Starfield Pre-Release Thread [GAME RELEASED, GO TO NEW THREAD]

[vibehunter]

At around 1:32:30 in the podcast, Todd talks about how they purposely gimp enemy AI because smart AI "is not fun." And here I thought the stupid NPC AI was due to incompetence.

 

[Riddler]

No reason it can't be both.

It's not fun when the AI is omniscient and sees through walls and stuff, which might have been their only way to "make the AI more smart" because they are incompetent.

 

[InD_ImaginE]

Mod will fix it.

 

[Nifft Batuff]

I will play it without mods, in its pure, unadulterated form.

 

[Gargaune]

I will play it without mods, in its pure, unadulterated form.

Jesus, man, I'm sorry I stole your wallet. Here, have it back:

 

[NecroLord]

4 romance options.
Game will have mods and probably a modding community(like the Skyrim modding community).
Uh-oh...

 

[InD_ImaginE]

4 romance options.
Game will have mods and probably a modding community(like the Skyrim modding community).
Uh-oh...

Eh if you compare FO4 and Skyrim, FO4 in spite of being robust is less on the companion mods. People just like fantasy setting better in general and I guess that's reflected in modding community as well.

Starfield will be purely new setting of fantasy in space and I doubt it will be as popular as Skyrim modding wise.

The exciting thing about Starfield modding is probably massively abundant world space hopefully. Conflict and world space management has always been an issue in mods but having multiple planet with full map hopefully fix this.

 

[NecroLord]

I just hope it won't be No Man's Sky.

 

[anvi]

Smart AI in shitty Skyrim would be no good because it would kick the ass of the players and there's nothing you could do to fight back. Most of the spells would seem like exploits if they were done by an AI because most of the trouble with spells is navigating the shitty interface to find the spell you want and then select it and then use it. All that time could be instant for an AI, so the moment you start shooting at the enemy it could instantly use a spell shield or spell reflect to counter you. And then the second you stop attacking, the AI could attack you with pinpoint accuracy. So it would ruin everything.

So their solution is dumb AI... Really the solution should be good AI and then give the player more tools to win the fight. More powerful spells, ways to quickly sleep multiple enemies, etc. And then you get beta testers to play it, and have someone with talent balance everything to provide good battles. Bethesda's solution to having to work hard on complex gameplay mechanics is to just not have any complex gameplay mechanics.

 

[NecroLord]

I prefer to use "Tactical AI".
By that I mean an AI which reacts appropriately to your actions and is able to effectively counter and hinder your actions.
Now, not every enemy should have this level of AI. You don't expect a bear or other animal to amaze you with his strategic mind, but you definitely would expect an Arch Necromancer or other powerful high-level enemy to be able to plan and react with genuine intelligence and skill and tear you a new one.

 

[Gargaune]

4 romance options.
Game will have mods and probably a modding community(like the Skyrim modding community).
Uh-oh...

Lovecraft enthusiasts rejoice.

 

[ArchAngel]

Preferring console to PC is such a degenerate thing to say. Fuck that guy.

Buy XBOX guys

Wink wink

That's 100% loaded question and a planned answer

I already did. Not that many good games on Game Pass for it. I am waiting for these blockbusters to get a return on my investment.

 

[Nano]

I already did.

Literally why?

 

[ArchAngel]

I already did.

Literally why?

Because my PC is old and dying and GPU prices are still crazy and buying Xbox Series X is much cheaper. Also my kid wanted a console and PS5 does not have something like Game Pass (at least it didn't when I got Xbox).
Also I never owned any consoles in my whole life and wanted to see what is a deal with them.
I will now look to buy a new PC in few years as this console becomes old.

 

[Dadd]

You bought an xbox to play this unreleased game that will be 6/10 at best?

 

[Nano]

GPU prices are still crazy

Really? Here in my country you can buy a 3070 for less than the 1070 I bought five years ago.

 

[ArchAngel]

You bought an xbox to play this unreleased game that will be 6/10 at best?

Nah, I was also hoping Obsidian would not screw up on their Avowed and I hoped some other good games would be released for Game Pass.

 

[ArchAngel]

GPU prices are still crazy

Really? Here in my country you can buy a 3070 for less than the 1070 I bought five years ago.

Over here for price of Xbox Series X I can buy 3070 and a box for it. For the other parts of the PC I need to imagine they exist.

 

[ropetight]

GPU prices are still crazy

Really? Here in my country you can buy a 3070 for less than the 1070 I bought five years ago.

In Wolffuckery every nVidia generation from 1xxx goes up for couple hundreds of euromoney.
i think I recently saw 4800 for just 1500.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Most of the spells would seem like exploits if they were done by an AI because most of the trouble with spells is navigating the shitty interface to find the spell you want and then select it and then use it. All that time could be instant for an AI, so the moment you start shooting at the enemy it could instantly use a spell shield or spell reflect to counter you. And then the second you stop attacking, the AI could attack you with pinpoint accuracy. So it would ruin everything.

I'm not sure I follow. You're right that selecting the spell is a pain, but then the whole thing is done through a pause menu so where's the time delay as far as in game is concerned? Also hotkeys.

 

[anvi]

I'm thinking of the slight delays between each step, that's the only time you really need to take damage. So the player usually gets hit in the face with a stream of fire before they think, "oh shit I'm being flamed, lets do something". For a good player that might only be 0.5s for a bad player that might be 3s. Then it pauses and you select spell-shield and heal or whatever, but then it goes back into real time and there's another 0.5s to 3s while you get your hands out and click the spell. For an AI that would all be split second accurate so they wouldn't need to take a single second of damage, they could react to whatever spell you have prepared in your hand before you even use it. So you select fire from the menu and before you even hit left mouse to shoot it, the AI has picked fire shield and clicks it 0.1s after you click your fire.

And their attacks would be the same. The second you drop your shield or run out of mana or something they would hit you with everything. Every ice shard would be right through your head, etc. And the second your shield comes up they would stop so they don't waste any mana. They would be like Terminators. Players could never outplay something with 0s reflexes.

 

[Curious_Tongue]

Nah, I was also hoping Obsidian would not screw up on their Avowed and I hoped some other good games would be released for Game Pass.

Avowed?

I just looked it up. I didn't know this game existed.

 

[Reinhardt]

are we there yet?

 

[luj1]

Starfield info summary from Todd Howard interview.

Original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9AAnV59ddE

• Says in Starfield the star systems will have levels attached to them.
• Says you won't be stranded out in space with no fuel. It's a "fun-killer". Maybe for a hardcore survival mode in the future.
• Different space suits will have buffs to gases/toxicity/temperature. Will be useful depending on what planet you travel to
• Robot enemies are confirmed.
• Not putting Starfield on PS5 helps with focus. Says they've always primarily focused on Xbox when it came to consoles.
• They went into development focused on Xbox so the exclusivity isn't abnormal for them. Xbox brought Bethesda to consoles with Elder Scrolls: Morrowind
• Xbox top engineers are helping with Starfield development on Series X/S
• Delaying Starfield was tough but the right thing to do. They wanted to say they could get it done (given the amount of work left and the amount of time remaining) but it was too much risk involved to the team, the game, the fans and Xbox
• Says there's added pressure to deliver for everybody with Starfield since they are a platform seller now. Making "THE GAME"
• Says he prefers console to PC cause hes in front of a PC all day at work
• The world is generated in tiles, like usual Bethesda games. They made these tiles look like realistic landscapes, put them together, and then wrap them around a planet.
• Todd says they could do way more than 1000 planets but decided to set a limit due to the detail of naming them and having a distinct feeling about each one.
  Todd specifically mentions a "Level 40 System" so different systems will be of varying difficulty.
• The tone is that space travel should feel dangerous and that they have dialed this back and forth during development. Can possibly mine planets for fuel?
• "They get into environmental things" on planets. Space suits, buffs, gasses, toxicity, temperature.
• There are robots. Robots are mostly utility robots.
• Starfield is a deeply human world.
• Other ships DO come and go from the starports.
• You can jump into a system and see a freighter, other ships can contact you.
• Orbits are done in real time.
• Planets are fully realized.
• Says he likes the player to feel alone, far from anyone on a planet.
• "I can get my ship blast off and land there and build myself a home"
• Says he loves companions and romance systems in games and Starfield will have 4 romance options that are more complex than Fallout 4.

 

[Infinitron]