Tag: Computers

The European Commission has sent a warning letter to Google and its subsidiary YouTube over disinformation and graphic content linked to the Hamas-Israel conflict. The letter reminded the company about its content moderation obligations under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA). The EU is concerned about the spread of false information and illegal content. It has been warning social media companies to step up policing of their platforms for such content. In a letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai and YouTube CEO Neal Mohan, EU Commissioner, Thierry Breton reminded them of the EU Content moderation obligations under the Digital Services Act (DSA).

The EU’s Warning to YouTube and Google

The European Commission sent a warning letter to Google and YouTube over disinformation and graphic content linked to the Hamas-Israel conflict. The letter reminded the company about its content moderation obligations under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA). The EU is concerned about the spread of false information and illegal content, and it has been warning social media companies to step up policing of their platforms for such content.

YouTube’s Obligations under the DSA

YouTube has several obligations under the DSA. These include:

– Content Moderation: YouTube must keep graphic content such as hostage videos away from underage users and act swiftly when authorities flag content that violates European laws.

– Tackling Disinformation: YouTube must mitigate disinformation and tackle it in the context of elections.

– Reporting: The European Commission has requested a report from YouTube “in a prompt, accurate and complete manner”.

Conclusion

The EU’s warning to YouTube and Google highlights the importance of content moderation and tackling disinformation. YouTube has several obligations under the DSA, and it must comply with these obligations to avoid penalties. The EU is taking a tough stance on social media companies that fail to comply with its regulations. It is likely that we will see more warnings and probes in the future.

Google has recently released its latest smartphones which are the Google Pixel 8 and 8 Pro. As always, Google Pixel smartphones are well-known for excellent build quality and strength. The Google Pixel 8 Pro represents beauty, strength and good specifications as reported by Google. The Google Pixel 8 Pro seems to be a step further from the Google Pixel 7 Pro in all categories. The new Pixel model boasts of better screen, better chipset, better camera and many more features.

Well, upgraded specifications was one thing that everyone expected from Google’s new flagship handsets. however, one thing no one saw coming was Google’s new update policy. Google has announced that users of the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro will now enjoy seven years of software update. This news came as an exciting news for Google Pixel fans around the world and other potential users who plan to switch to Pixel smartphones.

Seven years of software support is undeniably an exciting move by the company, but a new question has also popped up on social media. Using one smartphone for seven years is really a long time if you do the math. The question is, will the Pixel 8 Pro be able to hold up for that long? Is the smartphone strong enough to survive all the scratches, tears and wears for seven years? Any phone that has the capacity to survive for that long should truly be a durable phone without any doubt. For this reason, a popular YouTube content creator decided to test the durability of the Google Pixel 8 Pro.

Google Pixel 8 Pro Durability Test

JerryRigEverything, a popular YouTuber who is well-known for passing smartphones through strict conditions just to test their strengths and weaknesses, has performed his usual test on the Google Pixel 8 Pro. Last year, the Pixel 7 Pro also went through the same test and came out with flying colors. The Google Pixel 8 Pro features a tough aluminum frame and a stronger Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on both the front and back. Therefore, we expect it to perform even better under this test. particularly because it now incorporates stronger glass.

This test includes three main stages: including scratch resistance test, the screen burn test and the bend test. We will list each step and discuss how it is was performed and how the Pixel 8 Pro performed during the test.

Google Pixel 8 Pro Scratch Resistance Test

Due to how expensive mobile phones screens have become, many users try their best to keep their smartphones from dropping. However, avoiding scratches is quite difficult to do these days especially if you are not a fan of screen protectors. This is why Jerry always performs scratch resistant tests to check how the smartphone is able to resist scratches on the screen.

For the purpose of this test, he sticks a piece of paper across the screen and labels from level one to level nine on it. At the first level, he scratches a sharp-edged screwdriver to check how the screen resists the scratches. He then tests a sharper edge on the next level until it gets to level nine. This means, the last level will be tested with the sharpest edge.

Under this test, the screen of the Pixel 8 Pro was able to stand against scratches until it got to level six and seven. At level six, you could see some light scratches on the display. Level 7 wasn’t too bad as you could also see light hues on the display. This means that the display of the Google Pixel 8 Pro will not scratch easily, unless it comes into contact with a very sharp object.

Google also did something quite unique to enhance the durability of the Pixel 8 Pro. The company decided the make the volume rocker and power button removable. In this case, when there is a lot of pressure on these keys, they drop off rather than breaking off beyond usage. The user can easily reattach them using their hands. Also, scratching the tip of a knife on the camera glass didn’t seem to bother the glass that much. There were few scratches on the fingerprint scanner area, but the sensor still worked fine.

Google Pixel 8 Pro Screen Burn Test

This test involves holding a burning fire lighter two inches away from the screen for about 16 seconds. The purpose of this test is to check how much the screen of the smartphone will survive under the hot summer sunlight.

The screen burn test for the Pixel 8 Pro lasted for about 17 seconds. After the test, the fire left a permanent burnt mark on the screen which didn’t really affect the usability of the smartphone. Even after the burn, the Pixel 8 Pro was still working fine.

Google Pixel 8 Pro Bend Test

This is the point where a lot of smartphones actually fail to pass. In the bend test, Jerry exerts high pressure on the smartphone, trying to break it. This test determines the structural rigidity of the smartphone. It shows the actual build quality of the smartphone. This also shows the strength of the materials the company used in building the phone. It is worth noting that, Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro Max with its titanium material still failed the bend test as the back glass broke during this test.

On the other hand, the Google Pixel 8 Pro stood strong no matter how much pressure was exerted on it. You could hear some wood-0cracking sounds during the test, but the phone still stood firm. Although there was some bending on the outer part, neither the frame nor the glass on the front and back broke or cracked.

Conclusion

At the end of the test, the Google Pixel 8 Pro came out to be very usable. Everything was still working just fine without any problem. This confirms that, the Pixel 8 Pro can survive a lot of pressure for a very long time. Therefore, if you plan on getting yourself a Pixel 8 Pro, you are rest assured that you can fully enjoy 7 years of software update without worrying about the survival of the hardware.

The Minecraft Live 2023 event happened today, and the upcoming Minecraft 1.21 update has been announced by Mojang. The next major Minecraft update is said to focus on “combat and tinkering” with the introduction of a new structure, new mob, and more. So, let’s go over all the new exciting features the Mojang team is planning on adding to Minecraft in 2024.

All New Minecraft 1.21 Features

Note: At the time of writing, Mojang has discussed and showcased only the features listed below. The team will likely announce more and more Minecraft 1.21 features as soon as they’re ready. So, make sure to follow our Minecraft 1.21 guide, where we’ll be adding the newly mentioned features for this update.

• Trial Chambers: The new and epic underground structure with procedurally generated rooms. At this location, you will find traps, dangers, loot chests, and rewards. This structure will be filled with exciting combat challenges you’ll love to explore with your friends.

• Trial Spawner: These are special spawner variants that are generated inside Trial Chambers and adapt to the number of players in the location underground. They will spawn mobs in batches. Once they have been defeated, the spawner will drop loot for you and go into the cooldown phase.

• Decorative Blocks: New decorative blocks were also showcased during the Minecraft Live 2023 event. These are possibly new tuff bricks, chiseled tuff bricks, polished tuff, copper doors and trapdoors, chiseled copper blocks, and a catwalk block.

• Copper Bulb: It’s a new light source block that emits light level depending on the oxidation state it’s at (seen in the background in the image above). Fully oxidized emits the lowest light level and vice versa.

• Crafter: It’s the ultimate version of the crafting table that allows you to automate crafting. You can use hoppers to pull and place the items from and in the crafter. You can also toggle the slots of its UI, so only the chosen slots can accept ingredients.

• The Breeze: A new and playful hostile mob found in the Trial Chambers. It controls wind and is able to shoot ranged attack called “wind burst” at you, which can damage you and even interact with the blocks such as buttons and trapdoors.

• Armadillo: The mob that won the Minecraft Mob Vote 2023 is this cute little savanna biome resident! It moves cutely and drops scutes for your friendly doggos in the game.

So, what do you think about these features coming to Minecraft? Are they going to make the game better or not? Tell us in the comments below!

Tesla has started delivering its locally-produced Model Y crossovers in China, marking another milestone for the electric carmaker in the world’s largest vehicle market. The deliveries began on January 18, 2021, in 10 major cities at once, including Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Wuhan. The Chinese market is critically important to Tesla and its growth plans, as the company aims to increase its vehicle sales volume from about 500,000 in 2020 to 20 million annually over the next decade.

Tesla’s Production in China

Tesla built its $2 billion Shanghai plant in just under a year, a rapid timeframe for the global automotive industry. Automakers establish local vehicle production to lower shipping costs and avoid import duties or delays, especially in countries with high tariffs like China. Tesla has said that the initial goal for the Shanghai factory is to make 250,000 cars a year, before ramping up to 500,000 units. The debut of the Chinese-made Model Y has been hotly anticipated, with the launch seen as another challenge to Chinese rival Nio, which sells its own line of electric SUVs.

Tesla’s Strategy for Model Y in China

Unlike previous vehicle programs, which were launched in different markets with vehicles imported from Tesla’s Fremont factory in California, Tesla is only introducing Model Y in new markets once the vehicle is produced there. For the past nine months, Tesla has been expanding Gigafactory Shanghai to prepare for the production of the electric SUV. The plant has more than doubled in size. In October 2020, Tesla obtained approval for Model Y made in China from the Ministry of Industry & Information Technology. Finally, Tesla started production of the Model Y at its Gigafactory in Shanghai over the last few weeks. Just last week the automaker updated the online configurator with the production version – confirming that deliveries will start this month.

Tesla’s Updated Model Y in China

On October 1, 2023, Tesla updated the Model Y in China. It made changes to the exterior, interior, and a few select specs. The new Model Y is equipped with an RGB ambient light on the dash. It also comes with a new textile dashboard material (replacing the wood trim). According to reports from China, the new MIC Model Y is also equipped with the Hardware 4.0 (HW4) self-driving computer and brings some other improvements (NVH reduction). The pricing of the three MIC Tesla Model Y versions in China remains unchanged and starts at $36,788 (263,900 CNY).

Final Words

Tesla’s new Model Y has started delivery in China. The company is using a new vehicle introduction strategy for the electric SUV. Tesla’s production in China is critical to its growth plans. The Chinese market is predicted to become even more crucial in the coming years. Also, the debut of the model made in China has been hotly anticipated. The launch is seen as another challenge to Chinese rival Nio. Tesla has also updated this model in China, applying changes to the exterior, interior, and a few select specs.

More than a week and a large petition later, we have got the result of this year’s mob vote. The mob that’s going to be added to the game in the next major Minecraft update has just been announced during the Minecraft Live 2023 event. So everyone, please make some noise for the winner of Minecraft Mob Vote 2023 – Armadillo!

Mob Vote 2022 Winner: Armadillo is Coming to Minecraft

Yes, that’s right everybody, armadillo is the new mob that’s coming to the game with the Minecraft 1.21 update next year! This cute animal will live in the warm climate of savanna biomes. Moreover, it will drop scute items and players will be able to use them to craft armor for their tamed wolves in Minecraft. This will make your loyal companions even more useful and strong in the fights against hostile mobs. Also, if the armor is dyable just like the horse’s is, then your doggos will even look fancy while slaying the mobs!

Tesla, the electric car company founded by Elon Musk, has been fined A$155,000 by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). The fine is for failing to comply with button battery safety standards. The fine was imposed due to the company’s slack checks on tiny fob batteries. ACCC claims that this could pose a risk to children if swallowed. This article will explore the details of the fine and the safety standards that Tesla failed to comply with.

What are button batteries?

Button batteries are small, round batteries that are commonly used in electronic devices. We commonly find them in devices such as remote controls, watches, and hearing aids. They are also used in the key fobs that are used to unlock and start Tesla’s electric cars. Button batteries are a particular concern for safety because they can be easily swallowed by children. Kids often mistake these button batteries for candy or other small objects. If swallowed, button batteries can cause serious injuries or even death. This is because they could burn through the oesophagus or other organs.

Tesla’s failure to comply with safety standards:

According to the ACCC, Tesla failed to comply with safety standards for button batteries. It claims that the company did not conduct adequate testing and also did not provide enough warnings about the risks of swallowing the batteries. The ACCC also found that Tesla did not have adequate procedures in place to ensure that its suppliers were complying with safety standards. Due to these failures, the ACCC hit Tesla with a A$155,000 fine.

The Australian Button Battery Standard states that the battery must be secured in the product it powers. Also, if it is replaceable, it must be placed in a secure battery box that cannot be opened by young children.

The ACCC says children may be attracted to button batteries and swallow them or stuff them into their nostrils. This can cause chemical burns and possibly damage to vital organs. There have been three reports of children dying in Australia after swallowing button batteries, according to ACCC.

ACCC deputy chair Carter Catriona Lowe said,

“Button batteries can be fatal to young children and Australia’s mandatory standards aim to reduce the risk of injury by safety testing products containing them before sale and clear warnings on product packaging … If these products fail to be tested before being sold, they pose unacceptable risks to children. We want all companies, large and small, to comply with mandatory button battery standards”

The ACCC said some of Tesla’s physical keys are in the shape of a car, which may increase their appeal to young children.

Tesla’s response:

Tesla has acknowledged the fine and has stated that it will work to improve its compliance with safety standards. The company has also stated that it has already taken steps to improve the safety of its key fobs. This includes adding a warning label and changing the design of the fob to make it more difficult to open.

Tesla’s response to the ACCC’s fine is critical. Timely acknowledgement of the violations, along with transparent and robust corrective measures, can mitigate some of the reputational damage. The company needs to assure its users and the market that it takes battery safety seriously. It also needs to show commitment to upholding the highest standards.

Tesla’s case with the ACCC could reverberate across the electric vehicle market. User confidence, a driving force behind the industry’s growth, is delicate. If users begin to question the safety standards of electric cars, it might slow down the adoption rate. Other players in the market might also face increased scrutiny, impacting the entire industry’s trajectory.

The ACCC’s imposition of the fine on Tesla raises questions about the company’s internal quality control mechanisms. Such incidents can tarnish a company’s reputation, potentially leading to a loss of consumer trust. For Tesla, a brand that has thrived on its image of innovation and reliability, this incident could have far-reaching consequences.

Conclusion:

The safety of button batteries is an important issue, particularly for children who may be at risk of swallowing them. Tesla’s failure to comply with safety standards for button batteries is a serious issue, and the fine imposed by the ACCC reflects the importance of complying with these standards. It is important for companies to take the safety of their products seriously and to ensure that they are complying with all relevant safety standards. Tesla’s response to the fine is a positive step. It will be good if Tesla continues to take steps to improve the safety of its products in the future.

This incident highlights the evolving challenges in ensuring the safety of electric cars. As technology advances, so do the standards and regulations. The incident involving Tesla underscores the need for continuous vigilance and adaptability within the industry. Brands must invest in research and development to not only meet but exceed safety standards. This way, they can ensure the utmost security for users and the environment.

The ACCC’s decision to fine Tesla serves as a stark reminder of the importance of adhering to stringent safety standards. While this incident may have cast doubts about Tesla’s handling of certain parts of its cars, the company has responded quite well which is a good thing. Broadly, this prompts the entire electric vehicle industry to reevaluate its safety protocols. This is to ensure that innovation goes hand in hand with user safety. As technology propels us into a greener future, safety must remain a non-negotiable priority.

According to a new report by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), someone could soon be at risk of dying or being injured by a falling satellite every other year. The report, commissioned by the FAA, states that if SpaceX continues to launch satellites as planned, approximately 28,000 pieces of satellite debris will enter the atmosphere every year by 2035. Among them, the probability that the satellite debris will not be completely burned during the fall and cause injury or death to people on the ground is 0.6 per year. This means it would happen once every two years. The report also highlights the increasing risk of falling debris from the rise in launches needed to deploy and sustain large Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellations.

The report also stated that the debris of the fallen satellite may even pose a threat to aircraft. By 2035, the annual probability of an aircraft being shot down by satellite debris will be 0.0007. In this article, we will discuss the FAA report in detail, including the risks posed by falling satellites, the causes of these risks, and the potential solutions to mitigate them.

Need for the report

The FAA expressed worry about the level of space debris. In recent years, brands such as SpaceX have been launching more satellites into space each year. Experts warn that the rate of these launches could lead to the risk of collisions both in space and on the ground. The report, which aims to assess the risks posed by falling space debris, also suggests some dangers could be reduced through greater regulation.

It further pointed out that, like many problems in space, the world currently lacks global solutions to space debris, new satellites and the dangers these objects may cause.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX already has plans to launch a constellation of satellites, which necessitated the need for this report. The company has already launched 5,000 such satellites and plans to significantly increase the number of launches. The FAA report claims that SpaceX accounts for more than 85% of the risk of threats to people on the ground. However, the report did not take into account other satellite networks planned to be launched by other countries.

SpaceX, for its part, said the analysis used to calculate the figure was “seriously flawed”. The company claims that it is based on incorrect assumptions about the danger to its satellites. David Goldstein, the company’s chief engineer, said in a letter to the FAA that the likelihood of the company’s satellites burning up upon entry into the atmosphere is higher than assumed in the report.

Risks Posed by Falling Satellites

The FAA report warns that falling debris from U.S.-licensed constellations in LEO could injure or kill someone every two years. This will only happen if they continue to deploy as planned. The report states that by 2035, the total number of hazardous fragments surviving reentries each year is expected to reach 28,000, and the casualty expectation, the number of individuals on the ground predicted to be injured or killed by debris surviving the reentries of satellites being disposed of these constellations, would be 0.6 per year. This means that one person on the planet would be expected to be injured or killed by falling debris every two years.

Causes of Risks Posed by Falling Satellites

The FAA report highlights the increasing risk of falling debris from the rise in launches needed to deploy and sustain large LEO constellations. The U.S. commercial rockets that launch large constellations typically leave their upper stage in orbit. This usually has more mass than individual satellites. This means that the upper stage is more likely to survive reentry and pose a risk to people. The report also warns that the rapid expansion of SpaceX’s Starlink constellation could contribute significantly to the problem. The report states that if the expected large constellation growth is realized and debris from Starlink satellites survives reentry, the casualty expectation would be 0.6 per year by 2035.

Potential Solutions to Mitigate Risks Posed by Falling Satellites

The FAA report suggests several potential solutions to mitigate the risks posed by falling satellites. One solution is to design satellites and launch vehicles to minimize the amount of debris generated during reentry. Another solution is to design satellites and launch vehicles. This is to ensure that they reenter the Earth’s atmosphere and burn up completely. The report also suggests that satellite operators should develop and implement end-of-life disposal plans. These should minimize the risk of debris surviving reentry. Additionally, the report recommends that satellite operators should work with the FAA to develop and implement standards. These standards will be for the design and operation of satellites and launch vehicles. The target is to minimize the risk of debris surviving reentry.

Conclusion

The FAA warns about the risk posed by falling satellites if the huge rate of launches continues. It reports that people could soon be at risk of dying or injury by a falling satellite every other year. The report highlights the increasing risk of falling debris from the rise in launches needed to deploy large LEO constellations. It also suggests several potential solutions to mitigate the risks posed by falling satellites. This includes designing satellites and launch vehicles to minimize the amount of debris generated during reentry.

They also have to reenter the Earth’s atmosphere and burn up completely. FAA also said the industry should develop and implement end-of-life disposal plans that minimize the risk of debris surviving reentry. Finally, it proposes that there should be standards for the design and operation of satellites and launch vehicles. It is essential to take these risks seriously and implement measures to mitigate them, FAA concludes.

We don’t get proper space exploration titles every day. Sure, we get a lot of space-themed games, but nothing that gives the feeling of flying through space and exploring new lands. Hence, when Starfield, the new RPG by Bethesda, was announced and the developers revealed that you can explore 1,000+ planets in space, it turned a lot of heads. These are the brains behind the Elder Scrolls and Fallout, two well-known Western RPG franchises. And while the recent titles by the team have been flawed in various ways, overall, they deliver a great package.

This time, the team promised to offer us numerous galaxies to explore in a classic Bethesda RPG game loop. That was enough to entice me. My 70-odd hours with Starfield have been one of my comfiest gaming experiences of late, made possible courtesy of a code provided by the folks at Bethesda. At the same time, some problems stand out like a sore thumb. So, let’s jump into this in-depth review of Starfield to learn what Bethesda did right and what can be improved.

A Journey Through the Unknown

Starfield follows the journey of a player-created character, following the footsteps of other classic Bethesda titles. You create one using the in-game creator with unique traits and character backgrounds. These traits and backgrounds are your roleplaying gateway. Once ready, the story starts unwrapping. While I agree that the start is painfully slow, it also sets the pace for things to come. I would say that the beginning hours of Starfield make it clear how Bethesda intends you to play the game.

The main story follows the journey of the in-game exploration faction named Constellation. Led by the charismatic Sarah Morgan, we can create certain similarities to the adventurers and explorers throughout history. You become a member of this group after encountering the elusive Artifact, which the Constellation is tracking down to unravel its mysteries. From this point onwards, how you play the game is up to you. And to make this journey enjoyable, you have companions to bring with you, each voice acted and filled with personality.

While the main story focuses on artifacts, the game never forces you to finish it. Starfield wants you to explore, take it easy, and unravel the various small missions littered through the planets and spaces. Called activities, these are Starfield’s side-missions that breathe life into the world. These missions are also what I thoroughly enjoyed, more than the main story. For example, in one side activity, you’ll need to ensure that a lab under siege is rescued and freed. This became a lengthy storyline of my character, who is seen working to make sure the scientists and security are safe. Similarly, a random secret document from a dead enemy resulted in another quest involving a deceased vigilante and her possessions. Outside these side stories, you can join one of the four factions in-game and do their questlines.

Starfield ensures that the world around you isn’t a secondary product but something worth exploring. It became evident when a random NPC’s dialogue in Neon turned into a small yet detailed questline involving an investigation into a person’s death. It immediately saw me start exploring the world for such stories. Of course, you also have the signature environmental storytelling, where item placement in a particular area allows you to conclude the story of that area. The game sees you take your time and explore the vast space and planets.

Where it falters by a mark is the main questline. It has the same problems I had with Fallout 4, where my most memorable times with the game went into the side activities. Starfield’s story is quite unhappening and only ramps up in the final hours of the game. At that time, the urgency kicks in, becoming a race against the clock. That is when I was hooked on the game.

Starfield’s side-missions breathe life into the world

And once you are done with these side activities and the turbulent main quest, you have the New Game Plus mode. Starfield follows the coattails of the current multiverse craze in movies, attempting their twist to it. We’re refraining from dropping the main spoilers for the storyline and what leads to the NG+, but the game tries something clever. With every NG+ run, your first encounter at the Constellation changes. In our gameplay, we met with my character standing with the Constellation for the first time, like at the beginning of the game. This implies that we are now in a different timeline in a different universe.

Similarly, multiple people have pointed out that they encounter changes in subsequent NG+ runs. This compelled me to finish and try the game again with my existing character. Since you bring over your unlocked skills, you have nothing to lose. However, my complaint is that the game should have changed some late-game or mid-game encounters outside of the Constellation encounter to add that uncertainty to the game. Currently, the only thing that changes in NG+ is the Constellation encounter.

The overall plot of Starfield is simple. Skyrim and previous Bethesda games have had a deeper main storyline than this one. However, more thought and focus went into the side content for the game. That is where it shined a lot.

Space-Battles and Exploration

Now, since it’s called Starfield, you would expect Bethesda to have added space exploration. Fortunately, they did. The whole galaxy is open to you and your playground. Since it’s an open-world title, you can explore the planets and star systems. And for exploration, you have your trusty spaceship in Starfield. While several players complained about the spaceship exploration of Starfield, I didn’t find it disappointing. I preferred how the game allows you to fast-travel to any discovered planet or star system at any point without having to sit through tedious orbital entry and exit sequences.

The expanse of space, however, is not safe as you can encounter enemies during exploration. Fortunately, you have a spaceship with some artillery capabilities to combat these intruders. Spaceship combat works uniquely, where you ensure the power allocation across your weapons, engine, shields, and grave drive is even. It becomes an additional mini-game where you try to find the sweet spot.

For example, allocating more power to your weapon system will make it work more effectively, while more power in the engine speeds up your spaceship. While it is a simple system, it adds a layer of complexity as some of my time in space went into adjusting these settings.

Back to the exploration, you jump from star system to star system to create a flight chart. So, in the future, if you want to revisit any of these star systems, you can do so freely. Inside these star systems, you have planets that you can land on. Some planets won’t allow you to set foot on them like the gas giants. But from our experience, we’ve set foot on most of them. For landing, Starfield does this unique thing. Since we don’t have orbital entry and exit, you put a waypoint on the planet and land on it.

The game will randomly generate a tile, populating it with resources, points of interest, and alien lifeforms. Resources generally stay at the same places where you scan them from above. Once on land, you are free to explore them on foot. Yeah, foot.

Exploration ranges from scanning the planets for resources on foot and checking out randomly generated points of interest. Since the game doesn’t have an on-screen waypoint map, you do it through a viewfinder. This item scans and marks points of interest on the map. While I am at it, Starfield has one of the most atrocious maps in video games. While it will get addressed with a post-launch patch, the current one is so barebones and useless that it makes you wonder, who greenlit adding that in-game?

This is where my biggest complaint about exploration begins. When a tile is as big as the map of Boston from Fallout 4, you expect some mode of transportation as an option. It is the future, and I think humanity figured out a way to stow away all drivable vehicles, dunno how. We have cool spaceships and grav drives, but no drivable cards.

It is the future, and I think humanity figured out a way to stow away drivable vehicles.

This becomes incredibly frustrating and boring when your world isn’t populated with meaningful exploration points. And this is a decision Bethesda deliberately made. Having an optional mode of transportation on the planet would’ve been welcoming. Furthermore, planet tiles occasionally barely populate themselves with meaningful exploration points, making the overall experience tedious. The main culprit here is the procedural generation, and sometimes you’d think that maybe the team should’ve made a handful of these planets but litter them with hand-crafted experiences.

Guns of the Future: Are They Good?

The ruffians you encounter in space also roam the charted galaxies. To fight them, you have new-age guns in Starfield, which are classified between standard, rare, and unique. Depending on the rarity, the gun’s performance varies greatly. Certain guns can also shoot out bullets that deal status damage.

For example, an Equinox with poison lead. The gun combat is incredible, satisfying, and hard-hitting. Bethesda has come a long way from Fallout 3 and Fallout 4. When you use them, you can make the difference between Fallout 4 and Starfield weapons. It’s hard to explain it in words. Try both the games, and you’ll see a difference.

Build Your Outpost, Improve Your Performance

Since this is an RPG title, Starfield has systems where you want to roleplay in a particular way. The sole deciding factor for that is the skill tree. It is divided into five sub-sections, having four more divisions. These skills ensure your character’s performance across the board. Depending on what skills you pick, your gameplay changes.

Each singular skill has four divisions, with level 4 being the highest. These are locked, and you unlock them by fulfilling the conditions set by that skill. For example, you need to kill a set number of enemies using a gun to improve your handgun proficiency. Meeting the criteria unlocks the next level inside that particular skill, improving your gun handling.

Mixing and matching these skills changes your overall gameplay experience. Since my character’s background is an ex-scoundrel, I surely focused on my spaceship and weapon skills, making me formidable in dogfights and on-foot fights. Additionally, I also decided to focus on persuasion to make my character a smooth-talker. There are numerous skills to focus on, targeting a particular play style.

Another addition to facilitate your roleplay is through outposts and shipbuilders. Both of these things have applications in this game. However, their importance depends on you, the player. For starters, you can create eight outposts on any of the discovered planets around the galaxy. These outposts can have various functionalities, such as mining, botany, or a settlement for people to live in.

Starfield utilizes Fallout 4’s settlement builder but has fine-tuned it to make it feel better. You have two camera perspectives to make it easier to place structures. Better structures are unlocked by research, done through research benches, which require components. These are collected by mining from various planets. Components get utilized to build structures, giving importance to the exploration. Understanding how it works allows you to create a grand settlement from scratch. Granted, you have your necessary components.

Another thing added to the game is a shipbuilder. In it, you can create your homebrew ship, separate from the pre-built ones. Shipbuilder lets you purchase or put parts to build or upgrade a spaceship. In terms of customizability, it’s very in-depth. I have seen people using it to make Millenium Falcon from Star Wars or the Magic School Bus from the cartoon show of the same name. Speaking from ease of access, it is a nightmare to browse through the menus and UI. Having a simpler shipbuilding menu might help more people to use it actively. This system can become a core part of your space exploration if you want to.

However, it is worth mentioning that Outpost and Shipbuilder is an optional system. While Fallout 4 dropped this urgency of making you build your settlement, Starfield doesn’t. If you don’t want to do either, the game never stops in its tracks. I’ve only used the outpost builder once throughout my 70-hour playthrough. And not once did I feel the need to touch the feature. The same goes for the shipbuilder.

If you find yourself a spaceship with good specs, you have no requirement to use these systems. It feels like Starfield uses some of the pre-existing systems from past Bethesda titles and redid and polished them for a better experience.

Starfield PC Performance Overview

Since we played this title on our PC, we can only speak about our overall experience with Starfield on the same. We tried the game on two separate machines. We performed the majority of our performance tests and playthroughs on the following setup:

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600, running at base clocks
• GPU: NVIDIA RTX 4070 Ti; playing at 1080p
• SSD: WD SN570 512GB Gen 3 NVME.
• RAM: 16GB DDR4 @ 3000 MHz.

At launch, Starfield had some performance issues on PC, which, at this point, everyone knows. The reason is the game’s reliance on the CPU. We saw a noticeable 70% CPU usage, with the 4070 Ti reaching up to 70% usage. We first tried the game with its suggested settings. This means everything got maxed out at 1080p. We preferred not to opt for FSR2 in our testing.

On New Atlantis, we saw a noticeable dip in frames and a CPU/GPU usage spike, averaging around 72%. At the same time, the framerate dropped below 64 right after we crossed the viewport and went to the fountain area. This drop worsens when you go to the MAST area of New Atlantis, dropping down to 55. In both instances, we didn’t touch any settings. The experience, barring Neon, stayed similar in Akila City, where we only got a maximum of 63 frames inside the settlement area. It fared better on the emptier planets with only vegetation or fauna to render. In such cases, we’ve noticed an average of 125 frames consistently.

Tweaking a few options, like population density, shadow quality, and volumetric lighting to medium or high, barely improved Starfield’s performance. We saw a measly 2-3 frames gain. Same for the planets. We tried using more of the fixes suggested in another article by us. Unfortunately, performance gains, once again, were negligible. This proved our assumptions of the game relying on the CPU, with 5600 barely providing the required juice.

My colleague Upanishad used his Lenovo Legion 5 Pro from 2021 to play the game. He uses it for daily activities and collaborated with me on the Starfield coverage. As such, he had equal amounts of time with the game. This machine’s specs were:

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800H
• GPU: NVIDIA RTX 3070, running at 140W
• SSD: Samsung 970 EVO 1TB
• RAM: 32GB DDR4 @ 5200 MHz

In the case of Upanishad, the situation worsened. While granted, he played the title on 2K resolution, Lenovo Legion 5 pro at an average pulled was approximately 45 FPS. The framerate exceeded 60 frames in better situations, mainly at the planets. In this case, we couldn’t determine whether the CPU or the GPU was the culprit. After all, the laptop houses a 140-watt RTX 3070, over the 220W standard GPU within our desktop. Hence, it might be the case of the GPU underperforming.

However, we did test the game with the DLSS mod introduced by the community. While Upanishad opted for the mod by PureDark, which uses the DLSS 2.0 for the free version, I went for LukeFz564’s mod. Additionally, we both had the new NVIDIA drivers installed. While the driver doesn’t do much for the 30-series card, it gives a 5% performance boost for the 40-series card.

Getting back to the DLSS mod, in Upanishad’s case, he saw a performance boost at places where he had noticeable frame drops. The mod took advantage of the tenser cores of the RTX card, providing better performance. Similarly, in my case, I saw a performance increase at Akila and New Atlantis settlements, where framerates went up from sub-54 to 80 frames. This number only further improved at emptier planets. Of course, the new NVIDIA driver is also at play here because Neon, which averaged 65 frames, had a consistent 75 with V-sync turned on.

Overall, you are out of luck if you are on a CPU below a Ryzen 5 5600. Bethesda has promised to add official DLSS support and work with GPU manufacturers to improve the performance via driver updates. Only time will tell how effective these commitments are.

Starfield Review: Should You Buy It?

Starfield is by no means a perfect title. It has its woes. Be it the performance inconsistency, the occasional bugs, the omission of basic QoL features from the PC port, or the lackluster main story, Starfield sure has issues. However, it also has that signature Bethesda RPG charm of exploring an overarching world for the tailor-made storyline or environmental storytelling.

Granted, sometimes the game feels grandiose and over-ambitious when considering the 1,000-odd planets and 100+ solar systems. But, considering the one hundred planets with hand-crafted material, the fulfilling gun combat, the hand-crafted side missions, and even the ambitious main storyline, you cannot help but root for the game. My best times with Starfield were spent when I roleplayed as the space scoundrel from Neon on my character’s home planet.

The game wants you to take it slow, enjoy the exploration, and let things happen naturally. And I am all here for it. Try the game out once. If you don’t want to buy it, get Xbox GamePass and give it a go. You won’t be disappointed.

Buy Starfield ($69.99)