Support NeoGAF

[GrayChild]

Offering a lot of content is all fine and dandy. But when you create huge open spaces with little to nothing to do or simply copy and paste the same stuff again and again, it just becomes boring.

Last-gen we had quite a lot of open-world titles that felt ticking check marks or doing a laundry list rather than having fun and rewarding exploration. Going into this one it appears that pretty much nothing has changed. Honestly, at this point advertising your game with "hundreds of hours of gameplay" and "the biggest open-world we've made so far" starts to feel more and more off-putting.

As an adult, I value my time. As a gamer, I also have a huge-ass backlog of titles ready to be played. So keeping it shorter and up to the point when designing your games is always appreciated.

/rant mode off.

 

[FinalBossWithTheMostPower]

 

[Bernoulli]

I think it was due to overhyping
Todd with his lies
And the warriors that painted the game as GOTG, i was into the hype too but fell hard today
I'm going to wait a few months for mods to improve the experience and my new GPU

 

[Danjin44]

All I want is variety, I can enjoy open world games like Elden Ring and Zelda but I don’t want every fucking game to be open world. I’m glad FROM sticked with mission structure for ACVI because it was right choice for the series.

 

[Games of Today]

I think we're forgetting here that real space is... empty?

You know No Man's Sky already exists and is filled to the brim with horrendous looking creatures and plants on nearly every planet. I would beg for dead and barren worlds while playing that game.

People praise Red Dead 2 and I play a lot of it myself. But other than shooting wild animals, what is there really to do inbetween towns around most of the map? Pretty much nothing, it's pretty barren content wise.

It's not always a bad thing.

 

[GrayChild]

All I want is variety, I can enjoy open world games like Elden Ring and Zelda but I don’t want fucking game becomes open world. I’m glad FROM sticked with mission ACVI because it was right choice for series.

Yup. Haven't played the last 2 Zelda games, but Elden Ring was pretty much the only open world title in the last few years where its scope was (almost) justified.

 

[Mister Wolf]

I've always preferred smaller open zone games like Baldur's Gate 3, Xenoblade, Tales Of Arise, and Metro Exodus.

 

[Killer8]

Starfield's reception:

 

[Guilty_AI]

You can make big open worlds that work, you just need to understand how. One genre that pairs up really well with huge maps are driving/racing games for example

 

[Games of Today]

I've always preferred smaller open zone games like Baldur's Gate 3, Tales Of Arise, and Metro Exodus.

Metro Exodus is pretty sweet. Far Cry 2 is another example of this formula. Shorter travel times, more action, less boredom.

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

I prefer this to every world having something on it

I haven't gotten near this far yet but I am the type who would find an out of the way hidden moon cave to build an outpost and stash shit

 

[Reave]

An 88 on OpenCritic and mostly positive reviews should scare other developers from making open-world games? I don't understand where you're going with this.

Also, is it barren or is it filled with checkboxes of stuff to do? Which one is it?

 

[Ozriel]

i was into the hype too l

And then you saw the 87% MC score and hype cooled?

 

[Games of Today]

An 88 on OpenCritic and mostly positive reviews should scare other developers from making open-world games? I don't understand where you're going with this.

Also, is it barren or is it filled with checkboxes of stuff to do? Which one is it?

Right... which one do people want lmao. AC Valhalla exists too haha.

 

[Ogbert]

As an adult, I value my time. As a gamer, I also have a huge-ass backlog of titles ready to be played. So keeping it shorter and up to the point when designing your games is always appreciated.

Or you could just jog on and play your backlog.

 

[Dr_Ifto]

Once Starfield's rose tinted glasses wear off the mob, a lot of criticism will ensue.

 

[MagiusNecros]

Reading the PC files in the outposts/research facilities across planets and spaceships though has great lore and world building so I don't feel like the Universe is empty at all? Lots of little details in the environments you explore.

Sandbox within Sandbox game.

Some planets are dead planets with no life and others have human settlements. It's all very interesting. Not to mention some have environmental hazards.

And then if you get into space skirmishs and you jump to another planet the enemies if they have their G-Drive will pursue you. So cool.

 

[KuraiShidosha]

Starfield cemented in my mind the fact that space is boring. Skyrim is plenty fun to run around and explore, Fallout too. It's space that just isn't compatible with human exploration while making it interesting.

 

[Stare-Bear]

I wouldn’t even call it open world. It’s bite sized chunks of planets and cities.

 

[TexMex]

Completely agree. Size of the map became a mandatory part of the PR cycle for any open world game somewhere along the way and I hate it. It can be the biggest in history and if it isn’t full of fun things to do I don’t care.

“Real” space being empty isn’t an excuse either. I’m here to play a dumb video game. I don’t want to travel through light years of nothing and I don’t think Starfield is aiming to be a space simulator either. It’s an action RPG and if it loses sight on action that is a problem.

This is a comment on the OP only and not the quality of the game. I have not played Starfield yet but will not week. So the Bethesda defense team can stand by.

 

[Big Baller]

Yeah, and Outer Worlds has small worlds with nothing to do.

 

[cireza]

Here is the a solution for you OP : don't play open-worlds.

 

[adamsapple]

I dunno OP, the great critical reception, the amount of people already playing it in this pre-release period and the way its taken over forum discourse is probably going to make more developers want to emulate this.

I, for one, welcome it.

 

[Bernoulli]

And then you saw the 87% MC score and hype cooled?

Don't care about MC

 

[Danjin44]

Starfield cemented in my mind the fact that space is boring. Skyrim is plenty fun to run around and explore, Fallout too. It's space that just isn't compatible with human exploration while making it interesting.

It would be have been interesting if in Starfield they had multiple country size Colonies similar to Gundam series that you can travel to.

 

[Hudo]

Once Starfield's rose tinted glasses wear off the mob, a lot of criticism will ensue.

Most likely because their marketing suggested it to be a different game than it apparently ended up being.

 

[dorkimoe]

I thought after anthem, and cyberpunk people would learn to calm their ridiculous expectations

 

[Crayon]

You mean the very good reception that did not reach emotionally inflated expectations?

 

[Gudji]

I thought after anthem, and cyberpunk people would learn to calm their ridiculous expectations

Anthem got me new antibodies.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Reminder: Game sales + engagement numbers are what matter...not Metascore.

 

[Helghan]

lol

 

[VN1X]

Another fuckin starfield thread

 

[Reave]

Most likely because their marketing suggested it to be a different game than it apparently ended up being.

Since E3, Bethesda has been telling people that Starfield is a NASA-punk game striving for a more grounded interpretation of sci-fi.

It’s quite odd that so many people internalized that as “I should expect every single planet in the universe to be densely populated and teeming with alien companions.”

 

[dorkimoe]

Another fuckin starfield thread

That’s how I felt about Elden ring

 

[Del_X]

Don't care, OP - game is great. Vastness sets a vibe that pea-brained reviewers that need mini-maps just can't deal with.

 

[feynoob]

Not when these games sells gangbusters.

 

[Hudo]

Since E3, Bethesda has been telling people that Starfield is a NASA-punk game striving for a more grounded interpretation of sci-fi.

It’s quite odd that so many people internalized that as “I should expect every single planet in the universe to be densely populated and teeming with alien companions.”

Nah, I didn't expect a lot of aliens and dense planets, I expected open, traversable space, though. And that you can explore planets and asteroids etc. in a coherent and seamless manner once landed. That appears not to be the case. And I am confused.

 

[M.W.]

Boringfield

 

[L*][*N*K]

Are you people on crack?

 

[M.W.]

Are you people on crack?

I fucking wish.

 

[Js562]

 

[Reave]

Nah, I didn't expect a lot of aliens and dense planets, I expected open, traversable space, though. And that you can explore planets and asteroids etc. in a coherent and seamless manner once landed. That appears not to be the case. And I am confused.

Where and when was that promised to you?

Or, did you do what a lot of people seem to have done, which is create a dream-Starfield in your head that Bethesda never desired to achieve?

 

[Virex]

Are you people on crack?

I'm not, but I'm willing to try some

 

[Madflavor]

I think Starfield is unfortunately going to be one of those overhyped games that's going to have a particularly hard hitting Post-Honeymoon period for a lot of folks. It looks like plenty of fun, I'm looking forward to playing it, but I have my expectations set according. It just seems like it's a fine Space RPG. For me that's good enough. But this game was clearly marketed and hyped up as a game changer. A once in a generation type of Open World RPG. I don't think that'll be the case. The amount of loading screens, the way you transition from planet to planet, the ugly drab look of the environment and NPCs, the outdated RPG mechanics, the outdated game engine, the braindead AI, etc.

There's some potential for incredible mods to be born from this. Fallout 4 had some great mods that vastly improved the game. But as it stands right now, the base game from what I've been watching a lot of, doesn't seem like a serious system seller.

 

[Hudo]

Where and when was that promised to you?

In the Starfield direct, for example.

Edit: I might have fallen for their marketing tricks there, I guess. They heavily suggested all of this without explicitly stating it. So, fuck me, I guess. (During the sections where they talk about your space ship and exploration in general, I got the impression that space was actually freely explorable and that planets were seemless once landed)

 

[Killjoy-NL]

I wouldn’t even call it open world. It’s bite sized chunks of planets and cities.

I thought you could fully explore each planet?

 

[M.W.]

I don't call walking/running for 10 minutes in one direction to find a small hut with one scientist sitting at table really compelling. Inventory management is also a huge turn off. I'm spending more time in menus than playing. Big meh.

 

[Hudo]

I thought you could fully explore each planet?

As far as I understand, you technically can fully explore each planet. Just in chunks, which are bound to your space ship. And the chunks seem to be generated for you and don't necessarily relate to each other. I've read a review where the guy said that he landed next to New Atlantis and it wasn't visible in the distance, for example. And you cannot go from one chunk to the next chunk, you apparently have to go back to your ship, take off, and then land where you want your next chunk to be at.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

As far as I understand, you technically can fully explore each planet. Just in chunks, which are bound to your space ship. And the chunks seem to be generated for you and don't necessarily relate to each other. I've read a review where the guy said that he landed next to New Atlantis and it wasn't visible in the distance, for example. And you cannot go from one chunk to the next chunk, you apparently have to go back to your ship, take off, and then land where you want your next chunk to be at.

That last part sounds rather cumbersome.

Seems marketing was a bit misleading then. Especially given the nature of Bethesda open-world games.

 

[Evil Calvin]

People will fucking bitch about anything and everything won't they?