Starfield Players, Share Your Experiences and Screenshots

CK213

This game is currently eating up all my simming time.
There will most likely be some story spoilers in this thread.

I love it, but I am disappointed in it at the same time.
It's OK as a Bethesda RPG, but the space experience is nowhere near as good as No Man's Sky, Elite Dangerous, or Star Citizen. It does go further than Mass Effect as far as space exploration goes. It's best to just accept it for what it is: A space themed RPG.

I am on my second play-through of this game.
In my first play-through, I only focused on the main quest and took extra missions from Mission Kiosks.
I avoided all NPCs wanting to give me side quests and faction quests.

I initially started off role-playing as a Scientist/Explorer, but I quickly decided it was a mistake as the main quest plot started to reveal itself.
Things were very Combat focused. I decided to spoil the ending for myself and looked up where all this was going.

Knowing how it ended, I started over and role-played a combat oriented player that was serving as muscle for the Constellation Organization in addition to his ability with the alien artifacts. I was going to save science and exploration for the "Real Game" in my in-depth second play-through.
I love Deimos ships and spent a lot of time modifying this one.


I did take a little time to work on some science, tech, and exploration skills, but only a little.


I also took on a main NPC side quest.




Those better not be Terramorph eggs.


I don't want to get into a discussion about the ending, but I finally got through it and started my second play-through.

So now I am on my second play-through as the Dragonborn... uh, Starborn.
This game does feel like a Sci-fi reskin of Skyrim, which I don't mind one bit, as I love Skyrim.

This time I am playing as I initially intended as a Scientist/Explorer, that can kick pirate butt, like Mordin Solus from Mass Effect.
I am taking my time and will be trying all the faction quests and side-quests that make sense for my character. I have experienced a few good ones so far.

I am trying Outpost building as I learn more about how things work in this game.


This location isn't the best as it only gives me access to Helium-3 and Aluminum, but I was more interested in just a location to experiment with outpost building and having a place to store all my stuff.


I am not sure how useful these are for other game play.
You never run out of fuel, so you don't really need a refueling stop or a base of operations to supply for the outer star systems.
There is too much fast travel and really makes a base not necessary for exploration.


But I like having one. I have ran resource supply runs for customers, but I can't say they pay well enough to make it a career.
I can easily make a lot of money just collecting weapons from pirates and spacers, especially if I upgrade them.

I recently bought a new ship.
This is called the Dragon Fire II. I wanted this ship mainly for its crew cockpit.

This is much better than the single seat Deimos Ships.
I have a crew and It's nice to have them on the bridge. Deimos does have one, but it's huge and not as good looking as this one.

This is making me rethinking my other ships. The Dragon Fire will now be my science and exploration ship.
The Deimos will now become my battleship, and I have another Deimos that will be a cargo ship.


I added another level for a captain's quarters and added a science Hab to the ship.
The layout is very nice.


This is now my favorite ship.



This is the planet Jemison, that I consider my home planet.


The view from the bridge is excellent.



But as of today my ship is currently on a Survey Mission of the planet Nesoi, in the Olympus system.
I am in the very slow process of scanning Flora and Fauna and taking scientific samples. I also need to discover the planet traits.
I am sure this will be slow and boring to many players, but I actually like the change of pace from fighting pirates.
Although, there are some pirate bases in the area, and I did clean up my current landing site of Spacers.


The game has some issues, but I can't stop playing.

So that's it for me for this update.
I like the game, but I feel it could have been better. All the walking/running is a bit ridiculous for areas that are so large.
I need a land vehicle.

Archivist

Cool shots, @CK213!

I only tried Starfield for a couple hours on Xbox Cloud Gaming but mainly to determine if I liked it enough to upgrade my whole PC for. It seemed enjoyable but not nearly enough for me to spend $1k+ to play more of it. I'll probably pick it up one day when there are more good AAA games I would upgrade my PC for.

CK213

Archivist wrote: »

Cool shots, @CK213!

I only tried Starfield for a couple hours on Xbox Cloud Gaming but mainly to determine if I liked it enough to upgrade my whole PC for. It seemed enjoyable but not nearly enough for me to spend $1k+ to play more of it. I'll probably pick it up one day when there are more good AAA games I would upgrade my PC for.

Hi Archivist!
I would not upgrade for Starfield.

I do like it, but the game is nowhere near as good as the marketing hype Bethesda put out for it.
I believe it will be great in two years, once it has a few expansion packs and the modders take to it with official modding tools.

The game has a structure built for replayability with its New Game+ feature, but it also turns the game into a grind just to experience its features. I changed my roleplay as a scientist/explorer because the main quest required so much combat. My second play-through had me trying the scientist again, after I had unlocked more skills, but I still found things I could not do because I hadn't unlocked particular skills. So I ended that play-through by forcing the conclusion of the main quest.

Now I am on my third attempt and I feel like I have unlocked enough skills to actually enjoy the game's features.
When you start a new game+, you keep your skills, but you lose all other progress: money, ships, outpost, gear, etc.
I will post more pics soon. I feel like I have a love/hate relationship with this game.

CK213

Goodbye, Dragonfire II.
I love this ship, but I am ending this play-through because it's clear that I won't be able to unlock enough skills to enjoy it the way I want.
I've already achieved the ships I wanted, and an Outpost base, but I can't deliver the goods I want because I still need to unlock more skills. This is forcing me to grind for Experience Points instead of playing as I wish.


Hello, Baby Dragonfire II!
This is the start of a new game.

This is actually Starfields starter ship, with the Dragonfire II's cockpit added to it.
I can't buy the Dragonfire II right away since it cost over $300,000, but I can convert the starter ship and expand it as I go.

I had to play a bit to earn the money to start Stage 1 conversion.
The ship is built of components from two major manufacturers. First I had to go to Deimos and use mostly Deimos parts.

And then I went to Stroud-Eklund to finish it up.


I wanted it smaller than this, but ship mass and power requirements forces you into certain solutions.


I like this much better as "the next ship up".


It's a proper exploration ship.


I just hope this doesn't turn into another dead end.
When you end a game in Starfield, you get to make certain choices that impacts the next game.
I choose a different one out of curiosity, but I don't know the impact of that choice yet.

CK213

Good news, I don't think I will be cut out of regular game play by my new game choice.
I just don't have to repeat all the small steps of the main quest.

My little ship is starting to evolve already.
Mainly because of the need for more cargo storage.


I was forced to do this to it because more weight requires more landing gear and more engine power.


We were on this planet for a survey mission and I discovered that this plot of land had Ionic liquids and tetrafluorides.
Both are needed to make Isotropic Coolant, a needed resource. So I set up this outpost as a mini coolant factory.

We will come back in a day or two.

This game has nice details. This is the entry hatch into the ship.

I get the feeling that someone on the Starfield development team is a Sims player.


Because they seem to love cluttter.


The ship lost a little of its cuteness.
It looks more serious now.


I could not put the cargo containers where I wanted, because of the landing gear, so I popped a couple more on the back of the ship.


If I ever have a huge surplus of extra cash, I will perform the next major upgrade.

The vistas in this game can be amazing at times.

After minutes of walking over bland terrain, I was shocked to find this after surmounting a hill.

No idea what it is.


Awesome.


I am setting adventure quests aside as I focus on building my resource storage site.
I want to have a container for every resource in game. But I will have a special allocation materials for a specific high end fabricated part, which I plan to sell in bulk.


My micro manufacturing outpost might be set on a nicer planet, but I will get it started here.

I took on a mission to visit Earth.

Welcome to London.

The mission goal is to retrieve this Snow globe.
There are several of these.


I guess it's a game Easter Egg.
More evidenced that someone on the team is a Simmer.


So, humans eventually killed Earth.


I'm getting used to the new look of the ship.
My little baby is growing up.


The need for more cargo room is persistent.
A new reactor and grav drive allowed me to add more. I was lucky to find a location location to place the cargo container without reworking the ship.


Ever evolving.
The change did not require more landing gear, otherwise I would have had to make the ship longer.

So, I am getting close to getting my Resource Outpost establish, however, I am still grinding experience points to unlock new abilities like being able to add more crew to my ship and upgrading my science skills. After that I will dive deeper on adventuring with all these hidden quests.

CK213

Amelia Earhart has joined my crew!!

Not the original, but her clone.
There is a quest where you discover a colony of cloned historical figures.

This is the outfit she wears when you first meet her.
They did well in capturing her style. Also, I love her 1930s dialect.
"What's shakin', bacon"? "Stoppin' by for a chin-wag, captain?"


She was trapped on the planet of clones and was begging to be taken along to explore the galaxy. I could not leave her behind.
In other news, my ship, the baby Dragonfire, has grown up.


I really liked making a smaller version of the ship and upgrading it as I go.


Every time you build a ship over, there is going to something a little different about it.


This is a new take on the upper rear quarter.

We must be really close to a gas giant.

Yup!
But I think this a view from one of the other moons.

I do have a second ship.
This is my cargo ship, but it needs more work because it hauls only a little more cargo than my upgraded Dragonfire II.


Sarah is actually quite the toughie, so I gave her some tough looking clothes.


I have quite a few small outposts for resources, but this is my second one with landing pad.
I have a greenhouse here to grow plants that make solvents.


It looks better than a moon, but it still requires a space suit.


I almost feel like I am playing The Sims, but this greenhouse is extremely hands off.




I think I might make this outpost manufacture medical products in addition to solvents.

How about a ship tour?

This is the entrance to the lower deck.

It takes you into the control room. It doesn't do anything other than expands your crew size by four people.
We can go in three directions from here. To the left, out of camera, is the armory. To the right, and the rest of the lower deck is the medical hab. Straight ahead is the bridge and the upper-deck.


This is the armory.


The guns are stored here.
But I am using it to collect specific gun types and upgrading them for resale.




This is the medical hab.
Unfortunately it's mostly for looks. I can't assign a ship's doctor, or be a doctor myself.


Like the sims, it has crafting stations. On the left is the research station and on the right is the pharmacology station.


This is the engineering section.
It's just for looks too.


This ladder takes you down to the workshop.


This little section also has the docking port, where you enter other ships or space stations.


You can fabricate resource parts here, weapon mods, and space suit mods in the work shop.

Now back at the ships entry point, we can go straight ahead to the bridge and the upper deck.

Up.

You should be familiar with this by now.


The bridge leads to the science hab.


Functionally, it's just like the medical hab, with a research station and a pharmacology station.
You only really need one or the other, but hopefully Bethedsa will expand on these in the future.


This little storage room connects the science hab, the crew quarters, and the captain's quarters upstairs.


The crews quarters has a kitchen, beds, and bathroom.




My space is upstairs.


Which is the place where you will find my crew, of course.


I don't know why my bed looks like a table.
It probably feels like a table too.


You can use this to access the galaxy map.


I have yet to come across these creatures.

Parting Shots.

That's some serious long distance eye contact.

I like Sarah, but I will never marry her again in any future lives.
She is annoyingly clingy.


I am just about done creating my system of resource outpost and I am happy with my ship.
Enough skill perks have been unlocked. I can finally focus on quests to see how long this game is.

jaletu2005

Thank you for the heads up about this new game. My computer kept trying to get me to try the game but I resisted. The look of it is very impressive to me. I don't do too many RPGs. I might try it come Christmas. Your pics are awesome!

CK213

jaletu2005 wrote: »

Thank you for the heads up about this new game. My computer kept trying to get me to try the game but I resisted. The look of it is very impressive to me. I don't do too many RPGs. I might try it come Christmas. Your pics are awesome!

You're welcome!
Sorry to reply so late. I took a Starfield break and started playing Cyberpunk 2077 because of the new expansion pack and base game updates.
It was fun, but for some reason I came back to Starfield. I wanted to try a different approach to the game. I still have a backlog of pictures to share from earlier however.

New Atlantis does not feel as alive as Skyrim's cities, but it sure is pretty.


In a bar in New Atlantis you will find Marika Borus.
I hired her on as part of my crew.

I have a crew of six now.

I am finding cooler outfits to dress them up.




This is the aftermath of a Terrormorph attack in the city.


Fortunately all the damage was away from my ship.


But that was just the beginning of the UC Faction Quest.


This is Kaiser. I wish I could trade in Vasco for him.


This is special armor given to me for fighting Terrormorphs.
I gave it to Marika.

Okay... now I have a better idea of the factions and their associated star systems.
Stay away from Kryx.

Flight deck crew having a meeting about a recent discovery.

Out of curiosity, Marika and I went for a stroll past the city limits.


It's really disappointing that this area is no different from any other procedural generated maps in the game.
They really should have handcrafted life around the city with farms, settlements, and factories. It is the faction's capital after all.


This is actually a farm on the opposing faction's planet. However, it is nowhere near its capital city of Akila.


Still loving this ship. I believe it will be the only one I use as my science and exploration ship.


The huge ship is a battle ship for the United Colonies.
My ship is actually smaller than it looks here.


I have been very busy because I also built a cargo ship...


And a battle cruiser. (Modeled after a ship from Star Wars, The Phantom Menace.)

I went on to play out the rest of the UC and Crimson Fleet faction quests and stopped.
I had my outposts and ships. Other than the last major faction, there was no real reason to keep playing. Also the last faction quest requires stealth. Something which I have no skills. So finished the main quest and set up to start a New Game+ and then I left Starfield for Cyberpunk 2077.

CK213

I now have over 1000 hours put into Starfield.
Player sentiment is really mixed on this game. Some love it, some hate it, and some think it's merely okay.

I think it's just okay, but it could be better with some future DLC and mods.
The game feels like a mix of a Bethesda RPG, Mass Effect, and No Man's Sky, yet refuses to be a space sim like Elite Dangerous, or even try some of the awesome planet to space transitions like Star Citizen.

Altogether, it is not as good a living world like Bethesda's Oblivion, Fallout, or Skyrim. It does not have the Epic story and fantastic characters like Mass Effect has, nor does it let you fly from ground to space or have ground vehicles, nor survival game play like No Man's Sky.

So..., I stop wishing it could have been all those things and simply accepted the game for what it is and tried to find a way to enjoy playing it.
When I play Skyrim, I usually dump the main quest after the opening story setup. I then go off being a hunter/craftsman/trades man and enjoy all the crazy random encounters that can happen whenever you go off into the world. This way I just make my own fun while building skills for when I finally take on the main quest and end the play-through.

Starfield doesn't really play like that. The sandbox elements feel disconnected and shallow. It's best to actually focus on the quests.
However, I discovered that I enjoy being a manufacturer.


This is my main outpost.
I did not build it immediately, but slowly worked my way up to it. I started out with several smaller outposts that support this one.

This facility produces the final product of Vytinium Fuel Rods. They make a nice profit and generate high experience points just for making them.
It also serves as a storage facility for nearly every resource in the game. So when I need more resources I can just come here instead of going from planet to planet trying to find enough resources at various stores.


I have read player comments saying that there is no point to outposts, nor exploration, in Starfield.
I think this is because they have certain expectations for how they are to be played. As a manufacturer, I find myself deep into outpost building and exploration. I need quite a few support outposts for the main one because they make the sub-components for the final product. I am also exploring the galaxy trying to find the best locations for my outposts. Which planet has the best combination of resources?


I wish I had started this way from the very beginning. It's a great way to earn income to build your fleet of ships and earn experience points that will get you the perks that allow you to do certain things in the game. Shattered Space will be the first DLC for Starfield. When it arrives, I will start a brand new character and start fresh. I will begin again with manufacturing. You can mix things up with the smaller quests and kiosk missions to keep it interesting, but save the major quests for when your character is more developed.


Now that my Outposts are established, I have turned to the Freestar Collective faction quest as one of the first meaty quests to enjoy.


After all that work with my outposts, it felt good to dive into a major quest.


The prize for finishing that faction quest was a ship. The Star Eagle.
Which originally looked nothing like that ship below, because it was made over using the art style of my Dragonfire series of ships.


This ship is considered my battleship/bounty hunter ship.
It actually has holding cells inside to jail wanted pirates and other criminals. Unfortunately there is not a lick of game play to support that.


Which brings me to the subject of improving Starfield.
Its game play loops like being a bounty hunter that needs support in this game. There should be quests that have me capture wanted criminals and bring them in alive. All the elements are there. We have the ship holding cells. We have stun guns that actually knock NPCs out instead of kill them. We have prisons in the major cities. Where are the game play quests that allow us to actually do it?


Also, there needs to be more random adventures. We kind of have these random encounters, but there isn't much to them.
I was actually surprised to find this woman taking her "pet" for a walk. 1000 hours into the game, and this is my first time seeing her. We just had a simple conversation about how she inherited her pet and what a problem it was to have it in the ship. This game needs more. There are a couple of emergency calls for help, but you would think there would be a lot more with all the pirate activity going on?


There needs to be more game play loop support, like being a ship's doctor or having an NPC in the role. A more alive economy with requests for products and services. More attacks on outposts. I don't want them all the time, but whenever I build an outpost, I will get one attack and never again. I suspect a lot of this will be coming with DLC, because there is so much being hinted at the existing content like it's already planned.


And finally we need more ship designs with more parts to interchange.
I have been having a blast with my progression series of ships. I want more stuff to play with.


We also need to save our designs.
When you start a New Game+ you lose all your ships and outposts. If I could save ship designs, I would not have to build them from scratch all over again. I have to take pictures just to remember how I created it.

I still have hope for the game.
I do hope Bethesda keeps working on it. There are some game publishers that will give up on a game if there is a lot of negative press (cough*EA cough*Andromeda cough*Sim City).

[Edit]
I actually found this medical NPC hanging around in Akila City.


She can be a companion and she randomly offers me med packs. She also has commentary related to medical treatment.
She's a bit shallow in function though. She can't treat your injuries and she doesn't hang around in the medical hab.
Those small editions would have helped medical game play a lot.

CK213

There isn't much interest in this thread, but if there are a couple of you out there who are playing it or thinking about getting it,
AND YOU LOVE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, look up a Guardians of the Galaxy inspired Mix Tape playlist on Spotify or the like, turn the game music off and sound effects down.

The music is giving me a big grin on my face as I walk through my ship as my crew go about their business.
Even in the heat of battle, it feels cinematic. I feel like Star-Lord.


And then there are those side glances at Sarah during certain songs.
Still not going to marry her again. Too clingy.


It's making for quite the chill experience.


https://youtu.be/Cs9jvAgpu9I?si=bWl86GwIY0wpKWQB