Bethesda's Starfield

[Punisher]

So Coop, I've gotten to Nikola I and now my problem is that I can't find a location with both Fe and Al. I'm following your instructions about moving around the outpost marker and looking at the top left. It seems very hard to find places on the surface with aluminum and when I did there was no iron to be found. Any suggestions, or do I just keep trying new spots?

I think you have to start with j7st your scanner until you find an area wirh both in it, them move around the outpost marker. If your scanner isn't picking up both in the same area then your pitpost probably won't either.

[Sudy]

Brief thoughts after the first mission/tutorial and arriving on New Atlantis:

It's not just "Fallout in space". But it is "the newest iteration on Bethesda's decades-old RPG formula". And if you love Bethesda games, I understand why that might please you. But it kind of just makes me exhausted. Maybe it's not Bethesda RPGs in general, but all RPGs since I entered adulthood. Nothing thrilled me like an RPG in the 90s. I craved them. Almost any kind. But they gradually lost their magic. Talking to everyone in a town and collecting quests hasn't been fun for a long time. The dopamine rushes of that era have long since been supplanted. More than anything, I guess I'm disappointed that games haven't evolved into a more immersive experience in the past 25 years. I mean obviously, they have. And genre/subgenre-wise we've really branched out, and refined our experiences. But within genres it's most just been incremental upgrades. And maybe that's the reality of gaming, that with our present level of technology we were fools to expect flying cars within our lifetimes. Mind you, I haven't tried VR, which I perceive as being continually at more of a tech-demo stage, but is definitely forward-thinking. But VR may not have evolved as much as we expected it to since the 90s.


Newbie stuff:

Spoiler:

- I can't help but run around the first planet/area for an hour scanning and gathering stuff before I enter the facility. It's what I do in games. I explore and I hoard. Bethesda RPGs are great at giving you freedom, but that freedom is too much for me to enjoy.

- I'm bummed there weren't secret entrances/alternate paths through the building (that I found). I presume these things may be seen in not-tutorial areas of the game. But going back to Fallout 3 and 76, buildings could feel massive with many rooms and floors to explore without really having anything interesting to see or do gameplay-wise beyond collecting audio logs. I'd prefer a more Deus-Ex-like experience.

- The combat feels great for a Bethesda RPG! But movement and models still have the Bethesda jank. From interaction to level design, it seems like aspects of their design never evolve and need to be rebuilt from the ground up (from a conceptual stage).

- Why are lockpicks in the misc (i.e. "junk") section of inventory? This was a design annoyance they finally fixed in Fallout 76 this year, a five-year-old game built from the guts of an eight-year-old game. This is a good example of archaic systems that are never rethought. The lockpicking minigame was kind of cool the first few times, but at this point in my gaming life I'm just over lockpicking minigames. Usually a lower-odds auto-attempt option exists... I think that may be a thing here? I haven't investigated yet.

- Somebody get this damn robot OUT OF MY WAY!

[Blackhawk]

I just fiddled with the ship builder for the first time. That was... interesting. Different controls on every page, stats with no explanations, parts with explanation, errors in the flight check with no explanation. Oh, and having to paint each piece individually rather than being able to set a default color for the whole thing, and then tweak the parts that aren't quite right.

Also, I expect a mod to come along (after the construction set is released) that sets the mass for all purely cosmetic parts to 1. There's no need to charge the player his budget for parts that don't change the game balance.

You can do the whole ship paint in one go...Mostly...
I can't remember exactly how but first step is to click wverything so that its red. I think you can double-click on one part and everything thats attached to it should be selected.
Then you can paint.
The weird part is that not every part has all 3 paint options. It might not be so bad except that if an otem is missing a paint option it's not in order.
For exam0le, part A has all 3. Part B has only 1. I had been assuming that paint 1 is my primary color, paint 2 is secondary color, and paint 3 is second secondary.
The problem that if a part has only 1 paint color it will not always be paint slot 1. Part B might have it's paint slit actually be 3.
It's not a game breaker but its annoying. Also I tjink some parts dont have any color options.

Also, if you can't findva detached part. If you double click you ship all the connect parts will be red and the unattached part will not. I haven't tried 8t yet but I think you could also mive the emtire ship out of the way when its all red.

Ah, that's handy. I'm fine with having to go back and tweak, but laying down the basic color scheme (1 white, 2 black, 3 red) would be so much faster. Likewise fiddling around with changing the colors (I was thinking trying various blues instead of red.)

[Isgrimnur]

Might be common knowledge, but, as you see POIs, regardless of distance, you can scan the POI icon and get an indication of the type of POI. Cave, Life Signs, Anomaly, etc.

[Max Peck]

Might be common knowledge, but, as you see POIs, regardless of distance, you can scan the POI icon and get an indication of the type of POI. Cave, Life Signs, Anomaly, etc.

Scanning an unexplored POI it also makes a waypoint for it on that round doohickey in the bottom left corner of HUD. It makes it easier to navigate toward the POI without always having the scanner up.

[Blackhawk]

round doohickey in the bottom left corner of HUD.

It took me far too long to realize that that represents the watch you were given.

[jztemple2]

So Coop, I've gotten to Nikola I and now my problem is that I can't find a location with both Fe and Al. I'm following your instructions about moving around the outpost marker and looking at the top left. It seems very hard to find places on the surface with aluminum and when I did there was no iron to be found. Any suggestions, or do I just keep trying new spots?

So I continued on Nikola I and made about thirty landings . I found places with aluminum and no iron or iron but no aluminum. I tried landing at places on the map where Fe and Al areas were adjacent. Nothing helped . I even upgraded my scanner in case that was affecting it, but it didn't help. So for now it's a no-go

[Max Peck]

round doohickey in the bottom left corner of HUD.

It took me far too long to realize that that represents the watch you were given.

Doh! I knew that back at the beginning of the game, then I forgot that's what it supposed to be.

[coopasonic]

So Coop, I've gotten to Nikola I and now my problem is that I can't find a location with both Fe and Al. I'm following your instructions about moving around the outpost marker and looking at the top left. It seems very hard to find places on the surface with aluminum and when I did there was no iron to be found. Any suggestions, or do I just keep trying new spots?

It took me a while to find a spot. On the globe Show Resources view it is supposed to be more likely if you can find a place where the resources are right next each other and if you pick a pixel this is on the border, your chances are much higher. I don't think my spot was like that but that was 2 NG+ ago.

The animal husbandry xp farm doesn't require such searching and luck (just tons of ammo) so that might be easier. I don't have personal experience with that one but it looked a bit less boring too.

[Unagi]

Oh, and having to paint each piece individually rather than being able to set a default color for the whole thing, and then tweak the parts that aren't quite right.

You can select all parts at once, then set the color once (and then go back and tweak individual parts)

I see that's already been communicated...

[Unagi]

Or even let us use the jetpack like Mandolorians do and fly there.

Depending on gravity and jetpack skill, you actually can do that in certain places.

[Punisher]

Or even let us use the jetpack like Mandolorians do and fly there.

Depending on gravity and jetpack skill, you actually can do that in certain places.

I've heard that but haven't come across that yet and I have max perks in jetpack.
Plus, I really want it all the time.

[Madmarcus]

It's not just "Fallout in space". But it is "the newest iteration on Bethesda's decades-old RPG formula". And if you love Bethesda games, I understand why that might please you. But it kind of just makes me exhausted. Maybe it's not Bethesda RPGs in general, but all RPGs since I entered adulthood. Nothing thrilled me like an RPG in the 90s. I craved them. Almost any kind. But they gradually lost their magic. Talking to everyone in a town and collecting quests hasn't been fun for a long time.

To me Bethesda games manage to slip into a different mindset. In other RPGs I tend to be a completionist but in Bethesda games I know I can skip quests (even the main quest) and still engage with the game. Importantly the combat is just dangerous enough I can't ignore it but not dangerous enough that I have to specialize in combat skills or really get good at the game to stay alive as long as I make reasonable choices of gear.

I know it is gaming comfort food but that's not such a bad thing.

[hepcat]

Brief thoughts after the first mission/tutorial and arriving on New Atlantis:

It's not just "Fallout in space". But it is "the newest iteration on Bethesda's decades-old RPG formula". And if you love Bethesda games, I understand why that might please you. But it kind of just makes me exhausted. Maybe it's not Bethesda RPGs in general, but all RPGs since I entered adulthood. Nothing thrilled me like an RPG in the 90s.

I can understand this. I feel much the same way most of the time with any game in any genre. The actual mechanics of computer games haven't changed that significantly in a long time. I think the next innovation that moves the bar won't be graphics or VR (the latter of which I view more as a nausea simulator), but rather the inclusion of AI to "personalize" your game experience. To make it more immersive by creating a narrative that is focused more on you and how you're playing.

[Smoove_B]

The animal husbandry xp farm doesn't require such searching and luck (just tons of ammo) so that might be easier. I don't have personal experience with that one but it looked a bit less boring too.

Is that how you managed to get to level 50? 100? Because holy cow did my XP just fall off a cliff at some point in the mid 30s. I'm almost done with the main story and all of the faction quests and I think I'll just about hit 40. Having one character that is good at shooting, looting and rooting (through locked things) is difficult. At first I felt like I would be getting plenty of points, but now I am really making tough decisions each level as to where I should spend them.

NG+ is apparently in my near future.

[Blackhawk]

Newbie stuff:

Spoiler:

- I can't help but run around the first planet/area for an hour scanning and gathering stuff before I enter the facility. It's what I do in games. I explore and I hoard. Bethesda RPGs are great at giving you freedom, but that freedom is too much for me to enjoy.

Tip: Don't gather too much stuff that you see sitting out in the world. Crafting resources, yes, plus anything you find that specifies that it can be used for crafting, plus food that you might call 'ingredients' (potatoes, bread, milk, cheese, etc, but not 'Chunks' or 'Gummy Bugs' or most other cooked foods unless they offer a substantial stat boost. So far, practically nothing has been worth picking up to sell. As a long-time Fallout player, my instinct was to hoover up everything in sight. It was too much, so after New Atlantis and starting with my first real mission, I set myself up a threshold: 300 credits per 1 mass. Even with that, I found that even single generic weapons were worth more than a whole cargo bay of notepads, pens, and other 'high value' junk. And I'd reached that point before I'd made it back to sell even one pile of said junk.

Mind you, I haven't tried VR, which I perceive as being continually at more of a tech-demo stage, but is definitely forward-thinking. But VR may not have evolved as much as we expected it to since the 90s.

It's well beyond the tech demo stage now. The hardware has matured, and the design principles for games have been refined and polished. We're currently at the start of the third (or fourth, depending on who you ask) generation of hardware. Wires running along the floor or ceiling are a thing of the past. Sets are less bulky. New sets are coming out all the time, including specialized sets like Bigscreen Beyond (designed for watching movies.) The Quest 3 is due, I believe, in a few weeks. VR is, however, still well in the 'niche' stage, and has yet to receive mainstream adoption, which could end up going either way.

[Apollo]

Quick Question: I had Sarah as my initial follower, but then a quest had Sam Coe replace her as my companion. No problem, she just became a member of my crew. Now, if I take Andreja as my main companion, what happens to Sam? Does he stay on my ship like Sarah, or does he stay at the Constellation lodge? I understand that you can only have one main companion at a time, but Is there any way to have all the main companions with you at the same time as crew members on your ship and outposts?

[Smoove_B]

I understand that you can only have one main companion at a time, but Is there any way to have all the main companions with you at the same time as crew members on your ship and outposts?

Ultimately it will depend on the ship's crew capacity and your leadership (?) skill - the ability to have [X] number of active followers. Meaning, even if you get a ship that holds 7 crew, if you don't upgrade your skills, you might only be able to crew that ship with 3 or 4 of your buddies.

[Apollo]

Brief thoughts after the first mission/tutorial and arriving on New Atlantis:

It's not just "Fallout in space". But it is "the newest iteration on Bethesda's decades-old RPG formula". And if you love Bethesda games, I understand why that might please you. But it kind of just makes me exhausted. Maybe it's not Bethesda RPGs in general, but all RPGs since I entered adulthood. Nothing thrilled me like an RPG in the 90s. I craved them. Almost any kind. But they gradually lost their magic. Talking to everyone in a town and collecting quests hasn't been fun for a long time. The dopamine rushes of that era have long since been supplanted. More than anything, I guess I'm disappointed that games haven't evolved into a more immersive experience in the past 25 years. I mean obviously, they have. And genre/subgenre-wise we've really branched out, and refined our experiences. But within genres it's most just been incremental upgrades. And maybe that's the reality of gaming, that with our present level of technology we were fools to expect flying cars within our lifetimes. Mind you, I haven't tried VR, which I perceive as being continually at more of a tech-demo stage, but is definitely forward-thinking. But VR may not have evolved as much as we expected it to since the 90s.


Newbie stuff:

Spoiler:

- I can't help but run around the first planet/area for an hour scanning and gathering stuff before I enter the facility. It's what I do in games. I explore and I hoard. Bethesda RPGs are great at giving you freedom, but that freedom is too much for me to enjoy.

- I'm bummed there weren't secret entrances/alternate paths through the building (that I found). I presume these things may be seen in not-tutorial areas of the game. But going back to Fallout 3 and 76, buildings could feel massive with many rooms and floors to explore without really having anything interesting to see or do gameplay-wise beyond collecting audio logs. I'd prefer a more Deus-Ex-like experience.

- The combat feels great for a Bethesda RPG! But movement and models still have the Bethesda jank. From interaction to level design, it seems like aspects of their design never evolve and need to be rebuilt from the ground up (from a conceptual stage).

- Why are lockpicks in the misc (i.e. "junk") section of inventory? This was a design annoyance they finally fixed in Fallout 76 this year, a five-year-old game built from the guts of an eight-year-old game. This is a good example of archaic systems that are never rethought. The lockpicking minigame was kind of cool the first few times, but at this point in my gaming life I'm just over lockpicking minigames. Usually a lower-odds auto-attempt option exists... I think that may be a thing here? I haven't investigated yet.

- Somebody get this damn robot OUT OF MY WAY!

This game grows on you more than any game I can remember playing, and it has been that way for lots of folks, so don't get discouraged by your first impressions. It doesn't reinvent the wheel or anything, but it does do a very solid job of giving you lots of different things to do at any given moment and it definitely draws you in more and more with time.

[Scraper]

Quick Question: I had Sarah as my initial follower, but then a quest had Sam Coe replace her as my companion. No problem, she just became a member of my crew. Now, if I take Andreja as my main companion, what happens to Sam? Does he stay on my ship like Sarah, or does he stay at the Constellation lodge? I understand that you can only have one main companion at a time, but Is there any way to have all the main companions with you at the same time as crew members on your ship and outposts?

You can go into your ship menu and assign the crew members there. You can do this from anywhere in the galaxy as well. SO no you won't lose anyone. And as Smoove said, the number of crew depends on your ship and your skill levels.

[coopasonic]

The animal husbandry xp farm doesn't require such searching and luck (just tons of ammo) so that might be easier. I don't have personal experience with that one but it looked a bit less boring too.

Is that how you managed to get to level 50? 100? Because holy cow did my XP just fall off a cliff at some point in the mid 30s. I'm almost done with the main story and all of the faction quests and I think I'll just about hit 40. Having one character that is good at shooting, looting and rooting (through locked things) is difficult. At first I felt like I would be getting plenty of points, but now I am really making tough decisions each level as to where I should spend them.

NG+ is apparently in my near future.

I got to level 60 naturally, with a lot of xp coming from hunting animals for the organic materials achievement... only to learn that apparently animal parts aren't organic materials according to Bethesda. I did 60 to 100 in a couple of hours by building adaptive frames 10k (99 at a time, 100 times per minute by clicking like a madman) at a time. Each batch taking a fews minutes, mostly gathering the mats because I did that part with two separate outposts, and giving me 1+ levels. I did that in NG+ but I don't think it makes a difference.

At level 134 the choices get a lot easier. What can I buy and will it make any difference?

[jztemple2]

Saw this over on reddit, don't know if it has been posted before, XP table for level?

Code: Select all

After spending a bit too much time on this, the formula to calculate the exp for a given level is :

prevlevelexp + round(75^(1+(0.0015*currentlevel)), 5)

So, for example, for level 27, the required exp to level up to 28 is

2255 + round(75^(1+(0.0015*27)), 5) = 2345

Curr. lvl   Next lvl    Total exp

1           200         0
2           275         200
3           350         475
4           425         825
5           500         1250
6           580         1750
7           660         2330
8           740         2990
9           820         3730
10          900         4550
11          980         5450
12          1060        6430
13          1140        7490
14          1220        8630
15          1305        9850
16          1390        11155
17          1475        12545
18          1560        14020
19          1645        15580
20          1730        17225
21          1815        18955
22          1900        20770
23          1985        22670
24          2075        24655
25          2165        26730
26          2255        28895
27          2345        31150
28          2435        33495
29          2525        35930
30          2615        38455
31          2705        41070
32          2795        43775
33          2890        46570
34          2985        49460
35          3080        52445
36          3175        55525
37          3270        58700
38          3365        61970
39          3460        65335
40          3555        68795
41          3655        72350
42          3755        76005
43          3855        79760
44          3955        83615
45          4055        87570
46          4155        91625
47          4255        95780
48          4355        100035
49          4460        104390
50          4565        108850
51          4670        113415
52          4775        118085
53          4880        122860
54          4985        127740
55          5090        132725
56          5200        137815
57          5310        143015
58          5420        148325
59          5530        153745
60          5640        159275
61          5750        164915
62          5860        170665
63          5975        176525
64          6090        182500
65          6205        188590
66          6320        194795
67          6435        201115
68          6550        207550
69          6665        214100
70          6785        220765
71          6905        227550
72          7025        234455
73          7145        241480
74          7265        248625
75          7385        255890
76          7510        263275
77          7635        270785
78          7760        278420
79          7885        286180
80          8010        294065
81          8135        302075
82          8265        310210
83          8395        318475
84          8525        326870
85          8655        335395
86          8785        344050
87          8915        352835
88          9050        361750
89          9185        370800
90          9320        379985
91          9455        389305
92          9590        398760
93          9725        408350
94          9865        418075
95          10005       427940
96          10145       437945
97          10285       448090
98          10425       458375
99          10565       468800
100         10710       479365

[Blackhawk]

Brief thoughts after the first mission/tutorial and arriving on New Atlantis:

This game grows on you more than any game I can remember playing, and it has been that way for lots of folks, so don't get discouraged by your first impressions. It doesn't reinvent the wheel or anything, but it does do a very solid job of giving you lots of different things to do at any given moment and it definitely draws you in more and more with time.

I'd agree with this. As a fellow scan-everything-do-everything player, do yourself and make an exception: Focus down the main quest until you get to Neon (which isn't horribly far in.) After that you can chase your whims.

[Sudy]

Do you recommend doing many side quests along the way, or beeline completely?

[jztemple2]

Minor, minor spoiler about first mission of Ryujin faction.

Spoiler:

Finally, after 114 hours played , I'm starting the Ryujin Industries faction missions. At level 39, armed to the teeth and with tons of experience, I've joined the company. And my first important, critical assignment? Get coffee for the boss

[coopasonic]

Minor, minor spoiler about first mission of Ryujin faction.

Spoiler:

Finally, after 114 hours played , I'm starting the Ryujin Industries faction missions. At level 39, armed to the teeth and with tons of experience, I've joined the company. And my first important, critical assignment? Get coffee for the boss

Appropriate assignment for low level n00bs like you!

[Scraper]

Minor, minor spoiler about first mission of Ryujin faction.

Spoiler:

Finally, after 114 hours played , I'm starting the Ryujin Industries faction missions. At level 39, armed to the teeth and with tons of experience, I've joined the company. And my first important, critical assignment? Get coffee for the boss

Appropriate assignment for low level n00bs like you!

You damn well better hurry and make sure it's hot too!

[coopasonic]

I thought I'd be playing Starfield, but I kind of got stuck in a what to do? after getting off the intro planet and beating the pirates - I boarded a ship, killed the crew and looted it, and I'd like to sell it off, but I don't know how to do that at this stage in the game

You have to first register it. From the tab menu, while landed, select the ship are in the lower left corner. Navigate to the ship you stole and hit the button to register it (H I think). Registration costs a BIG chunk of the ships value. Then go to the ship services technician that is at the entrance to pretty much every settlement and choose the option to choose ships to buy and then hit the button to switch to sell and sell the ship to get your registration fee back and more. It seems like you can't sell the Frontier, even if you have other ships.

[raydude]

Do you recommend doing many side quests along the way, or beeline completely?

I recommend doing the first few Constellation missions, as those mission are where the game hand-holds and shows you controls and steps, like for docking.

[jztemple2]

Anyone just see this? I went to the main menu but didn't see any indications, then exited and restarted the game but everything looked the same.

[Pyperkub]

I thought I'd be playing Starfield, but I kind of got stuck in a what to do? after getting off the intro planet and beating the pirates - I boarded a ship, killed the crew and looted it, and I'd like to sell it off, but I don't know how to do that at this stage in the game

You have to first register it. From the tab menu, while landed, select the ship are in the lower left corner. Navigate to the ship you stole and hit the button to register it (H I think). Registration costs a BIG chunk of the ships value. Then go to the ship services technician that is at the entrance to pretty much every settlement and choose the option to choose ships to buy and then hit the button to switch to sell and sell the ship to get your registration fee back and more. It seems like you can't sell the Frontier, even if you have other ships.

Point being that this is ** before ** you get to ANY settlement or meet a ship services tech, etc.

[Blackhawk]

Do you recommend doing many side quests along the way, or beeline completely?

Honestly, you're not ruining anything either way, but you're also playing without some of the mechanics being available. I'm not to that point myself (I got distracted and didn't follow my own advice), but multiple sources have all pushed that prior to that point, you're basically exploring the open world while still in the tutorial.

[jztemple2]

I think everyone has wanted to do this at one point or another in the game, so I've done it for you. Me, a minigun, no aids and the Astral Lounge in Neon City

[naednek]

well time to let the Florida authorities about a potential threat...

[Unagi]

Do you recommend doing many side quests along the way, or beeline completely?

Honestly, you're not ruining anything either way, but you're also playing without some of the mechanics being available. I'm not to that point myself (I got distracted and didn't follow my own advice), but multiple sources have all pushed that prior to that point, you're basically exploring the open world while still in the tutorial.

I best get a move on then. I'm lvl 20 - but I am still not past The Old Neighborhood - Talk to Sarah.
I've done over 30 "activities", and over 30 side-quest (based on achievements) - and guess now I wonder what mechanics I'm missing.

[Apollo]

Do you recommend doing many side quests along the way, or beeline completely?

Honestly, you're not ruining anything either way, but you're also playing without some of the mechanics being available. I'm not to that point myself (I got distracted and didn't follow my own advice), but multiple sources have all pushed that prior to that point, you're basically exploring the open world while still in the tutorial.

I best get a move on then. I'm lvl 20 - but I am still not past The Old Neighborhood - Talk to Sarah.
I've done over 30 "activities", and over 30 side-quest (based on achievements) - and guess now I wonder what mechanics I'm missing.

Yeah, I've barely touched the main quest (50 hours in) and don't feel like I've missed anything. I would just do whatever you actually want to do and go from there. If I had started the main quest and stuck with it exclusively I probably would've burned out already. But with so many different activities to pursue, my recommendation is to do whatever you want at any given moment and not worry about it. That has worked well for me.

[Max Peck]

125 hours in, and I just finished the penultimate mission in the main story. I think I'm going to tidy up some loose ends before pulling the trigger on the finale, though.

[Blackhawk]

Yeah, I've barely touched the main quest (50 hours in) and don't feel like I've missed anything. I would just do whatever you actually want to do and go from there. If I had started the main quest and stuck with it exclusively I probably would've burned out already. But with so many different activities to pursue, my recommendation is to do whatever you want at any given moment and not worry about it. That has worked well for me.

FWIW, the main quest is 19 missions long. The 'unlock' occurs after mission 5 ("Into the Unknown".) There would be no need to focus the main quest after that.

What you'd be unlocking, something that was shown in the trailer:

Spoiler:

Access to special abilities.

[Smoove_B]

Clearly I'm just a short-timer with only ~60 hours into the game, but I've completed all but two of the main quest elements and every single faction quest.

I wanted to jump in to mention the various job boards (that provide radiant quests) as I had been avoiding them (because they're random) for the game. However, as a change of pace, they're actually worth the investment. Not only the XP, but you really do find lots of good stuff to loot (weapons and gear), plus space magazines - which are kinda hard to come by. To be clear, the radiant quests aren't the only way to get them, but so far I've been 2 for 2 in picking them up at locations where I need to go for a mission.

I'll probably do a few more of them, but I'd imagine I'll be heading to the end game soon enough.

[hepcat]

I’m about 25 hours or so in and I think I’ve done like three of the main quests. I’m just exploring it all and taking it in. Baldur’s Gate 3 will be calling me back after the next big patch.