Quick Links
Quality of Life Mods
I highly recommend the Reduce LUTs mod down in the texture
section. I run at 75% + Contrast. This primarily removes the gray under-saturation. Makes a huge difference for high quality displays, particularly if you have an OLED. Good example comparison: https://imgsli.com/MjA0ODAx/0/6 (make sure to select 75% + contrast on the right dropdown)
It's a bit tricky to setup as by default you can't use a mod manager. You can either extract it directly into your documents game folder (per mod instructions), or do some steps to make it loadable from the game root (guide linked in section).
General UI (Menus etc)
I don't use StarUI, don't like that it cover so much of the item models. However, I believe it's pretty customizable so maybe it can be slimmed down.
*I run all the 60 FPS variants. They don't add frames, but instead speed them up. Thus animations will run faster but still be a little smoother)
- Smooth UI
This will conflict with everything below, just hit before all and let the other mods override this one - Compact Inventory UI
Default UI shows like 7 items, this will show 12, can the slim version goes to 17 I believe. - Compact Mission UI
- Compact Ship Builder UI
- Clean Ship HUD
I run the use the "Clean Variant" - Inventory Prefixes
This primarily helps sort AID and MISC stuff better (keeps food / pharam stuff separate) - Visual Skill Descriptions
Makes it so you don't have to click into skills to read about their first level
Crafting
Sound Stuff
I recommend looking at this after you've played a while and have gotten annoyed about something
- More Stubtle Quest Music
- No Grav Jump Music
- Starfield High Pitch SFX Tunnitus Fix
- More Subtle Level Up Sounds
HUD Stuff
- BetterHUD - Location and XP
By default the XP and Location stuff pops up in the middle of the screen, very annoying if in a fight, also annoying when it's like look how beautiful this place is BANNER! - Enhanced Player Healthbar
- Faster Favorites Menu
Other Visual Stuff
Other Mods
Texture Mods
This guide tells you how to disable the Documents data loading so you can install textures easily with mod managers
- Reduced LUTs
I run the 75% + Contrast, this mostly removes the lower saturation feeling, here are some comparisons - EXE - HQ Effects
- Starfield Display Revamp
- Real Milky Way Galaxy
- Yet Another flashlight mod
There is also the Vanilla version which might be a better mod Vanilla Flashlight Improved - Watery Eye Fix
I use the dry version - No Space Dust
This can't be installed via a manager by default, you'll need to unzip / rezip and delete the top level folder (The should should only containData
at the top level) - Replacement outfits for the Ugly male flame jumpers
SFSE
Base Mod SFSE
Addition ASI Loader
- Hold to Equipt
Makes it so you can consume food items or read books without picking them up, not compatible withfQCZKeyDelay
changes (as this requires a larger delay. - Sprint Stutter Fix
- Longer Outpost Names
I use this mod because I like to append the elements that are available at an outpost
Other Mods
These are other mods I use that go a little further outside of QoL. Some require SFSE, or other changes, and generally require more than just hitting "Install" in a mod manager.
- BetterHUD Disable Enemy Health and Hit Marker
- Skip Artifact and Power Videos
- Starfield FSR2 Bridge
- Undelayed Launching
Tips & Tricks
Tips are useful things to know that fit into the game world, while Tricks are more on the exploit side of things.
Tips
General tips about game play
- Followers Invite / assign constellation members to your ship crew and talk to them, bonus if you actually assign one to be your follower. Do this even if you take the introvert trait, it will make the story better.
- Outposts Building Go to your Settings => Controls and adjust the
Outpost Item Rotation Speed
to make it easier to place things when building - Horizontal Boost Jump Bind an a key to the jump alt, using this key will give you a more horizontal boost
- XP Boost Sleeping (even just one hour) gives you a 10% XP boost and is pretty easy to do before leaving your ship. You can also buy tea from CJ's in the New Atlantis residential district which will give you 2% XP boost for 15m.
- Gas Giants While you can't land on them, you can still orbit and scan them. Good source of early xp, and basically instant survey data you can sell
- Junk in my Spaceship Trunk When you modify a ship, all the loose items will be moved to your cargo hold and overtime new items will spawn into your ship. Sell this stuff at your local trade authority kiosk to avoid it piling up.
- Flight Training There is a flight simulator in the basement of the MAST building which is available upon starting the Vanguard quest line (might be available without it?). Good way to practice fighting. Bonus: Kills in the simulation count towards piloting skill progress.
- Ship Boosting When boosting your ship, it will use all of your boost by default. If you tap
S
to stop the boost before it's all used. - Moving and Placing Items You can grab a lot of items (even some you can't pick up into your inventory; eg ladders) with a long press of your interact key. You can rotate them with Mouse1 and Mouse2, and change the axis of rotation by hitting Shift once, there are 3 axes.
- Ship Cargo Access You can access your ships cargo if you are within 250 meters by opening your ship menu (H) and then going to cargo (F)
- Outpost Building You can access the build menu by opening your scanner (F) and then going to build mode (R)
Tricks
- Storage Issues Down by the crafting benches in the lodge, there is a box on a table behind the research bench. This has unlimited storage. The safe in your bedroom has the same property but the box is closer for easy of access when crafting (there is also a mod to link the storage to the work benches so you don't have to pull stuff out, it will disable achievements)
- Vendor Buy Back Vendors will sell you back your items for the same price (I believe you need to not exit out); Bonus Tip selling stolen goods will remove the flag allowing you to easily launder items.
- Fast travel while encumbered You can fast travel while encumbered if you are landing your ship. eg) while in orbit above New Atlantis load up on all your resources, get back in the pilot seat and then select the Lodge when headed to New Atlantis, you will appear outside and skip the walk of shame from the starport to the lodge.
Other configuration tweaks
StarfieldCustom.ini
Forum post with a bunch of defaults for this stuff https://stepmodifications.org/forum/topic/19019-starfield-default-values-for-all-known-valid-ini-settings/
SelfTweaks.txt
Mine is crazy, this is a reduced set