Starfield, BG3 & Bluey

[Edward64]

Sept 6, 2023 release date. Currently $70 on Steam. See below for a good summary & gameplay trailer.

Starfield: Everything we know about Bethesda's new RPG | GamesRadar+

Starfield is on track to be the biggest Xbox Series X release of this new generation. That should come as no surprise, given that this sci-fi RPG is the first new IP out of Bethesda Game Studios in 20 years. The veteran team is breaking away from The Elder Scrolls and Fallout to build a sprawling RPG where you'll be free to define your own destiny in the stars – with thousands of planets to explore, hundreds of star systems to navigate, and countless little stories to get wrapped up in along the way.

Starfield: Official Gameplay Reveal - YouTube

[Edward64]

Couple pieces of info from past couple days

Players salivate as Todd Howard confirms Starfield will be a 'modder's paradise' that Bethesda will 'participate' in

Great news. There's no doubt modding has extended the life & popularity of Skyrim and the Fallout series.

'About 10%' of Starfield's 1000+ planets have life on them as the game tries to capture 'the magnificent desolation' of space, says Todd Howard

I think 10% sounds okay to me.

[dubb93]

This was apparently going to be a PS5 exclusive before Microsoft bought out Bethesda. Sony/Bethesda were working out the deal when the company ended up being sold.

[Edward64]

Didn't know that.

Sony must have been willing to make it worth the while. I mean, that's giving up a lot of Windows gamers (and modders).

[Edward64]

Arbitrarily decided to add BG3 into this thread, and combine the discussions.

If you guys prefer to keep them separate, np let me know.

[Edward64]

The Dark Urge sounds like fun.

Haven't quite figured out my class yet. I know I should go outside my comfort zone and do something other than Fighter or Ranger. Maybe Monk?

Baldur's Gate 3 is about choices, but when the Dark Urge takes over you can only react | Rock Paper Shotgun

... as they announced during the final Panel from Hell last week, some of that baggage will be soaked in blood. Optionally available as one of seven starting personalities, the Dark Urge is a mass murderer. Their species, gender, class and eyebrow thickness are up to you, but what you can’t change is their deep and insatiable need to kill for pleasure.

Nice!

Playing as the Urge, I was invited to fantasize about hacking Gale’s hand off as it emerged through the magical gateway - and as I drifted into forbidden reverie, I realised my character had actually followed through, slicing straight through the spellcaster’s arm.

[GrantDawg]

There is some great videos and information that has come out from the people that were hands on with the full game at last weekends "Panel from Hell." Highly recommend checking out Fextralife and Wolfheart FPS on Youtube.

[GrantDawg]

BG3 is the number one non-free game on global Steam sales.

[Edward64]

I'm sure both Starfield & BG3 will win awards but wonder which will be "the GOTY".

I'll give the edge to BG3

[dubb93]

Originally Posted by Edward64

I'm sure both Starfield & BG3 will win awards but wonder which will be "the GOTY".

I'll give the edge to BG3

Depends completely on how good Starfield is IMO. BG 3 is going to be what we all expect IMO, but does anyone really know how good Starfield is going to be? It’s a completely new IP and honestly some of the design decisions sound questionable taken by themselves but we have no idea how it is all going to come together. At this point I’m this game could be the GOTY or it could review worse than Redfall and I wouldn’t be terribly surprised by either outcome.

[GrantDawg]

It really does depend on how Starfield is at release. It has a much larger possible fanbase, but it also has a much larger chance to disappoint early.

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[dubb93]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

but it also has a much larger chance to disappoint early.

I'd go further than that. Quite a bit of what I've read sounds like No Man's Sky which continues to disappoint me to this very day.

If everything comes together it could be great. Worst case it's not only buggy....it's also somehow worse than No Man's Sky. If the design choices are poor enough this one could disappoint in perpetuity.

[Edward64]

Who are we kidding ... 90% chance Starfield will disappoint in some key design choices and significant bugs on release.

There's not been any community Beta playtesting (I've read it was all internal) and that is a red flag. No community feedback or bug hunts which BG3 has gotten loads.

My guess is Starfield will need at least 2-3 patches and 6 months before the noise dies down. But I have faith in them, they've done right by FO76.

FWIW. I know its not a popular opinion here, but really wish they developed it as a MMO-like. I really enjoyed interacting & collaborating with others in FO76. It worked well in pve (didn't force you to play pvp).

[GrantDawg]

BG3 might not exactly be bug free either. At least one stream that went to the full game unveil suggests he ran into several. But I do the consensus seems to be that it should be pretty polished for a new game.

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[Galaril]

Originally Posted by dubb93

I'd go further than that. Quite a bit of what I've read sounds like No Man's Sky which continues to disappoint me to this very day.

If everything comes together it could be great. Worst case it's not only buggy....it's also somehow worse than No Man's Sky. If the design choices are poor enough this one could disappoint in perpetuity.

Yes that is what I too see this as another attempt at a No Man’s Sky. I guess we will see.

[Edward64]

Good interview with Larian's Swen Vincke.

Larian on signing Baldur's Gate 3, approaching a new era, and games you've never heard about | Eurogamer.net

Among other things ...

• Ultima 7 was "the game" for him growing up. And he hasn't met Richard Garriott
• He played in a D&D group Aug 2020 when BG3 hit EA. I wonder if his group members knew who he was
• The "tadpole" was inspired by the Volo's Guide to Monsters
• 170 hours of cinematics, level 12 cap, 600+ spells & actions (DOS2 had 250)

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Edward64

FWIW. I know its not a popular opinion here, but really wish they developed it as a MMO-like. I really enjoyed interacting & collaborating with others in FO76. It worked well in pve (didn't force you to play pvp).

I can't think of anything I'd want less in a game, much less a Bethesda game.

That said, the kid ended up getting it at some point on a deep sale and I've dabbled with it. I wonder if the animosity I have toward it -- I'd still like to see the heads of everyone involved in approving it placed on pikes outside Bethesda, starting with Todd's -- might be less if they'd gone the eventual route with NPCs etc from the jump.

I don't see any indications that a great or even very good game were in the cards for F76 but I wonder if I might feel differently had they not tried (and faceplanted) the route they started with.

[Edward64]

Yes, adding NPC's a year (?) later helped the immersion quite a bit. And they've been adding more and more NPCs.

How does your son like it? I wish my son played it, it would be great to do some co-op gaming with him. Hope you get the chance with your kid.

re: MMO-like comment. FO76 community is very friendly. There are some higher level asshats & bullies (typical of any community) ... but overall experience is collaboration and helping lower levels. There are some bosses where you need to be in a team working together (unless you have some legacy uber weapons). And there are some fantastic, absolutely fantastic camp builds.

Give it a chance!

(Haven't played it in a while but do have some nice weapons/armor sitting around, doing nothing that I can give you. Suggest you get to level 50+ first)

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Edward64

Yes, adding NPC's a year (?) later helped the immersion quite a bit. And they've been adding more and more NPCs.

How does your son like it? I wish my son played it, it would be great to do some co-op gaming with him. Hope you get the chance with your kid.

re: MMO-like comment. FO76 community is very friendly. There are some higher level asshats & bullies (typical of any community) ... but overall experience is collaboration and helping lower levels. There are some bosses where you need to be in a team working together (unless you have some legacy uber weapons). And there are some fantastic, absolutely fantastic camp builds.

Give it a chance!

(Haven't played it in a while but do have some nice weapons/armor sitting around, doing nothing that I can give you. Suggest you get to level 50+ first)

I've ended up playing it a LOT more than he did, almost ironically.

One of the problems at this point, I think, is the whole "season" structure of the outer shell (for lack of a better phrase). It quickly felt pointless to him to play, given how far into the cycle we even stepped foot into it. I played it a fair bit for a while as my "mindless grinder" game in lieu of a Fortnite season I never really got into. I've got so many hours in the FO universe that I can still pretty easily lapse into "side quest stage, side quest stage, side quest stage" grinding and just be zoned out.

As for the other players aspect of it, I rarely see people period. The only noticeable presence they have to me generally speaking is the occasional nuke warning that caused me to check my map quickly to make sure I wasn't gonna be collateral damage ... until realizing that basically nukes were in the same place 90-95 percent of the time (presumably tied to some event or another) and really shouldn't concern me unduly. Their camps are useful as a fast travel point now & then but otherwise that's about it. I suspect the fact that I tend to play between say midnight and 6a (eastern U.S. time) has something to do with the scarcity of other players.

The event oriented team stuff I largely ignore -- "surplus to needs" in terms of how I use/was using the game -- I think I've done maybe ... 3? of those with other players around and 2 of the 3 were accidental where I stumbled upon one or it stumbled upon me.

Still, if you'd have told me that I'd ever get to Lvl 46 (I had to load it up to see where I was, I thought it was in the 40s somewhere) I'd have figured you'd have lost your mind lol

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

I've ended up playing it a LOT more than he did, almost ironically.

One of the problems at this point, I think, is the whole "season" structure of the outer shell (for lack of a better phrase). It quickly felt pointless to him to play, given how far into the cycle we even stepped foot into it. I played it a fair bit for a while as my "mindless grinder" game in lieu of a Fortnite season I never really got into. I've got so many hours in the FO universe that I can still pretty easily lapse into "side quest stage, side quest stage, side quest stage" grinding and just be zoned out.

I finished to completion one season and that was it for me. Got some neat stuff that I didn't have to spend scrips for so that was good. But much of the stuff was redundant to me as I was a higher level and had done much of it already. I didn't feel the need to do another.

As for the other players aspect of it, I rarely see people period. The only noticeable presence they have to me generally speaking is the occasional nuke warning that caused me to check my map quickly to make sure I wasn't gonna be collateral damage ... until realizing that basically nukes were in the same place 90-95 percent of the time (presumably tied to some event or another) and really shouldn't concern me unduly. Their camps are useful as a fast travel point now & then but otherwise that's about it. I suspect the fact that I tend to play between say midnight and 6a (eastern U.S. time) has something to do with the scarcity of other players.

Yeah, I don't play that late. Sometimes there weren't alot of people or I see 2+ nukes have already been done, I would exit and try another "world". I also scan the players' levels when I enter. If they are lower levels, I know it won't be as much fun for me. So check number of players, their levels, and if nukes have gone off already; exit and try logging into another world as needed.

There were 2 popular nukes places at Whitesprings Resort & Fissure Prime/Scorched Earth. Whitesprings was fantastic early one but has been diluted some. Fissure Prime is when you do the initial end-game boss. They now also have Colossal Problem with Earl, another boss. Both Fissure Prime and Earl are FUN and need you to cooperate with others to take them down (I have done Earl successfully by myself). But you need to be at higher levels and have nicer weapons to fully participate. If you go in relatively junior, your team mates won't really mind but they expect you to "try" and show effort (e.g. help with stimpaks, use up ammo) vs hide and tag-along.

If you get a chance, highly recommend you do Whitesprings, Prime Fissure and Earl multiple times. There are many other events that require co-op play to succeed but definitely do those 3. Read up on them so you know what equipment you need (e.g. keep down the Rads, Vampire weapons are great for Earl).

The event oriented team stuff I largely ignore -- "surplus to needs" in terms of how I use/was using the game -- I think I've done maybe ... 3? of those with other players around and 2 of the 3 were accidental where I stumbled upon one or it stumbled upon me.

There are some team events that are brainless and too simple. In addition to the 3 I mentioned above, I enjoy these - Project Paradise, Encryptid, Line in the Sand, & Radiation Rumble. (Don't forget to store off your junk because you lose them when you die).

Still, if you'd have told me that I'd ever get to Lvl 46 (I had to load it up to see where I was, I thought it was in the 40s somewhere) I'd have figured you'd have lost your mind lol

I remember you being a non-believer. I'm glad you're beginning to see the light.

[GrantDawg]

RPG of the decade? The hype is real.

PC Gamer magazine collector's cover 3/4.

�� Shadowheart ��

A high half-elf cleric and also one of the deity Shar’s dark disciples, she possesses an item of great power and a long-buried secret. pic.twitter.com/wuLQD7qK2m

— PC Gamer (@pcgamer) July 18, 2023

[bhlloy]

I’m officially unreasonably excited about this one now. Hopefully the hype is at least halfway real.

[GrantDawg]

I'm excited to play solo, but even more excited that I have couple of friends signed on to co-op play. I have never really done that before with a non-mmo game.

[JonInMiddleGA]

{scratches head}

I'm pretty sure I've seen BG mentioned more in the past month or so than I'd seen it mentioned in the entire history of the IP.

Where the fuck has the sudden surge come from?

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

{scratches head}

I'm pretty sure I've seen BG mentioned more in the past month or so than I'd seen it mentioned in the entire history of the IP.

Where the fuck has the sudden surge come from?

Bear sex.

[GrantDawg]

Dola: Actually more seriously, the game has been in EA for a long time. Larian was coming off a very successful game in Divinity: Orginal Sin 2, but they were still a pretty niche company. I think that most people had this game down as a possible solid game from what had been seen, but then Larian released more information on what they had created before for full release, and it was way above what was expected. This game's scope is massive. While not a open world sandbox, it is still going to create so many differing threads that you could replay it over and over again and have almost totally different experience. There are saying there is 17k different endings. I have a hard time believing that is the case, but does indicate how much flexibility each play-through is going to have.

Add to all that, it is built on DnD 5e which is the most popular RPG on the market, building on the Baldur's Gate history which are two of the best cRPG's ever created (not to mention two of the best games I ever played). It has become a very big deal. Big enough that other developers have come out and said don't expect games of this size and detail in the future, because nobody is going to do this again.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

{scratches head}

I'm pretty sure I've seen BG mentioned more in the past month or so than I'd seen it mentioned in the entire history of the IP.

Where the fuck has the sudden surge come from?

In addition to the bear sex, the Aug 3rd release date (after a very long EA period).

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

I'm excited to play solo, but even more excited that I have couple of friends signed on to co-op play. I have never really done that before with a non-mmo game.

I am playing it co-op with three friends. We did the same with Divinity 2 and it was a blast.

Me and my three friends have had a standing weekly co-op gaming session for 10 years now! It started with Borderlands 2 and we've been cranking through all manner of games since then. Currently about to wrap up "Grounded", which we started back in October, and then jump to BG3.

[Edward64]

Wow, sounds like you have a great group of friends. I envy you. Congrats.

[GrantDawg]

Just realized that Starfield is going to be on Xbox live. I guess I will get a chance to try it without buying it.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

Just realized that Starfield is going to be on Xbox live. I guess I will get a chance to try it without buying it.

Hmm ... have we even bothered to discuss the impending end of XBL?

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Hmm ... have we even bothered to discuss the impending end of XBL?

No, though it aounds like it doesn't affect me. I'm on Game Pass Ultimate.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

No, though it aounds like it doesn't affect me. I'm on Game Pass Ultimate.

We've stuck with XBL due to the family sharing aspect of it (always better to have bought one copy of a game than two copies)

I'm curious to see how much content we lose between us, also curious whether the new pricing scheme will make it worthwhile for me to bother to renew once my carry over XBL Gold expires.

[Edward64]

Starfield skills guide

Starfield skill guide: Every skill we know about so far | PC Gamer

Skill groups

Physical skills
Social skills
Combat skills
Science skills
Tech skills
Skill progression

On progression, looks like it'll be another one of the Skyrim blacksmith a bunch of useless stuff to artificially increase your proficiency

To rank up a skill in Starfield, you will generally have to complete a set challenge. For most weapon skills, this simply involves killing a certain number of enemies with that weapon type. Security requires you to pick more locks. This feels similar to Skyrim, but is a bit more transparent about the exact requirements and can allow you to grow certain skills in ways other than simply using them over and over.

[dubb93]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

We've stuck with XBL due to the family sharing aspect of it (always better to have bought one copy of a game than two copies)

I'm curious to see how much content we lose between us, also curious whether the new pricing scheme will make it worthwhile for me to bother to renew once my carry over XBL Gold expires.

I don't think your family sharing aspect is to be much different on gamepass than XBL. How many Xboxes are we talking exactly?

We have two Xboxes we use. I have one Xbox set to primary and the other I'm logged into but not set as primary. You then log out my game tag on the "primary" Xbox and both can be used at the same time but on different game tags. I don't know the number of Xboxes you can be logged into at a time, but it's more than one.

[GrantDawg]

We have two, but one (mine) hardly gets played. Simon uses Game Pass way more than I do.

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[GrantDawg]

The main developer for BG3 did an interview and confirmed some features that people were hoping for are not going to be in the final product. Nothing major, but disappointing nonetheless. The biggest thing was that he recommended not to start by playing any of the Origin characters. He advised playing your own and then trying an Origin.

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[Critch]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

Just realized that Starfield is going to be on Xbox live. I guess I will get a chance to try it without buying it.

Cities:Skylines II too. Xbox PC Game Pass earning it's keep.

[dubb93]

With BG, I assume, being full of choice and having significant replay value could we get a group together to play maybe once a week for a few hours on a dedicated play through?

[GrantDawg]

Depending on time, I'm in.

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[Edward64]

122GB download. I'll probably start the download Thu night and go to bed.

"Baldur’s Gate 3 will launch on August 3rd at 5pm Gent time, or your non-Belgian timezone equivalent as shown [below]," Larian said today on Steam. "There will be no pre-loading of the game before then.

"The full release of the game weighs in at approximately 122 GB. Please note that your early access save games will not be compatible at launch; however, so much has changed that it’s really worth it to start afresh."

Vincke said essentially the same thing in the itmeJP interview, warning that there's no point in getting into the early access version of Baldur's Gate 3 now because you're effectively going to have to start over from scratch in a few days anyway. "There might be a few bytes that are the same but basically it's going to be a full reinstall," he said.

[GrantDawg]

I don't think theree is going to be any early preload. So the new version won't download until 11am on the 3rd.

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[SirFozzie]

If you have Early Access Baldur's Gate 3, it's suggested by Larian to uninstall the game (and remove saves) just to make sure there's no file conflicts with the installation, and because EA saves (which could be in the cloud) are not playable in full version

[GrantDawg]

Yeah, got mine all cleared out. Can't wait for tomorrow. Took the next two days off, going to pick up some beers. Fun fun fun.

[Edward64]

All ready to download.

Interesting see if there'll be an overload on servers with everyone downloading.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Edward64

All ready to download.

Interesting see if there'll be an overload on servers with everyone downloading.

Almost certainly. It starts at 11am, I'm just hoping to be playing by 2pm.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

Almost certainly. It starts at 11am, I'm just hoping to be playing by 2pm.

Maybe you should have taken Fri & Mon off?

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Edward64

Maybe you should have taken Fri & Mon off?

Thought about it. I have plans to get somethings done on Thursday morning to prepare for not being disturbed once I start playing.

[GrantDawg]

What beer should I get for gaming tomorrow? IPA suggestions will be yeeted.

[SirFozzie]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

What beer should I get for gaming tomorrow? IPA suggestions will be yeeted.

I thought at first he said "What BEAR should I get for gaming tomorrow". Considering, ahem.. THAT scene in one of the previews, that would be... unfortunate.