***The Official Starfield Thread*** (As endorsed by TNA)

[agnes]

I doubt the colour palette is going to be 'fixed' since what's there is the artistic choice Bethesda went with - HDR controls may allow you to tailor it somewhat to your taste but if you really don't like the way Starfield looks, there's a few mods already that may help - this one seems interesting:

Luma - Native HDR and more

Native code plugin and game shader replacements adding true native HDR to Starfield as well as many other non-HDR exclusive improvements to the game's visuals. NOT A RESHADE.

www.nexusmods.com

Normally I'd be fine using a mod for it. However, the problem lies in the fact that they promised the game with HDR... So, yet again a AAA publisher is charging for an incomplete product. I will probably finish it eventually, but I'll never pay for it.

 

[EddScott]

I resisted NG+ at first but decided to do at least one and see what happens.

Bit a mixed bag tbf. Got some new gear and ship, well OK but since the "restart" I've got no idea what to do first.

 

[Aegis]

Normally I'd be fine using a mod for it. However, the problem lies in the fact that they promised the game with HDR... So, yet again a AAA publisher is charging for an incomplete product. I will probably finish it eventually, but I'll never pay for it.

Bethesda's Steam beta for HDR/DLSS should be out this week - I'll be testing it when it drops.

Also, I just tried that mod I mentioned and it works pretty well - much more contrast in the image and the HDR is much more integrated than Win11's 'AutoHDR' which just remaps the stock image to HDR colour-space - I do recommend checking it out.

 

[Scrutinize]

I resisted NG+ at first but decided to do at least one and see what happens.

Bit a mixed bag tbf. Got some new gear and ship, well OK but since the "restart" I've got no idea what to do first.

Have you visited constellation yet, are you doing the main mission of collecting artifacts?

 

[TNA]

It's a work of art. Starfield isn't fit to lick its cowboy boots.

I had A LOT more fun with Starfield to be honest.

I uninstalled RDR2 again for like the 4th and final time I think. Slow and boring!!

 

[Jono8]

I had A LOT more fun with Starfield to be honest.

I uninstalled RDR2 again for like the 4th and final time I think. Slot and boring!!

I fail to see how it is any more slow and boring that Starfield.

 

[Brackish]

I resisted NG+ at first but decided to do at least one and see what happens.

Bit a mixed bag tbf. Got some new gear and ship, well OK but since the "restart" I've got no idea what to do first.

I have recently started NG and I have gone down the route of getting the ability to fly class C ships first. Then I will progress the main quests to get some more powers whilst slowly building an outpost.

 

[TNA]

I fail to see how it is any more slow and boring that Starfield.

I can't help you then

 

[Aegis]

Really?

I found it mostly dull and uninspired. It doesn't feel like a realistic lived in world at all in my opinion. It feels like it was aimed more at children than adults to be honest.

Oh, absolutely - the world-building and lore is very impressive given the scope of the game and especially since this is a new IP.

I do agree that the game is oddly sanitized but then this is something you could equally apply to Fallout 3 and Skyrim - Bethesda are happy to portray violence and drugs but seem to be very restrained when it comes to the actual storytelling - I'm not sure why, since invariably their games will always get a mature rating (due to the aforementioned violence/drugs) - it wasn't until New Vegas (Obsidian) that you could have casual sex in a Bethesda game and Starfield's approach to relationships is oddly quaint even in comparison to that.

I also feel the whole 'NASA-punk' thing is a bit anachronistic - I like the look of the ships and the spacesuits but it doesn't sit well against the stylings of the cities (or the everyday clothing which is a bit random to say the least) - all these different artistic choices kind of work against each of instead of feeling coherent. I saw someone complain that the Freestar Collective as a technological, spacefaring society shouldn't have dirt streets in Akila City and, of course, they're right - but clearly Bethesda wanted a 'frontier' look for Akila and whilst it doesn't make any logical sense, I do appreciate the different feel you get from wandering around there - sometimes you have to remember that it's a game

I really liked the lore though - especially the stuff about the colony wars which is very nicely presented in the UC Vanguard questline and is further touched upon throughout the game in NPC conversations, audio logs and datapads. Wandering around the '1-of-a-kind' salvage yard and seeing the mechs (and Xenoweapons) that were used in the Colony War was neat too. The only thing I felt was a bit under-cooked was the Va'ruun - they seem to be Starfield's 'Romulans' and I'd have liked a bit more info about how their serpent-worshipping religion came about and that was mostly left unexplored (perhaps they'll be more prominent in the DLC).

 

[Aegis]

Oh, and to further expand on the NASA-punk thing - I do think by going that route you're setting people's expectations as to the kind of science fiction world (or rather, galaxy) that Starfield is trying to portray - I think BGS wanted it to feel like 'hard' sci-fi but their design choices unfortunately pushed it more into the 'pulp' sci-fi bracket I think.

Ultimately it doesn't really matter to me so long as I enjoy myself (which I did) - I'm not a sci-fi snob and I'm equally as happy watching 1980's Flash Gordon movie as I am Bladerunner and love them both for very different reasons

 

[HRL]

Almost at NG+10, it’s a right faff visiting all the temples to level up your powers for each NG+ though.

TBH, if I’d known what a slog it would be I may not have bothered. Still, as they say in Mastermind, I’ve started so I’ll finish.

Then I can follow all the separate quest lines through to their conclusions and wrap it up until the DLC comes out.

Still an 8/10 for me.

 

[Raumarik]

Oh, absolutely - the world-building and lore is very impressive given the scope of the game and especially since this is a new IP.

I disagree on world-building for a few reasons, which contain spoilers so..

Spoiler: Spoilers

1. There's no real them v us, it's "bitty" with the Starborn, Crimson Fleet, Spacers and Vae. Terramorphs were underused and frankly the AI was so poor that they were anything but terrifying despite the developers attempts to force you into unfavourable situations with them - you can just run and jump away.
2. Crimson Fleet, really not much of a threat except in overwhelming numbers.
3. Bland companions and enemy leaders.
4. Some of the scenery looks nice, some of it. But the base modules are largely trash looking and almost always look out of place with no blending into the scenery.
5. I enjoyed a handful of missions like "Entangled" but most are low effort go there, kill stuff, collect money but there's zero impact on the world for 99.9% of missions.
6. Unkillable NPCs, there's far too many of them. It's a lazy way out.

 

[Aegis]

I disagree on world-building for a few reasons, which contain spoilers so..

Honestly, I don't really disagree with any of those points *but* you could equally say that most of what you've addressed there is equally applicable to Skyrim (or Fallout et al) - these games have never been built around strong A->B narratives because the first thing fans of Bethesda's games do is wander off the main story path and just head off to do their own thing.

I don't think that's an excuse for lacklustre stories or unmemorable NPCs but if you're purposefully creating a game where you know the vast majority of your players are only going to engage with the actual plot once they've run out of other things to do, it kind of places some unique limitations on the story telling that a linear game like (say) Horizon Zero Dawn (which has fantastic world-building and lore) doesn't suffer from.

Fallout 4 got a lot of flak specifically because Bethesda tried to create some urgency in the main quest-line but because they still had to allow players to do as they please, it actually felt *less* immersive since you were wandering around helping other people seemingly unconcerned about your kidnapped child - damned if you do, damned if you don't

Perhaps the real problem here is that Bethesda as a studio hasn't evolved - they seem content to use modern technologies to just make prettier, bigger versions of their previous games and there's nothing revolutionary in Starfield - it's just an evolution of stuff they've done before. As a player that enjoys the Bethesda 'template' I'm OK with that - but I can understand why some people might find Bethesda's formula played out.

 

[TNA]

Perhaps the real problem here is that Bethesda as a studio hasn't evolved - they seem content to use modern technologies to just make prettier, bigger versions of their previous games and there's nothing revolutionary in Starfield - it's just an evolution of stuff they've done before. As a player that enjoys the Bethesda 'template' I'm OK with that - but I can understand why some people might find Bethesda's formula played out.

If they used the Fallout 3 template and actually did space the way it should be done, the game would have been so much better, for me anyway.

They just got it wrong imo. Fun, just could have been so much better.

I was so hyped about creating my character and then we got the rubbish we did. Where are the stats and perks in character creation bro? Wtf.

If they wanted they could have given people who want to jump in asap the option to get a premade character. Then let us who actually enjoy customising our stats do so. Not having that was very disappointing. I wanted an improved Fallout 3 character creation

 

[Aegis]

If they used the Fallout 3 template and actually did space the way it should be done, the game would have been so much better, for me anyway.

Honestly, I was OK with character creation - I mean, I like the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. system in Fallout but that's actually very synonymous with Fallout (and predates the Bethesda games) - I think giving Starfield its own 'thing' somewhat unrelated to Fallout and Skyrim is fine (and some of the traits are fun).

(of course, Starfield would be a lot more fun a lot sooner if the skills weren't such a grind)

 

[TNA]

Honestly, I was OK with character creation - I mean, I like the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. system in Fallout but that's actually very synonymous with Fallout (and predates the Bethesda games) - I think giving Starfield its own 'thing' somewhat unrelated to Fallout and Skyrim is fine (and some of the traits are fun).

(of course, Starfield would be a lot more fun a lot sooner if the skills weren't such a grind)

But what did they give us in character creation? Nothing from what I can see.

 

[Aegis]

But what did they give us in character creation? Nothing from what I can see.

The backgrounds give you a number of starting stat boosts and the traits give you some unique game-play options but other than than it's down to your skill choices to differentiate your character - I agree that it's lightweight next to Skyrim/Fallout but it's at least better then Cyberpunk

 

[StephenJ]

The backgrounds give you a number of starting stat boosts and the traits give you some unique game-play options but other than than it's down to your skill choices to differentiate your character - I agree that it's lightweight next to Skyrim/Fallout but it's at least better then Cyberpunk

I think it can also change based on the traits you pick , i.e kid stuff has number of in game changes/ interactions

 

[Jono8]

Oh, absolutely - the world-building and lore is very impressive given the scope of the game and especially since this is a new IP.

I do agree that the game is oddly sanitized but then this is something you could equally apply to Fallout 3 and Skyrim - Bethesda are happy to portray violence and drugs but seem to be very restrained when it comes to the actual storytelling - I'm not sure why, since invariably their games will always get a mature rating (due to the aforementioned violence/drugs) - it wasn't until New Vegas (Obsidian) that you could have casual sex in a Bethesda game and Starfield's approach to relationships is oddly quaint even in comparison to that.

I also feel the whole 'NASA-punk' thing is a bit anachronistic - I like the look of the ships and the spacesuits but it doesn't sit well against the stylings of the cities (or the everyday clothing which is a bit random to say the least) - all these different artistic choices kind of work against each of instead of feeling coherent. I saw someone complain that the Freestar Collective as a technological, spacefaring society shouldn't have dirt streets in Akila City and, of course, they're right - but clearly Bethesda wanted a 'frontier' look for Akila and whilst it doesn't make any logical sense, I do appreciate the different feel you get from wandering around there - sometimes you have to remember that it's a game

I really liked the lore though - especially the stuff about the colony wars which is very nicely presented in the UC Vanguard questline and is further touched upon throughout the game in NPC conversations, audio logs and datapads. Wandering around the '1-of-a-kind' salvage yard and seeing the mechs (and Xenoweapons) that were used in the Colony War was neat too. The only thing I felt was a bit under-cooked was the Va'ruun - they seem to be Starfield's 'Romulans' and I'd have liked a bit more info about how their serpent-worshipping religion came about and that was mostly left unexplored (perhaps they'll be more prominent in the DLC).

I'm really not a fan of the freestar collective. It just feels forced and likely a result of some brainstorming session within which someone went "cowboys are cool! How about a cowboy town and cowboy characters!".

In reality it make no sense whatsoever like you say.

Would have preferred something more original.

 

[Aegis]

I'm really not a fan of the freestar collective. It just feels forced and likely a result of some brainstorming session within which someone went "cowboys are cool! How about a cowboy town and cowboy characters!".

I rather suspect that the original inspiration was part Firefly and part Star Trek.

New Atlantis has a bit of a Federation/Alliance look to it and Akila was likely inspired by the Independents/Browncoats in Firefly (with House Va'ruun being analogous to Star Trek's Romulans) - the problem is, how do you rip-off pay homage to Firefly without getting your ass sued? Either you tone it down (and Firefly was already pretty subtle) or you go full 'Blazing Saddles'