chickenboo wrote on Sep 5, 2023, 12:52:
It is curious isn't it? They go to great lengths to design their new game, its systems and worlds.

So far I haven't really seen any systems that I would say were designed "at great lengths." The shipbuilder comes close I guess, but the fact it supports such a half-baked space element kind of makes it feel like a hollow accomplishment. Not sure about outposts, I don't have the resources to even build on yet, but I do know that just the process of finding a good spot to build is an infuriatingly tedious process.

Some of the reviews have touched on this as well, saying that the game does a lot of things good enough, but there is no one thing that really makes you go "Wow, this is really cool." and keeps you drawing you back in.

Bill Borre wrote on Sep 1, 2023, 12:19:
I think it's weird how they talk about it like it's the game they always wanted to write but many of the reviews talk about the design and writing as meh. Maybe they thought the modders would tell the cool stories and they just wanted to publish a design that would appeal to the greatest number of players?

It is curious isn't it? They go to great lengths to design their new game, its systems and worlds, they plot out a major story arc, but the reviews I read didn't praise the writing or storytelling. Some of the smaller side quests provide interesting gameplay opportunities (my friend's playthru included a quest where he had to meet a recovering addict, take him to get a meal, and then walk him home) but I didn't see any praise saying this meets or exceeds the standards that CDPR have set.
But then, I've become a curmudgeon: Skyrim was good in 2011, and it's better now with mods. I bounced off Fallout 4 hard. I'm not going to bother with this title. Bethesda makes good interactive RPG worlds with lots of immersive play qualities, but then leaves you wishing for a solid Yennefer, or Triss, or Regis, or Olgierd.

Jim wrote on Sep 4, 2023, 16:28:

Razumen wrote on Sep 3, 2023, 21:33:
The game IS pretty meh. Besides the lackluster writing, terrible performance, dated visuals, bad AI, ugly characters and animations, space flight in particular is a joke because to go from system to system you literally only need to spend five seconds in your ship floating in a skybox, while the rest of the 30-45 seconds is either in a menu, cutscene, or loading screen.

wow, eye opening. Here I was, having a good time with it. I didn't realize how much it must actually suck. LOL

Standards, meet low bar.

Razumen wrote on Sep 3, 2023, 21:33:
The game IS pretty meh. Besides the lackluster writing, terrible performance, dated visuals, bad AI, ugly characters and animations, space flight in particular is a joke because to go from system to system you literally only need to spend five seconds in your ship floating in a skybox, while the rest of the 30-45 seconds is either in a menu, cutscene, or loading screen.

wow, eye opening. Here I was, having a good time with it. I didn't realize how much it must actually suck. LOL

Darks wrote on Sep 1, 2023, 12:27:

Bill Borre wrote on Sep 1, 2023, 12:19:
I think it's weird how they talk about it like it's the game they always wanted to write but many of the reviews talk about the design and writing as meh. Maybe they thought the modders would tell the cool stories and they just wanted to publish a design that would appeal to the greatest number of players?

What are you talking about? Most of the reviews have been pretty positive. And the scores have been in the upper 70's that's not Meh!!

The game IS pretty meh. Besides the lackluster writing, terrible performance, dated visuals, bad AI, ugly characters and animations, space flight in particular is a joke because to go from system to system you literally only need to spend five seconds in your ship floating in a skybox, while the rest of the 30-45 seconds is either in a menu, cutscene, or loading screen.

Don't thank me yet for loving you. I did not pay the extra "first lover in line" fee, so we will meet later this week and THEN we will see...

Kxmode wrote on Sep 2, 2023, 04:06:
I'm curious if Starfield will become Bethesda's equivalent of what Elden Ring was for FromSoftware – a culmination of their accumulated creative endeavors.

When you play it you can feel it being a mix of several games. So I would agree with your sentiment here.

Prez wrote on Sep 1, 2023, 19:36:
I don't really care what the vast majority of reviews say. I rely on ACG almost exclusively because his tastes almost perfectly align with mine. What he finds fun I do as well, and what he finds to be significant negatives match mine as well. My favorite thing is that he doesn't bother with scores because they are arbitrary and stupid. I am amazed that people still put so much emphasis on scores. He also is steadfast against sponsorships and doesn't accept review copies. If he gets one he gives it to a fan; he buys every game. Based on his review I am excited about buying Starfield and I didn't think I would be, at least not this early.

I had preordered over two months ago so ACGs review was a moot point to me. However since I do watch and believe his reviews anyhow. I watched his Starfield review and after playing the game myself for several hours, I can say it’s pretty spot on.

I'm curious if Starfield will become Bethesda's equivalent of what Elden Ring was for FromSoftware – a culmination of their accumulated creative endeavors.

Darks wrote on Sep 1, 2023, 12:27:
What are you talking about? Most of the reviews have been pretty positive. And the scores have been in the upper 70's that's not Meh!!

Did you collect a wallful of participation trophies as you grew up that made you think 70s score is "not Meh?" It's a C grade.

This comment was edited on Sep 1, 2023, 21:19.

WannaLogAlready wrote on Sep 1, 2023, 19:42:
Prez, I give your post a 10 !

Such a shill

Prez, I give your post a 10 !

I don't really care what the vast majority of reviews say. I rely on ACG almost exclusively because his tastes almost perfectly align with mine. What he finds fun I do as well, and what he finds to be significant negatives match mine as well. My favorite thing is that he doesn't bother with scores because they are arbitrary and stupid. I am amazed that people still put so much emphasis on scores. He also is steadfast against sponsorships and doesn't accept review copies. If he gets one he gives it to a fan; he buys every game. Based on his review I am excited about buying Starfield and I didn't think I would be, at least not this early.

I’m having a good time with it. I like it.

NPC followers can get weird on pathfinding though. And Vasco boxed me in once.

Otherwise only noticeable weirdness is activating an NPC for dialog from weird angles IE: from a 90degree angle can result in the NPC doing really weird stuff to make eye contact with you. The frame rate when using the NAT on Atlantis is noticeably terrible.

I’m happy with it so far. Look forward to losing myself for many more hours into it.

Leper wrote on Sep 1, 2023, 14:29:
You've got to give Bethesda credit for taking a risk on a new IP instead of just another Fallout or Elder Scrolls game and also not releasing it with too many bugs.

I've got about 6 hours in now, and its been pretty good. Exploring and seeing the universe is always going to be fun. I really despise it when people who haven't even played a game want to shit all over something just because they have some dislike of the company or the game.

I don't take those people serious and usually go off my own experiences and what only a few reviewers have to say that I fully trust when it comes to reviews.

If you have reviewers that you trust, then see what they have to say about the game. I have a couple like that (skillup, mortismal gaming) and they were both really positive about the game. But considering who it’s from I would’ve bought it in any case, so I went ahead and picked it up.

Hard pass.

You've got to give Bethesda credit for taking a risk on a new IP instead of just another Fallout or Elder Scrolls game and also not releasing it with too many bugs.

Trust and interpret my words but dismiss my overall score ?

Many reviewers like to show how exigent and personally rigorous they are.
But in the end they have to resume it on a how much did they like it or not, or how they think the general readers should consider it.

Well, consensus say they liked it quite a lot, or are they purposefully misleading you?
4 reviews 70%, 1 review 75%,
47 reviews 80 to 100%.
https://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/starfield/critic-reviews

This comment was edited on Sep 1, 2023, 14:29.

Don't just press Buy because you saw an aggregator score. The actual words coming out of the reviewers paints a different picture than what the score paints. Do yourself a favor and check it out before deciding.