has shed light on how the studio managed to create an astonishing number of planets for its most ambitious title yet. During Xbox's summer showcase in June, Starfield's gameplay was unveiled, and Howard revealed that the vast space RPG would offer players over 100 star systems and more than 1,000 planets to explore and discover.

The announcement of this information about Starfield left many gamers in awe, prompting them to question how Bethesda Game Studios would even begin to accomplish such a colossal task. This news also sparked some skepticism and comparisons to Hello Games' No Man's Sky, an indie game with similar sci-fi aspirations that failed to deliver when it was launched back in 2016. The similarities between the two space exploration games were further strengthened by the fact that Starfield's gameplay reveal included a resource collection mechanic akin to that of No Man's Sky. Fans of Bethesda's RPGs were concerned that the vast majority of the 1,000 planets would serve only as resource collection points.

Bethesda's Todd Howard recently appeared on the Starfield Signal podcast to shed some light on the process of creating over 1,000 unique planets for their upcoming exclusive space RPG. Howard explained that the studio came up with a new development technique which involves taking large tiles of landscape, many of which include handcrafted structures and elements, and wrapping them around the surface of a planet to mesh them together. This technique ensures that each planet has its own individuality and uniqueness, debunking previous speculation that the game would rely heavily on procedural generation. Fans can rest assured that the incredible environments that Bethesda is known for will be present in Starfield.

It appears that Howard's technique for generating tiles and landscapes for Starfield involves a lighter form of procedural generation. Though not a full-blown implementation, it still holds promise for creating unique and varied planets. Fans can look forward to seeing this technique in action during the upcoming Starfield Direct following Xbox's Showcase on June 11. Mark your calendars for the game's release on September 9 for PC and Xbox Series X|S.