Highlights
- Bethesda fans have entered a debate on which game did settlements/outposts better: Starfied or Fallout 4?
- Fans are criticizing Starfield’s outpost system for not having an overall effect on the gameplay.
A Bethesda fan has raised an important question to the Starfield community: is Fallout 4’s settlement system superior? The answer…well, that’s up for debate, but it does seem like there’s a pretty clear winner.
Over on the Starfield subreddit, RealityJumpStudios asked the community, “Should Bethesda bring back the settlement system in Fallout 4 to Starfield?” The user went on to discuss Fallout 4’s incredibly detailed settlement mechanics, which focuses heavily on resource management. “It added a new dimension to the game, allowing players to create their own communities, complete with defenses, resources, and even thriving economies,” the user explained.
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Fallout 4’s settlement system is so detailed, that it’s almost a game within a game. It’s a complex system that requires players to manage settlers, assign them jobs, ensure there’s water, supplies, power, and so much more.
Starfield, on the other hand, while still fairly complex, isn’t quite as detailed. Players are able to build outposts on a plethora of different planets in order to mine the planet’s resources. You can build a lovely little home for yourself, and even assign crew members to different outposts, but there are a large number of players that believe it just doesn’t live up to the high standards set by Fallout 4.
Is Fallout 4’s Settlement System Better Than Starfields?
One of the most reoccurring responses to this question was that many Starfield players, initially, thought the game’s settlement system was going to be nearly identical to that of Fallout 4’s. “I thought this was going to be what the quests with LIST would unlock,” Reddit user Lady_bro_ac said.
Other users called Starfield’s settlement system “terrible,” mainly due to the fact that there’s currently no way to link up the inventory system, unlike Fallout 4. Reddit user Raptor7502020 said that building an outpost in Starfield “felt like a chore” and that it didn’t add any value to the overall gameplay. “I now have a place to store my guns and display them, sure, but I feel like there’s no reason to build one. Picking from the same 5-6 habs really makes it feel repetitive too,” they explained.
“The settlement building was like 70% of my entire hype for the game. I was totally let down and will probably never break 80 hours because of it,” Reddit user euphoric_elephant said.
While it appears as though many have crowned Fallout 4 as the winner in this debate, there were some Bethesda fans that weren’t overly fond of Fallout 4’s settlement system. “No, they should implement something better. FO4’s system is quite clunky IMO,” Bryaxis said. Others, such as THEJimmiChanga, defended Starfield’s outposts, saying:
“Outposts actually have a lot more depth than a lot of people realize. Sadly it’s not often seen because a lot of it is locked behind tier 3 perks. Outpost management, outpost engineering, planet habitation, botany and zoology all are perks that have A LOT of outpost content behind.”
There are certainly pros and cons to each, but there are some users who believe a more detailed settlement system in Starfield would detract from the game’s main selling point: exploration. But, honestly, is Starfield even that great of an exploration game? If outposts had more of a purpose and required me to travel to gather resources, I’d probably end up exploring more.
Starfield
- Released
- September 6, 2023
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