Starfield 1.8.86 update officially adds DLSS support and finally lets you eat in sight

Starfield unveiled a big update on Monday, officially rolling out DLSS 3 support for PC players, several graphics and performance improvements, the ability to eat food without picking it up first, and much more.

Bethesda Game Studios has been testing DLSS 3 support in beta over the past few weeks. However, update 1.8.86 makes DLSS Supersolution, Deep Learning Anti-aliasing (DLAA), Nvidia Reflex Low Latency, and DLSS frame generation available to all gamers using compatible Nvidia graphics cards, fulfilling a long-requested feature from PC gamers. .

In another long-awaited addition, the update also adds a ‘consume’ button for food and drinks, allowing you to eat as soon as you find items in the world or save them for later. Previously, you had to pick up pieces and add them to your inventory, then… then Eat it – a much less convenient process than that of previous Bethesda RPGs. Now, players can eat as soon as they see to their hearts’ content, saving a fair amount of time.

Both of these improvements were previously scheduled for September.

The update also improves the appearance of eyes on mob characters (hopefully addressing the dead eyes issue); Adds the ability to adjust brightness, contrast, and HDR brightness in the display settings menu; It includes many stability and performance improvements. The stealth feature has also been tweaked to be “a bit more forgiving” to address another common complaint.

See the full patch notes below. For more, check out our full walkthrough as well as our guide to all the ships in Starfield.

Nvidia DLSS support

This update brings Nvidia DLSS support to our PC drivers. Compatible Nvidia graphics cards can now use DLSS Supersolution, Deep Learning Anti-aliasing (DLAA), and Nvidia Reflex Low Latency, and DLSS frame generation.

Let them eat!

By popular demand, we’ve added the ability to eat food and drink items when found in the environment. You can enjoy these pieces right away or save them for later. it’s your choice.

Fixes and improvements

Performance and stability

• A number of memory related issues and leaks have been resolved.
• Some GPU performance improvements have been added, which will be more impactful on high-end cards.
• Improved renderer threading model, significantly improving CPU usage on high-end systems.
• Various stability and performance improvements.

Play

• Added the ability to eat food found in the world.
• Stealth has been adjusted to be a bit more forgiving.
• Fixed an issue where Andrea’s head would remain permanently hidden.
• Fixed an issue that could prevent players from firing their weapons.
• Fixed issues where some NPCs could be seen not wearing clothes (Note: This issue may resolve on its own over time).
• Fixed an issue where skill challenges already in progress could stop progressing after reaching unity and starting a new game.
• Fixed an issue that could prevent the inventory or save from being temporarily opened after entering a unit.
• PC: Fixed an issue where mouse movement could be choppy.
• Fixed a rare issue that could cause the flagship to be lost.
• Fixed an issue where the ship’s service technician could disappear.
• Fixed an issue where the camera could sometimes shake incorrectly during Travel, Grav Jumping, Docking, or Landing transitions.

Graphics

• Fixed an issue with how ambient occlusion appears at ultra-wide resolutions.
• Optimal initial shader assembly that occurs at startup.
• Added the ability to adjust brightness and contrast in the display settings menu.
• Added the ability to adjust HDR brightness provided the system supports it. (Xbox and Windows 11 only).
• A number of materials were dealt with which may sometimes present an unintended pattern under certain circumstances.
• Fixed several visual issues with the new FOV slider options.
• Improved the appearance of eyes on crowd characters.
• A number of minor visual issues related to lighting, shadows, terrain and vegetation have been resolved.
• PC: Additional visual issues related to DLSS have been addressed.

Questions

• All That Money Can Buy: Fixed a rare issue where players could not sit while negotiating with Musgrove.
• Blast Zone: Fixed an issue where solid boulders that players need to clear would not appear on Ngodup Tate’s land.
• Echoes of the Past: Fixed an issue where the Grylloba Queen would sometimes become unreachable during the “Secure the Shuttle Bay” objective.
• Eye of the Storm: Fixed an issue where players’ quest progress could be blocked due to a missing docking prompt.
• Grunt Work: Fixed an issue where progress would appear blocked if “Supra et Ultra” was completed while returning to the inn during “High Price to Pay”.
• No Sudden Moves: Fixed an issue that could prevent the entrance door to Scow’s ship from opening again.
• Operation Starseed: Fixed an issue where the key required to exit the facility was sometimes missing.
• Subversion: Fixed an issue where players could not find David Barron.
• Myopia: Fixed an issue where players would rarely become controller-bound while speaking with Vladimir.
• Heart of Mars: Fixed an issue where players could not extract the “Heart of Mars”

Alex Stedman is a senior news editor at IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she’s not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.