Starfield – 30fps should be perfectly fine (Picture: Bethesda)

A reader is upset that Starfield only runs at 30fps and claims that developers could do more to make 60fps a standard this generation.

I was eager to see what the likes of Sony, Microsoft, and various third parties had to offer up in terms of new games and experiences this summer. I expected some showstopping displays of visually pleasing video games releasing in the next few years, with a lot to come before the end of the year. I generally enjoyed the actual gameplay on display over the CGI trailers. One game in particular stood out for me as having massive scope and living up to this generation’s potential.

That game was Starfield, a real showpiece and spectacle. It seemed to be deep and near limitless with its scope, of putting you into a real sandbox to explore space. It also had engaging combat and mechanics, all powered by Xbox and its infrastructure. We were treated to a separate standalone showcase just for this one game. However, not one mention was made of how the game would actually run on the Xbox, bearing in mind that it is a console exclusive Microsoft Xbox game, a real flagship title.

Not bound by previous generations or being cross platform, expectations were higher than high. However, from an interview given separately from the showcase, Bethesda boss Todd Howard announced that due to a creative choice and in favour of ‘fidelity’, Starfield would be locked to just 30fps, even though it often reached much higher in testing. He felt it was important that this vision be fidelity over fluidity. Which would be true if PC was also locked to this but blatantly this will not be the case, as the various media outlets and personalities went to back up this decision. However, most stated that they would be enjoying the game on PC.

The overall point I am getting to is that I did think that we were getting a real lift this generation in terms of fluidity. Most games to date this generation have had a solid performance mode; some even meeting a target of 120fps. I do not think I am asking a lot to have this. I outright skipped Gotham Knights when it released with no hope of a performance mode. I have not even bothered to try Redfall yet and I am on Game Pass so it would cost me nothing to try it. However, it turned out I kinda dodged that one.

I can see that it will be an issue going forward as now the door is open for developers, as Starfield will sell and review very well just from the hype it is getting now. See Cyberpunk 2077 and you know how much hype carried that even when it had such a rocky launch and first few months; it’s seen as a massive commercial success. I thought that having games being cross-generational was holding us back, but it was also doing us a favour, meaning the extra resources we had allowed the developers to push us some frames and other features.

I am an avid Twitter user and the opinions on 30fps vs. 60fps seem split down the middle. I was repeatedly told that this is the de facto console cycle. I just need to get a PC and be done with it; the game is too big and complex for consoles. Then there were arguments against it, saying that this is typical of the developers and that they just can’t optimise. I’m of the opinion that more can be done.

It would not be a locked 60fps but if it would run decently most of the time, then why not give an option to unlock it? I would be willing to put up with a rougher experience. So far, games that have had issues with their performance mode have also turned out to be bad on PC as well. See Star Wars Jedi: Survivor; it’s a mess when you use the performance mode to be honest, but it’s heavily unoptimised on PC too but it’s in progress of being patched.

Please give me a minimum of 60fps!

[60fps takes an enormous amount of processing power, that current console technology struggles to provide. It has never been a standard in the past, especially not for anything other than fast action games, and it will not be now until a future generation of consoles. That’s just the reality of the situation and Microsoft and Sony have never suggested otherwise – GC]

By reader Daniel Sherlock (@mcsherlocks)

The reader’s features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.

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A reader is upset that Starfield only runs at 30fps and claims that developers could do more to make 60fps a standard this generation.