No, the engine is definitely not "next gen", it's same old engine they've been using with only slight visual upgrades, same awful animations (especially facial animations) and which will take very little advantage of certain hardware features or none at all (such as hardware ray tracing).
It doesn't matter, though - the fans who idolize Bethesda will automatically buy anything they release regardless of anything (the visual style or the performance or amount of bugs), same goes for people who only enjoy repetitive grindy activities in games and don't care for anything else. Bethesda could've made Starfield look like Minecraft and plenty of people would buy it anyway. Whether you like it or not, that's just how it is.
"Fans who idolize" is a qualifier that makes this apply to any title that has fans who idolize it.
GameByNightHardware and Technology EditorMMORPG.COM Staff, MemberRarePosts: 808
Christopher Coke: Quick we have not sold enough hardware this month. I need something controversial, so we get people visisting this website, and show our hardware sponsors how great we are.....
Poorna: Hold my beer, ....inc
Since you're name checking me (which is odd because I literally had nothing to do with this article), you should probably know this site hasn't had a single paid hardware sponsor in the entire time I've been here since 2013. At the same time, I'm having trouble thinking of a particularly controversial hardware review we've done. Can you name one? In the tech world, being controversial just to earn clicks almost always blows up in your face. No one here is paid by clicks or sales/commissions either.
Your comment can really be summed up as "I don't like Chris" and "I disagree with Poorna," but that's some venom you've got there.
Christopher Coke: Quick we have not sold enough hardware this month. I need something controversial, so we get people visisting this website, and show our hardware sponsors how great we are.....
Poorna: Hold my beer, ....inc
Since you're name checking me (which is odd because I literally had nothing to do with this article), you should probably know this site hasn't had a single paid hardware sponsor in the entire time I've been here since 2013. At the same time, I'm having trouble thinking of a particularly controversial hardware review we've done. Can you name one? In the tech world, being controversial just to earn clicks almost always blows up in your face. No one here is paid by clicks or sales/commissions either.
Your comment can really be summed up as "I don't like Chris" and "I disagree with Poorna," but that's some venom you've got there.
He was just joking Chris, no way was that serious. It's text, you can misread tone easily.
I play RPGs for the roleplaying. Getting to make decisions about my character's role and then seeing how those decisions play out is what it's all about for me. Whether that is decisions about how to progress the story, about my combat role, about personality or anything else, its all good roleplaying.
The few CDPR games I've played have had basically no roleplaying in them. Bethesda's games, on the other hand, tend to have a ton of roleplaying. I'm willing to accept lesser graphics and bugs in order to gain that superior roleplaying experience.
Currently Playing: WAR RoR - Spitt rr7X Black Orc | Scrotling rr6X Squig Herder | Scabrous rr4X Shaman
No, the engine is definitely not "next gen", it's same old engine they've been using with only slight visual upgrades, same awful animations (especially facial animations) and which will take very little advantage of certain hardware features or none at all (such as hardware ray tracing).
It doesn't matter, though - the fans who idolize Bethesda will automatically buy anything they release regardless of anything (the visual style or the performance or amount of bugs), same goes for people who only enjoy repetitive grindy activities in games and don't care for anything else. Bethesda could've made Starfield look like Minecraft and plenty of people would buy it anyway. Whether you like it or not, that's just how it is.
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Christopher Coke: Quick we have not sold enough hardware this month. I need something controversial, so we get people visisting this website, and show our hardware sponsors how great we are.....
Poorna: Hold my beer, ....inc
Since you're name checking me (which is odd because I literally had nothing to do with this article), you should probably know this site hasn't had a single paid hardware sponsor in the entire time I've been here since 2013. At the same time, I'm having trouble thinking of a particularly controversial hardware review we've done. Can you name one? In the tech world, being controversial just to earn clicks almost always blows up in your face. No one here is paid by clicks or sales/commissions either.
Your comment can really be summed up as "I don't like Chris" and "I disagree with Poorna," but that's some venom you've got there.
He was just joking Chris, no way was that serious. It's text, you can misread tone easily.
Classic case of Poe's "law" in action.
"Poe's law is an adage of Internet culture stating that, without a clear indicator of the author's intent, every parody of extreme views can be mistaken by some readers for a sincere expression of the views being parodied." Wikipedia
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Christopher Coke: Quick we have not sold enough hardware this month. I need something controversial, so we get people visisting this website, and show our hardware sponsors how great we are.....
Poorna: Hold my beer, ....inc
Since you're name checking me (which is odd because I literally had nothing to do with this article), you should probably know this site hasn't had a single paid hardware sponsor in the entire time I've been here since 2013. At the same time, I'm having trouble thinking of a particularly controversial hardware review we've done. Can you name one? In the tech world, being controversial just to earn clicks almost always blows up in your face. No one here is paid by clicks or sales/commissions either.
Your comment can really be summed up as "I don't like Chris" and "I disagree with Poorna," but that's some venom you've got there.
He was just joking Chris, no way was that serious. It's text, you can misread tone easily.
Classic case of Poe's "law" in action.
"Poe's law is an adage of Internet culture stating that, without a clear indicator of the author's intent, every parody of extreme views can be mistaken by some readers for a sincere expression of the views being parodied." Wikipedia
So, you aren’t really a cat? What a world….
/Cheers, Lahnmir
'the only way he could nail it any better is if he used a cross.'
Kyleran on yours sincerely
'But there are many. You can play them entirely solo, and even offline. Also, you are wrong by default.'
Ikcin in response to yours sincerely debating whether or not single-player offline MMOs exist...
'This does not apply just to ED but SC or any other game. What they will get is Rebirth/X4, likely prettier but equally underwhelming and pointless.
It is incredibly difficult to design some meaningfull leg content that would fit a space ship game - simply because it is not a leg game.
It is just huge resource waste....'
Gdemami absolutely not being an armchair developer
Pooma is definitely not wrong about Bethesda's lack of technical chops but I'm with Slapshot on this one: gameplay is by far the bigger deal.
Besides, I really don't want the new games I want to play featuring every new thing Nvidia, Intel and AMD are hyping to make my perfectly good 2-yr-old hardware feel inadequate.
I'm retired on a fixed income. I can't keep up with the constant upgrades needed based on the technical Wow factor FOMO.
"Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community ... but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots”
― Umberto Eco
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?” ― CD PROJEKT RED
Pooma is definitely not wrong about Bethesda's lack of technical chops but I'm with Slapshot on this one: gameplay is by far the bigger deal.
Besides, I really don't want the new games I want to play featuring every new thing Nvidia, Intel and AMD are hyping to make my perfectly good 2-yr-old hardware feel inadequate.
I'm retired on a fixed income. I can't keep up with the constant upgrades needed based on the technical Wow factor FOMO.
It is rather ironic that, in the midst of an industry offering up increasingly predatory monetization, a site dedicated to a type of game that is decidedly last-gen graphically by necessity found time and space to complain about an upcoming singleplayer RPG not having enough graphical bells and whistles.
Christopher Coke: Quick we have not sold enough hardware this month. I need something controversial, so we get people visisting this website, and show our hardware sponsors how great we are.....
Poorna: Hold my beer, ....inc
Since you're name checking me (which is odd because I literally had nothing to do with this article), you should probably know this site hasn't had a single paid hardware sponsor in the entire time I've been here since 2013. At the same time, I'm having trouble thinking of a particularly controversial hardware review we've done. Can you name one? In the tech world, being controversial just to earn clicks almost always blows up in your face. No one here is paid by clicks or sales/commissions either.
Your comment can really be summed up as "I don't like Chris" and "I disagree with Poorna," but that's some venom you've got there.
He was just joking Chris, no way was that serious. It's text, you can misread tone easily.
Classic case of Poe's "law" in action.
"Poe's law is an adage of Internet culture stating that, without a clear indicator of the author's intent, every parody of extreme views can be mistaken by some readers for a sincere expression of the views being parodied." Wikipedia
Doesnt mean jack fucking shit. Gameplay has and always will be what sells. Just look at the sales numbers of indie titles that look like SNES games.
I have no illusions starfield is going to be be a steaming pile of bug ridden horseshit regardless of if it has any of that jargon crap you were throwing about to seem like you arnt clueless.
Pooma is definitely not wrong about Bethesda's lack of technical chops but I'm with Slapshot on this one: gameplay is by far the bigger deal.
Besides, I really don't want the new games I want to play featuring every new thing Nvidia, Intel and AMD are hyping to make my perfectly good 2-yr-old hardware feel inadequate.
I'm retired on a fixed income. I can't keep up with the constant upgrades needed based on the technical Wow factor FOMO.
The fact that this is an article about how a new game coming out won't be making be have to turn down settings on my 3900x/3080 rig to run well is just a symptom of this problem. The simple fact is that you shouldn't need a rig anywhere near as powerful as mine to be able to play a highly anticipated game, and if you do, you, as a publisher, are leaving money on the table. While I enjoyed CP2077 and being able to turn on RT and the other goodies that make it look so good, in the end that wasn't what made me enjoy it - I enjoyed the game itself, and would have enjoyed it just as much on my old 1080 had I not gotten lucky and managed to snag a 3080 on launch day. Games aren't good because of how they look, they are good because they're fun to play.
Pooma is definitely not wrong about Bethesda's lack of technical chops but I'm with Slapshot on this one: gameplay is by far the bigger deal.
Besides, I really don't want the new games I want to play featuring every new thing Nvidia, Intel and AMD are hyping to make my perfectly good 2-yr-old hardware feel inadequate.
I'm retired on a fixed income. I can't keep up with the constant upgrades needed based on the technical Wow factor FOMO.
The fact that this is an article about how a new game coming out won't be making be have to turn down settings on my 3900x/3080 rig to run well is just a symptom of this problem. The simple fact is that you shouldn't need a rig anywhere near as powerful as mine to be able to play a highly anticipated game, and if you do, you, as a publisher, are leaving money on the table. While I enjoyed CP2077 and being able to turn on RT and the other goodies that make it look so good, in the end that wasn't what made me enjoy it - I enjoyed the game itself, and would have enjoyed it just as much on my old 1080 had I not gotten lucky and managed to snag a 3080 on launch day. Games aren't good because of how they look, they are good because they're fun to play.
Yeah I was thinking of CP77 as I wrote that. I have a 3700x and 2700 super based system and with the right tweaks and DLSS, I made it look very nice on my 1440p monitor.
But like most of us, it was hard not to get caught up in the technical details of the graphics and wished that I had a 3090 and not a 2700 super.
It is definitely the game play that makes or breaks games for me too but the higher performance and features of the newer gear also has an inescapable appeal... and then you want games to use its full capabilities
There's a balance between being a tech nerd and a gamer. I think Pooma just went full tech nerd in this article
Post edited by Iselin on
"Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community ... but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots”
― Umberto Eco
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?” ― CD PROJEKT RED
Sorry... I have had more than enough "pretty" games that scream NEXT-GEN!!!
You say gameplay will be gameplay and just dismiss it... but at the end of the day, IMHO.. that is the ONLY thing that matters.
This game is still really high on my list.
Exactly, ultimately if the game runs well and the gameplay is fun, I couldn't care less about some shadows or other nonsense the author is spouting off about. Who cares if it's "next gen" or not.
Pooma is definitely not wrong about Bethesda's lack of technical chops but I'm with Slapshot on this one: gameplay is by far the bigger deal.
Besides, I really don't want the new games I want to play featuring every new thing Nvidia, Intel and AMD are hyping to make my perfectly good 2-yr-old hardware feel inadequate.
I'm retired on a fixed income. I can't keep up with the constant upgrades needed based on the technical Wow factor FOMO.
The fact that this is an article about how a new game coming out won't be making be have to turn down settings on my 3900x/3080 rig to run well is just a symptom of this problem. The simple fact is that you shouldn't need a rig anywhere near as powerful as mine to be able to play a highly anticipated game, and if you do, you, as a publisher, are leaving money on the table. While I enjoyed CP2077 and being able to turn on RT and the other goodies that make it look so good, in the end that wasn't what made me enjoy it - I enjoyed the game itself, and would have enjoyed it just as much on my old 1080 had I not gotten lucky and managed to snag a 3080 on launch day. Games aren't good because of how they look, they are good because they're fun to play.
Yeah I was thinking of CP77 as I wrote that. I have a 3700x and 2400 super based system and with the right tweaks and DLSS, I made it look very nice on my 1440p monitor.
But like most of us, it was hard not to get caught up in the technical details of the graphics and wished that I had a 3090 and not a 2700 super.
It is definitely the game play that makes or breaks games for me too but the higher performance and features of the newer gear also has an inescapable appeal... and then you want games to use its full capabilities
There's a balance between being a tech nerd and a gamer. I think Pooma just went full tech nerd in this article
The graphics, to me, are the gravy to the gameplay's biscuit.
They're nice, when lathered on top of a delicious base of solid fun gameplay. They add to the experience, specifically in FPS or over the shoulder perspectives, but it takes an actual disgust at the art direction to have the graphics prevent me from enjoying an otherwise great game.
Sorry... I have had more than enough "pretty" games that scream NEXT-GEN!!!
You say gameplay will be gameplay and just dismiss it... but at the end of the day, IMHO.. that is the ONLY thing that matters.
This game is still really high on my list.
Exactly, ultimately if the game runs well and the gameplay is fun, I couldn't care less about some shadows or other nonsense the author is spouting off about. Who cares if it's "next gen" or not.
Apparently he is trying to hold Todd to "his word.".
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
I dunno, I was playing Skyrim today and since its a fresh set of mods I've spent 30 hours over the last two days configuring I had to wait about 10 minutes for mcm to load its list. While waiting I noticed the stream I was standing staring at bored, and thought to myself 'without the apparent texture overlays over the water, it actually looks frightenly similar to the original Unreal water 'streams'.'
I don't really care if the game is next gen or not...especially since that is just an industry term that has no real meaning in the real world. I will say though, that Starfield looks like shit. Not even visually, it just doesn't look like a fun game.
I dunno, I was playing Skyrim today and since its a fresh set of mods I've spent 30 hours over the last two days configuring I had to wait about 10 minutes for mcm to load its list. While waiting I noticed the stream I was standing staring at bored, and thought to myself 'without the apparent texture overlays over the water, it actually looks frightenly similar to the original Unreal water 'streams'.'
You need to learn to love Wabbajack. Wabbajack is your friend.
If they would just drop Creation and use Unreal Engine they wouldnt have to worry about this type of article. When people say Bethesda games do not need good graphics I disagree. Oblivion looked great when it came out as did Skyrim. I thought Fallout 4 did as well. (Still do) They have not been able to advance their engine enough to keep up with the technical expectations many people have. I think with the tools we have today there is no reason to not expect good graphics and sound and gameplay combined. There is nothing wrong with that.
Found the console game maker.
When I first started PC gaming, it was on an actual IBM PC, which sported 4 color CGA Graphics....EGA was out of my price range.
Still, I had a blast playing so many early game series on it, Bards Tale, M&M, Wizardry, a ton of Sierra adventure games too.
As such, I'm not terribly fussy about graphics, everything seems positively amazing from where I came from, so while there is nothing wrong with great graphics combined with gameplay, not really a requirement especially if there is a tradeoff which has to be made such as further delays to delivery.
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
I feel personally baffled by the continued division of the two. Talking as if graphics are entirely separate to the gameplay in the context of an interactive 3D/simulated world is a wee bit strange.
There are things there that matter with how the engine can handle objects, object loading, physics, differing gameplay models and controls, that all butt right up against the ultimate visual presentation and experience.
The way the gunplay works, the way movement and pathing works, The difference between doing something of foot as a person versus controlling a vehicle (especially using a different physics model). If you're talking about an extrapolated RPG experience sure you can push the visuals and gameplay apart, in a hybrid action RPG with real time combat and gameplay, there's a certain degree of detail and stability in quality that needs to be achieved.
We can already poke discussions about where Starfield may have had to expressly compromise on such things directly because of the engine, like with the past discussion held about the fact planets and on-foot seems to be separated from space flight by load screens and scripted landing/takeoff sequences. It's not just a visual gimmick to make a planet you can seamlessly fly towards and land on. It changes things like what it means for in-atmosphere vehicles and flight, if there's any at all. It changes whether or not we could expect extended interactions between things in orbit outside of very fixed scripted events.
It limits gameplay as much as it's a bottleneck on visual presentation and quality. To a degree, that can be lived with. Compromises can be made and an enjoyable game can still be had. But how many compromises until that no longer works?
It becomes the point where, yeah, Starfield will probably still be a fun game. But you also have that lingering question, "How much better could the game have been if they weren't struggling against their own technology?"
Hoe many times do we get to ask ourselves that kind of question as new games come out and you get some new horror story about development on 76, or 2077, or Anthem?
I predict that Starfield will be the game of the decade for me. Just as Fallout 4 was the game of the last decade for me.
Really do not care if the game is next gen or not.
I actually like the clunky combat in Bethesda games. To old to keep up in a proper fps anyway. To twitchy.
I am a scizo misanthrope. So one day I may go BANZAI on your post. Have not yet though. Maybe there is hope? Nah there is really none for me or the human race.
Comments
Since you're name checking me (which is odd because I literally had nothing to do with this article), you should probably know this site hasn't had a single paid hardware sponsor in the entire time I've been here since 2013. At the same time, I'm having trouble thinking of a particularly controversial hardware review we've done. Can you name one? In the tech world, being controversial just to earn clicks almost always blows up in your face. No one here is paid by clicks or sales/commissions either.
Your comment can really be summed up as "I don't like Chris" and "I disagree with Poorna," but that's some venom you've got there.
I play RPGs for the roleplaying. Getting to make decisions about my character's role and then seeing how those decisions play out is what it's all about for me. Whether that is decisions about how to progress the story, about my combat role, about personality or anything else, its all good roleplaying.
The few CDPR games I've played have had basically no roleplaying in them. Bethesda's games, on the other hand, tend to have a ton of roleplaying. I'm willing to accept lesser graphics and bugs in order to gain that superior roleplaying experience.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
"Poe's law is an adage of Internet culture stating that, without a clear indicator of the author's intent, every parody of extreme views can be mistaken by some readers for a sincere expression of the views being parodied." Wikipedia
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
/Cheers,
Lahnmir
Kyleran on yours sincerely
'But there are many. You can play them entirely solo, and even offline. Also, you are wrong by default.'
Ikcin in response to yours sincerely debating whether or not single-player offline MMOs exist...
'This does not apply just to ED but SC or any other game. What they will get is Rebirth/X4, likely prettier but equally underwhelming and pointless.
It is incredibly difficult to design some meaningfull leg content that would fit a space ship game - simply because it is not a leg game.
It is just huge resource waste....'
Gdemami absolutely not being an armchair developer
Besides, I really don't want the new games I want to play featuring every new thing Nvidia, Intel and AMD are hyping to make my perfectly good 2-yr-old hardware feel inadequate.
I'm retired on a fixed income. I can't keep up with the constant upgrades needed based on the technical Wow factor FOMO.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
He's a cat dreaming that he's a human.
------------
2024: 47 years on the Net.
Doesnt mean jack fucking shit. Gameplay has and always will be what sells. Just look at the sales numbers of indie titles that look like SNES games.
I have no illusions starfield is going to be be a steaming pile of bug ridden horseshit regardless of if it has any of that jargon crap you were throwing about to seem like you arnt clueless.
The fact that this is an article about how a new game coming out won't be making be have to turn down settings on my 3900x/3080 rig to run well is just a symptom of this problem. The simple fact is that you shouldn't need a rig anywhere near as powerful as mine to be able to play a highly anticipated game, and if you do, you, as a publisher, are leaving money on the table. While I enjoyed CP2077 and being able to turn on RT and the other goodies that make it look so good, in the end that wasn't what made me enjoy it - I enjoyed the game itself, and would have enjoyed it just as much on my old 1080 had I not gotten lucky and managed to snag a 3080 on launch day. Games aren't good because of how they look, they are good because they're fun to play.
But like most of us, it was hard not to get caught up in the technical details of the graphics and wished that I had a 3090 and not a 2700 super.
It is definitely the game play that makes or breaks games for me too but the higher performance and features of the newer gear also has an inescapable appeal... and then you want games to use its full capabilities
There's a balance between being a tech nerd and a gamer. I think Pooma just went full tech nerd in this article
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
Exactly, ultimately if the game runs well and the gameplay is fun, I couldn't care less about some shadows or other nonsense the author is spouting off about. Who cares if it's "next gen" or not.
They're nice, when lathered on top of a delicious base of solid fun gameplay. They add to the experience, specifically in FPS or over the shoulder perspectives, but it takes an actual disgust at the art direction to have the graphics prevent me from enjoying an otherwise great game.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
거북이는 목을 내밀 때 안 움직입니다
You need to learn to love Wabbajack. Wabbajack is your friend.
When I first started PC gaming, it was on an actual IBM PC, which sported 4 color CGA Graphics....EGA was out of my price range.
Still, I had a blast playing so many early game series on it, Bards Tale, M&M, Wizardry, a ton of Sierra adventure games too.
As such, I'm not terribly fussy about graphics, everything seems positively amazing from where I came from, so while there is nothing wrong with great graphics combined with gameplay, not really a requirement especially if there is a tradeoff which has to be made such as further delays to delivery.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
There are things there that matter with how the engine can handle objects, object loading, physics, differing gameplay models and controls, that all butt right up against the ultimate visual presentation and experience.
The way the gunplay works, the way movement and pathing works, The difference between doing something of foot as a person versus controlling a vehicle (especially using a different physics model). If you're talking about an extrapolated RPG experience sure you can push the visuals and gameplay apart, in a hybrid action RPG with real time combat and gameplay, there's a certain degree of detail and stability in quality that needs to be achieved.
We can already poke discussions about where Starfield may have had to expressly compromise on such things directly because of the engine, like with the past discussion held about the fact planets and on-foot seems to be separated from space flight by load screens and scripted landing/takeoff sequences. It's not just a visual gimmick to make a planet you can seamlessly fly towards and land on. It changes things like what it means for in-atmosphere vehicles and flight, if there's any at all. It changes whether or not we could expect extended interactions between things in orbit outside of very fixed scripted events.
It limits gameplay as much as it's a bottleneck on visual presentation and quality. To a degree, that can be lived with. Compromises can be made and an enjoyable game can still be had. But how many compromises until that no longer works?
It becomes the point where, yeah, Starfield will probably still be a fun game. But you also have that lingering question, "How much better could the game have been if they weren't struggling against their own technology?"
Hoe many times do we get to ask ourselves that kind of question as new games come out and you get some new horror story about development on 76, or 2077, or Anthem?
Just as Fallout 4 was the game of the last decade for me.
Really do not care if the game is next gen or not.
I actually like the clunky combat in Bethesda games.
To old to keep up in a proper fps anyway. To twitchy.
Have not yet though. Maybe there is hope?
Nah there is really none for me or the human race.