Bethesda's upcoming sci-fi RPG Starfield takes inspiration from the beloved indie spaceship simulator FTL, and its in-game footage has given us a solid understanding of exactly how it plays out.
Inspired by the indie game, Starfield's space combat will involve redirecting power to your ship's various subsystems mid-flight. Game director Todd Howard told IGN in early June that he will be transferring power between the various modules on his ship to keep his weapons and systems running.
"Su nave tiene varios sistemas de energía", dijo Howard. a bit of FTL there in terms of putting power into three different weapon systems and then your engines and shields and the grav drive is what lets you jump in and out of certain situations that you have to put some energy.
As spotted on Reddit (opens in a new tab), Starfield's recent gameplay preview shown during Xbox's Summer Game Fest and Bethesda Showcase appears to demonstrate exactly how this power play works in-game. the screen shows what looks like several ship modules, each with a power indicator.
bypass compressor
Engine power, shield, and gravity drive are displayed, along with three other modules: LAS, BAL, and MSL. These can be lasers, ballistics and missiles. It appears to transfer power between them using the D-pad and has room to maximize output to modules or pump power to them in discrete units.
Power management mechanisms have become common in space simulations. Elite: Dangerous has a similar control system that allows you to prioritize the power output of specific ship modules, distributing it around damaged components and power failures. We have yet to see if Starfield will include such a responsive system.
Power management isn't the only thing Starfield will have in common with FTL. You'll also be able to board enemy ships, though the process is a bit more hands-on than the indie game's automated combat.
"You can dock with other ships, you can defuse them, you can embark," Howard said. "Actually, there are missions that involve that. You can steal the ship. There's dialogue in space, there are star stations you can visit, there's smuggling of all the things we want."
Elsewhere in the interview, Howard said that Starfield's space combat was also inspired by the robot fighting game MechWarrior. He said that the development team was inspired by the slower pace of this game when it came to designing power systems and being able to accurately line up shots, rather than being inspired by a "nervous fighter".
Howard's mention of a gravitational pull is also interesting. We already know that Starfield will include faster-than-light travel in one form or another, but the notion of boosting your ship's propulsion suggests that you'll be able to launch yourself into hyperspace in the middle of a fight. You could sail at the speed of light whenever you want.