I don’t think anybody really knows. My understanding is the problem is KSA reports unaudited reserve numbers, so you have to take them at their word. There’s a lot of skepticism because they would report unchanged reserve numbers for years despite high exploitation. While they can certainly discover new reserves, it seems unlikely it would consistently be about equal to what they pumped out. I’ve read some analysts think they have less than half of what they report.

I think there’s something to be said about a game that is both able to be and worth modding to such a degree. Bethesda has a bit of an unfair advantage due to decades of community knowledge building on the creation engine, however. I don’t disagree with any of your criticisms though.

I haven’t played Starfield due to its reception, but Fallout 4 for me was excellent taken for what it was. Granted, the modding community (as usual for Bethesda) elevated it from a good to great game. I was surprised the number of hours I’ve put into it actually surpassed New Vegas. Though overall imo New Vegas > 4 > 3.