Starfield - Bethesda Softworks - Release Date - Sep 6th 2023

[Turin]

Game feels like it would be considered the greatest game of all time if it released in 2015 instead of Fallout 4. But it's 2023 so it's definitely not going to be as accessible to casual players as Skyrim and Fallout 4 were, imo. It's way more suited for role-playing with the way skills and factions work, and the menu and map is unintuitive, to say the least. The game is also a strange hybrid of Oblivion jank and cutting edge vistas and skyboxes which is sort of fun in its own way. I personally am having a lot of fun so far anyway - but I can see why it would be divisive at this point in time.

I do really hope they update the way the map works though, because it stinks. Also the quest log also stinks. UI and everything else has great aesthetic at least.

 

[WeDislikeEich]

Game feels like it would be considered the greatest game of all time if it released in 2015 instead of Fallout 4. But it's 2023 so it's definitely not going to be as accessible to casual players as Skyrim and Fallout 4 were, imo. It's way more suited for role-playing with the way skills and factions work, and the menu and map is unintuitive, to say the least. The game is also a strange hybrid of Oblivion jank and cutting edge vistas and skyboxes which is sort of fun in its own way. I personally am having a lot of fun so far anyway - but I can see why it would be divisive at this point in time.

I do really hope they update the way the map works though, because it stinks. Also the quest log also stinks. UI and everything else has great aesthetic at least.

Yeah the map isn’t great. I don’t like the surface map and trying to set waypoints doesn’t seem to work right for me, unless I haven’t figured it out yet. I don’t see my custom waypoint on my mini-map. So I’ve just been using the scanner to make sure I’m headed in the right direction when exploring. I also don’t like the fast travel between planets but maybe I’ll get used to that as time goes on.

That’s a good description btw. This feels like an older game. There’s nothing next generation about it. I’m still enjoying it though.

I will say, the audio seems pretty great. I am playing on a 5.2.2 home theater system and there’s lots of bass and nice surround sound effects.

Definitely agree with the MassEffext vibes!

Also, I can already tell this game is just going to be me veering off doing random shit for hours. Just left The Lodge for the first time and a bunch of activities popped up from npc conversations nearby, took me all the way to the slums. Good fun so far

Same here. I left the lodge and picked up a bunch of side quests. I think I’m still on main quest #2 (or 3 at most) and I already have a dozen quests going. lol

Lots of stuff to do so far!

 

[Jussi]

Played for a few hours last night on Series X. Never played a Bethesda game before and this feels really good. Gun play feels surprisingly good and it's no surprise given who helped in making that part.

 

[Osprey]

For PC:


It seems that there really isn't much difference in visual quality between Medium, High and Ultra settings, but there are noticeable performance hits. I've been playing on High, but will probably turn a bunch of settings down to Medium now for the extra framerate.

Also, there's already a few hundred mods (though most just edit INI files), including one to replace FSR with DLSS or XeSS and another to adjust the FOV.

Mods at Starfield Nexus - Mods and community

Browse 9,423 mods for Starfield at Nexus Mods

www.nexusmods.com

 

[542365]

Akila City runs like ass for me. It’s the only big performance issue I’ve seen so far, but it’s bad. The rest of the time it runs fine, but that city tanks it for some reason. Running on a RTX 3070 if that matters.

 

[Tw1ster]

How are you all playing right now? You doing side quests as they pop up? Or cleaning up main quest stuff first?

 

[Osprey]

Akila City runs like ass for me. It’s the only big performance issue I’ve seen so far, but it’s bad. The rest of the time it runs fine, but that city tanks it for some reason. Running on a RTX 3070 if that matters.

I haven't gotten to that city, but I'm on a 3070, as well. If it's just that city for you, it could be your CPU that's struggling with it. I'd try lowering Crowd Density to Low. Also, the video that I just posted was done on a 3070, so you might watch that and try setting the game to the "HUB Performance" settings that he recommends at the end. Finally, the 3rd-most popular mod at the link that I gave supposedly offers a further 4% or so performance improvement, so you might try that, too.

 

[SPV]

Played for an hour or so last night. Enjoyed it, felt like Skyrim in space, which I think is good. I’m really looking forward to the mods in the future. If this gets the mod support that Bethesda games usually get, then it’s going to be pretty special. Lots of great sci-fi to build from.

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

Played for an hour or so last night. Enjoyed it, felt like Skyrim in space, which I think is good. I’m really looking forward to the mods in the future. If this gets the mod support that Bethesda games usually get, then it’s going to be pretty special. Lots of great sci-fi to build from.

If you find out that there is a mod that will improve the map, the inventory screen and also the command lines to allow you to not have encumbrance, then let me know!

 

[SPV]

If you find out that there is a mod that will improve the map, the inventory screen and also the command lines to allow you to not have encumbrance, then let me know!

LOL. Definitely some work needed with some of the UI. Based of what we’ve seen from FO4 and Skyrim I think both will get fixed, but might take a year or two.

 

[542365]

How are you all playing right now? You doing side quests as they pop up? Or cleaning up main quest stuff first?

Mostly side quests. They’re all interesting so far.

 

[Surrounded By Ahos]

How are you all playing right now? You doing side quests as they pop up? Or cleaning up main quest stuff first?

I had been bouncing back and forth between the main quests and side stuff I picked up along the way, but I just now got caught with some contraband in my inventory. Which led to a whole new quest line that seems pretty interesting. I won’t day any more so I won’t spoil anything, but I think I’ll follow this one through to it’s end.

 

[GreytWun]

How are you all playing right now? You doing side quests as they pop up? Or cleaning up main quest stuff first?

Got to city then completely got off track. I just recently joined the UC Vanguard faction and have been doing a bunch of missions for them. Very interesting storyline.

 

[542365]

I think I've completed three main quests(possibly only 2), but the side quests have sent me to dozens of planets. It's wild that there are so many quests available and every one that I've done has been interesting. There's only one so far that I would say was more trouble than it was worth, but that was mostly because I didn't understand the lockpicking mechanics fully and I wasted a lot of time on that. I'm at like 12 hours in, which is wild to me because I never play games this hard(because I don't usually have the time). I've stayed up too late the past three nights because I wanted to play this game. It's like I'm back in college all over again Really enjoying it so far.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

It’s really hard to appreciate this game after going through something like BG3. I may need to wait awhile and play something else to reset my expectations.

 

[NyQuil]

It’s really hard to appreciate this game after going through something like BG3. I may need to wait awhile and play something else to reset my expectations.

The difference is that Starfield will be a wildly different game in 2-3 years while BG3 will be the same.

 

[Jovavic]

The main quest splits into three and I took the one with Sam Coe first since his voice actor is Adam Jensen from the newer Deus Ex games lol

Ended up turning the difficulty from normal to easy, even on normal the enemies seem too bullet spongey

 

[SettlementRichie10]

The difference is that Starfield will be a wildly different game in 2-3 years while BG3 will be the same.

I’m assuming you’re referring to mods?

 

[NyQuil]

I’m assuming you’re referring to mods?

It’s what turns Bethesda games into truly impressive pieces of work.

 

[GreytWun]

The main quest splits into three and I took the one with Sam Coe first since his voice actor is Adam Jensen from the newer Deus Ex games lol

Ended up turning the difficulty from normal to easy, even on normal the enemies seem too bullet spongey

Join the vanguard faction then do the “secret outpost” mission. This will give awesome rewards early.

 

[Turin]

It’s really hard to appreciate this game after going through something like BG3. I may need to wait awhile and play something else to reset my expectations.

CRPGs are just an entirely different genre

 

[SettlementRichie10]

It’s what turns Bethesda games into truly impressive pieces of work.

I just fundamentally disagree with this premise. If your game needs mods to become an impressive piece of work, it’s not a good game.

The original Skyrim stood on its own just fine. Mods made it better, sure, but it didn’t need mods. Not sure I can say the same about Starfield. This feels like a game that should’ve come out in 2015. It’s just boiler plate science fiction with the same old Bethesda gameplay loop.

 

[NyQuil]

I just fundamentally disagree with this premise. If your game needs mods to become an impressive piece of work, it’s not a good game.

The original Skyrim stood on its own just fine. Mods made it better, sure, but it didn’t need mods. Not sure I can say the same about Starfield. This feels like a game that should’ve come out in 2015. It’s just boiler plate science fiction with the same old Bethesda gameplay loop.

Meh, I just think of it as more of a platform for a game which is then crowd-sourced to a level of detail you will never see in any other type of gaming experience.

And it’s something that is quite frankly, impossible to duplicate by an individual developer.

Bethesda games are always a bit polarizing so it’s no surprise to me.

The original Skyrims and Fallouts were fine but I never would have put in the insane amount of hours without the modded experience.

Fallout NV, Skyrim and Skyrim SE are my top played games by time on Steam.

 

[Mikeaveli]

Personally I'm liking this game a lot more than I ever liked Skyrim, particularly because the combat is actually fun. I do wish they went with the New Vegas route for factions instead of the Elder Scrolls one but I am having a great time regardless. This is one of those games I can put hours into and not even notice

 

[TheBeastCoast]

Meh, I just think of it as more of a platform for a game which is then crowd-sourced to a level of detail you will never see in any other type of gaming experience.

And it’s something that is quite frankly, impossible to duplicate by an individual developer.

Bethesda games are always a bit polarizing so it’s no surprise to me.

The original Skyrims and Fallouts were fine but I never would have put in the insane amount of hours without the modded experience.

Fallout NV, Skyrim and Skyrim SE are my top played games by time on Steam.

So why would anyone buy it as is if the game is essentially released as a template by Bethesda for other people in the public to come in behind and actually fill the game world out behind them? I absolutely hate the business practice. If you want my money when a game is released....make the game worth my money at release.