RogueSix wrote on Aug 31, 2023, 23:57:
If a game isn't a 10/10 then it is automatically meh or middling. Welcome to 2023

Scores have nothing to do with it, we all know reviews scores mean nothing, and if you wanna talk about a game's quality, you have to discuss the issues that actually exist within the game, which people are doing.

I couldn't care less if every reviewer gave it 10/10, because it would be BS and not at all representative of the actual product.

started my playthrough last night. one thing i haven't seen mentioned anywhere - it doesn't support flight sticks. what the fuckiing fuck?!? a space game that doesn't support flying in space with a flight stick?!? i'm sure it'll be modded at some point but a quick search didn't turn up anything. you can use a controller, but, goddamn what a let down.

MeanJim wrote on Sep 1, 2023, 15:19:

MeanJim wrote on Sep 1, 2023, 02:47:
Only one of the reviews I looked at even mentioned the UI, and shared the complaints I have, like the floating quest markers, hit markers, the health meters and level of enemies you're looking at, the +XP crap that jumps right in your face every time you get experience points and discover something. It's intrusive, in the way, and completely unnecessary. You also can't turn any of it off.

That didn't take long: https://www.nexusmods.com/starfield/mods/214

God bless modders.
Health bars and their ancillary data should at least be toggleable on/off.
By the time I get around to purchasing this game I'm looking forward to starting with a nicely customised experience.

I waited 2 years before buying Cyberpunk and imo, it paid off. I'll wait a while for Starfield, maybe 1 or 2 expansion and several mods later.

MeanJim wrote on Sep 1, 2023, 02:47:
Only one of the reviews I looked at even mentioned the UI, and shared the complaints I have, like the floating quest markers, hit markers, the health meters and level of enemies you're looking at, the +XP crap that jumps right in your face every time you get experience points and discover something. It's intrusive, in the way, and completely unnecessary. You also can't turn any of it off.

That didn't take long: https://www.nexusmods.com/starfield/mods/214

Fion wrote on Sep 1, 2023, 11:35:

RogueSix wrote on Aug 31, 2023, 23:57:
If a game isn't a 10/10 then it is automatically meh or middling. Welcome to 2023

Welcome to the Bluesnews forum, full mostly of middle aged curmudgeons at this point lol.

1) Being middle aged means you've done a fair bit of gaming so you keep seeing the same issues game after game. Frustrating.

2) Being middle aged means you don't have gobs of time for gaming so you seek optimal experiences.

3) Each of several reviews i read or watched brought up disappointing structural and design issues. This is a shame given how long the game has been in development. As a result, reviewers either describe or give a 7/10 game. Compare to something like BG3 where praise was largely universal.

I liked the PC Gamer review. They said basically what I expected:

• Shooting consists of watching a health bar diminish until the enemy performs the patented Bethesda ragdoll animation
• Main story isn't that great but some of the side quests can be quite stellar occasionally
• Most characters and party NPCs are average at best, mostly uninteresting
• Awkward straight-on dialogue system, no cinematic camera, dead soulless eyes of NPC staring at you

OK, okay, but then they also said that on their second playthrough they ignored the main quest and set out to become a space-meth dealer and they had a blast doing that: creating a manufacturing plant on a planet with resources they gathered, scouring planets for resources to create the drug they sell (they found/stole the recipe), connections to the cartel, etc. It sounds like you could create some amazing stories of your own if you set out to do so. That's reminiscent to me of Skyrim and Fallout 4 - the main story was pretty boring and ho-hum, but the world you inhabited while you did them had a lot of draws.

Another interesting thing is that space games don't lend themselves as much to finding stuff "just around the corner or over the hill", a la Breath of the Wild, where there's always some interesting tidbit around the next bend and before you know it it's been 2 hours and you're way off course from your quest marker, but you had a lot of fun just exploring the random bits. By having everything in Starfield segregated by planets, and there not being that many random quests or activities occurring between planets, you don't get that same "round the next bend" effect. I think that's a core component of Skyrim and Fallout 4, so that's possibly missing in Starfield.

Great, just fucking great, it wasn't enough for Bill Gates' murdered my wife and turned my daughter ghay with his Covid 5G nanobot infused clot shot bioweapon, just to help his friends steal an election, and do communion! Now he is demanding that video game companies force us to choose our PRONOUNS TOO! I need state my PRONOUNS just to play a child's game, for little school children!!!! I Do not want to play!

bRUH! this game kind of dope, but really it is just Skyrim/Fallout in space. Keep thinking how bad action it would be to mod it and reskin it to Star Trek TOS!

but for real, I cant wait to see the anti-W0kE backlash, PRONOUNS? it's 2023 and you know someone is about to flip their shit, download 100 copy's and burn their computer to protect the children!

This comment was edited on Sep 1, 2023, 13:49.

RogueSix wrote on Aug 31, 2023, 23:57:
If a game isn't a 10/10 then it is automatically meh or middling. Welcome to 2023

Welcome to the Bluesnews forum, full mostly of middle aged curmudgeons at this point lol.

RogueSix wrote on Sep 1, 2023, 01:46:

Hardline Mike wrote on Sep 1, 2023, 01:33:
Mile wide and an inch deep, with nothing out there to find, judging by the actual content of many the reviews.

In other words: Yet another typical Bethesda game.

I think this is accurate for Oblivion for sure (which was a shame), and maybe for FO3 and 4, but definitely not for Morrowind, Skyrim or New Vegas.

I'm going to keep looking at reviews. My favorite RPGs are ones with a lot of flavor (Planescape) so this may or may not work for me. Story over mechanics.

It seems like the game engine held Starfield back from being true to Todd's vision of the game. When I think of space and exploration, I don't think of a loading screens being common place, but that's exactly what Bethesda's games are like due to the game engine they use.

In the end I don't really care. I always enjoy Bethesda's games (besides Fallout 76), so I expect to enjoy Starfield as well. It's on Game Pass as well so it's not like I'll be paying anything extra to play it anyway.

PHJF wrote on Sep 1, 2023, 06:57:
What you want is called Everspace 2.

I thought I was going to really enjoy Everspace 2, but I'm ten hours in and really bored with it.

This is not a space game, as many reviews point out. You can spend a lot of time customizing your ship but there is literally no exploration off planet, all you can do is fly around in orbit or fast travel to something else.

What you want is called Everspace 2.

El Pit wrote on Sep 1, 2023, 04:31:

Razumen wrote on Sep 1, 2023, 02:43:

El Pit wrote on Sep 1, 2023, 01:42:

Razumen wrote on Aug 31, 2023, 20:38:
Looks middling, which is par for the course for Bethesda games. I don't know why people expected a great space game when they're using an engine that can't even replicate space travel. And from the qoutes about the game's content, it looks like it's taking the award of "Wide as an ocean, deep as a puddle." from Skyrim.

100/2=88

Hm...

Bruh, 100/2=50

No wonder you're confused, you can't even maths!

Now I am even more confused. 88 out of 100 is MIDDLING but then you say that 100/2=50 is not middling? I... What?

Woosh!

And also, please read my previous comments on scores, maybe you'd be less confused then.

VaranDragon wrote on Sep 1, 2023, 05:07:
Whether or not I get Starfield will probably depend on whether or not it's like Freelancer was meant to be way back when. If starship travel\combat\exploration is more of an afterthought, and everything happens on planets then it's probably not going to be my cup of tea.

I will say though that, depending on MOD support, regardless of the quality of this game right now, in about a year's time this game will probably be GOLDEN.

It seems that it depends on your very own playstyle. You can sort of skip most of space travel and combat because of the fast travel system but you can, of course, go space pirate and enter/steal enemy ships or go bounty hunter. Some reviewers said that they finished the main storyline and spent only 30 to 40 minutes in space. Others said they had fun becoming the meanest menace in space.

Once I complete my mandatory work day I can actually load the game. Certainly toss a opinion or two about it on here.

I did sit through ACGs review of it. He seemed to like it.

Whether or not I get Starfield will probably depend on whether or not it's like Freelancer was meant to be way back when. If starship travel\combat\exploration is more of an afterthought, and everything happens on planets then it's probably not going to be my cup of tea.

I will say though that, depending on MOD support, regardless of the quality of this game right now, in about a year's time this game will probably be GOLDEN.

Razumen wrote on Sep 1, 2023, 02:43:

El Pit wrote on Sep 1, 2023, 01:42:

Razumen wrote on Aug 31, 2023, 20:38:
Looks middling, which is par for the course for Bethesda games. I don't know why people expected a great space game when they're using an engine that can't even replicate space travel. And from the qoutes about the game's content, it looks like it's taking the award of "Wide as an ocean, deep as a puddle." from Skyrim.

100/2=88

Hm...

Bruh, 100/2=50

No wonder you're confused, you can't even maths!

Now I am even more confused. 88 out of 100 is MIDDLING but then you say that 100/2=50 is not middling? I... What?

Razumen wrote on Sep 1, 2023, 01:20:
Ratings mean nothing, I've read the reviews and they confirm what I already expected: the same mediocre combat, lagging visuals, and subpar writing as their previous games. It's middling through and through, and the only reason it's getting these high scores is because it's from Bethesda, and their fans have been conditioned to accept mediocrity in these elements.

Also, not even all the reviews are out, there have been many reviewers which haven't received their keys because they've historically been tougher on their games, so Bethesda is clearly playing favorites here.

That's pretty much what I saw. I didn't listen to the reviewer's opinions, I looked at the game and judged what I saw. People are already throwing up "Lets Plays" on YouTube, so I picked a random one that was recommended and skipped through it some. I skipped the early tutorial parts and watched a bit after they let you have control, and I wasn't impressed. I skipped to later in the game, I don't know how far, and still wasn't impressed. Maybe it gets better, and it's the usual Bethesda holding your hand for the first several hours before letting you go.

The first thing that stands out is the UI is horrible. I didn't notice any changes from the footage they showed a while back, so it will definitely need an overhaul mod. Only one of the reviews I looked at even mentioned the UI, and shared the complaints I have, like the floating quest markers, hit markers, the health meters and level of enemies you're looking at, the +XP crap that jumps right in your face every time you get experience points and discover something. It's intrusive, in the way, and completely unnecessary. You also can't turn any of it off.

The quests, from what I saw, were typical of Bethesda. There was a hint of a faction system from what I saw, but all the quests were like Skyrim's go to somewhere, do something, then get told what to do next. Some of the reviews politely imply this as well rather than just coming out and saying it's crap. I also looks like they've gone with level scaling, squishy enemies again.

And then there's the annoying "cinematic" crap. What I like about playing a first person perspective RPGs is being in the game. I hate it when it's constantly taking me out of first person to show me cinematic shit. The ship taking off and landing I'd rather experience from first person, or just let me skip it. It was already old after the first couple of times I saw it, but it's probably hiding loading screens. Then there's little unnecessary shit like sitting down. FFS, do you really need to switch to 3rd person to show me that I'm sitting down. I know I'm not alone with this because there have been mods for every one of their games to get rid of this.

El Pit wrote on Sep 1, 2023, 01:42:

Razumen wrote on Aug 31, 2023, 20:38:
Looks middling, which is par for the course for Bethesda games. I don't know why people expected a great space game when they're using an engine that can't even replicate space travel. And from the qoutes about the game's content, it looks like it's taking the award of "Wide as an ocean, deep as a puddle." from Skyrim.

100/2=88

Hm...

Bruh, 100/2=50

No wonder you're confused, you can't even maths!

- Sage gamer:
Like other Bethesda games, but in a few months it'll be a pleasure to play.
Looks up the new patches and Nexus mods of the day.

- G.I.N.O.s (Gamers In Name Only):
"No game is good enough for me, and I'll thoroughly detail for you why I'm irrefutably right".
They don't really like games but haven't found a better hobby yet.

- Revenge gamers:
"All Bethesda games are garbage".
But the Star Citizen alpha is the zenith of gaming.

*runs frantically for the hills*