Starfield

[DevilDancer]

Is anyone other than me jumping into Starfield at launch? It's almost here!

Release date: September 6, 2023

Or you can pay extra to start early. "Individuals who purchase either the Premium or the Constellation Edition will receive 5 days of early access prior to the game's complete launch, access to the first story expansion (DLC) Shattered Space, as well as various bonus materials." Wiki.

Minimum requirements:

OS: Windows 10 version 22H2 (10.0.19045)
Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 2600X, Intel Core i7-6800K
Memory: 16 GB RAM
Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 5700, NVIDIA GeForce 1070 Ti
DirectX: Version 12
Storage: 125 GB available space
Additional Notes: SSD Required

Recommended:

OS: Windows 10/11 with updates
Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 3600X, Intel i5-10600K
Memory: 16 GB RAM
Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080
DirectX: Version 12
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Storage: 125 GB available space
Additional Notes: SSD Required

 

[AWARRY]

not sure

Im debating which i will play first Starfield or Baldurs Gate 3

 

[east1226]

I will probably wait a week or two. It depends on what I am playing/doing when it comes out.

 

[-Troopa-]

I don't intend to play it, unless the reviews surprise me in some way, but I'm looking forward to hearing people talk about it.

 

[OneBigClam]

Not at launch, but it looks epic. I'll play it at some point.

 

[rastaban75]

I will most certainly get Starfield, but not at launch. I think somewhere in December towards the holidays seems possible.

I'm looking forward to that game.

 

[docSpock]

Definitely! This is my most anticipated game now that I’ll probably be playing it before Baldur’s Gate 3. I’m a huge fan of Bethesda’s approach to open world games and I’ve enjoyed every one I played.

 

[DeadLazy]

I’ll play it on GP, sure. I’m looking forward to the CP expansion though.

 

[east1226]

I always get games from the BG3 developer after they release their "ultimate edition.". I will be waiting a while. I am waiting on CP expansion until I have a better video card. That leaves this and other miscellaneous games. I will play it sooner rather than later.

 

[rastaban75]

Starfield has a lot going for it: a space/sci-fi setting (not too crazy either), huge potential for exploration, modular ship building. Besides the usual RPG stuff and missions.

Even if it "fails" in the internet hivemind, there is room for tons of fun. My suspicion is that it will get positive reviews, though.

 

[IgglooV2]

Well since it is GP I will certainly try it at launch. I am prepared for this one to be a letdown though. I hope I am pleasantly surprised.

 

[DevilDancer]

Initial reviews are in. 88 PC, 87 Xbox. Not bad.

 

[DeadLazy]

Played the first hour with my buddy and can’t say we were knocked off our chairs immediately, but aside from some confusing menus and instructions, a smooth experience.

Not knocking the game for that, sometimes you gotta learn how to play a game. I do notice the 30 and do kinda wish it was 60 but I bet I won’t notice in an hour or two. It feels responsive and we kicked on hard. I’ll play hard first time and see how the AI goes and it has a very hard setting.

Initial impressions are so far so good.

 

[OneBigClam]

 

[docSpock]

Loving it. It looks a lot better than I expected and is exactly the Bethesda thing I was hoping it would be. I dared to hope it would be Oblivion in Spaaace and so far it’s delivering.

 

[DeadLazy]

Yeah. I had a clunky and even frustrating first few hours but once the lights went out and I adapted to the 30fps the problems disappeared.

The menus, lock picking, nav, all clunky. But once I got it and my brain adapted to its 30, it got going. Fucking insane, despite having Bethesda DNA in its character animation and models that feel even Morrowind at times. But once it gels it got CP good and you can just sense that the biggest adventure in a video game is about to happen.

Not in an endless random generation Minecraft no man’s sky way. I’m so optimistic now.

And honestly, where it’s making it more fun than CP, is the RP sense you get from dialog and quest options. I have no idea if it ever makes a difference, it feels like your shit matters. And I love my first companion.

It’s like ME 1 had a BG 3 sex scene with Fallout NV and this was the result.

 

[DeadLazy]

So good. I won’t be getting to phantom liberty this year. It is more fun than CP to me and again, I feel the first hour or two are certainly clunky as hell, but I haven’t been as into a setting, especially six-fi, since ME 1 launched. Only it’s the scope of a dream game.

 

[HotDoommaN]

Collectors arrives in a few days so I wont have the time to play at all. Plus still in Greece till th 14th. After that though I'll dive right into it.

 

[DevilDancer]

I liked the two hours that I played. Shooting feels pretty good and Bethesda knows how to scratch the looting itch.

Two complaints:

30 fps is jarring since I've been playing Cyberpunk at around 60 recently. That will get better over time but it was unpleasant to start.

I couldn't find a randomize button on the character creator, which is how I usually do it. Hit random until I find something I like and then tweak. So my character is ugly and I'll want to change appearances when I have the option.

 

[IgglooV2]

It’s only locked at 30 on consoles right? I might play it on pc

 

[DeadLazy]

Yeah it is but it’s 100% not an issue. I don’t play CP at 60 because there’s so much more in 30. It was a clunky start but it’s running extremely smoothly.

If your PC can handle the fidelity and get frames I bet this rocks with mouse and keys. In fact, I might see if X supports them.

Can’t you just jump around from PC and console with the same save anyway though? Whatever strikes your mood.

 

[IgglooV2]

I do think it might have cross-platform saves on Xbox and PC. You're...kind of tempting me to buy the expansion so I can play this weekend, even though I already have BG3 and Madden 24 to play.

 

[DeadLazy]

I do think it might have cross-platform saves on Xbox and PC. You're...kind of tempting me to buy the expansion so I can play this weekend, even though I already have BG3 and Madden 24 to play.

Mhmm…. It does have cross save features. And is it true the IGN critic admitted to docking the game for features he said were missing that it turns out he didn’t understand or missed?

I also heard NG+ isn’t just good, but more innovative than Nier Automata. From Gene Parks? Who’s that?

One things for sure, with mods incoming this game will get insane and it will take me a long time. There is no rush. And I don’t think it’s gonna make your jaw drop to the floor.

It did drop my jaw but it was a slow burn. The game requires the most effort since Morrowind is how I feel. Remember starting in Morrowind and it was so slow and tedious, bur 100 hours later you could leap over towns and levitate across anything? Like that.

Great art direction. It’s an RPG and not a space sim and I’m glad for that. No Man’s Sky sucked. And tried it again recently. I hate it. I didn’t want that. It is Fallout in Space essentially but it’s more. Awesome music that really sets the atmosphere. And I love the story but I’m getting side tracked. Reminds me of oblivion side content.

It feels epic and I really didn’t ever get with Fallout 4.

 

[DeadLazy]

*Playing hard and AI can be surprisingly good. Flank. Run to backup, pathing through a space station. Best Bethesda combat even though that might not make it Cyberpunk polished. It’s in the conversation now.

 

[IgglooV2]

Gene Park covers videogames for the Washington Post. He's pretty good.

 

[DevilDancer]

I ran into Space Jessie Pinkman. He seems to be in a much better place than Breaking Bad Jessie Pinkman.

Also if you're willing to save scum pickpocket is super lucrative.

 

[DevilDancer]

This is a Xbox play anywhere game so I'm also downloading it onto my laptop. I wonder if I can get more frames if I turn some settings down.

Thanks FiOS for not having data caps.

 

[deleted-4439668]

I think Fallout 4 is the only Bethesda game I ever played. Can you build bases and stuff like in Fallout 4? That was my favorite part of the game. The rest of it was so so. Is combat turn based or real time? Prefer turn based for rpgs

 

[IgglooV2]

So the game does not support ray tracing or Nvidia's DLSS upscaling technology. That's disappointing. They may reportedly add DLSS later, but the game uses a differrent lighting effect so not sure about ray tracing. I'm downloading it now via GP, BTW. I think I might bite the bullet and pay for the upgrade to unlock it before the 3-day weekend. Those bastards at Microsoft know how to time something to get you to open your wallet.

 

[east1226]

I can wait. I will just finish Diablo this weekend. I am just happy it is good. Still haven't decided about the video card...

 

[IgglooV2]

My early impressions are positive overall. It's a Bethesda game through and through, kind of feels like Fallout in space in a lot of ways.

The controls are somewhat familiar to any fan of this developer, but there are a lot of little tweaks to things like the lockpicking mechanics that I am still getting used to. And there are a lot of new mechanics governing things like space flight, etc.

I have the graphics on ultra in 1440p, and they didn't wow me at first, but once you start landing on funky planets and stuff it gets a little better. The're pretty good, not great IMO. Again, typical, Bethesda, which is never cutting edge visually. The combat feels pretty straightforward and easy on mouse and keyboard, but fairly fun.

The PC controls are frankly a bit complex at times, with all the menus, and I might plug in a controller to see if that's actually better for this game. I am thinking it might be, for everything besides the shooting.

 

[DevilDancer]

I'm really fighting the controls because everything is the opposite of Cyberpunk.

 

[AWARRY]

I think Fallout 4 is the only Bethesda game I ever played. Can you build bases and stuff like in Fallout 4? That was my favorite part of the game. The rest of it was so so. Is combat turn based or real time? Prefer turn based for rpgs

yes you can base build,

its real time

if you want turn based in a fallout setting
check out Wasteland 3

 

[deleted-4439668]

yes you can base build,

its real time

if you want turn based in a fallout setting
check out Wasteland 3

Thanks. Can you slow down combat like in fallout 4? To buy some time to think out strategy or aim or whatever?

 

[AWARRY]

Thanks. Can you slow down combat like in fallout 4? To buy some time to think out strategy or aim or whatever?

so far i have not been able to slow time down, but its possible that there is a perk you can gain as you level that does

im level 7, and haven't put too much into the combat tree.

 

[DeadLazy]

Keeps picking up speed. Already a few gameplay surprises and I am enjoying the main story a lot.

It is clunky and idiosyncratic in terms of menus and everything, but you will get completely in the bubble once you get rolling.

 

[DeadLazy]

And I’ll drop this here. It’s official. Both my girlfriend and I bounced off Zelda TotK. One day. I’ll still buy a copy. I want physical. But yeah. She hasn’t been gaming at all so it’s not the game but we both started and after 4 hours done.

Starfield made it so I won’t get to it for a year or more.

 

[deleted-4439668]

Ah yes my favorite comic strip: Starfield, starring Jon Starbuckle

 

[DevilDancer]

I did the parents perk and I just met them and they're adorable.

 

[DeadLazy]

I did the parents perk and I just met them and they're adorable.

Hah I hadn’t even noticed. Where to go to attack and take ships? I want a new ship. I’ve been doing the main mission mainly.

I am enjoying the exploration a lot though and people said it was weak. It’s not as good looking as Cyberpunk but there are times it nails what it’s supposed to be.

Some of the stuff you get actually makes then combat more than CP at times. Hard is great so far. Not frustrating but you need to pay attention. It’s so much better than any previous Bethesda game.

 

[IgglooV2]

I did the weird perk where you have a big fan who just shows up sometimes

 

[DevilDancer]

I did the weird perk where you have a big fan who just shows up sometimes

I did that one too. The faction ones didn't seem that interesting to me so I picked the weirder ones.

Have you met your fan yet? I did.

 

[IgglooV2]

I haven't met my fan. I am only a couple of hours into it thus far.

It's cheesy, but I basically walked around and took everything that wasn't tied down in the first city you visit to get a little pocket change. You can take a lot of decorations in the explorers' base you go to in the opening mission, and sell them to get about 20k in credits fairly easily from the jump.

 

[IgglooV2]

I think Cyberpunk's graphics are better overall, but that the cities in this game feel more real and alive.

Also I chose bounty hunter as my profession because it started with a lot of the basic piloting skills, but I really had no idea what I was doing there. The different choices seemed interesting..

 

[DevilDancer]

Fired it up on PC. All my saves were there and the frame rate was generally better, with some stutters.

I'll probably go back and forth between platforms like I did with Nioh 2.

 

[DeadLazy]

I really like it and that surprises me after Fallout 4. It’s not better than CP, but it’s as good so far. The ship to ship combat is a lot of fun and really wasn’t expecting that.

There are some surprises ahead gameplay wise, I think.

 

[IgglooV2]

I had to run some errands and take care of a few work things, so I haven't played much today, but I hope to tonight. It's definitely my kind of game in many ways and I am sure I will spend dozens of hours in this, just like most every other Bethesda game. I don't feel too bad paying the $30 to start early because I suspect I might actually play the DLC in this game, also, when that comes out. Microsoft seems to know how to leverage GP just right.

 

[DeadLazy]

Nah, it’s worth the 30$. Also, throw the doomed Xbox a bone. Were it not for politics (game culture politics) this would get the critical credit deserves, which may or may not change this games course.

I think there may not be a next gen Xbox, personally. And IGN Americas score (home score) felt petty after I looked into it and it’s not worth dredging up. Pathetic though. Especially since it did real damage to perceptions, despite the meta.

It’s unfortunate is all. I read the that WaPo article and I think he really summed it up well, and he’s a good writer.

 

[DeadLazy]

One thing annoying: accidentally hit A and stole something which led to a massive problem with my companion and hours later, after dealing with that, UC security. Huge problems.

Don’t accidentally steal.

 

[DeadLazy]

Wow, or stay and let them take you in. Crazy. Wasn’t expecting that.