I have been dying for a space sim like this – story, ship combat, classic Bethesda RPG elements, etc. The direct showcased so many features that, if pitched to me in writing, I wouldn’t have believed possible to fit into a single game. But oh man am I a believer now.
I honestly think one of my most anticipated gameplay elements is just being able to survey different planets and enjoy the strikingly beautiful vistas and starscapes. I’ve often fantasized about having my own little space ship to just cruise around and hang out in. With this game, I can (almost) make that a reality.
What are you looking forward to?
I’ve got almost 300 hours in No Mans Sky, the majority of it pre-Atlas-Rises (completely off-topic, but I was pretty sad when they regenerated the universe for Atlas Rises as it got rid of some incredibly pretty planets I’d found and documented, and it’s sad that those worlds straight-up don’t exist anymore). Scanning all the fauna and flora on planets was always my favorite thing to do, so I’m stoked to see similar creature scanning in Starfield. (plus confirmation in the scanning UI of planets having multiple biomes!)
I tend towards the completionist side of things so I’m really gonna have to not even try to fully scan all 1k planets… 😅
I’m also thinking of letting the scanning help inform my first character - eg. start off with traits and background that fit the whole “planetary explorer” vibe.
I think for me it’s the roleplay. So few games let you tell your own story the way Bethesda games can. I’ve been playing Skyrim religiously for almost 12 years now. Being your own character, deciding what/who that character is… I can’t wait.
Skyrim feels a bit limited though in the RP? You are very free to choose class options, but in convos I don’t feel like I make many choices and that’s a very important part of the RP. I hope Starfield will take strides in that aspect; the starting backgrounds having an impact makes me excited!
I still get a lot of joy from crafting a specific character, dressing them up, and using a certain play style.
Maybe I’m ignorant, but it feels to me that most/all video game “RPGs” are like this, but worse. I remember in 2015 or something, the Witcher 3 came out and people were saying “Skyrim has been dethroned!” But the Witcher isn’t an rpg to me at all… you’re forced to be Geralt (I love Geralt). For me, Bethesda is the closest I can get to truly being who/whatever I want. Like you said, I hope they continue to build out the roleplaying.
do you have any ideas what kind of character you’ll be on your first playthrough?
I feel like I generally play a “meta” character my first time though any game because I’m not ready to restrict the sort of choices I’m making. I think knowing a game better also helps in knowing which choices I could make to shape a later character in specific directions.
I wish Bethesda released their character creator early the way some MMOs do. :P
I pretty much always have a default style for my characters in RPGs (at least for the first run), and it usually revolves around being able to talk my way out of situations where I can, so I will beeline towards the persusasion traits ASAP.
The idea of being a smart-mouthed space smuggler that can also fight their way out of trouble is just so appealing to me. And yes, I know I’ve just created Han Solo.
Huh, i want to go the other way. Taciturn, not very chatty, shoot first and dont bother asking questions. Have a plan to kill everone you see. Like, a sociopathic Chewbacca.
Well, yeah, that’s probably going to be my second playthrough haha
this is my exact thought process half of the time when making my first character in an RPG, but I’ve never been able to really describe it as well :)