In a recent interview, Todd Howard explains how planet exploration in Starfield would have been a lot more punishing before the team decided to nerf “the hell out of it”.
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“So the way the environmental damage works in the game, on planets, and your suit, you have resistances to certain types of atmosphere effects, whether that’s radiation or thermal, etc., and that was a pretty complex system - actually, it was very punitive,” Howard said on the podcast. “… And what we did at the end of the day, and it was a complicated system for players to understand, is we just nerfed the hell out of it. It matters only a little bit. It matters more in flavor. The affliction you get is more annoying knowing you have it.”
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Howard’s comment that Bethesda may address it “going forward” implies Starfield may receive a Hardcore or Survival mode-type difficulty level in the game. It would not be the first time Bethesda added a difficulty mode to one of its games post-release, as Fallout 4 received a Survival Mode a few months after launch. This added a set of features not found in the other difficulty levels, such as eliminating the option to autosave or save manually from the pause menu or stronger enemies spawning more frequently. Should such a mode be added to Starfield, the team could bring back the more punitive system for planet exploration.
on console pressing Y from the menu shows you all your statuses and afflictions. You also get a corresponding unique symbol on your compass when you have one!
I believe it’s Tab on the PC, in the upper right it will actually say what the symbols mean. But even though I carry around helmets/clothes/spacesuits with high ratings for each thing and wear appropriate things I still seem to get warnings when I go outside. I’m not sure if it’s actually affecting me or just a general warning that the hazard exists.
on very hard mode at least I get lung damage/bruises/frostbite/fractures that minorly affect you. The fractures that affect your carry weight are the only ones that really require attention. Everything slowly auto heals from your suit.
i carry a hazmat suit and put that on if the planet is really bad and that seems to help.
looking forward to a hard core mode very much!