Todd Howard confirms Starfield DLC will fix biggest problem with exploration

Todd Howard has confirmed that Starfield’s Shattered Space DLC will feature handcrafted landscapes, similar to Fallout 4’s Far Harbor expansion.

One of the biggest criticisms levied against Starfield’s open-world exploration was its use of procedural generation for its 1,000-plus planets.

While the number of planets players can explore in Starfield is staggering, some fans felt the procedural generation of those environments and landscapes hindered the enjoyment of exploration overall.

However, Starfield fans hoping to see a return to more handcrafted environments are in luck, as Todd Howard has confirmed the Shattered Space expansion will do just that.

In a lengthy interview with content creator MrMattyPlays, Howard said the following about Shattered Space: “…The bulk of that expansion pack…once you get to the city and the planet, it takes place there. It allows us to build a landscape like we would traditionally do.”

Howard went on to compare Shattered Space’s main city and planet to Fallout 4’s Far Harbor DLC.

Comparing Shattered Space to Far Harbor, the Starfield director explained, “This is a scope that works for our development in doing this kind of annual story expansion type of thing. Really excited about that, and it lets us kind of do some things the way we would in previous games…”

The relevant YouTube timestamp begins at 30:33 for those on mobile…

While Howard stressed that Shattered Space would not be “completely that experience,” once again referring to Far Harbor, he did reiterate that the expansion would focus on a DLC-dedicated city in an alien world.

In the same interview, Starfield’s director also confirmed that the studio intends to release more story DLC after Shattered Space.

When asked if annual expansions for Starfield was the plan going forward, Howard said, “…More or less, yeah. How long that continues? Hopefully a very long time. We’re planning for the one after this, so there will be another one.”

It seems Starfield fans who are eager to see more from the game how much to look forward to in the years to come.