How does it compare to No Man's Sky? What reason would I have to leave No Man's Sky for this? Genuine question, I try not to follow any games in develoment and usually tune in shortly before release..
It's an RPG, not an exploration game on the scale of NMS. If you can accept that then you will have a lot of fun playing SF.
Is a man not entitled to the herp of his derp?
Remember, I live in a world where juggalos and yugioh players are real things.
It hasn't got the best reviews from what I have read. IGN, Gamespot and PC Gamer all gave it a 7/10 or 75/100 for PC Gamer..It will be a discount buy for me, next year sometime
Ah yes IGN, Gamespot and PC Gamer the holy trinity of quality reviews...
Yes, IGN the Paid Shill Bros unless the game has too much water, Gamespot the Kane and Lynch Lovers and Mandatory Diversity Enthusiasts PC Gamer. Totally reputable review sources.
Is a man not entitled to the herp of his derp?
Remember, I live in a world where juggalos and yugioh players are real things.
Seems like a decent game, but it also sounds from what I'm reading that it has a lot of wasted space and repetitive places to explore on the various procedurally generated planets with nothing at all interesting on them. A lot of copy and paste. I think I'll continue focusing on BG3 for the next 1000 hours. Heck, I haven't even tried Hogwarts yet lol.
This game will probably do pretty well, and some folks are dropping from Star Shitizen so I'm sure they will make it this their new singleplayer home for a bit.
Since we have this thing call the Internet and there are lots of reviews one can choose from to read, I stay away from review sites and trust personal experience.
While I’m fine with review sites as I read the reviews (definitely don’t look at the numbers) I agree that personal experience is more valuable.
A friend just texted me saying “you need to buy this f****** game!”
that’s exactly how he wrote it. Seems like a valid recommendation!
Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb."
Since we have this thing call the Internet and there are lots of reviews one can choose from to read, I stay away from review sites and trust personal experience.
While I’m fine with review sites as I read the reviews (definitely don’t look at the numbers) I agree that personal experience is more valuable.
A friend just texted me saying “you need to buy this f****** game!”
that’s exactly how he wrote it. Seems like a valid recommendation!
Yeah my Discord has almost the same verbiage. But my response was: No I don't. I'll play it for free in a few days.
Looks like Gamepass is even pushing free 14 day trials for people to take advantage of Starfield's launch. Everyone with a Gamepass (at least Ultimate) got 5 free trials to pass around.
All time classic MY NEW FAVORITE POST! (Keep laying those bricks)
"I should point out that no other company has shipped out a beta on a disc before this." - Official Mortal Online Lead Community Moderator
Proudly wearing the Harbinger badge since Dec 23, 2017.
Coined the phrase "Role-Playing a Development Team" January 2018
"Oddly Slap is the main reason I stay in these forums." - Mystichaze April 9th 2018
This game will probably do pretty well, and some folks are dropping from Star Shitizen so I'm sure they will make it this their new singleplayer home for a bit.
(those comments lol)
I'd feel bad for Star Citizen fans, but then I remember that they're literally funding one of the worst cases of pay to win in gaming history... and... poof, sympathy gone.
4. Procedural planets with "borders" - One reviewer played over 100 hours and never encountered a border. The way the planets work is that you go to it for a quest and you do the quest in the area. FO 76 is similar in that there is a lot of empty or dead space on the map.
PCGamer just posted an article about it. The borders are real and in the game. They put it to the test and it only took about 6 minutes running before they hit the infamous barrier and the message appears.
Since we have this thing call the Internet and there are lots of reviews one can choose from to read, I stay away from review sites and trust personal experience. Just like I saw friends about a new restaurant, I read reviews of those I trust. I have two reviewers that I trust and enjoy their reviews. I have agreed with them on most major launches since I started watching them. They are fair and most of all they are honest. Watching their reviews today, the following stood out to me.
1. Bugs - Yes there are some but most graphical and easily ignored. One person encountered a game breaking bug but it was fixed with a restart and already set to be fixed in the next patch.
2. Inventory management is a little cumbersome.
3. Lots of loading screens.
4. Procedural planets with "borders" - One reviewer played over 100 hours and never encountered a border. The way the planets work is that you go to it for a quest and you do the quest in the area. FO 76 is similar in that there is a lot of empty or dead space on the map.
Starfield is not Skyrim, its not No Man's Sky and its not a space exploration game. Its an RPG designed by Bethesda set in space. Its what it is.
I think a lot of people (gamers) need to understand not every game is made for them. For example, I hate Souls style games. I do not like them but I do not go out of my way to go to forums and trash the game and its players. I accept it for what it is and that I am not the market for it. Many others need to learn the same.
Good write up and I agree. I think there is a lot of Skyrim and Fallout 4 and 76 in the mix though as well. I'm deep into a Skyrim save right now (or was before this dropped) and I've been noticing all the similarities that pop out, but also how it's built and feels totally different. Familiar, in a comfortable way, but not stale.
From my point of view, Skyrim is a leap from earlier titles. Fallout 4 feels like an evolution from Skyrim, and Fallout 76 from Fallout 4. Starfield feels like an evolution. I'm enjoying that.
I got to a certain point in the game that has motivated me to do the main story to the exclusion of all else and I'll take my time in NG+ doing side content for weeks or months.
Rushing the main story is not something I ever do in games but there is just an extra incentive to do so here (which I won't spoil although I'm sure it will soon be spoiled on YT if it hasn't been already) so I can play the game more the way I want.
Speaking of the main story... it takes you places... unexpected places. There's a solid sci-fi story there,
"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
Man, the city is cool. I meant to focus on the story because the motivation would be there for the character to do so. Ignoring it for side missions seems a bit wrong, but it's so easy to get sidetrack through random NPC interactions.
I got some sweet duds at a highbrow shop and I'm sporting the green suit while I go about town. A guard passing by says, "Nice suit!"
Man, the city is cool. I meant to focus on the story because the motivation would be there for the character to do so. Ignoring it for side missions seems a bit wrong, but it's so easy to get sidetrack through random NPC interactions.
I got some sweet duds at a highbrow shop and I'm sporting the green suit while I go about town. A guard passing by says, "Nice suit!"
I saw this post on reddit from someone who went off and did his totally unique thing with the game:
I was so intrigued by this city that I flew straight there after the initial opening of the game.
I had no credits and got a job smuggling Aurora. I now work as a chemist in the plant where they manufacture it.
I bought a shitty little shipping container home in the poor part of the city and decorated it. I’m saving up to buy a penthouse.
I’ve learned enough about Aurora that I can now manufacture it on my own - granted I can find the ingredients.
So now I’m saving up to buy a ship so I can find a planet that has hallucinogenics on it - a required ingredient of Aurora. Once I find that planet I’m gonna build an outpost / drug lab and hire people to help manufacture Aurora there. Then I’m gonna smuggle it into cities to sell it.
I’m living out a Breaking Bad space fantasy and I'm just getting started in the game.
I think it's awesome that true to their Skyrim roots they made a game where someone can ignore most of the main parts and get lost following a side detail like the drug Aurora on Neon
"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
A few people here truly hate gaming with every fiber of their body, they just haven’t accepted it yet, they are stuck in the ‘its not me, its you’ phase. Eternally it seems.
/Cheers, Lahnmir
I know you are referring to me and I can assure you, with every fiber of my body. I do not hate gaming! My wife can attest to this LOL!
One is allowed to be disappointed with yet another OVERHYPED game.
Tod Howard is just his own worst enemy, doesn't learn from his past mistakes with outrageous claims, promises and misleading marketing tactics and I think it's past time he passes on the torch to someone else. He should have done already years ago, after the whole FO76 debacle!
You cannot deny, when you look at Square Enix and the sheer quality they deliver with their games recently, how stuck in the past a studio as Bethesda is (same with Bioware) and how outdated their Game Engines are.
I finally got a PS5 before the summer and both Final Fantasy 7 remake part 1 and Final Fantasy 16 just blew me away! The production and sheer quality of these games is literally insane! The story, motion capture animations, sheer emotion, etc is out of this world. My wife got seriously annoyed with me spending way too many hours on these games LOL. So no! Again I do not hate gaming in the slightest.
When it comes to Starfield, my main two major disappointments are the sheer misleading/oversold gimmick of the game having 1000 planets. The endless hype banter from Tod Howard. /sigh Totally pointless when over 95% of these are boring procedurally generated lifeless/repetitive/dead rocks which serve no other purpose than to walk on endlessly and grind materials for building base components. The remaining 5% seem to be more personally crafted and unique, yet they seem to have run out of development time and a lot of content and assets are literally recycled / copy&pasted. See Luke Stephens video, it's honestly extremely disappointing.
Second, this game has really amazing ship customization. A feature I was looking forward to the most! Yet here too, it just turns out to be nothing but a pointless gimmick since 95% of the time is spend outside your ship on a planet! There is just not much reason to spend time on your ship other than your occasional pirate dog fight in space and/or dock an enemy ship to hijack it and claim it for yourself. So you have another new ship to customize, but then not spend actually any time on it. It's the same with Base building really, which seems to be a heavy grind for materials.
Then the game itself is overly bright and oversaturated. Graphics quality is all over the place. Has no HDR support anno 2023 believe it or not and the PC port seems to be a total disaster.
I lucky have an XBox Series X myself with GamePass, so I can try out Starfield for free coming Wednesday... but I just don't even feel like trying it right now. Maybe in the future when they have done some major patches, added content and addressed some of the issues.
There are so many other good games to play right now. I am still not finished with FF7 remake (71%) and FF16 (83%). Then the expansion for CP2077 launches soon in a couple weeks and Space Marine 2. Looking forward to those. I also enjoy my reroll time in FFXIV Online. Also very time consuming lol!
I wasn’t actually referring to you specifically, or even Starfield. It is about how every highly rated, popular AAA game gets dragged through the mud ‘death by a thousand cuts’ style. Small faults get blown out of proportion, personal disappointments get blamed on the game etc. When there are a thousand positives there is a relentless focus on the two negatives in an attempt to overshadow those thousand positives because, well, I don’t really know. All those twitch reviewers and streamers are perpetually offended, outraged and disappointed because that garners maximum traffic (posting these as an objective take contrary to all ‘payed’ reviews is childishly naive) but why would gamers do that? And it happens with Baldurs Gate 3, Diablo 4, Starfield etc. And it is always the same people.
I love your Square-Enix example. I am the biggest Final Fantasy fanboy on these forums. I recently posted my obscenely long list of FF games I own here. And I could still tear FF7: Remake and FF16 to shreds. FF7 is offensively inconsistent in its graphical quality with NPCs looking like early PS3 characters next to the main cast, PS2 textures plastered all over the place. The story also actively mocks the old fanbase and their love and memories of the game. FF16 on the other hand isn’t an RPG at all but an action combat game which somehow manages to come up with worse combat then Stranger of Paradise, massive pacing issues and worthless filler side quests. But why would I focus on these negatives when the good parts outweigh them? I also think comparing linear, tiny, carefully curated experiences with wide open worlds full of possibilities is kind of dishonest. It is like comparing two jugglers, one juggling 2 balls flawlessly and the other juggling 15 balls but struggling to do so and then declare the first the better juggler. And I still love Final Fantasy infinitely more then pretty much every Bethesda game.
I am also glad to hear you love games, it is an amazing hobby and there is so much quality out there right now. I wouldn’t have guessed from your average post though.
/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
For me personally, it's exactly what i wanted all along; 'Skyrim in Space', and that's pretty much what they gave us.
And i don't mean that figuratively; it may be called the Creation Engine 2, but it's the SAME damned beautiful engine that both excited and annoyed me all those years ago in Skyrim.
-The visual fidelity may be much higher, but the bugginess of movement has been retained; walk/run/sprint cycles REALLY need some work- especially for keyboard/mouse user- this part feels like they spent more time fine-tuning for a console controller.
-The floatiness of jumping (it's extra floaty this time due to probably some added gravity modifiers to try and simulate space-walk/jumping)- is still present:
-The Bethesda-face... well, i can tell they are trying, but the facial features really need to be tightened up (the lips/mouth movements in particular)
I'm really early in the game, and i've spent most of my time just dicking around and exploring because i'm anticipating a big patch on the actual release day, so for now i'm just taking in the lore of the land.
Like earlier Elder Scrolls games and Fallout 3/4, world-building is where this game really shines and stands out.
I must have spent 20-30 minutes just listening to this exhibit of a certain colonies past on a certain planet that i've spent pretty much 9 hours on at this planet just exploring, and i still have so much on this SAME planet that i haven't even touched yet.
From what little i've done, space combat is pretty darn fun; a bit frustrating at first, but once i discovered and opened up my skill challenges, that frustration evaperated. (like holy crap, skills make so much of a difference in this game) ------------------------------------
On a sidenote, i do wonder how the non-Bethesda fan will view/feel about this game; because it does feel like it carries a lot of baggage that only a Elder Scrolls/Fallout fan would tolerate- given the sort of high that i came off of with Baldurs Gate 3....
I feel if i had never played a Bethesda game and weren't such a big fan of Bethesda games, and had just come out of playing BG3; i think i'd not like Starfield too much. So it'll be interesting to see how this game does pan out overall.
Fishing on Gilgamesh since 2013 Fishing on Bronzebeard since 2005 Fishing in RL since 1992 Born with a fishing rod in my hand in 1979
It's a gem and gives me the Morrowind vibes. RPG that desisions matter. Always thinking of the ramifications of my actions. This is something I have missed. I I know after many hours of game play. This is going to be a game I will be playing for many years.
Comments
It's an RPG, not an exploration game on the scale of NMS. If you can accept that then you will have a lot of fun playing SF.
Is a man not entitled to the herp of his derp?
Remember, I live in a world where juggalos and yugioh players are real things.
Yes, IGN the Paid Shill Bros unless the game has too much water, Gamespot the Kane and Lynch Lovers and Mandatory Diversity Enthusiasts PC Gamer. Totally reputable review sources.
Is a man not entitled to the herp of his derp?
Remember, I live in a world where juggalos and yugioh players are real things.
There Is Always Hope!
A friend just texted me saying “you need to buy this f****** game!”
that’s exactly how he wrote it. Seems like a valid recommendation!
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
Looks like Gamepass is even pushing free 14 day trials for people to take advantage of Starfield's launch. Everyone with a Gamepass (at least Ultimate) got 5 free trials to pass around.
All time classic MY NEW FAVORITE POST! (Keep laying those bricks)
"I should point out that no other company has shipped out a beta on a disc before this." - Official Mortal Online Lead Community Moderator
Proudly wearing the Harbinger badge since Dec 23, 2017.
Coined the phrase "Role-Playing a Development Team" January 2018
"Oddly Slap is the main reason I stay in these forums." - Mystichaze April 9th 2018
They put it to the test and it only took about 6 minutes running before they hit the infamous barrier and the message appears.
https://www.pcgamer.com/starfields-planet-exploration-is-way-more-limited-than-i-expected-and-yes-there-are-boundaries/
Another one of Todd Howard’s lies for the history books.
1st impression?
It's good.
Rushing the main story is not something I ever do in games but there is just an extra incentive to do so here (which I won't spoil although I'm sure it will soon be spoiled on YT if it hasn't been already) so I can play the game more the way I want.
Speaking of the main story... it takes you places... unexpected places. There's a solid sci-fi story there,
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
https://www.reddit.com/r/Starfield/comments/167n1xk/ive_been_in_neon_for_12_hours/
I was so intrigued by this city that I flew straight there after the initial opening of the game.
I had no credits and got a job smuggling Aurora. I now work as a chemist in the plant where they manufacture it.
I bought a shitty little shipping container home in the poor part of the city and decorated it. I’m saving up to buy a penthouse.
I’ve learned enough about Aurora that I can now manufacture it on my own - granted I can find the ingredients.
So now I’m saving up to buy a ship so I can find a planet that has hallucinogenics on it - a required ingredient of Aurora. Once I find that planet I’m gonna build an outpost / drug lab and hire people to help manufacture Aurora there. Then I’m gonna smuggle it into cities to sell it.
I’m living out a Breaking Bad space fantasy and I'm just getting started in the game.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
I love your Square-Enix example. I am the biggest Final Fantasy fanboy on these forums. I recently posted my obscenely long list of FF games I own here. And I could still tear FF7: Remake and FF16 to shreds. FF7 is offensively inconsistent in its graphical quality with NPCs looking like early PS3 characters next to the main cast, PS2 textures plastered all over the place. The story also actively mocks the old fanbase and their love and memories of the game. FF16 on the other hand isn’t an RPG at all but an action combat game which somehow manages to come up with worse combat then Stranger of Paradise, massive pacing issues and worthless filler side quests. But why would I focus on these negatives when the good parts outweigh them? I also think comparing linear, tiny, carefully curated experiences with wide open worlds full of possibilities is kind of dishonest. It is like comparing two jugglers, one juggling 2 balls flawlessly and the other juggling 15 balls but struggling to do so and then declare the first the better juggler. And I still love Final Fantasy infinitely more then pretty much every Bethesda game.
I am also glad to hear you love games, it is an amazing hobby and there is so much quality out there right now. I wouldn’t have guessed from your average post though.
/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
And i don't mean that figuratively; it may be called the Creation Engine 2, but it's the SAME damned beautiful engine that both excited and annoyed me all those years ago in Skyrim.
-The visual fidelity may be much higher, but the bugginess of movement has been retained; walk/run/sprint cycles REALLY need some work- especially for keyboard/mouse user- this part feels like they spent more time fine-tuning for a console controller.
-The floatiness of jumping (it's extra floaty this time due to probably some added gravity modifiers to try and simulate space-walk/jumping)- is still present:
-The Bethesda-face... well, i can tell they are trying, but the facial features really need to be tightened up (the lips/mouth movements in particular)
I'm really early in the game, and i've spent most of my time just dicking around and exploring because i'm anticipating a big patch on the actual release day, so for now i'm just taking in the lore of the land.
Like earlier Elder Scrolls games and Fallout 3/4, world-building is where this game really shines and stands out.
I must have spent 20-30 minutes just listening to this exhibit of a certain colonies past on a certain planet that i've spent pretty much 9 hours on at this planet just exploring, and i still have so much on this SAME planet that i haven't even touched yet.
From what little i've done, space combat is pretty darn fun; a bit frustrating at first, but once i discovered and opened up my skill challenges, that frustration evaperated. (like holy crap, skills make so much of a difference in this game)
------------------------------------
On a sidenote, i do wonder how the non-Bethesda fan will view/feel about this game; because it does feel like it carries a lot of baggage that only a Elder Scrolls/Fallout fan would tolerate- given the sort of high that i came off of with Baldurs Gate 3....
I feel if i had never played a Bethesda game and weren't such a big fan of Bethesda games, and had just come out of playing BG3; i think i'd not like Starfield too much. So it'll be interesting to see how this game does pan out overall.
Fishing on Gilgamesh since 2013
Fishing on Bronzebeard since 2005
Fishing in RL since 1992
Born with a fishing rod in my hand in 1979