Modders have already got around Starfield's biggest controversy, but it might still crash your game

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"After a certain point the game just crashes"

Starfield gameplay trailer vista
(Image credit: Bethesda)

Starfield mods have already found a way around Starfield's biggest controversy, but it's far from a perfect solution.

With a near-endless supply of planets and systems, one of the most thrilling aspects of Starfield is the level of freedom it offers players. That being said, you can't endlessly explore the planets you visit. Venture far enough from a landing spot, and eventually, you'll be met with an invisible wall and the message: "Boundary Reached: Open the map to explore another region, or return to your ship."

Being suddenly stopped in your tracks can be rather immersion-breaking, and if it's something that particularly bothers you, the good news is that modders have already come up with ways to tackle the issue. 

Firstly, there's the Remove Planetary Tile Boundary mod created by Draspian, which "disables the boundary at the border of planetary tiles," allowing you to explore beyond the intended limits of a planet. Also upping your potential for exploration is a mod by NexusGuy999, which lets you increase the number of custom landing sites available.

That then brings us to the bad news. Unfortunately, removing the boundaries of a plant can make the game pretty unstable. As Twitter user @videotechx points out, in the mod's description, its creator says that "after a certain point the game just crashes." They add: I've tried going slower a couple of times but still every time the game freezes and crashes."

Equally, the information section for NexusGuy999's mod suggests you could also run into issues. Written in bold red letters is the following warning: "I have not thoroughly tested this mod, especially the higher versions. Use at your own risk."

Updates to these existing mods, or entirely new ones, may come along in the future, making exploring further less risky. But, at the moment, with game crashes likely to break the immersion just as much, if not more so than the planet boundaries, it hardly seems worth it.

Starfield has only been out for five days, and already, there are a plethora of mods available, including one that makes the inventory menus more user-friendly. There's also a mod that lets you adjust the FOV, or should you wish, you can also make essential NPCs killable.

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Anne-Marie Ostler
Anne-Marie Ostler
Freelance Writer

Originally from Ireland, I moved to the UK in 2014 to pursue a Games Journalism and PR degree at Staffordshire University. Following that, I've freelanced for GamesMaster, Games TM, Official PlayStation Magazine and, more recently, Play and GamesRadar+. My love of gaming sprang from successfully defeating that first Goomba in Super Mario Bros on the NES. These days, PlayStation is my jam. When not gaming or writing, I can usually be found scouring the internet for anything Tomb Raider related to add to my out of control memorabilia collection.