General Gaming thread

racefaceec90

i just got baldur's gate 3 for ps5 and it does look very nice i have to say. just going to take a while to get to grips with the combat system as i haven't played a d n d game for years and the turn based combat takes some getting used to (but i'm not complaining i have to add).

also bomb rush cyberfunk is most excellent too (a def spiritual successor to jsr for sure). 

TeleMaster

I'm finding 30fps on Starfield a bit difficult to get used to tbh. I find it very noticeably stuttery.

Penn

So I’ve played a fair bit of Starfield. Probably 15/16 hours. I’ve had a few thoughts about it. It took a while to get into.

I’ve gotten stuck under a mast and fallen out of a ship in space repeatedly.  I’ve had characters I’ve been talking to do some odd head banging up and down/flashing in and out of existence. Had a few other annoying bugs. 

The endless loading screens really break the immersion.  They are not good. There should at least be an animation of the ship leaving, door opening or whatever to cover them up. It’s a bit crap.  

Graphics are ok on Xbox series X. The NPC models/faces aren’t the best.  

The stuff I do like, story is fun, different worlds are impressive enough. There’s a lot to do.  

Not a bad game but it’s not what you’d expect from a AAA game. It feels half finished in places. 

BigBearKris

Penn said:

So I’ve played a fair bit of Starfield. Probably 15/16 hours. I’ve had a few thoughts about it. It took a while to get into.

I’ve gotten stuck under a mast and fallen out of a ship in space repeatedly.  I’ve had characters I’ve been talking to do some odd head banging up and down/flashing in and out of existence. Had a few other annoying bugs. 

The endless loading screens really break the immersion.  They are not good. There should at least be an animation of the ship leaving, door opening or whatever to cover them up. It’s a bit crap.  

Graphics are ok on Xbox series X. The NPC models/faces aren’t the best.  

The stuff I do like, story is fun, different worlds are impressive enough. There’s a lot to do.  

Not a bad game but it’s not what you’d expect from a AAA game. It feels half finished in places. 

That's interesting- I haven't had any of these bugs on my xbox series x. I'm about 10hrs in. 
Also - when docking/leaving ship/landing etc - animation is what I have, no static loading screen - so not sure whether versions vary or I misunderstood your post. 

I'm also not going to defend it like it's a perfect game - I'm not drawn into and hooked like I was with Skyrim for example, but I do think it's very good. I find navigating on the map and setting course etc - easy buy not clear at all, I'm jumping through the planets and missions log without knowing where I am and is it even far where I'm heading to (I know it's shown, but it almost makes me not wanting to pay attention to it). 
I guess I have to keep playing and it'll either grow on me or it'll be a long, cool but forgettable journey, we'll see - early days...

TeleMaster

Penn said:

The endless loading screens really break the immersion.  They are not good. There should at least be an animation of the ship leaving, door opening or whatever to cover them up. It’s a bit crap.  

Graphics are ok on Xbox series X. The NPC models/faces aren’t the best.  

The stuff I do like, story is fun, different worlds are impressive enough. There’s a lot to do.  

Not a bad game but it’s not what you’d expect from a AAA game. It feels half finished in places. 

I agree. For a AAA game in 2023 it is strange. NMS did this much better. I have found some of the graphics a bit shoddy. Like rocks and walls and stuff, and the way NPCs react is strange and unnatural. It is enjoyable in places but I think it really is just an old engine pushed to the limits by a uniquely eccentric gaming studio who may well be past their best. 

That said, there are lots of unintentionally hilarious moments, like this. 

Sporky

I've had a few Bethesdaisms, but I am enjoying it far more than NMS. On my PC the load times are typically 5 seconds or less, which probably helps. 

RaymondLin

I get the feeling that Starfield was held back not only because they are using their decade old engine but also being held back by being on console, especially having to run on Series S.

The fact that it needs loading screen constantly means they are hitting the limit all the time in that space, the cities are compartmentalised to break them up probably for memory.  There’s no reason why they can’t do what Cyberpunk does and walk from one end of the city to another if you wanted to.  The engine is far too ancient and if remade on Unreal Engine 5 I would think it would be amazing. 

TeleMaster

RaymondLin said:

I get the feeling that Starfield was held back not only because they are using their decade old engine but also being held back by being on console, especially having to run on Series S.

The fact that it needs loading screen constantly means they are hitting the limit all the time in that space, the cities are compartmentalised to break them up probably for memory.  There’s no reason why they can’t do what Cyberpunk does and walk from one end of the city to another if you wanted to.  The engine is far too ancient and if remade on Unreal Engine 5 I would think it would be amazing. 

Why wouldn't they use a very new engine over an old one like this? Cost or what? 

RaymondLin

They begun production predates UR5 I believe and perhaps they have too much trust in their engine back then before they found out their ambition far exceeds the limitation of what they are working with.

TeleMaster

Okay I've made a decision. I'm not going to continue with it. I've played a good 10 hours and overall I'm finding it dull and I have no interest in ship building, and the combat is formulaic, uninspired, the graphics are poor in lots of places and it just feels extremely dated. I'm glad I've not paid for it.

Back to Baldurs Gate  

RaymondLin

I just bought Baldur’s Gate 3 on steam deck too

DefaultM

Would Baldurs gate be local 2 player like diablo and is it any good if so? I don't want to go on YouTube in case I spoil the UFC results before I watch at teatime.

TeleMaster

DefaultM said:

Would Baldurs gate be local 2 player like diablo and is it any good if so? I don't want to go on YouTube in case I spoil the UFC results before I watch at teatime.

Yea it's got local two player. I haven't played it but the game overall is excellent. 

DefaultM

Very nice, I'm gonna buy it for us. I stopped playing diablo iv, no particular reason really which usually says a lot. 

Grumpyrocker

Nah it's the engine holding it back. The game runs on PCs weaker than the Series S. But the nature of the engine doesn't allow for endless streaming.

But you have to realise how difficult all this is, especially for something the size of Starfield. But there are also clear moments where it's not loading for the reason you think. 

Take for example when you enter your ship. The world outside is not unloaded. You can go to a window or the cockpit and the see the world you left working as before. The reason for the load was likely to reset the interior of the ship and make sure all the NPC characters, crew, and companions were reset into the right positions.

Notice how if you get ahead on a planet then enter a base, after the load your companion has caught up. That's good practice to ensure that you can't get stuck because a companion can't follow you quick enough. 

Anyway, despite some Bethesda jank I still think it's a masterpiece. It has some of the best art and modelling seen in a game, and amazing lighting at times. It's held back by some decision regarding colour grading, but the work on ship and base interiors is next level. 

And it'll only get better. You know how Bethesda supports its releases. 

DefaultM

TeleMaster said:

DefaultM said:

Would Baldurs gate be local 2 player like diablo and is it any good if so? I don't want to go on YouTube in case I spoil the UFC results before I watch at teatime.

Yea it's got local two player. I haven't played it but the game overall is excellent. 

Ah shit actually do you need the triangle button? Triangle is broken on the second controller we've got haha.

TeleMaster

DefaultM said:

Very nice, I'm gonna buy it for us. I stopped playing diablo iv, no particular reason really which usually says a lot. 

Well there's nothing to do after a certain level except grind, grind, grind. They dropped the ball for end game really. 

DefaultM said:

TeleMaster said:

DefaultM said:

Would Baldurs gate be local 2 player like diablo and is it any good if so? I don't want to go on YouTube in case I spoil the UFC results before I watch at teatime.

Yea it's got local two player. I haven't played it but the game overall is excellent. 

Ah shit actually do you need the triangle button? Triangle is broken on the second controller we've got haha.

I think so yea lol. 

TeleMaster

Grumpyrocker said:

You know how Bethesda supports its releases. 

Fallout 76 *cough cough*.  

Grumpyrocker

TeleMaster said:

Grumpyrocker said:

You know how Bethesda supports its releases. 

Fallout 76 *cough cough*.  

Perhaps I should have said "single player" releases

RedRabbit

To be fair, Fallout 76 got a lot of updates and they did fix some of the issues people had with it on release (lack of NPCs for example).  I'm still not going to play it because I don't want a multiplayer Fallout but, by all accounts, it's a much better game now then when it released.

Bethesda's commitment to the creation engine is perhaps counter productive at this point.  It does seem to make a Bethesda game a Bethesda game but I think Starfield shows that it's starting to creak a bit.  Looks like they can still make it work reasonably well for PC but consoles are struggling.

My main worry is that development of elder scrolls 6 is well underway and is presumably using Creation Engine.  Assuming it's still a couple of years from release, I can only assume how outdated it'll be by then.

For what it's worth I'm enjoying Starfield.  I'm not that far into the main story but I've done quite a few side quests that I've enjoyed.  Fetch quests seem happily absent and the couple of "take X item here" quests I've done have taken me to a new planet where a quick wander around finds interesting characters and quests.

It's far from perfect (combat isn't great, mainly due to enemies being bullet sponges) but it's hitting the spot for me.  I wanted something Fallout 4 like in space and that's what I've got.