1000 planets btw

Q:

How many companions total will we be able to recruit?

A:

There are over 20 named characters who can join your crew.
Four of them are from Constellation and have the most story and interaction with the player, but all of the named characters have their own backgrounds and can follow you around (and carry your stuff).

Over 20 total, and we really focused on the members of Constellation.
What Will said. lol
When we first began Starfield pre-production, we looked back at our previous games, and realized how popular and effective the companions were. So they were a big priority for us, and we really wanted to tie them directly to the main quest.
There are some really big moments with them specifically.
I should also mention that our companion voice cast is amazing. We haven’t released the list yet, but you can be sure there are a lot of talented actors bringing those characters to life. (Same for Constellation in general)

I'm so glad the full dialogue options are back, one of the things that bugged me about fo4 was that dialogue wheel

Q:
When we assign crew members to work at outposts, do we have to pay them salaries?

A:
You just pay them once. We actually experimented with paying them regular salaries, but ultimately decided to just have the one cost up front.
There’s a lot to do in Starfield, and we wanted to minimize what the player had to constantly keep track of.

Yep. One time payment (that you can use the speech challenge game to negotiate over. Some traits also affect the cost)

Q:
Will our companions be able to level up their perks? Will their perks stack with ours?

A:

All crew start with a set of perks at specific ranks.
So you might meet a character that’s especially good at rifles, and you hire them to watch your back. Or you might meet an Astrodynamics expert that will increase your grav jump range when assigned to your ship.

They don’t level up, but they come at different ranks, depending on the companion.
Well, we call them Skills in Starfield. And they do stack with yours, when relevant.
Some are there for flavor, to highlight the companions’ backgrounds and interests. But you’ll really feel the benefit of the ship- and combat-related ones. Getting a boost to your shields, or seeing your companion laying down fire with a weapon they’re proficient in, are pretty sweet moments.

yes it was the worst thing about fo4

it’s a good omen for fo5 that they aren’t doing that with starfield

Q:

What are your favorite parts of the game?

A:

Shipping it!
But seriously, folks.
Because of my position, my experience is a little different than yours. I won't speak for Will, but personally, I’ve seen every questline, every city, every major piece of content in the game at every stage of development. So my answer is colored by that.
For me, the real pleasure is seeing how they’ve all evolved into the versions they are today – the versions everyone here will play. I have a real soft spot for Neon. Getting that city nailed down took a lot of work by a lot of different people, and the result is, really, the cyberpunk settlement I always hoped it would be.
I also love all the questlines. I think they’re the best we’ve ever done. The designers on this project totally killed it.

I love finding content that I haven’t seen yet or forgot about. Our games are so big that no one person is likely to have seen it all, even after all our passes and levels of review.
Our quests really evolve over development and its great to see how everyone adds to them (designers, animators, voice actors, lighting, everything).

Q:
What books or movies had a big influence on some of the quests?

A:
I’m a history nerd, so I actually listen to a lot of podcasts like Hardcore History and The History of Rome.
While our game is science fiction, I like how historians can tell you about how human beings react to extreme circumstances (like war, famine, and technological breakthroughs), and you can imagine how we’d react to similar circumstances in a fictional setting (just at a grander scale).

Well, I’m a child of the late 70s-early 80s, and I have very fond memories of the sci-fi of that time.
So, let me think...
Star Wars, OG Battlestar Galactica, Space: 1999, Buck Rogers, Battle Beyond the Stars, Ice Pirates... and let’s not forget the classic that is Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jaryd Syn. I think I actually saw that one in 3D.
But also much “headier” sci-fi stuff, like the writings of Arthur C. Clarke and Robert Heinlein, or films like Contact, Interstellar, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and even Event Horizon.
In all of those examples, you realize that outer space is two things: 1.) A source of mystery and wonder, sometimes terror AND 2.) A giant blank page on which you can write any story. And we have written a lot of VERY different stories in Starfield.

Q:

What are some favorite small details in Starfield to add to the immersion?

A:

I think what I really love is that, although humans are living in space, and our aesthetic is very much "NASApunk," this is a very lived-in universe. And you can see it everywhere.
You know, everyone loves the sandwiches. But it's the books that are lying around, the notes on bulletin boards, the environmental storytelling that our level designers and world artists are so good at.
So all, I'm a slow typer, and somewhat typo obsessed...
Totally love the work from our voice actors, too. And the music. And sound effects. And clothes. lol
Buttons! We do love our buttons.
Oh, I do want to mention this, if you haven't heard about it. Adam Savage and team are building a filming model of the Frontier: youtube.com/watch?v=TuM_1xSQCFw
And that ship, man. And all the ships - the level of detail is insane.

I look really closely at all our outfits. You can see seems, materials, especially on the spacesuits (Constellation members have patches on their spacesuits and they're tied to what skills they have).
We also love buttons. There's a lot of buttons.

Q:
What is the history of the mechs?

A:

Oooooo the mechs. Good one.
So, we showed this a bit in one of the animated shorts.
The mechs are leftovers from the Colony Wars. (Note it's Colony War and not Colony Wars. Singular)
Both sides, United Colonies and Freestar Collective, had mechs. But the Freestar Collective really mastered them. The United Colonies had mechs, too, but they also relied on the controlled alien beasts from their Xenowarfare division.
Both of those were outlawed with the Armistice that ended the Colony War.
I'm not saying there's an old mech battleground in the game.
I'm typing it. 😉

And that’s the end of the q&a

S*** questions!

Wow, things are NOT looking good for this game

why

😭😭😭

Just drop the game man, its time

In the sense that it’s about to destroy my social and work life and physical health for a long time yes

this and james blake dropping same week listening to james while exploring the Milky Way

What is even this game

oh PC gamepass can preload tomorrow. Lol going to preload it on gamepass just in case the steam preload is dogshit then will take it off once Steam Preload completes

skyrim in space

I like the not in all caps

Damn this is dropping soon af

Wish it was on PS5 but this game was one of the main reasons I bought a Series S tbh

Did they touch on quest design or anything like that? That’s all I really care about (and writing quality, though my expectations aren’t exactly very high on that front).