Starfield (Xbox & PC) [Archive]

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ClockShot

06-10-2023, 09:48 AM

Fignuts

06-11-2023, 12:39 AM

Beyond hyped. Space is my favorite setting. I love No Man's Sky, but combining that with bethesda's single player rpg narrative and everything that comes with that is basically my dream game.

No man's sky has 18 quintillion planets. According to Todd, Starfield will have 1,000. This is actually great news in my opinion. It makes me hopeful they are taking more direct control in how these planets are generated to ensure a greater amount of variety than it's peers.

Since it's confirmed there is no seamless transition between flying in space and landing on a planet, then I'm assuming theres no in atmosphere flight, which is disappointing. But I wonder if there will be a land vehicle for getting around the planet.

Destor

06-11-2023, 12:50 AM

I need to see A LOT more to be interested. Right now it all sounds good but i need them to show not tell

Destor

06-11-2023, 04:24 PM

Presentation today looked great. Its not a console seller for me but when a console seller comes along its a game I'll def pick up...and Metaphor might be that console seller soooo....

Fignuts

06-11-2023, 05:33 PM

Persona 3 remake looks good too.

Fignuts

06-11-2023, 07:43 PM

I remember saying that after all of microsofts recent fails, Starfield can't just be a homerun. It needs to be a grandslam. That deep dive did a lot to convince me they could pull it off.

Fignuts

06-12-2023, 12:17 AM

Tom Guycott

06-12-2023, 02:28 AM

So, watching the presentation, and the watch/controller/headset give me strong Activision vibes.

No, I don't mean current Activision/Blizzard. I mean old school Atari 2600 era "ActiVision" where they'd mail you patches and posters and pins for high scores and shit. Even down to the rainbow aesthetic, since ActiVision used to incorporate that in a lot of the game cover art.

https://live.staticflickr.com/4147/4967434179_41cc84127a.jpg
exhibit A

Even though this would be serious conflation, I almost feel like I should also get an Atari Force-esque comic when purchasing this game.

drave

06-12-2023, 09:19 AM

Only negative is that its locked at 30 fps on console to keep it consistent while all that shit is going on under the hood. PC can run at 60. Mine exceeds the recommended requirements so I might get it on that.

Wank. I've been on 60 for so long that 30 now "looks like shit" to my eyes.

Maybe they can patch it in later or make it "X/S optimized"

ClockShot

06-12-2023, 08:09 PM

So I watched the Starfield Direct after I got home from work today.

I'm liking what I'm seeing. But, I was they just went a bit deeper in regards to the Outposts. Feel like you're going to need an army and a ton of money to pay them if you're going to dot the galaxy with those things. Probably going to have to be smart and have a home system/area.

Not gonna spring for an Xbox when I got a PC rig sitting here just waiting to be put through the paces. Definitely need a new monitor. Wal-Mart brand I'm using now is already on the way out.

Tom Guycott

06-12-2023, 11:12 PM

I made a comment yesterday/earlier today about the old school ActiVison thing. But something else dawned on me on my way home: a reason why this game kinda ticked a deep seeded box with me.

The rainbow motif. The astronaut suit. My childhood obsession with the space program. I felt the same way watching this presentation of Starfield as I felt as a 3-4 year old looking at the box art for Super Breakout for the Atari 2600.

https://i.etsystatic.com/28225258/c/1449/1151/266/229/il/66c376/4333107911/il_340x270.4333107911_sgs9.jpg

rez

06-13-2023, 06:35 PM

Why can't Bethesda get eyes right? Always fookin freaky lookin. It's like the running joke that Deadpool creator can't draw feet.

drave

06-14-2023, 09:45 AM

Yeah.... seems very "Fallout in space" right now. That's cool..... but it needs more polish IMO. Looks like it could be a FO4 expansion tbh.

Fignuts

06-14-2023, 11:21 AM

I dunno man, dead eyes aside, this looks a lot better than fallout to me. You might even say 16 TIMES BETTER.

BUT yeah, animation and gunplay specifically looks much improved. Which isn't surprising since apparently they brought in id to help them with it.

Destor

06-14-2023, 11:27 AM

I cant take "fallout in space" as a bad thing

drave

06-14-2023, 12:48 PM

It's not a bad thing, per se. It's more of "geez I expected it to look better" and not like it's just a skinned over FO game. Many of the gun sounds and their looks are ripped right out of FO. A combo of FO4 and 76 weapons, with a "fresh coat of paint".

https://youtu.be/Ccio85o2Zy0?t=2291

Watching the combat there ^ it is very obvious.

I will 100% be all over this, as it is my favorite type of setting AND favorite type of game genre. Just somewhat disappointing that it feels more of the "same same".

No doubt it'll be fun.

ClockShot

08-31-2023, 05:39 PM

Well, it's getting some great reviews.

But it sounds like it ain't setting the world on fire as it should be.

drave

09-01-2023, 09:06 AM

Sounds to be your standard fare Bethesda game:

Short main quest
Shallow dialogue options
no "full control" over space flight
too many loading screens

On the flipside of those complaints:

There's always been a fuckton of stuff to do outside of main quests in Bethesda games

Dialogue options haven't mattered in an extremely long time, and wouldn't be a revolutionary change anyway. Bring back dialogue checks that rely on attributes instead.

Not sure what was expected with flight controls.... did people want Kerbal Space physics orrrrr? Players would complain of flight difficulty

Stuff wouldn't look "as good" if there weren't loading screens. People would complain about quality.

DAMN iNATOR

09-02-2023, 07:07 PM

Well, it's getting some great reviews.

But it sounds like it ain't setting the world on fire as it should be.

Maybe, like The Ink Spots, it doesn’t want to. #references

Destor

09-02-2023, 10:20 PM

It definitely isnt enough to get me into their ecosystem. After the xbone the wounds are just too deep. One day though

DAMN iNATOR

09-04-2023, 11:36 AM

It definitely isnt enough to get me into their ecosystem. After the xbone the wounds are just too deep. One day though

I wouldn’t worry too much. You’ve got probably at least 5 years if you care about TES VI at all, possibly upwards of 10 if you care about Fallout 5.

Destor

09-04-2023, 11:48 AM

Ive told myself the system needs 3 sure fire cant miss console sellers before ill buy it ive learned my lesson. With the studios they have now i think it will happen but until it does... i wait.

drave

09-05-2023, 11:31 AM

How's it looking, Fig?

Big Vic

09-07-2023, 02:38 PM

PRONOUNS!?

drave

09-07-2023, 02:40 PM

fag

drave

09-07-2023, 02:45 PM

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/58/79/56/587956a6af7c39ac8e015377ddcc28c0.gif

ClockShot

09-07-2023, 03:04 PM

Picking this up on PC tomorrow. But won't be playing it immediately.

Big Vic

09-07-2023, 04:36 PM

PRONOUNS!?

Referring to the 'viral' video here (at 30 seconds) if anyone is interested:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/B4JWMxV8pz0?si=_SoTDkhuFTAxmscs" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Fignuts

09-08-2023, 01:05 AM

How's it looking, Fig?

Loving it so far. I a watched enough videos before hand to know what to expect though. I said that No Man's sky with bethesda style narrative and world building is my dream game, this isn't that. It's not a space exploration sim. It's very much a narrative driven, traditional bethesda rpg. Space and planetary exploration is more supplementary material to help establish setting and world building, and additionally to give you different places to survey, loot for resources, and kill stuff. It's almost like the classic radiant quests but on a much grander scale. end of the day, if you love bethesda rpgs, you'll love this. If you don't it probably won't change your mind.

Guns feel like a signifigant improvement over fallout. Really putting that id partnership to good use. Combat feels really good. The best it ever has in a bethesda game. Especially when you rank up the boost pack and you're jetting around a base in low gravity.

Lore and history of the world they've created is engaging so far. The big cities and even medium sized settlements are all really cool. Main story questline hasn't really picked up yet but I'm told that it starts slow and picks up. I've been to distarcted by side quests which have been pretty choice. The faction stuff in particular has been really fun.

The other thing thats distracted me a lot is ship building. I play fallout 76 exclusively for the camp building aspect, and this really scratches that itch. Theres so much you can do with it, and experimenting with it is addicting. I already fully levelled up my piloting skill and have a ship large enough where it takes a minute to find a specific crew member.

Space flight and combat feels good. Especially fun to use the targeting to take out their engines and board them. Sometimes it knocks out the gravity. Zero g combat is cool.

I haven't messed with outpost building very much as it requires a lot of resources and as such is considered a late game mechanic. Or at least building the kind of outpost I want to is. I could probably build a small one to get a resource.

A few negatives so far. Some strange QoL decisions. Stuff that has been introduced in fallout 76 like a keyring, area looting, and being able to enter in how much of an item you want trade,sell etc. with the numberpad isn't there.

There's no quick swap between weapons. Instead you use the d-pad with every direction having 3 slots. It's very quick and responsive though, so it's less of an issue than you'd think. Still worth mentioning.

The biggest flaw is how little it guides you for certain things. For instance, I had trouble docking at first, because the game doesn't explain you have to hover over an icon, switch to scan, and then hit A to target. Then the dock and hail options appear. Lots of little stuff details like that, but the biggest offender is ship building mode. There is a signifigantly steep learning curve, and the game does NOTHING to help you navigate it. Everything I know about it, I learned from youtube videos.

I feel like bethesda really intended for this to go back to a hard, immersive role playing experience. You can spend hours upon hours just playing a role as a pirate or bounty hunter. You could even go all in on science and spend all your time building outposts and surveying the planet and collecting resources, and selling the results of those endeavors. I think it's going to be easier to lose yourself in this world, moreso than any other bethesda game to date.

drave

09-08-2023, 08:20 AM

Loving it so far. I a watched enough videos before hand to know what to expect though. I said that No Man's sky with bethesda style narrative and world building is my dream game, this isn't that. It's not a space exploration sim. It's very much a narrative driven, traditional bethesda rpg. Space and planetary exploration is more supplementary material to help establish setting and world building, and additionally to give you different places to survey, loot for resources, and kill stuff. It's almost like the classic radiant quests but on a much grander scale. end of the day, if you love bethesda rpgs, you'll love this. If you don't it probably won't change your mind.

Guns feel like a signifigant improvement over fallout. Really putting that id partnership to good use. Combat feels really good. The best it ever has in a bethesda game. Especially when you rank up the boost pack and you're jetting around a base in low gravity.

Lore and history of the world they've created is engaging so far. The big cities and even medium sized settlements are all really cool. Main story questline hasn't really picked up yet but I'm told that it starts slow and picks up. I've been to distarcted by side quests which have been pretty choice. The faction stuff in particular has been really fun.

The other thing thats distracted me a lot is ship building. I play fallout 76 exclusively for the camp building aspect, and this really scratches that itch. Theres so much you can do with it, and experimenting with it is addicting. I already fully levelled up my piloting skill and have a ship large enough where it takes a minute to find a specific crew member.

Space flight and combat feels good. Especially fun to use the targeting to take out their engines and board them. Sometimes it knocks out the gravity. Zero g combat is cool.

I haven't messed with outpost building very much as it requires a lot of resources and as such is considered a late game mechanic. Or at least building the kind of outpost I want to is. I could probably build a small one to get a resource.

A few negatives so far. Some strange QoL decisions. Stuff that has been introduced in fallout 76 like a keyring, area looting, and being able to enter in how much of an item you want trade,sell etc. with the numberpad isn't there.

There's no quick swap between weapons. Instead you use the d-pad with every direction having 3 slots. It's very quick and responsive though, so it's less of an issue than you'd think. Still worth mentioning.

The biggest flaw is how little it guides you for certain things. For instance, I had trouble docking at first, because the game doesn't explain you have to hover over an icon, switch to scan, and then hit A to target. Then the dock and hail options appear. Lots of little stuff details like that, but the biggest offender is ship building mode. There is a signifigantly steep learning curve, and the game does NOTHING to help you navigate it. Everything I know about it, I learned from youtube videos.

I feel like bethesda really intended for this to go back to a hard, immersive role playing experience. You can spend hours upon hours just playing a role as a pirate or bounty hunter. You could even go all in on science and spend all your time building outposts and surveying the planet and collecting resources, and selling the results of those endeavors. I think it's going to be easier to lose yourself in this world, moreso than any other bethesda game to date.

I've barely had time to play, I think I'm level 3.

Anyhoo, this all sounds awesome. I had no idea about knocking shit out in space and fighting in zero G - that's going to be insane.

You built some MONSTER camps in 76 dude, those things were always badass.

Thanks for sharing all this man, giving me more to look forward to.

Reavant

09-10-2023, 02:02 PM

I hate being an adult with a kid and responsibilities as I want to play this game so bad, but considering I STILL play skyrim and MK11 and MK1 is about to launch, I just dont have time :'(

rez

09-10-2023, 06:27 PM

Is it any good? My buddy that is a big Bethesda fan bought and Steam cancelled within 3 hours. shrug

drave

09-11-2023, 08:44 AM

Is it any good? My buddy that is a big Bethesda fan bought and Steam cancelled within 3 hours. shrug

it is good, but also isn't 100% what they said it'd be.

I am level 17 from weekend play, I've gotten to what I believe is a pretty big turning point in the main story.

I'd say 100% expect a Fallout game, more or less. There are different nuances and systems in place to make it feel different, but by and large it is your standard Bethesda piece of action. The locked 30FPS is my biggest gripe, so far.

Gunplay feels great, honestly. Loot, even at low level, feels great as well. I've a few legendary drops for weapons, and epics for various pieces of armor.

I can see them overhauling the UI. It is very clunky and things are not clearly explained. I can do with digging through menus and sub-menus..... but for a LOT of things, there is ZERO context which can seem frustrating in a complex game. It should be patched.

I don't even think I've scratched the surface, like, at all. I've not taken my time with side stuff, so I may be missing things. I've not come across ship building yet.

Story is cool, and after what I just learned last night, it's getting better.

Thus far, 8/10 - and it's because of the controls and 30fps

Emperor Smeat

09-11-2023, 06:43 PM

For those dealing with serious performance-related issues on PC, an open-source developer recently managed to dig deep into the game's coding and structure to figure out what is the main culprit and it turns out the game has some serious issues in regards to the way it handles video memory.

The good news is that the problem is entirely fixable and the bad news is that its all up to Bethesda on when or if they get around to fixing it and do it properly.

With millions of players having already jumped right into the thick of it with Starfield, it’s hard to deny the fact that a non-insignificant number of them are facing performance issues on powerful PC hardware. When the director Todd Howard was asked about these issues, he responded in a way that some might say was tone-deaf. Notably, he said that Starfield was optimized and that some PC gamers might simply need to upgrade their rigs for it to run properly. A bold statement, to be sure, but one that may also ring hollow following some strange discoveries from the open-source community.

According to Hans-Kristian Arntzen, a prominent open-source developer working on Vkd3d, a DirectX 12 to Vulkan translation layer, Starfield is not interacting properly with graphics card drivers. Arntzen did not mince words in his recent release, describing Starfield‘s graphics driver overhead as “very inefficient.” The problem is so severe, in fact, that the aforementioned translation layer had to be updated specifically to handle Starfield as an exception to the usual handling of the issue.

Is Starfield actually fully optimized for PC?

The performance inadequacies outlined above wouldn’t necessarily have been a huge deal had Todd Howard not recently gone on record claiming that Starfield runs great, considering its leveraging of cutting-edge tech.

Now, however, with the severe performance inefficiencies pointed out via Vkd3d, it’s clear this wasn’t the case. Arntzen’s work has revealed that Starfield does not allocate video memory correctly, and that it misuses an important DirectX 12 feature (ExecuteIndirect) to the point where the GPU needs to double-check certain bits of data, causing lower frame rate than otherwise might’ve been expected. The problem is then exacerbated due to Starfield generating multiple ExecuteIndirect calls one after another while they should’ve been batched together for performance purposes.
Link: https://www.destructoid.com/open-source-community-figures-out-problems-with-performance-in-starfield/ , https://github.com/HansKristian-Work/vkd3d-proton/pull/1694

drave

09-12-2023, 08:28 AM

LolOptimization

drave

09-12-2023, 09:19 AM

drave

09-12-2023, 11:56 AM

Also had my first location in Zero G. Tried peering over a ledge, thought I was gonna fall and just started floating.

Zero G Combat is fuuuuuuuuunnnnnnnnnnnnn.

Man this game just gets better and better

rez

09-12-2023, 10:33 PM

I might ban posts for Starfield. I haven't decided yet.

Fignuts

09-13-2023, 12:22 AM

Coming up on what I believe is the final mission. Made some pretty monumental choices and was told when it was the "final round".

Didn't do many side quests, though I think I'm going to take the time to do that. I was level 18 killing level 30 enemies. The damn explosive SMG with a 250 fire rate is STILL wiping the floors with everything. I'll never get rid of that gun.

Given that yo're so far into the main quest you may want to just finish it and do sidequest and sandbox stuff in subsequent playthroughs. I say that because of how new game + actually works.

The following doesn't have any story spoilers. It just explains how the mechanics of new game + works in regards to what carries over. But I'll tag it regardless.

None of your items, ships, or outposts carry over. Your level and all the skills you've levelled transfer over. Your powers are where it gets interesting. You can only get so many powers in a single playthrough. However in new game + you keep your existing powers and can add more. Additionally you can upgrade the powers from your last playthrough. So you can can keep rush through the main story over and over until you're basically a space god.

So based on how far you already are, you might want to just finish and restart so you can explore with more powers. It's a matter of preference though.

Fignuts

09-14-2023, 01:15 PM

2 faction questlines completed and I feel confidant doubling down on my comment about faction content being the best bethesda has ever done

drave

09-18-2023, 09:07 AM

I think I'll finish it based off what you posted there. I mainly started because I was level 16 and the Starborn were 30. I was offing them with a legendary explosive Grendel I found at level 5, lol.

Duuuuuuude. The faction action in this game is off the fucking charts!!

I finished the Ryujin questline and it was amazing. I'm on the last mission for the US SecDef.

SecDef // Pirate spoilers

I'm a maniacal murder machine with a shotgun build so the SecDef dude (Ikande?)was pissed and told me I was arrested. I told him to fuck off and murdered his entire bridge. Found the legacy and the escape off that ship was actually kinda terrifying. The power suddenly dropped and then smoke, explosions, etc. It was actually really fucking hard to see in the dark and the hull ruptures were causing lung damage the entire time. I was nearly asleep, and this sequence jolted me awake until almost 2AM. I had to save, but I'm prepping for a massive fucking ship fight against the biggest vessel in the UC SecDef.

Also, the specific shotgun called "Shotty" should be banned. It's like an AR Shotgun. Put an extended mag on it and have 20 rounds.... not that it ever takes that much. Don't even have the perk that staggers yet.

I love this damn game and I can see myself playing for an extremely long time. I've only just learned how to modify ships, and I've not yet built a single outpost. Figured I'd do that after I advanced far enough to build cool shit.

drave

09-21-2023, 08:58 AM

This has easily got to be one of the best RPG's I've played in a very, VERY long time.

I've not gotten around to diving into settlements or ship building yet, but that's next. Figure I need to do that soon because I'm outta space in the ship storage, and it's mainly resources.

I've specced into gun and spacesuit enhancements, but tend to not have some of the metals I need from planets.

GOnna start watching videos on settlements. The couple of times I've tried... it seemed very convoluted.

drave

09-21-2023, 09:16 AM

Finished the story btw.

Very cool how you can start again and know what happened in the universe prior to this one. I chose to skip the story and just start collecting the artifacts. I like how it changes the interactions between all of the team members. The first time, I chose to tell both of the starborn to fuck off. I was able to convince them to give me their pieces once I landed at the final temple. This time, I'm going full asshole and will side with the Hunter.

I chose to mainly go solo the first time, because companions historically have been a pain in the ass. Though stealth seems broken right now, it may not have mattered. I didn't really spec into stealth, so that's probably the issue..... but it seems like any mob sees me the instant I enter a room, even crouched and/or with chameleon active. That's one of the biggest reasons I specced shotguns. Speaking of those.... I got a particle beam shotgun yesterday and holy FOOK man. That shit just deletes anything it points at. It's just a blue too, does 76 phys and 150-something electric dmg. Also, it can be used like a rifle, taking things out from a distance.

I will have a hard time splitting time between this and Cyberpunk Phantom Liberty next week.

This game is incredible, and I'd recommend it to anyone who is into space and/or rpg's.

ClockShot

09-21-2023, 10:50 AM

Got it for PC. But it's gonna be a while before I get around to it

drave

09-21-2023, 10:54 AM

ClockShot

09-21-2023, 03:12 PM

I figured I would have been into it right now.

But with Armored Core 6 taking longer than expected and Spider-Man 2 on the horizon, this is gonna be on a simmer for a little while.

Fignuts

09-21-2023, 04:21 PM

My dude, make sure you make ample time for it. Not sure how "into" the story you will be and all that, but once it pulls you in, it's so damn well done.

I just started exploring "random" planets yesterday. Before that, I'd just go to where there were mission markers for whatever. Exploration really is the shit. You could 100% role-play a research scientist and practically NEVER have to engage in combat, save certain alien creatures for their resources.

Settlement and ship building could have been it's own game entirely, it seems like. There are some incredibly meticulous spreadsheets out for both areas of the game that I've not even began to scratch.

I guarantee you Fignuts has some ace settlements though. Always enjoyed visiting his camp in FO76.

There's a ton of stuff to do in this game.

I do not unfortunately have any cool outposts. Not to rain on your parade or anything, but the options are very limited compared to fallout, and it feels like a tacked on feature. Even no man's sky blows atarfields outposts clear out of the water. Im not even sure how practical it is for resources as it seems relatively inexpensive to just buy what you need. I could see them being decent for a home base if you're doing a science playthrough as you mentioned, but beyond that I'm kind of disappoinred in them.

Luckily though ship building fills that creative need, as there's just so much you can do with it, visually.

ClockShot

10-03-2023, 12:46 PM

Going to try to squeeze 1 playthrough on my PC. Gear I got in it is a bit on the old side, but above minimum requirements. I just need to play it on low setting it seems. Which sucks.

Made it to New Atlantis. Doing some of the side missions that I'm stumbling upon before I set off into the big bad universe.

drave

10-03-2023, 12:56 PM

Yeah, main quest is very short, IMO.

ClockShot

10-11-2023, 08:02 AM

I gotta put this on hold. It's just not working out with my current equipment.

Maybe around the holidays I'll splurge and some new components to get up to date with PC gaming. But right now, I just can't spend the cash.

drave

10-11-2023, 08:11 AM

Eh. It's good, but how much you talkin, part wise?

ClockShot

10-11-2023, 08:20 AM

I'm probably going to need a combination of motherboard, CPU, and graphics card. Probably power unit too. Everything else is good and I can reuse. Then again, I'm running on a pre-built PC.

I got a case sitting down in my basement for a few years unopened. Also considering doing a full-on new build.

Kicking it around.

drave

10-11-2023, 08:21 AM

Starfield is good, but not worth that.

If you're doing it anyway, SWEET.... but for Starfield? Nah.