Xbox Starfield

[Iceman]

Yeah, Wyrdsong sound like it will be an amazing game based on the talent involved. I’m very excited to see what that studio comes up with. That said, it had me worried about Elder Scrolls 6. I absolutely NEED that game to be good because I’ll probably have died of old age by the time Elder Scrolls 7 comes out lol.

Yep, they’ve certainly got my interest with that!

Bethesda need to sort out their production times with 3 major franchises under their control now. Can’t take 7 years per game working on one at a time or we’ll have a 21 year wait between entries. The majority of time of being a fan of those games will be waiting and speculating rather than playing.

 

[Deck Rickard]

Yep, they’ve certainly got my interest with that!

Bethesda need to sort out their production times with 3 major franchises under their control now. Can’t take 7 years per game working on one at a time or we’ll have a 21 year wait between entries. The majority of time of being a fan of those games will be waiting and speculating rather than playing.

Yeah, exactly. Bethesda has been trying to tide fans over with ESO and Fallout ‘76 but those games don’t have the same appeal. I like ESO a lot but it’s just not as engaging as something like Skyrim or Starfield. I get that it takes time to build a world as big as Bethesda does in its single-player games but you just can’t take this long to put stuff out. Or else, when the next Elder Scrolls comes out, they might as well say that one was “25 years in the making” because it might literally be true at that point.

Side note, more footage was released from Squadron 42 and that game looks like it could potentially out-Starfield Starfield, lol. The gameplay graphics look like they are on par with Starfield but the cut scenes and characters look even better. Plus you have an all-around A-list cast to add even more credibility (Gary Oldman, Gillian Anderson, Mark Strong, Henry Cavill, Mark Hamill, etc.). It would be kind of ironic if, after years and years of waiting for Starfield, a similar game comes along and completely outdoes it. That might not happen of course but Squadron 42 has a lot of potential.

 

[Iceman]

Yeah, exactly. Bethesda has been trying to tide fans over with ESO and Fallout ‘76 but those games don’t have the same appeal. I like ESO a lot but it’s just not as engaging as something like Skyrim or Starfield. I get that it takes time to build a world as big as Bethesda does in its single-player games but you just can’t take this long to put stuff out. Or else, where the next Elder Scrolls comes out, they might as well say that one was “25 years in the making” because it might literally be true at that point.

Side note, more footage was released from Squadron 42 and that game looks like it could potentially out-Starfield Starfield, lol. The gameplay graphics look like they are on par with Starfield but the cut scenes and characters look even better. Plus you have an all-around A-list cast to add even more credibility (Gary Oldman, Gillian Anderson, Mark Strong, Henry Cavill, Mark Hamill, etc.). It would be kind of ironic if, after years and years of waiting for Starfield, a similar game comes along and completely outdoes it. That might not happen of course but Squadron 42 has a lot of potential.

Exactly. ESO and F76 are a good additional thing to have but no matter how good they get they won't have the same appeal as a massive universe which is all about your character and centred around it, and with how much you can individually influence that world in so many ways.

I'd not heard of Squadron 42 but that is a great cast for a video game and better character models and cut scenes (which i care about more than most gamers) is a decent plus. Will be keeping an eye out for it, thanks.

 

[Deck Rickard]

Exactly. ESO and F76 are a good additional thing to have but no matter how good they get they won't have the same appeal as a massive universe which is all about your character and centred around it, and with how much you can individually influence that world in so many ways.

I'd not heard of Squadron 42 but that is a great cast for a video game and better character models and cut scenes (which i care about more than most gamers) is a decent plus. Will be keeping an eye out for it, thanks.

Yeah, it’s been in development for a while (first teaser was six years ago!), but it seem to be nearing the finish line. This was released yesterday:

 

[Iceman]

Yeah, it’s been in development for a while (first teaser was six years ago!), but it seem to be nearing the finish line. This was released yesterday:

Thanks for that. Watched various bits of it. Looks like a must-play

 

[Deck Rickard]

So the other day, Microsoft released its much anticipated update to Starfield the other day and guess what! It didn’t fix Jack ****.

Look, I love this game. It’s not perfect by any means and aspects of it do feel dated. But I absolutely love playing it. However, I can’t complete certain questlines like Operation Starseed because they are bugged. Also, random dumb things still happen like suddenly getting a $30,000 bounty on my head in the Freestar Collective for no reason. And then other silly little things happen like Sarah talking to me but her lips don’t move or telling me to talk to a character who got killed a long time ago. Bang up job, Bethesda. I’ll always root for you but you make it hard sometimes.

 

[Iceman]

So the other day, Microsoft released its much anticipated update to Starfield the other day and guess what! It didn’t fix Jack ****.

Look, I love this game. It’s not perfect by any means and aspects of it do feel dated. But I absolutely love playing it. However, I can’t complete certain questlines like Operation Starseed because they are bugged. Also, random dumb things still happen like suddenly getting a $30,000 bounty on my head in the Freestar Collective for no reason. And then other silly little things happen like Sarah talking to me but her lips don’t move or telling me to talk to a character who got killed a long time ago. Bang up job, Bethesda. I’ll always root for you but you make it hard sometimes.

Haha, unfortunately one thing Bethesda can be relied on. I had a gamebreaking Skyrim bug the first time I went on a mass exploration and then another one near the end. They eventually fixed the first one. I need to go back and see if the other is fixed so I can get my last achievement on the game.

 

[Deck Rickard]

So now that the Game Awards have come and gone and Starfield didn’t win the sole award it was nominated for (no surprise). To make matters worse, modders are already bailing on the game, and Bethesda needs to do some rehab work on this game ASAP. Their initial goal was for Starfield to have the lasting impact of something like Skyrim and as someone who likes the game has played way more of this game that I needed to, I can say with certainty that will never happen. And Bethesda isn’t going to convince anyone otherwise by making snarky comments on Steam, telling people that their opinions are wrong (yes, this actually happened).

HOWEVER, that doesn’t mean all is lost. I think Bethesda has an opportunity here to improve the game with the DLC and other updates, but they have to do it fast. While Starfield’s launch is probably better than Cyberpunk’s launch, CD Project Red clearly listened to the fans, fixed the game-breaking bugs and added a DLC that was nearly universally beloved. Bethesda could do the same, but I think the expectations were higher to begin with so even though the launch of this game wasn’t as bad as the launches of Cyberpunk or No Man’s Sky, the scrutiny was and will always be higher. They talked this thing up as the “game of a generation” or whatever and it’s not close to that and likely won’t ever be. But it could be viewed as an exceptional game that people keep coming back to if they make improvements.

Now, I’m no game developer so I have no idea how easy any of this stuff is to fix or improve. But IMO, here are some elements that would make the game more fun:

- More variation with random outposts/facilities that you discover and raid. I’ve killed Spacers/Ecliptic/Zealots in the same five outposts so many times that I know exactly where these “random” enemies will spawn and where all the loot is. That needs to change. I’m not exactly sure how procedural generation works in a game engine but the Diablo games seem to have been able to create variations in procedurally generated dungeons and landscapes so that they all mostly feel a bit different. Bethesda could learn from them.

- More dialogue options and side quests with your Constellation companions and other allies you make throughout the game. I think we’ll definitely get more of Andreja’s storyline in the DLC (which is good because it just abruptly ends as-is). But we need more from all of them. It makes the game more interesting and the characters more compelling.

- More cities or at least small settlements on planets. There simply aren’t enough for a universe where mankind has colonized entire solar systems. It makes little to no sense that people would just stop at building a maximum of one city on a habitable planet (or less).

- More random encounters that actually go somewhere. I would much rather encounter ships who are in need of serious help (thus spawning a fun side quest) rather than some idiot singing to me or making a Uranus joke.

These are just a few things off the top of my head. I’m hoping Bethesda can right the ship (no pun intended).

 

[Silvermoth]

I’ve started replaying it recently and I’m really liking it more now. Maybe it just needed to sink in a bit

 

[Joe Von Zombie]

The biggest issue with this game is it feels like a game from 20 years ago and is rightfully being criticized for that. Bethesda has been repackaging the same core experience since 2002. It was always going to backfire on them. That being said, this is my favorite version of that game (Not counting New Vegas.) but the writing was on the wall with Fallout 4. The improvements I realistically expected and wanted were realized. I wanted better shooting, and better writing and they were able to clear that low bar. There's nothing as stupid as Little Lamplight, Megaton, or the Kid in the Fridge in starfield and combat is actually fun. Bethesda has got to get with the times. Real cRPGs are back, selling well and winning GOTY awards again. BGS's current direction doesn't stand a chance.

 

[Deck Rickard]

Yeah, I agree that they do need to change. I feel like there has been a bit of a pile on attitude towards this game lately; I swear, every time I open YouTube, there are 8 new videos espousing some variation of, “Why Starfield Fails on Every Conceivable Level HAHAHAHA **** YOU TODD HOWARD”. It’s some serious hyperbole; the game has issues but it’s not the abomination that some gamers equate it to. I totally understand not liking the game (there are plenty of aspects I don’t like about it) and being disappointed in it (as someone who shelled out $500 to buy an Xbox just to play this game, I have to say I’m disappointed in it even though I like a good bit of it). And it certainly does feel dated in certain areas and that needs to be improved upon.

The question is, will they? The arrogance on display in the Steam comments section doesn’t bode well but I hope they are taking some of these criticisms to heart and making improvements. I still think it’s possible that this DLC and other updates could turn public opinion around on the game a lot, much the way Cyberpunk did.

But whatever happens with Starfield, BGS reeeeaaaallllllyyyy needs to knock it out of the park with Elder Scrolls 6. The lukewarm response to Starfield makes me wonder if we could see BGS push to release ES6 sooner, which could be good or bad. I think like most ES fans, I don’t want to wait another 5-7 years for the next installment but I also don’t want the game to feel like a rushed mess. Bugs will always exist but maybe they can find a way to cut down on them. Also, and this is a big one, they NEED to improve melee combat. I don’t know why this is such an issue for them. What does BGS have against implementing a targeting system like Elden Ring or Assassin’s Creed has so that you can focus your attacks on one enemy at a time instead of just wildly swinging your sword and hoping you hit something? It disappointed me that the melee combat in Starfield is still pretty bad; fortunately, the game is much more of a shooter so I just use guns 99% of the time.

 

[Iceman]

Yeah, I agree that they do need to change. I feel like there has been a bit of a pile on attitude towards this game lately; I swear, every time I open YouTube, there are 8 new videos espousing some variation of, “Why Starfield Fails on Every Conceivable Level HAHAHAHA **** YOU TODD HOWARD”. It’s some serious hyperbole; the game has issues but it’s not the abomination that some gamers equate it to. I totally understand not liking the game (there are plenty of aspects I don’t like about it) and being disappointed in it (as someone who shelled out $500 to buy an Xbox just to play this game, I have to say I’m disappointed in it even though I like a good bit of it). And it certainly does feel dated in certain areas and that needs to be improved upon.

The question is, will they? The arrogance on display in the Steam comments section doesn’t bode well but I hope they are taking some of these criticisms to heart and making improvements. I still think it’s possible that this DLC and other updates could turn public opinion around on the game a lot, much the way Cyberpunk did.

But whatever happens with Starfield, BGS reeeeaaaallllllyyyy needs to knock it out of the park with Elder Scrolls 6. The lukewarm response to Starfield makes me wonder if we could see BGS push to release ES6 sooner, which could be good or bad. I think like most ES fans, I don’t want to wait another 5-7 years for the next installment but I also don’t want the game to feel like a rushed mess. Bugs will always exist but maybe they can find a way to cut down on them. Also, and this is a big one, they NEED to improve melee combat. I don’t know why this is such an issue for them. What does BGS have against implementing a targeting system like Elden Ring or Assassin’s Creed has so that you can focus your attacks on one enemy at a time instead of just wildly swinging your sword and hoping you hit something? It disappointed me that the melee combat in Starfield is still pretty bad; fortunately, the game is much more of a shooter so I just use guns 99% of the time.

The turnaround for Cyberpunk has been huge given how bad the launch was. Hopefully this can also see improvements over time and with DLCs, although the launch was nowhere near as bad. I look forward to seeing what Shattered Space is about.

 

[Iceman]

Starfield gets huge Xbox update with over 100 fixes and improvements

Starfield's "largest update to date" is now available to download on Xbox Series X|S and PC, bringing over 100 fixes and improvements to the RPG.

www.trueachievements.com

 

[Deck Rickard]

Good news. Probably won’t get back to the game until the DLC comes out but it’s good that this update seems to have some real improvements.

 

[KillerMcQueen]

Technical fixes are great, but I can't say that technical issues were what made it hard for this game to hold my attention, technically I honestly had a pretty smooth experience with it, the game just doesn't really have a strong identity, and is trying way too hard to be a jack of all trades to the point that nothing in the game feels fully realized. The questlines and our decisions in them are of little to no consequence, the ship building is decent but our ship's very existence is undercut by Bethesda's over-reliance on fast travel (there is such a thing as being too convenient), and despite being rated M I can't seem to place exactly why, the game's content is remarkably tame, look no further than Neon, where the Nightclub is largely people in suits and fully clothed dancers, in what's supposed to be the most wild club in the seediest city in the game, it's hard to look at other M rated RPG's in recent years (or hell, not even recent with the likes of Mass Effect or the first two Witcher games) and not see Starfield as somewhat prudish in comparison. Also I can't not mention the temples, which are all a copy/paste of the same extended experience of floating around collecting balls of light, it's absurdly dull and we have to do it over and over again, they stick out like a sore thumb in comparison to the shrines of BotW/TotK. DLC and the more ambitious mods we get after proper modding tools come out are gonna have to do a lot of the heavy lifting to make this game a more engaging experience.

 

[Deck Rickard]

Yeah I have to agree. While I enjoyed most of the larger questlines, I feel like the game tried to do too much and too little at the same time. Exploring 1,000 planets might sound amazing on paper but once you actually get your scanner to 100% on ONE planet, it’s doubtful that you’ll be in any rush to do it again. Additionally, the game lacks the world building (or I guess galaxy building in this case) of games like Skyrim or Fallout. You get some intriguing bits of backstory on why humans had to leave Earth, the Colony Wars, and House Va’Ruun. But there simply isn’t enough of it. Instead of finding 2,000 copies of Moby Dick lying around, why not have various, questionable accounts of the wars or theories on where Va’Ruun came from? There are so many more interesting things they could have thrown in to make these planets feel real and lived in, but so much of it is surface level. Like, why is there only ever one city on an entire planet?

 

[KillerMcQueen]

Yeah I have to agree. While I enjoyed most of the larger questlines, I feel like the game tried to do too much and too little at the same time. Exploring 1,000 planets might sound amazing on paper but once you actually get your scanner to 100% on ONE planet, it’s doubtful that you’ll be in any rush to do it again. Additionally, the game lacks the world building (or I guess galaxy building in this case) of games like Skyrim or Fallout. You get some intriguing bits of backstory on why humans had to leave Earth, the Colony Wars, and House Va’Ruun. But there simply isn’t enough of it. Instead of finding 2,000 copies of Moby Dick lying around, why not have various, questionable accounts of the wars or theories on where Va’Ruun came from? There are so many more interesting things they could have thrown in to make these planets feel real and lived in, but so much of it is surface level. Like, why is there only ever one city on an entire planet?

The world building might be the key to why it doesn't land for me, there are certain sacrifices I've come to expect from a Bethesda style RPG, but world building is one that really isn't acceptable for them to fall short on. Bethesda RPG's are all about the freedom to immerse yourself in their worlds, the world itself needs to be compelling, but despite being the largest world they've ever made, there's just not much to really immerse yourself in, to this day I can start up Skyrim and wind up in a cave I've never been in, and while that cave probably doesn't have a unique quest associated with it, there's a good chance I'll find a bunch of notes and journals explaining what had happened in that cave and who had been there and it makes the world feel richer. That experience is a stark contrast to landing on a random planet and finding an outpost identical to the ones I've seen a dozen times before with nothing new to find whatsoever.

 

[Deck Rickard]

The world building might be the key to why it doesn't land for me, there are certain sacrifices I've come to expect from a Bethesda style RPG, but world building is one that really isn't acceptable for them to fall short on. Bethesda RPG's are all about the freedom to immerse yourself in their worlds, the world itself needs to be compelling, but despite being the largest world they've ever made, there's just not much to really immerse yourself in, to this day I can start up Skyrim and wind up in a cave I've never been in, and while that cave probably doesn't have a unique quest associated with it, there's a good chance I'll find a bunch of notes and journals explaining what had happened in that cave and who had been there and it makes the world feel richer. That experience is a stark contrast to landing on a random planet and finding an outpost identical to the ones I've seen a dozen times before with nothing new to find whatsoever.

Exactly. In Skyrim, and even in Fallout 4, every location you visit seems to have a backstory or is part of a larger mystery, and that makes the world so much more compelling. In Starfield, you just visit one mostly empty planet after another, and none of them feel unique because the outposts and side quests you encounter are all the same. Oh look, here’s that one dumb survivalist who can’t survive in a cave with no aliens in it and he needs help back to his ship.

 

[Deck Rickard]

So against my better judgment, I played a little bit of Starfield after this latest update. And well, the Starseed quest is still broken. And oh look, now some of the computer screens you can interact with have nothing on them.

Damn it, Bethesda. I want to like this game. I really do. Please stop making it so damned difficult to.

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

EXCLUSIVE | Microsoft plans Starfield launch for PlayStation 5

For many weeks now, rumours have persisted regarding Microsoft’s intentions to release a number of 1st party games – namely Hi-Fi Rush and Sea of Thieves

xboxera.com

well ain't that something.

 

[Iceman]

Starfield update makes it run better on Xbox and look nicer on PC

Bethesda is rolling out a new update for Starfield that finally brings AMD FidelityFXTM Super Resolution 3 support to the sprawling space RPG.

www.trueachievements.com

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

and the rumors just keep on coming...

 

[Iceman]

and the rumors just keep on coming...

Who is this though? Dude has less followers than me and I've never posted a single tweet.

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

Who is this though? Dude has less followers than me and I've never posted a single tweet.

haha, yeah it does not give credence to the rumor but apparently he was right about several other rumors in the recent past

 

[Iceman]

haha, yeah it does not give credence to the rumor but apparently he was right about several other rumors in the recent past

It’s quite easy to make up stuff on multiple sleeper accounts and then just stick with the ones that turn out to be right the first few times and delete the others. At some point you would get more followers than accounts that never tweet.