Starfield: Thoughts?

[chew-ie]

Both Empyrion and NMS lack the RPG elements and or their details in comparision.

I like Starfield, but I would not take the RPG elements as a good example to place it apart.

This was meant in comparison to Starfield. So in terms of RPG in that particular game selection it's (IMHO) Starfield > NMS > Empyrion. I might have failed phrasing that correctly as I'm not a native english speaker.

If I'm looking for true cRPGs (read: heavily ruleset based combat / non-dumped down character statistics), I don't go for Bethesda games. (I then go to Obsidian / Larian / Iron Tower Studios and the like).

The patch is nice and all but there are some structural issues that wont get solved by patching and I don't necessary mean all the odd loading screens, but I'm also not not saying it. UI is really hurting this game, and that's saying something coming from an X player. Other major things like all planets having a gazillion POIs just close by and a rather flawed logistics system would require some Cyberpunk level of update imho.

TBH I like the minimalistic UI of Starfield. But I don't understand why they can't be bothered integrating things like a search or the whole SkyUI-like experience into the base game

But yeah, there are some serious technical challenges Bethesda has to address for the next game (TES 6) and / or for future patches. TES 6 should definately have data streaming on the top 1 list or the pitch forks trains will escalate. Can't imagine that by the time TES 6 is released a company still can go without that tech. For Starfield I hope they get to the bottom of that nasty dynamic-form-id-nullpointer stuff which seems to curse some savegames.

[Ketraar]

This was meant in comparison to Starfield. So in terms of RPG in that particular game selection it's (IMHO) Starfield > NMS > Empyrion. I might have failed phrasing that correctly as I'm not a native english speaker.

Me neither, but my point was that I would not expect ANY RPG elements in either Empyrion or NMS beyond the basics where you can create or won head canon. Starfield is marketed as a RPG and as such is lacking as the expectation is higher.

TBH I like the minimalistic UI of Starfield. But I don't understand why they can't be bothered integrating things like a search or the whole SkyUI-like experience into the base game

Funny you would call it minimalistic, I find it really ugly and one of the reasons is that is uses HUGE elements, many of them pointless screen blockers that dont tell you the info you need. But the part that infuriates me the most is the map UI, where you want to plot a course, you zoom in, select a location and then it zooms out again and forces you to push another button.

MFG

Ketraar

[chew-ie]

This was meant in comparison to Starfield. So in terms of RPG in that particular game selection it's (IMHO) Starfield > NMS > Empyrion. I might have failed phrasing that correctly as I'm not a native english speaker.

Me neither, but my point was that I would not expect ANY RPG elements in either Empyrion or NMS beyond the basics where you can create or won head canon. Starfield is marketed as a RPG and as such is lacking as the expectation is higher.

Aye, just mentioned those two as those are the ones yielded when Starfield is compared to other games. NMS has a (very) rudimentary dialogue system and some concept of quests connected to "character level" (which is more like tech level your character has reached so far). And there is this whole "RPG because I can play my character". Honestly, I'd scratch them out of the equation (I don't think those games are comparable). But that's not the state of the current discussion(s).

Starfield is indeed marketed as a RPG - an action RPG like the Gothic / Elex series or Horizon Dawn or Biomutant. Not as deep as an oldschool cRPG but with a lot of freedom on what to do for your main character due to the sandbox character. Even more so as compared to e.g. Elex (due to the additional activities / subsystems like ship and outpost building). So far I can't detect any more decline in depth as in any other Beth RPG like Skyrim or the Fallouts. It's the route Beth is taking for a long time now - as IMHO they are turning all their games into console games with each iteration. (didn't start with Starfield is what I'm saying)

I'd prefer to have at least character defining main attributes to get more difference for playthroughs - but that's only little old me.

TBH I like the minimalistic UI of Starfield. But I don't understand why they can't be bothered integrating things like a search or the whole SkyUI-like experience into the base game

Funny you would call it minimalistic, I find it really ugly and one of the reasons is that is uses HUGE elements, many of them pointless screen blockers that dont tell you the info you need. But the part that infuriates me the most is the map UI, where you want to plot a course, you zoom in, select a location and then it zooms out again and forces you to push another button.

Heh - okay - might be a difference in definition of minimalistic. (less to no colors, no images, context driven infos = main HUD) Compared to a HUD like e.g. Baldurs Gate 3 / Pillars of Eternity this is very minimalistic. Even when crossing out the party-based stuff - the UI as a whole is more complex as more actions are expose. The map is mostly integrated in the first person (scanner), the universe map is pretty sleek as well. Local maps is as awful as local maps are in Bethesda games (ever tried really using the Skyrim local map? Or the ones of all Fallouts created with the Beth-Engines?). They just replaced the raw 2D look with dots representing the heights. Just another experiment in my book which failed - but then again I never used that local map in any of the Beth games.

[esd]

Still an awesome game, totally worth any price. There are discussions wether game A or game B are an alternative, but it is like X4 - there is only one game with that particular feature set. Where everybody places their priorities is highly subjective, there is no objective answer possible.

Most comparisons are nowadays Empyrion or NMS. SpaceBourne 2 hardly is mentioned. Choosing one game over the other comes always with a compromise. Both Empyrion and NMS lack the RPG elements and or their details in comparision. SpaceBourne 2 is still in development and has its fair share of problems connected to the issue that there is only one dev for everything. StarCitizen still isn't close to a release and can't be compared yet.

I'm level 82, playing via Games Pass. I've visited every star system. The RPG elements are rather minimal, especially compared to Fallout and TES, and the space combat isn't very good. Can't even move the ship closer to the things you want to scan, instead you have to walk for kilometers - I'd kill for a land vehicle.

There's a surprising amount of rough edges (the kids say it's Bethesda, don't be surprised). Objects floating because the table they were on never spawned, people shot and killed but still stood performing idle animations. And as for sought materials- my first space helmet needed certain materials, so I put them on search. The helmet was sold levels ago. So I can't turn search off for those items.

Still fun cramming spacers into fridges - generating what the kids call Bethisdics (Bethesda, physics).

Might start the plot some day.