The Overdesigned misc mission in Starfield becomes available from Walter Stroud after you complete All That Money Can Buy. After accompanying Walter to Neon to seal the stolen Artifact deal, Walter needs you again. However, the intention is quite different this time as the mission is related to Walter’s ship manufacturer status. Walter will ask you to help his R&D team design a new starship. Notably, Overdesigned will reward you with one of two mutually exclusive and missable ships, so making the right decisions is quite crucial.
- Misc Mission in New Atlantis (The Lodge)
- Planets: Jemison, Dalvik’s Orbit (Stroud-Eklund Staryard)
- Rewards: 250+ EXP depending on choices, Credits, Kepler R or Kepler S depending on choices
The Short Version: How to Get Kepler R and How to Get Kepler S
The two subsections below explain the choices I made to get the Kepler R and the choices I made to get the Kepler S. Note that in both cases, I only completed the “Bounty Mission” from the mission board, as I couldn’t find a “Passenger Mission”. But if I had to assume, completing both types of missions for market research shifts the scales even more towards Kepler R, as it’s really a Jack-of-all-trades ship (and looks like one).
How to Get Kepler R
As you can see from the above image, Kepler R is a ship that looks like it tries to fit everything in. And that’s exactly how you should approach it. Pick the larger budget, throw in every team member’s design idea, and go experimental with team-building. Don’t select“The only fair thing is to make everyone give up one compromise.” even if you have done the rest of the steps right, as it seems to always trigger the creation of Kepler S.
- Pick the “Kitchen Sink” budget proposal.
- Agree with all the team members’ ideas:
- Jules wants a starfighter.
- Ella wants a ship that targets explorers.
- Mike wants a simple ship that focuses on Starship Engineering.
- Nev wants a recreational ship for families.
- Frank wants a luxury ship that focuses on high-end performance.
- Pick the meditation exercise for team-building.
How to Get Kepler S
To get Kepler S, all you have to do is be reasonable with everything and try to make the team compromise on their design. I think that #3 always locks you into Kepler S, and I suspect that #1 can also lock you into Kepler S, but I have not confirmed this yet.
- Pick Jules’ sensible budget proposal.
- Entirely skip the give feedback optional objective or give negative feedback.
- Select “The only fair thing is to make everyone give up one compromise.”
Should You Get the Kepler R or the Kepler S?
The Kepler R is undoubtedly the better ship between the two, and I honestly don’t see any reason to pick the Kepler S, unless you like its design. You can complete Overdesigned relatively early in the game so if you get your Piloting to Rank 4, you can fly one of the best ships in the game almost right from the start.
Kepler R Stats
| Class | Fuel | Hull | Shields | Grav Drive | Cargo Capacity | Crew Capacity | LAS | BAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | 2800 | 999 | 805 | 30 LY | 3550 | 6 | 38 | 44 |
Kepler S Stats
| Class | Fuel | Hull | Shields | Grav Drive | Cargo Capacity | Crew Capacity | LAS | BAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B | 400 | 689 | 570 | 30 LY | 3200 | 3 | N/A | N/A |
Go to Stroud-Eklund Staryard
In Starfield, starships are typically manufactured at staryards. As a result, you will find Walter’s design team at the Stround-Eklund Staryard, where you must find Jules. The Stroud-Eklund Staryard is at the Narion system in Dalvik’s orbit.
Find Jules
Once you approach the staryard, dock with it, and board it, head to the left past the reception and go to Meeting Room 003, where you will find the design team members.
Speak to Jules
Inside the Meeting Room, you should talk to Jules Degante, the Project Lead. Essentially, you will take Jules’ place and lead her and the team with the creation of Project Kepler. Jules will go passive-aggressive with you and lament your lack of experience, but if you have ranked up Starship Design, you can make quite the comeback on her.
Pick the Project’s Budget
Your first task will be to pick the project’s budget. One option is a lower budget, which, as Jules explains, will allow you to build a more sensible ship, while the other budget proposal will throw the “kitchen sink” at your ship. The former gears you toward Kepler S, a less capable ship, but you will have to persuade Frank, who seems to be the team’s whiner and the one who wants a luxurious ship. Picking the kitchen sink option will lean the scales towards Kepler R, the far superior ship between the two and one of the best ships in Starfield. Still, you will have to persuade Jules (a special dialogue option will show up if you have ranked up the Leadership skill during your persuasion dialogue). This is good practice for your Persuasion skill.
(Optional) Give Feedback on the Team’s Proposals
Completing this objective rewards you with an extra 110 EXP, so it may worth doing so, even if you are aiming for Kepler S.
Your choices continue to carry weight as you interact with the team members around the table and head out to complete missions to gather market data. Your feedback can align the team toward creating the Kepler S or R.
- Jules wants a starfighter (leans towards Kepler R, as it’s the only ship that has weapons).
- Ella wants a ship that targets explorers (I think this leans towards Kepler R because even though both ships have a 30LY Grav Jump, Kepler R has more fuel?).
- Mike wants a simple ship focusing on Starship Engineering (leaning towards Kepler S).
- Nev wants a recreational ship for families (leans towards Kepler S, as it doesn’t have weapons).
- Frank wants a luxury ship focusing on high-end performance (leaning towards Kepler R).
While this is tricky, the easiest way to get Kepler R is to agree with anyone, while the easiest way to get Kepler S is to disagree with everyone or skip the optional objective although, as I’ve already explained you can force your way into Kepler S with the final answer.
Speak with Jules About Market Research
Talking to Jules after providing feedback to all the team members will set you up to perform Market Research. You will be asked to complete one or two Mission Board missions, which seem to vary per playthrough. I think one is always a Bounty Mission, while the other one can be either a Cargo or a Passenger Mission. Completing both missions probably gears you towards the versatility of Kepler R, but I’m not 100% sure this objective affects the ship you get at the end. Note that the Bounty Mission that you are required must be one of those that ask you to destroy a ship rather than the ones that require you to kill someone on a planet’s surface. Personally, I just did the Bounty mission and moved on.
Complete a Bounty Mission/Passenger Mission/Cargo Mission
Once you complete one or two missions, you can speak to Jules to provide your Market Research Data.
Speak with Jules
This seems to be the most crucial step if you want to avoid getting the Kepler S. Selecting “The only fair thing to do is to make everyone give up one compromise.” will tie you to the Kepler S, and frankly, that makes sense. Selecting “Let’s try teambuilding. Maybe group meditation to calm everyone so they can with each other.” may result in Kepler R or Kepler S, depending on your past decisions.
Speak With Jules
Once you’ve agreed, a final conversation with Jules Degante awaits. She will express her gratitude, prompting you to return to Walter Stroud to relay the good news and claim your new spaceship.
And there you have ita complete guide to acing Walter Stroud’s “Overdesigned” quest in Starfield, ensuring you command the Kepler spacecraft of your dreams, which you can access at any Ship Services Technician and make your home ship.
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