Starfield Thread - now with Shattered Space horror expansion

[The Nameless One]

Forgot that I wrote a review of Starfield that never came out because the gaming journalism website I wrote for fired my honky ass to increase its diversity quotient. Enjoy!

Starfield Review: The Kingdom of Heaven is Loading

“Be careful not to choke on your aspirations.” Darth Vader​

Captain’s log, stardate September 6, 2023: Bethesda Game Studios boldly voyages where no developer has gone before. While Bioware’s Mass Effect proved that there was room in the galaxy for a AAA sci-fi roleplaying experience and Frontier’s Elite: Dangerous warped flight sims into the 21st century, combining as many genres as there are planets into a seamless open world was Todd Howard’s most ambitious vision yet. Unfortunately, Bethesda’s eyes were bigger than their interns.

“It just works.” Todd​

Starfield is a lot of things, arguably too many: a mediocre dogfighter, a middling truck simulator, a mindless looter shooter. Worst of all, it’s boring. Every design decision feels coldly calculated to be as inoffensive as possible—Fallout’s dismemberment and edgy humor were jettisoned out the airlock—which is especially insane considering this game is rated M for Mature. Helium-3 refueling? Evaporated. Survival mode? Vaporized. Astrogation? The closest you get to watching a NASA launch is watching the uninstall bar. Not a space opera: a space school play.

Never A Straight Answer​

Many unfazed fans set their sights on Emil Pagliaro’s script. True, it is a retread of the same fantasy tropes we’ve seen hundreds of times before: a chosen one, a mystery box, a blonde sidekick. But Bethesda’s writing has always been less-than-stellar. The Elder Scrolls was never about quests; it was about your character. In theory, Starfield’s unspoken lore and unfathomable plot would be the perfect tabula rasa on which an incoming traveler could scrawl his own legend. In practice, this multiverse is so boring that nobody would want to.

It’s a small world, after all.​

Touching down on a virgin planet in Starfield feels like shopping at a looted Walmart. Three abandoned mining platforms, two NPCs asking for help repairing a radio, one scannable species of fruit. Daggerfall-style procedural generation just doesn’t cut it in a post-Breath of the Wild world. Even if patches knocked down the invisible walls and added vehicles, there’s nowhere to drive. Whereas every inch of Morrowind was crafted with a coherent art direction and a consistent theme, Starfield feels like a merry-go-round that Bethesda is too short to ride.

“Compassion: that’s the one thing no machine ever had.” McCoy​

To say Starfield might be generated by artificial intelligence is like saying Firefly might be best TV show ever made. Deep down, we all know it’s true. The scope of modern games is simply too large for one studio to handle, manifesting in Destiny 2’s spaghetti code and Baldur’s Gate 3’s conspicuously absent third act. On the other hand, auteurs like Hideo Kojima can tie together even bizarre and experimental titles like Death Stranding. Starfield feels like a focus group trying to land on the moon using decolonized math.

“It is impossible to live in the past.” Frank Herbert​

Too complex for casuals but too simple for grognards, Starfield feels as though it were recovered from a time capsule buried in 1999. Long-time Beth fans will feel lost in space, since Skyrimesque freeform exploration is gated behind an eternity of loading screens. Meanwhile, Game Pass players can’t dedicate the hundreds of hours it takes to build outposts and optimize their starfleet, especially considering how many bugs they’ll have to stomp to get there. Gamebryo’s glitches may have been funny back in the Bush years, but today they just look amateurish next to techno-marvels like Cyberpunk 2077.

“Great, kid. Don’t get cocky.” Han Solo​

Starfield has its strengths. Faction questlines like the Crimson Fleet and Ryujin Industries are best-in-class, rivaling Oblivion’s Dark Brotherhood. Shipbuilding can be more addictive than Amp, although the best reactors and missile launchers and gravity drives are gated behind obnoxious level requirements. If you enjoyed Fallout 4, you’ll love the gunplay, considering it’s identical. The perk tree and challenges are good enough for government work: you can make any spacer you can imagine, from an intimidating smuggler to a pickpocketing roboticist. There’s even some minor choice and consequence, plus New Game Plus.

Ludicrous Speed​

Boarding a hostile Big Rig with your crewmates, zero gravity shootouts in an abandoned casino, sneaking contraband past a UC scanner—there’s a lot of fun to be had in Starfield. Is there $69.99 worth of fun? That’s up to you to decide. Once the Creation Kit lands, modders will repair most of the game’s problems. Already, freelancers have added an in-game radio, a PC-centric user interface, the Mandalorian’s armor. Thanks to recent advancements in art generation and text-to-speech, content creation’s barrier to entry has never been lower. The sky is the limit.

“We have done the impossible, and that makes us mighty.” Mal​

Overall, Starfield is technically competent. After 50 hours of gameplay across the Steam Deck and two different computers, we experienced only one bug. During the Showdown mission, a quest NPC was downed in a firefight and halted our progress. A quick console command resurrected him and triggered his dialogue. Had we been on Xbox instead of PC, we would have been out of luck. Controls and performance on Deck were acceptable and will only improve with further optimization. Though the graphics are unremarkable, even underpowered hardware maintains a stable framerate. We also tested DLSS but found frame generation to be too visually distracting to merit the increased FPS.

Hope for the Future​

Starfield’s Shattered Space DLC should energize sometime in 2024. Be sure to make space on your calendar for this expansion pack. Details are scarce, but fans suspect it will reintroduce much of the cut content from House Varuun. After the title’s troubled development cycle and a tragic showing at The Game Awards, we hope that, like Phantom Liberty, Shattered Space will right the ship.

Final Verdict: 4/5

It’s no masterpiece, yet. Hopefully, the DLC will make it so.

Signed: "Your friendly neighbor Rodd Hubbard"

 

[ind33d]

lmao is it true that house varuun were originally russians so Big Homo cut them from the base game and made them all black

fuck it is, andreja is clearly slavic. oh my god

 

[Hell Swarm]

4/5? Really?

Any game that ships with mod tools should get bonus points added to the review score. I think Halo Infinite was underrated for similar reasons because journalists never got to see Forge before submitting their reviews: there were some superb custom maps nobody played. How good vanilla Bethesda games are is irrelevant anyway; people will install like 100 mods.

Halo infinite didn't ship with forge.

Mods are irrelevant to reviews. When you buy a game you buy what's in the base package. Not the online extensions made by fans that may or may not exist in 6 months time.

 

[PlayerEmers]

DLC tomorrow... so...
Anyone here willing to sacrifice his soul, throw money in the garbage can and play this dlc on day one? (and maybe give us a review on how much did you suffer and cringed playing this piece of shit)

 

[Late Bloomer]

DLC tomorrow... so...
Anyone here willing to sacrifice his soul, throw money in the garbage can and play this dlc on day one? (and maybe give us a review on how much did you suffer and cringed playing this piece of shit)

I believe Lemming42 is planning on giving it a go. Although, I am not sure he will point out the cringe.

 

[Hell Swarm]

DLC tomorrow... so...
Anyone here willing to sacrifice his soul, throw money in the garbage can and play this dlc on day one? (and maybe give us a review on how much did you suffer and cringed playing this piece of shit)

It'll be torrentable in like 3 days tops.

 

[Lemming42]

I believe @Lemming42 is planning on giving it a go. Although, I am not sure he will point out the cringe.

I was planning on playing it but the snag in the plan is that I couldn't be bothered finishing the playthrough I started a couple weeks ago, so I'll be going into the DLC with a character who's like level 4. We'll see what happens, worst case scenario I'll just use advlevel or something.

 

[Heroic Liberator]

Yeah, I'm gonna wait until I can spoil myself regarding the story (interested in Varuun subfactions and general C&C mainly) before I try the expansion.

 

[FrostRaven]

Mods aren't what sells a game when it hits gold, it's the state people play them in that moment that will be what makes or breaks the opinion of the players.
I still remember hating Skyrim on launch because the UI was terrible on PC and finally waiting for someone to unfuck it with a Mod... and I still remember that one of Skyrims fault was it's god awful UI, something that Bethesda keeps doing game after game, in an almost japanese way of not giving a fuck about PC players that kept the lights one during the dark days of Morrowind.

Also, not everyone is a freak of modding the game to hell. I dislike changing the "game as the devs intended it to be played", prefering to play the game as vanilla as possible (only UI mods, basically) and then modding the games. Half my friends love mods, the other half never uses them because they just want to play the game and then move to the next, they don't want to spend time modding or fixing a game they already played.

 

[Late Bloomer]

 

[Gargaune]

There's something very strange about Starfield promo videos - whenever I watch them, my eyes tend to glaze over and I drift off into thinking about other things. Bills, the weather, women... Then, suddenly, "PLAY IT ON XBOX" and I snap out out of it. You know, like you're back in high school, daydreaming at your desk and the teacher suddenly calls your name. It's very disconcerting.

 

[Infinitron]

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1716740/view/4674263407969870358

Prepare for the Launch of Shattered Space
In Shattered Space, Starfield’s first major expansion, you’ll visit the home world of House Va’ruun for the first time. Explore a fully handcrafted new location and unravel the mysteries surrounding the followers of the Great Serpent.

When you arrive in Va’ruun’kai, a massive vortex has destroyed much of the city of Dazra, throwing House Va’ruun into chaos. In Shattered Space, you’ll uncover the mysteries behind the vortex and learn the fate of the survivors of House Va’ruun.

Shattered Space launches on
September 30
for Xbox Series X | S and PC.

Check out our Shattered Space Deep Dive for a closer look at the upcoming content.

Global Launch Times

Accessing and Starting Shattered Space
Owners of the Premium or Constellation Editions of Starfield will receive Shattered Space as part of their original purchase. Owners of the Standard Edition can still purchase the Digital Premium Upgrade for access to Shattered Space plus other digital items including the Digital Art Book, Original Soundtrack, 1,000 Creation Credits and the Constellation Skin pack.

Game Pass subscribers can upgrade to the Premium Edition of Starfield to access Shattered Space.

To start playing the Shattered Space expansion, players must complete the introductory mission of the main quest, One Small Step. After you’ve completed One Small Step, the first time players grav-jump to an orbit that is not used by a mission or encounter, they will receive a distress call and discover a large star station, The Oracle.

Any player can take on the challenge in Shattered Space, but reaching level 35 is recommended for the best experience.

PC Specs
Recommended:
OS
Windows 10/11 with updates
Processor
AMD Ryzen 5 3660X, Intel i5-10600K
Memory
16 GB RAM
Graphics
AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080
DirectX
Version 12
Network
Broadband Internet Connection
Storage
125GB Available Space
Additional Notes
SSD Required

Minimum:
OS
Windows 10 Version 21H1 (10.0.19043)
Processor
AMD Ryzen 5
Memory
16 GB RAM
Graphics
AMD Radeon RX 5700, NVIDIA GeForce 1070 Ti
DirectX
Version 12
Storage
125GB Available Space
Additional Notes
SSD Required

No Better Time to Play
With the many updates and improvements that we’ve made to the Starfield base game, Shattered Space is the perfect time to jump into Starfield. Here are just a few of the new features and improvements we’ve made since launch.

REV-8 Land Vehicle
The REV-8 has landed! Now is your chance to explore new frontiers (and reach new heights) in your very own land cruiser. The REV-8 land vehicle is fitted with a mounted turret to fight off hostile wildlife and forward boosters to get you where you want to go fast.

Improved Maps
One of the most requested features for Starfield, improved and more detailed surface maps were implemented, adding points of interest. We also added fast travel markers for vendors in cities making getting around in Neon and other large cities much easier.

Starfield Creations
We also launched Creations for Starfield bringing a whole host of new bespoke content to the game from our devs and Creators.

New Gameplay Options
There have been a few exciting updates to Starfield that allow you to customize the way you play the game, including accessing ship cargo from anywhere in your player inventory, the ability to increase vendor credits and carry capacity.

In addition, we’ve added difficulty settings and the ability to change survival features such as the effects of food and environmental hazards. In terms of combat settings, you can make space combat more difficult or make run-and-gun combat easier.

For an extra challenge, play on the new Extreme difficulty setting!

Bounty Scanning
The added bounty scanner system enables you to seek out and destroy targets with bounties on their heads. For more bounties, check out the Elite Trackers Alliance mission board.

Melee Weapon Improvements and Ammunition Crafting
We have also added improved tiers for melee weapons and the ability to improve your melee weapons at crafting benches.

Additionally, you can now research types of ammunition at a Research Station and craft them at an Industrial Workbench. No need to fear running out of ammo for your favorite gun when you can just craft more.

So, jump back into Starfield today and experience these and the many other improvements we’ve made to the game!

 

[PlayerEmers]

Just checked the starfield category on twitch to see what is going on in this DLC and the top 4 streamers are all sponsored; the only one above 3k viewers is cohhcarnage: the ultimate professional shill that takes all sponsors and like all games.
No one (on twitch) wants to play this, only paid actors.

 

[ind33d]

Just checked the starfield category on twitch to see what is going on in this DLC and the top 4 streamers are all sponsored; the only one above 3k viewers is cohhcarnage: the ultimate professional shill that takes all sponsors and like all games.
No one (on twitch) wants to play this, only paid actors.

why would someone stream themselves playing a bethesda game? so people can ask you which sex mods you have installed?

 

[GentlemanCthulhu]

What's this DLC's actual content though? The list of "features" on the release post are all minor additions from patches before the DLC.

 

[I eat frozen vegetables]

What's this DLC's actual content though? The list of "features" on the release post are all minor additions from patches before the DLC.

This is the only feature so far.

 

[Lemming42]

58% reinstalled!!! Get hyped to explode the Varuun systems or however it's spelled. I can't wait to see all the purple shit or whatever.

I'm playing Call of the Sea though which is frankly a better use of time than Starfield on the whole, so I might spend the night on that instead. I was so into it that I legit forgot today was the big day.

 

[Late Bloomer]

58% reinstalled!!! Get hyped to explode the Varuun systems or however it's spelled. I can't wait to see all the purple shit or whatever.

I'm playing Call of the Sea though which is frankly a better use of time than Starfield on the whole, so I might spend the night on that instead. I was so into it that I legit forgot today was the big day.

Are the puzzles sensible in Call of the Sea?

 

[Sigourn]

It's interesting how the trailer falls apart once gameplay is shown. Because no matter how interesting your story, characters, or setting may be... at the end of the day, it's just Skyllout in space.

 

[Lemming42]

Are the puzzles sensible in Call of the Sea?

They're all pretty intuitive so far, I'm on Chapter 3 and haven't had to use a walkthrough yet. The notebook is really useful too, whenever the protagonist notes something down it's directly involved in a puzzle solution so you always know what information is relevant.

 

[Late Bloomer]

It's interesting how the trailer falls apart once gameplay is shown. Because no matter how interesting your story, characters, or setting may be... at the end of the day, it's just Skyllout in space.

Incorrect. It is its own abomination. It is neither Fallout 4 nor Skyrim in space. It is unadulterated, irredeemable slop that can't be saved by dlc or mods. The gunplay is light with no weight to your weapons, no feelings of impact in both gunplay and melee, no gore, no limb damage, no vats. This is not even discussing exploration, location reuse, shit procedural generation, digusting brown turd npc's everywhere, and a laundry list of other issues. Shit on Skyrim/Fallout 4 all you want. But this is a seperate beast that deserves it's own ridicule.

 

[ind33d]

It's interesting how the trailer falls apart once gameplay is shown. Because no matter how interesting your story, characters, or setting may be... at the end of the day, it's just Skyllout in space.

Incorrect. It is its own abomination. It is neither Fallout 4 nor Skyrim in space. It is unadulterated, irredeemable slop that can't be saved by dlc or mods. The gunplay is light with no weight to your weapons, no feelings of impact in both gunplay and melee, no gore, no limb damage, no vats. This is not even mentioning exploration, location reuse, shit procedural generation, digusting brown turd npc's everywhere, and a laundry list of other issues. Shit on Skyrim/Fallout 4 all you want. But this is a seperate beast that deserves it's own ridicule.

>Codex is pro-VATS now

casualcucks get OUT of my thread

 

[Late Bloomer]

It's interesting how the trailer falls apart once gameplay is shown. Because no matter how interesting your story, characters, or setting may be... at the end of the day, it's just Skyllout in space.

Incorrect. It is its own abomination. It is neither Fallout 4 nor Skyrim in space. It is unadulterated, irredeemable slop that can't be saved by dlc or mods. The gunplay is light with no weight to your weapons, no feelings of impact in both gunplay and melee, no gore, no limb damage, no vats. This is not even mentioning exploration, location reuse, shit procedural generation, digusting brown turd npc's everywhere, and a laundry list of other issues. Shit on Skyrim/Fallout 4 all you want. But this is a seperate beast that deserves it's own ridicule.

>Codex is pro-VATS now

casualcucks get OUT of my thread

No, it's just me. Maybe one or two others but they won't admit it.

 

[Lemming42]

This is kinda cool. Big zero-g battle in this chamber, all that weird blue glowing shit teleports you if you bump into it so shit's flying around everywhere. Any time you fire a gun, the recoil blows you back up toward a collection of blue shit on the ceiling.

Story seems pretty lame so far but I've only just started.

 

[Lemming42]

Dunno if it's the game itself or the fact that I've got a pounding headache from my 3,928th attempt to quit smoking but fucking hell the planet you go to is ugly. The most garish colours ever.