Impressions: Starfield VR Mod
Upon the initial announcement of Starfield, I found myself quite captivated by the game. Despite Bethesda’s reputation for releasing titles that can be quite buggy, I genuinely enjoy their games. Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to dedicate the necessary hours to it, particularly since it wasn’t available in Virtual Reality. Fortunately, Mutar from FlatNoMore has begun to change that with the launch of a VR mod.
Modder: FlatNoMore (Mutar)
Discord Server: Join
Price: Available Via Patron ($3 minimum)
Played On: Meta Quest 3 with Link Cable
The launch of the mod prompted me to buy Starfield and experience the game in Virtual Reality at last. It’s important to note that the mod is still in its early development phase, which means it lacks certain features that many VR users might consider crucial. The most significant of these is 6DOF, as the mod currently only supports 3DOF.
The mod provides an opportunity to experience Starfield in immersive Stereoscopic 3D, allowing you to fully engage with the Starfield universe just like in any other VR game. You can explore planets, navigate through space, engage in dogfights, battle enemies, and interact with conversation trees—all within a captivating Virtual Reality setting.
Regarding Stereoscopic 3D, the mod excels in delivering these experiences. The scaling is impressive, making you truly feel as if you are part of the game, with both small and large elements appearing realistic and cohesive, ensuring you remain immersed in the universe. Additionally, the depth perception in the mod is remarkable; whether you’re exploring planets or soaring through space, the distances and scaling of objects on the horizon are spot on. This attention to detail is crucial for VR, and it’s fantastic to see mods that successfully achieve this level of immersion.
Before you install the mod, I strongly suggest launching Starfield first. Follow the guidelines to disable the necessary settings and reduce all other visual options to their lowest levels. After that, proceed with the mod installation, load the game, and play with the settings you adjusted to low. This will allow you to test and optimise the settings for the best performance your system can manage while in VR.
Regarding controllers, you can still utilise motion controllers; however, they are configured to function like a traditional game controller. Considering this, I opted to play the game while seated with my XBOX controller, as room-scale support is unavailable, making this the most practical option. To aim your weapons, you’ll rely on head movements to direct the reticle by looking around—this was a common method in the early days of VR. Despite these current control limitations, I enjoyed the gameplay and quickly adapted to the setup.
The Verdict
Mutar’s Starfield VR mod is still in its early stages, but what has been released so far is quite impressive and generally runs smoothly, despite my ageing PC. It’s fantastic to dive into another Bethesda title in VR, especially after they stepped back from the VR scene following their initial experiments with Skyrim and Fallout 4. The experience is surprisingly fluid, even at this early point. If you’re a Starfield enthusiast, I highly recommend subscribing to FlatNoMore’s Patreon to explore the mod. I’m eager to see how it evolves over time, and I hope we eventually get to enjoy Starfield in full 6DOF, which would truly enhance the VR mod experience.