Starfield's latest update adds PC DLSS support, and ability to gobble up food as soon as you find it

Bethesda has released a new patch for Starfield, which adds DLSS support for those on PC, as well as the ability to ingest food when it is found in the environment. This means players will be able to "enjoy those Chunks immediately or save them for later". Mmm.

This update was previously available as part of a Steam beta, but it is now available for all players.

Along with the much requested DLSS support for those Starfield players with compatible graphics cards, this update also covers a variety of other fixes and features across the board.

Starfield version 1.8.86 update, to give it its full name, will improve stealth by making it a "bit more forgiving". It will also address those moments where Andreja's head would stay permanently cloaked.

With this update in play, users should no longer lose the home ship. This was, admittedly, quite a rare occurrence, but surely a rather troublesome one for those affected.

You can read Bethesda's full patch notes below. Please note, there are some Quest-based updates included, so be wary of spoilers:

Performance and stability

• Addressed a number of memory related issues and leaks.
• Added some GPU performance optimizations, which will be more impactful on higher end cards.
• Improved renderer threading model, improving CPU usage most notably on higher end systems.
• Various stability and performance improvements.

Gameplay

• Added the ability to eat the food placed in the world.
• Adjusted stealth to be a bit more forgiving.
• Fixed an issue where Andreja's head would stay permanently cloaked.
• Fixed an issue that could prevent players from firing their weapons.
• Fixed issues where some NPC could be seen not wearing clothes (Note: This issue may resolve itself over time).
• Fixed an issue where already in-progress skill challenges could stop progressing after reaching the Unity and starting a new game.
• Fixed an issue that could temporarily prevent opening the inventory or saving after entering the Unity.
• PC: Fixed an issue where mouse movement could be choppy.
• Fixed a rare issue that could cause the home ship to be lost.
• Fixed an issue where the ship services technician might be missing.
• Fixed an issue where occasionally the camera could shake incorrectly during Travelling, Grav Jumping, Docking, or Landing transitions.

Graphics

• Addressed an issue with how ambient occlusion appeared in ultrawide resolutions.
• Optimised initial shader compilation that occurs on start-up.
• Added the ability to adjust Brightness and Contrast in the Display Settings menu.
• Added the ability to adjust HDR Brightness provided that the system supports it. (Xbox & Windows 11 only).
• Addressed a number of materials that could sometimes present an unintended pattern under certain conditions.
• Fixed various visual issues related to the new FOV slider options.
• Improved the appearance of the eyes on crowd characters.
• Addressed a number of minor visual issues related to lighting, shadows, terrain, and vegetation.
• PC: Addressed additional visual issues related to DLSS.

Quests

• All That Money Can Buy: Fixed a rare issue where players couldn't sit during the negotiation with Musgrove.
• Blast Zone: Fixed an issue where the hard rocks that need to be cleared out by players will not appear on Ngodup Tate's land.
• Echoes of the Past: Fixed an issue where the Grylloba Queen could sometimes not be reachable during the objective "Secure the Shuttle Bay".
• Eye of the Storm: Fixed an issue where players' quest progression could potentially be blocked due to a missing docking prompt.
• Grunt Work: Addressed an issue where progress could appear blocked if "Supra et Ultra" was completed while returning to the Lodge during "High Price to Pay".
• No Sudden Moves: Fixed an issue that could prevent the entrance door to the Scow ship from being opened again.
• Operation Starseed: Fixed an issue where the key that is needed to exit the facility could sometimes not be present.
• Sabotage: Fixed an issue where David Barron could potentially not be found by players.
• Short Sighted: Fixed an issue where players could rarely become control-locked while speaking with Vladimir.
• The Heart of Mars: Fixed an issue where players might not be able to mine the "The Heart of Mars".

Starfield released a little over two months ago, becoming the "biggest Bethesda game launch" of all time.

However, following its strong launch, things have since tailed off somewhat. In fact, recently more players have been dipping back into Bethesda's earlier RPG, Skyrim, on Steam than have been taking to the skies in Starfield.