What am I missing about outposts?

[shegeek72]

So I built my first outpost on Andraphon with iron, aluminum and helium extractors, solar generators, landing pad and defensive turrets. Then crew quarters that I've outfitted with beds, crew station, hydroponics building and various other items and assigned Lin and another appropriate crew member to the outpost. My extractors are producing more metals and helium than I need (each one has several storage containers). I already have over 500k credits from trading (that I'm planning to use to buy the Shieldbreaker once I level up to B ships). At this point I've lost interest in the outpost.

I remember the settlements in FO4 were a lot of fun. The beacons brought in a lot of settlers that you could assign to various vendors, gardens, etc. They had their own routines like eating, sleeping, etc. In a short time you had a bustling community. However, I find the Starfield outposts boring. The two members don't seem to do much of anything except wander around. Granted I only have botany 1 (I still can't figure out how to use the hydroponics building) and no outpost engineering skills, but I don't know what's the advantage of progressing in outpost skills, so I'm throwing points into the other skills. Andraphon is a barren, boring place.

What am I missing?

[Berserk Belta]

For me the main fun in the outpost system, at least until they flesh it out, is in getting the widest range of materials I can, and making supply chains/networks that function well. Optimising throughput so you get an even spread of materials over time is an interesting problem to solve, as well.

I think they do need to add a lot of parts to engage people, and a few more working parts so we can sort materials and maybe have trade routes. It's a bit barebones as it is.

[Mick Savage]

You're not missing anything, its what we call lazy development or cash grab.

This is a minimal viable product, something game studios do a lot these days. Even games coming out of the East, which tend to be a little better, are doing the same thing.

Myth of Empires the NPCs just stand there, and sometimes they don't even move when they're given work orders. I mean the work gets done, but they haven't moved.

I've gotten into the habit of waiting longer and longer after release to check out games, and it's been a real life saver. My sanity has improved as well.

[Varanus]

As said above, you're not missing anything. Outposts are just inferior to settlements in every capacity. You can use them as resource or xp farms. But if you're hoping to make a your own moon settlement, you're going to be disappointed.
I feel its more akin to Subnauticas base building, than FO4s settlements. Which might be fine for some, but after having experienced the fun and customizability of FO4s settlements, outposts really are a let down.

[Vlad 254]

Originally posted by Berserk Va'ruun:

For me the main fun in the outpost system, at least until they flesh it out, is in getting the widest range of materials I can, and making supply chains/networks that function well. Optimising throughput so you get an even spread of materials over time is an interesting problem to solve, as well.

I think they do need to add a lot of parts to engage people, and a few more working parts so we can sort materials and maybe have trade routes. It's a bit barebones as it is.

Agreed. I also enjoy building them, alot! And I house some of my hired crew at various outposts I build. But I enjoy creating them plus it's good practice, also a way to test which outpost mods I like. Regardless if you use mods or not the practice will serve me well once either Bethesda updates them or mods improve them, or both.

[Neo]

Outposts make great places to craft and research things providing they have a good store of materials.

I also like building cozy places on hostile worlds, decorating them etc.

Are Outposts essential to your play through? Not really. But I find them fun.

[Wade]

Originally posted by shegeek72:

I remember the settlements in FO4 were a lot of fun.

What am I missing?

Even building camps in Fallout 76, which for the most part is a very boring game and sanitized corporate slop, was somewhat fun.

The fact that Bethesda has managed to make literally every segment of Starfield dysfunctional and boring, even the Outpost Building, is amazing. I'm starting to believe that Starfield really is a masterpiece - of the bad game design.

[Berserk Belta]

Originally posted by Neo:

Outposts make great places to craft and research things providing they have a good store of materials.

I also like building cozy places on hostile worlds, decorating them etc.

Are Outposts essential to your play through? Not really. But I find them fun.

Yes, I also have outposts that are only there because I found a beauty spot, and come back to "vacation" at them while I store/craft/whatever.

Originally posted by Vlad 254:

Agreed. I also enjoy building them, alot! And I house some of my hired crew at various outposts I build.

Yes, definitely this too - I'm not sure if this is part of the fun per se, but ditching certain NPCs planetside to oversee a greenhouse can be very satisfying, depending on the NPC

[Vlad 254]

Originally posted by Neo:

Are Outposts essential to your play through? Not really. But I find them fun.

Yep, I have to have them for my own rp purposes. Imagination and creativity mixed in one baby.

[Vlad 254]

Originally posted by Berserk Va'ruun:

Yes, definitely this too - I'm not sure if this is part of the fun per se, but ditching certain NPCs planetside to oversee a greenhouse can be very satisfying, depending on the NPC

Yep. Ditching them and holding some decent companions for use at any time.

[Low Standards]

There is so much mods can do to flesh out what Besthesda can't or won't with outposts. It was probably the most promising part of the game until I realized they did nothing. Some female modder did something before the creation kit that was added new buildings and a frontier settlement to outposts. I would love to see more of that.

[eMYNOCK]

Originally posted by Pookie101:

I love the settlement system in FO4 and FO76 and I expected something similar with Starfield and found it's distinctly lacking a point and purpose for me. I can't for the life of me make an outpost that I am satisfied with and actually like the look of.

there are MODS...

anyway...
are they an essential game mechanic? no.
can it be fun playing with them? yes.

i use my vast network of modified outposts to concentrate and manufacture every single conceivable mined, harvested or manufactured resource in one spot... i also use mods that allow recruitment of absolutely random strangers to populate them, give them someting to do besides idleing around and to decorate them as if they are lived in.

i could, of course, just pop a beacon, a cargo link, some large containers and fill the rest of the outpost with barns to raise memory substrate aliens in verne... but i really do not want yet another adhesive farm like i hade in the commonwealth.

[Vlad 254]

Yeah I was watching a video where KingGarth said they were very interested in making some settlement mods for this game via Creations. Exciting to think about some of those mods they made for FO4.

[jonnin]

not much. outposts are a home, of sorts, with ugly exteriors and no way to custom design rooms and walls and roofs and gardens etc. They can produce stuff, which you did. They can be a ship builder and vendor, with all the basic parts and missing a lot of good parts. Its a fast travel marker out in deep space. You can put annoying crew here to keep them off your ship. It gets attacked now and then. You can store stuff there in containers that don't really hold much each. You can set up crafting / modding for guns/suits etc. There are quests to produce things but you need many outposts to really get into that.

That is about it. Worse, outposts vanish in NG+ so building a bunch and going all in is pointless. The stuff you can produce is not worth much.

The only thing left, then, is for fun. Do what you enjoy.

It would be nice to be able to create like vladimir's house etc for yourself. But you can't without mods... they left so much of the game content out for the players to do the work.

[Vlad 254]

in the mean time some of the mods I've tested with this game for outposts have really made building and decorating them fun.

The following does not include all of them but ....
Betamax's Functional Decor[www.nexusmods.com] Replaces the water cooler mod and the stoves mod

Nem's Deco Pack[www.nexusmods.com]

Outpost Habs Expanded[www.nexusmods.com]

Skully's Emporium AIO Part One[www.nexusmods.com]

Bard's Outpost Recruitment Beacon[www.nexusmods.com]

Water Tower Plus[www.nexusmods.com]

Paradiso Cabin as Outpost Structure[www.nexusmods.com]

Bookshelf Displays Enhanced[www.nexusmods.com]

Better Buildable Walls and Doors[www.nexusmods.com]

Build In Water - Now with Extra Swimming[www.nexusmods.com]

Sleep Crate Build Kit[www.nexusmods.com]

Lodge Decor - LD[www.nexusmods.com]

ENHANCE Mirror[www.nexusmods.com]

Simple Immersive Music Players[www.nexusmods.com]

These next 2 mods are likely to be combined in the future
Manufacturing Meds And Chems[www.nexusmods.com]

Manufacturing Food[www.nexusmods.com]

And that's not counting some great outpost mods over on the Creations side.

Same for Ship building...............

This game already has a long list of fantastic mods.

[Low Standards]

Originally posted by Vlad 254:

in the mean time some of the mods I've tested with this game for outposts have really made building and decorating them fun.

The following does not include all of them but ....
Betamax's Functional Decor[www.nexusmods.com] Replaces the water cooler mod and the stoves mod

Nem's Deco Pack[www.nexusmods.com]

Outpost Habs Expanded[www.nexusmods.com]

Skully's Emporium AIO Part One[www.nexusmods.com]

Bard's Outpost Recruitment Beacon[www.nexusmods.com]

Water Tower Plus[www.nexusmods.com]

Paradiso Cabin as Outpost Structure[www.nexusmods.com]

Bookshelf Displays Enhanced[www.nexusmods.com]

Better Buildable Walls and Doors[www.nexusmods.com]

Build In Water - Now with Extra Swimming[www.nexusmods.com]

Sleep Crate Build Kit[www.nexusmods.com]

Lodge Decor - LD[www.nexusmods.com]

ENHANCE Mirror[www.nexusmods.com]

Simple Immersive Music Players[www.nexusmods.com]

These next 2 mods are likely to be combined in the future
Manufacturing Meds And Chems[www.nexusmods.com]

Manufacturing Food[www.nexusmods.com]

And that's not counting some great outpost mods over on the Creations side.

Same for Ship building...............

This game already has a long list of fantastic mods.

The key word is decorating which is fine but ...