In a game as expansive as Starfield, free roam can be a huge thing and a great challenge for the developers to tackle. Rendering an entire universe and allowing free movement through it while also making sure the game runs smoothly can be a system melter even if it is done. For these reasons, Free Roam in Starfield has some limitations put on it and players can’t just fly their ship from one-star system to the next while listening to the radio. Let us look at the possibilities and limitations of Free Roam in Starfield and give you some handy tips.
Explore every planet you land on thoroughly
Landing on planets in different systems and then exploring them can be quite rewarding. While it may seem like the planet doesn’t have any loot or missions to offer, you can still turn these visits to be quite rewarding.
Exploring the free-roam section of planets in Starfield will allow you to scan the flora and fauna of these planets. These in turn give you more information about them and their uses so you can craft better items. On top of that, this exploration allows you to gather important resources like minerals from ores and fiber from plants.
For those who like building, creating outposts on these planets and then planting resource extractors go a long way in building your trade empire. Exploring a variety of planets will give you an idea of what resources can be extracted from there. Then you can create your outposts accordingly and set up cargo links.
Take care not to cross the invisible boundaries of a planet
The biggest limitation in all open-world games is the infamous invisible barrier. Planets in Starfield are said to be actually fully explorable. This is due to only the major areas being created by the developers and the remaining planet is procedurally generated as you venture off. If you reach the end of the expected boundary on a planet, players will get the message that they have reached the boundary and have to either return to a city or their ship.
As far as the space is concerned, there are probably no invisible walls here. This has neither been confirmed nor denied. Starfield is so vast that players can just keep on flying straight, the dark stretches of space in front of you can just stay dark stretches without players realizing that it might be just an invisible wall.
Flying to planets
Unlike No Man’s Sky or Star Citizen, there is no atmospheric flight in Starfield. Nor can you fly all the way to a planet and land on it. Players can choose the planet they want to visit and the game will use grav jump to get them close to the selected planet. Players can then get in the planet’s orbit and land on the planet, but they can’t fly from one planet to the next. If you want to get to Mars from Earth, you need to jump.
So don’t waste your time reaching a planet’s orbit and then trying to fly all the way down to its surface. Simply opening up the menu and fast traveling to a landing pad on the planet will save you precious time.
Spacewalking
Spacewalking is not a thing in Starfield. Once in space, the only thing players can do is fly their ship around. While you can get up from the pilot’s chair and move around in the ship while it is in space, you can’t actually do much besides it. Players are not allowed to exit their ship when in space. The only time players can leave their ship when in space is when they dock with another vessel and decide to enter the said vessel.
Take some time to explore each area
While it is convenient to rush between objectives, taking the time to listen to NPCs in settlements or actively engaging in conversations can be extremely rewarding. If you are walking through the streets of a city, you might hear some NPC chatting amongst themselves. This can lead you to find new quests and activities to do.
Similarly, if you approach an NPC you think might have something interesting to say, they can give you new quests or information about current quests.
Carry ample digipicks
The worlds of Starfield are filled with rooms and containers that have amazing loot in them. Unfortunately, the best loot is always locked behind locks of different difficulties. Make sure you have enough digipicks with you so you can lockpick these doors or containers. Upgrading your skills will also allow you to open up more difficult locks.
