CDPR dev defends Starfield amidst facial animation criticism

Starfield’s facial animations have drawn a lot of criticism and comparison. One developer from Cyberpunk 2077 steps up to defend Bethesda’s latest title.

Starfield has been out for a month, with Bethesda’s newest IP in over twenty years drawing plenty of praise and criticism.

However, it seems like the launch of Starfield and the rise to grace of 2020’s biggest title have caused many fans to endlessly compare both games.

Cyberpunk 2077’s latest expansion and update have drawn high praise and have raised many questions from the Starfield community. The latest debate questions Starfield’s graphical state, prompting a developer from Cyberpunk 2077 to defend Bethesda’s creation.

Starfield player wants Bethesda to drop Creation Engine

The criticism came from Twitter user, SynthPotato, who pleaded for Bethesda to axe the Creation Engine.

Much of SynthPotato’s claims come from noticing the minor details, as they compare the rigid behaviors of NPC in Starfield.

Bethesda has used Creation for many years now and has drawn plenty of ire from fans due to its performance.

https://twitter.com/SynthPotato/status/1708481847074672692

The community response to this Tweet was staggering as many fans piled on with their opinions. It spread so quickly that Patrick K. Mills, a developer from Cyberpunk 2077, felt compelled to voice his opinion on the matter.

Mills’ response focused on “tools and design” versus the engines being used to power both titles. Citing the scale of Starfield, Mills states that the title focuses on player freedom.

I like starfield a lot, so I'm not getting involved in the core criticism here, but I will say that the way they handle cinematics vs 2077 is not down to engine so much as it is tools and design. Related but not the same. https://t.co/l1rJNFlBoe

— Patrick K. Mills (@PKernaghan) October 2, 2023

Instead bgs puts their resources into giving maximum levels of player freedom, they are just doing something different with their time and that's cool

You can want their scenes to be more cinematic or whatever, and that's fair, but it comes at a cost.

— Patrick K. Mills (@PKernaghan) October 2, 2023

“Instead bgs (Bethesda Game Studios) puts their resources into giving maximum levels of player freedom, they are just doing something different with their time and that’s cool” Mills states.

The original poster, did acknowledge that these were also issues back in Cyberpunk 2077 at the game’s launch, but steady updates have ironed them out.

With Bethesda planning to support Starfield for years to come, it’s entirely possible that these same issues will be a thing of the past soon.