gamesradar [Official] Starfield Discussion Thread

[UltraMega]

Moved thread out of news, renamed to Starfield Discussion Thread. 

 

 

Now that I have a good amount of hours in the game, I am enjoying it but it's definitely not as good as Skyrim. Perhaps my opinion will change as there are a lot of mechanics I haven't touched yet, but I have a feeling it won't change much. 

 

The game is so similar to Skyrim in how it plays, but Skyrim benefited from having a setting that really made the player want to care about the mechanics. Smelting ore to craft gear, collecting ingredients to make potions, enchanting armor and weapons... these things made sense and had a lot of appeal in the Skyrim setting. In Starfield, those same mechanics feel dry and uninteresting because the setting of the game just doesn't add any depth to them at all. 

 

The nature of the way the worlds are divided up also makes it feel harder to get a sense of immersion. I understand and appreciate the way they designed the game, and the loading screens between planets and space doesn't bother me in and of itself, but the lack of any attempt to make it feel connected hurts the game a lot. For example, I don't know why the player can't take off in their ship and fly it up towards space until they hit a certain point that would just trigger a loading screen and load into space, and vice versa for landing on a planet. It feels like two completely separate games in one; a Skyrim style RPG with no hub world but instead larger dungeon style instances on procedurally generated planets, and a very simple space combat game. 

 

Some simple changes to the way the game is played would have made a big difference, and it does feel like Bethesda didn't try hardly at all to come up with ways to hide the seams. It feels like they looked at the way people play Skyrim and said "players just fast travel everywhere so why bother to try to make the world feel connected". While that's mostly true, you still had to walk to a location at least once to unlock fast travel for that location, and that made the world feel connected. It doesn't matter that once you get to the location, it's just a door or cave entrance with a loading screen. The travel gives the player that sense that the world is believably connected. 

 

Overall I was not super hyped for this game because I didn't know what it was trying to be, but I am a bit disappointed that it feels sooo much like Skyrim but with a totally different setting. Instead of designing mechanics for Starfield, they took too much of what worked in Skyrim and shoved it down Starfield's throat without adapting it to feel like it fit in the game. 

 

Overall a good game, I'm pretty hooked on it for now despite the flaws. Still, it feels a little under baked. 

 

 

Edited September 13, 2023 by UltraMega

[The Pook]

AYO

 

75mb patch today:

 

 

ALSO:

 

 

no specific mention of poor man DLSS 3 FSR 3 though 

 

On 12/09/2023 at 11:15, Barefooter said:

Anyone know if this game will scale with SLI?

 

I doubt it but maybe. He claims he's getting "playable" frame rates with SLI 1070s. The game is playable on a single 1070 though so it's possible SLI isn't being used and he's just a doofus. 

 

can't really find any info other than that. 

Edited September 13, 2023 by The Pook
nvm figured it out

[Sir Beregond]

On 09/09/2023 at 05:56, Slaughtahouse said:

I really like NV, especially the factions and ammo system but the desert / atmosphere and the excessive jank pulls it away from being a contender for the top. 

Same jank as Oblivion and Fallout 3. Literally same engine.

 

I agree desert atmosphere isn't for everyone, but I'd say the story, dialogue, factions, etc. all were done way better than any Bethesda made Fallout game. Like Fallout 4 is just awful.

Edited September 13, 2023 by Sir Beregond

[Slaughtahouse]

18 minutes ago, Sir Beregond said:

Same jank as Oblivion and Fallout 3. Literally same engine.

 

I agree desert atmosphere isn't for everyone, but I'd say the story, dialogue, factions, etc. all were done way better than any Bethesda made Fallout game. Like Fallout 4 is just awful.

 

Same engine but completely different team. As far as I know, Obsidian had a very short prod cycle. They just took those shitty tools from Bethesda and try to salvage an RPG out of it. I've experienced way more bugs in NV than 3. I couldn't even complete the main quest / ending because the final mission was bugged to hell for me. The final guy in the casino was glitched up, I can't recall the details but I couldn't speak to him. No amount of save scumming would recouver the game for me.

 

I agree those elements were done much better, but Fallout 3 has a charm to it. Even if its inferior from an RPG standpoint, I prefer it more. 

 

P.S. Thanks for making this a discussion thread OP. 

[Slaughtahouse]

3 hours ago, The Pook said:

 

Not sure if this is a slap in the face or they actually think they're adding features. FOV Slider, Brightness / Contrast controls, eating food without going into their complicated UI is pretty basic. I under the rest are not common but yeesh. Woohoo, after 25 years of games, they're adding an FOV slider. 

 

*slow clap*

Edited September 13, 2023 by Slaughtahouse

[The Pook]

4 minutes ago, Slaughtahouse said:

 

Not sure if this is a slap in the face or they actually think they're adding features. FOV Slider, Brightness / Contrast controls, eating food without going into their complicated UI is pretty basic. I under the rest are not common but yeesh. Woohoo, after 25 years of games, they're adding an FOV slider. 

 

*slow clap*

 

my interest is pretty much solely in: 

 

 

Todd's "oUr GaMe Is OpTiMiZeD, pErFoRmAnCe Is BaD cUs Ur Pc SuCkS" comment made me think they were calling it a day on optimization 

[Sir Beregond]

4 hours ago, Slaughtahouse said:

 

Same engine but completely different team. As far as I know, Obsidian had a very short prod cycle. They just took those shitty tools from Bethesda and try to salvage an RPG out of it. I've experienced way more bugs in NV than 3. I couldn't even complete the main quest / ending because the final mission was bugged to hell for me. The final guy in the casino was glitched up, I can't recall the details but I couldn't speak to him. No amount of save scumming would recouver the game for me.

 

I agree those elements were done much better, but Fallout 3 has a charm to it. Even if its inferior from an RPG standpoint, I prefer it more. 

 

P.S. Thanks for making this a discussion thread OP. 

Oh yeah that's pretty game breaking. That would ruin my enjoyment of it too.

 

And I agree, I liked Fallout 3 as well.

[acoustic]

Personally.. I think this game is extremely overhyped. I'm shocked people are making excuses for a $70 title, but it seems there are no end of apologists for Bethesda. Between the AMD sponsorship debacle, the horrendous performance for 2016 graphics, and the mediocre gameplay.. I'm so confused why there is such a hard-line defense force for this game.

 

Todd Howard's comments in response to questions about performance optimization were atrocious and out-of-touch. This game has embarrassing graphical fidelity at times. The textures for vegetation and flora is just sad, honestly.

 

I've been playing RDR2 (almost done with it, what a ride!) and it wipes the absolute fuckin' floor with Starfield in terms of graphics, and RDR2 came out on PC in 2019..

Edited September 16, 2023 by acoustic

[The Pook]

 

[iamjanco]

^guy acting like he's a pirate on the open sea makes me want to share my special 'adult'  rendition of Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

[The Pook]

12 hours ago, iamjanco said:

^guy acting like he's a pirate on the open sea makes me want to share my special 'adult'  rendition of Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

 

only if you sing it and put it on TikTok 

[iamjanco]

1 hour ago, The Pook said:

 

only if you sing it and put it on TikTok 

 

If I tried to do that, I'd be admitting I don't have a TikTok account; but don't fret, I recorded the first line of the song just for you so you could enjoy it here:

 

 

 

[Slaughtahouse]

On 16/09/2023 at 18:28, acoustic said:

Personally.. I think this game is extremely overhyped. I'm shocked people are making excuses for a $70 title, but it seems there are no end of apologists for Bethesda. Between the AMD sponsorship debacle, the horrendous performance for 2016 graphics, and the mediocre gameplay.. I'm so confused why there is such a hard-line defense force for this game.

 

Todd Howard's comments in response to questions about performance optimization were atrocious and out-of-touch. This game has embarrassing graphical fidelity at times. The textures for vegetation and flora is just sad, honestly.

 

I've been playing RDR2 (almost done with it, what a ride!) and it wipes the absolute fuckin' floor with Starfield in terms of graphics, and RDR2 came out on PC in 2019..

 

I understand your sentiment and can agree that there are a lot of things to factor, objectively, that pushes Starfield from "exceeding expectations" or moving the medium forward in a way that RDR2 has done. 

 

For all of it's missteps, I do feel the game does get a lot right, especially for those who are fans of Bethesda RPGs. Why anyone would defend this game outright, saying it's perfect would be astonishing. They took a large gamble on the exploration and well, it works. Even if most planets are "empty", I can recall every planet I've visited thus far. Empty planet exploration is part of the fun and makes those little discoveries memorable. For example, I had just completed a faction quest and was looking for a trader on a near by planet to make some cash, drop some mass.

 

There was a gas giant near by that had 3 or 4 moons. When I flew around the gas giant, I got a radio call from a farmer's distress beacon. I ended up ignoring it at first, and went to the first moon I found. I discovered an outpost and was immediately throw into this large battle with raiders and robots. I scrouged the base and came across a large stash of contraband. I took it, ran out of dodge, got on my ship, and flew to the next moon. Which conveniently was where the farmer was at. I landed at his farm, convinced him to pay me extra to help him out with his little problem, and I dumped my contraband on his farm since I can't return to a United Colony (UC) faction planet without flagging authorities. I started to do his quest which was basically just repair a satellite. Now i'm involved and getting mixed up with his farmers alliance and pissed off neighbours. This ended up being about 3-4hrs of gameplay which started off as me just wanting to go to a trader. 

 

It's really a game of what you make of it and I enjoy those moments. I do think they would have been better off by reducing the scope and finding a way to make the space to planet transitions a gameplay feature and not a loading screen but I am still have a great time with their exploration system. 

 

My opinion, which very subjective, is that I've had some really memorable moments from Bethesda games that I haven't had in other RPGs. It doesn't mean this game is better or superior in any way, none of their games are perfect, and most games aren't, but I do enjoy the way their games offer a sense of freedom with the right mixture of RPG elements to make each playthrough feel unique. Whether it's their factions and quest lines, their questionable, less so in this title, physics, and the moment to moment gameplay. 

 

I can't throw a number at it but like any Bethesda game, it grows on you. I've got about 15-20hrs of gameplay in and I haven't even done a main quest yet (besides the mandatory one) and I'm having a great time getting lost in it all. 

 

 

Edited September 19, 2023 by Slaughtahouse

[Avacado]

Don't go Starborn. It's not worth it. 

[Slaughtahouse]

2 hours ago, Avacado said:

Don't go Starborn. It's not worth it. 

 

Not sure what that is yet but noted  

 

I'm playing a character a "lawful neutral" type character. In it solely for the credits and not concerned about the bigger picture or who's right or wrong. That's largely why I am avoiding the Constellation / main quest.I think any faith / religious groups I will stay clear from assuming that what Starborn is. 

 

I'm doing the UC faction right now. I thought it would be self righteous but it's surprisingly interesting. When you start, you can walk through their museum and learn about the history of the universe from the UC perspective. The Narion War, Treaty of Narion, Colony War etc. It's insanely skewed but what I found interesting were the NPCs walking the halls of the museum calling out the BS. There was an old man, a veteran to be specific, who saw through the fallacy of their actions and was asking why they were not providing support for those who served in the Colony War. The first quest goes a bit sideways (no surprise) and it plays out like a scene from Alien. 

 

Screenshot from the first mission. Small spoiler.

Spoiler

 

[UltraMega]

20 minutes ago, Slaughtahouse said:

 

Not sure what that is yet but noted  

 

I'm playing a character a "lawful neutral" type character. In it solely for the credits and not concerned about the bigger picture or who's right or wrong. That's largely why I am avoiding the Constellation / main quest.I think any faith / religious groups I will stay clear from assuming that what Starborn is. 

 

I'm doing the UC faction right now. I thought it would be self righteous but it's surprisingly interesting. When you start, you can walk through their museum and learn about the history of the universe from the UC perspective. The Narion War, Treaty of Narion, Colony War etc. It's insanely skewed but what I found interesting were the NPCs walking the halls of the museum calling out the BS. There was an old man, a veteran to be specific, who saw through the fallacy of their actions and was asking why they were not providing support for those who served in the Colony War. The first quest goes a bit sideways (no surprise) and it plays out like a scene from Alien. 

 

Screenshot from the first mission. Small spoiler.

  Hide contents

 

I was playing this way until a friend mentioned to me that you unlock new abilities from doing the main quest. Might be worth doing it so you can play all the side quests with those abilities. 

[The Pook]

2 hours ago, Avacado said:

Don't go Starborn. It's not worth it. 

 

alternatively:

 

no spoilers: go Starborn multiple times and choose not to skip the main story and (only) do the main story missions and optional temple/power missions on each. then hunker down and complete that playthrough 

 

spoilers: go Starborn multiple times and choose not to skip the main story and (only) do the main story missions and optional temple/power missions on each. then hunker down and complete that playthrough because:

 

Spoiler

the story changes get weird (some are on YouTube if you want to really spoil it), and if you care you can save everyone in "High Price to Pay" in NG+. 

The Starborn outfit and ship get better every NG+ (the ship kinda sucks tho regardless of NG+ #), and the temple powers can be upgraded 10 times. 

 

at least don't settle down and go completionist until NG(1)+ 

[Avacado]

1 hour ago, Slaughtahouse said:

 

Not sure what that is yet but noted  

 

I'm playing a character a "lawful neutral" type character. In it solely for the credits and not concerned about the bigger picture or who's right or wrong. That's largely why I am avoiding the Constellation / main quest.I think any faith / religious groups I will stay clear from assuming that what Starborn is. 

 

I'm doing the UC faction right now. I thought it would be self righteous but it's surprisingly interesting. When you start, you can walk through their museum and learn about the history of the universe from the UC perspective. The Narion War, Treaty of Narion, Colony War etc. It's insanely skewed but what I found interesting were the NPCs walking the halls of the museum calling out the BS. There was an old man, a veteran to be specific, who saw through the fallacy of their actions and was asking why they were not providing support for those who served in the Colony War. The first quest goes a bit sideways (no surprise) and it plays out like a scene from Alien. 

 

Screenshot from the first mission. Small spoiler.

  Hide contents

 

I spent a LOT of time building my own ship and outposts. If you go Starborn, you lose EVERYTHING. You get a shitty spacehip and a special spacesuit that isn't much greater than what you might have already had. I went the pirate route and sided with the Crimson fleet at the end. 

Edited September 19, 2023 by Avacado

[The Pook]

 

not 100% Starfield related (and 2 years old, has the OG 2021 Starfield release date), but: 

 

Leaked Microsoft Doc Indicates Xbox Is Working On Oblivion Remaster, Fallout 3 Remaster, Dishonored 3, And More

WWW.GAMEINFORMER.COM

---

Various unseen court documents have leaked today, revealing new details and information about Xbox's future plans.

 

tl;dr:

 

* Oblivion Remaster = is (was?) in the works

* Fallout 3 Remaster = is (was?) in the works

* Elder Scrolls VI = 2024 

 

I seriously doubt that the date for TES6 is accurate (late 2025 at the earliest is my guess) but neat to see that they are (were?) planning on remasters (RIP Skyblivion/Skywind?)

[Slaughtahouse]

2 hours ago, UltraMega said:

I was playing this way until a friend mentioned to me that you unlock new abilities from doing the main quest. Might be worth doing it so you can play all the side quests with those abilities. 

Thanks for the heads up  I'll get back into it as my top priority after I finish the current UC mission I am on. 

[Slaughtahouse]

11 minutes ago, The Pook said:

 

not 100% Starfield related (and 2 years old, has the OG 2021 Starfield release date), but: 

 

Leaked Microsoft Doc Indicates Xbox Is Working On Oblivion Remaster, Fallout 3 Remaster, Dishonored 3, And More

WWW.GAMEINFORMER.COM

---

Various unseen court documents have leaked today, revealing new details and information about Xbox's future plans.

 

tl;dr:

 

* Oblivion Remaster = is (was?) in the works

* Fallout 3 Remaster = is (was?) in the works

* Elder Scrolls VI = 2024 

 

I seriously doubt that the date for TES6 is accurate (late 2025 at the earliest is my guess) but neat to see that they are (were?) planning on remasters (RIP Skyblivion/Skywind?)

 

Fallout 3 and Oblivion need remakes. I'm not sure a remaster (updating to 4K, nicer textures etc.) is enough in ~2024 onward. 

 

That schedule doesn't make sense... Calls for Starfield in FY21 (E = end?). Starfield was delayed quite a while ago so I assume this is really out of date. 

[Slaughtahouse]

1 hour ago, Avacado said:

I spent a LOT of time building my own ship and outposts. If you go Starborn, you lose EVERYTHING. You get a shitty spacehip and a special spacesuit that isn't much greater than what you might have already had. I went the pirate route and sided with the Crimson fleet at the end. 

 

What a kick in the nuts lol

[The Pook]

1 hour ago, Slaughtahouse said:

That schedule doesn't make sense... Calls for Starfield in FY21 (E = end?). Starfield was delayed quite a while ago so I assume this is really out of date. 

 

I was more interested in the things they are/were planning than the actual dates. 

 

the document is what Bethesda provided MS when they first entered talks of buying them, so anywhere from early 2019 to early 2021. 

 

MS supposedly is the reason for Starfield getting pushed back (twice) so it makes sense. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

 

1 hour ago, Slaughtahouse said:

Fallout 3 and Oblivion need remakes. I'm not sure a remaster (updating to 4K, nicer textures etc.) is enough in ~2024 onward. 

 

seems to be halfway between a remake and a remaster. a verified (ex?)employee leaked it a few months ago and said the game is going to be partially ported to UE5 but still rely on CE (CE2?) for the physics. 

 

No word on gameplay changes or bug fixes though. But Oblivion is a notoriously 100% balanced and a totally bug free game though, so it's not really needed teehee

 

 

 

Edited September 19, 2023 by The Pook
too many supposedly-s

[Sir Beregond]

40 minutes ago, The Pook said:

But Oblivion is a notoriously 100% balanced and a totally bug free game though, so it's not really needed teehee

 

Anyone remember super jumping in Morrowind?

 

[The Pook]

18 minutes ago, Sir Beregond said:

Anyone remember super jumping in Morrowind?

 

 

the only thing I remember of Morrowind is the intro and getting lost in Vivec 

 

I planned to revisit it this year while I waited for Starfield but I installed mods en masse and broke everything. Tried out New Vegas instead and just gonna wait for Skywind and/or the remaster now