Starfield Revolution: Free Lanes Update Transforms Gameplay with Real-Time Planet Travel and Major Upgrades
April 7 is an important day for fans of the space RPG Starfield (if any still remain). On this day, Bethesda will release the game on PlayStation 5, and the second story expansion, Terran Armada, will be available on all platforms.
However, in addition to this, Starfield will receive a huge free update, Free Lanes, which will add many sought-after mechanics and minor improvements.
Free Lanes will be so massive that it somewhat resembles version 2.0 for Cyberpunk 2077, although Bethesda head Todd Howard asked not to raise expectations with such comparisons.
What is known
The developers had previously talked about Free Lanes innovations and have now released a trailer to clearly show the main ones.
Starting April 7, Starfield will offer the ability to independently move between planets in real-time within one solar system without loading screens. To simplify this process, an autopilot is offered, and during the journey, players can take the opportunity to talk to crew members, sort their items, upgrade gear, or plan further actions.
Free Lanes will also add:
- expansion of the game world: new locations, activities, random events, side quests, and underground zones have appeared;
- ship constructor updates: new elements and modules for customization have been added;
- the X-Tech system has been added, deepening the crafting process. With it, you can upgrade equipment and weapons (including modifying their legendary properties) and improve ship components using a new type of resource;
- new enemy features: opponents may have additional armor, increased mobility, elemental damage, and other enhancements;
- new transportation for surface movement on planets;
- a new pet has appeared;
- a unified resource storage for all built outposts;
- an updated database section in the character's interface;
- collectible items in the form of figurines with permanent bonuses (similar to Fallout bobbleheads).
- new companions: Muriya and mini-bot;
- Enhanced Starborn abilities;
- the function to transfer items in "New Game+" — allowing some inventory to be saved for the next playthrough;
- additional photo mode and camera settings.
Source: Bethesda
