Starfield Takes Inspiration from Skyrim with Its Revolutionary Jail System

Highlights

Starfield will feature a jail system similar to Skyrim's, allowing players to surrender, pay fines, or resist arrest and make a run for it.

Serving time in prison within Skryim can negatively impact a character's progress in specific skills, though it remains uncertain whether Starfield will feature a comparable mechanic. Additionally, Starfield will introduce a Contraband system that enables players to clandestinely transport unlawful items utilizing unique spaceship modules. Players will also have the opportunity to align themselves with multiple factions, ultimately facing a decisive moment where they must decide between betraying or remaining loyal.

Bethesda’s highly anticipated sci-fi action RPG, Starfield, will introduce a prison system reminiscent of the one seen in Skyrim. Often referred to as "Skyrim in space," the game has implemented mechanics that will be familiar to fans of the previous title. Now that Starfield has officially reached the gold status and pre-loading has commenced, gamers are even more eager to uncover additional details about this space-faring RPG.

In perfect timing with the excitement surrounding the game's gold status, Bethesda organized a Starfield Q&A session on August 16th. Members of the game's free Constellation group had the opportunity to join the Bethesda Game Studios Discord server and pose their questions. Lead Game Designer Emil Pagliarulo and Lead Quest Designer Will Shen revealed a wealth of information during this session.

Starfield's legal system shares some interesting similarities with Skyrim. In the Settled Systems of the game, there are specific laws that must be followed. If a player is caught breaking a law, they have the choice to surrender and face either imprisonment or payment of a fine. However, for those who are confident in their ability to escape, they can opt to resist arrest and make a daring escape. According to Pagliarulo, "The Settled Systems is more reminiscent of Skyrim rather than Fallout 4's Commonwealth in this aspect."

In Bethesda's high-fantasy RPG, spending time in jail can have a negative impact on a character's morale and can cause them to lose progress in certain skills. It is uncertain if this feature of Skryim's jail system will also be present in Starfield or if players will have the opportunity to escape from jail. However, considering the game's focus on crime and punishment in a futuristic universe, it is likely that players will be able to choose between serving their sentence or attempting a jailbreak.

Additionally, Starfield includes a Contraband system where certain items are illegal to purchase or possess. This includes harvested organs, although the purpose or circumstances surrounding the player carrying such items have not been clarified by the developers. To avoid being detected, there are special ship modules available that can be utilized to smuggle contraband and avoid detection by security ships on patrol.

During the Discord Q&A session, many participants were thrilled by the idea of becoming a double agent and joining opposing factions. Similar to Skyrim, Starfield allows players to join multiple factions simultaneously, eventually forcing them to make a choice between loyalty and betrayal. To illustrate this, Pagliarulo and Shen provide an example of a sidequest where players must infiltrate the Crimson Fleet to gather information for the UC SysDef faction. Ultimately, it is the player's decision to decide which side to support. Bethesda assures that all playable factions in the game can be fully experienced individually, providing players with numerous options to explore. Starfield will be available on September 6 for PC and Xbox Series X/S.

Source: ResetEra