Starfield Update 1.9.51 vs Launch Version Screenshot Comparison Reveals Major Changes To Lighting

A screenshot comparison between update 1.9.51 and the launch version of Mirosoft and Bethesda Game Studios’ action role-playing game, Starfield, reveals that major changes have been made to the lighting.

Update 1.9.51 was rolled out earlier today on January 30, 2024, with the emphasis being on bug fixes and significant improvements to lighting in as many as 73 locations as well as the character generation menu. Reddit user DinDisco has put together a screenshot comparison showing the differences in lighting before and after update 1.9.51 of Starfield.

Starfield Update 1.9.51 vs Launch Version Screenshot Comparison

The aforementioned screenshot comparison between the launch version (top) and update 1.9.51 (bottom) of Starfield can be seen below.

Other graphical changes include improved widescreen support (32:9, 21:9 and 16:10), support for stars displaying sun disk geometry, shadows now being visible on planet rings from planet surface, improved eyes and skin on crowd characters, improved reflection on water, improved contact shadows on character skin, improved contact shadows on character cloth, improved contact shadows on first person, reduced artifacts during cutscene camera transitions, improved visibility of the sun’s lens flare during sunrise and sunset, and improved appearance of clouds during weather transitions.

Starfield is an action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It was unveiled at Bethesda’s E3 presentation in 2018 and is set in a space-themed environment. It marks Bethesda’s first new intellectual property in 25 years. The game became available for Windows and Xbox Series X/S on September 6, 2023.

Players can seamlessly switch between a first-person and third-person perspective. The game presents an open-world setting situated within the Milky Way galaxy, featuring a blend of fictional and real planetary systems. Players have the capability to land on over 1,000 planets, numerous moons, and space stations. The majority of the in-game landscapes are procedurally generated, with subsequent manual modifications and the addition of handcrafted content. The game generates terrain, alien flora and fauna, and points of interest on planets based on their star system and atmospheric conditions as the player approaches them.