Game Discussions Bethesda Softworks Starfield Space RPG

[Fishy]

Saw that interview alright, and as far as I'm concerned:

Starfield is a singleplayer, no multiplayer aspects.

F* yeah! No gimping modding or gameplay just so MP can work.

• A focus on procedural generation during level design confirmed for Starfield and TES:VI
  • This is a tool for developers to create massive landmass and does not mean the land will be randomly generated in real time like No Man's Sky, meaning your game will look the exact same as everyone else. This is simply an engine tool to create larger worlds, so expect Starfield (planets?) to be much larger than Fallout 76's map (clarification: speculative), which is already four times bigger than Skyrim.

• [...] cities will be expansive and large compared to past games, etc.

These one also look promising. If that means a return to a Daggerfall-style landmass, then bring it on. TES games have felt cramped and toy-scaled since Morrowind, with Oblivion the biggest offender due to the ease of traversal. Morrowind/Skyrim mountains did help in maintaining some illusion of scale at least. But if we go back to full sized land that one will never fully explore, and with lore-friendly fast travel that elapses in-game time, then yay!

 

[Morbad]

F* yeah! No gimping modding or gameplay just so MP can work.

Shouldn't need to, as long as mutliplayer allows for a 'pure' mode where mods are disabled and saves are separate.

 

[Navigare Necesse Est]

Shouldn't need to, as long as mutliplayer allows for a 'pure' mode where mods are disabled and saves are separate.

Look at supercruise in ED. A concession that had to be made due to MP. SP would go with time dilation. Maybe seemless world - who needs instances in SP? MP dictates stuff that impedes SP.

 

[Morbad]

Look at supercruise in ED. A concession that had to be made due to MP. SP would go with time dilation. Maybe seemless world - who needs instances in SP? MP dictates stuff that impedes SP.

Not if MP and SP are separate.

Elite: Dangerous has always been multiplayer only due to the shared setting (and BGS); it has no offline mode, only restrictions on who can be directly encountered. If it had an offline mode, there would be no reason for it not to be able to have time dilation or in system jumps or comprehensive mod support.

 

[Navigare Necesse Est]

Not if MP and SP are separate.

Elite: Dangerous has always been multiplayer only due to the shared setting (and BGS); it has no offline mode, only restrictions on who can be directly encountered. If it had an offline mode, there would be no reason for it not to be able to have time dilation or in system jumps or comprehensive mod support.

You can't change such fundamental gameplay on a whim and I find it unlikely a dev would run with two different systems for MP and SP.

 

[Morbad]

You can't change such fundamental gameplay on a whim and I find it unlikely a dev would run with two different systems for MP and SP.

Bolt-on tast travel mechanisms are hardly fundamental changes and most games that have distinct multiplayer and single-player modes are essentially two-separate separate games. Most first-person shooters with single player campaigns and online multiplayer modes would be good examples.

 

[Navigare Necesse Est]

Bolt-on tast travel mechanisms are hardly fundamental changes and most games that have distinct multiplayer and single-player modes are essentially two-separate separate games. Most first-person shooters with single player campaigns and online multiplayer modes would be good examples.

Shooters dont have open worlds in general but single maps chained to a campaign. And they are mostly crap story with nice visuals and only gear progression. Hardly a "SP", but on paper. A technicality to put SP label on product. Nothing what a SPlayer looks for. People buy Battlefield for MP - not the crappy SP. Same with the MP "modes" they are often just disconnected arena maps with horde mode. Such stuff doesn't need travel mechanics in the first place.
I'm looking at open worlds (as in Bethesda game, you know) - I fully expect Starfield to be one - again, it's a Bethesda game after all - so don't come with crappy comparisons from arena shooter gameplay. You can't have several mechanics in shared open worlds unless you run two game versions and I doubt double the maintenance is feasible for devs.

 

[Morbad]

so don't come with crappy comparisons from arena shooter gameplay.

Your comparison, not mine.

You can't have several mechanics in shared open worlds unless you run two game versions and I doubt double the maintenance is feasible for devs.

A single player game doesn't need maintenance.

 

[Navigare Necesse Est]

Your comparison, not mine.



A single player game doesn't need maintenance.

You don't know what you're talking about.

 

[Morbad]

You don't know what you're talking about.

You don't know what I'm talking about, and have gone off on a tangent of assumed properties that I did not imply, that have nothing to do with the assertion I originally made.

If you have a single player game, you do not need to change the gameplay for multiplayer, nor do you necessarily need to restrict prevent modding. I'm not saying there aren't technical challanges to having multiplayer itself, but they do not need any changes to single player.

If you don't like the shooter comparison (and I sure wasn't referring to arena shooters), then you can look at something like Baldur's Gate or Neverwinter Nights. These were single player games first, with few, if any concessions to their tacked on multiplayer. I played hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of these games, most of it multiplayer, and modded both games heavily.

Hell, you can even look at the multiplayer mod for Morrowind, which didn't change the underlying gameplay at all, except that there was another player present...it did have all sorts of technical issues, but that's beside the point.

 

[Navigare Necesse Est]

You don't know what I'm talking about, and have gone off on a tangent of assumed properties that I did not imply, that have nothing to do with the assertion I originally made.

If you have a single player game, you do not need to change the gameplay for multiplayer, nor do you necessarily need to restrict prevent modding. I'm not saying there aren't technical challanges to having multiplayer itself, but they do not need any changes to single player.

If you don't like the shooter comparison (and I sure wasn't referring to arena shooters), then you can look at something like Baldur's Gate or Neverwinter Nights. These were single player games first, with few, if any concessions to their tacked on multiplayer. I played hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of these games, most of it multiplayer, and modded both games heavily.

Hell, you can even look at the multiplayer mod for Morrowind, which didn't change the underlying gameplay at all, except that there was another player present...it did have all sorts of technical issues, but that's beside the point.

It's OK. I'll just assume you try to mine salt from SP purists. It doesn't really matter to me. I'd like a space rpg, but we're talking about Bethetic here. "16 times the detail"-Todd and "only cosmetics"-Pete. We'll just ignore that traveling in open worlds is a fundamental game mechanic. Basically I wait and see what nollocks Bethetic comes up again this time and decide then. I don't give much credit to what Pete and Todd spout out today. Doesn't change the fact you're hallucinating wishful thinking but we don't need to argue about the vapours Pete and Todd's release in the first place.

 

[Morbad]

I'll just assume you try to mine salt from SP purists.

I haven't the faintest idea why you'd think I have a problem with SP purists (given that my entire position is that multiplayer need not detract from anything for a SP purist), or that I'd want to 'mine salt' from anyone.

Doesn't change the fact you're hallucinating wishful thinking but we don't need to argue about the vapours Pete and Todd's release in the first place.

Not sure what you feel is wishful thinking on my part. I expect nothing from Bethesda. The last Bethesda game I thought was particularly good was Morrowind (comically small scale notwithstanding), and the last Bethesda title I purchased was Fallout 3. If Starfield is any good, I may well pick it up, but I'm not going to hold my breath. I most certainly don't expect it to have any multiplayer of any kind, nor am I advocating for it to have multiplayer.

I may vehemently disagree with the premise that there automatically needs to be gameplay concessions for multiplayer, or modding restrictions for privately hosted multiplayer...but that doesn't even begin to imply anything you appear to have assumed about my position.

 

[Navigare Necesse Est]

I could be overthinking it and

I haven't the faintest idea why you'd think I have a problem with SP purists (given that my entire position is that multiplayer need not detract from anything for a SP purist), or that I'd want to 'mine salt' from anyone.



Not sure what you feel is wishful thinking on my part. I expect nothing from Bethesda. The last Bethesda game I thought was particularly good was Morrowind (comically small scale notwithstanding), and the last Bethesda title I purchased was Fallout 3. If Starfield is any good, I may well pick it up, but I'm not going to hold my breath. I most certainly don't expect it to have any multiplayer of any kind, nor am I advocating for it to have multiplayer.

I may vehemently disagree with the premise that there automatically needs to be gameplay concessions for multiplayer, or modding restrictions for privately hosted multiplayer...but that doesn't even begin to imply anything you appear to have assumed about my position.

Maybe I'm overthinking the world size with ED's example. When it's much smaller it won't need sophisticated travel mechanics. Time dilation, supercruise and that. Simpler systems can coexist. And it doesn't need to be a shared world neither when it's not so big.

 

[Chevy66]

Look at supercruise in ED. A concession that had to be made due to MP. SP would go with time dilation. Maybe seemless world - who needs instances in SP? MP dictates stuff that impedes SP.

Time dilation doesn't make sense in a trading game "er..yeah we could have done with that food 150 years ago..."

 

[Fishy]

Time dilation doesn't make sense in a trading game "er..yeah we could have done with that food 150 years ago..."

Hard disagree, in-universe travel times in FE2/FFE with jumps pushing the clock forward made a lot more sense than those in ED where a station is somehow dying of hunger when there's an agri planet 5 minutes away. It took the same minutes, but in-universe you were talking days/weeks/months depending on destination. It also added something to ship configuration as the witchspace dilation factor depended on hyperdrive class and ship weight, so with a better ratio you could leave later and arrive earlier for example. Assassinations also took advantage of this as you could follow your target, let them jump away, analyse the trail, and overtake them to destination with a faster ship and wait for them at their future exit cloud. (Obviously you could also nuke them as they took off and deal with the fines, but that never felt as refined)

 

[Navigare Necesse Est]

Time dilation doesn't make sense in a trading game "er..yeah we could have done with that food 150 years ago..."

I can suspend my disbelief for playability quite well.

 

[juanopen4]

it seems that some here have gotten nervous, lol , they just closed a thread about the starfield trailer (constellation frontier will be the name of our ship) ... in 1 minute of trailer we have already been able to see interiors of boats and how to start them, the engine sound is brutal ... .I have no doubt that it will be another great bethesda masterpiece, and considering that they have said that space travel will be dangerous, I also have no doubt that they will be more attractive than in the elite ... finally something for it It will be worth the wait.

 

[varonica]

This is simply an engine tool to create larger worlds, so expect Starfield (planets?) to be much larger than Fallout 76's map

Anything less than actual full sized planets won't get a pass, and Fallout 76 map is around 120km², with earth being over 510m km² I don't think just "much larger than fallout 76 is going to make the grade."

 

[Deleted member 110222]

That ... awful...fugly....game engine. Them lifeless eyes, them plastic faces reminiscent of advanced liver disease.

It's also had a massive revamp.

How's about waiting until it releases before you pass judgement?

 

[juanopen4]

Anything less than actual full sized planets won't get a pass, and Fallout 76 map is around 120km², with earth being over 510m km² I don't think just "much larger than fallout 76 is going to make the grade."

I prefer those 120 km full of details and life, than entire systems in the odyssey with their planets and moons so unattractive and boring piloting ,and now, turned into great deserts in odyssey.
I dont think there is a point of comparison,lol.
Edit: I think they already said in a previous interview that they would use procedural generation for planets.