Are Constellation the Baddies?

[12o6u3]

How in the world did an RPG ostensibly about "exploration" and "discovery" and maybe science and faith (I'm about 12 hrs in, haven't seen the full story yet) end up putting SO MUCH emphasis on being a one-man army? To some extent, I get that it's more straightforward to develop fun FPS mechanics than new gameplay around conversations and research and etc. that fit the big themes of Starfield. And Starfield looks like it has some powerful Diplomacy and Intimidate skills to pacify enemies instead of killing them (haven't unlocked them yet, though). On the other hand, you need to murder people to level up Stealth skill, so I'm expecting to be asked to headshot pacified enemies to level up Diplomacy, for instance.

So I just met Andreja. She feels the need to apologize she was killing someone when I met her. Like, SHE'S IN CONSTELLATION! THAT'S WHAT CONSTELLATION DOES! Barrett and Sam both had me murdering people as soon as I met them! Before joining Constellation, I was a simple miner; since joining I've killed 20 people a day! I have space marines asking me to do their job because I'm so much better at it!

I was pretty hopeful that Starfield would have pretty good pacifist options, because Skyrim and Fallout 4 gave players some powerful stealth and pacification skills--even though the general design did tend to default to killing lots of enemies. But I'm not just disappointed by Starfield's defaulting to combat, it's really jarring how much combat it throws you into, and the dissonant NPC reactions to that.

[Zy Soua]

Constellation are not baddies, they are just clueless. Same as Starborn not bad, but just reliving these events over and over and one of them being a moralist and another doing whatever they find right the only true evil in the game are pirates, spacers and terrormorphs. Others just doing whatever they think is right.

[Angela]

I found my way to murder all by myself, and let's just say I was disappointed when my laser cutter wasn't capable of killing anyone in the mines.

[Kalypso]

Considering they say each member is their own moral compass, as well as saying Constellation is truly neutral in terms of factions... No. The leader that becomes your follower will hate if you attack any innocents, if that says anything. People should really pay more attention to the smaller stuff....

[Angela]

Originally posted by Pookie101:

Originally posted by Angela:

I found my way to murder all by myself, and let's just say I was disappointed when my laser cutter wasn't capable of killing anyone in the mines.

Try it out of the mines and it's quite effective haha

Yeah it's awesome on weak mobs - most of them are giant insects anyway - I like to think I am mining their little shells

[Mad Max]

Originally posted by Zy Soua:

Constellation are not baddies, they are just clueless. Same as Starborn not bad, but just reliving these events over and over and one of them being a moralist and another doing whatever they find right the only true evil in the game are pirates, spacers and terrormorphs. Others just doing whatever they think is right.

Honestly, Crimson Fleet aren't even all bad, a lot of them are really likeable and have SOME sense of honor. (Like the one from the Barret quest)

Spacers are just Raiders in space.

and Terrormorphs are literally just Tyranids.

[His Divine Shadow]

Originally posted by Zy Soua:

Constellation are not baddies, they are just clueless. Same as Starborn not bad, but just reliving these events over and over and one of them being a moralist and another doing whatever they find right the only true evil in the game are pirates, spacers and terrormorphs. Others just doing whatever they think is right.

That other guy is pretty evil. Hitler thought he was doing good things, but he actually wasn’t. And terramorphs are just animals, driven by instinct. That’s not evil

But to answer OP’s question, no. They’re an alien fan club exploring the furthest reaches of space for weird ♥♥♥♥ in their free time.

[Damien]

I almost feel like the side quests are better than the main quest was. I loved being a corporate spy. More sneaking than fighting. Taking down giant corporations. It was fun.

There are many avenues of gameplay in this game. Beating the main quest is cool for reasons, but I'm enjoying myself much more in NG+ and skipping the main quest.

[Mad Max]

Originally posted by Damien:

I almost feel like the side quests are better than the main quest was. I loved being a corporate spy. More sneaking than fighting. Taking down giant corporations. It was fun.

Welcome to a Bethesda Game.

Main quest is ALWAYS crap, it's the side content we are here for.

[Kalypso]

Originally posted by Pookie101:

Originally posted by Kalypso:

Considering they say each member is their own moral compass, as well as saying Constellation is truly neutral in terms of factions... No. The leader that becomes your follower will hate if you attack any innocents, if that says anything. People should really pay more attention to the smaller stuff....

Well yeah you can follow your own moral compass. That also does not mean other people have to accept it or like it

Exactly. Constellation is true neutral as a faction. all they wanna do is explore. No politics, no ulterior motives. At least from what i know so far.

[Graygan]

Originally posted by 12o6u3:

How in the world did an RPG ostensibly about "exploration" and "discovery" and maybe science and faith (I'm about 12 hrs in, haven't seen the full story yet) end up putting SO MUCH emphasis on being a one-man army? To some extent, I get that it's more straightforward to develop fun FPS mechanics than new gameplay around conversations and research and etc. that fit the big themes of Starfield. And Starfield looks like it has some powerful Diplomacy and Intimidate skills to pacify enemies instead of killing them (haven't unlocked them yet, though). On the other hand, you need to murder people to level up Stealth skill, so I'm expecting to be asked to headshot pacified enemies to level up Diplomacy, for instance.

Just a side note... No need to murder people to get your stealth up. Far easier to go to the wilderness, sit on top of a big hill, and murder critters while stealthed. Works just the same. The plus side is that you then get all the stuff those critters drop.

As for the one man army... It's a Bethesda RPG... Fallout in space kinda vibe. Just like in Fallout, you get one companion who's more of an extra backpack than anything else.

Originally posted by 12o6u3:

So I just met Andreja. She feels the need to apologize she was killing someone when I met her. Like, SHE'S IN CONSTELLATION! THAT'S WHAT CONSTELLATION DOES! Barrett and Sam both had me murdering people as soon as I met them! Before joining Constellation, I was a simple miner; since joining I've killed 20 people a day! I have space marines asking me to do their job because I'm so much better at it!

Andreja is the one... umm... morally flexible... member of the group. She is perfectly ok with murder and theft... mostly. Especially if it gets the job at hand done. The others don't like it when you do bad things and would prefer a less violent way of solving issues.

I seem the group as similar to The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. It's got a very similar vibe to it.

Originally posted by 12o6u3:

I was pretty hopeful that Starfield would have pretty good pacifist options, because Skyrim and Fallout 4 gave players some powerful stealth and pacification skills--even though the general design did tend to default to killing lots of enemies. But I'm not just disappointed by Starfield's defaulting to combat, it's really jarring how much combat it throws you into, and the dissonant NPC reactions to that.

As for pacifist options, there are quite a few actually... You can knock people/critters down without killing them. They won't get back up and attack. I'm a bit of a horder(pick up EVERYTHING), so I tend to kill'em all and loot'em... at least when I'm not actively trying to get the relationship companions happy with me.

I don't know if you can loot someone that you've knocked down but not killed as I've not tried and I don't have a desire to try.

It's also newly released. If you'll recall, when Fallout 4 was originally released, it was much harder to do non-lethal. Over time, there will be more stuff put in. At least there are far far fewer bugs with this release.

[12o6u3]

Originally posted by Kalypso:

Considering they say each member is their own moral compass, as well as saying Constellation is truly neutral in terms of factions... No. The leader that becomes your follower will hate if you attack any innocents, if that says anything. People should really pay more attention to the smaller stuff....

I don't know what you are trying to say here...
Constellation "says" they are neutral, but they also shove their way into other people's space in order to steal artifacts (that could be aren't even there, we're actually just trespassing to see if there is an artifact to steal...), then what, it's ok to claim "self-defense" when we kill people (dozens of people, single-handedly) who shoot at us for trespassing? If the artifacts are so valuable and Stroud is so rich, maybe we should offer to pay people for them instead of launching a paramilitary assault on them?

People should maybe pay attention to the GREAT BIG FOREST that is thrown in your face, instead of getting entranced by the tiniest little leaf...is that what you were trying to say?

[Graygan]

To add to the critter killing... it's also a great way to farm exp and get those precious skill points.

[Zy Soua]

What I am curious about right now, edging on the border of NG+2 is if it is possible to kill all Constellation and just play by yourself. Maybe forcing Vladimir under threat of death to tell you where anomalies are Someone told in one thread that he started a NG and right away as he entered Lodge a Starborn killed everyone

[AdahnGorion]

Not really, what you are encountering is just very poor writing.
This game is almost void of RPG elements and the focus is not on character interaction or story.

The hook on this game is the shooter combat, resource gathering, ship and base building (I did not list exploration, because most people think its boring and its actually rather poorly done)

[12o6u3]

Originally posted by Graygan:

It's also newly released. If you'll recall, when Fallout 4 was originally released, it was much harder to do non-lethal. Over time, there will be more stuff put in. At least there are far far fewer bugs with this release.

Oh, hunting wildlife instead of people is a pretty good idea, but you do still have to kill them. Why not, like, photograph them stealthily? Stealth scan, actually.

I'm a bit more okay with Fallout 4 asking the player to kill lots of raiders and feral ghouls and super-mutants, because that's the setting and the theme. In Starfield, it's just really weird that they leaned into it so heavily...it's great that you can be a super-soldier if you want, but this is a great setting and theme for other types of heroism, too.