21 November 2023 , 18:00
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Bethesda’s space RPG enjoys revamped performance on PC thanks to the arrival of update 1.8.86, as detailed in the latest round of patch notes.
Remember when Starfield was going to be the biggest thing on Earth? Admittedly, for a few months after release there, the Xbox exclusive title sort of was, breaking all sorts of records on Xbox Game Pass. However, that hasn’t stopped the dedicated team at Bethesda from tweaking the core game and fixing bugs to make the best version possible of its vision. We now sit another step closer to this vision thanks to the rollout of update 1.8.86, which the Starfield patch notes reveal bring a long-requested feature to PC.
The headline feature coming to the PC version as outlined in the Starfield patch notes on the official support page is, of course, DLSS support. Up until now PC players have had to make do with FSR2, the resolution upscaling equivalent for those working with an AMD graphics card. Now, though, Nvidia preferring players can rest comfortably knowing that update 1.8.86 makes it so DLSS support is achievable with relevant graphics cards.
Interestingly, another headline feature added “by popular request”, according to Bethesda, is the ability to eat – regardless of what platform you’re playing on. Yes, that’s right, upon finding food and drink in the environment, players on both Xbox Series X|S and PC will literally be able to ingest them, rather than having to go into your inventory to ingest these items as before. Stealth has also been adjusted to be “a bit more forgiving” alongside the usual gamut of bug fixes and improvements.
Starfield patch notes – update 1.8.86
Here's the full list of Starfield patch notes for update 1.8.86, which is available to download now on both Xbox consoles and PC:
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Nvidia DLSS Support
This update introduces Nvidia DLSS support for our PC players. Compatible Nvidia graphic cards can now use DLSS Super Resolution, Deep Learning Anti-aliasing (DLAA), Nvidia Reflex Low Latency, and DLSS Frame generation.
Let them eat!
By popular request, we have added the ability to ingest food and drink items upon finding them in the environment. You can enjoy those Chunks immediately or save them for later. The choice is yours.
Fixes and improvements
Performance and stability
- Addressed a number of memory related issues and leaks.
- Added some GPU performance optimizations, which will be more impactful on higher end cards.
- Improved renderer threading model, improving CPU usage most notably on higher end systems.
- Various stability and performance improvements.
Gameplay
- Added the ability to eat the food placed in the world.
- Adjusted stealth to be a bit more forgiving.
- Fixed an issue where Andreja’s head would stay permanently cloaked.
- Fixed an issue that could prevent players from firing their weapons.
- Fixed issues where some NPC could be seen not wearing clothes (Note: This issue may resolve itself over time).
- Fixed an issue where already in-progress skill challenges could stop progressing after reaching the Unity and starting a new game.
- Fixed an issue that could temporarily prevent opening the inventory or saving after entering the Unity.
- PC: Fixed an issue where mouse movement could be choppy.
- Fixed a rare issue that could cause the home ship to be lost.
- Fixed an issue where the ship services technician might be missing.
- Fixed an issue where occasionally the camera could shake incorrectly during Traveling, Grav Jumping, Docking, or Landing transitions.
Graphics
- Addressed an issue with how ambient occlusion appeared in ultrawide resolutions.
- Optimized initial shader compilation that occurs on start-up.
- Added the ability to adjust Brightness and Contrast in the Display Settings menu.
- Added the ability to adjust HDR Brightness provided that the system supports it. (Xbox & Windows 11 only).
- Addressed a number of materials that could sometimes present an unintended pattern under certain conditions.
- Fixed various visual issues related to the new FOV slider options.
- Improved the appearance of the eyes on crowd characters.
- Addressed a number of minor visual issues related to lighting, shadows, terrain, and vegetation.
- PC: Addressed additional visual issues related to DLSS.
Quests
- All That Money Can Buy: Fixed a rare issue where players couldn’t sit during the negotiation with Musgrove.
- Blast Zone: Fixed an issue where the hard rocks that need to be cleared out by players will not appear on Ngodup Tate’s land.
- Echoes of the Past: Fixed an issue where the Grylloba Queen could sometimes not be reachable during the objective “Secure the Shuttle Bay”.
- Eye of the Storm: Fixed an issue where players' quest progression could potentially be blocked due to a missing docking prompt.
- Grunt Work: Addressed an issue where progress could appear blocked if “Supra et Ultra” was completed while returning to the Lodge during “High Price to Pay”.
- No Sudden Moves: Fixed an issue that could prevent the entrance door to the Scow ship from being opened again.
- Operation Starseed: Fixed an issue where the key that is needed to exit the facility could sometimes not be present.
- Sabotage: Fixed an issue where David Barron could potentially not be found by players.
- Short Sighted: Fixed an issue where players could rarely become control-locked while speaking with Vladimir.
- The Heart of Mars: Fixed an issue where players might not be able to mine the “The Heart of Mars”.
While it's a good thing the updates and fixes keep on coming to Starfield, the next big news item players are still left wondering about is the Shattered Space DLC. Expected to launch sometime next year, once this mysterious story-driven expansion is out of the way, Bethesda will be freed up to work on the next instalment of The Elder Scrolls franchise.