Tonight at 2:00 AM, the Early Access of Starfield begins. Especially on Steam, the preload may cause stress at launch – a user explains why you shouldn’t panic right away.
What is this note about? A small but helpful tip from the Starfield community on Reddit.
User ComManDerBG shares his experiences with early access actions related to a preload on Steam. He receives many upvotes, comments, and people thank him (via reddit.com).
The note: As soon as at 2:00 AM the Early Access starts on Steam, Starfield is still not ready to play. Steam initially only stores compressed files, and only when Early Access is truly available does Steam unpack the files.
The speed of unpacking depends on the hard drive. A user in the comments adds that the processor also plays a role.
Starfield requires an SSD in its minimum system requirements, and the faster the hard drive, the sooner you can start the RPG on Steam. Starfield will probably run on an HDD as well, but the loading times will likely increase significantly.
ComManDerBG recommends not to panic right away when Steam is still working on Starfield in the “Downloads” window. While it may well be that a few files still need to be downloaded for Early Access, most of it should be running through the drives (unpacking), not over the network (download).
You can check in the download window above if Steam is currently downloading something or just unpacking. The blue bars represent downloads, while the green line represents drive processes.
The hype around Starfield is great, the mood is emotionally charged. If something goes wrong with the download, it can quickly lead to knee-jerk reactions.
Before you restart the download completely, it’s better to be a little patient and observe what Steam is doing. Restarting the download should be your last resort if something is wrong.
More tips for a smooth start can be found here: 5 tips for a relaxed start in Starfield
