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Starfield Thread - now with Shattered Space horror expansion

RobotSquirrel

Arcane
Developer
Joined
Aug 9, 2020
Messages
2,107
Location
Adelaide
I gotta wonder how the mood is over at Bethesda now. They're used to every game they release being a massive success, FO96 is the exception but that was an MMO so it doesn't really fit the Bethesda formula.

Did the devs on Starfield understand that they were working on a mediocre turd? Or were they deluded into thinking that Starfield was going to be the next Skyrim?
Considering that Pete Hines resigned over Redfall, the constant firings and now this plus ActiBlizz going through completely erodes their relevance in Xbox GD, ActiBlizz is going to dwarf them in profitability.
Things look really bad for TES6, they're running out of new people to lie to for starters hence the response Starfield is getting, Fallout 4, Fallout 76 and now Starfield has massively eroded confidence in the studio, it's pretty obvious now to the masses that Bethesda just re badge the same game over and over. I think they're screwed.
 

Spectacle

Arcane
Patron
Joined
May 25, 2006
Messages
8,363
If Microsoft is happy, Bethesda isn't giving a shit about the reception.
Is Microsoft happy though? MS didn't buy Bethesda to get a game every 5 years that sells moderately well. They want spectacular games, the kind of exclusives that sell consoles. Nobody is running out to buy an XBox in order to play Starfield. Instead we have Playstation gamers laughing at XBox owners who can't play BG3 (yet).
 

Gargaune

Arcane
Joined
Mar 12, 2020
Messages
3,598
it's pretty obvious now to the masses that Bethesda just re badge the same game over and over. I think they're screwed.
I don't think that's a problem, though, quite the contrary, it is (was) their main selling point. There are (and have been) very few other outfits doing "that" kind of game that Bethesda does, Warhorse is the only one of late that comes to my mind, and I don't believe that the same public that swarmed all over their previous games, including the thirteen different editions of Skyrim, all of a sudden "got over" that kind of design. I realise that seems to be talking point bandied about by online critics, but you have to remember that the public, while often correctly taking umbrage to a specific product, have trouble pinpointing the proper source of their discontent - take Cyberpunk as a recent example and how many people complained about not having multiple player homes or p0lICe Ch4sEs, prompting CDPR to "address" those grievances post-release, when the title's real problems ran far deeper and were more severe. The public were legitimately let down by Cyberpunk's designs, but they grasped at the first minutiae they could identify and formed a mob around it, as often happens.

Coming back to Starfield - and I'm still talking sight-unseen here - I think that what turned the public mood against the game and the developer was disillusion over the aspects in which we thought it would be different from Bethesda's prior offerings, because we were so led to believe. We expected space flight. We got orbital flight instead. We expected to fly through the atmosphere and touch down on planets. We got a fast travel interface. We expected that proc-gen to support interesting exploration in some way. We got RNG filler. As far as I can tell, Starfield compromises on some of Bethesda's traditional strong points for the sake of new features that are half-baked and disappointing.

So I'd say the masses are only upset with Bethesda rebadging the same game again because in the case they were made to expect something else. And once that hateful pebble rolls down the mountain of public opinion, it's like an avalanche (same as it was with Cyberpunk, actually). But if Todd brings out TES6 and it's a 1:1 copy of Skyrim with just a new map and better visuals, I wouldn't be surprised if they went right back into people's good graces while YouTubers churned out video after video about how "Bethesda's back!" because that market's still there and remains mostly uncontested.

As a tangent, we're probably soon going to have a chance to evaluate just how "dated" Bethesda's standard design is, when Fallout: London comes out. Obviously, it'll be addressing a much smaller and more dedicated target demographic, but it'll be interesting to see what the public discourse will be like around it. Assuming it's at least half competent, of course, and not some Frontier-grade "material."


P.S. There's still one more act to play out in the tragedy of Starfield the Beleaguered - modding. Word's trickling down the grapevine that Todd's New Game is less accessible than its predecessors. Starfield's already struggling, if it turns out Bethesda've gimped modding too, that's gonna hit 'em hard in the gonads.
 

RobotSquirrel

Arcane
Developer
Joined
Aug 9, 2020
Messages
2,107
Location
Adelaide
to an extent I agree, especially on the modding point.

Coming back to Starfield - and I'm still talking sight-unseen here - I think that what turned the public mood against the game and the developer was disillusion over the aspects in which we thought it would be different from Bethesda's prior offerings, because we were so led to believe. We expected space flight. We got orbital flight instead. We expected to fly through the atmosphere and touch down on planets. We got a fast travel interface. We expected that proc-gen to support interesting exploration in some way. We got RNG filler. As far as I can tell, Starfield compromises on some of Bethesda's traditional strong points for the sake of new features that are half-baked and disappointing.
Primarily the issue is that after No Man's Sky, Todd should have known better. People had in their minds the type of game they were getting because competing developers had produced games that had those features, it was only logical that people would compare Starfield to its competition and assume it had those features unless Bethesda otherwise corrected them.... the problem is Bethesda never did correct them, just like it never corrected people's expectations of RadiantAI with Oblivion. Bethesda intentionally lies to its customers, hides facts about their games and tricks games journalists to promote a hype train that they will never live up to. They do it each and every single time. The difference is that now that they're owned by Microsoft --- you know the company that owned Lionhead and got sick of this shit with them doing the same thing, Bethesda isn't going to get away with it anymore - and comparing it to blizzard even more so now that Overwatch 2 was a bait and switch and Redfall also was a bait and switch. Microsoft should be well aware of how their studios are conducting themselves unethically, the question is will they actually do anything about it. Every Starfield and Redfall that happens only damages the credibility of Xbox GD. Its remarkable after Sony pulled the same shit with No Man's Sky that they'd be stupid enough to copy that controversy 1:1 and they did.

Absolute dumbass decision.

I think you really have to keep your customers informed now, especially if you're charging as much as you are.
 

Cyberarmy

Love fool
Patron
Joined
Feb 7, 2013
Messages
8,666
Location
Smyrna - Scalanouva
Divinity: Original Sin 2
Greetings, traveler. Have you come seeking the light?

EUAlVP3.jpeg
 

Law

Literate
Bethestard
Joined
Nov 21, 2023
Messages
29
all these people unironically writing lengthy paragraphs about this soulless cashgrab should get the bethtard tag too. maybe it's an american thing. anyway, at least it's getting (minor) updates:

Starfield Update 1.8.86 Notes - November 20, 2023

Our latest update for Starfield is now available. Thank you to all who participated in our Steam Beta and provided feedback. We will continue to make improvements and adjustments to the game and appreciate all the support.

Thanks for playing!
______

Update Highlights
Nvidia DLSS Support
This update introduces Nvidia DLSS support for our PC players. Compatible Nvidia graphic cards can now use DLSS Super Resolution, Deep Learning Anti-aliasing (DLAA), Nvidia Reflex Low Latency, and DLSS Frame generation.

Let Them Eat!
By popular request, we have added the ability to ingest food and drink items upon finding them in the environment. You can enjoy those Chunks immediately or save them for later. The choice is yours.

----

Fixes and Improvements
Performance And Stability
  • Addressed a number of memory related issues and leaks.
  • Added some GPU performance optimizations, which will be more impactful on higher end cards.
  • Improved renderer threading model, improving CPU usage most notably on higher end systems.
  • Various stability and performance improvements.

Gameplay
  • Added the ability to eat the food placed in the world.
  • Adjusted stealth to be a bit more forgiving.
  • Fixed an issue where Andreja’s head would stay permanently cloaked.
  • Fixed an issue that could prevent players from firing their weapons.
  • Fixed issues where some NPC could be seen not wearing clothes (Note: This issue may resolve itself over time).
  • Fixed an issue where already in-progress skill challenges could stop progressing after reaching the Unity and starting a new game.
  • Fixed an issue that could temporarily prevent opening the inventory or saving after entering the Unity.
  • PC: Fixed an issue where mouse movement could be choppy.
  • Fixed a rare issue that could cause the home ship to be lost.
  • Fixed an issue where the ship services technician might be missing.
  • Fixed an issue where occasionally the camera could shake incorrectly during Traveling, Grav Jumping, Docking, or Landing transitions.

Graphics
  • Addressed an issue with how ambient occlusion appeared in ultrawide resolutions.
  • Optimized initial shader compilation that occurs on start-up.
  • Added the ability to adjust Brightness and Contrast in the Display Settings menu.
  • Added the ability to adjust HDR Brightness provided that the system supports it. (Xbox & Windows 11 only).
  • Addressed a number of materials that could sometimes present an unintended pattern under certain conditions.
  • Fixed various visual issues related to the new FOV slider options.
  • Improved the appearance of the eyes on crowd characters.
  • Addressed a number of minor visual issues related to lighting, shadows, terrain, and vegetation.
  • PC: Addressed additional visual issues related to DLSS.

Quests
  • All That Money Can Buy: Fixed a rare issue where players couldn’t sit during the negotiation with Musgrove.
  • Blast Zone: Fixed an issue where the hard rocks that need to be cleared out by players will not appear on Ngodup Tate’s land.
  • Echoes of the Past: Fixed an issue where the Grylloba Queen could sometimes not be reachable during the objective “Secure the Shuttle Bay”.
  • Eye of the Storm: Fixed an issue where players' quest progression could potentially be blocked due to a missing docking prompt.
  • Grunt Work: Addressed an issue where progress could appear blocked if “Supra et Ultra” was completed while returning to the Lodge during “High Price to Pay”.
  • No Sudden Moves: Fixed an issue that could prevent the entrance door to the Scow ship from being opened again.
  • Operation Starseed: Fixed an issue where the key that is needed to exit the facility could sometimes not be present.
  • Sabotage: Fixed an issue where David Barron could potentially not be found by players.
  • Short Sighted: Fixed an issue where players could rarely become control-locked while speaking with Vladimir.
  • The Heart of Mars: Fixed an issue where players might not be able to mine the “The Heart of Mars”.
 

Daedalos

Arcane
The Real Fanboy
Joined
Apr 18, 2007
Messages
5,604
Location
Denmark
people still playing this shit? lol.
I played it once, and uninstalled it straight up.

Not preordering another beth game again, no.

This shit is as wide as the ocean, and as deep as a puddle of mud.
Shiet
 

Grunker

RPG Codex Ghost
Patron
Joined
Oct 19, 2009
Messages
27,756
Location
Copenhagen
"Not preordering another beth game" sounds less like an unflinching statement and more like an alcoholic's broken promise when made after preordering the 6th shitty Beth game made even though it was clearly made from the same formula as the previous 5
 

VerSacrum

Educated
Joined
Aug 19, 2023
Messages
280
Location
Switzerland
Real funny part is their games getting worse with each new game.

I thought Skyrim was way better than Oblivion. Though in a "an empty cardboard box is better than a bottle of cat piss" sort of way
Oblivion still had character stats and satisfying faction progression, and arguably more memorable sidequests. But art direction and worldbuilding were better in Skyrim, yes.
 

Gargaune

Arcane
Joined
Mar 12, 2020
Messages
3,598
Primarily the issue is that after No Man's Sky, Todd should have known better. People had in their minds the type of game they were getting because competing developers had produced games that had those features, it was only logical that people would compare Starfield to its competition and assume it had those features unless Bethesda otherwise corrected them.... the problem is Bethesda never did correct them, just like it never corrected people's expectations of RadiantAI with Oblivion.
Yeah, I gotta agree there, Star Citizen and No Man's Sky were the main reference points in pre-release public perception of Starfield, we all thought were allowed to think Todd was gonna do right where Roberts and Murray failed to or outright lied about doing. Not in every detail, but the general picture. But even in the last stretch, when some of the limitations started coming out, I think we kept expecting a "space game" from Bethesda, we had those sorts of features in mind, not Todd's take on Mass Effect. That they failed to design interplanetary freeflight gameplay, at least inside of star systems, to me is just mind-boggling.

But I'm also extremely curious about what happened in that year-long delay Microsoft slammed them with - was it just polish and bugfixes or did the feature set get worked on? And I mean curious in the morbid sense, like a crime scene reconstruction.

I think you really have to keep your customers informed now, especially if you're charging as much as you are.
Bethesda's definitely gonna face internal pressure from Microsoft over this, and marketing played a big role. It's hard to tell how Starfield's doing money-wise with Game Pass in the mix, but Microsoft definitely wanted a public image win out of their ZeniMax purchase following Redfall, and this ain't it.

all these people unironically writing lengthy paragraphs
law-barely-literate.jpg
 

Yosharian

Arcane
Joined
May 28, 2018
Messages
10,404
Location
Grand Chien
Over 2 months after release, Beth finally 'fixed' the eyes issue. Jesus wept that should have never made it into the release version, let alone taken this long to fix. Lazy bastards.
 

Darkwind

Augur
Patron
Joined
Aug 1, 2019
Messages
602
Strap Yourselves In Codex Year of the Donut Codex+ Now Streaming! Enjoy the Revolution! Another revolution around the sun that is.
people still playing this shit? lol.
I played it once, and uninstalled it straight up.

Not preordering another beth game again, no.

This shit is as wide as the ocean, and as deep as a puddle of mud.
Shiet

But its full of negroes and wahmen, surely that was enough cuckery and die-versity to keep you playing much longer right?
 

Daedalos

Arcane
The Real Fanboy
Joined
Apr 18, 2007
Messages
5,604
Location
Denmark
people still playing this shit? lol.
I played it once, and uninstalled it straight up.

Not preordering another beth game again, no.

This shit is as wide as the ocean, and as deep as a puddle of mud.
Shiet

But its full of negroes and wahmen, surely that was enough cuckery and die-versity to keep you playing much longer right?
I hope you're being sarcasssstic, bro. I aint ever been about dat forced diversity.
I'm all for diversity, IF it fits the medium, the story, the product etc.

Problam is when niggas shoehorn in diversity every mother fucking where aight. aint nobody asked for dat
 

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