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

[LarKing]

Had arguably my best and worst experiences with this game today.

The worst: I went to some UC planet and the freestar ships started attacking me. I don’t want to gain a bigger bounty and lose Andreja so I travel to another UC system trying to clear my bounty. The ships follow me. Every. System. I. Go. Insanely frustrating. How can I clear a bounty if I can’t land on the planet to clear it? You can’t land in combat. I google some workarounds. One is to create an outpost and add a self service kiosk. Don’t have the resources for that. Can’t land anywhere with shops to get the resources. But wait it gets worse.

I go to an independent system to try this outpost idea anyway. A character from a previous storyline shows up trying to kill me. I wipe him and his crew pretty easily. Try to go to the planet. It says I’m in combat. Something got glitched. I load back and beat him again. I think attacking his ships before hailing him glitched me somehow.

Outpost attempt didn’t work out. So I jump system to system letting these Freestar ships hit me essentially while I jump. One system only has one so I say screw it and kill them. Andreja leaves. Still can’t land on the UC planet to kill my bounty because it says I’m in combat again. Finally I find some backwater UC planet to clear my bounty and guess what? The game says f*** you one more time and crashes minutes after this. Luckily I was able to do it again quickly but man this hour of trying to undo these bugs (I NEVER ATTACKED FREESTAR SHIPS AND IM A RANGER FFS) was just awful.

Okay now to the good . I’ve been purposefully holding off on main missions. Probably from past games not allowing you to do certain side missions after completing main missions. I think the order I’ve been playing the game has been absolutely perfect. Started off doing side missions delivering research, getting coffee for a janitor, etc. Then I moved moreso into the factions with Freestar, vanguard, sysdef, spacers etc. Now been doing more main missions and man it’s been just perfect. Game feels like it’s continuously ramping up.

I won’t spoil anything but man that guy in here posting about how he didn’t like the game after a few hours has me laughing. You don’t even have half the game’s mechanics unlocked in the first 5 hours unless you’re strictly doing main missions and farming XP to unlock skill points.

Sorry for the rant. This game has a way of engaging me then bewildering me in the same gaming sesh.

 

[Andrei79]

When do the performance issues start on PC? Very early game but my game is smooth on ultra 2K resolution with an RTX 3070

I agree that BGS has a style that they adhere to for almost all their games, where i disagree is the idea that they are getting worse. 30 hours in Starfield is pretty obviously a better game than Fallout 3 and 4 and personally I think its better than Skyrim as well.

I'd add that if they stopped making these types of games there would be a hole the fill. They're never my favorite games, but I want these types of games once every few years. They scratch an itch.

 

[Turin]

I won’t spoil anything but man that guy in here posting about how he didn’t like the game after a few hours has me laughing. You don’t even have half the game’s mechanics unlocked in the first 5 hours unless you’re strictly doing main missions and farming XP to unlock skill points.

Sorry for the rant. This game has a way of engaging me then bewildering me in the same gaming sesh.

Yea, this is a big thing. 90% of the gameplay is in the skills and the main quest abilities - way more so than any game they've done recently. If you don't have those, then yea.. your character will suck and they should suck because it's a role playing game. Feels like trying to explain Morrowind again all over to people who don't know why they can't hit the mudcrab with their rusty iron dagger 5 seconds in when they picked a heavy armor blunt class to start the game.

 

[Osprey]

I'm way out of date on how Bethesda develops, but if they haven't changed things (and double checking they haven't) another thing in their favour is that rather than licensing an engine like Unreal Engine or whatever they build their own game engine and use that to make their game. The benefit is that then they package that engine up and give it to the user base to play with, which is where all the great mods in a Bethesda game comes from.

For the type of games they're going for I'll gladly take that trade off.

Good point. There were hundreds of mods within a day of release and are probably thousands by now because the modders already had the tools and knowledge to work with the engine, since it's just an upgraded version of the one used in Skyrim and FO4. The archives and assets inside them use the same file formats, file/folder structures are similar and the console system works the same way. There's no way that something like StarUI Inventory would've been completed in less than a week if someone hadn't simply adapted the version made for an earlier game (and I do remember there being a SkyUI for Skyrim).

 

[542365]

Haven’t been able to play for a week but excited to get back into it tonight. I’m level 23 and just started the Vanguard quests that I’m very much looking forward to completing.

 

[Bobby Orrtuzzo]

Just downloaded it via the Xbox game pass on my pc. I never really got into any the Bethesda games, but considering it’s essentially free, I figured I’d check it out. Anyone got any advice for a noob?

 

[Turin]

Just downloaded it via the Xbox game pass on my pc. I never really got into any the Bethesda games, but considering it’s essentially free, I figured I’d check it out. Anyone got any advice for a noob?

Have an idea of how you want to play because a lot of the gameplay is locked behind skills. Your starting ship is garbage, upgrade it asap or get a free new one asap through the Mantis side quest or Freestar Rangers faction. Definitely don't play the game like No Mans Sky. If you wanna be sneaky remember to unequip your items and don't have a companion.

 

[Super Cake]

Ok, these bugs are really getting on my nerves.

The incoming weather status effect will not go away no matter what i do. It started ever since i finished that lock mission for the crimson fleet.

Another one:

Spoiler

Now i am on the eyewitness mission and one of the f***ing terramorphs that was suppose to be on the landing pad is glitched so far away from it. Had to jump out of the spaceport and run all the way through forrests and mountains just to kill it. Had to run all the way back to the spaceport as well as i couldn't fast travel.

 

[LarKing]

Ok, these bugs are really getting on my nerves.

The incoming weather status effect will not go away no matter what i do. It started ever since i finished that lock mission for the crimson fleet.

Another one:

Spoiler

Now i am on the eyewitness mission and one of the f***ing terramorphs that was suppose to be on the landing pad is glitched so far away from it. Had to jump out of the spaceport and run all the way through forrests and mountains just to kill it. Had to run all the way back to the spaceport as well as i couldn't fast travel.

I have this one too. Pretty annoying. Don’t know how to get it off. The game is great but there’s a metric f*** ton of these glitches.

 

[LarKing]

Just downloaded it via the Xbox game pass on my pc. I never really got into any the Bethesda games, but considering it’s essentially free, I figured I’d check it out. Anyone got any advice for a noob?

- Like someone else said, get a new ship quickly. Would recommend the mantis quest early on as it’s really not too difficult

- Personally I couldn’t stand seeing locks I couldn’t even attempt so I leveled that up quickly

- Buy med packs and ammo early on when you’re lacking those resources

- You can make a lot of money by taking the “meta” gun for the enemies you’re fighting and reselling them. As you play more you’ll notice the most valuable guns enemies have. You’ll want to level up the skill to carry more weight. You can also use your followers as pack mules of sorts. Just remember to stop at shops and sell that stuff because it adds up quickly and being encumbered is enraging haha

- Outside of the above, I mostly leveled up whatever I was struggling with at the time

- The game really rewards exploring which I absolutely love. Don’t be afraid to look around if you enjoy that kindve thing. You’ll find a lot especially on faction/main missions

- You can farm xp at the beginning by just going into the wilderness and shooting animals. A lot of them can barely fight back and you’ll level up quickly

- Don’t get attached to guns as they quickly become obsolete as you level up

- These are all recommendations for things I’ve noticed/how I like to play. I’m sure others will have different opinions. Just play it how you like. For example I haven’t touched ship building but I’ve probably found and sold more guns than I’d like to admit

 

[Osprey]

The incoming weather status effect will not go away no matter what i do. It started ever since i finished that lock mission for the crimson fleet.

Try these potential fixes:

Starfield Incoming Weather Bug: How to Remove Status Effect Glitch

An annoying Starfield incoming weather bug is making a status effect persist. Here's how to fix the bug if restarting the game doesn't help.

www.gamerevolution.com

 

[Super Cake]

I have this one too. Pretty annoying. Don’t know how to get it off. The game is great but there’s a metric f*** ton of these glitches.

I tried everything that the internet suggested. I went back to the planet where it happened, ran outside for a bit and then returned to the ship. Didn't work. I fully quit the game and reloaded the game. Didn't work. Loaded up an earlier save, but once I got to the end of that mission, it happened again. So I am just going to have to live with it.

 

[GreytWun]

I encountered a bug that sucks and I think it again has to be because I progressed to far before doing the main quest.

SPOILER BELOW:


Bug where I cannot get all the powers as Vlad says he doesn’t have anymore temples for me.

I went ahead and started a new game plus anyways on another save just to see what you get for doing new game plus. Apparently you can do new game plus 10 times and level up your powers 10 times. Since I try to complete most games fully it’s bugging me that it’s missing.

 

[LarKing]

Seems to be more and more bugs every day. Hopefully they’ll be patched up soon enough.

 

[The Mars Volchenkov]

Have played 30 hours and had one crash on the Series X. I’ve lost track of time too many times playing it.

The Freestar Rangers questline was a lot of fun.

 

[I Hate Blake Coleman]

The bullet sponge enemies are so annoying. Rather than just let me kill them as I level up, the game just seems to be throwing stronger weapons at me? So I'm constantly cycling weapons.

Lockpicks and medpacks are the most scarce resources in the galaxy too apparently.

After about 24 hours, I might just opt to put this game on ice for a year or two before getting back into it. Patches and mods will do it some good.

 

[Osprey]

The bullet sponge enemies are so annoying. Rather than just let me kill them as I level up, the game just seems to be throwing stronger weapons at me? So I'm constantly cycling weapons.

Lockpicks and medpacks are the most scarce resources in the galaxy too apparently.

After about 24 hours, I might just opt to put this game on ice for a year or two before getting back into it. Patches and mods will do it some good.

If you're on PC, there's already a mod to reduce the sponginess of enemies here. I haven't used it, though. Alternatively, you could try turning down the difficulty under Settings->Gameplay and avoiding planets over a certain level (such as your level or even less). I find that I one-shot a lot of enemies when they're less than half my level. Of course, I also try to aim for their heads. It seems to make a big difference, at least with human enemies. Make sure that you're not making it easy for them to absorb your shots by shooting them in their heavily armored chests.

I pick every lock that I come across and have more digipicks than I need because I buy them from every vendor that has them. Trade Authority shops always have them, as do other shady vendors. Also, remember that they restock every 48 hours, so hit up the same vendors each time that you return to their area. You can also just sit nearby and wait for 48 hours, though that could be a hassle for just 2-4 more digipicks at a time.

If you're starving for medpacks, do a similar thing with them: get in the habit of just buying every medpack off of every vendor that has them. Also, if you're out of combat, save your medpacks and sleep, instead. I've found that you need to sleep only an hour to fully heal yourself. Your ship always has a bed and is usually nearby, so that's the easiest way. When you're far from your ship or in a middle of a long ground mission, keep an eye out for beds that you can return to when your health gets low. Each bed used means an extra medpack available in combat.

 

[Jovavic]

There are perks to increase your damage, go with the ones (rifle, shotgun, pistol, ballistics, laser, scope, etc.) you use the most.

 

[WeDislikeEich]

I haven’t had any issue finding med packs. I’ve consistently had 30+ in my inventory since pretty early in game and haven’t really bought any.

Digipicks were definitely scarce for a while but now I’ve built up a good collection. I buy them when I see them for sale at vendors. But I also save before picking hard locks. That has saved me lots of picks. I usually pick a door with 1 digipick now.

It took me a minute to figure out the method to lockpicking. My best tip (besides saving first) is if the lock looks overly difficult, exit lock picking before using any keys (so you don’t waste a lock pick) and then re-enter. Sometimes I do it 2-3x until I get an easier set of keys/openings. But I always end up with an easier set with less holes to fill.

 

[Cush]

My first ship jacking attempt didn't go so well.

Kill the mercs outside
Board the ship
Ship immediately takes off
Kill the mercs inside
Try to sit down in the pilot's seat:
Don't have the qualifications to pilot Class B ships

 

[I Hate Blake Coleman]

The Ryujin and Freestar Collective Missions have been the most memorable so far. I suppose I've only seen a fraction of the game so farm. Also, having parents is a really nice touch.

 

[That Habs Fan]

Spoiler: kinda sorta spoiler for very early game stuff

I feel real stupid for playing this game 20 hours but avoiding main story missions so much that I hadn't finished "Into the unknown" until hour 21.

Feel even worse for a friend I know who's got almost 48 hours into it without advancing the main story that far.

Loving this game and finally understanding why Bethesda games have been so popular in the past.

 

[Saskatoon]

I do wish they would have made a bit bigger of a leap forward with their formula but yea its Elder Scrolls in space which is still a decent game.

 

[flyersnorth]

My first ship jacking attempt didn't go so well.

Kill the mercs outside
Board the ship
Ship immediately takes off
Kill the mercs inside
Try to sit down in the pilot's seat:
Don't have the qualifications to pilot Class B ships

So... did you just end up stranded in space??

 

[flyersnorth]

There are so many things I do not like about this game, and so many things I love about it.

At the end of the day, it's fun as all hell, and for me, that trumps everything else. It has that "one more mission" pull that keeps me sucked in.