Starfield, the long-awaited space RPG from Bethesda Game Studios, launched to tremendous anticipation and hype. As the studio‘s first new IP in over 25 years, expectations were sky high for this massive, sprawling sci-fi epic. Players couldn‘t wait to create their characters, explore the stars, and pilot their very own customizable starships.
However, for many players, the initial hours of Starfield have been marred by a frustrating bug surrounding a critical ship vendor NPC. Shortly after beginning the game, players arrive in New Atlantis, one of the first major cities. There, a technician is meant to offer a variety of starship upgrades and services. But too many players are reporting that the vendor is simply missing, his spot at the shipyard vacant.
This bug is especially problematic because it blocks off key features and mechanics tied to player ships, one of Starfield‘s core gameplay pillars. Without access to this specific NPC, players are unable to upgrade crucial components like engines, weapons, and scanners. This severely limits their ability to explore and progress through the game‘s sprawling galaxy.
On the game‘s subreddit, countless threads have popped up reporting the bug. "60 hours in and the technician is still missing," reads one post with hundreds of upvotes. "This is really hindering my ability to engage with the game‘s ship systems, which seem super cool."
Players have tried all sorts of potential fixes, from reloading saves to completing quests in a certain order. Some have even resorted to using console commands on PC to try to force the NPC to appear. But for most, the technician remains stubbornly absent, and the bug persists.
So why is such a critical NPC missing in so many players‘ games? It‘s hard to say for certain without insight into Starfield‘s codebase, but we can speculate. In a game of this size and complexity, with so many intertwining systems and quest states, it‘s quite possible for bugs to emerge from unexpected interactions.
Bethesda has long been known for ambitious, immersive RPGs – but also for the bugs that often accompany them. Games like Skyrim, Fallout 4, and Fallout 76 all launched with their fair share of technical issues, some amusing, some frustrating. In a 2018 interview, Bethesda director Todd Howard joked that "It‘s not a bug, it‘s a feature" has become a bit of a mantra for the studio.
But bugs like the missing ship technician aren‘t just a joke, they can seriously impact players‘ experience and enjoyment. Many have expressed frustration that such a critical issue wasn‘t caught in playtesting or QA before launch. "I can‘t imagine how this wasn‘t found earlier," wrote one exasperated player. "It completely blocks off a major part of the game."
Others have been more sympathetic, acknowledging the incredible complexity and scope of a game like Starfield. "With a game this big, bugs are inevitable," said one fan on Twitter. "I just hope Bethesda is able to fix the major ones quickly with patches and updates."
Indeed, open world RPGs are notorious for bugs and glitches, especially at launch. A 2020 analysis from QA company Keywords Studios found that open world games had among the highest rates of bugs per 100,000 lines of code. The genre‘s emphasis on player freedom, emergent gameplay, and responsive systems creates countless opportunities for unexpected issues to arise.
For comparison, let‘s look at some other famously buggy launches in recent memory:
| Game | Year | Notable Launch Bugs |
|---|---|---|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 2020 | Crashes, poor performance, broken quests |
| Assassin‘s Creed Unity | 2014 | Graphical glitches, AI issues, crashes |
| No Man‘s Sky | 2016 | Missing features, crashes, poor performance |
| Fallout 76 | 2018 | Server issues, glitches, lack of polish |
In each case, frustrated players took to social media and forums to vent and demand fixes from the developers. While some lost patience and abandoned the games entirely, others stuck around as the studios worked to patch things up over time.
Bethesda, to their credit, has a track record of supporting their games for years post-launch. Skyrim has received update after update, and Fallout 76 eventually reached a much more stable and polished state. There‘s reason to hope Starfield will see the same long-term commitment.
Still, it‘s understandable for players to be disappointed that Starfield‘s launch hasn‘t been smoother, especially after multiple delays and years of hype-building. A bug that blocks off a core feature is a bitter pill to swallow on day one. It casts a shadow over the initial discourse and reviews at a pivotal time for establishing mainstream perception.
So what can affected players do in the meantime? The Starfield community has compiled a list of potential fixes and workarounds:
Reload an earlier save from before arriving at New Atlantis. While you may lose some progress, it can cause the technician to appear properly.
Complete the main story quest. Some have reported the vendor reappearing after the game‘s final act.
On PC, use the console command "0015636E.moveto player" to teleport the NPC to your location.
Accept a ship upgrade quest and keep it in your log without completing it. This may force the technician to spawn.
Fast travel away from and back to New Atlantis several times to reload the area and its NPCs.
Ultimately, the fix will likely need to come in the form of a post-launch patch from Bethesda. Players should keep an eye on official social channels for word of upcoming updates. If past Bethesda launches are any indication, we can expect reasonably quick action to address the most severe bugs.
In the grand scheme of a game as massive as Starfield, some early jank is perhaps inevitable, if still disappointing. But there are lessons to be learned here for Bethesda and other AAA studios working on sprawling, systemic games. Squashing bugs that block off major chunks of content should be the highest priority during QA and playtesting.
More robust project management tools can help track and triage bugs based on severity. Automated testing can catch issues that manual QA may miss. Cultivating a pre-launch testing community of players on a wide range of hardware configurations can highlight problems that may not arise in a controlled dev environment. Clearly, whatever processes were in place didn‘t catch the technician bug before launch.
At the same time, fan expectations may need to shift as games continue to balloon in size and scope. Launches are unlikely to ever be perfectly smooth when dealing with this level of complexity. Patience and understanding, while still holding studios accountable, will be key.
Starfield is a wildly ambitious game, the kind that aims to push the medium forward. Its launch may be messier than hoped, but there‘s still plenty of potential for the game to realize its incredible promise. Bethesda has earned some benefit of the doubt thanks to its sterling track record.
In time, the missing technician bug will likely be solved and Starfield‘s ship systems will open up to all players. The early missteps will eventually fade as a mere footnote in the game‘s long life ahead. For now, players should keep providing feedback, sharing workarounds, and trusting that fixes are coming. Before long, Starfield‘s true potential as a landmark sci-fi RPG will shine through.
