Yes, but SF is a SP game.
Game Discussions Bethesda Softworks Starfield Space RPG
- Thread starter Lngjohnsilver1
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- space rpg
With proc gen a seed allows to call the same outcome over and over again. Maybe they mean that.
It sounds to me like Bethesda used procedural generation for the base planet terrain to find what seed they liked the look of, then saved that for the game to use.
It’s certainly an intriguing prospect - having a unique game each time - but like you said it could be just different quests on the planet, like the Radiant system writ large with bespoke locations/flora/fauna.
I’ve just read this over on PCGamer:
“Asked about the ratio of handcrafted to procgen content in the game, Howard said that, of Starfield's 1000 planets, "The landscape's pretty much all procedural. We kind of make these large ... kilometre-sized tiles we've generated" which then get "wrapped around the planet" to create the game's 1000+ procgen wonderlands.”
Definitely something I’m very interested in - I’ve hundreds of hours in Skyrim/SkyrimVR/Fallout4VR so having that with a slathering of Elite and a pinch of NMS will have me dusting off VorpX come September if Luke Ross doesn’t get his RealVR mod working with Starfield.
Maybe it's the seed that is saved, like a Minecraft world. I suspect that the "main quest" planets will be consistent across saves, since how would a city made for a tropical biome work on an ice world like Hoth?
Whatever the case, I'm quite interested in this game. I just hope it runs on my computer! Though if it lives up to the hype, it might be the one game to push me to invest in new hardware. As excited as I am, I'll be waiting a few months for all the various bug fixes and performance updates. I did this with Skyrim, and my first experience with that game was much better because I waited a bit.
Regarding procedural generation, an example:
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bD1wWY1YD-M
en.wikipedia.org
www.myabandonware.com
.kkrieger is one of my favorite examples as one can easily play it themselves and see how 96k of data can be used to generate hundreds of megs of game assets on the fly, assets that are identical every time. I was always surprised that procedural generation didn't take off and become the main way to store assets, as it seemed like it would save massively on storage/bandwidth costs. Loading times were tolerable even twenty years ago. I don't know, maybe storage turned out to be sufficiently cheaper than memory...especially when they only include enough on consoles to hold a few games.
Procgen doesn't imply random, it implies the instructions to create the content are stored, rather than the final content itself. Baking a cake is procedural generation; if you followed the recipe correctly, you get the same result every time. You can certainly add random elements, but it's not implied.
I may have some spare parts around this time frame, if you're looking for last-gen stuff on the cheap. That said, if Starfield runs on consoles, it will run on pretty mild PC hardware, so I wouldn't expect you to need an upgrade.
.kkrieger - Wikipedia
.kkrieger: Chapter 1 (Windows)
Remember .kkrieger: Chapter 1 (Windows), an old video game from 2004? Download it and play again on MyAbandonware.
www.myabandonware.com
.kkrieger is one of my favorite examples as one can easily play it themselves and see how 96k of data can be used to generate hundreds of megs of game assets on the fly, assets that are identical every time. I was always surprised that procedural generation didn't take off and become the main way to store assets, as it seemed like it would save massively on storage/bandwidth costs. Loading times were tolerable even twenty years ago. I don't know, maybe storage turned out to be sufficiently cheaper than memory...especially when they only include enough on consoles to hold a few games.
Procgen doesn't imply random, it implies the instructions to create the content are stored, rather than the final content itself. Baking a cake is procedural generation; if you followed the recipe correctly, you get the same result every time. You can certainly add random elements, but it's not implied.
I may have some spare parts around this time frame, if you're looking for last-gen stuff on the cheap. That said, if Starfield runs on consoles, it will run on pretty mild PC hardware, so I wouldn't expect you to need an upgrade.
Yeah, procgen is a formula that puts out a result. What you input is variable and changes the output. This input is what we call the seed. If you put in "4" in f(x)=x+1 you always get "5" as result. Procgen "formulas" are just more complex. Think about fractal images - these work with imaginary numbers. The Mandelbrot set is maybe the most popular. Modern computers allow for quick computation and so you can iterate these "formulas" pretty quick. A number of algorithms (nother word for "formula") I used like 30 years ago for landscape generation. Pixel colour can be translated to height maps e.g.
30 years later and I am sure they have even better stuff at their disposal.
30 years later and I am sure they have even better stuff at their disposal.
True! If Starfield can run on an XBox, then surely my gaming laptop can handle it, especially since I'll be playing at 1080p.
It's become a dirty word compared to words like handcrafted and fidelity, but procgen is a great way to achieve predictable entropic resembling results. If entropic is the correct term, that is? It's like anything, handcrafted can still be bad and fidelity can just end up a tail chasing ideal. Procgen when used well can provide astounding results.
Well, the texture procgen in something like kkrieger is argueably still handcrafted - just stored in structured instruction list format, instead of as a bitmaps, which are pregenerated at startup instead; Somebody has purpously defined e.g. the drawing of a few circles here or there, and the application of a convolution on it, followed by some streched perlin noise masked by it... Then there is probably some sort of debate on whether non-realtime pregen textures is good enough, or only a floating point UV texture value that is not generated until at the time a pixel is rendered should count... 
Either way, "Elevated" by RGBA and TBC, from 2009, is probably still one of the most impressive 4 kilobytes I have had the pleasure of seeing and hearing. :7
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YWMGuh15nE
(EDIT: Love how the transition between grey and green makes it looks like seasons are changing.)
Either way, "Elevated" by RGBA and TBC, from 2009, is probably still one of the most impressive 4 kilobytes I have had the pleasure of seeing and hearing. :7
(EDIT: Love how the transition between grey and green makes it looks like seasons are changing.)
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The Xbox series X ...whilst merely being a 'peasant class' console to many of us PC master race types... is a serious bit of designed and optimised for purpose gaming kit, don't kid yourself. The gaming performance of any of the current gen consoles (Xbox series X or PS5) would outshine many a fairly decent mid range PC build...trust me, I have both of them, as well as a fairly beefy PC.
Starfield has been designed, built and optimised specifically for an Xbox series X...us PC dudes are just getting the port over with a couple of extra graphics options and perhaps 60+ fps if we've got the hardware to handle it
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Oh yes, I totally get where you are coming from, as I own some of these "optimized for console" games on the Sony side, and they always do better pound-per-pound (or in this case, cycle-per-cycle) than their PC ports. Still, I think I'll be alright, based on my results playing MSFS 2020 on this laptop and comparing the graphics to what I've seen in XBox videos.The Xbox series X ...whilst merely being a 'peasant class' console to many of us PC master race types... is a serious bit of designed and optimised for purpose gaming kit, don't kid yourself. The gaming performance of any of the current gen consoles (Xbox series X or PS5) would outshine many a fairly decent mid range PC build...trust me, I have both of them, as well as a fairly beefy PC.
Starfield has been designed, built and optimised specifically for an Xbox series X...us PC dudes are just getting the port over with a couple of extra graphics options and perhaps 60+ fps if we've got the hardware to handle it
From Steam:
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
- MINIMUM:
- OS: Windows 10 version 22H2 (10.0.19045)
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 2600X, Intel Core i7-6800K
- Memory: 16 GB RAM
- Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 5700, NVIDIA GeForce 1070 Ti
- DirectX: Version 12
- Storage: 125 GB available space
- Additional Notes: SSD Required
- RECOMMENDED:
- OS: Windows 10/11 with updates
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 3600X, Intel i5-10600K
- Memory: 16 GB RAM
- Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080
- DirectX: Version 12
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
- Storage: 125 GB available space
- Additional Notes: SSD Required
I wonder why the broadband internet connection is recommended, being an offline game. I definitely meet the min requirements, except perhaps the Windows version. I'm purposefully holding my Windows at 1909, and I'm not willing to sacrifice my current stability and performance for the latest version of "Windoze".
One of my fears about Starfield is that it's basically owned by Microsoft, which means it may be more "locked" to Windows (and likely the newest versions thereof) than the average game in my Steam library. It will be interesting to see if Steam can get Starfield running in Proton.
I suppose, worst-case-scenario, I can get a used / refurbished XBox just for this game. I'm assuming I can play it without paying the yearly multiplayer tax that consoles force on their users?
to download 100-125gb in a timely manner?
You dont need to pay subscription unless you play multiplayer games.
For example, you can play ED on XBox with no subscription, but you can only do it in Solo mode.
That feels like a category separate from system requirements to play the game. Otherwise they should also list "Fat Wallet" to ensure people have money to buy the game, LOL.
I'm just wondering if there is some sort of requirement for an internet connection to play the game, despite it being a single-player game. MSFS 2020 with its Azure-based terrain generator comes to mind.. Hopefully not!
I'll have to keep an eye out on Black Friday. In the past (before supply chain went all to hell) one could get some amazing deals on new consoles on BF, and sometimes that includes special bundles and even themed consoles. Perhaps I can get a XBox bundled with Starfield for an extra good price.
Also, is it true that if I buy Starfield through the Microsoft store on PC, I get a free copy for XBox and vice-versa?
Possibly.
Back then in 2018, I got my XBox One S as XBox Minecraft Edition, looking like a minecraft grass block and with a green creeper controller
The price was good too
However i played Minecraft on it for like 3 weeks, then that XB seen running only ED.
If Starfield is an XBox Play Anywhere title, then yes (and it seems it is)
However, it may be tied to the MS account used to buy it
So, if you have an XBox, a MS account associated with that XB and use that account on PC, you should be able to play Starfield on PC too.
Not sure if "vice-versa" applies
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...anywhere/1ea64b02-f454-4aee-b248-61cb2a240bc4
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If you authenticate PC-version via Steam I see no way how to play the console version. MS would need to somehow accept the Steam auth and then allow PC version to also grant access to console version. Call me Steve, but that sounds overly generous when all I witnessed by console platform operators was buttclenching nickel and diming their customers. Subscription for MP e.g. lol
indeed, it seems so.
My guess would be for copy protection (Internet connectivity as such) and updates (broadband is only recommended, but 125 GB take some time to download).