I want to describe this game this way

[MegaTar]

Don't get me wrong, I really like this game, and I have over 2,000 hours in it with a couple re-runs.

I spent 3 years of my life flying patrols over the Pacific Ocean looking for submarines and smugglers during the Vietnam War. I would describe this game the way I describe that experience: "Hours and hours of boredom punctuated by moments of stark terror."

Game on friends. It's all how you play it.

[H5N1]

yeah but flying a real plane the terror can actually get you killed

[merusalem]

Originally posted by MegaTar:

"Hours and hours of boredom punctuated by moments of stark terror."

In case you are looking for more games that fit this mold, you could try EVE Online and go into pvp. Exactly this feeling.

[Mooman]

So... you were conscripted to play Starfield? It wasn't by choice?

[merusalem]

I like some of Starfield's features. For me, personally, the game loop does not come together, though. Todd claimed that they had not seen the game come together until shortly before launch. For me personally, it never did. And cannot, due to the new structure - more quantity, less quality.

In all Bethesda games from Morrowind to Fallout 4 the same game loop worked, slightly modified each time. Essentially, explore, discover, fight, sell, improve.

This game loop is missing in Starfield, because they doubled down on randomly generated missions, like the outpost missions in Fallout 4.

I tried to play Starfield with different game loops, but the only one that was mildly fun for me was Daggerfall's. Get sent to dungeon, fight, sell, improve. But Daggerfall's dungeons were at least unique, while Starfield's are identical, to the last half-eaten sandwich. There are some good mods that make the dungeoneering double as fun, compared to vanilla, but 2x1=2, not =20.

Todd would have to conscript me to play Starfield more than a few hours every other month, in a way, because he could not pay me enough to do the same as a volunteer.

[H5N1]

a few hours every other month is still pretty good value for money

[merusalem]

Originally posted by H5N1:

a few hours every other month is still pretty good value for money

It is. Especially compared to a lot of games I bought over the years which you could not pay me enough to play again.

Just not when I compare it to my willingness to go back to Skyrim or Fallout 4. When you ask me in ten years about Starfield, my reply will probably be "Oh, I have not thought about Fallout 76 and Starfield for years. I still play Skyrim and Fallout 4 now and then, though. And Daggerfall, Morrowind, the cookieman face game, New Vegas, and Fallout 3, at least every few years."

[INTO the DATA]

thank you OP.

[Real Gamer]

Originally posted by MegaTar:

I spent 3 years of my life flying patrols over the Pacific Ocean looking for submarines and smugglers during the Vietnam War. I would describe this game the way I describe that experience: "Hours and hours of boredom punctuated by moments of stark terror."

Game on friends. It's all how you play it.

Congrats on your service.

I hate those moments of stark terror.
Luckily, I’m in absolutely no danger.

[Ruin]

Originally posted by merusalem:

Originally posted by MegaTar:

"Hours and hours of boredom punctuated by moments of stark terror."

In case you are looking for more games that fit this mold, you could try EVE Online and go into pvp. Exactly this feeling.

Spreadsheets in space, only disrupted by momentary bursts of gunfire...

Played EVE for years... Only stopped as it took so long to get anything done, and my circumstances meant I just didn't have the time to get anything worthwhile done any more...

[Real Gamer]

I’m sure Mel Brooks would love the idea of “Spreadsheets in Space”.

[Paganini]

Bethesda mainly makes games for players who enjoy collecting. I can imagine that if you have a strong urge to collect, you end up playing longer than you'd like. Personally, I only really enjoyed Morrowind and Skyrim—Morrowind for the actual gameplay, and Skyrim for both the gameplay and the mods. I don't think I ever actually finished Skyrim. I didn't even buy Starfield. Just wanted to see if there's still as much trolling going on here.

I hope Bethesda finally manages to wrap all that massive freedom and collecting into a better gameplay experience in their next game. Personally, I just can’t bring myself to give a damn about any stuff that doesn’t help me achieve something or offer any kind of challenge. I end up just sprinting past everything, trying to go from quest A to B – and that’s not fun either. They really need to bring in elements from games like Mass Effect or The Witcher 3. Without limiting the freedom though—no one needs just another clone either.
It’s also not easy to stand out in such a crowded market... nut sticking to the same old formula will hurt Bethesda in the long run—they really need to come up with something new.

[Biff]

Thank you for your service.