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Starfield May Update - Adds 40/60 hz Options for Series X and More QoL Updates (May 15)

dem

Member
I just couldn't do a gun fight in 1st person at 30fps.

So I'll boot it up again at 60fps to see how it feels.
 
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Topher

Identifies as young
City maps not being in at launch is the true wtf moment of Starfield.

The abscence of planet vehicles was another. I really didn't have a problem with big empty worlds as that describes most planets that you can actually land on, but having to land on a planet and then run for 5 minutes didn't make a bit of sense to me. A vehicle would have made a big difference and would have encouraged me to explore more for resources,etc.

So really glad they are adding that to the game. Personally, I'm looking forward to jumping back in this fall with the expansion.
 

Panajev2001a

GAF's Pleasant Genius
- Surface maps are being updated to be more detailed and easier to navigate (look a bit like Skyrim's overworld now)
- Map markers for easier navigation in cities
- New difficulty options and customization for players who want to make space combat, carry weight, land combat etc different difficulties (will effect XP gain)
- More ship customization options
- Respec your starter-traits and ability to change appearance
- Working on First Land exploration vehicle
- Series X gets a 40hz Quality and 60hz Performance option
- Creation Kit tools are in beta user hands already.






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40 FPS is more than enough for Starfield for me, it has really good motion blur (thanks Id ;)) and while there is a fair amount of shooting it is not a game in the dire needs of a 60 Hz mode for me… unless the quality degradation in the 60 FPS mode is so minimal and the framerate holds well enough to make it a “why not?” case. Likely will stick with 40 FPS unless they mess up the non-60 FPS modes like in HellDivers 2 where 60 FPS is THE way to play it given the problems in the 30 FPS mode and how smooth 60 FPS is.

Hopefully it will be great news for Steam Deck as the 60 FPS performance mode should be able, with some more tweaks and concessions, to run at 30 FPS with far fewer dips. I do hope it is not something like the current game where if you do not have VRR and LFC enabled displays the framerate target is hardly locked (far from that). So I hope the 40 FPS and 60 FPS modes are decent stuttering wise…
 
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Panajev2001a

GAF's Pleasant Genius
The graphics in this game are so good. The shot of the rover driving in the desert looks gorgeous. Great to see third persopn dialogue scenes. Again, so much detail packed in every scene.

Looks like for performance mode they are downgrading the resolution, lighting, crowd and other level of details. Thats a shame but expected. 60 fps comes at a cost and simply downgrading the resolution in a game like this was never going to be enough.
I hope that the 40 FPS mode is not compromised in any way (just result of optimisation).
 

Punished Miku

Human Rights Subscription Service
The abscence of planet vehicles was another. I really didn't have a problem with big empty worlds as that describes most planets that you can actually land on, but having to land on a planet and then run for 5 minutes didn't make a bit of sense to me. A vehicle would have made a big difference and would have encouraged me to explore more for resources,etc.

So really glad they are adding that to the game. Personally, I'm looking forward to jumping back in this fall with the expansion.
I'm wondering if they're going to be pretty slow, like a lunar rover. Could just be more for carry capacity. I don't really see people zipping around like it's a car. I could see it being hard to get around too considering you have a jet pack at all times for platforming over rocks.
 
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Topher

Identifies as young
I'm wondering if they're going to be pretty slow, like a lunar rover. Could just be more for carry capacity. I don't really see people zipping around like it's a car. I could see it being hard to get around too considering you have a jet pack at all times for platforming over rocks.

I'm thinking lunar rover as well. That should be fine really. Will cut into the travel time quite a bit. I didn't think about carry capacity. Another plus.
 

Denton

Member
Stopped playing at launch after some 10 hours because the game seemed unfinished - and judging by this video, it very much was.
So I guess I will wait for all the updates and expansion to be out before delving in again. I still do want to play it, it's not like I am swimming in first person AAA RPGs.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
More details on the new visual mode toggles:



XBOX SERIES X DISPLAY SETTINGS

We've heard from many that you'd like to have more control over the graphic fidelity and performance on Xbox, similar to how PC players can customize their experience. We're now enabling that on Xbox Series X with a few options that you can use to find the best fit for your playstyle and display.

For each of these, we highly recommend a Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) Display running at 120hz, and to verify your Xbox is setup to use it. If you have it setup this way, Starfield will now default to a frame rate target of 40, while keeping the priority for full visuals.
  • Frame Rate Target: You can now choose between 30, 40, 60 or an Uncapped frame rate on VRR displays. If you do not have a VRR display running 120hz, you will still be able to select from 30 or 60. Screen tearing may occur at times when selecting 60 on a non-VRR display.

  • Prioritize: You can now prioritize between Visuals and Performancewhile trying to maintain the frame rate target. If you're choosing a frame rate target of 60 or above, we recommend changing this to Performance. Prioritizing Visuals keeps the highest resolution while maintaining full detail for special effects, lighting, and crowds. Prioritizing Performance lowers internal resolution and detail for special effects, lighting, and crowds. Both modes may adjust internal resolution dynamically when scenes or action get heavier as well. When switching between modes, you will see the lighting change briefly as the system catches up to the new mode.
 
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Topher

Identifies as young
More details on the new visual mode toggles:



XBOX SERIES X DISPLAY SETTINGS
We've heard from many that you'd like to have more control over the graphic fidelity and performance on Xbox, similar to how PC players can customize their experience. We're now enabling that on Xbox Series X with a few options that you can use to find the best fit for your playstyle and display.

For each of these, we highly recommend a Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) Display running at 120hz, and to verify your Xbox is setup to use it. If you have it setup this way, Starfield will now default to a frame rate target of 40, while keeping the priority for full visuals.
  • Frame Rate Target: You can now choose between 30, 40, 60 or an Uncapped frame rate on VRR displays. If you do not have a VRR display running 120hz, you will still be able to select from 30 or 60. Screen tearing may occur at times when selecting 60 on a non-VRR display.

  • Prioritize: You can now prioritize between Visuals and Performancewhile trying to maintain the frame rate target. If you're choosing a frame rate target of 60 or above, we recommend changing this to Performance. Prioritizing Visuals keeps the highest resolution while maintaining full detail for special effects, lighting, and crowds. Prioritizing Performance lowers internal resolution and detail for special effects, lighting, and crowds. Both modes may adjust internal resolution dynamically when scenes or action get heavier as well. When switching between modes, you will see the lighting change briefly as the system catches up to the new mode.

We need to create thread when this update releases and post some comparison shots between the modes.
 

Fess

Member
Oh yes this is a big one, awesome! And finally, land vehicles, mod tools, more builder choices, difficulty choices, great stuff 👍
Map markers though… hmm, looks like an Ubi game. Too much clutter.
 
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adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
I hope Bethesda tests this update to make sure these new modes actually work, unlike the Fallout 4 patch.

Lord knows I'll flip a car or two if that shit happens again lol.

But they only have one console to put this specific feature on so here's hoping.
 

midnightAI

Banned
Hurry to see it getting released on PS5 to watch people praising it "GOTY OF THE YEAR". Will be fun.
I really, really won't, it doesn't matter what platform it's on, for me personally this game is just stupidly boring (I may have mentioned that before once or twice). Vehicles may help, but it isn't just the traversal that bored me, it's the story, the objectives/quests (part of that is the travel issue so that part may be better), the loading (my god the loading) and more.
 

Astray

Member
It'll be interesting to see what the PS5 Metacritic will be. Does it go up because of all the improvements and it coming to a more popular platform, or does it go down because of the negative backlash the game received?
Probably the 1st outcome if anything.

Sea of Thieves was a game in a similar situation imo.
 
60 FPS is ALWAYS better but more games need a 40 FPS mode. It makes a pretty big difference and most of the time doesn't result in a degrade visual wise.
 
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Astray

Member
Sea of Thieves is an on-going MMO. It's the same game on PS5, PC, and Xbox.
I mean sure, but the audience for Bethesda games tend to treat them like massive MMOs and sink countless hours in them anyways.

The only difference is Bethesda allows the fans to control the bulk of the post-launch content via mods, Bethesda saves money on having a full pipeline of content, and keeps the game evergreen on stores, while the fans get to have more control over their experience than what would be normally expected.
 

Fess

Member
Now this definitely should have been in at launch, why it was omitted in the first place is beyond me, seemed obvious
Yeah this has been at the top of my wishlist, so glad they’re doing this! I don’t care if it adds jank, I just want more fun ways to traverse longer distances, for exploration and transporting resources. No Man’s Sky got vehicles late as well, just as strange there. I don’t understand how the devs are playing if they can’t see the problem.

I wonder if you get the vehicle at the start or if they make you craft it. Could be seen as annoying to craft but would be a nice payoff for base building if they add it there like in NMS.
 
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ManaByte

Gold Member
I mean sure, but the audience for Bethesda games tend to treat them like massive MMOs and sink countless hours in them anyways.

The only difference is Bethesda allows the fans to control the bulk of the post-launch content via mods, Bethesda saves money on having a full pipeline of content, and keeps the game evergreen on stores, while the fans get to have more control over their experience than what would be normally expected.

..and? Mods are created on the PC and then are cross-platform.
 

Astray

Member
..and? Mods are created on the PC and then are cross-platform.
What I am saying is the two situations are more analogous than you would initially expect.

Games that release in a half-baked state (earning mixed to negative feedback), then get slowly fixed up and are (potentially in the case of Starfield, no port is confirmed yet) released on other platforms in a more presentable state, creating a metacritic score disparity.
 

ManaByte

Gold Member
What I am saying is the two situations are more analogous than you would initially expect.

Games that release in a half-baked state (earning mixed to negative feedback), then get slowly fixed up and are (potentially in the case of Starfield, no port is confirmed yet) released on other platforms in a more presentable state, creating a metacritic score disparity.

Ok but pointing at an old Metacritic score for a game that has since been updated is the height of disingenuousness.
 

Astray

Member
Ok but pointing at an old Metacritic score for a game that has since been updated is the height of disingenuousness.
I didn't "point" at it tho. It's just a comparison.

Why are you being so fucking defensive over this? Do you work at Rare or something? Chill.
 

Heisenberg007

Gold Journalism
I was told by The Defenders™ that Starfield couldn't do 60 FPS because there were too many things going on on the CPU side 😛

Jokes apart, good for Bethesda, Starfield, and Series X fans. It'll make the game much better to play.
 

TheUsual

Gold Member
That map and being able to see all the store locations in the HUD is a godsend. Too bad it took this long to get implemented.

Being able to pick different difficulties for space and land combat is a great addition.
And adjusting item weight looks promising.
 

FoxMcChief

Gold Member
I was told by The Defenders™ that Starfield couldn't do 60 FPS because there were too many things going on on the CPU side 😛

Jokes apart, good for Bethesda, Starfield, and Series X fans. It'll make the game much better to play.
I always thought the “shouldn’t” do a performance mode. And going by the list of items being affected, they still shouldn’t. But I guess devs got to buckle to the whiners.
 

Heisenberg007

Gold Journalism
I always thought the “shouldn’t” do a performance mode. And going by the list of items being affected, they still shouldn’t. But I guess devs got to buckle to the whiners.
I disagree. 60 FPS option is always great to have. It's not like they removed the 30 FPS mode for those who prefer better resolution and graphics.

With the 60 FPS mode, and especially the 40 FPS mode, they have made the game better. Should have launched with it, to be honest. Could have avoided some of the negative discussions.
 

Mr.Phoenix

Member
They are downgrading number of crowds, their lighting engine and other level of detail which devs poured almost 8 years authoring. No one wants to put in all that effort only to have half the players turn all of that off for 60 fps.
They are not turning it "off". Stop it. Having different settings to accommodate a 60fps mode is something every single first-party sony game has done since the PS5 launched. Its something every PC gamer does, you drop settings here or there and improve framerate. Its something this game should have had from day 1. And rather than put in the work they peddled some bullshit about creative decisions.

We weren't born yesterday.
I just need the people saying stuff like "These consoles are CPU bottlenecked" Wake the fuck up now. They aren't, we are dev-bottlenecked... there is a difference.
 
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