Starfield

[Harold Jones]

There may be enough interest for a standalone thread.  I've copied over some useful links from game interest thread.

PC Requirements https://www.eurogamer.net/starfield-pc-requirements-minimum-recommended-specs-9352

Reddit review mega thread https://old.reddit.com/r/Starfield/comments/166fbp1/starfield_review_megathread/

Nexus Mods page https://www.nexusmods.com/starfield

Edited September 8, 2023 by Harold Jones

[Angrybk]

After about 10 hours, what frustrates me is that it's just barely _playable_ on Low on my three-year-old high-end gaming laptop (no SSD, but it plays Cyberpunk 2077, Warhammer: Total War 3, etc. at High resolutions) but on Low it looks like garbage, like much worse than Fallout 4. And the gameplay isn't enticing enough to make me shell out the cash for a new PC or (urgh) a console just to play it. I spent several hours trying to optimize my settings and just said fuckit after a while. 

I don't understand the economics of spending several years to make a game that's not especially compelling plot/gameplay-wise and can't be played by the normals, but I'm not in charge of a massive cash cow game company, so what do I know. 

TL;DR not going to be playing it any more, I shoulda bought a nice shirt with my 70 bucks. It's basically Bethesda's Mass Effect: Andromeda.

Edited September 8, 2023 by Angrybk

[Der Zeitgeist]

I'm currently 60+ hours in and just four missions into the main quest so far. Of the big faction questlines, I only started one (basically just did the tutorial mission there).

The game is just so ridiculously massive, it's insane. Playing Skyrim was similar, but back then, when you stumbled on some side content it was usually a simple affair of half an hour or so. With Starfield you usually end up with hours of additional stuff to do.

Latest thing I did was checking up on some sensor contact when I entered a star system I hadn't visited before. It was a medium-sized pirate ship attacking a huge naval cargo cruiser. What followed was an epic battle first to take down the pirate ship in my slightly upgraded starter ship. When I only deal with one enemy ship I usually try to take out their shields, then disable their engines with my EM-beam weapons and then board them. This ship had three decks and quite a few pirates, so it was a close-combat slugfest with shotguns and my UC naval cutlass (put some points into melee) until I reached the bridge. They also had some contraband cargo on board that I had to sell at a port where they don't mind dealing with illegal things like harvested organs.

Unfortunately, I couldn't take the ship for myself because I haven't reached the piloting skill for flying class B ships yet. So I took everyhing I could carry, undocked and blew it up with a few additional missiles.

Then I noticed this huge cruiser was still there, its engines also disabled. First I thought they were going to ask me for ship parts to repair it (you often get asked for them by other ships, so I tend to carry a bunch) but I couldn't hail the ship, I only could dock with it. When I entered it, alarms were blaring, the gravity generators were malfunctioning (switching the gravity off and on every 20 seconds or so), everything was full of floating, frozen bodies from the crew and on top of that, the pirate boarding party was still onboard trying to work their way into the sealed cargo hold. So it was another pitched battle, sometimes in zero-G taking the pirates out and reading the crew's logs (environmental storytelling that reminded me a lot of System Shock). With on-and-off zero-G environment, the ship contained a number of environmental puzzles like machinery you could only work your way through with the gravity off or long elevator shafts you could float up but had to be quick about it before the gravity started again. The cargo hold had a bunch of sealed containers with unique weapons, a ton of credits and a single case of high-prized liquor that now sits in my inventory marked as an essential quest item.

So there's another freaking quest behind that and I don't even know yet where that might lead.

[Stuart Galbraith]

This sounds like what we wanted Elite to be for the past 10 years.....

[Harold Jones]

I do like the free form nature of the game (and the previous Bethesda titles) but one cost seems to be that your actions aren't really reflected in the big picture.  Your decisions might have an impact on  your relationship with your currently equipped companion, but otherwise stuff like choosing to give a mission McGuffin to one or another NPC or just keeping something doesn't cause any ill effects with the slighted NPC.  If they are merchant, they'll still happily buy and sell from and to you at their standard prices.  It's not a deal breaker but it is something that I notice.

[Der Zeitgeist]

2 hours ago, Harold Jones said:

I do like the free form nature of the game (and the previous Bethesda titles) but one cost seems to be that your actions aren't really reflected in the big picture.  Your decisions might have an impact on  your relationship with your currently equipped companion, but otherwise stuff like choosing to give a mission McGuffin to one or another NPC or just keeping something doesn't cause any ill effects with the slighted NPC.  If they are merchant, they'll still happily buy and sell from and to you at their standard prices.  It's not a deal breaker but it is something that I notice.

There might be some repercussions from a lot of decisions you take during the endgame and with the "New Game+" mechanic Starfield has. I'm not quite sure how this works because I won't get there for quite a while but it seems there's some kind of review of your actions and this might influence a new game if you use this NG+ mechanic.

In other news, my ingame Dad just got lucky in a poker game and won a starship. Obviously gifted it to me right away as compensation for that allowance I have to send them every week (2% of your ingame credits).

 

[Harold Jones]

I got a note from my parents asking me to meet them in the apartment, but they are never home.  Not sure yet if it's a bug or a quirk in their schedule.  Other than looking up what NG+ meant I don't have any idea what it actually does in SF.  I'm months away from having to worry about it at my current pace.

[Captain Hurricane]

Can someone please explain the difference between the standard and premium versions of Starfield? Steam is not very helpful in differencing the two versions. 

Is it worth going for the premium version?

I have a machine that's above the benchline, but not by that much.

I've played quite a few Bethseda games over time....my main concern with Starfield is that, like Skyrim, it sounds like one can involuntarilly pick up lots of missions along the way and get bogged down doing them rather than the main story. 

 

[Der Zeitgeist]

3 hours ago, Captain Hurricane said:

Can someone please explain the difference between the standard and premium versions of Starfield? Steam is not very helpful in differencing the two versions. 

Is it worth going for the premium version?

I have a machine that's above the benchline, but not by that much.

I've played quite a few Bethseda games over time....my main concern with Starfield is that, like Skyrim, it sounds like one can involuntarilly pick up lots of missions along the way and get bogged down doing them rather than the main story. 

 

The premium edition basically includes the first DLC expansion, when that comes out (I guess some time next year), a few skins that can be applied to certain weapons and spacesuits ingame (completely useless and doesn't look very good, IMO) plus the soundtrack of the game (which is also available on Spotify), and a digital art book with concept art and various other designs from the game.

If that's worth 30€/$, you'll have to decide for yourself.

If you're unsure about the game but want to try it out, I would suggest going for a Xbox GamePass subscription (which also works on PC) which includes Starfield plus tons of other games and only costs 10 bucks per month (first month might even be cheaper).

 

[Der Zeitgeist]

Today the game ventured into proper Space Western territory. 

I finally got to the dusty frontier city of Akila, the capital of the Freestar Collective, which is a faction that broke off from the United Colonies because they were tired of their endless red tape and space bureaucracy. The Freestar guys are like space Texans, all running around with old Earth rifles and cowboy hats. My colleague Sam Coe, who hails from that place, wants to follow a lead by accessing some files stored away in a bank vault there.

When we rode into town on that rusty freighter my ingame Dad won in his poker game, the local branch of the Galactic Bank was just being held up by bankrobbers from the Shaw Gang, a local crime and smuggling outfit, who'd taken some hostages inside the bank. The Marshal of the town was unsure of how to deal with the situation, so I offered my help and tried to negotiate (another option in the game would have just been to take them all out). Since my persuasion skill was only at rank 1 so far I needed some way to boost that up. Luckily, I still had some nice clothes I bought in New Atlantis in my inventory, which give a +5 to persuasion, as well as a bottle of scotch, which gives an additional +12. I then popped a bunch of "Hippolyta" drugs I picked up earlier, which boosted my persuasion by another 20% and then I was drunk enough and ready to deal with the hostage takers. 😄

What followed was a dialogue persuasion minigame that Starfield often uses to allow you to avoid certain combat situations. You choose from a number of dialogue options that each have a risk (depending on how confrontative they are) but also offer increasing rewards to fill out the persuasion-meter of that minigame, which goes through a number of rounds. You need to fill the meter without failing each stage too many times. After the first stage, the bankrobbers told me their demands (safe passage and a ship to a nearby system, where they would drop off the hostages). After that followed a second stage that was more difficult where I talked them into giving up. The way this game works, I guess I could've offered my own ship as transport to give into their demands and ship them out, gotta try that out in a later playthrough.

[Ssnake]

If I hated one thing about old Bethesda games, it was that wearing a funny hat would suddenly make you more convincing than your old crappy self; a complete make-over I could understand, but replacing just one item is forced and artificial.

 

But, turning such dialogs into a mini-game of persuasion seems to be better actual role-playing and to give players more memorable events. In that sense, progress.

[Harold Jones]

That mechanic has been part of gaming for so long that I don't even notice the weirdness of it in a nonmagical setting game. I do have enough +persuasion consumables that I just take a slug of wine or whatever before any conversation I think may ultimately include a persuasion check.  I didn't even think to check clothes for useful stats. 

A couple things I've found handy with the scanner (hot key F) is that if you point it on an unexplored POI and hit scan it will tell you the type (Cave, Structure, Etc.) Also if you scan an area it will highlight all interactable objects.  It's handy for picking out containers, bodies and lootable objects you might otherwise miss.

[Der Zeitgeist]

So back in space Texas, in Akila City, my colleague Sam Coe finally got the documents and map he was looking for, after we had some family drama with his Dad (another persuasion check there).

Now we finally knew where we had to go, which was outside the city into Shaw gang territory. The Shaw gang occupied an abandoned mine in the hills where we were able to pick up another one of the mysterious, possibly alien artifacts the main quest is going on about.

There were a lot of Shaw gang dudes there, but that was not the real problem. The real issue was dealing with the local wildlife of Akila. Turns out there's a good reason the city has very high walls, the farming outside is entirely done by robots, and the traditional Akilan "Ashta Tamer" isn't something like a shotgun, but a 40mm grenade launcher. 😬

Edited September 11, 2023 by Der Zeitgeist

[Sardaukar]

Did watch some Youtube videos, this game looks pretty damn good.

I have specs on my gaming laptop to run it pretty well, just that I lack SSD space now with all other games...

[Der Zeitgeist]

Did some big game hunting with Sam. 

[Harold Jones]

I accidentally pissed Sam off, so I had to pass some persuasion checks to get him back on side. 

[Der Zeitgeist]

I did a ton of research and crafting yesterday. Unlocked three ranks of the science methods skill as well as three ranks of gastronomy and all the research that was possible. I can now craft Spaghetti Carbonara! 🍝 😋

[Der Zeitgeist]

Finally built my first real ship now.

[Harold Jones]

I haven't done anything but dabble with the builder.  The learning curve appears to be steep.  I plan on using the next ship I capture as my learning project. Meanwhile, my 'parents' have gifted me a pretty decent space suit, I just need to mod it a bit.

[Der Zeitgeist]

52 minutes ago, Harold Jones said:

I haven't done anything but dabble with the builder.  The learning curve appears to be steep.  I plan on using the next ship I capture as my learning project. Meanwhile, my 'parents' have gifted me a pretty decent space suit, I just need to mod it a bit.

Wait for next gift they get you. It will be a lot bigger. 😊

[Ssnake]

An Texas-Extralarge oversized space suit?

[PCallahan]

So I had been limping along with a day-one X-Box One for about a decade, and finally coughed up and got a Series X a week ago, basically just to play Starfield (for now).  

Overall, 20 hours in, I continue to be awed by the scope of the game -- it is simply massive.  I had assumed that the worlds would be randomly generated, but it appears they are not (looked at some online guides to planets, and found mine were the same).  I've barely progressed in the storyline, having just gotten a second artifact, and am just banging around the landscape in the Alpha Centauri system.  Really, there is more to do in a single system here than all of Outerworlds (though without the witty repartee, or at least not as much of it).  

Attempted to build my first outpost (Settlement, for those of you who have played Fallout 4) but kind of botched its location and only got two elements in the (massive) footprint.  Going to have to think through the next one more carefully...

Overall, I'm more than a little impressed by the game, particularly since so far, I've encountered only a single bug.

[Der Zeitgeist]

6 hours ago, PCallahan said:

Attempted to build my first outpost (Settlement, for those of you who have played Fallout 4) but kind of botched its location and only got two elements in the (massive) footprint.  Going to have to think through the next one more carefully...

If you want to min-max this, there are a few worlds that are perfect for certain basic resources that can all be mined at a single location, plus a very advantageous rotational period of the planet, so the sleeping mechanic can essentially be abused as an ingame time machine.

There are a few guides on YouTube on how to turn outpost on these planets into very fast money and XP farms.

 

Yesterday, I put my newbuilt ship through its paces on an extended patrol across several UC systems to see how it holds up in combat. Works pretty nicely overall, especially since I simplified the weapons loadout to 3 particle cannons plus one EM beam for when I want to disable ships to board them. Pirate ships up to several levels above mine were no problem at all and tended to just melt away with 2-3 particle gun volleys. I still have to learn to use the thrusters more effectively in combat to evade incoming fire, though. Since the particle cannons outrange most stuff the pirates carry, one tactic is to initially boost away to 3 kilometers and then turn the ship around to fly backwards while you fire at them.

[Harold Jones]

Here's a couple useful ship building resources, the guy who posted them has put in a ton of work.  They could be considered spoilers I guess so if you want to feel your way through this stuff then don't open them.

 

Starfield Ship Weapons https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dud8L8FQwQ8IpsJnjFyE4vgoQm1wrlHRVtoyY8L8bR4/edit#gid=0

Reddit Post on Interiors

 

[Der Zeitgeist]

Checking out some of Earth's old landmarks. These can be found by reading certain history books in the game, which will then put a marker on the planetary map where you can land.

And before anyone starts foaming from their mouth: No, it's not global warming.😜