:.:. Starfield .:.: - by Vae
EvaUnit02 on 6/9/2023 at 11:03
Played it today at my mate's place. Can confirm that it's fast travel + loading screen simulator.
The space travel is completely fake. There was an objective on a planet that I had to reach and no matter how much I flew, boosted, etc it never was any closer. I realised then that we had to fast travel to it! WTF?!
What I played of the on foot gameplay I very much liked. Am looking forward to playing it when I'm back from holiday next week.
Renault on 6/9/2023 at 14:51
I gave it a spin for about two hours last night, and yeah, that's the thing that sticks out most. Loading screen after loading screen just to get anywhere. Really kills the immersion. I'm surprised they couldn't come up with a better system than this, especially given how No Man's Sky has been doing it far better for years, since basically 2016.
EvaUnit02 on 6/9/2023 at 23:40
Quote Posted by Brethren
I gave it a spin for about two hours last night, and yeah, that's the thing that sticks out most. Loading screen after loading screen just to get anywhere. Really kills the immersion. I'm surprised they couldn't come up with a better system than this, especially given how No Man's Sky has been doing it far better for years, since basically 2016.
The level loading zones I think are a symptom of their Bethesbryo/Creation engine.
I think that people saying they should change their engine should be careful of what they wish for. Their games are highly moddable BECAUSE of their engine. If they did something like switch to Unreal then I'd imagine the long tail their games have because of modding will largely disappear.
demagogue on 7/9/2023 at 02:28
I can only think that they brought "no seamless travel" criticism on to themselves by venturing in this genre that has such an established baseline of seamless travel.
Also exploration is a central part of their gameplay.
I'm not sure if it's in the scope of modding since it seems like such a major part of the engine that would require quite a fundamental rehaul, but I can predict the modding community is going to try their damnedest anyway.
Sulphur on 7/9/2023 at 04:03
It's a pretty large design consideration, yeah. When Bethesda added the concept of cells to Gamebryo, I imagine they felt comparmentalisation of interiors and exteriors was a good compromise for performance given the hardware of the time. The world's largely left that sort of thing behind, but what Beth have done is expand the concept alongside hardware advances, so now you still have exterior and interior cells in a worldspace, but exterior cells are big enough that you can just model houses on top of them. But that means seamless, contiguous streaming of worlds is largely not possible while this design philosophy is in place (don't know if this is what enables things like persistent physics objects you can move around as part of the deal). At least, that's my understanding of it - if someone's actually used the GECK or created mods, a better explanation would be nice.
Malf on 7/9/2023 at 12:29
It's a constant complaint that Bethesda games continue using the Creation engine, but to be fair to them (and anyone who knows me knows I hate Bethesda with a passion), I think their argument of familiarity with the tools is a good one, especially when you consider that they have one of the best records for retaining long-term employees.
Yes, it's not the best experience for players, and looks positively quaint these days, especially when more and more games following an open world model are now focussing on making as many buildings accessible as possible (with Shadows of Doubt possibly being the closest to Specter's simulated city block that any game has yet gotten). But job security in game development is a rare and special thing, and should be applauded wherever it's found.
Phil and Todd are penises of gigantic proportions, wobbling around and tainting everything they touch with their own special brand of smegma. But I can't deny that if you're a first-party Bethesda Softworks employee, they're 100% behind you (how that makes you feel given my previous description is up to you).
If you're employed by one of their acquisitions mind you, that's a COMPLETELY different matter.
Jason Moyer on 7/9/2023 at 16:47
People can bitch about the Creation engine all they want, but then they'll also bitch about how AAA games aren't moddable anymore. Bethsoft games have to be, by far, the most modded games ever made. Which some might see as a negative (oh look, modders fixing their game again!) but I see it as a result of using an engine and tools that are insanely user friendly.
Yakoob on 7/9/2023 at 20:04
Alright, reading this thread made me cave in and get starfield
Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/XJoG9sC.jpegOnly like an hour in but haven't hit too many load screens so don't know what you guys are talking about. Lots of bows and melee tho. Can't wait to find the first gun!
demagogue on 7/9/2023 at 21:10
That's not even going to be a joke soon because I fully expect it's only a matter of time until modders make Skyrim on a world you can visit in Starfield. Kids love crossovers.
