Starfield, the upcoming interstellar RPG from Bethesda Softworks, has a lot of expectations to live up to in what’s been a landmark year for critically acclaimed game releases. To provide the fan base anxiously waiting for the early September release with more information, a couple of the developers popped into the game’s official Discord today for a lengthy Q&A session.
On Aug. 16, lead quest designer Will Shen and design director Emil Pagliarulo answered a number of fan questions about Starfield, providing some more insight and revealing a few notable features that players can look forward to.
Let’s dive into the biggest things revealed during the most recent Starfield Q&A.
You can buy a house or go to jail, or both, in Starfield
You will not have to live out of your spaceship in Starfield unless you want to, but you’ll be able to sleep in your own bed at home or in an uncomfortable cot in jail depending on how much you want to contribute to society.
Players will have the option of buying houses or even earning them as rewards for completing major quests, which will be very familiar to longtime players of Skyrim. There will be a home to buy or acquire in each of the major cities.
There will also be a jail system available, implying that you will have the choice between paying a fine or going to jail, depending on the crime you commit or how much money you have. While the devs didn’t go into extreme detail regarding jail, there may be an option like in previous Elder Scrolls games to either wait out your sentence or take a risk by trying to break out.
Related: New Starfield lore drop provides 280-year backstory of human space travel and main faction
There are over 20 named companions you can recruit in Starfield
Starfield‘s companion cast will feature over 20 named characters that can join your crew, four of which come from the Constellation society of explorers. These companions will have their own unique backstory and personality, and will faithfully follow you around the galaxy and carry your extra items.
In previous Bethesda games, certain actions and interactions were met with approval or disapproval from your companions. Doing too many things that your companion dislikes can cause the relationship to sour, leading to the companion leaving you or even turning on you.
It’s not “feasible” to complete the game without killing anyone
One player asked about the potential of completing a pacifist run, without killing anyone or anything. While the developers spoke fondly of the speech challenges and non-lethal methods available in the game, they admitted that a completely non-lethal approach “wasn’t totally feasible.”
Related: Starfield combat: Weapon types and mod system, explained
This might be a tad disappointing to longtime Bethesda fans. Fallout New Vegas allowed you to potentially complete the game without killing anyone, as did Fallout 3 if you don’t count the radroach you’re forced to kill in the tutorial.
You can be a double agent, sort of
One player had the idea of joining one of the game’s factions while supplying inside information to the other. It’s unclear exactly how deep this system is, and how reputation works exactly, but the developers did promise that a part of the Crimson Fleet storyline involves you infiltrating the fleet as a double agent for the United Colonies military.
Eventually, the player will have to choose between siding with the Fleet or the Colonies.
