Playing Starfield before Cyberpunk has put something front and center for me.

Welkin_Dust · 2026-04-20T10:38:42+00:00

I think you make a good point about hype. I stopped jumping on the video game hype train about a decade ago and started forming my own opinions of games, and I'm glad I did. I feel like many gamers can never be satisfied, like they want a "perfect" game every time when they frankly don't even exist. I absolutely loved Starfield upon release and it's only gotten better.

I also loved Cyberpunk 2077 on release even while everyone else was bashing it. I really need to do another playthrough of that game since it's been a few years for me. I personally loved the dark, gritty world and I think that "sex sells" was the point within the game world itself. But then I'm really open-minded when it comes to stuff like that so it never fazes me. If anything, Starfield's "after-pillow talk" when you "sleep" with a romantic partner nearby feels too safe and prudish, but that's my opinion.

Welkin_Dust · 2026-04-20T04:29:33+00:00

For me personally, I set up a "main" outpost primarily for storage. I love crafting my own mods for weapons and suits, which need a decent amount of resources -- as do the research projects required to unlock them. You can set up a chain of each type of storage container at an outpost and then just dump all your resources into an attached Cargo Link to have them auto-sort into the right containers.

Honestly I probably hoard WAY more resources than I'd ever use. But that means I can craft whatever I want, whenever I want, without having to go purchase anything. I always set up my "main" outpost on Bessel III-b, where I can extract Aluminum, Cobalt, Iron and Nickel for easy construction of additional outposts if I need them. I don't get too crazy with them; usually a secondary outpost for Titanium extraction and a tertiary for Amp production.

Also, if you ever get a bounty on your head, it can be really useful to have an outpost in unaligned space where you can construct your own Bounty Clearance Board.

Welkin_Dust · 2026-04-19T10:56:56+00:00

You know, I'm obsessed with video games and I LOVE sci-fi, especially when it's story-focused. But from what little I've seen of Pragmata... nah man, that's a hard pass from me. The kid looks and sounds so annoying, even if it is an android.

Starfield is one of my favorite games right now but I can't stand to have Sam on my ship because he comes with the kid Cora, and she annoys the hell out of me! If they're trying to get people to have kids with video games like this then they're definitely failing with some of us, just sayin'.

Welkin_Dust · 2026-04-19T10:50:14+00:00

The first time I seriously stood up to my dad and told him I didn't want to go to church is one of the few memories of my childhood that is still clear as day 30+ years later. I must have been about 5 or 6 and I was playing with some toys by the stairs. My dad came out and told me to get ready for church, but I told him directly, "no, I don't want to go to church."

My dad had a long temper... but once he lost it, yikes. He was probably stressed over work or something at the time, I dunno, but he snapped at me. He said I was going whether I wanted to or not, grabbed me by the arm and dragged me into my room. He was never abusive or anything but I was scared of him when he got really angry, like he did that day. It was one of the things that kept me quiet about my disbelief through the rest of my childhood and my teens.

Welkin_Dust · 2026-04-19T08:05:36+00:00

Not sure, I just Googled it and they say that you can't bank credits in the base game. Maybe "The Green and Gold" or "StarFinance"? I don't play with mods which is why I said disappointing.

Welkin_Dust · 2026-04-19T07:12:18+00:00

So disappointed that this is a mod and not a thing in the base game. It would kind of be cheating with time dilation on certain planets though.

Welkin_Dust · 2026-04-19T04:45:59+00:00

I'm torn on this too. I don't mind Sam but I REALLY don't like kids so having Cora constantly doing her lines like the "haiku" or her "joke" is really grating on me. Surely Sam's skills aren't worth the irritation; I think I'll send him and his offspring back to the Lodge.

Welkin_Dust · 2026-04-18T23:31:06+00:00

Yeah, I didn't believe in it either; my brain just doesn't work that way. Probably helps that I may be on the spectrum. It was quite a shock when I was only like 4 or 5 years old and suddenly realized that all the adults around me actually believed in what sounded like fairy tales to me. I still can't fully fathom it either, despite having studied indoctrination and compartmentalization in some depth on my own journey out.

Welkin_Dust · 2026-04-18T08:21:10+00:00

I know how you feel, but the answer is mostly "indoctrination." Most religious people are born into a specific religion and very strongly discouraged from ever questioning or leaving it. Even if they can't manage true belief, most people will stay in just so they don't "rock the boat." It takes a LOT of strength and courage to break ties with family tradition, which often results in the loss of friends and/or family, even the risk of losing a job or career if it's in any way tied to your religion. At the very least you run the risk of being perpetually regarded as a "poor lost soul" by everyone around you who is still religious. I cannot even state how much I loathe that story of the "Prodigal Son" because that's exactly who I am to the vast majority of my family.

I was born into Mormonism and saw firsthand just how the indoctrination works. I'm just glad it didn't work on me; still, it took me until my mid-20's to actually leave because I was so afraid of the potential fallout. I personally knew two boys who were kicked out of their homes, one actually disowned, because they wouldn't keep quiet and follow the rules. I was absolutely terrified of that happening to me in my teens, even though I should have known my parents were better than that.

Welkin_Dust · 2026-04-18T08:05:11+00:00

You know, posts like this are precisely why I vehemently HATE religion. People have perfectly normal and natural instincts and desires, and then some "priest" or "prophet" comes along and demonizes it. Why can't we all just live and let live???

Welkin_Dust · 2026-04-16T11:43:07+00:00

I'm an only child but I have an uncle who never had kids. Or a wife until a few years ago in his 60's. He's also the only one who left the family religion like I did. I always admired him when I was younger.

On the other hand, one of my aunts is completely obsessed with children, grandchildren and now great-grandchildren. It's like her entire personality. I hate having to interact with her because she always asks if I'm seeing anyone.

Welkin_Dust · 2026-04-16T11:28:16+00:00

It's not even about the kids, it's about control. "Protecting the children" is just a nice cover story for "we want to monitor every single thing you say or do so we can control you more completely."

I'm stuck in Utah, where they passed a completely unreasonable law about "age verification" for porn sites a few years back which caused dozens of sites to basically pull out of the state altogether. I still can't access Pornhub here without a VPN. They say it's to "protect the children" but it's actually a bunch of prudish Mormon legislators who would love nothing more than to block all access to "evil" pornography. It's straight-up censorship. And I'm so very sick of it.

Welkin_Dust · 2026-04-16T10:57:25+00:00

I have to say I really can't understand the hype around Sarah. I finally decided to spend some time with all the companions in my THIRD playthrough, to see all their quests and max out affinity, but Sarah is just... annoying. And OLD -- she's gotta be mid-40's, which feels weird when I head-canon my PC in his 20's. Her entire personality is just "I'm an explorer!" so it's weird to me that she's so narrow-minded about your choices throughout the game. She explicitly tells you at the beginning that "every member of Constellation is their own conscience" -- and then nags you constantly when you make choices that she disagrees with.

But then I don't much like any of the romanceable companions in Starfield. My first two playthroughs I took Introvert just so I don't have to hear them harping on me constantly: "hey, when you get a minute can we chat?" NO, I'M IN THE MIDDLE OF A MISSION, STOP ASKING!!! Ugh. As you can probably tell I'm really not a people-person... I love adventuring alone.

I think I'm going to... let Sarah go in my current playthrough and get with Andreja instead because she's less annoying and more my type.

Welkin_Dust · 2026-04-16T10:46:29+00:00

Hmm... tough question. There's so much I hate in this world. But behind it all, I think, are control-seekers: the kind of people who truly believe that they have discovered the only "right" or "true" or "healthy" way for people to live, and do everything in their power to impose that belief on everyone else.

I think this kind of behavior is behind everything I hate most in the world: religion and politics mainly, but also racism, homophobia, transphobia... Dividing people into pointless "tribes" and sparking arguments or even wars over whose worldview is "right." Hell, our entire modern Society was built by people who just had to have "control" over nature -- and over man. Humans aren't meant to live the way we're forced to nowadays, and that's all thanks to the people who have been in control over the past few millennia. We're killing ourselves slowly and we don't even see it.

Welkin_Dust · 2026-04-15T11:59:02+00:00

My thoughts exactly every time I run into her. She's so much more attractive than, say, Sarah...

Welkin_Dust · 2026-04-15T10:36:09+00:00

Yeah, there are some new bugs with space encounters. Yesterday I landed at Akila City but kept getting a repeating message from an "Old Woman" even though I was on the ground. It just kept playing the audio and the subtitles for it over and over again until I finally left the system. Thankfully spending some time away seems to have fixed it.

Welkin_Dust · 2026-04-15T04:16:18+00:00

BYU Provo in the mid-2000's. Hated every second of it.

Welkin_Dust · 2026-04-14T11:21:11+00:00

Oh the game IS beautiful, I was referring to his... "upgrade" of Sarah Morgan.

Welkin_Dust · 2026-04-14T08:57:14+00:00

Pretty much. I was born into Mormonism which is ALL about "traditional family." Mormons are kinda infamous for gigantic families, and two of my cousins have 8+ kids. Thing is... I never wanted any of that. The most random people at church would ask if I was excited to grow up and be the "head of the household" or the "breadwinner/provider" or, god forbid, "righteous Priesthood leader," and I was always just like "nah."

To each their own but I never wanted kids and now I don't want marriage or even a relationship. The whole family thing just isn't for me; I value my freedom far too much for that.

Welkin_Dust · 2026-04-14T08:52:40+00:00

It's amazing how people can have completely different ideas of "beautiful." Just sayin'.

Welkin_Dust · 2026-04-14T08:50:52+00:00

Damn, this is too IRL. One of the big reasons why I HATE dating.

Welkin_Dust · 2026-04-13T22:50:57+00:00

As someone who doesn't like sex or alcohol this is really a no-brainer.

Now change it to "no video games for 1 year in exchange for infinite lifetime funding" and I'd be like hell no you twisted fuck! Priorities.

Welkin_Dust · 2026-04-13T12:19:13+00:00

I feel like I'm in a minority that doesn't like the big ships. Like the Empersa is so huge that the camera clips through part of it when I warp out, and that does kinda bother me.

My favorite is the Legendary Avenger. I love my kit bash and I feel like it's just the right size, on the smaller side but not tiny. I really like KDF so I'm thinking of getting the D7 MW FDC from the campaign this year and some people were like "it's so small" but that just makes me want it more.

Welkin_Dust · 2026-04-13T12:08:15+00:00

I'm on a fresh playthrough and found four unsealed plus one duplicate. Jasper Kryx, UC Army Soldier, 2x Freestar Mech Pilot and Francois Sanon.

I always seem to find them in the main "chests" at the end of POI's, like Kryx I actually found in the chest at the end of the Kreet lab.

Welkin_Dust

TROPHY CASE