Starfield

[Skoop]

Yea that's why I just bought it.  This is a game you'll want in your library forever like Skyrim.

You can get it for 57bucks on steam Key resellers and save 12bucks.

[Grim.Reaper]

Regular release in 8 hours, will be interesting to see how the player reviews go.  Since the early access, I have seen people's view on it all over the place and flip flop quite a bit.  Some hated it at the start, now they love it.  Others liked it at first but now not sure....while others liked or disliked it all along.  I suspect the initial reviews on Steam will tank things but eventually grow to more positive with time.

Just curious for those that got further along, was any other type of vehicles introduced outside of your spaceship?  With the little time I had, basically involved walking but does struck me as odd that there wouldn't be other on planet travel modes (rovers, other future transportation, etc.), but maybe they are going to add some of that in future DLC:)

I'll get back into it after the release, still seems like it can be a fun little time waster but doubt I will ever fully complete it which makes it idea for a subscription service like Gamepass.

[Jarhead0331]

Regular release in 8 hours, will be interesting to see how the player reviews go.  Since the early access, I have seen people's view on it all over the place and flip flop quite a bit.  Some hated it at the start, now they love it.  Others liked it at first but now not sure....while others liked or disliked it all along.  I suspect the initial reviews on Steam will tank things but eventually grow to more positive with time.

Just curious for those that got further along, was any other type of vehicles introduced outside of your spaceship?  With the little time I had, basically involved walking but does struck me as odd that there wouldn't be other on planet travel modes (rovers, other future transportation, etc.), but maybe they are going to add some of that in future DLC:)

I'll get back into it after the release, still seems like it can be a fun little time waster but doubt I will ever fully complete it which makes it idea for a subscription service like Gamepass.

No. There are no vehicles that can be used to traverse planetary surfaces. I believe they stated this in the run-up to release. Its another missed opportunity in my view and also limits the point and utility of planetary exploration.

[Windigo]

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. 

What kind of pussy character are you playing? Someone with the "momma's boy" trait?

Just kidding, I did it too, one without helmet and another time without a cannister.... those close to absolute zero temperature planets/moons are a bitch.

Watch out for those vents too on habitable planets - they do permanent damage.... haven't gone to a doctor yet... my lungs are trash.

[Windigo]

Regular release in 8 hours, will be interesting to see how the player reviews go.  Since the early access, I have seen people's view on it all over the place and flip flop quite a bit.  Some hated it at the start, now they love it.  Others liked it at first but now not sure....while others liked or disliked it all along.  I suspect the initial reviews on Steam will tank things but eventually grow to more positive with time.

Just curious for those that got further along, was any other type of vehicles introduced outside of your spaceship?  With the little time I had, basically involved walking but does struck me as odd that there wouldn't be other on planet travel modes (rovers, other future transportation, etc.), but maybe they are going to add some of that in future DLC:)

I'll get back into it after the release, still seems like it can be a fun little time waster but doubt I will ever fully complete it which makes it idea for a subscription service like Gamepass.

No. There are no vehicles that can be used to traverse planetary surfaces. I believe they stated this in the run-up to release. Its another missed opportunity in my view and also limits the point and utility of planetary exploration.

Definitely makes exploration a less than lucrative money maker. I go around to abandoned bases to take down pirates for their loot. Getting ever closer to being a murder hobo.

[Grim.Reaper]

Regular release in 8 hours, will be interesting to see how the player reviews go.  Since the early access, I have seen people's view on it all over the place and flip flop quite a bit.  Some hated it at the start, now they love it.  Others liked it at first but now not sure....while others liked or disliked it all along.  I suspect the initial reviews on Steam will tank things but eventually grow to more positive with time.

Just curious for those that got further along, was any other type of vehicles introduced outside of your spaceship?  With the little time I had, basically involved walking but does struck me as odd that there wouldn't be other on planet travel modes (rovers, other future transportation, etc.), but maybe they are going to add some of that in future DLC:)

I'll get back into it after the release, still seems like it can be a fun little time waster but doubt I will ever fully complete it which makes it idea for a subscription service like Gamepass.

No. There are no vehicles that can be used to traverse planetary surfaces. I believe they stated this in the run-up to release. Its another missed opportunity in my view and also limits the point and utility of planetary exploration.

Thanks for confirming, I suspected that to be the case...would agree it seems like a missed opportunity.

[DetCord]

Copying my review from Steam here. Make up your own mind.

https://steamcommunity.com/id/DetCord/recommended/1716740?snr=1_5_9__402

Starfield is a bit like that [insert foreign bride] you've been told so much about. You've seen the pictures, heard the stories, and have even watched a few videos, ya know, online. You're excited! The day finally arrives to pick her up at the airport, a week early if you paid extra, and that's when you begin to notice a few things.

This contains no spoilers.

Visuals:

Nothing groundbreaking here, not really. Is it an improvement over previous titles? Yeah at times, kinda sorta. But there isn't much here to write home about. Even with all of the settings maxed out I was still disappointed with the visual fidelity, or lack thereof. Also, I should note that I had to turn on FSR2 to even make the game visually appealing because with it off, well, it looks fairly ugly with nonexistent AA and textures appearing muddy or washed out.

Most of the modeling is on par with what you'd expect from BGS. However, I came across far more examples of low-poly assets than I ever did in F4, Skyrim or Vegas, and for a game releasing in 2023 this really isn't acceptable. For instance, I was out flying my ship around one day and came upon a massive asteroid field. The closer I got, and you don't have to get that close, I could literally start counting the tri's and vert's that were visible as sharp planes and angles jutted about. It looked like someone had tossed down the Pyramids of Giza and slapped low-res rock textures on them.

It's pretty obvious at this point that the Creation Engine, no matter what version number they wanna slap on the end is far too outdated for this and future titles. They've pushed it far beyond its sell by date.

Sights and Sounds:

This is a mixed bag for me. The settled systems are interesting with Jemison being the star complete with large open spaces, sprawling locales, and the populace going about their daily routines. That said, these spaces are often lacking substance with what feels like its big and spread out just to be big and spread out. It lacks cognitive design is the best way I can describe it. Similarly, most of the habitable worlds you encounter are boring slogs with repeat flora and fauna jumbled together in an incoherent manner. Honestly, I found the planets devoid of life to be far more interesting and visually striking with their barren and strange landscapes, lack of atmosphere, and views of neighboring worlds simply unparalleled. Beautiful desolation as it were.

Sound design is in my opinion, better than any previous BGS title. The weapons auditorily pack a punch, the urban and rural environments sound lived in with industrial sections giving off clanks and pangs as they build and produce, computers, doors and hatches, ships engines and their ambiance, various forms of technology, and even your footsteps on a variety of terrain sounding excellent. That said, the soundtrack is not up to par in any sense of the word. I couldn't help but hear familiar tones and melodies from Fallout 4 and other BGS titles (specifically F4) as I made my way across the galaxy, like very, very familiar. I wasn't expecting a score akin to something from Hans Zimmer or James Horner but this feels completely off and lackadaisical.

Places to go, things to do, people to kill:

Plenty of content here. It may be rinse and repeat in many ways but there is a lot. A whole lot. So much so you could spend a dozen hours on one planet and barely scratch the surface with regards to the discoveries and dynamic encounters. I spent almost six hours on Kreet alone, raiding pirate and cultist bases, boarding and stealing ships of which I had seized three before I even left, and all in the initial stages of the game before I realized I should get on with the story. Speaking of the story and without using any spoilers, its passable with the general flair you've come to expect from a Bethesda game. However, if you haven't done the Vanguard side story/quest do so. It's enthralling. It's well written. And it is terrifying. Think James Cameron in 1986 with a dash of Mass Effect.

Other side quests range from great to the typical banal go fetch missions the likes of which you've come to expect. Some are memorable, most aren't. Quite a lot of the more interesting ones are those that begin simple enough and then branch out into missions spanning far flung worlds where your decisions could have far reaching consequences. As far as companions go they're what you've come to expect from previous and or similar titles and found most of the them neither engaging nor interesting.

Exploration:

As for exploration it feels like an afterthought and is easily the weakest aspect of the game. You're not exploring anything as everything has already been landed upon, surveyed, mined to death, and then abandoned. You just fast travel everywhere. When you tell NPC's you're with Constellation (literal explorers) they all respond with confusion as they thought the organization had long since been defunct. How's that for irony...

Space Combat and Ship Building:

They nailed space combat, period. It may not be Elite or SC level but again, they nailed it. Along those lines the ship building component of the game is similarly excellent and exactly as advertised. I've spent hours in it alone.

Final Thoughts

Starfield is a mixed bag to be sure. It has moments of tedium and moments of excitement. There are lots of things to do, see, participate in, though the caliber of said 'things' varies wildly. Starfield isn't a bad game by any measure, not in my opinion. But it isn't great either.

Before EA release I had been pouring over reviews to get an idea as to people opinions. Two of those reviews were from PC Gamer and IGN and both I almost immediately dismissed. Now, after having played for 25+ hours I find myself reading them again and generally agreeing. I'd even say that both were slightly generous in many regards.

System:
i7 9700K OC'd to 5.0Ghz
24GB RAM
6750 XT
PCIe SSD
1440p
0 Comments

[SirAndrewD]

Copying my review from Steam here. Make up your own mind.

Good review.  Can't disagree with most of it.

Pretty much summed up a lot of what I feel.

[DetCord]

It has it moments though....

Losing the battle. Rammed the enemy.



Random.

[Grim.Reaper]

Based on the pre release comments in most places, I thought for sure the steam reviews would start out mostly negative but hasn't been the case as sits pretty comfortable at very positive.  Maybe the vocal minority was the loudest but seems the majority liking it if their reviews are to be believed.  Of course over time it can change.

[JasonPratt]

Well, those asteroids don't look especially low-poly. And I've played early Empyrion: Galactic Survival (to its effective limit back at the time); those look better than Empy did, or Avorion. Admittedly, I haven't messed around with Elite much less Star Citizen or NMS.

So I gather they're sometimes low poly and sometimes not? A loading artifact, or some areas better than others?

[Windigo]

I have a middle of the road gaming computer, nothing high-end in it. I see no poor graphics, but I am sure that facial expressions/dynamics took a hit somewhere during the early game.

[Windigo]

Note to File: Whereas taking on a dozen or more space pirates is doable and enjoyable (shoot a few clips, relocate, repeat); taking on more than 3 pirate ships is highly inadvisable.


Question: I started building a outpost but ran out of resources. Any clue on how to recall/find it again. I thought since I put a beacon down it would be kind of obvious when you pull out the map function..... but not so much.  Thanks in advance

[SirAndrewD]

Wow, I just realized that when you shoot asteroids they break down into resources.

Also, on Jemison there is a flight training facility and the kills you get in there count towards leveling your piloting skills at no risk to your ship.

[Windigo]

 
... Thanks for that SAD

meanwhile, I got poutine from a vending machine.... small wins