The game's director, Todd Howard, recently divulged that the planetary exploration in Bethesda's newly launched game Starfield was intended to be significantly more challenging. This revelation came during his appearance on the Game Maker's Notebook Podcast alongside Insomniac Games Founder Ted Price.

Howard shared that the game initially included a complex system involving environmental damage on planets and resistances to varying atmospheric effects. He mentioned that this system was considerably punitive, feeling frustratingly severe to players before it got "nerfed" — video game parlance for weakening a gameplay element.

He also revealed that the game originally included multiple spacesuits to deal with different extreme environmental conditions. However, it didn't influence the gameplay as considerably as the development team anticipated, reducing its importance.

Howard additionally hinted that there's a chance for changes in the future. Taking a leaf from Fallout 4's book, Starfield might add a Hardcore or Survival mode, featuring heightened difficulty levels and potentially restoring the punitive planet exploration system.

Despite the nerfing, Starfield has proven to be a brewing success, boasting 10 million players and marking the largest launch in Bethesda's history. For both beginners and advanced players, guidance is available via the Starfield walkthrough.
PC users can also explore the range of mods curated by the team.