Starfield

[one-armed dwarf]

To be honest, I don't use scanning mode much at all unless I am really lost and want the floor arrows to help my stupid ass.

 

I think a lot of people get into the mindset that they need to find everything they need and try to scrounge as much stuff 'in case they need it later on', which is a trap I also fell into for the first 20 hours or so,. Which is why you keep hearing about people having 100s of rocks in their inventory that they will never use, and constantly managing encumbrance (dont pick up that shite! Ignore mining unless you want to do outposts. That's my number 1 tip for this game). But the way the worlds are laid out with lots of clutter is one of my favorite aspects. Firstly cause it gives a sense that these are real places where people could realistically live, which is very important for the proc-gen worlds but also the authored ones (New Atlantis is not great at this, admittedly).

 

Secondly, being a packrat can also be fun. Because I play a chef build I spend a lot of time looking for ingredients, which adds an immersive layer to proceedings IMO. Rummaging through a locker, finding a box of onions and turning the box upside down and each onion has its own physics property and rolls around on the floor. I love that detail. I find a tomato and make a bloody mary quickly which makes me better at cutting fools up while half cut, great stuff. I need veggies but I don't need rocks or chemicals, you need to look at it from the point of view of your build first

 

The whole 'it gets good when X' thing is really more in relation to a developing understanding of the ways different systems interlock and the intended flow through the game, as well as the way that the proc gen planets are not the focus but rather a way of blending the authored content together and spacing it out. The story has some interesting themes later on, but not that interesting really. 

 

That said, something more should be made of the fact that when you hit Starfield's plateau, the game becomes very unimmersive due to the lack of reactivity in its RPG and narrative-gameplay systems/interactions. Which is standard for modern Bethesda, but we are also in the middle of a RPG renaissance right now and the lack of tangible impact your actions have and the frictionless way you seem to glide through its universe and quests really do take me out of things at times. 

[Maryokutai]

I think you're making a good case of Gamepass vs. purchase because I don't know if I had played it for longer than five-ish hours if I hadn't spent the hyprocrite fee. I also wonder how this will impact engagement in the long run and how many of those 6 million players will even get to the half-way point.

 

Personally I still can't really wrap my head around whether I actually like the game or not. Sometimes I have to force myself to close it and go to bed, but my last session was so uninteresting and unfulfilling that I haven't played in four days. In addition to the points dwarf mentions I'd also like to add that character progression is almost unbearably slow. Even after 25 hours it still feels like you're mostly unlocking QOL improvement in the skill tree instead of actually developing an RPG character.

 

Jury's still out for me of course but right now this is very much a 7-9/10 game.

[one-armed dwarf]

The other day I was a 9/10 on this, last night I was a 6 because (minor story spoiler)

Spoiler

I hate the shite with the thing you unlock later on, it makes the game boring and unlocking that stuff is boring as well

as well as the stuff I mentioned in the last paragraph above. It's definitely a fairly rough product and I don't blame people for bouncing off of it, and I certainly encourage waiting and seeing if it's not grabbing your right now because it will only improve over time at the very least.

 

Also cyberpunk is out soon (again), a pretty good case of where waiting pays off.

 

I do like the skill tree limits though, and how it forces you to make highly specific and harsh decisions which control the way you're going to play early on. Though boosters really should not be a perk

[Maryokutai]

I dunno, I think the Social tab is a bit messed up in the sense that it mixes diplomatic, commercial and stealth skills all in one pool and because you can't really 'grind' them in the way you can Combat or Health it's a very, very slow burner to get to where you want if you don't want to boost a pickpocket skill you never use to get to a later tier.

 

It's not as big a mess as I make it sound and I suspect it vastly depends on how you specialise your character (ship upgrades seem to be the most immediately gratifying) but I do like unlocking skills and I don't do it a lot in this game.

[mfnick]

I haven’t had a problem with encumbrance to be honest, mine is kind of the opposite. Due to there being so much shit I end up not getting any of it. So I haven’t fallen into that trap at all.

 

As for GP Vs buying. I’m one of the weirdos that tends to play through Gamepass games more than the ones I actually buy. Just look at my completion list. So it’s not really that. & honestly, I wouldn’t have bought it as I wasn’t that interested to start with but was hoping it would grab me after a couple of hours. But there’s absolutely nothing making me want to play more unfortunately. 
 

That “it gets good” comment seems to always relate to a certain story mission from most of the things I’ve seen. 

Spoiler

The one where you unlock the powers.

Like I say though I might try it again in a few months. 

 

[one-armed dwarf]

FYI the link posted by mmmark on the previous page is currently live (symphony concert)

[Nag]

I gave Sarah a different weapon the other day (removed the old one from her inventory)... ever since she's become a complete liability in combat, half the time in combat she's unequipped the weapon and attempts to fist fight everything... mong.

[one-armed dwarf]

I play as Introvert and don't use companions, so I don't know how it works specifically, but you might need to check her proficiencies Nag cause if you gave her a gun she's shit at using she might be falling back to fists for that reason

 

(or not, just a guess)

[Nag]

Fucksake... just read that they need ammo in their inventory.... durrr.🤦‍♂️

[spatular]

Was mainly doing the main quest and enjoying it then it gets a bit boring imo so started one of the factions (vanguard/uc i think?), finished that now and overall thought it was pretty good, some good missions, (and some not so good), but yeah it was fun, enjoyed the story behind it.

 

only real bug ive had on an ice planet i keep getting hypothermia or something, google it and it says no point healing it all the time as itll just keep happening. So just healed up when that ice mission was done.

[Nag]

I think if you're outside long enough in extreme temperatures without adequate protection you pick up ailments... I contracted Frostbite a couple of times.

[spatular]

9 minutes ago, Nag said:

without adequate protection

yeah i didnt explain too well but apparently theres no way of having adequate protection, which seems to be a bug, what i read on the internet anyway, i dont know

[Nag]

Ah... OK... I never actually looked in to it... I just thought my suit wasn't up to scratch.😁

[DisturbedSwan]

I got to New Atlantis in this and since then I've just kind of been giving myself reasons not to go back to it, despite it literally being available to play at anytime, not a good sign.

 

Every time I've played it I can't get over how bad the faces are in dialogue and how badly animated they are, it's jarring and takes me out of the game.

 

I do like wandering about, I do like the lack of a map, I don't like that they've done away with the top compass and also don't like the world so far really. I want to carry on though, I feel I owe it at least a few more hours before throwing in the towel, it just feels antiquated to me when compared to other games I'm playing concurrently.

[one-armed dwarf]

Eurogamer gave it 3/5

 

https://www.eurogamer.net/starfield-review

 

Honestly, I beat it last night (one faction quest and main quest) and would find it hard to disagree with what's been said here.

 

Makes me want to play Daggerfall though, which also does a similar type of exploring. Now I know where Shiny's display pic comes from

[Nag]

And on the flip side it's really dug it's claws in me now and I'm enjoying it a whole lot more... wish I could pick a path with upgrade points though, I'm dotting them around with what looks like a distinct lack of rhythm or reason.😂

[one-armed dwarf]

That's cool to hear, kinda felt for a minute like I was maybe the 2nd most positive on the game on this site and that's with me being kinda ambivalent about it all 🤣

[shinymcshine]

I'm looking forward to playing this, but I've just hit 70 hrs in "Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous" and still on Act 3 (of 5) so might be another month or so.

 

BTW it's the opening creak of the Daggerfall door that's a whole story in itself (and turns up in many movies & TV programmes, but I read somewhere that it was a 'sample sound' to begin with rather than being game specific).

[spatular]

5 hours ago, DisturbedSwan said:

I got to New Atlantis in this and since then I've just kind of been giving myself reasons not to go back to it, despite it literally being available to play at anytime, not a good sign.

if your problem is faces/animation this isnt going to help but i have read you can get bogged down with crap sidequests in new atlantis so if you do give it another go i think its probably a good idea to pick a faction or the main quest and get on with that.

[DisturbedSwan]

I've picked up a bunch of side quests but not started them yet, I've just really been wandering about at the moment, going round the first area you go to, after I've been in the tube to the next area and wandering around there talking to people.

 

With the faces, it's not a deal breaker, but it definitely doesn't help. As I said previously, I've been spoilt playing BG3 and FFXVI concurrently really on that front.

 

I do want to go back to it, but yeah, making excuses in my head not to is not a good omen, we'll see. It's definitely no Fallout/Skyrim so far to me, another big game this year that has disappointed me, but I don't want to speak too soon as I haven't given it enough time to be fair.