Starfield mod unlocks the ability to build your own spacestations – “all of the code was already in the game”

In smashing news for the galaxy’s irrational planet-haters, some adept tinkerer has created a Starfield mod that lets you build your own space-stations. Mind you, it appears the associated functionality was secretly part of Bethesda’s sci-fi RPG all along, perhaps destined to be unlocked by a DLC pack, like a slumbering fairytale royal awaiting true love’s kiss.

The modder in question is vexthecollector, whose catchily-named Spacestations for Outposts lets you bolt together hab modules, windows and docking bays to fashion your very own Deep Space Nine. Sadly for my character, the acutely terra-phobic star pirate Mary Read, you’ll need to first build an outpost on a planet in order to access the goods.

“All of the code was already in the game, but a few things were broken and just didn’t work,” vexthecollector writes on the NexusMods page. “As you can see from how it is currently even with this mod, a few things like docking are still somewhat broken.”

Here’s how the mod works: having founded an outpost, go to the Misc section in the building menu and create a spacestation control pad. Then use the small terminal on the latter – you’ll need to click the terminal once, wait a second, and click it again. Then read the message and click “modify space station”, which somewhat bizarrely, converts the last Starfield ship you acquired into a prototype starbase.

The modder notes that you should only modify this ship, and recommends that you add at least three docking units, or five to be safe (right now, every component is free, because the modder “can’t be bothered to add values to a hundred items”). Once you’re done, exit and save as when customising a ship in unmodded Starfield. Then, fly into space and marvel at your handiwork. There are some caveats, alas: as with regular ship customisation, decorations despawn whenever you edit the spacestation, so you’ll need to install another mod if you want to glam up your creation.

Bethesda have official Starfield mod support down for release in 2024, but naturally, that hasn’t stopped code-savvy players cracking the lid and getting up to all manner of mischief, from wilfully joining up all those planetary maps, to releasing a community patch that addresses a variety of smaller issues with the game. We’ve got a list of the best Starfield mods, if you’re interested. I’m still waiting for the ability to build things on asteroids. Especially the haunted ones.

Thanks to Gamesradar‘s Kaan Serin for passing this o- hey, I know that guy!