How do Planet Tiles Work in Starfield?

Starfield is an open-world RPG from Bethesda, but many players wonder how open it is. With a space RPG, many players (myself included) hope for a massive, sprawling world. Yet Bethesda has taken an interesting approach to creating Starfield's world, using a feature called Tiles. Below I'll explain how Tiles work.

Starfield's Tile System Explained

Todd Howard sat down with STARRIMS on YouTube to discuss planet exploration, and explained Starfield's planets use a tile system to create the exploration. Each planet has a number of tiles, functioning as wide landscapes with realistic details. These are then wrapped around the spherical planet, creating various areas.

Related: Is there a Level Cap in Starfield?

Said various areas are explorable after landing on a planet in an area. This system was intended to prevent landing on an empty planet and provided ample information as to why a player should land there, whether it is to gather resources or something else. Its other purpose was to make planets look realistic. We'll learn more about the ins-and-outs of this system once the game launches and the day one patch releases.

Do Planets Have Boundaries in Starfield?

Yes, Starfield incorporates boundaries on its planets. Boundaries serve to separate the tiles making up the planet. Players will need to enter the atmosphere or travel from one landing spot to another. However, the boundaries appear to be reasonably large, meaning most players will not encounter a boundary unless they actively seek them out.

Some backlash has come out regarding this, as the expectation was that Starfield would be a massive, seamless, open-world game. However, it would be nearly impossible for the current state of hardware to run such a feature, and players may not find it as enjoyable to run across miles of nothing to reach a point of interest. Furthermore, it allows Bethesda to focus on creating a massive, detailed world. I, for one, am okay with this system if the world feels more alive and dynamic.

For more information on Starfield, check out Starfield Character Builder – Tools for Creating Builds and All Starfield Romance Options and FAQ on Pro Game Guides.