Bethesda's Starfield

[Moliere]

Not sure if already mentioned: coming 9/6/23 to PC Gamepass

So, 16 days to beat Baldur's Gate 3?

[Daehawk]

Scroll up.

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[Grifman]

Just got my GMG key. Time to preload!

[jztemple2]

And it's the first time I can recall that GMG sent me news about key release times.

And as promised, GMG has sent out the keys for the Premium Edition and the Pre-order bonus. Now it's just waiting for preloads to start or that giant asteroid to strike Florida and teach me to get excited about an upcoming game. Although I was expecting that asteroid before BG3 release

[Kurth]

On XBOX, do I have to do anything to preload the game, or does it just show up on Day 1 if I’ve selected it to install?

[jztemple2]

On XBOX, do I have to do anything to preload the game, or does it just show up on Day 1 if I’ve selected it to install?

Hmm, I'm on PC so I don't know and I guess no one else knows either

Meanwhile, Starfield Nvidia drivers arrive ahead of launch

While Starfield does have an exclusive partnership with AMD, this doesn’t mean the Bethesda RPG is totally devoid of official support from the likes of Nvidia and Intel. Those hoping to play on a GeForce graphics card will be delighted to hear that not only is there a Game Ready driver for Starfield, it’s also available right now.

The new GeForce Game Ready Driver, 537.13, “provides the best gaming experience for the latest new games including Starfield,” as described by Nvidia. While the company stops short of explaining what this constitutes, you’re certainly better off for updating to this version.

[infinitelurker]

I was doing so well… avoiding the hype, the leaks, the drama… just keeping Starfield out of my head. I figured I’d wait until the first sale, maybe a patch or two.

Then, yesterday happened. Nothing special, but I got an email about the Green Man Gaming preorder discount, and something flipped in my head. Within 15 minutes the preorder was purchased (not the Premium edition, I can wait a week, right. RIGHT!?) and I splurged for the Starfield controller for my PC too.

I’m a mix of and right now. Lol.

[Max Peck]

[Carpet_pissr]

This is one that I’ll pick up on a deep discount in the far future…probably GOTY edition.

Not due to lack of interest…it looks amazing…but with both a new Jagged Alliance AND a new Baldur’s Gate dropping at the same time? Starfield never had a chance (for my dollars).

Not to mention I never picked up Cyberpunk 2077, so with the new DLC dropping for that that also enhances the original game…gah. I might get to Starfield in …2077.

[jztemple2]

Not due to lack of interest…it looks amazing…but with both a new Jagged Alliance AND a new Baldur’s Gate dropping at the same time? Starfield never had a chance (for my dollars).

Not to mention I never picked up Cyberpunk 2077, so with the new DLC dropping for that that also enhances the original game…gah. I might get to Starfield in …2077.

I've been gaming long enough to remember complaining how the game companies didn't release squat over the summer then when September came around the flood hit. That is, until the week before Thanksgiving when the new releases that hadn't hit the store shelves wouldn't be wasted since the buyers had already spent their dough, so they would be moved to the next year

Anyway, the problem with the new Cyberpunk 2077 DLC is that it is still too close to the Starfield release and it's also just a week before the new Assassin's Creed . I'm just glad they moved up the AC Mirage release so I can get done with it before Cities Skylines 2 is released

Meanwhile I'm counting down the days till Starfield release and nervously waiting for God/Destiny/Fate/Random Chance to drop a cosmic joke on me, like a major hurricane or a motherboard meltdown

[Kurth]

Live action video game trailers always bother me. Like, in a trailer marketing a game, why not just showcase the actual game?

Bungie did a ton of that with Destiny, too. It always runs me the wrong way.

I’m all in on Starfield, but if I wasn’t, that stupid live action trailer wouldn’t do much to get me interested.

[Max Peck]

That's the trailer that they'd run as a TV commercial, if TV commercials were still a thing.

[jztemple2]

That's the trailer that they'd run as a TV commercial, if TV commercials were still a thing.

Kind of makes me wonder, is Bethesda worrying about how well the game will sell? Will the launch be another Cyberpunk 2077 over-hyped train wreck? Or maybe Bethesda is thinking that maybe some of their potential buyers are leery after C2077 and need more encouragement to pre-order?

[Skinypupy]

Realized today that I had made some broad assumptions that this was basically just “space Skyrim” and that I hadn’t really looked into it that closely. Watched a couple overview vids, and came away more with the impression that it’s a higher res No Man’s Sky with MOAR GUNS. At least from this one.



That kinda actually makes me less interested, tbh. NMS is fun, but it’s never one I’ve stuck with for more than 15-20 hours. I just kinda get bored with endless exploration. Hoping there’s more of a story focus for Starfield, but if there is, the previews seem to be downplaying it pretty heavily.

Definitely went from a “next on the list when I finish BG3” to “wait and see how reviews look”.

[jztemple2]

Realized today that I had made some broad assumptions that this was basically just “space Skyrim” and that I hadn’t really looked into it that closely. Watched a couple overview vids, and came away more with the impression that it’s a higher res No Man’s Sky with MOAR GUNS. At least from this one.

I've been thinking something like this as well. That "thousands of planets", well, I've done a dozen in NMS and got bored with it. However, I'm committed with my pre-order so I can spare you folks from forking over your galactic credits till I get in some hours on it and post impressions...

...unless, of course, you've already pre-ordered too

[Grifman]

Realized today that I had made some broad assumptions that this was basically just “space Skyrim” and that I hadn’t really looked into it that closely. Watched a couple overview vids, and came away more with the impression that it’s a higher res No Man’s Sky with MOAR GUNS. At least from this one.



That kinda actually makes me less interested, tbh. NMS is fun, but it’s never one I’ve stuck with for more than 15-20 hours. I just kinda get bored with endless exploration. Hoping there’s more of a story focus for Starfield, but if there is, the previews seem to be downplaying it pretty heavily.

Definitely went from a “next on the list when I finish BG3” to “wait and see how reviews look”.

I’m not sure where you are getting this from. There’a lot more out there than just this video. The game is definitely a BGS RPG, not just “NMS with MOAR guns”. This is definitely an RPG with companions, dialogues with skill checks, skill/perk trees, quests, factions, lots of stories and things to be discovered. The only thing the previews have been downplaying are the details of the story. BGS has been pretty coy about the details other than it involves the hunt for alien artifacts. The only resemblance to NMS are the planets to be discovered and the base building, but that’s about it. This is definitely just as much an RPG as Skyrim, Oblivion, or any of the Fallout games.

[Max Peck]

That's the trailer that they'd run as a TV commercial, if TV commercials were still a thing.

Kind of makes me wonder, is Bethesda worrying about how well the game will sell? Will the launch be another Cyberpunk 2077 over-hyped train wreck? Or maybe Bethesda is thinking that maybe some of their potential buyers are leery after C2077 and need more encouragement to pre-order?

It's unlikely. Cyberpunk 2077's big launch failure was that it just didn't run well on the older console platforms that they tried to support. Bethesda doesn't have that problem since the only console platform they have to support is the current generation XBox. The CP'77 PC launch was fine -- it obviously wasn't bug-free, but it wasn't remarkably glitchy or unstable. I played it at launch on PC and it was a great experience.

[Max Peck]

No Man’s Sky with MOAR GUNS.

The game is definitely a BGS RPG, not just “NMS with MOAR guns”.

Compromise: No Man's Skyrim

[Grifman]

That's the trailer that they'd run as a TV commercial, if TV commercials were still a thing.

Kind of makes me wonder, is Bethesda worrying about how well the game will sell? Will the launch be another Cyberpunk 2077 over-hyped train wreck? Or maybe Bethesda is thinking that maybe some of their potential buyers are leery after C2077 and need more encouragement to pre-order?

Geez, where are all these downers coming from here at the last minute? The fact that Bethesda gave out review copies 2 weeks before early access and 3 weeks before general release says they are extremely confident about the game. They have never given out review copies that far in advance if any of their games. You don’t do that if you think your game is a bust.

That said, C2077 isn’t their worry. They needn’t look at another company. Memories of the Fallout 76 are what they would be concerned about, and rightly so. BGS really stumbled badly with that one.

But based upon the subtle comments of some of those given review copies on Twitter/X, the game appears to be very good. All the leaks so far I have read have been positive, none have been negative. If the game was bad, it would have leaked by now I would think.

[Grifman]

That's the trailer that they'd run as a TV commercial, if TV commercials were still a thing.

Kind of makes me wonder, is Bethesda worrying about how well the game will sell? Will the launch be another Cyberpunk 2077 over-hyped train wreck? Or maybe Bethesda is thinking that maybe some of their potential buyers are leery after C2077 and need more encouragement to pre-order?

It's unlikely. Cyberpunk 2077's big launch failure was that it just didn't run well on the older console platforms that they tried to support. Bethesda doesn't have that problem since the only console platform they have to support is the current generation XBox. The CP'77 PC launch was fine -- it obviously wasn't bug-free, but it wasn't remarkably glitchy or unstable. I played it at launch on PC and it was a great experience.

The other problem with C2077 was that for some, it was not the game they had thought it was going to be. Some had built up this mythical game in their minds and it wasn’t THAT game upon release.

[Skinypupy]

I’m not sure where you are getting this from.

I watched the first three videos that popped up in a "Starfield Overview" search last night. All three focused primarily on the shooting, the base building, the exploration, and the space combat. There was barely any mention of the story and only a couple lines of dialog shown in any of the three.

Last night was literally the first time I'd watched more than 30 seconds of overview or gameplay footage at all, and the NMS comparisons were what stood out the most to me. Maybe those who have been paying more attention through the development have a different impression.

[Grifman]

I’m not sure where you are getting this from.

I watched the first three videos that popped up in a "Starfield Overview" search last night. All three focused primarily on the shooting, the base building, the exploration, and the space combat. There was barely any mention of the story and only a couple lines of dialog shown in any of the three.

Last night was literally the first time I'd watched more than 30 seconds of overview or gameplay footage at all, and the NMS comparisons were what stood out the most to me. Maybe those who have been paying more attention through the development have a different impression.

The first thing you should look at is the big presentation from last June:



This is an in depth overview of the game, there's about 10 minutes devoted to character creation, skills and companions. If you saw that and came away with the idea that this is just NMS with guns, then I guess there's not much I can say.

PS, no one is going to show much dialogue in a game presentation because what's there to show - a couple of people talking? Besides, it's been made pretty clear this is an RPG, of course it's going to have dialogue.

[Skinypupy]

PS, no one is going to show much dialogue in a game presentation because what's there to show - a couple of people talking? Besides, it's been made pretty clear this is an RPG, of course it's going to have dialogue.

It's not terribly difficult to show strong dialog and story in a trailer or overview. BG3 did it really well.

Anyways, I've got no dog in this fight. Just giving my first impressions after watching about 45 minutes of overviews last night that made me less interested than I was before. :shrug: I'm sure I'll still pick it up at some point.

[Smoove_B]

I'd honestly be more amazed if it's not Space Skyrim more than anything else at this point. They are not known for...pushing the design space. I pre-ordered for a single reason - exploration. That is what I enjoy most with their titles and that seems to be a focus for this one. If they pulled a fast one or exploration is all smoke and mirrors (i.e. "Here's 1000 planets but only a tiny fraction of the surface has anything of interest and you're invisible-wall blocked from roaming), that's definitely going to be a disappointment.

[Grifman]

I'd honestly be more amazed if it's not Space Skyrim more than anything else at this point. They are not known for...pushing the design space. I pre-ordered for a single reason - exploration. That is what I enjoy most with their titles and that seems to be a focus for this one. If they pulled a fast one or exploration is all smoke and mirrors (i.e. "Here's 1000 planets but only a tiny fraction of the surface has anything of interest and you're invisible-wall blocked from roaming), that's definitely going to be a disappointment.

I read yesterday that you can walk all over a planet. There not necessarily be much there but you can do it.

[Grifman]

Gamesradar got a look at the first hour - note, minor spoilers:

https://www.gamesradar.com/bethesda-tea ... nd-skyrim/

[Max Peck]

I'm not sure where I formed the impression, but my understanding has been that when you land on a planet you can travel around freely within a zone, which is large but not planetary in scale (such as in No Man's Sky). The idea that you can go anywhere on an entire planet seems to be speculation or interpretation rather than anything I've seen directly from Bethesda. Either way, we'll be finding out for ourselves in a little over a week.

I saw a lot of No Man's Sky energy in some of the earlier videos I've watched, so I can understand someone coming away with that take, depending on just what they've seen, especially if they haven't been following every drip of information that's been coming out. Things like scanning and resource harvesting seemed very NMSesque in particular.

[Grifman]

I'm not sure where I formed the impression, but my understanding has been that when you land on a planet you can travel around freely within a zone, which is large but not planetary in scale (such as in No Man's Sky). The idea that you can go anywhere on an entire planet seems to be speculation or interpretation rather than anything I've seen directly from Bethesda. Either way, we'll be finding out for ourselves in a little over a week.

I don’t make this stuff up . This is straight from the horses mouth:

Question asked on Twitter:

Ummm @bethesda @DCDeacon @StarfieldGame when I land on a planet.. will I be able to explore that whole entire planet?”

Pete Hines:

Yup, if you want.

Walk on, brave explorer.”

https://money.yahoo.com/starfield-lead- ... 18411.html

To be honest, I was surprised and under the same impression you have about planetary exploration.

[Max Peck]

I didn't intend to imply you were making anything up, just that I've seen articles talking about it but not providing any primary sources at Bethesda, so it seemed like speculation. And I'm still thinking that maybe Pete Hines is talking shit and it isn't really so, but at least he's gone and said it.

On the one hand, it seems tremendously wasteful to build an entire planet when 99.9999% of it will never been seen, but on the other hand, with procedural generation you can just build what you need when you need it. The way I'm envisioning it, I will recharacterize Starfield as No Minecraft's Skyrim.

Hopefully some brave soul will land on a planet in 10 days or so and start walking in a straight line while producing a Youtube nature documentary to tell us what they find.

[coopasonic]

The way I'm envisioning it, I will recharacterize Starfield as No Minecraft's Skyrim.

Are you trying to make me cancel?

[Alefroth]

Watched a couple overview vids, and came away more with the impression that it’s a higher res No Man’s Sky with MOAR GUNS. At least from this one.

Is it higher res?

[Alefroth]

but only a tiny fraction of the surface has anything of interest and you're invisible-wall blocked from roaming), that's definitely going to be a disappointment.

Hello Daggerfall.

[Blackhawk]

Live action video game trailers always bother me. Like, in a trailer marketing a game, why not just showcase the actual game?

Because the purpose is not to inform, it's to advertise. And live action trailers appeal to a different audience than gameplay trailers.

[Blackhawk]

Geez, where are all these downers coming from here at the last minute?

Oh, come on now! I've been a downer since the first page!

The fact that Bethesda gave out review copies 2 weeks before early access and 3 weeks before general release says they are extremely confident about the game. They have never given out review copies that far in advance if any of their games. You don’t do that if you think your game is a bust.

That said, C2077 isn’t their worry. They needn’t look at another company. Memories of the Fallout 76 are what they would be concerned about, and rightly so. BGS really stumbled badly with that one.

These two points are, to me, the paradox.



The second point first:

They needn’t look at another company. Memories of the Fallout 76 are what they would be concerned about, and rightly so. BGS really stumbled badly with that one.

It isn't just Fallout 76 - the last two games they released before that were Fallout 4 VR and Skyrim VR, two games that were completely and utterly broken on release, but which, unlike their mainstream titles, didn't make them a ton of money (due to bad reviews.) They put out a couple of half-hearted patches and then completely abandoned both of them, as they just weren't profitable enough to fix. And they're a pain to mod, as they didn't bother to keep them up to date with the patches for the main games, meaning that most mods made for the current versions won't work with them. In other words, they didn't just screw up their last game, they've screwed up the last three in a row, and walked all over their customers on all three of them.

But then there's the first point:

The fact that Bethesda gave out review copies 2 weeks before early access and 3 weeks before general release says they are extremely confident about the game. They have never given out review copies that far in advance if any of their games. You don’t do that if you think your game is a bust.

Emphasis mine.

We really can't compare them directly. They're not the only ones making the calls anymore - Microsoft is the final word now. Microsoft has already said that they have their own team of playtesters on this one, and are keeping track of the bugs themselves. Microsoft probably has their hands in the advertising, the QA, and in tempering Bethesda's greedier ideas (how many times have the tried to monetize mods now?) Microsoft knew what kind of reputation Bethesda was developing, and undoubtedly had plans in place when they bought Zenimax (much like they probably already have plans in place for Blizzard.) Microsoft aren't may favorite company, but they at least understand the impact that reputation has on business.

That's why my lack of trust toward Bethesda (which they've earned) is tempered with a little bit of hope that the version of Bethesda responsible for all of the problems in the last few years simply doesn't exist anymore.

[jztemple2]

From PC Gamer, Bethesda exec's 'one piece of advice' for Starfield players: don't skip 'amazing stuff' because it doesn't seem like a real quest

There's no "wrong" way to play big, open-ended RPGs like Baldur's Gate 3 or Starfield, but there kind of is, right? At least, there are a lot of opinions on how to have the most fun in these games, and some of them even come from their creators. Larian boss Swen Vincke offered some advice for our first Baldur's Gate 3 playthroughs, and now Bethesda head of publishing Pete Hines has dropped a Starfield tip ahead of the September 1 launch for premium edition owners.

"My one piece of advice for folks is: do not ignore your activities," Hines said during an Xbox livestream today (via GamesRadar). "It feels like throwaway stuff that the game is giving you, but there is some amazing stuff in there that doesn't even feel like a real quest but will take you to some amazing places, some amazing stories.

"We encourage you to play this like any [Bethesda Game Studios] game: Do what you want, go where you want, test the game. Be the kind of person you wanna be in this world and see what happens."

I never actually bothered to go very far in Skyrim's main quest, and instead spent dozens of hours aimlessly wandering around Tamriel, so doing stuff that "doesn't even feel like a real quest" shouldn't be a problem for me. But Hines is clearly referring to specific opportunities for adventure called "activities," so future Starfield players and kindergartners alike should take note: do your activities.

On the livestream, Hines also made some big statements about Starfield's scale—you can watch the whole thing here. Also at Gamescom, Starfield director Todd Howard said that the RPG includes "a lot of surprises" not yet revealed to the public. I'm going to guess that's true, given that we really haven't seen that much of Starfield over its long development, considering the size of it.

[raydude]

I've been waffling on and off about getting Starfield since first hearing about it in the before times. But I do remember being jazzed about Bethesda's Fallout games when they came out and buying them and playing them for hours and hours. So I'm in.

[Madmarcus]

I'm starting to get the itch to be in at the start of Starfield but realistically between BG3 JA3, and the updated CP2077 I really don't need another big game until at least next year. I'll hang around the thread just to get some first impressions and then bail to wait for at least a minor sale.

[naednek]

Over 20 years ago, Morrowind came out and if you recall I heavily criticized the game. To be honest, in 2002, I wasn't into RPGs at all. But I was stubborn and dogged on it any chance I got. I liked games where it had a narrative and direction. Morrowind was an open world and you could do whatever you wanted.

Then Skyrim came out. During that time, my gaming preferences evolved and I enjoyed the game. Yes, the game was clunky and I struggled with not being hand held, but I was able to fifindnjoyment.

There are still some RPRPGs tried to get into, like the Divine Divinity series and while I can appreciate the amount of work and what the developer tried to do, it just didn't grab me. It's why I haven't tried BG3.

Well, I have stStarfieldreordered, and I'm excited. I still like my narrative games with direction, but I did enjoy games like faFalloutoo. I just know I have to be more patient with this genre.

[Skinypupy]

Then Skyrim came out. During that time, my gaming preferences evolved and I enjoyed the game. Yes, the game was clunky and I struggled with not being hand held, but I was able to fifindnjoyment.

There are still some RPRPGs tried to get into, like the Divine Divinity series and while I can appreciate the amount of work and what the developer tried to do, it just didn't grab me. It's why I haven't tried BG3.

Well, I have stStarfieldreordered, and I'm excited. I still like my narrative games with direction, but I did enjoy games like faFalloutoo. I just know I have to be more patient with this genre.

Do you smell toast?

[Carpet_pissr]

I also love faFalloutoo.