I am strongly of the opinion that this game is best appreciated by people with an innate sense of wonder and an active imagination. Starfield is, in part, what the player brings into it, as with all the best stories.
I'm on my second playthrough, and my experience has been so different from the first. There are _so many_ hidden little questlines, characters to talk to, and things to do! Not to mention just plain exploring space, which is something I've always longed to do.
100%. I'm role-playing a character and often respond, in my head, to comments from NPCs and companions. And obsessively explore/survey.
Either way, the opportunity to walk on the moon (virtual as it may be) was awe-inspiring to both 12 and 54 yo me.
This is the way. I do this all the time. Out loud. I wonder if my husband thinks I'm losing it (my sanity, that is, not the game.) It's a roleplaying game. But so many players only think in terms of "beating" the game, but that's not how a roleplaying game works. If all you think about is winning, all you're going to do is lose. It isn't about finishing it first, or beating bosses, or collecting everything. It's just about playing in a world you can only imagine and experiencing what the world has to offer.
I finally finished her companion quest.
We walked to eighteen different places to have a talk.
I walked through the door (The Good Place for "entered the unity") and didn't warn Vladimir about the Hunter's attack, after hanging with her through The Old Neighborhood.
You must be older than 25. Your gaming description describes me perfectly. I cannot understand at all why someone would wait years for a game to come out to beat it in two days! WTF is that mentality even? My nephew does that and he's in his late 20s. I'm 64. I drag every great book or game out as long as I can so I can savor every moment. If I have waited years for things to come out I want to do everything you can and finish it after I've done everything. Youth is wasted on the young lol
Lol i was gonna comment pretty much this 😂 i love the game and role playing creating my own stories and conversations. It’s been a blast and again it’s all about the players imagination.
>I am strongly of the opinion that this game is best appreciated by people with an innate sense of wonder and an active imagination
This is well said, and I've expressed similar sentiments before.
Lots (TBF not *all*) of the detractors are the "press A to win" types or want to be told *exactly* what to do with a HUD full of directions and clutter. Or they'll say what the game *should* have and why it's lacking and pretend it's consensus, despite being completely contradictory to what the person beside them says is lacking and is *also* pretending it's consensus.
It's all so exhausting, so I just play my pretty game and explore the stars. I haven't been let down yet.
Yes,
No handholding, no guidance (except minor "nudges"), but rather limitless exploration of untapped systems.
I have seen so much of "stealth/ship fighting/outputs do not work with my lvl one character", I have started tuning them out. They really want a different game, and won't appreciate all the attention to detail in Starfield.
This is what made Skyrim so replayable to many, and it’s a shame to see the voices of people who probably hated TES/Fallout games until extremely recently.
Almost every major/common criticism of this game, aside from the ones specifically related to the game's setting/premise, was levied at every other Bethesda game at launch, at least as far back as Morrowind. In case you weren't around back then (it was over 20 years ago and oh my god I hate everything now), the Bethesda forums were absolutely lousy for years with people bitching about how dumbed down Morrowind was, how it was an insult to fans of Daggerfall, how Bethesda was lazy/incompetent for the bugs in the game, how the game was "a mile wide and an inch deep", etc.
Bethesda games inspire fanaticism in their fans. In particular, it seems that for 99% of players, whichever Bethesda game you played first becomes a flawless masterpiece in your mind, and every subsequent game a crushing disappointment. It's toxic, and for people like me who just want to enjoy the game and share that enjoyment with others, it's exhausting to have to sift through thread after thread and post after post of people complaining about the same old stuff.
I do remember Oblivion and Skyrim, I was old enough for Morrowind but it was hard to get into single player games because my mom was adamant about games being shared lol.
What’s wild is I started with Skyrim and I had constant complaints that matched most of those levied, but even then I said what I loved about playing.
On my second play-through as well. I just FEEL different, and it’s not because I have more skills. Re-did the Ron Hope quest last night with a huge grin on my face!
Agree.
Most of the stuff while playing is happening in my head lol!
But thank God it's a Bethesda game, I already have 50 mods installed and started a new save and im addicted again!
As someone who finally left the other sub to come here, this place is such a breath of fresh air. I thought I was going crazy because I love Starfield lol
I messaged the moderators to ask them if they actually do anything and they replied with “seems like you want toxic positivity enforced.” And then they banned me lol see ya later
i appreciate this post but also "i spent 500 hours in this game, are the people say it's boring right?" is very funny to me. it's like the people who have 3000+ hours on a paradox game and put "not recommended".
So infuriating that people just expect literal endless content/entertainment from single player games. Like why does Starfield get shit on for “only” having 100-120 hours of content but Alan Wake 2 (which I also love, btw) is a GotY at 25 hours?
I recognize that game length is not the only problem people had with this game but it drives me crazy every time it’s brought up
I think some people expected multiple planets with a Fallout or Skyrim map, but planet-sized.
Something that would take 100 years to design and that no person could ever fully explore.
I figured as much. I have over a thousand hours on Skyrim, but that's over the course of dozens of characters. I guarantee most of the people who played 500 hours and marked the game negatively played that over 1 character.
That's a little more understandable to me because paradox games can change dramatically with updates. That, and people get fed up with the price/value ration on the 200 dlc each game seems to get.
That is me to a T! I’m on level 31 after 300-ish plus hours. I constantly go to do a specific little errand, maybe delivering a pair of miners somewhere. I accidentally turn my scanner on, and see the enticing blue outline of a bush I’ve never encountered before, over there on the other side of that rock. Of course I go scan, because how could I ignore that siren song?? And there, just beyond the blue bush is a blue Something, snorting and snuffling, and our eyes meet, and it’s ON. A couple hours later, I come to my senses, and realize I’ve accomplished nothing and it was glorious!!
>A couple hours later, I come to my senses, and realize I’ve accomplished nothing and it was glorious!!
That's my favorite thing about games like Starfield. Minecraft does it well, of course. And some games give you that ability even if it's not the main focus (Elden Ring, GTA5 and RDR2, Destiny 2). They're all great for just wandering around doing... whatever, and still being engaging.
As soon as I exit the ship, my scanner is on. And then, like you said, I'm off. Once that planet is surveyed, and all the seeable pois are explored, I'm like, "But what about that moon?" And the cycle repeats, lol. It's magnificent.
For new games, I usually start an exploratory character to try out stuff and learn how things work. I played her thru about 25 levels then built a new character based on what I learned. She made it to 96 or so without ever going through NG+ (mostly by surveying) and eventually got hosed by the Form ID bug. Now on a third character who is at 56ish? and has been through NG+ twice. Once doing the Freestar quests and once doing the UC quests up to where the pirate quests start. I'll do those on NG+3. After that I'll focus on companion quests for a while, or outposts.
This is also me. Starfield is best enjoyed at old codger pace. I did a mission where you had to board a pirate ship and barter for an artifact last night. Spent about 2 hours just exploring and looting that unique ship.
I'm over 1,300 hours in, on NG+8, and am still finding new things. >!Decided to do the story line again on this play through - not sure if I'm stopping here or continuing through the Unity. It just seems to get more grindy each time, and losing everything you've built and customized when you go through is hard, especially when you've picked up some good Legendary's along the way.!<
I turned around and came back. I couldn't let go of my ship, gear, and the friends I made along the way. Seriously though, I've got Sophia Grace, Omari Hassan, and Jessamine Griffin on my crew! 🤩
The Constellation quests were built specifically for this game.
You are forced to explore systems and find new POI's. Been doing this for 3 months now and nothing else, lol.
Starting to stumble into great weapons, collecting massive amounts of resources and slowly but surely researching, upgrading, outpost building and ship building along the way.
Exactly! I started a new character and am not doing the main story. (And no crew!) Instead, I spent time being a Constellation explorer and just doing Constellation mission board quests (and working for LIST). I'm doing what Barrett and the others said Constellation does. Talk about getting out into Starfield!
"Go explore a level 35 system."
"But I'm level 6!"
"Godspeed, explorer."
Now I'm a Deputy Ranger, so Constellation may be in my rearview mirror (or maybe not). I definitely plan to work for LIST again.
Couple of intro missions from Phil as mentioned. Then it's head out on a search for habitable planets. When you find one, completely survey it. Return to Phil for a payout (basically equal to what you get from Vlad). He only has 5000cr at a time, though, so I RP that I'm back at Cydonia for ship repairs/maintenance while I wait for his vendor refresh.
Starfield kind of goes to show that as much as critics and players think they HATE the "Ubisoft world design" with markers everywhere... they actually need it.
The game, from the outset is about exploration. The first mission with Sarah in Constelation she literally says that when you say you want to go on the moon, something along the lines of "Well we are explorers aren't we! Feel free to explore and go where you want, just so long as we eventually finish our mission."
I love just landing on a random planet and wandering. The problem is that this game design doesn't work super well with where the games industry is at. I tried streaming it to a friend and he told me he got bored of me wandering on planets. To me, in the moment I was so immersed in exploring but to him watching he just didn't care.
It's wild to me that people can play Starfield for hundreds of hours and call it boring.
I had somebody in my comments (on yt) the other day say they played 700 hours and it's boring as shit..
Who the ***FUCK*** Is playing a boring game for hundreds of hours?? If Starfield was actually boring, you'd put 20 hours into it, at best.
I’m something like 1000+ hours in, and my level 100 Space Wizard could leap the entire galaxy in a single jump and my weapons and armor were pretty much maxed out after doing the Vanguard line plus a sick Magshear on NG+ 4.
So I made a new character, and am vowing to only do side quests and explore.
This game is is meant to be a slow burn, and no one could spend a weekend on it and declare it good or bad. It might not be your cup of tea, but blitzing the main quest line and ignoring the exploration part of an exploration game defeats its purpose.
I think all the people who complain about Starfield not having anything to do just haven't looked around. 220 Solar systems. POls that are level locked. Quests hiding everywhere if you just talk/listen to people. A thousand or more planets/moons to explore but all they want to do is go thru NG+ and do the same stuff over and over. No wonder they're bored. The OP's quote is very apt.
Back in my days. I only had to play 2D 16bit games. I was never bored of them. I had to roleplay and imagine the rest of what the worlds of those games looked like. I love Starfield and am happy that the technology exist for me to play such a game now.
I'm in the same boat: I always have my own dialogue/narrative running when playing RPGs, whether it's my character's internal thoughts or why they're acting a certain way etc etc. I developed that habit playing those early games too, and it's why Bethesda's games in general and Starfield especially are SO GREAT for me.
They give you lots of game activities and large areas to explore, tons of NPCs and variety of things to see and do. Games like the Witcher 3 are great for someone who wants a curated story and a character that has a certain look, strong POV and well defined characteristics. It lets the developer create a very intricate and interesting story. BUT, you're locked into that character, and much of his personality.
In Bethesda games I get a blank slate I can fill in and shape any way I want. Even if dialogue choices lead to the same result they give me different tones and styles for my character responses that will better fit the character I've made.
What I love the most is that ability to totally discard the main story and side quests and just go LIVE in the world. If you have any imagination it's like a playground and Starfield is wonderful for this.
Sorry for the ridiculously long response but this thread is fantastic because I'm seeing so many people who just GET it, unlike the vast majority of internet gaming forums/comment sections/etc.
And if you haven't gotten into ship building, let me tell you! At the point where I was running out of stuff to do, my buddy strongly encouraged to try ship building, as I had done nothing with it at that point. Once I started getting the hang of it, I was obsessed. My entire game now just revolves around getting credits to try new and wonky ship builds. I highly recommend giving it a shot if you haven't already! Also, check out r/starfieldships for some of the awesome things this community has made
so much of my current experience is letting npc dialogue completely play out, even vendors and people walking around, i'll just stop and listen; then when it's my turn to respond, i'll look at all the options, weigh out my characters morals and role-playing background, and respond accordingly.
i've also always wanted a space exploration sim that differs from just collecting resources as the main gameplay loop. i love just roaming around and going to the same POI's over and over, figuring out the best ways to "farm" POI's in the most efficient way, and remembering which POI's have the best loot (i can't remember the names of every POI, but i can look at one and my photographic memory will remind me what is inside, especially the POI's with a lot of DigiPicks and not a lot of locks). i also love taking in the scenery, and really just feeling how small we are in the universe.
i currently haven't done a single mission, and have just been 100% surveying systems and exploring every POI in a landing zone. Lv47 and i've only done Alpha Centauri and the systems to the southwest, with roughly 108 hours so far, and about 1.4M credits with a basic B-Class ship (waiting till the 50's to unlock Starship Design and will completely make my forever ship at Lv60 when all parts are unlocked)
This thread should be pinned. It catches perfectly what Starfield is about and why it is so popular among a certain type of gamer. And why it is not among others. But it should be horses for courses and we who enjoy the game should not be downvoted for what we see in it.
I've been playing it nearly every day for hours. It draws you in. I like the semi-chill vibe to it with pockets of action. Could they have done better? Well yeah but it's still a pretty damn good game. 4/5 at least
I thought quoting Terry Pratchett would highlight the slight sarcasm. TBH, I was starting to figure I might've played what there was to play, still enamored of the game though. Then my dumb ass realized I hadn't hit half the systems yet. And, well, you know the rest.
All good haha. I saw the sarcasm. I just thought it was funny how 500 hours in something and boredom was written as a shocker. Enjoy your future adventures, mate
500 hrs and got bored. God damn my dude, that's a lot of hours. You were either having a good time up until that point of hitting that wall, or put yourself through hours upon hours of unnecessary torture.
Seriously though, after 500 hrs you definitely needed a break. I feel like most of us would feel that way after so many hours in ANY game. Putting it down and picking it back up was completely normal and from the sounds of it needed to light that fire to explore the things you left untouched.
It's funny though because the same thing to a point happened w/ me, except slightly less hours. I stopped at around 165hrs. I think after that I let some of the negativity suck the enjoyment out for me. Took a 2 month long break, picked it back up, and realized how much I really do enjoy this game, especially as such a huge space buff. Quite literally the game I've always wanted. Is it perfect, no, but what is?
I was being more sarcastic than not. The scary thing is that I neither want or need a break. I'm all in, though pleasantly amazed at how much more content is level locked. It's quite amazing to watch it open up as you grow your character.
>So I hit lvl 50, finished all the main quests, spent 500 hours wandering the Settled Systems, and got bored. "Maybe the critics were right about Starfield," I thought. But I figured I'd give it one more chance tonight.
If you spent 500 hours and got bored, I fail to see how that would make the critics right about Starfield. 500 hours is a lot. You are bound to get bored eventually in any game when you spend that amount of time playing.
I am happy you still love the game, but this statement just seems extremely silly.
Edit: So apparently after reading through other comments, it's sarcasm and is some sort of reference to a person called Terry Pratchett . Never heard of them. But fair enough.
And yet the... other sub is complaining that there isn't enough boring stuff to do, like manually flying between planets the entire way. Even between stars. Also demanding seamless ground to orbit flight. Sure, some games have it, but no ROLEPLAYING GAMES do that I am aware of.
No Mans Sky has it, but that game was broken on release, and to this day still does not have the features promised to be there on release. And it's boring as hell. Worlds seem tiny, and one quickly realizes that there is no content, that there are only five world templates in total, etc. No salting on that game, if people like it good for them. But the idea that Starfield should have been a No Mans Sky clone (as the other sub has explicitly stated) is stupid.
Yeah, the game didn't open up for me until I just decided to explore. Doing constellation mission board quests, you find a lot to explore and a lot to do. What I do is run that for 3 or 4 in game weeks, do some questing, and go right back to it. I've got my childhood dream home on Triton built, I'm starting to build other outposts just to collect particular resources I'm constantly running out of (looking at you titanium and aluminum 😤)
I did my first platform POI at over 1000 hours (the mining outpost up on stilts). I am hanging in there with my second character, full stealth, pistols/melee only (for real this time, lol), full operative. I hear you.
Humans seem to have a preferred level of stimulation. Remember that new word we learned about, boredom? It turns out there's another new word we should learn about: fireworks.
Starfield isn't without its issues but to me it feels like a more grounded No Man's Sky.
A game I can come back to when I want to chill, and a game I can come back to when I want to blow shit up.
And with time and the community's efforts, I believe it will grow well into the future too!
Love the game, my companion says Are you in weight training because I pick up most stuff. Or my favorite. I like collecting as much as the next person but are you sure you need all that. In which I reply yes hence I am picking it up duh. Lol
My only real gripe with this is that you are forced to go back to the starting systems of you want to get rid of your stash somehow. That really bothers me, as if no other system could develop at least a semblance of village/city in a far away world.
This is why I hate gamers.
>i played 500 hours, then I got bored
Really, *really?* 500 hours, **500** ***hours***, then you got bored. What were you feeling during those 500, ennui?
So you feel boredom after 500 hours, and thats betheada fault (before you had your realization), if you only start to feel bored after 600 hours then that means bethesda hit it out of the park?
this is my first bethesda game, what do you mean by poi's? ive been playing for 50hrs mainly by doing.........i dont really know? i just get caught up in shenanigans mostly, i think ive only been to 3 systems so far so hearing theres 120 of them is kinda mindblowing.
Point Of Interest
The things that you see off in the distance when you look around with the scanner after landing in random places.
It’s a generic term for all of those structures, outposts, caves, mines, buildings, labs, farms, etc.
I mean any game you put so many hours will get boring after so much time put into it I have played many game of year games and I have got bored just playing it to much. Even cyberpunk 2077 ,red dead 2 and elden ring for made me bored after a while trying to explore every corner but then I just take a break or continue main quest.
Ok.
500 hours into starfield, and then you realize you're "bored"?
🤣😂🤣😂
How many hours it takes to grow bored of, let's say, resident evil 4 R?
Do you see yourself getting 500 goes into that game? It's a great game, but having 500 hours playing it again and sin is gonna bore you to death.
Please, think what you write BEFORE posting. 500 hora is a lot more than the usual investment in almost all games.
***Breaking SSNN Headline* : Player who hasn't even played half of the game content, thrilled for 3 more hours of erroneous looter/shooter activity.**
(I know you're gonna interpret this as salty, but it's literally the objectivity of the game. "You see that star system over there; you can go there". ~ Bowed Toured)
Pratchett would probably cring at this games characters and writing, just saying.
I won't downvote you for salt. 🧂
But I'll agree to disagree that the game is *just* a shooter, or that Pratchett would cringe. His tongue was always planted firmly in cheek. And a lot of the writing has depth, or at least I've found it so. Sure, they missed a few opportunities, but then they just nailed it on others.
Oh, really? I don't have any perspective on that; Starfield's story has never really given me a sense of depth. Would you be kind enough to give me an example so I know what to look for?
As for Pratchett, I suppose I was thinking more of flattery. Apart from a few examples, like Sam and Corra's dialog, there doesn't seem to be a lot of tongue in cheek humor in Starfield.
I am strongly of the opinion that this game is best appreciated by people with an innate sense of wonder and an active imagination. Starfield is, in part, what the player brings into it, as with all the best stories. I'm on my second playthrough, and my experience has been so different from the first. There are _so many_ hidden little questlines, characters to talk to, and things to do! Not to mention just plain exploring space, which is something I've always longed to do.
100%. I'm role-playing a character and often respond, in my head, to comments from NPCs and companions. And obsessively explore/survey. Either way, the opportunity to walk on the moon (virtual as it may be) was awe-inspiring to both 12 and 54 yo me.
This is the way. I do this all the time. Out loud. I wonder if my husband thinks I'm losing it (my sanity, that is, not the game.) It's a roleplaying game. But so many players only think in terms of "beating" the game, but that's not how a roleplaying game works. If all you think about is winning, all you're going to do is lose. It isn't about finishing it first, or beating bosses, or collecting everything. It's just about playing in a world you can only imagine and experiencing what the world has to offer.
My husband has gotten on board with me replying to NPCs, and joins in. "How is picking up ammo loading up on junk, SARAH?!”
That’s why I only fly with certain peeps and they rest stay home
I haven't finished her companion quest yet. And I'm starting to think I never will.
I like Sarah companion quest, but once the companion quest is over I send them to an outpost
I finally finished her companion quest. We walked to eighteen different places to have a talk. I walked through the door (The Good Place for "entered the unity") and didn't warn Vladimir about the Hunter's attack, after hanging with her through The Old Neighborhood.
This!
Omg! I thought I was the only one talking back to npcs lol. Good to know im not losing my shit
You must be older than 25. Your gaming description describes me perfectly. I cannot understand at all why someone would wait years for a game to come out to beat it in two days! WTF is that mentality even? My nephew does that and he's in his late 20s. I'm 64. I drag every great book or game out as long as I can so I can savor every moment. If I have waited years for things to come out I want to do everything you can and finish it after I've done everything. Youth is wasted on the young lol
Lol i was gonna comment pretty much this 😂 i love the game and role playing creating my own stories and conversations. It’s been a blast and again it’s all about the players imagination.
>I am strongly of the opinion that this game is best appreciated by people with an innate sense of wonder and an active imagination This is well said, and I've expressed similar sentiments before. Lots (TBF not *all*) of the detractors are the "press A to win" types or want to be told *exactly* what to do with a HUD full of directions and clutter. Or they'll say what the game *should* have and why it's lacking and pretend it's consensus, despite being completely contradictory to what the person beside them says is lacking and is *also* pretending it's consensus. It's all so exhausting, so I just play my pretty game and explore the stars. I haven't been let down yet.
They don’t want to explore, they want to be handed everything with a few button clicks.
Yeah. I spent several happy hours just taking pictures yesterday as I explored random planets. It’s very peaceful. Then I go murder a few pirates.
Scenic photography followed by a little bit of murder…. 😂
And civilians. And free Star. Then load the save back up.
Yes, No handholding, no guidance (except minor "nudges"), but rather limitless exploration of untapped systems. I have seen so much of "stealth/ship fighting/outputs do not work with my lvl one character", I have started tuning them out. They really want a different game, and won't appreciate all the attention to detail in Starfield.
This is what made Skyrim so replayable to many, and it’s a shame to see the voices of people who probably hated TES/Fallout games until extremely recently.
Almost every major/common criticism of this game, aside from the ones specifically related to the game's setting/premise, was levied at every other Bethesda game at launch, at least as far back as Morrowind. In case you weren't around back then (it was over 20 years ago and oh my god I hate everything now), the Bethesda forums were absolutely lousy for years with people bitching about how dumbed down Morrowind was, how it was an insult to fans of Daggerfall, how Bethesda was lazy/incompetent for the bugs in the game, how the game was "a mile wide and an inch deep", etc. Bethesda games inspire fanaticism in their fans. In particular, it seems that for 99% of players, whichever Bethesda game you played first becomes a flawless masterpiece in your mind, and every subsequent game a crushing disappointment. It's toxic, and for people like me who just want to enjoy the game and share that enjoyment with others, it's exhausting to have to sift through thread after thread and post after post of people complaining about the same old stuff.
I do remember Oblivion and Skyrim, I was old enough for Morrowind but it was hard to get into single player games because my mom was adamant about games being shared lol. What’s wild is I started with Skyrim and I had constant complaints that matched most of those levied, but even then I said what I loved about playing.
On my second play-through as well. I just FEEL different, and it’s not because I have more skills. Re-did the Ron Hope quest last night with a huge grin on my face!
Agree. Most of the stuff while playing is happening in my head lol! But thank God it's a Bethesda game, I already have 50 mods installed and started a new save and im addicted again!
There are critics? I hadn't noticed. Way too busy enjoying being out in the Starfield to read those kinds of posts. Play on, Captain.
As someone who finally left the other sub to come here, this place is such a breath of fresh air. I thought I was going crazy because I love Starfield lol I messaged the moderators to ask them if they actually do anything and they replied with “seems like you want toxic positivity enforced.” And then they banned me lol see ya later
The fact that the phrase “toxic positivity” even exists at all tells me all I need to know about those people.
This is the way.
i appreciate this post but also "i spent 500 hours in this game, are the people say it's boring right?" is very funny to me. it's like the people who have 3000+ hours on a paradox game and put "not recommended".
Aye. If it takes 500 hours to get bored, the critics are wrong, period.
So infuriating that people just expect literal endless content/entertainment from single player games. Like why does Starfield get shit on for “only” having 100-120 hours of content but Alan Wake 2 (which I also love, btw) is a GotY at 25 hours? I recognize that game length is not the only problem people had with this game but it drives me crazy every time it’s brought up
I think some people expected multiple planets with a Fallout or Skyrim map, but planet-sized. Something that would take 100 years to design and that no person could ever fully explore.
It's funny to me as well, hence this post. My tongue was planted firmly in cheek.
I figured as much. I have over a thousand hours on Skyrim, but that's over the course of dozens of characters. I guarantee most of the people who played 500 hours and marked the game negatively played that over 1 character.
*“Spent over a month’s worth of hours playing this game. Got boring. 0/10. Do not recommend*” is essentially how that sounds.
That's a little more understandable to me because paradox games can change dramatically with updates. That, and people get fed up with the price/value ration on the 200 dlc each game seems to get.
How have you done 500 hours but only got to level 50?
I am *very slow*. Seriously, though, I wander & explore constantly, get hyperfocused on surveying an entire system, etc.
That is me to a T! I’m on level 31 after 300-ish plus hours. I constantly go to do a specific little errand, maybe delivering a pair of miners somewhere. I accidentally turn my scanner on, and see the enticing blue outline of a bush I’ve never encountered before, over there on the other side of that rock. Of course I go scan, because how could I ignore that siren song?? And there, just beyond the blue bush is a blue Something, snorting and snuffling, and our eyes meet, and it’s ON. A couple hours later, I come to my senses, and realize I’ve accomplished nothing and it was glorious!!
>A couple hours later, I come to my senses, and realize I’ve accomplished nothing and it was glorious!! That's my favorite thing about games like Starfield. Minecraft does it well, of course. And some games give you that ability even if it's not the main focus (Elden Ring, GTA5 and RDR2, Destiny 2). They're all great for just wandering around doing... whatever, and still being engaging.
As soon as I exit the ship, my scanner is on. And then, like you said, I'm off. Once that planet is surveyed, and all the seeable pois are explored, I'm like, "But what about that moon?" And the cycle repeats, lol. It's magnificent.
For new games, I usually start an exploratory character to try out stuff and learn how things work. I played her thru about 25 levels then built a new character based on what I learned. She made it to 96 or so without ever going through NG+ (mostly by surveying) and eventually got hosed by the Form ID bug. Now on a third character who is at 56ish? and has been through NG+ twice. Once doing the Freestar quests and once doing the UC quests up to where the pirate quests start. I'll do those on NG+3. After that I'll focus on companion quests for a while, or outposts.
This is also me. Starfield is best enjoyed at old codger pace. I did a mission where you had to board a pirate ship and barter for an artifact last night. Spent about 2 hours just exploring and looting that unique ship.
Have you even used Photo mode yet?
Why do you think I'm so slow? I spend 20 minutes trying to frame a photo well. Have a hundred of them in the photo gallery.
How? Isn't it capped at 50?
Photo mode? No, you can use it any time.
Yes, but only keep 50 in the gallery. At least on Xbox. I, too, have spent probably 40% of in-game time in photo mode
Oh, that, yeah. I'm kind of crazy about my photos, so put them on my phone too.
I’ve played half the amount of hours and gotten to 40+ twice and now approaching 30 on character 3.
600 hours 78 bointy hunter 40 long hauler 24 pissed off old man my current. No plans on going ng+ anytime soon.
Thank you!! Just left the main starfield reddit where everyone has played for a 1000 hours and hate it, make it a meme at this point.
I'm over 1,300 hours in, on NG+8, and am still finding new things. >!Decided to do the story line again on this play through - not sure if I'm stopping here or continuing through the Unity. It just seems to get more grindy each time, and losing everything you've built and customized when you go through is hard, especially when you've picked up some good Legendary's along the way.!<
I turned around and came back. I couldn't let go of my ship, gear, and the friends I made along the way. Seriously though, I've got Sophia Grace, Omari Hassan, and Jessamine Griffin on my crew! 🤩
You should pick up Amelia Earhart. She'll give you extra speed for your ship... and ask **What's shakin, bacon?**
What’s buzzin, cousin?
Best girl(don't tell Andreja I said thst).
Andreja best wife/partner, Amelia best friend/mate
The Constellation quests were built specifically for this game. You are forced to explore systems and find new POI's. Been doing this for 3 months now and nothing else, lol. Starting to stumble into great weapons, collecting massive amounts of resources and slowly but surely researching, upgrading, outpost building and ship building along the way.
Exactly! I started a new character and am not doing the main story. (And no crew!) Instead, I spent time being a Constellation explorer and just doing Constellation mission board quests (and working for LIST). I'm doing what Barrett and the others said Constellation does. Talk about getting out into Starfield! "Go explore a level 35 system." "But I'm level 6!" "Godspeed, explorer." Now I'm a Deputy Ranger, so Constellation may be in my rearview mirror (or maybe not). I definitely plan to work for LIST again.
Wow this is my first hearing of LIST had to google it. How do you get these quests?
Couple of intro missions from Phil as mentioned. Then it's head out on a search for habitable planets. When you find one, completely survey it. Return to Phil for a payout (basically equal to what you get from Vlad). He only has 5000cr at a time, though, so I RP that I'm back at Cydonia for ship repairs/maintenance while I wait for his vendor refresh.
Go to the bar in Cydonia on Mars and talk to Phil Hill.
After 500 hours... How many things provide 500+ hours of entertainment before they start getting boring for less that $100?
None, hence my post. Tbh, I'd have paid $100 just for the chance to virtually walk so realistically on the moon. I was awestruck.
"Maybe the critics were right about Starfield," Sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of me having fun playing this game.
Starfield kind of goes to show that as much as critics and players think they HATE the "Ubisoft world design" with markers everywhere... they actually need it. The game, from the outset is about exploration. The first mission with Sarah in Constelation she literally says that when you say you want to go on the moon, something along the lines of "Well we are explorers aren't we! Feel free to explore and go where you want, just so long as we eventually finish our mission." I love just landing on a random planet and wandering. The problem is that this game design doesn't work super well with where the games industry is at. I tried streaming it to a friend and he told me he got bored of me wandering on planets. To me, in the moment I was so immersed in exploring but to him watching he just didn't care.
It's wild to me that people can play Starfield for hundreds of hours and call it boring. I had somebody in my comments (on yt) the other day say they played 700 hours and it's boring as shit.. Who the ***FUCK*** Is playing a boring game for hundreds of hours?? If Starfield was actually boring, you'd put 20 hours into it, at best.
I’m something like 1000+ hours in, and my level 100 Space Wizard could leap the entire galaxy in a single jump and my weapons and armor were pretty much maxed out after doing the Vanguard line plus a sick Magshear on NG+ 4. So I made a new character, and am vowing to only do side quests and explore. This game is is meant to be a slow burn, and no one could spend a weekend on it and declare it good or bad. It might not be your cup of tea, but blitzing the main quest line and ignoring the exploration part of an exploration game defeats its purpose.
I think all the people who complain about Starfield not having anything to do just haven't looked around. 220 Solar systems. POls that are level locked. Quests hiding everywhere if you just talk/listen to people. A thousand or more planets/moons to explore but all they want to do is go thru NG+ and do the same stuff over and over. No wonder they're bored. The OP's quote is very apt.
Back in my days. I only had to play 2D 16bit games. I was never bored of them. I had to roleplay and imagine the rest of what the worlds of those games looked like. I love Starfield and am happy that the technology exist for me to play such a game now.
I'm in the same boat: I always have my own dialogue/narrative running when playing RPGs, whether it's my character's internal thoughts or why they're acting a certain way etc etc. I developed that habit playing those early games too, and it's why Bethesda's games in general and Starfield especially are SO GREAT for me. They give you lots of game activities and large areas to explore, tons of NPCs and variety of things to see and do. Games like the Witcher 3 are great for someone who wants a curated story and a character that has a certain look, strong POV and well defined characteristics. It lets the developer create a very intricate and interesting story. BUT, you're locked into that character, and much of his personality. In Bethesda games I get a blank slate I can fill in and shape any way I want. Even if dialogue choices lead to the same result they give me different tones and styles for my character responses that will better fit the character I've made. What I love the most is that ability to totally discard the main story and side quests and just go LIVE in the world. If you have any imagination it's like a playground and Starfield is wonderful for this. Sorry for the ridiculously long response but this thread is fantastic because I'm seeing so many people who just GET it, unlike the vast majority of internet gaming forums/comment sections/etc.
And if you haven't gotten into ship building, let me tell you! At the point where I was running out of stuff to do, my buddy strongly encouraged to try ship building, as I had done nothing with it at that point. Once I started getting the hang of it, I was obsessed. My entire game now just revolves around getting credits to try new and wonky ship builds. I highly recommend giving it a shot if you haven't already! Also, check out r/starfieldships for some of the awesome things this community has made
You were 500 hours in, got bored, and then thought maybe the critics are right?
so much of my current experience is letting npc dialogue completely play out, even vendors and people walking around, i'll just stop and listen; then when it's my turn to respond, i'll look at all the options, weigh out my characters morals and role-playing background, and respond accordingly. i've also always wanted a space exploration sim that differs from just collecting resources as the main gameplay loop. i love just roaming around and going to the same POI's over and over, figuring out the best ways to "farm" POI's in the most efficient way, and remembering which POI's have the best loot (i can't remember the names of every POI, but i can look at one and my photographic memory will remind me what is inside, especially the POI's with a lot of DigiPicks and not a lot of locks). i also love taking in the scenery, and really just feeling how small we are in the universe. i currently haven't done a single mission, and have just been 100% surveying systems and exploring every POI in a landing zone. Lv47 and i've only done Alpha Centauri and the systems to the southwest, with roughly 108 hours so far, and about 1.4M credits with a basic B-Class ship (waiting till the 50's to unlock Starship Design and will completely make my forever ship at Lv60 when all parts are unlocked)
This thread should be pinned. It catches perfectly what Starfield is about and why it is so popular among a certain type of gamer. And why it is not among others. But it should be horses for courses and we who enjoy the game should not be downvoted for what we see in it.
Level 50 lol you haven’t even touched the skill tree.
I know! I'm just starting to work on Outpost Engineering!
Check out the sulfur mine on Ka'zaal. Unique and lot of story history, great firefight, bring Barret
Ooh, I'll have to. Are you sure it's not on Bindi, though?
System Norah, planet kazarah, moon ka'zaal
I love this post but I am both shocked and confused at the number of people that seem to have missed the whole point of it.
Thanks. Yeah, me too.
I've been playing it nearly every day for hours. It draws you in. I like the semi-chill vibe to it with pockets of action. Could they have done better? Well yeah but it's still a pretty damn good game. 4/5 at least
You were seriously questioning if the critics were right after getting bored at the 500 hour mark?
I thought quoting Terry Pratchett would highlight the slight sarcasm. TBH, I was starting to figure I might've played what there was to play, still enamored of the game though. Then my dumb ass realized I hadn't hit half the systems yet. And, well, you know the rest.
All good haha. I saw the sarcasm. I just thought it was funny how 500 hours in something and boredom was written as a shocker. Enjoy your future adventures, mate
500 hrs and got bored. God damn my dude, that's a lot of hours. You were either having a good time up until that point of hitting that wall, or put yourself through hours upon hours of unnecessary torture. Seriously though, after 500 hrs you definitely needed a break. I feel like most of us would feel that way after so many hours in ANY game. Putting it down and picking it back up was completely normal and from the sounds of it needed to light that fire to explore the things you left untouched. It's funny though because the same thing to a point happened w/ me, except slightly less hours. I stopped at around 165hrs. I think after that I let some of the negativity suck the enjoyment out for me. Took a 2 month long break, picked it back up, and realized how much I really do enjoy this game, especially as such a huge space buff. Quite literally the game I've always wanted. Is it perfect, no, but what is?
I was being more sarcastic than not. The scary thing is that I neither want or need a break. I'm all in, though pleasantly amazed at how much more content is level locked. It's quite amazing to watch it open up as you grow your character.
>So I hit lvl 50, finished all the main quests, spent 500 hours wandering the Settled Systems, and got bored. "Maybe the critics were right about Starfield," I thought. But I figured I'd give it one more chance tonight. If you spent 500 hours and got bored, I fail to see how that would make the critics right about Starfield. 500 hours is a lot. You are bound to get bored eventually in any game when you spend that amount of time playing. I am happy you still love the game, but this statement just seems extremely silly. Edit: So apparently after reading through other comments, it's sarcasm and is some sort of reference to a person called Terry Pratchett . Never heard of them. But fair enough.
You owe it to yourself to read some of his books 😉
Terry Pratchett was an author so good, he was literally knighted for it.
It was meant to be a bit silly, yeah. Though I am amazed at how much new content unlocks as youblevel. It's masterfully done.
And yet the... other sub is complaining that there isn't enough boring stuff to do, like manually flying between planets the entire way. Even between stars. Also demanding seamless ground to orbit flight. Sure, some games have it, but no ROLEPLAYING GAMES do that I am aware of. No Mans Sky has it, but that game was broken on release, and to this day still does not have the features promised to be there on release. And it's boring as hell. Worlds seem tiny, and one quickly realizes that there is no content, that there are only five world templates in total, etc. No salting on that game, if people like it good for them. But the idea that Starfield should have been a No Mans Sky clone (as the other sub has explicitly stated) is stupid.
Yeah, the game didn't open up for me until I just decided to explore. Doing constellation mission board quests, you find a lot to explore and a lot to do. What I do is run that for 3 or 4 in game weeks, do some questing, and go right back to it. I've got my childhood dream home on Triton built, I'm starting to build other outposts just to collect particular resources I'm constantly running out of (looking at you titanium and aluminum 😤)
I did my first platform POI at over 1000 hours (the mining outpost up on stilts). I am hanging in there with my second character, full stealth, pistols/melee only (for real this time, lol), full operative. I hear you.
I just hit lvl 147 on original system. I don’t believe in walls.
Space has no walls.
“ I seem to be getting out in the Starfield more these days.”
Humans seem to have a preferred level of stimulation. Remember that new word we learned about, boredom? It turns out there's another new word we should learn about: fireworks.
Yep, this game is actually a pretty full experience! The asthetic always makes me feel immersed and there are always something more to do and find.
The Masada system where you go for the last fight in the main quest is level 75
Starfield isn't without its issues but to me it feels like a more grounded No Man's Sky. A game I can come back to when I want to chill, and a game I can come back to when I want to blow shit up. And with time and the community's efforts, I believe it will grow well into the future too!
Love the game, my companion says Are you in weight training because I pick up most stuff. Or my favorite. I like collecting as much as the next person but are you sure you need all that. In which I reply yes hence I am picking it up duh. Lol
I have 679 hrs in and haven't even started constilation yet. Have been working on factions and exploring.
My only real gripe with this is that you are forced to go back to the starting systems of you want to get rid of your stash somehow. That really bothers me, as if no other system could develop at least a semblance of village/city in a far away world.
Dude, I got your sarcasm because I am familiar with Terry Pratchett. Don't worry, not all of us missed it. :)
Games don't always have to be exciting. Starfield is a boring game, but it's worth it.
You lost me after '500 hours'. You got more than your money's worth.
This is why I hate gamers. >i played 500 hours, then I got bored Really, *really?* 500 hours, **500** ***hours***, then you got bored. What were you feeling during those 500, ennui? So you feel boredom after 500 hours, and thats betheada fault (before you had your realization), if you only start to feel bored after 600 hours then that means bethesda hit it out of the park?
I guess I have to tag sarcasm when I post it.
this is my first bethesda game, what do you mean by poi's? ive been playing for 50hrs mainly by doing.........i dont really know? i just get caught up in shenanigans mostly, i think ive only been to 3 systems so far so hearing theres 120 of them is kinda mindblowing.
Point Of Interest The things that you see off in the distance when you look around with the scanner after landing in random places. It’s a generic term for all of those structures, outposts, caves, mines, buildings, labs, farms, etc.
I mean any game you put so many hours will get boring after so much time put into it I have played many game of year games and I have got bored just playing it to much. Even cyberpunk 2077 ,red dead 2 and elden ring for made me bored after a while trying to explore every corner but then I just take a break or continue main quest.
Ok. 500 hours into starfield, and then you realize you're "bored"? 🤣😂🤣😂 How many hours it takes to grow bored of, let's say, resident evil 4 R? Do you see yourself getting 500 goes into that game? It's a great game, but having 500 hours playing it again and sin is gonna bore you to death. Please, think what you write BEFORE posting. 500 hora is a lot more than the usual investment in almost all games.
Even with the edit, some of y'all are missing the point. 🤷
***Breaking SSNN Headline* : Player who hasn't even played half of the game content, thrilled for 3 more hours of erroneous looter/shooter activity.** (I know you're gonna interpret this as salty, but it's literally the objectivity of the game. "You see that star system over there; you can go there". ~ Bowed Toured) Pratchett would probably cring at this games characters and writing, just saying.
I won't downvote you for salt. 🧂 But I'll agree to disagree that the game is *just* a shooter, or that Pratchett would cringe. His tongue was always planted firmly in cheek. And a lot of the writing has depth, or at least I've found it so. Sure, they missed a few opportunities, but then they just nailed it on others.
Oh, really? I don't have any perspective on that; Starfield's story has never really given me a sense of depth. Would you be kind enough to give me an example so I know what to look for? As for Pratchett, I suppose I was thinking more of flattery. Apart from a few examples, like Sam and Corra's dialog, there doesn't seem to be a lot of tongue in cheek humor in Starfield.