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[vaibhavpisal]

It’s a shame you get so little XP for activities and quests, and it seems to barely scale (if at all) with levels.

You get more XP farming space encounters or wild animals for 5 mins than you get finishing entire quests, hope it will be fixed at some point.

Aside from that I really like what they did with NG+, such a great idea to keep things fresh.

In Skyrim you get exactly zero xp for completing any quest. All xp in that game is earned by completing challenges (whatever is equivalent in that game).

For this game I think they wanted to encourage you to do quests, so they have balanced it out like this.

I do agree, I am short on skill points and want them faster.

 

[Riky]

Just incredible what people are doing.

 

[Punished Miku]

Think it might be time I start the main quest line

I'm still barely into it but I'd recommend doing a few now.

 

[Rendered Tangent]

Think it might be time I start the main quest line

I realised yesterday I'm 27 hours I and I've done one of the main story quests.

I spent half a dozen hours in Neon running corporate espionage for Ruijin, another 2 or 3 investigating the Terramorph stuff with Hadrian, and probably twice that just exploring the planets and farming materials and loot, plus the ship building and space battles.

I suddenly thought "isn't there a story I'm meant to be progressing" so I'm now on Akila facing off against the Shaw gang.

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

This gun you get from the diplomat is a menace lol

Vasco

I like how you can use photomode and just fly through your ship too see what the crew is doing/where they are:



Not you can also use this if you are unsure where enemies are, just pop into photo mode and survey the entire room lol.

 

[SportsFan581]

Lol I just found a colony ship that orbits Porrima II (paradiso planet). make sure to visit there lol very unique interactions !

That was a fun one. How did you handle that one?

Spoiler

They ended up as indentured servants with the options I chose (the resources were a lot cheaper to buy than the grav drive). I wonder if I'd have gotten more quests out of them if they'd moved on to another planet (maybe the ship captain stays in charge in that scenario)

 

[Fess]

Todd Howard confirms planets in Starfield were much more punishing, and some other insight into development​

Fent. Few other new tidbits:

• Enemy AI in ship combat was made really dumb on purpose to make it more fun
• Ship combat and planets took a loooong time to figure out
• No tutorials on purpose so players could try to figure things out
• Game was finished 9 months ago to allow time for polish (this will be their new MO)
• Designed to be supported for many years to come

Fantastic interview!

 

[Fess]

Think it might be time I start the main quest line

You haven’t done that yet?!

I’m jealous…
I finished it, restarted, then dropped out to play some Cyberpunk. And CB looks good but I realize I’ve played too much of it, 300 hours, and I’m not wowed at the changes tbh.

So, back to Starfield again! …and keep away from the main quest. Main quest is fun for awhile but it’s the other things in this game that I enjoy. Right now I just want to find resources and keep building my base and upgrade my outpost building skills.

I really just wish they made characters look better, the scenery and inside areas looks sooooo good at times, amazing looking game, but the character design for the most part is just… *barf
I posted some things I want them to change on X/Twitter. Hoping they read. Can’t leave it like this, people are going to drop it just because of the boring design and then there is no point supporting it for years like they say they’ll do. Modders might even drop it before the official tools are out and then it’s dead. Needs a fast update.

 

[adamsapple]

THEY FIXED THE MAGIC PUDDLE ...

 

[Lunarorbit]

Just played it last night for 5 hours. Got to the rooks and kings mission and had to redo it about 10 times until I beat the enemy ships. Kinda awkward dogfighting at level 4 and not knowing what I'm doing

 

[Punished Miku]

Just played it last night for 5 hours. Got to the rooks and kings mission and had to redo it about 10 times until I beat the enemy ships. Kinda awkward dogfighting at level 4 and not knowing what I'm doing

Might hold off a bit until you get a strong ship and put at least 1 pt in Piloting. If you have 1 pt you get thrusters which lets you hold RB and do much more rapid stop turns while dogfighting. Have to quickly boost or accelerate after your turn though.

You can also try and optimize for only lasers, shields and speed until shields are down. Then crank up the missile and ballistics if youre good at juggling the power menu.

 

[MrTroubleMaker]

lol never had this happen, almost want it too

 

[March Climber]

"Landing bay needs to be connected to the cockpit"

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

Just played it last night for 5 hours. Got to the rooks and kings mission and had to redo it about 10 times until I beat the enemy ships. Kinda awkward dogfighting at level 4 and not knowing what I'm doing

Reddit - Dive into anything

reddit.com

If you want a cheap but hilarious way to cheese your way through ship combat, try this. I tried it myself and it makes you almost invincible.

Basically just make your ship L-shaped. The enemy always aims for the geometric center of your ship, so if it’s L-shaped then all the shots go right through the empty space if you’re facing them head-on or they’re targeting you from behind.

 

[Lunarorbit]

Might hold off a bit until you get a strong ship and put at least 1 pt in Piloting. If you have 1 pt you get thrusters which lets you hold RB and do much more rapid stop turns while dogfighting. Have to quickly boost or accelerate after your turn though.

You can also try and optimize for only lasers, shields and speed until shields are down. Then crank up the missile and ballistics if youre good at juggling the power menu.

Reddit - Dive into anything

reddit.com

If you want a cheap but hilarious way to cheese your way through ship combat, try this. I tried it myself and it makes you almost invincible.

Basically just make your ship L-shaped. The enemy always aims for the geometric center of your ship, so if it’s L-shaped then all the shots go right through the empty space if you’re facing them head-on or they’re targeting you from behind.

That's hilarious. I read, probably here, that the developers made the ship ai stupid on purpose so people could get shots off.

Those are good suggestions. The game just started up ship combat at one point in that mission and there was way too much info too fast on the ship combat so I just rolled with it.

The power menu... was an interesting concept. I'm sure once I make my own (or is it buy?) ship and put some skill points into Tech it'll be easier and more fun.

It's a Bethesda game so I picked the industrialist cause of persuasion and i had to have the lock picking skill too. Obvi

 

[manlisten]

Came across a pretty cool dynamic activity just now. Traveled to a random moon and when I got there, I noticed a large Deimos freighter in orbit with a destroyed engine and grav drive. Decided to dock into it and board it, to find that the ship was completely ravaged and taken over by pirates. The gravity system was also on the fritz, causing the ship to fall in and out of Zero-G every few seconds. So you're going from on foot to zero gravity constantly while fighting off a hoard of pirates which was cool af.

There was a locked vault near the front of the ship, and my companion hinted that I'd need to restore power to it. I cleared out the main level but couldn't find anything to get the door open. Kept looking around and noticed there was a broken elevator towards the back of the ship. Looked up and saw that the elevator had a hatch the in the roof that I could open. Opened it, waited for the gravity system to fail, then shot myself through the hatch and up the elevator shaft at zero G. Got me up to the ship's third level where I encountered the main pirate 'boss'. Killed him, then floated through a small corridor which led to a computer room with a computer that unlocked the vault on the ground level. Went back down and gained access to the vault which contained a crapload of loot.

The game really encourages you to go off the beaten path and keep poking around just to discover what's out there. It's this type of stuff that will keep me playing this for a good while.

For those interested, this is the level I was referencing!

 

[DownLikeBCPowder]

That's hilarious. I read, probably here, that the developers made the ship ai stupid on purpose so people could get shots off.

Those are good suggestions. The game just started up ship combat at one point in that mission and there was way too much info too fast on the ship combat so I just rolled with it.

The power menu... was an interesting concept. I'm sure once I make my own (or is it buy?) ship and put some skill points into Tech it'll be easier and more fun.

It's a Bethesda game so I picked the industrialist cause of persuasion and i had to have the lock picking skill too. Obvi

Yeah, it can be a little overwhelming at first - mainly if there are multiple ships attacking you and you're still getting used to the ins and outs of it. I'd agree to get the skill that lets you target systems (eventually also slows time). I like EM weapons, just disable their weapons right from the get go and go from there.

 

[Topher]

THEY BROKE THE MAGIC PUDDLE ...

ftfy

 

[twilo99]

Looking forward to another session tonight..

I’m tempted to replicate this

 

[JayK47]

I really enjoyed the Crimson Fleet/UC missions. I'll definitely change sides next time I play.

Exploring NASA was also great. Very detailed as I walked through the museum.

Starting to run into some bugs finally. Missions that stay open and should be closed. Missions for one of my crew that is no longer with us. Etc.

 

[Punished Miku]

Never knew they put out a 1 hour concert.

 

[Fess]

For those interested, this is the level I was referencing!

THAT is awesome! GOTY level game design right there! I thought the old NASA base where you manually trigger gravity was cool enough. Absolutely loved that one.

 

[FoxMcChief]

THAT is awesome! GOTY level game design right there! I thought the old NASA base where you manually trigger gravity was cool enough. Absolutely loved that one.

That’s some creative decision.

 

[vaibhavpisal]

Finished Mantis quest yesterday.

It was great but was a bit disappointed after so much praise for it.

Weird how hype works.

On the other hand, enjoyed red mile run cause went with lower expectations.

 

[semiconscious]

I posted some things I want them to change on X/Twitter. Hoping they read. Can’t leave it like this, people are going to drop it just because of the boring design and then there is no point supporting it for years like they say they’ll do. Modders might even drop it before the official tools are out and then it’s dead. Needs a fast update.

too late for me...

dropped the game after almost 40 hrs about a week ago, &'ve felt nothing but relief since. i'd spent the last few hours just going through the motions. same thing happened to me with tears of the kingdom. i hate it when i catch myself just sorta brainlessly continuing to play a game that i stopped enjoying hours previously...

 

[DenchDeckard]

Any hints of where to gwt the best guns? I want to become a damage monster now I've done mostly everything content wise apart from the main quest....at least I think I have lol

 

[balls of snow]

Alright perfect ending for my run in starfield. Couldnt give a damn about the main quest after neon lol so just roleplay as a suave spy.

Finished The Crimson Fleet faction quest, sided with UC Sysdef of course and went non lethal for the named npcs at the Key. Ended with Dalgaldo and bomb boy behind bars, and made a shit ton of credits. Bought the swanky apartment in Neon and theres where my character will reside until the expansion/ mods while doing the odd transport job here and there.

I feel its probably the highest high of the game and playing more than that will just sour my opinion on it more.

 

[Rendered Tangent]

Just out of curiosity, does anyone else find the difficulty level is vastly different between space combat/dog fighting and FPS gun play?

I can (relatively) easily play the normal FPS combat on Very Hard and it's mildly challenging in certain circumstances...but no more than that.

The space combat on Very Hard, however, feels much...much... MUCH more difficult.
I mean, at times almost impossible levels of difficult.
Granted, my ship at the moment is built primarily as a giant storage depot and, whilst quite well equipped with weaponry, is rather heavy and cumbersome to maneuver.

But, still, has anyone had this experience?

I've had to resort to lowering the space combat to normal, such was the speed of my death once attacked.

 

[Jemm]

Ok, ok, I'll continue the main story. Soon.

Video game legends Bethesda have given the public the stark warning that they’ll only get any Elder Scrolls VI once they’ve finished all their Starfield.

“No, you can’t just have Elder Scrolls VI,” said Stewart James, a Bethesda exec.

“I know that’s what everyone wants, and that’s what everyone likes. We like Elder Scrolls VI. But you’ve got to finish up your Starfield first.

“Our developers spent a long time making a lovely Starfield for everyone, so you’re going to play it, and you’re going to enjoy it.

“And I mean, you’re going to play it properly. PROPERLY! I’m not having you just take on a couple of missions and kill a handful of aliens and then leaving the rest, like you did with The Outer Worlds. No, you’re going to play it properly, all the way to the end and then and only then are you getting your Elder Scrolls VI.”

https://www.screen-idle.com/if-you-dont-finish-all-your-starfield-you-wont-get-any-elder-scrolls-vi-says-bethesda

 

[Roberts]

For those interested, this is the level I was referencing!

I have seen that ship before but never boarded it. Picked up a quest on Gagarin that asks you to board it - holy moly, that is one fun mission. So, we hear all kinds of shit how SF is stuck in 2012 and doesn't do anything new and yet I have never seen a game that does it before.

 

[Punished Miku]

It's funny how that blue dot works on quests. I turned it off last night while doing some questing in Neon, and 10 minutes later I had found a new route I didn't know exist and was on top of the lightning dome jumping around.

 

[k_trout]

Just out of curiosity, does anyone else find the difficulty level is vastly different between space combat/dog fighting and FPS gun play?

I can (relatively) easily play the normal FPS combat on Very Hard and it's mildly challenging in certain circumstances...but no more than that.

The space combat on Very Hard, however, feels much...much... MUCH more difficult.
I mean, at times almost impossible levels of difficult.
Granted, my ship at the moment is built primarily as a giant storage depot and, whilst quite well equipped with weaponry, is rather heavy and cumbersome to maneuver.

But, still, has anyone had this experience?

I've had to resort to lowering the space combat to normal, such was the speed of my death once attacked.

i feel the same and I am playing on normal lol

 

[Freeman76]

I thought it was pretty cool how you practically find out how the game will end quite early on. Gave me time to think about that concept and the possibilities of it. Now just gotta decide whether to sack off my Mercury Tower appartment I spent about 5 hours decorating

 

[SportsFan581]

Just played it last night for 5 hours. Got to the rooks and kings mission and had to redo it about 10 times until I beat the enemy ships. Kinda awkward dogfighting at level 4 and not knowing what I'm doing

The first few space fights are trial by fire for sure. Even in the old Frontier with no upgrades it gets easier once you get used to it. Just avoid situations where you are head-on with oncoming ships, hitting the brakes is a good way to get them to fly by you.

 

[twilo99]

I really enjoyed the Crimson Fleet/UC missions. I'll definitely change sides next time I play.

Exploring NASA was also great. Very detailed as I walked through the museum.

Starting to run into some bugs finally. Missions that stay open and should be closed. Missions for one of my crew that is no longer with us. Etc.

I’m currently doing the UC missions and they are pretty great. Is the quest about the same length as the crimson fleet one?

Had no idea about NASA, assuming that’s on Earth?

 

[JayK47]

I’m currently doing the UC missions and they are pretty great. Is the quest about the same length as the crimson fleet one?

Had no idea about NASA, assuming that’s on Earth?

Main quest takes you there.

 

[Rendered Tangent]

i feel the same and I am playing on normal lol

I know, even on normal space combat can be difficult if it's multiple ships attacking you.

They seem to be able to shoot round corners.

 

[Draugoth]

 

[FoxMcChief]

I know, even on normal space combat can be difficult if it's multiple ships attacking you.

They seem to be able to shoot round corners.

Try getting some turrets and increasing your ship’s mobility. High Mobility is key.

 

[LaughingStock]

Just out of curiosity, does anyone else find the difficulty level is vastly different between space combat/dog fighting and FPS gun play?

I can (relatively) easily play the normal FPS combat on Very Hard and it's mildly challenging in certain circumstances...but no more than that.

The space combat on Very Hard, however, feels much...much... MUCH more difficult.
I mean, at times almost impossible levels of difficult.
Granted, my ship at the moment is built primarily as a giant storage depot and, whilst quite well equipped with weaponry, is rather heavy and cumbersome to maneuver.

But, still, has anyone had this experience?

I've had to resort to lowering the space combat to normal, such was the speed of my death once attacked.

Absolutely. In space you have nowhere to hide. Asteroids are destructible by the way. I struggled with space combat for a long time. Even with a beefed up ship I still get destroyed sometimes.

 

[FoxMcChief]

Absolutely. In space you have nowhere to hide. Asteroids are destructible by the way. I struggled with space combat for a long time. Even with a beefed up ship I still get destroyed sometimes.

There’s a learning curve to ship combat, especially on Very Hard. You have to fight more defensive. Don’t attack who’s in front of you, with multiple space crafts around you, you have to figure out who is firing/locking on you, then counter attack.

Turrets alleviate a lot of issues. They even shoot at you 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock spots. There’s been plenty of time where my turrets kill enemies that aren’t even on my screen.

 

[March Climber]

For those interested, this is the level I was referencing!

Did you do the sidequest associated with it or did you discover it organically?

That ship is a really cool early sidequest you can get from a bartender looking for a special brew.

 

[LaughingStock]

There’s a learning curve to ship combat, especially on Very Hard. You have to fight more defensive. Don’t attack who’s in front of you, with multiple space crafts around you, you have to figure out who is firing/locking on you, then counter attack.

Turrets alleviate a lot of issues. They even shoot at you 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock spots. There’s been plenty of time where my turrets kill enemies that aren’t even on my screen.

It feels like they are all firing at me. While I'm trying to take one's shield down, the others ones destroy me. I tried using hit and run tactics, hiding behind asteroids, but when fighting multiple ships unless I'm much more powerful than them, I get my ass handed to me.

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

Any hints of where to gwt the best guns? I want to become a damage monster now I've done mostly everything content wise apart from the main quest....at least I think I have lol

The varuun pistol and the microgun are hands down the most damaging weapons; high caliber pistols with 'binary trigger' are also insane.

 

[manlisten]

Did you do the sidequest associated with it or did you discover it organically?

That ship is a really cool early sidequest you can get from a bartender looking for a special brew.

Ah not even, just landed in front of a planet and saw a huge disabled ship so I decided to board it lol. Should I have done something with the loot? I sold most it.

 

[March Climber]

Ah not even, just landed in front of a planet and saw a huge disabled ship so I decided to board it lol. Should I have done something with the loot? I sold most it.

To be honest I’m not sure if it is accessible or not if you don’t have the quest. I try extremely hard on my playthrough to not let things happen too much organically because I feel that there’s always going to be a quest attached. Hopefully it wasn’t accessible so that you can go back whenever you stumble across the quest.

 

[Atrus]

Just out of curiosity, does anyone else find the difficulty level is vastly different between space combat/dog fighting and FPS gun play?

I can (relatively) easily play the normal FPS combat on Very Hard and it's mildly challenging in certain circumstances...but no more than that.

The space combat on Very Hard, however, feels much...much... MUCH more difficult.
I mean, at times almost impossible levels of difficult.
Granted, my ship at the moment is built primarily as a giant storage depot and, whilst quite well equipped with weaponry, is rather heavy and cumbersome to maneuver.

But, still, has anyone had this experience?

I've had to resort to lowering the space combat to normal, such was the speed of my death once attacked.

I play on VH and yes, the ship combat is “harder” relative to fps combat due to the damage scaling being different for space combat.

The AI isn’t smarter but can kill you in seconds due to the collective firepower. This is especially true if you take them head on when you spawn in at non-boosted speeds. Early ship battles in VH border on the impossible especially one where I got a random spawn on top of a quest one and then just reloaded a save to avoid the random battle.

If there’s more than one, don't “joust” because the others will hammer you. I pick one, boost into the pack and unload everything while constantly spamming heal. I try to stick really close and position the enemy ship as a shield against the others.

Try boosting to give yourself time to heal and keep plenty of ship parts. I think I’m level 32 now and am using an upgraded Frontier whose weapons are only slightly upgraded from default but I do have the Taskmaster perk and that might make my experience slightly different.

 

[salva]

It's done.

Just rolled credits after about 65 hrs and reached level 37. So much content still not discovered. Only did the Vanguard side quest and barely explored akilia and neon.

The main quest was great, but some of the typical Bethesda jank made the build up at the end feel lackluster.

Spoiler

Me killing the hunter and emissary and telling constellation I'm going in to unity etc. But Sarah, whom I'm married to, our last conversation was "Hey, have you got any gear I can hold for you" lol.

So I decided to step into the Unity, and start a NG+ and skip repeating main quest.

Looking forward to doing the other factions and building my own ship etc. Overall, I give Starfield a 4/5.

 

[Rendered Tangent]

It feels like they are all firing at me. While I'm trying to take one's shield down, the others ones destroy me. I tried using hit and run tactics, hiding behind asteroids, but when fighting multiple ships unless I'm much more powerful than them, I get my ass handed to me.

Absolutely, that's my experience.

By the time I get onto one ship and deal damage the others in a group destroy me.

Now, admittedly, if it's an isolated ship in a 1v1, I'm going to be ok.

 

[Rendered Tangent]

I play on VH and yes, the ship combat is “harder” relative to fps combat due to the damage scaling being different for space combat.

The AI isn’t smarter but can kill you in seconds due to the collective firepower. This is especially true if you take them head on when you spawn in at non-boosted speeds. Early ship battles in VH border on the impossible especially one where I got a random spawn on top of a quest one and then just reloaded a save to avoid the random battle.

If there’s more than one, don't “joust” because the others will hammer you. I pick one, boost into the pack and unload everything while constantly spamming heal. I try to stick really close and position the enemy ship as a shield against the others.

Try boosting to give yourself time to heal and keep plenty of ship parts. I think I’m level 32 now and am using an upgraded Frontier whose weapons are only slightly upgraded from default but I do have the Taskmaster perk and that might make my experience slightly different.

They definitely do feel impossible at first, you are right.

It's their "collective firepower", as you put it, that's the problem.

They just deal so much it's hard to get anywhere.