Modding on the Spectrum

In principle, I say: Decide against it only if you know it and then reject it after all.
That applies to Starfield for me now. My daughter's friend offered me a glimpse and I was able to play a few hours. Certainly not enough to give a general positive or negative rating. But there is also the saying: The first impression never comes back.

Unfortunately, though, the first impression of Starfield really wasn't anything that would make me buy the game anytime soon. Of course it has good sides, but what I saw rather repelled me. In 2023 I simply expect better graphics, better animations and especially facial animations.
There was a lot of ridicule for Elex 2 and the faces Piranha Bytes showed there. But in many situations, that's exactly what I saw in Starfield: big empty eyes staring at you. Unnatural movement and once again, I don't know how many times before, a malfunctioning Havok engine. Things that already occurred in Fallout 4 or could be observed in Skyrim (flying enemies) were also present here.

I do not deny that some of this can and will be patched. I have not written off the game yet, because what I am eagerly waiting for. Fallout 5 will probably only be released when my lifespan is up.

But I'd rather wait a few more months until the game is sufficiently patched, and most importantly, better optimized and above all, available at a reasonable price.

The Elder Scrolls VI already doesn't interest me anymore, because I see the hardware requirements for Starfield and that doesn't bode well for the titles that are still to be released.

However, what is written here is not meant to express or give the impression that Starfield is a bad game. My test phase was too short for that. But my personal impression from what I saw is just that: For a development time like Starfield, with the hype around the game around all the hopes raised in advance, the then offered in my eyes is a declaration of bankruptcy by Bethesda.

Sorry, just my opinion

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Te post from guest just above mine here is also from me. I was interrupted while writing and did not recognize that I was not active. So I accidentally wrote it as guest
Is it possible to change?

Ivanhoe1955SI wrote: ↑Fri Sep 29, 2023 1:43 pm Te post from guest just above mine here is also from me. I was interrupted while writing and did not recognize that I was not active. So I accidentally wrote it as guest
Is it possible to change?

Done

Well I heartily agree we're waiting on the promised 'big patch' BGS is working on, and the modding tools are not out yet. The fact that the modding community has embraced the game is totally evident. We're averaging between 60 and 100 mods a day and we don't even have a working editor yet.

Personally I have over 200 hours in game, and barely scratched the surface. The mechanics are very interesting, but a lot of the game is still being fleshed out. Let's face it if the odd mammoth didn't fall from the sky it wouldn't be Skyrim. It's easy to complain, especially when you really haven't played. But the game delivers what it promised. Over a thousand worlds to explore, and you can easily ignore the main quests and write your own story.

The modding community will address the details once the tools have been released as it always does. I can see playing this game for years, just like Skyrim. Do I want to be a smuggler, a pirate, or a mining outpost engineer next time? Speaking of which I have to complete a survey of a star system for possible sentient microbial life. Totally boring game

Avrie wrote: ↑Sat Sep 30, 2023 12:23 pm Well I heartily agree we're waiting on the promised 'big patch' BGS is working on, and the modding tools are not out yet. The fact that the modding community has embraced the game is totally evident. We're averaging between 60 and 100 mods a day and we don't even have a working editor yet.

Personally I have over 200 hours in game, and barely scratched the surface. The mechanics are very interesting, but a lot of the game is still being fleshed out. Let's face it if the odd mammoth didn't fall from the sky it wouldn't be Skyrim. It's easy to complain, especially when you really haven't played. But the game delivers what it promised. Over a thousand worlds to explore, and you can easily ignore the main quests and write your own story.

The modding community will address the details once the tools have been released as it always does. I can see playing this game for years, just like Skyrim. Do I want to be a smuggler, a pirate, or a mining outpost engineer next time? Speaking of which I have to complete a survey of a star system for possible sentient microbial life. Totally boring game

I generally agree. As I wrote, the time I had the game for testing (1 week visit at my daughter's home) was really too short to tell wether the game is good or bad.
To understand why I used the word bankruptcy, one must know how I see this:
I enjoyed Morrowind, Oblivion, Fallout 3 and even Fallout New Vegas. Latter was from Obsidian not Bethesda as we know. All these game gave me many hours fun and pasttime.
Then they announced Skyrim. Oddly enough, though, this game never picked me up, never captivated me. So I was more than hyped as Fallout 4 was available. I think you all know what a cold shower is. That was one.
I play it because I say : It is a good game but an awful Fallout. It would lead too far to explain my reasons, please take it as I write.
In Germany, they say "Den Vogel abgeschossen haben sie dann mit Fallout 76", and that has a negative connotation in Germany.

But with that, Zenimax/Bethesda had gambled away their entire reputation with me. When then also ESO came with the chapter Morrowind where they had claimed that this island Vvardenfell is transferred 1:1 but this statement was only true for the contour lines. In the other case, the overall map was much smaller. Only times at the edge.
What I saw during the mentioned test period only strengthened my negative attitude.

So I had little to no expectations for Starfield or Fallout 5 or even The Elder Scrolls 6.

It may well be that I'm doing Starfield an injustice, that it really is what you call the phoenix from the ashes. But I was disappointed by the company too often.

How much fun you have with a game can sometimes heavily depend on how you play it. I recently saw a video from someone who replayed Fallout 4 after several years and he had more fun on his second attempt because he ignored the main quest. The game has so much more to offer than the main quest. The same can be said about Starfield. I had the feeling the main story was turning into a bloated fetch quest, in the style of "Close the Oblivion Gates" in the game Oblivion. So I paused the main quest right after I spoke to Sarah the first time. Exploring the planets and collecting the loot became really addictive. Regarding the side quests, you never really know what you get. It could be a simple fetch quest or one you didn't expect at all, that completely captivates you.

I take my time with the game, no rushing, because I know what awaits me in New Game + through my research and the price is too high for me to pursue it.

What New Game + entails

Loss of (almost) all items and credits, reset of all quest progress and progress in planetary exploration. The new spaceship, the new spacesuit and the additional dialogue options or alternative scenarios that you get in return are not enough incentive for me.

However, it's possible to continue the current game right at the end of the main quest if you

just turn around and go away before you enter the so-called Unity

.


Starfield is really dividing opinions. There are users who say it's a boring game while others think it's one of the best games they've ever played (I'm somewhere in the middle):

Ivanhoe1955SI wrote: ↑Sat Sep 30, 2023 7:44 pm In Germany, they say "Den Vogel abgeschossen haben sie dann mit Fallout 76", and that has a negative connotation in Germany.

I haven't played Fallout 76. I heard a lot of negative things about it when it came out though. But nowadays, it isn't that bad anymore, actually it improved a lot over the years:
https://lootandgrind.com/playing-fallou ... -worth-it/
https://fictionhorizon.com/is-fallout-7 ... ur-review/

Someday I will play Starfield----may be the hardware requirements can be reduced by modders (performance mods)

About Fallout 4, because it was mentioned, I'll say this:
I once said, I still say, that it is a good game. A mix of adventure, open world first person shooter in a post apocalyptic world. But it is the worst Fallout game I know and I only know Fallout (1) Fallout 2, Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas, Fallout 4, Fallout 76.
The last two I see myself as no longer belonging to the original franchise. What the team around Tim Cane once had in mind was then sacrificed by Bethesda on the altar of commerce.
What comes next will amaze you: Fallout 4 is one of my favorite games, not as Fallout, I've already justified that, but as a game.

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Ivanhoe1955SI wrote: ↑Thu Oct 05, 2023 8:55 pm Someday I will play Starfield----may be the hardware requirements can be reduced by modders (performance mods)

I listed some performance mods in one of my previous posts:

Selene310187 wrote: ↑Fri Sep 22, 2023 7:41 pmYou could also try performance mods to gain extra FPS. Just search for "performance" on Starfield Nexus and you will find mods like these:
https://www.nexusmods.com/starfield/mods/510
https://www.nexusmods.com/starfield/mods/104
https://www.nexusmods.com/starfield/mods/290

The first link leads to a lower resolution texture pack, the 512 pixels version. The same author made other texture packs with even lower resolutions so the game should run more smooth on older computers.

Recently, I found out that there's the ID bug that can make your savegame unplayable if you play Starfield too long without New Game + (problem with recycling IDs which leads to a increasing number of CTDs the longer you play). According to this Reddit post the "bug will most likely affect you at around 200-800+ hours worth of playtime". Unfortunately, I've planned to skip NG+ entirely. I played about 80 hours so I have enough time before the bug can affect me. Nevertheless, I hope for everyone that they fix the bug soon.

But that's not the reason why I play Starfield less and less. I'm noticing more and more that the game is a real time-waster and it feels like I'm not getting much done. My initial euphoria has long since fizzled out. I recently took a break from gaming for about two weeks to get my enjoyment back from playing this game. I played it again a few days ago but it didn't feel rewarding. That's why I'm thinking about whether I should wait until the official mod support is finally there and play something else in the meantime like Cyberpunk 2077.

I think the ID bug is conditional, but I can't point to the condition. Vlad played his initial character and game with no NG+ for well over 800 hours through level 140 or something like that and never ran into it.

I do agree on waiting for the DLC and the tools to drop. The game feels... 'unfinished' like the DLCs were part of the original design and then they had to figure out where to chop it from the game to add back in later. The outpost system is a great example. The cargo transfer container only works in one direction and you can't specify which cargo to transfer It's not broken, it's missing the rest of the links to the inventory UI, and it feels like it was intentional. I'm betting the first DLC finishes off the outpost/ commerce links.

I guess we'll find out. I'm just biding my time mastering some of the mechanics like outposts and ship building while I wait on the tools and the DLCs. I already have a list of mods to make LOL.