Starfield [XBSX|S, PC, XGP]

[Deleted member 11852]

My Steam client updates automatically, i only have to press restart after it has downloaded/installed it.

Exactly. So it's the age-old issue of whether or not you use your device or a lot, and it auto-updates, or you don't and it doesn't. There is nothing I can in Steam settings or Windows settings to get Steam to auto-update, to enable game auto-updates to happen. Not to mention that Steam absolutely loves to spot updates and schedule them for several days down the line.

For me, both aint an issue, but if your going to discuss patches, installs and firmware/game updates, yeah, those exist on consoles aswell nowadays. The automatic updates aint an issue on PC atleast, no more so then they are on console.

I'm still new to Xbox but on PlayStation 4 and 5 and you set the console to auto-download and/or auto-install console firmware updates. Separately, except where a game update requires a specific firmware version, you can do the same for games. It all just happens in the background without any user or interaction. Unfortunately the combination of Windows, Steam, EGS, uPlay and Origin are a mishmash of inconsistent behaviours. But for Steam, you need to keep interacting with it.

It's kind of nuts that Steam cannot just check for a update at a set time every night, auto-download and auto-install such updates, which allows games to auto-update. If the client is out of date, the games will not update. And there are a lot of Steam client updates.

 

[PSman1700]

Exactly. So it's the age-old issue of whether or not you use your device or a lot, and it auto-updates, or you don't and it doesn't. There is nothing I can in Steam settings or Windows settings to get Steam to auto-update, to enable game auto-updates to happen. Not to mention that Steam absolutely loves to spot updates and schedule them for several days down the line.


I'm still new to Xbox but on PlayStation 4 and 5 and you set the console to auto-download and/or auto-install console firmware updates. Separately, except where a game update requires a specific firmware version, you can do the same for games. It all just happens in the background without any user or interaction. Unfortunately the combination of Windows, Steam, EGS, uPlay and Origin are a mishmash of inconsistent behaviours. But for Steam, you need to keep interacting with it.

It's kind of nuts that Steam cannot just check for a update at a set time every night, auto-download and auto-install such updates, which allows games to auto-update. If the client is out of date, the games will not update. And there are a lot of Steam client updates.

You seem to have alot of trouble with your pc experiences. Ive fortunately never had such experiences since W10 and Steam in its current day polish. Ive not really tried never using my devices for longer periods, but i know W10 just lets me use my device whenever it needs an update, everything happens in the background without any user interaction. Same for Steam, aside from the client update which you just need to press on 'restart to update', which happens once a month or so.

The experience is very similar to what you get on consoles today, a stark contrast to the larger differences in prior generations of consoles.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

You seem to have alot of trouble with your pc experiences.

Do not confuse "trouble" for "designed as intended". Windows 10 - an operating system - actually has better configurability for Windows updates, auto-install and auto-restart than Steam, which is a programme I always want to run and be updated, so that it can spot updates to games and download them ASAP. The later two are impossible BTW.

Yet my PS5, and PS4 before that, would always auto-download firmware updates and game updates. Which meant that if I didn't use the device for a few days / weeks / months, it was almost already ready to be used within a minute or two. I never hit the issue of X (games) didn't download and auto-update because Y (a store client) didn't auto-update and download because Z (OS/firmware) didn't download and auto-update.

And this is largely how I understand my Xbox works too.

 

[goonergaz]

Do not confuse "trouble" for "designed as intended". Windows 10 - an operating system - actually has better configurability for Windows updates, auto-install and auto-restart than Steam, which is a programme I always want to run and be updated, so that it can spot updates to games and download them ASAP. The later two are impossible BTW.

Yet my PS5, and PS4 before that, would always auto-download firmware updates and game updates. Which meant that if I didn't use the device for a few days / weeks / months, it was almost already ready to be used within a minute or two. I never hit the issue of X (games) didn't download and auto-update because Y (a store client) didn't auto-update and download because Z (OS/firmware) didn't download and auto-update.

And this is largely how I understand my Xbox works too.

Yeah, for me;

PS5 updates 99% of the time
XBox updated 'most' of the time, sometimes I had to search for updates
PC - only updates if I switch on and run software

PC is nowhere near console levels of ease, sure it's better than it was but people who say PCs are just like consoles obviously don't have enough experience of all the systems because it's simply not true.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

PC is nowhere near console levels of ease, sure it's better than it was but people who say PCs are just like consoles obviously don't have enough experience of all the systems because it's simply not true.

It think people who game mostly on PC are probably using that PC for everything in which case it's being used daily and the updates just happen in the background while you're doing other things. Windows has never been designed with that console/Apple philosophy of even if you only use the device occasionally, you can set it up so that it's up to date and ready to go when you do.

It wouldn't take a massive amount of engineering effort for Windows to gave a Mac-like "PowerNap" function where the computer silently wakes at night, checks for new email/calendar appoints and any software updates, then sleeps when they are all done. But you still need Steam, EGS, uPlay and Origin all to offer automatic client downloaded and restarts - the lack of the latter is really perplexing.

 

[goonergaz]

It think people who game mostly on PC are probably using that PC for everything in which case it's being used daily and the updates just happen in the background while you're doing other things. Windows has never been designed with that console/Apple philosophy of even if you only use the device occasionally, you can set it up so that it's up to date and ready to go when you do.

It wouldn't take a massive amount of engineering effort for Windows to gave a Mac-like "PowerNap" function where the computer silently wakes at night, checks for new email/calendar appoints and any software updates, then sleeps when they are all done. But you still need Steam, EGS, uPlay and Origin all to offer automatic client downloaded and restarts - the lack of the latter is really perplexing.

Yeah, it makes sense - just seems a no brainer, it has a suspend so it's not rocket science surely?

 

[Deleted member 11852]

Yeah, it makes sense - just seems a no brainer, it has a suspend so it's not rocket science surely?

You can schedule Windows to wake and sleep at specified times. Windows problem is it uses user interaction (keyboard/mouse/gamepad) to determine whether the system is busy or not which is why it'll just go to sleep having downloaded 1% of a 40Gb download. It's the weirdest thing. The workaround is never have Windows go to sleep but that is not a great workaround because your machine is now on when it doesn't need to be.

 

[AzBat]

3 locations from the game...

Neon
New Atlantis
Akila

EDIT

Following the recent in-engine teaser trailer, Bethesda Game Studios released a behind-the-scenes video that shed light on their processes and inspirations for Starfield. In that video, we gave a brief look at three very distinct Starfield locations – the United Colonies capital city, New Atlantis; the pleasure city of Neon; and the capital of the Free Star Collective, Akila. Design Director Emil Pagliarulo adds a little more insight into these three locales you can expect to visit.

https://bethesda.net/en/article/qxc12kZl6U8gZyAfr9W9d/starfield-location-insights

Tommy McClain

 

[AzBat]

I guess we missed the behind-the-scenes documentary they started 2 months ago...

Guess we're talking so much about the Xbox exclusivity we missed it.

Tommy McClain

 

[SmooTh]

Steam Page is up
https://steamdb.info/app/1716740/

 

[iceberg187]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1477225985426833408

Todd told us that this year is the year. I believe him

 

[Deleted member 11852]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1477225985426833408

Todd told us that this year is the year. I believe him

I'm really curious about the planet-hopping. In most games - including Mass Effect - the universe doesn't feel overly connected and travelling through space feels like it's hiding loading zones to environments (which it is).

Bethesda made great strides in Fallout 4 to minimise loading zones compared to earlier games where almost all buildings had a separate instance and load zone to go in and out so I wonder what they'll do here. People malign Bethesda's tech but Skyrim and Fallout 4 do such a good job or persistence, i.e. allowing NPCs to traverse the whole environment. Like the couriers in Skyrim who you need to track down and have an actual schedule of cities to visit and if you follow him you can actually see that he moves from place to place throughout the world according to that schedule and getting into scrapes. Or the the way the Brotherhood launch Vertibirds from the Prydwen in Fallout 4, fly around doing recon, intercept hostiles, then return to base in Fallout 4.

I worry a little bit that the planet-hopping may end up like Mass Effect and the game will just be a bunch of smaller environments (planets) connected by a space/exploration screen. I really hope it isn't and that it's all seamless. E.g. you're on a planet, you climb aboard your ship, you set a course, you engage auto-pilot, ten whilst it's flying you go and sort out your loot and repair your gear etc. There needs to be something useful and interesting to do whilst on the ship whilst traveling between places.

 

[AlphaWolf]

I'm really curious about the planet-hopping. In most games - including Mass Effect - the universe doesn't feel overly connected and travelling through space feels like it's hiding loading zones to environments (which it is).

Bethesda made great strides in Fallout 4 to minimise loading zones compared to earlier games where almost all buildings had a separate instance and load zone to go in and out so I wonder what they'll do here. People malign Bethesda's tech but Skyrim and Fallout 4 do such a good job or persistence, i.e. allowing NPCs to traverse the whole environment. Like the couriers in Skyrim who you need to track down and have an actual schedule of cities to visit and if you follow him you can actually see that he moves from place to place throughout the world according to that schedule and getting into scrapes. Or the the way the Brotherhood launch Vertibirds from the Prydwen in Fallout 4, fly around doing recon, intercept hostiles, then return to base in Fallout 4.

I worry a little bit that the planet-hopping may end up like Mass Effect and the game will just be a bunch of smaller environments (planets) connected by a space/exploration screen. I really hope it isn't and that it's all seamless. E.g. you're on a planet, you climb aboard your ship, you set a course, you engage auto-pilot, ten whilst it's flying you go and sort out your loot and repair your gear etc. There needs to be something useful and interesting to do whilst on the ship whilst traveling between places.

What do you think they should fill 'space' with to be useful and interesting? They can put in space locations, but it still needs to be mostly space. They need to stay away from making it MS space sim.

 

[PSman1700]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1477225985426833408

Todd told us that this year is the year. I believe him

Looks very intresting, i guess thats artwork but if thats one of the environments i'd like that.

 

[Shortbread]

What do you think they should fill 'space' with to be useful and interesting? They can put in space locations, but it still needs to be mostly space. They need to stay away from making it MS space sim.

Random events along the way. Think Red Dead Redemption 2 in space. Imagine coming upon a abandon ship (Event Horizon style) that has nothing to do with the mainline story per se, but can lead to future DLC stories or other mainline games within the Starfield universe/lore.

I know people love to dunk on Star Citizen, but Star Citizen has many amazing things to do in space (dogfights, exploration, materials/mining, search missions, etc.) outside of your main objectives. Hopefully, Starfield will have some interesting random events within space, outside of the main planetary objectives and missions.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

What do you think they should fill 'space' with to be useful and interesting? They can put in space locations, but it still needs to be mostly space. They need to stay away from making it MS space sim.

I agree. I don't want a space sim where you can spend crazy long periods just going from A to B and potentially doing very little - there are already a bunch of those. In Fallout and Elder Scrolls you spend time getting from place to place and yet there is always plenty to do and discover and - as @Shortbread says - random events.

I can imagine there will be some kind of resource collection akin to looting garbage in Fallout 4, which always felt fairly well balanced because you could loot stuff in any environment or not bother, and just focus on looting equipment from enemies and break that down, or trade it for resources. Fallout 4's economy was really flexibility on your preference for scavenging, killing and looting or bartering.

Having a space ship in most games means that that the time to get between two planets is no quicker than crossing the universe, and you lose all sense of scale and distance which never really happens with in Fallout and Elder Scrolls if you opt to eschew fast travel. Something Bethesda really nailed in Skyrim and Fallout 4 was the random events to made travelling more interesting, and making worlds seem connected because there was real physic space between places that you had to navigate.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

 

[Deleted member 11852]

There are only 237 days until Starfield releases on 11 November. Which is kind of nuts.

I'm not sure that I want to be a space pirate, but I like the idea that, unlike Fallout or Elder Scrolls, that I can become a space raider/bandit which probably includes some interesting quest line.

 

[Malo]

I feel Starfield is going to be one of those games they show very little of leading up to release and set review embargos to release day.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

I feel Starfield is going to be one of those games they show very little of leading up to release and set review embargos to release day.

Maybe. Given it is a new IP I think that Bethesda will need/want to show off what this game is about and any changes from the traditional Bethesda mechanics seen in Elder Scrolls and modern Fallout games. This is a double-edged sword. People who are fans Elder Scrolls / Fallout mechanics may not like changes to mechanics in Starfield and people who are not fans of certain mechanics in Elder Scrolls / Fallout may will drawn to changes to mechanics in Starfield.

Which is the most appealing..?