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Ferdey

Sep 17, 2023 @ 2:59pm

Starfield ships are just too slow

I *know* this has been mentioned a lot already, but it is so true. Ships that can only do a few hundred or even a couple of thousand kph are just not going to work in space.

As one example, I took off off and needed to visit the Eye in orbit. It was 15,000km away. At my speed this would have taken me something like 15 hours to reach. Not even mentioning orbital velocities here. Cutscenes where you "fast" travel to other local system planets take a few seconds but the journey would take you months if not years to complete.

I want to be able to travel star systems WITHOUT loading screens, cutscenes or fast travel.

BETHESDA - please, please add a mode to the grav drives for local system jump or skip or whatever you want to call it like many other space games have. You could even lock it out with in combat.

Please just let us explore WITHOUT loading screens, thank you.

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Showing 16-30 of 33 comments

ZombieHunter has Starfield

Sep 17, 2023 @ 3:24pm

Originally posted by Ferdey:
Because loading screens are not immersive. There is no feeling of actually piloting a space vessel at all in this game. If I can see another planet or satellite in the distance or even something 15,000km away, I want to be able to get to it without "fast travel". A jump drive would solve this completely. I know landing or using the grav drive to get to another star system is always going to be a loading screen, I am talking about exploring a local system once you get there. I have no idea how Elite Dangerous does this (it was mentioned above) but as I also mentioned, in the 80s on a Commodore 64 and later Amiga, you could use your jump drive to reach any planet or object in a system, even the star to refuel, very quickly if out of combat. It is disappointing to not be able to do this in Starfield.

That is just an old fashioned loading screen that showed you 'something' while it loaded the area in the background.

Is this what you want? Similar to the landing screen we get on new planets and starports? Something to show you went there as opposed to just fading? Something like the NMS and ED system to system travel screen but do that for local travel? Its the same concept except you get some animation that you will want to skip the 3rd or 4th time you see it. It still adds zero game play on your ship. B/c you still are not travelling anywhere so there is no reason to get up and enjoy your ship in flight. This is the exact reason why I keep telling people that ship interiors in Elite would add NOTHING to the game play. Absolutely nothing.

Last edited by ZombieHunter; Sep 17, 2023 @ 3:26pm

#16

Knavenformed has Starfield

Sep 17, 2023 @ 3:26pm

Originally posted by Ferdey:
I want to be able to travel star systems WITHOUT loading screens, cutscenes or fast travel.

There is literally no space game like that, even Elite and Star Citizen have their hyperdrives as loading screens.

#17

ZombieHunter has Starfield

Sep 17, 2023 @ 3:28pm

Originally posted by Knavenformed:
Originally posted by Ferdey:
I want to be able to travel star systems WITHOUT loading screens, cutscenes or fast travel.

There is literally no space game like that, even Elite and Star Citizen have their hyperdrives as loading screens.

Right? All of us coming from those games are thinking how do you want it to work? You want to real time travel from A to B and take 10 years?

#18

Qubert

Sep 17, 2023 @ 3:29pm

Originally posted by Ferdey:
Because loading screens are not immersive. There is no feeling of actually piloting a space vessel at all in this game. If I can see another planet or satellite in the distance or even something 15,000km away, I want to be able to get to it without "fast travel". A jump drive would solve this completely. I know landing or using the grav drive to get to another star system is always going to be a loading screen, I am talking about exploring a local system once you get there. I have no idea how Elite Dangerous does this (it was mentioned above) but as I also mentioned, in the 80s on a Commodore 64 and later Amiga, you could use your jump drive to reach any planet or object in a system, even the star to refuel, very quickly if out of combat. It is disappointing to not be able to do this in Starfield.

If we ever actually had such tech most of it would be auto pilot. Set destination and the ship takes you there. You understand why grav drive is a loading screen, now understand how going from one planet to another is essential the same with auto pilot. There is a reason ships have a kitchen and living quarters, it takes a long time to get from one planet to another.

#19

Ferdey

Sep 17, 2023 @ 3:32pm

Originally posted by ZombieHunter:
Originally posted by Knavenformed:

There is literally no space game like that, even Elite and Star Citizen have their hyperdrives as loading screens.
Right? All of us coming from those games are thinking how do you want it to work? You want to real time travel from A to B and take 10 years?

This has been misunderstood - I want to be able to travel WITHIN star systems without loading screens. Not from one system to another. I probably didn't word it very well.

My entire point is that travel from A to B won't take 10 years. I don't want nor need it to be realistic. Using a jump or skip drive solves this. As I mentioned, when you fast travel within the current system, you get a nice little cutscene of your ship trundling off using its regular engines. That makes no sense, because as we've all agreed it literally would take months or years at those speeds.

#20

Boe Jiden Sep 17, 2023 @ 3:34pm

If you think the ships are slow, good luck surveying planets lol. Especially when the fauna or flora are inaccessible.

#21

ZombieHunter has Starfield

Sep 17, 2023 @ 3:35pm

Originally posted by Ferdey:
Originally posted by ZombieHunter:
Right? All of us coming from those games are thinking how do you want it to work? You want to real time travel from A to B and take 10 years?

This has been misunderstood - I want to be able to travel WITHIN star systems without loading screens. Not from one system to another. I probably didn't word it very well.

My entire point is that travel from A to B won't take 10 years. I don't want nor need it to be realistic. Using a jump or skip drive solves this. As I mentioned, when you fast travel within the current system, you get a nice little cutscene of your ship trundling off using its regular engines. That makes no sense, because as we've all agreed it literally would take months or years at those speeds.

I don't understand how you want it to work or what you are proposing be changed. I think you need to experience how other space 'simulators' have done it to have a common reference point with those of us that are genuinely asking what do you want? There are only so many ways to do it.

But one thing I will assure you is that it requires a lot more design and a lot more thought than a 5 min critique or a trite answer on a forum.

Last edited by ZombieHunter; Sep 17, 2023 @ 3:36pm

#22

Ferdey

Sep 17, 2023 @ 3:36pm

Originally posted by bonus chromosome:
If you think the ships are slow, good luck surveying planets lol. Especially when the fauna or flora are inaccessible.

I actually haven't discovered any reason after 60 hours of playing to do surveys yet.

#23

Qubert

Sep 17, 2023 @ 3:38pm

Originally posted by Ferdey:
Originally posted by bonus chromosome:
If you think the ships are slow, good luck surveying planets lol. Especially when the fauna or flora are inaccessible.

I actually haven't discovered any reason after 60 hours of playing to do surveys yet.

It's for those of us that enjoy the sandbox part of the game.

#24

ZombieHunter has Starfield

Sep 17, 2023 @ 3:39pm

Originally posted by Ferdey:
Originally posted by bonus chromosome:
If you think the ships are slow, good luck surveying planets lol. Especially when the fauna or flora are inaccessible.

I actually haven't discovered any reason after 60 hours of playing to do surveys yet.

Then you are missing out on a lot of credits and XP. I find it interesting you want space travel to take more time but won't take time to explore planets or do surveys.

Last edited by ZombieHunter; Sep 17, 2023 @ 3:39pm

#25

Heu, Iterum Id Feci has Starfield

Sep 17, 2023 @ 3:40pm

Originally posted by Ferdey:
Originally posted by ZombieHunter:
Right? All of us coming from those games are thinking how do you want it to work? You want to real time travel from A to B and take 10 years?

This has been misunderstood - I want to be able to travel WITHIN star systems without loading screens. Not from one system to another. I probably didn't word it very well.

My entire point is that travel from A to B won't take 10 years. I don't want nor need it to be realistic. Using a jump or skip drive solves this. As I mentioned, when you fast travel within the current system, you get a nice little cutscene of your ship trundling off using its regular engines. That makes no sense, because as we've all agreed it literally would take months or years at those speeds.

New horizons launched in 2006 and arrived at pluto in 2015.
so almost 10 years just in our own solar system.
This would be very realistic space travel.
Those other games all have different ways to speed that up, because realistic space travel is extremely boring...

#26

ZombieHunter has Starfield

Sep 17, 2023 @ 3:41pm

Originally posted by Dαятн Wαfflεmαncεя:
Originally posted by Ferdey:

This has been misunderstood - I want to be able to travel WITHIN star systems without loading screens. Not from one system to another. I probably didn't word it very well.

My entire point is that travel from A to B won't take 10 years. I don't want nor need it to be realistic. Using a jump or skip drive solves this. As I mentioned, when you fast travel within the current system, you get a nice little cutscene of your ship trundling off using its regular engines. That makes no sense, because as we've all agreed it literally would take months or years at those speeds.
New horizons launched in 2006 and arrived at pluto in 2015.
so almost 10 years just in our own solar system.
This would be very realistic space travel.
Those other games all have different ways to speed that up, because realistic space travel is extremely boring...

Yep. And the moon, which we can see clearly from Earth, takes 3 days to get to.

I just made the trip from the bubble in Elite to Colonia and I had to go through a minimum of 345 loading screens or jumps. To say nothing of refueling, planetary exploration, dropping to local and other things I did along the way. It took me 12 in-game hours to get there b/c I took the Colonia Bridge. 12 hours. I think the record is something like 7 hours or somewhere around that. And my ship was doing 65 light years per jump. Was it fun? For me yes b/c I appreciate what Elite let me do. And I've been to Colonia many times before so I knew what to expect. Space is big. Thus fast travel. And even in Elite it was using fast travel.

Last edited by ZombieHunter; Sep 17, 2023 @ 3:55pm

#27

Dirtbag

Sep 17, 2023 @ 4:13pm

Originally posted by Knavenformed:
Originally posted by Ferdey:
I want to be able to travel star systems WITHOUT loading screens, cutscenes or fast travel.

There is literally no space game like that, even Elite and Star Citizen have their hyperdrives as loading screens.

Actually quantum drive in Star Citizen is just a fast travel mechanic - the Warp/Wormhole for traveling between systems will technically be a loading screen as you will have load a whole new star systems.

But you can fly between planets within the same system if you have the fuel and time.

#28