Starfield August Update: What’s New

Bethesda’s latest Starfield update is a big one. The new software brings much needed bug fixes and it also features the highly anticipated land vehicle.

Most Starfield patches go though a beta process before they are released to the public, but the August update skipped public testing and will start rolling out to PC, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S owners later today.

With that in mind, we want to take a look at the most important things to know about Starfield’s August patch.

Starfield August Update Download Size

Bethesda says the update will start rolling out tonight. It’s not available yet so we don’t have a version number or download size just yet.

That being said, given its content, we do expect a fairly substantial download for all platforms. If you haven’t installed the latest patches for the game, it will be even bigger.

Once we have the download size (we’ll update this post when we receive the info), if you want to approximate how long the download might take, you can use this tool to do so.

Starfield August Update: What’s New

The star of the August update is the new the REV-8 land vehicle which will help you get around quicker on a planet’s surface.

The REV-8 comes equipped with a mounted turret as well as armor for additional protection when driving.

It also has boosters on board can that can help propel you forward or up into the air which allows you to sail through the air and reach areas that may have been tough to get to previously.

In order to get the vehicle, simply visit a city’s ship technician to install a vehicle module. Once the module is installed on your ship, the REV-8 will automatically deploy outside your ship wherever you land. You can also customize its color scheme.

In addition to the land vehicle, the August update includes the following changes:

New Settings

• Frame Rate Target: You can now choose between 30, 40, 60 or an Uncapped frame rate on VRR displays. If you do not have a VRR display running 120hz, you will still be able to select from 30 or 60. Screen tearing may occur at times when selecting 60 on a non-VRR display.
• Prioritize: You can now prioritize between Visuals and Performance while trying to maintain the frame rate target. If you’re choosing a frame rate target of 60 or above, we recommend changing this to Performance. Prioritizing Visuals keeps the highest resolution while maintaining full detail for special effects, lighting, and crowds. Prioritizing Performance lowers internal resolution and detail for special effects, lighting, and crowds. Both modes may adjust internal resolution dynamically when scenes or action get heavier as well. When switching between modes, you will see the lighting change briefly as the system catches up to the new mode.
• VSync: You can now toggle between VSync off or on. Choosing off will separate the game frames from the monitor’s refresh rate and may result in screen tearing. Toggling On will synchronize the frame rate to the monitor’s refresh rate avoiding screen tearing but limiting number of frames.

General

• General performance and stability improvements
• Creations UI fixes and improvements

Gameplay

• Addressed an issue that could prevent fully scanning the planet Beta Marae I
• Gameplay Options: Addressed an issue with Legendary weapons that could cause the Well Fed and Hydrated effects to refresh
• Gameplay Options: Addressed an issue with switching weapons that could cause the “You are now Hydrated” notification to appear frequently
• Gameplay Options: Addressed an issue that could cause Sustenance effects to stop working in NG+ variants
• Fixed an issue with reloading the Novastrike sniper rifle
• Resolved an issue that caused other characters to hold the Novastrike rifle incorrectly
• Fixed a visual issue with the Magshot reload animation in zero-g
• Extreme Temperature Entry Spacesuit can now be put on displays
• Addressed an issue that could cause multiple items to spawn on display stands
• The Rattler displayed on the Trackers Alliance headquarters wall can now be interacted with
• Gravity Well no longer pulls NPCs into the ships in the Chop Shop
• Adjusted map location markers in cities to improve fast travelling
• The apartment in The Well in New Atlantis now has a map marker
• The marker for Shepherd’s General Store in Akila should display properly
• Fixed an issue that caused the Rapid Legendary effect to not properly apply to melee weapons
• Addressed an issue that could cause Lyle Brewer to become hostile to the player as a follower
• Updated the status text for the Shielded Grip and Large Shielded Grip mods for the Plasma Cutter
• Adjusted the balance on Mysterious Tracker’s Voice audio
• Resolved an issue that could cause unexpected noises upon entering the Lodge for NG+ variants

Ships 

• Fixed an issue that could cause Ship docking bridges to remain extended
• Addressed an issue with modifying a landed non-home ship that could cause a duplicate ship model to appear on the landing pad
• Shipbuilder: Ship module variants and flip versions will now correctly revert to the original when pressing the Cancel button
• Ship Decoration: Addressed an issue with the Ecliptic Claymore that could allow objects to be placed outside of the ship

Graphics

• Fixed an issue that would cause the Frame generation setting to be turned off when DLSS was selected for Upscaling (PC)
• Fixed lighting for ship and station interiors in photo mode
• Improved quality of reflections in shallow puddles
• Addressed an issue with upscaling that could cause visual artifacts on planets when viewed from space
• Helmets will now toggle correctly for companions who are downed in photo mode

UI 

• Addressed an issue with the Ship and Inventory menus on 21:9 resolutions
• Fixed an issue with how large Carry Capacity is displayed in the inventory with large font enabled
• Addressed an issue with how The Cue Ball and Ping Pong Ball display in the inventory menu

Outposts

• Flood lamps decoration items will now correctly toggle off and on at outposts featuring a power source

What’s Next

We’ll see a stream of Starfield updates in 2024. Bethesda says the plan is to release new patches every six weeks or so.

In addition to new updates, Bethesda will also launch the game’s first DLC, dubbed Shattered Space, later this year.

It arrives on September 30th.