Comparison Video Shows Huge Improvement in New Starfield Update

gamerant.com:

Starfield is switching up some of its lighting effects, as evidenced in a new video showing overall improvements to the game's graphics. The changes are a part of the recent Steam Beta, where developer Bethesda Game Studios is working on over 100 improvements for update 1.9.47.0 of Starfield.

Bethesda's Creation Engine 2 powers Starfield and has implemented various features to make the game run on current-generation hardware. While it is an improvement to the original engine that powered titles such as Fallout 4 and Skyrim, Creation Engine 2 has seen its fair share of criticism from players and critics. Updates have addressed some issues, yet Starfield's graphics continue to be a point of criticism among some players. However, the newest update aims to further improve the game's graphics, as shown in a recent video.

With gratitude for all the player feedback, Bethesda unveiled update 1.9.47.0 for Starfield via the Steam Beta. It focuses on quality-of-life improvements, quest fixes, and several more changes stretching across a few areas, including its graphics. With about 40 fixes directed toward the graphics, Reddit user TERAB1T demonstrated a comparison of Starfield in its current version (left) to the 1.9.47.0 beta (right). The video showcases tremendous results, with the right side exhibiting improved lighting compared to the 1.8.88 version of Starfield. The video only shows the player character interacting with Franchesca «Frankie» Moore, an NPC in Starfield who resides on planet Neon. However, the video shows just how much has changed since December 2023.

One of the issues that users pointed to in the comments was the spotlight lighting effect in Starfield. In essence, the spotlight effect is lighting that brightly shines over a character, illuminating specific areas like their head and shoulders. The video shows the changes in the effect to the point where it's non-existent in version 1.9.47.0 of Starfield. Other comments lauded the graphical updates, though some