Dysomnia
Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany
 
 
Gaming on Linux :CatMorta:

If I'm not online, I'm probably out doing this: https://birdseyestuttgart.bandcamp.com/
Currently Offline
Screenshot Showcase
Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition
Review Showcase
177 Hours played
(Got the Premium Edition bundled with my RX 6800, not sure if this counts as "received for free".)

I'm currently playing and enjoying Starfield and will probably do so for many more hours. There is a lot to be discovered here and the Bethesda formula still works in 2023, so if you liked Skyrim and Fallout 4, you will probably like this as well.

That being said, I wouldn't recommend the game, at least not in its current state and for the full asking price. While Starfield seems like the least buggy Creation Engine game so far, the technical issues just aren't as apparent in gameplay as usual, they're hiding under the hood this time. In the few days after release, modders and various devs have already discovered many "oversights" that just scream "We'll optimize this for (barely) 30 fps on Xbox, then shoehorn in some stuff for the PC version and call it a day." Highlights are: Horrible I/O scheduling causing 100% usage on even the fastest SSDs, leading to traversal stutters; Disabling Hyperthreading on Intel CPUs for performance gains (!) up to 15%; Wrong usage of DX12 features leading to idle time on both CPU and GPU, causing fps drops.

Since these shortcomings in programming are so deeply embedded in the engine, many players will notice that turning down graphics presets will result in a horrible washed-out mess that still runs like crap. Then again, some options that might actually help with performance are missing entirely, like Texture Resolution and Filtering. On top of that we get no FOV slider, no HDR (grey is the new black) and no native DLSS / XeSS Support.

Even if Starfield offered revolutionary gameplay (which it doesn't), I would still not recommend it with technical issues this egregious.


Update after reaching the unity and almost 100%:

While it feels weird to uphold a "thumbs down" for a game I have played for over a hundred hours, since we have no "sideways thumb" I'd have to leave it at that. So. The first major patch rolled out, and performance / optimization went from horrible to slightly less horrible. Too little, too late, honestly.

Other than that, I can only confirm what many in-depth reviews are concluding: Starfield is disappointing, and it's because the "Bethesda Formula" alone is just not enough to keep a game interesting. Contrary to Starfield, earlier games like Fallout 3 or Morrowind used this only as a basis and expanded on it with interesting characters, quests and (mostly) great worldbuilding that led to exciting discoveries and simply fun gameplay moments during most of my playthroughs - while of course not being without flaws, looking at you, original ending of Fallout 3.

Starfield has become synonymous with "squandered potential". For some reason, Bethesda managed to create an actually solid universe with a lot of interesting lore, only to make almost no use of it. The colony wars, for example, could have been a great setting, we could have been able to choose sides, see Vae Victis in his prime, maybe even experience planet-wide mech battles and xeno-warfare (!!!). Instead, we get some weird, unsatisfying multiple universe mumbo-jumbo where the main story has you literally (!) jumping through hoops to progress.

The few side quests that are actually interesting are over far too quickly. Imagine the great Terrormorph / UC Vanguard questline with its terrifying enemies, plot twists and reveals expanded upon and being the main focus of the game. Again, so much potential.

Well, yeah. I'm not mad, Bethesda, I'm just disappointed :(.

Recent Activity

29 hrs on record
last played on Mar 18
7.4 hrs on record
last played on Mar 16
10.1 hrs on record
last played on Mar 10
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Comments
P.k Nov 2, 2022 @ 10:03am 
:loveglow:
P.k Nov 28, 2020 @ 11:44pm 
:marry:
P.k Nov 6, 2018 @ 4:15am 
:rosebud: