This mod aims to improve performance, stability & consistency for the Steam Deck & other handheld/low powered PCs
Mod for Starfield that significantly improves performance, uses a combination of engine tweaks, compressed texture assets, and more.
Reportably gives pretty good 40fps results in non-demanding areas, and helps hit 30fps in demanding areas.
Unfortunately due to replacing many assets, the mod file size is huge (~7GB), but the author is preparing the download to be available through other file hosting services for people who don't have Nexus mod premium for the faster download speed.
Compared to the stock version of the game, there have been some fantastic gains. With this version of the mod, I saw no drops below 30 FPS and some spots gaining about 5-8 FPS improvements overall. Without any TDP limits, it seems a stable 30 is finally possible with this mod, and I couldn't be happier.
Alright, I was probably going to play it anyway even with dips down to the low 20s. But if we're not even at the full release yet and the modding scene is already squeezing more out of that bottom 1%, I'm just biting the bullet and buying the damned game.
For anyone in the same boat, Fanatical is selling the pre-release versions of the game for 17% off, packaged with a random "highly rated" Steam game. My freebie was Reventure, which is regularly $8.99 CAD.
It's very likely to become my most recent "doesn't need all my attention" game, as I always need one of those on deck (if you'll pardon the expression).