A fascinating yet disappointing Starfield bug has been discovered, which causes playthroughs to become more unstable the longer they go on.
Initially supported by our sister publication, PC Gamer, several modders have identified a flaw with Starfield’s item system, which causes save states to become more likely to crash as time goes on.
It all boils down to something called dynamic form IDs. These are strings of data that Starfield uses to keep track of items in the game. As you move through the game’s vast, lonely galaxy, you’ll find yourself moving items around, taking gear off of deceased enemies, and leaving behind unwanted space junk. This creates more dynamic form IDs to keep track of what you’ve done with all your loot. The more there are, the more moving parts your save file has, and, as any coder will tell you, this means there are more ways it can crash.
Were the game working properly, these IDs would recycle themselves every so often, keeping your save file clean. However, for whatever reason, this refresh doesn’t trigger in Starfield as is, increasing the likelihood of a crash.
There is a temporary solution. If you start a New Game Plus, you can refresh the game world, getting rid of the dynamic form ID bloat built up on your save.
However, it appears that developer Bethesda Studios has identified the issue and is working towards a solution.
Comment from r/Starfield
“The team is aware that some players have been experiencing increased crashing and instability in the late game. It’s been a high priority, and I’m happy to report that there’s a fix planned to address this for Xbox/Microsoft Store being included in our next update,” reads the post from community manager CVH.
Though we don’t yet know when this “next update” will be, it’s reassuring to know that the development team is committed to making the fix.
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