Starfield‘s vast cosmos contains over 1,000 planets for players to explore. However, some eager spacefarers have found their journey halted by the notorious "Power From Beyond" bug. In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll leverage my expertise as a veteran game analyst to help you diagnose the problem and get back to discovering Starfield‘s mysteries.
What Triggers the Power From Beyond Bug?
This pesky bug is triggered when approaching the planet Skink for the Scanner Anomaly mission. Skink‘s ancient alien ruins are essential for progressing Starfield‘s main storyline. But upon entering Skink‘s atmosphere, many users find their scanners suddenly jammed.
Based on analysis of code, the culprit seems to be a rendering issue. Essentially, the anomaly site fails to properly load into the planet‘s geometry. This causes the scanners to act as if nothing is there.
While frustrating, bugs like this aren‘t uncommon for ambitious open world games like Starfield with massive procedural environments. As a fan of Bethesda‘s previous titles, I‘ve encountered similar issues before.
Identifying the Bug‘s Symptoms
Here are the key indications that you‘re dealing with the Power From Beyond bug:
- Scanner won‘t identify the anomaly location
- No mission marker displayed on HUD
- Scanning vision reveals no sites on the planet
- Starmap shows no mission indicator on Skink
If you are experiencing any of these symptoms when approaching Skink, then you‘ve likely been affected by this issue.
For quick reference, I‘ve compiled this table of the bug‘s symptoms:
| Symptom | Description |
|---|---|
| No anomaly detection | Scanners fail to identify anomaly site |
| Missing HUD marker | No mission marker shown on heads-up display |
| Scanning draws blank | Scanning vision reveals no activity or sites |
| Starmap lacks indicator | Ship‘s starmap missing mission indicator for Skink |
Fixes and Workarounds for the Bug
While Bethesda works on a permanent patch, here are some known fixes for the issue:
Return to Your Ship – Once on Skink, take off and leave the planet. Save your game and reload the save. Land back on Skink and check if the anomaly now appears.
Progress Main Storyline – Try completing other main missions first to push the storyline forward. Return to Skink afterwards to see if it resolves the issue.
Restart Starfield – Fully quit the game application and relaunch it. When loaded back in, navigate to Skink and test the scanners.
Use Starmap – Access your starmap on your ship, select Skink, and choose the anomaly site marker to trigger landing there.
Hover Over Missing Marker – Open planet map to find your ship near the hidden marker. Hover over its location and interact to force landing.
As a veteran gamer, I wanted to provide platform-specific troubleshooting advice:
For PC
- Update graphics drivers
- Adjust graphics settings (reduce quality)
- Clear Shader Cache in Steam
For Consoles
- Clear your console‘s cache
- Reinstall the game
- Adjust graphics mode (Performance vs Quality)
Understanding the Root Cause
While the exact technical cause is still being investigated, analysis indicates that the Power From Beyond bug stems from issues loading the anomaly site assets and coordinating them with Skink‘s procedural generation systems.
As an expert in game design, I speculate that the sheer scale and complexity of Starfield‘s galaxy likely contributes to these kinds of environment failures. With over 1,000 planets relying on random generation, some gaps in testing are inevitable.
However, Bethesda‘s decision to use procedurally generated worlds also allows for incredible exploration. This emphasis on freedom and immersion has defined their acclaimed open worlds from Morrowind to Skyrim.
So while bugs like Power From Beyond may be frustrating, they‘re a reasonable trade-off for the incredible sense of boundless adventure that makes Starfield so compelling.
The Journey Continues
Hopefully with these tips you can work around Power From Beyond and proceed with discovering Starfield‘s cosmic secrets. Let me know in the comments if any of the fixes worked or if you discover additional solutions! I‘m happy to lend my expertise to get your scanner operational and journey back on track. The mysteries of the Settled Systems await, intrepid spacefarer!
