Shack Chat: What is your dream mod for Starfield?

Starfield is Bethesda’s first brand new IP in 25 years and it’s already soaking up every waking hour of gamers’ lives – and that’s before they consider looking into mods! Digging into mods has always been a cherished pastime for enjoyers of Bethesda titles and it’s bound to be no different for Starfield. This got us thinking: what would be our dream mod for Starfield?

Question: What is your dream mod for Starfield?

"Macho Man" Randy Savage, somehow - Ozzie Mejia, Senior Macho Editor

What? Don't look at me like that.

Last time Bethesda released a game on the scale of Starfield, it was Skyrim. What was Skyrim's greatest mod? It was some intrepid genius somehow turning the game's dragons into the late, great "Macho Man" Randy Savage. So, let's do it again!

How? Where would the cream of the crop even fit? Look, I'm not that far into Starfield yet to determine where Randy Savage would fit. Having said that, it took about a year for him to show up in a Skyrim mod, so there's plenty of time to answer any questions.

Dismemberment - TJ Denzer, Senior Virtual Gore Appreciator

Look, I’d like to preface this by saying that I’m only a weirdo in as much as I very much enjoy well-executed virtual gore and graphic violence in video games. Maybe destructible limbs and heads wasn’t a big thing for you in Fallout 4 and Fallout: New Vegas, but I loved that stuff. In fact, one of my fondest memories of Fallout 4 was catching up to Kellogg, the man who stole my baby, blowing his arms and legs off, and stuffing his torso headfirst into a toilet. That was the sweetest of parental vengeance for me. I also liked going Energy Weapons and very much enjoyed turning foes into a pile of ash with a Laser Rifle or a pile of irradiated goo with a Plasma Pistol.

So color me shocked when I learned that you can’t dismember or behead folks in Starfield, a game in which you get laser weapons and space machineguns. I really can’t wrap my mind around why Bethesda, with id Software, MachineGames, and Arkane on call, would do that. If Starfield was like some of our favorite Bethesda games, it could have been in the running for Shacknews Best Headshot of 2023. Alas, I will have to see if modders relate to my plight and do the work to make this happen.

HOTAS Support for Spaceship Flight - Asif Khan, Shacknews CEO/EIC/EIEIO

There are already some sweet mods for Starfield, but I guess I would be interested in HOTAS support. Space flight in the game reminds me of Elite: Dangerous in some ways, and it would be cool to fly around in space with a HOTAS setup.

Consume - Bill Lavoy, UC Vanguard

My dream mod for Starfield is the one that lets you consume food right from where it sits instead of having to pick it up, open your inventory, and then consume it. You see, food often has very little healing benefit, with most items being +3 or +5 health. If you take a lot of damage, there’s almost no benefit to picking up food and eating it given the weight versus its healing properties. That could change if you could eat something right where it sits. You walk through an area, get in a fight, and take some damage. As you loot, you eat what you find with a single button press instead of having to do inventory management. Someone has to make this. Or, if it exists, please show me the way.

Elite: Dangerous spaceflight - Sam Chandler, Starseeker

Starfield is proving itself to be a massive success. There’s a whole lot to do in the game, but one little thorn in my foot is the space travel. Sure, you can fly for eight hours in one direction and get to another planet, but that doesn’t really feel good. You also can’t fly down to planets and are instead treated to a short transition scene.

So what I’d love is to see is a mod that treats me to some Elite: Dangerous level of spaceflight. For those not in the know, you can travel at different speeds in the game: slowly around stations and planets, much faster between celestial bodies in a system, and then jumping into hyperdrive to move between galaxies and around the universe. It’s a seamless transition that makes it feel like you’re actually piloting between stars and not quick traveling.

Planet Skyrim - Donovan Erskine, Vampire Lord exploring the stars

I jokingly heard someone mention that Starfield modders will probably end up modding Skyrim into the game as its own planet. After thinking about it for a while, that’d be cool as hell. I want to land my spaceship on Planet Skyrim and park it in the grassy field right outside of Whiterun. Everything else can just be Skyrim: the locations, the characters, the quests, even the loot. Eventually, I’ll leave and take my Daedric Dagger with me. It’s the only natural conclusion to a decade’s worth of Skyrim modding. You know what, go ahead and throw Planet Fallout in there too.

Super Mario or Mega Man - Steve Tyminski, So crazy, they just might work!

What is my dream mod for Starfield? I have two interesting ideas for this question. They’re never going to happen but I would love to see a mod for Super Mario and another one for Mega Man.

Mario has been in space before, going to different galaxies, so it’s not that crazy to think that Mario could be in space. However, the overlords at Nintendo will never allow it. In terms of Mega Man, Capcom doesn’t seem to want to do too much for Mega Man so it might be an easier shot for Mega Man.

It would be fun to see the classic Mega Man from the Mega Man 1 box art be the mod because it’s so ridiculous and over the top that it feels like it would work in Starfield. Usually games like this have mods that make sense and mods that are so out of left field. Mario and Mega Man are in the out of left field category that they would be fun to see.

There you have it, our dream mods we’d love to see the talented modders create for Starfield. Drop your own ideas in the comment section and even let us know if you’ve found any neat mods on your travels!

Shack Staff

Shack Staff stories are a collective effort with multiple staff members contributing. Many of our lists often involve entires from several editors, and our weekly Shack Chat is something we all contribute to as a group.