Fans of Bethesda Game Studios’ upcoming action role-playing game, Starfield, have already begun to map its galaxy, and it looks massive.
A fan site has attempted to create an approximate version of the galaxy map that will be featured in Starfield, based on pre-release video footage from the game. Bethesda released the first gameplay footage from the game back in June, 2022, which revealed that it features over 100 star systems. The footage included around 6 second of the galaxy map that will be available to players.
Approximately 75 star systems were visible in the footage, with a few of them bearing notable names. Among them were three stars stood as authentic: Sol, Alpha Centauri, and Porrima. This revelation indicated that Starfield’s world is inspired by and situated within the confines of the Milky Way. Consequently, the undertaking at hand involved reconstructing the in-game galaxy map from the data available in the video.
Since stars were approximated as relatively motionless within the brief 6 seconds time frame, the pixel tracking feature of 3D software i.e. Cinema 4D, was used to meticulously track their movements during the footage. The program then attempted to reconstruct 3D positions that are a best guess based on their relative position from one another.
Later in March, 2023, Bethesda Softworks released more video footage that contained two additional names of authentic stars: Tau Ceti and Cassiopeiae. Tau Ceti is unambiguous and is positioned inside in the cluster of stars previously discovered, giving credibility to the reconstruction method used here. Cassiopeia is a constellation of many stars, spanning among a considerable distance. Based on the available information, it is unknown which one the game refers to, therefore a few of the brightest were added to this program.
Subsequently, the more recent footage revealed during the Starfield Direct in June, 2023, showed about 40 location names, most of which were fictional. The positions of all new stars fit right into the previously recovered star map, further confirming the reconstruction method used.
