Starfield

[Jarhead0331]

I'm definitely getting hooked. Its the loot. The weapons (which all look awesome), the suits, the helmets, etc. I also like the combat. I think it feels satisfying. Can't tell whether the main story arc is good or silly crap yet, but I'm following along and starting to dabble in side ops.

Good stuff overall so far though. I can tell I'll sink many many hours into this. 

[SirAndrewD]

I'm definitely getting hooked. Its the loot. The weapons (which all look awesome), the suits, the helmets, etc. I also like the combat. I think it feels satisfying. Can't tell whether the main story arc is good or silly crap yet, but I'm following along and starting to dabble in side ops.

Good stuff overall so far though. I can tell I'll sink many many hours into this. 

Yeah, it's getting its teeth into me too now. 

I even created a second character to play a dread pirate. I named him Roberts. 

[Jarhead0331]

I'm definitely getting hooked. Its the loot. The weapons (which all look awesome), the suits, the helmets, etc. I also like the combat. I think it feels satisfying. Can't tell whether the main story arc is good or silly crap yet, but I'm following along and starting to dabble in side ops.

Good stuff overall so far though. I can tell I'll sink many many hours into this. 

Yeah, it's getting its teeth into me too now. 

I even created a second character to play a dread pirate. I named him Roberts. 

[SirAndrewD]

Exactly.  It's hard to resist the really asshole heavy responses in the dialogue. 

[SirAndrewD]

So, yes.

It takes a bit but it gets better....a lot better.

This is a game that leaves a tiny bit of a bad first impression and then just gradually improves until it has you very hooked.

Yes, slow burn.  The story's a bit generic but it's got my very interested in seeing where it goes.

In a lot of ways I get it, it's getting you used to a new universe, new story.  Bethesda is having to do some legwork because they've been developing Elder Scrolls for around 25 years and Fallout's about as old even though it was in their hands less.  They're trying to start something fresh and catch up.

It didn't do it quite as well as Outer Worlds did in Obsidian's hands, but this has so much more potential than Outer Worlds.  They're very easily compared and this might be called Outer Worlds with extreme ambition.

[ArizonaTank]

I agree, a bit of a slow burn at first, but it grows on you.

[al_infierno]

So, yes.

It takes a bit but it gets better....a lot better.

This is a game that leaves a tiny bit of a bad first impression and then just gradually improves until it has you very hooked.

Yes, slow burn.  The story's a bit generic but it's got my very interested in seeing where it goes.

In a lot of ways I get it, it's getting you used to a new universe, new story.  Bethesda is having to do some legwork because they've been developing Elder Scrolls for around 25 years and Fallout's about as old even though it was in their hands less.  They're trying to start something fresh and catch up.

It didn't do it quite as well as Outer Worlds did in Obsidian's hands, but this has so much more potential than Outer Worlds.  They're very easily compared and this might be called Outer Worlds with extreme ambition.

I'm only a few hours into Starfield, but I get the impression Outer Worlds had much better writing and characterization.  Most of the dialogue in Starfield has been very flat, on the nose, workmanlike.  Not bad by any means and I still get a few chuckles here and there, and I might be somewhat spoiled by the likes of Baldur's Gate 3.

But yeah, mechanically speaking Starfield is much more ambitious and accomplished already with much more in depth mechanics to star ships, space travel, weapons, etc.  Outer Wilds was very much a "upgrade your gun to get +1 to everything" whereas Starfield feels much more in depth with the upgrades.

I still don't understand why none of these games let you name your guns though.  I just want to name my hand cannon sidearm "Party Starter" 'cause it gets the party started when I squeeze that trigger. 

[SirAndrewD]

I'm only a few hours into Starfield, but I get the impression Outer Worlds had much better writing and characterization.  Most of the dialogue in Starfield has been very flat, on the nose, workmanlike.  Not bad by any means and I still get a few chuckles here and there, and I might be somewhat spoiled by the likes of Baldur's Gate 3.

But yeah, mechanically speaking Starfield is much more ambitious and accomplished already with much more in depth mechanics to star ships, space travel, weapons, etc.  Outer Wilds was very much a "upgrade your gun to get +1 to everything" whereas Starfield feels much more in depth with the upgrades.

I still don't understand why none of these games let you name your guns though.  I just want to name my hand cannon sidearm "Party Starter" 'cause it gets the party started when I squeeze that trigger. 

Outer Worlds vs Starfield is absolutely Obsidian vs Bethesda.   It's Fallout New Vegas vs Fallout 4.

Obsidian is always going to have better writing, better story, better engagement.  They put the heart into Fallout and into everything they do, but they can be thin in other areas.  I loved Outer Worlds Story, but soured on the game mid way. 

Starfield is absolutely as you say, on the nose and getting the story done.  It's got a lot of charm in some places and some absurdity, especially if you pick the adoring fan trait!  But yeah, it can't touch what Obsidian does in storytelling.

But in all I think Starfield from what I've seen has more potential mechanically.  Story wise?  Got to play longer to really see.

[SirAndrewD]

And lets be real, none of these games have ANYTHING yet on this...

[Grim.Reaper]

Glad things are picking up for people...even though I returned the Premier edition, still intend resume playing it once the regular release happens.  My only fear is the fact it seems to pick up after awhile...which means if I want to start over for some reason either to try a different character or because of some patch, then its back through the early parts.  Probably best for me just to start and plow through regardless and don't worry about restarting.

[SirAndrewD]

A couple of tips...

First, for NVidia people head over to Nexus Mods and get the DLSS plugin and reshade.  It very heavily improves the crispness of the visuals.

Second, a gameplay tip.  Never just exit your ship from the pilot chair.  One reason, f you don't have your helmet on it won't warn you and that can be a nasty surprise.  The better reason is that if you just take a short nap before your excursion on your bunk, you get a well rested XP boost that stacks with other food based boosters. 

[ArizonaTank]

About four hours in and I have only seen one bug, and that was easily ignored. For a game this complex, that technically hasn't been released yet, that's an accomplishment.

Some minor gameplay issues, but nothing too annoying.

As others have pointed out, the game definitely has Bethesda DNA, and they reused many tried and true Bethesda gameplay mechanics.

The engine runs smooth on my rig, and load times are very quick (of course it is on my SSD).

[SirAndrewD]

I've had zero bugs.


A very good upgrade from Fallout 4.

And yeah, it has a lot of loading screens, but it's not really different from Elite or Star Citizen.

Cute little secret, Elite, No Mans Sky and Star Citizen just hid their loading screens behind visuals.  They still had them.

My NVME SSD handles the loads well and I imagine that's why they made an SSD a requirement.

[Jarhead0331]

And yeah, it has a lot of loading screens, but it's not really different from Elite or Star Citizen.

Cute little secret, Elite, No Mans Sky and Star Citizen just hid their loading screens behind visuals.  They still had them.

You'll have to explain this one because there aren't loading screens in Star Citizen as far as I know. Certainly nothing like Starfield.

[Jarhead0331]

Ran into my first significant bug that prevented me from completing a mission. Had to roll back to a prior save. Lost about 45 minutes of progress. Bummer.