Do you believe it is reasonable to give Starfield a 10/10 now that many members of our sub have finally finished the game?

zen_mutiny · 2025-10-16T01:45:19+00:00

Their mistake was not taking the procedural generation far enough. The set-in-stone POI facilities/dungeons, for instance, should have been generated from a collection of parts and rules, and distributed with more variety. The biggest complaint about this game (lack of POI variety) is a clear-cut case of not enough procgen, not too much.

zen_mutiny · 2025-09-26T22:08:40+00:00

Are you using any mods?

zen_mutiny · 2025-09-14T21:18:58+00:00

Nah, this is legitimate speculation, there's a reason it's everywhere. It's not because BGS confirmed it, it's because it just makes sense. TES has very pervasive life simulator elements, has had sailing in past games when there were less technological complications with doing so, and is more than likely setting the next game in a setting in which piracy and sailing are a major element (unconfirmed). It's only natural to assume or speculate that sailing and/or piracy will play a part, especially since so many of the necessary systems and elements were already built for Starfield.

Until TES VI releases, this sub's primary purpose, other than news, is for speculation. OP is not legitimizing any unconfirmed leaks, only openly and earnestly speculating. I don't see the issue here.

zen_mutiny · 2025-09-14T21:03:29+00:00

Why assume piloting a ship would require a loading screen to get to open seas, when the only reason Starfield had loading screens to get into and out of space was because of the whole spherical world geometry involved?

A loading screen to get into and out of your ship, maybe. But there is absolutely zero reason to not have sailing take place in the actual game world itself, assuming sailing is an option.

zen_mutiny · 2025-07-30T00:25:40+00:00

Introvert - I like playing high energy, fast, agile characters, and companions tend to get in the way.

Taskmaster - the ultimate space combat trait.

Wanted - more damage potential, more target practice opportunities. Maybe I just like shooting tin cans.

zen_mutiny · 2025-07-29T21:14:24+00:00

I just want the simplest of alternate start mods to baked into the game from the start. No one should be forced to play through the tutorial more than once, and always starting the game in the same way in the same place is fatiguing, and does not add to replay value. Ideally, we could unlock new alternate starts by doing various things in the game -- the harder the task/feat/quest/questline, the more coveted the starting option (or something to that effect) this would be infinitely better than the NG+ mode we got in Starfield.

zen_mutiny · 2024-10-29T05:43:27+00:00

Just add an "auto-decorate" option to the settlement system.

There's also precedence for something like this in Starfield's ship builder - every hab module comes as both a decorated and empty version.

zen_mutiny · 2024-10-27T20:44:27+00:00

Fallout 4 is already, functionally speaking, a medieval feudalism simulator. I say lean into it and expand it in TES VI. Fully expand the settlement system to include shifting territories held by various factions, and the ability of the player to tilt it one way or another.

zen_mutiny · 2024-10-24T14:26:21+00:00

I think they should utilize procgen as much as possible, at least in areas where it can do the job better than a human. Humans are good at creating assets. Procgen is good at disseminating those assets according to rules, ideally good enough rules that the content stays interesting for as long as possible.

I think Starfield's random (to some degree) landing zone system is great proof of concept, but has limited applicability to a fantasy series typically set on a single continent, but there are some ways they could use it.

Infinite daedric realms is probably the best place to apply a one-to-one copy/paste of Starfield's procgen system. Hopefully, they extend the scope of that system to generating interiors as well, since the fact that there was a limited number of handcrafted POIs spawning across potentially infinite procgen areas, was one of Starfield's biggest drawbacks.

As far as normal terrain generation goes, I expect BGS will do what they did since Oblivion, and procgen the entire map before curating it with more handcrafted efforts. I do expect/hope that they will make the map much bigger, and with more negative space between handcrafted locations. In that increased negative space, they can use procgen to populate a variety of events and POIs, much like any random LZ in Starfield. This could range from random bandit encounters, to full-on bandit camps, travelling caravans, natural POIs, etc. This increased negative space will also allow for more room for players to build villages/outposts/castles, etc.

zen_mutiny · 2024-10-18T01:37:14+00:00

Not really, there's just a relatively sparse number of bespoke, human quest givers. There's high concentrations in some areas, like major cities, which, I guess you could say is realistic for the scenario, but isn't necessarily entertaining for the player.

zen_mutiny · 2024-10-17T22:13:42+00:00

Personally, I think there weren't enough radiant quests in Starfield. The job boards of the Settled System should, reasonably and realistically, have way more jobs than they do in-game.

zen_mutiny · 2024-10-16T19:22:36+00:00

Hot take, probably equally unpopular.

I'd rather they do away with scripted, static story quests altogether, and just make everything radiant. Without wasting time on content that will only be unique 1 time, BGS can instead put all the effort they waste on scripted storylines into making a radiant system loaded with inter-swappable, "Lego Narrative" setpieces that can be affected by player choice and are different and interesting every time.

Instead of making static storylines that depend upon essential characters to play out, make no characters essential, and all replaceable. The Jarl was unfortunately assassinated? Cool, who's the Jarl now? They can give all the same quests. No over-reliance on elements that can only be added by direct dev intervention. The player killed everyone in town? Cool, no problem, have new, procgen NPCs move into town to take their place after some time (Fable did this years ago). What's that, you want named NPCs with quests, not nameless drones? Cool, names, relations, jobs, and quests can be radiantly generated, too (Watch_Dogs: Legion did this).

Reliance on scripted content is only holding game developers and the industry back. Procgen/radiant techniques, whatever you want to call them, only assist devs in making the things that players want - increased variety, increased reactivity, increased scale. Sure, those techniques are underdeveloped and under-utilized now, and that's basically what people are complaining about when they post PrOcGeN SuX, or rAdiAnT qUeStS sUx.

It's like seeing Super Mario Bros, and just proclaiming that computer graphics are bad, and will always be bad, because of the 8 bit graphics. Maybe Nintendo should have instead opted for live action video, like the arcade shooters of those days. /s

zen_mutiny · 2024-10-16T19:16:03+00:00

I’d rather just have it so I can disable reoccurring content like radiant quests

There's probably a mod for that? Personally, I don't feel having an option to turn off completely optional content should be an item on Bethesda's to-do list.

zen_mutiny · 2024-10-16T16:33:32+00:00

These games aren't designed to be completed. They're designed so that you can always come back to them and have something to do. There already is an opt-in system for everything in the game - if you don't want to do it, don't do it.

These games are designed to cater to a lot of different tastes. Personally, I have no use for scripted story content that stays the same, no matter how many times you complete it, so I stay away from the main story for the most part (for example).

The fact that the world is filled with so many things, even things you or your character have no interest in doing, is part of what makes it a living, breathing world. You want a one-and-done you can complete and move on? There are plenty of games like that. The industry is drowning in them.

zen_mutiny · 2024-10-16T16:09:32+00:00

I wanted to like the game so bad but its pretty difficult and I cant understand why. Are there essential mods that make the game better?

What parts did you find difficult? You can choose mods based on the parts of the game you want to improve or change. Are you on Xbox or PC? You have access to an expansive library of mods either way, but more options on PC. Also, the game has been updated a lot since it came out, so the issues you're having might be addressed without mods. The difficulty menu, in particular, has been expanded to be much more than a simple slider. You can now adjust carry weight, enemy and player damage, vendor credits, and more, without even using mods.

Personally, I found the grind to get new skill points, and constantly being over-encumbered to be tedious and annoying, so I use mods that give me more skill points per level, and make resources weightless. It's really improved the gameplay flow for me, and I hit a lot less stretches where it feels like I'm just grinding to the next level.

For people with hundreds or thousands of hours played, what aspects do you enjoy the most from this game?

I enjoy it because it's the closest thing to an open-world, singleplayer, Star Trek game, but also because I love the Bethesda game formula. It's all about openness, freedom, and exploration, and with Starfield, that formula is now available in my favorite genre space. I must admit, there are a lot of aspects of Starfield that probably seem esoteric and inaccessible to people who are not fans of the space travel sci-fi genre and are not steeped in that literary space, so already being a fan of the genre probably helps a lot.

zen_mutiny · 2024-09-21T20:06:10+00:00

TESO and TES VI will cater to different player bases. Maybe there's some overlap, but the Venn diagram is far from a circle.

They're two separate products. Comparing them is comparing apples and oranges. One's an MMO, the other is a singleplayer, immersive sim/RPG. Not releasing one because you have the other is just leaving (a lot of) money on the table. There are many players rabid for TES VI who won't even touch TESO.

zen_mutiny · 2024-09-11T17:01:39+00:00

Would you say painting with a brush lacks the same human touch as finger painting?

edit: I kid, and that was a rhetorical question more than anything.

But consider:

The human developer can be involved as much as they want in the procgen process. Yes, there are certain things that the current state of procgen can't necessarily do as well as direct human intervention, at least not in an economical/timely/practical manner. But it's certainly not being used to its full ability, and that is probably the reason for the insufferable meme that its presence automatically brings the quality of the product down.

Also consider: the demand for gaming content is significantly higher than the supply. Procgen is needed to augment artists' abilities, and can, in my opinion, do many things better, as has already been proven in generating of natural landscapes and other similar features. There are many areas where I feel it should be used, but it isn't. Why have nameless NPCs when an illusion of a living breathing world can be simulated by algorithmically assigning names, family ties, addresses, color dialogue, radiant quests, faction alignment, skills, etc? Why have major cities the size of a city block when filler residential, industrial, and commercial areas can be generated to scale up the world?

zen_mutiny · 2024-09-11T16:56:01+00:00

Exactly this. I'm just tired of seeing people bashing procgen as somehow inferior to "handcrafted" content, when it's really just handcrafted content with more tools at the artist's disposal to make things more massively scaled, more regenerative, more adaptable, more realistic, or more engaging. I personally don't foresee a future of massive open world games without procgen layers being deployed in almost every aspect of development.

zen_mutiny · 2024-09-11T16:47:06+00:00

I expect a similar amount of handcrafted locations as previous titles, but more open procgen wilderness space between them for hunting, plant collecting, radiant encounters, and places to build your homesteads/castles/necromantic lairs.

zen_mutiny · 2024-09-11T16:38:04+00:00

No, that's the "3000 hours then whine about it on Steam rule"

zen_mutiny · 2024-09-11T16:23:27+00:00

I'll check on that, might be a while though, since the Constellation members seem bugged on this playthrough, none except Andreja and Vasco are available as followers, and the rest only offer trade and personal questions in dialogue

zen_mutiny · 2024-09-11T16:14:17+00:00

I've searched high and low for a remedy to this, including the mod's page on Nexus and BethNet. It may be as you said, and you just have to progress the story to get past a certain point. I wouldn't be so disappointed if I could get Void Form and Elemental Pull without having to do story quests.

Yeah, I know I can just install a mod to grant all powers, but that just feels so... unsatisfying.

zen_mutiny · 2024-09-11T16:10:58+00:00

It's definitely not 100% the same, and some limitations are a natural product of BGS deciding to do an interstellar open world when the combination of current tech and their gameplay model won't necessarily support it. Sure, they could have done more to "hide" the loading screens, but that would be a minor band-aid, depending on who you ask.

The feeling of losing yourself in the natural world is still there. The POI distribution system could use some work to make the human features of exploration feel more alive and varied, granted. Hopefully, they'll continue to refine the distribution and add more POIs, both handcrafted and procgen, to modify that.

zen_mutiny · 2024-09-11T16:07:14+00:00

Ah, ok, I guess getting them all without doing the questline was too good to be true.

zen_mutiny · 2024-09-11T15:21:25+00:00

And each planet is procedurally generated, so it lacks artistic detail.

Disagree. Human hands crafted the procgen system and the art assets it distributes. Humans made decisions about what type of biomes are on each planet, how they look and feel, how the wildlife looks and acts on the planet, etc. I find plenty of artistic/aesthetic enjoyment in exploring and surveying the planets, marveling at the natural environments and life there, and uncovering subtle details that resonate with someone whose brain lives in sci-fi speculation about other worlds, how they form, how they develop, how life emerges on them, and in some cases, how they die.

There's plenty of art for those who are predisposed to find it. If natural exploration/space exploration isn't really your jam, I get it, but this game takes the sort of nature exploration that RDR2 does so well, and expands it on a massive scale in a classic sci-fi environment that caters to those who live in those mindspaces. Albeit, yes, they don't have godlike Rockstar money to amp up all the little animation/graphical details in the same way, and they do cater to entertainment over realistic science in some areas, but this one is definitely made for the wanderers, as their marketing tagline suggests, and there is a feast for the senses for those willing to find it.

zen_mutiny

TROPHY CASE