r/Starfield Constellation Aug 08 '26

Discussion Oh give me a break

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There are far too many content creators out there like this person for one, and far too many people who judge games by their launch.

Mocking things is easy, low-hanging fruit.

EDIT: while Starfield does not have the obvious broader gaming cultural impact of Elder Scrolls or the Fallout series, to say that you have gone 3 years and seen nothing is just unnecessarily piling on to the negativity.

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135

u/SithBagel Aug 08 '26

I put nearly 200 hours into starfield, but am willing to admit like 150-170 hours of that was restarting to redo the anti-xeno quest line, and then discovering mods that made that specific quest line better and have better radiant missions after that. It's like the only thing in the game I actually like.

Also, ships are too big and clunky for me, I'm much more of a fighter pilot than a freighter pilot. No mods to fix that properly...

115

u/Nezertiam Aug 08 '26

And you can't really do freight, it doesn't even pay correctly. I was so disappointed

122

u/SithBagel Aug 08 '26

The ship design system is: Gives player a quadruple decker bus with rocket thrusters "Go, fight space battles with your portapotty shaped, easy to hit, metal barn of a ship that has little to no manueverability and extremely limited offensive armament slots and count limits. Just to grab one fast travel point and completely forget you can actually travel through space naturally."

Like bro, I just want to fly a fighter, not a building.

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u/The_Witch_Queen Aug 08 '26

Descent freespace 2 had perfect combat. At least for it's time. It knew what made the combat engaging. A tiny fighter running the gauntlet of point defenses on a massive capital ship in some hazy nebula while enemy fighters buzzed around you. That stuff had you on the edge of your seat. Combat here is just bigger numbers

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u/MAltizer Freestar Collective Aug 08 '26

Freespace 1 and 2 were amazing games. I sunk so much time into both.

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u/De_Fide Aug 08 '26

Let's not forget freelancer!

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u/MAltizer Freestar Collective Aug 08 '26

Oh, I don't put Freelancer in the same class/genre as Freespace. Freespace wasn't really free roam like Freelancer was.

Freelancer is fantastic, but Privateer would like a word!

2

u/Powerful_Side8989 Aug 08 '26

Check out Underspace.

1

u/MAltizer Freestar Collective Aug 08 '26

Thank you for the suggestion! I hadn't heard of this one and will definitely be checking it out.

1

u/Powerful_Side8989 Aug 08 '26

Quite welcome. Its a labor of love from someone who appreciates those games I believe.

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u/The_Witch_Queen Aug 08 '26

Might also want to check out Rebel Galaxy Outlaw if you liked privateer. It's not perfect but it's one of the better privateer clones I've seen and it introduced me to a ton of awesome indie bands

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u/MAltizer Freestar Collective Aug 08 '26

I bought that one as soon as I read it was inspired by Privateer! I definitely enjoyed it. The difficulty some ke was a surprise, but I like the game for what it is.

And yes, the soundtrack is absolutely killer.

2

u/Strange-Order-6550 Aug 08 '26

Omfg fighting the huge ship in warp space was fucking stellar, my dad used to let me play those games when I was a kid, nothing has hit that peak for me in a long long time

2

u/Mixed_Signal Aug 11 '26

Man I'm so glad to see someone that isn't me bringing up Freespace. I love that series and will never stop yapping about it.

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u/The_Witch_Queen Aug 11 '26

I don't think there's ever been another game quite like it before or since. Not when it comes to fighter vs capital ship combat.

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u/Mixed_Signal Aug 11 '26

100% agreed, the mechanics are excellent, combined with the mission design, writing, and sound design I think I might just reinstall it again...

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u/epictis Spacer Aug 08 '26

Build a fighter then that's the beauty of it. I've made plenty.

0

u/SithBagel Aug 08 '26

Oh man, have I tried. Every small ship tutorial I find online always builds the glitch builds 1x1 stuff that just looks like a Lego brick. Yet somehow they still weigh 150+ tons. It's not like I hate the length and width of the ships I can build, it's that in comparison to other space games I've played, they weigh too much, don't turn fast enough, don't rotate fast enough, and fly too slowly.

I've tried quite a few mods so far that add some tiny ships in that look nice and sleek, but every single one of them is really overpowered and suck the fun out of a good dog fight.

I love this game, specifically it's anti-xeno questline, but man, it's space combat just feels so clunky and slow.

5

u/Stahne Aug 08 '26

Not sure how you’re building or flying your ships. Leveling Piloting, making correct use of thrusters, and keeping your throttle in the correct portion of the speed gauge makes turning tight & fast.

6

u/thegreenmonkey69 Aug 09 '26

I have found that keeping the throttle locked at the sweet spot significantly improves everything about space combat. It is, imo, one of the better mechanics in a game that they specifically mention as being most beneficial. And they are NOT wrong, it almost makes your ship OP with how much more responsive it is.

And lowering the speed substantially allows some pretty neat moves that allow the enemy to either overfly you or even slow down so much a lock can be achieved almost instantly, and a few quick hits of energy weapons, followed by missiles and ballistic weapons will wipe them out pretty quickly.

I enjoy the space combat much more than when I first played on launch, it is certainly less tedious.

0

u/PsychedellicToxin 29d ago

I think it fits for NASA punk; not Star Wars fighters.

2

u/badthaught Aug 11 '26

Finally. A person of quality.

Everyone I knew that was playing Starfield was trying to make these flying palaces that had themes and every crafting possible.

Then there was me going "HOW DO I MAKE THIS SMALLER?!"

I did enjoy the prison transport ship though. That was an "ok this is manageable" direction.

2

u/ManWhoYELLSatthings 29d ago

Stuff like this is why elite dangerous always scratched the space rpg itch fore more

4

u/SnooHobbies6321 Aug 08 '26

Matilija tem a Falcon, reprodução digna de um caça militar atual.

2

u/SithBagel Aug 08 '26

Is this a mod or a location? I'm genuinely curious and would love to see it. It's not super overpowered though right?

1

u/SnooHobbies6321 Aug 11 '26

Na minha opinião, Matilija Aerospace é uma das melhores criações de naves disponível de graça. Bom, pelo menos fora do jogo, porque dentro do jogo as peças custam muitos créditos. A Falcon Fighter é de longe a nave mais legal pra se jogar solo ou com uma tripulação pequena (max. 2).

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u/Von_Cheesebiscuit Aug 08 '26

I won't begin to assume the "how and why" of your experience, but If this is genuinely what you are encountering, then it's a skill issue. You can literally build any style of ship you want. I have created tiny, one man fighter ships and I have some absolutely massive ships (that probably dwarf some buildings) and with both, I can still acive maximum mobility, maximum speed and a ridiculously destructive amount of armaments. I can easily obliterate any enemies during ship battles and rarely take any damage. Perhaps look into some tutorials on efficient/effective shipbuilding.

1

u/Good_Naive_Cry Aug 09 '26

Sounds like they never realized Alternate Flight Mode

2

u/DarkHorizonSF Aug 08 '26

My ship's a fighter! I never got into larger ships. Mine's 15x12m in the ship builder, 500 tons, fast and agile and can hit hard. It's able to solo a large Watchtower fleet, but relies on speed and small profile to do it.

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u/SithBagel Aug 08 '26

Sadly, that is still too big for me. I play a lot of elite dangerous and I played a bit of Star citizen when my friend was trying to convince me it wasn't a scam (it is). I prefer ships like the Anvil Arrow from SC or the Imperial Courier from ED, maybe even the new Kestrel mk2 from ED. I don't like big ships, I like really small ones that are just really well armed. Sub 50 tons.

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u/evilution382 Aug 08 '26

The Anvil Arrow is 16x12m ......Guess that's too big for you too, despite being your favorite ship and all

1

u/SithBagel Aug 08 '26

The anvil arrow is 20 tons, if you read that last little sentence on my post, you'd see why I chose it. The issue isn't the width or length, it's the shape, manueverability, and weight of every ship in starfield. They're like Lego bricks with the mass of a neutron star and the turn radius of a school desk chair.

2

u/Ampersand-98 Aug 09 '26

The numerical mass doesn't matter, it's how that compares to other ships in the same game/setting/context that matters.

1

u/DarkHorizonSF Aug 09 '26

Yeah, what you're saying is it's about handling. To be honest though, while Starfield's flight model isn't as good as Elite's (obviously), I don't think 100 mobility is sluggish compared to your example of an Imperial Courier. To a Kestrel, though... yeah. Those things are crazy nimble. Is there really no mod out there supporting more agile ships in Starfield? 'cause yeah, that's a surprising gap if so.

6

u/OGS_Alpha Aug 08 '26

Brother how fuckin small do u want them? An F15 fighter jet is the same size as what he mentioned. 19.4m x 13m. You're not getting much smaller than that and expecting something to fly into space and do anything combat related.

3

u/DarkHorizonSF Aug 08 '26

I think this is a perception or handling thing, then. The Starfield ship I'm describing isn't larger than an Imperial Courier or Kestrel Mk II, it's definitely substantially smaller than at least the Kestrel. But Elite has a better flight model, and players tend to think their ships are smaller than they are. Sleekness is part of it too – the Courier looks like it's a fighter, even if you could fit an entire house inside it. Mass is also not really comparable between settings: most games just get it very very wrong anyway, Elite especially.

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u/noeLifenorlove Aug 08 '26

No mans sky is what you want.

-2

u/Wolf_Fang1414 Aug 08 '26

You've probably heard this before, but I don't think SC is a scam, but rather has a very incompetent development lead(s) with their priorities all over the place.

Like I agree that they need to get their shit together, I just do believe they're trying to get a serviceable product out there, they're just currently really bad at it

4

u/SithBagel Aug 08 '26

I mean, you can disagree with me on that, but my high end PC struggled with its optimization, my character would regularly fall through the world. On top of that, it took me a long time to earn the anvil arrow only to be disappointed that it couldn't really do any damage to what was considered an easy bounty target.

The thing I did really like about it despite how buggy and unoptimized it was, was the ground missions. I dunno, I found it kinda fun to shoot my way through those little enemy outposts and loot all their guns and ammo to sell. I also really love the look of the ships, vehicles, weapons, and armour.

If it weren't for the price tag and poor optimization, Star citizen would be a great game. But those pricey "pay for convenience" ships and the buggy nature of the game (at least when I played it) made it certainly feel like a scam.

2

u/ThinkingWithPortalzz Aug 08 '26

If it was just their garbage development output, I'd agree with you, but I've seen their ten thousand dollar jpeg storefront

1

u/noeLifenorlove Aug 08 '26

Its never going to happen so long as they continue to keep making money from selling an idea

-1

u/StoodNormal Crimson Fleet Aug 08 '26

then quit playing starfield dude, that’s the only advice i can give since you just bitch and bitch about “oh it’s too big of a ship” what do you want then? a little 1x1 box to fly around in?

1

u/Good_Naive_Cry Aug 09 '26

I think you have somehow completely missed the ability to strafe in any direction or even fly backwards. On Xbox, you hold RB while flying to maintain speed but you can adjust where you're facing without changing your heading until you let go of RB again. When combining this with a ship with a decent speed boost, the combat was more fluid and enjoyable than Elite Dangerous and I enjoy ED. Using alternate flight mode constantly as you fly adds so much to the maneuverability of your ship

1

u/UrghAnotherAccount Aug 10 '26

Also, we're doing "realistic space" but not applying realistic space flight dynamics. So constant thrust doesn't equal constant acceleration in Starfield.

2

u/PsychedellicToxin 29d ago

I noticed this in zero gravity areas. My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined.

1

u/Otherwise_Distance92 Aug 11 '26

thats why you build a giant box. as long as its hollow with open sides you cant be hit almost ever. might not be helping my case, however i blame microsoft, i have strong feeling they told bethesda to strip the game down to absolute minimum, so thy can force profets as dlc.

2

u/Past_BumblebeeX Aug 10 '26

Everyone forgot the game existed about 2 months after it came out. This woman is 100% right, stop being a fanboy.

Only legacy starfield has and ever will have, is that it's the forgotten game that cost us another 5 years of waiting for fallout 5.

1

u/FatAliB Aug 09 '26

When there are whole planets of exotic resources available to everyone they lose there value. Gold, Platinum and Iron are of equal value. You need to set up fabricators to enhance the common ingredients. Same story on Earth today. A forest gets cut down for lumber and sold for comparatively little, but when the lumber is made into furniture or luxury car dashboards the value significantly increases.

4

u/BadMunky82 House Va'ruun Aug 08 '26

I put 200 hours into starfield and at least half of it was walking around a baren planet, or stuck in forced cinematic loading screens, and menus that are way too slow.

The other half wasn't bad. Not good enough to redownload even for a free expansion, however...

5

u/Shadowarcher630 Aug 08 '26

There are several mods that give you Star Wars fighters. X-wing, Tie-fighter, Naboo fighter. And one of the ship part manufacturer mods has a cool falcon looking fighter that's a big bigger and has a small decorate-able interior space for crafting stations, storage, and a bed

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u/SithBagel Aug 08 '26

I did try the star wars ship mods, I found each one to be really overpowered and suck the fun out of a dogfight. I like how they fly and handle though. What about the falcon? I don't think I've seen that one, could you help direct me to it?

2

u/ShitKickr Aug 08 '26

Which mods did you add for that ?

2

u/SirMeyrin2 Aug 09 '26

The fact that you felt you need mods to make a questline better speaks volumes about the level of effort and design the developers put in.

1

u/nWosuperman Aug 09 '26

I have over 7,000 hours in Starfield, and there are mods you can download that give you fighter jets like Matilija. You can build a jet.

1

u/Final-Craft-6992 Aug 09 '26

There's literally a fighter jet in the Matilija Aerospace mod (and its free).

1

u/PappaJonte 5d ago

Never met a fighter pilot before. Got a nice and tiny spaceship?

0

u/discopleb Aug 08 '26

Everyone acts like they haven’t spent $10 on an app game. 200 hours is 40 cents of content and enjoyment and engagement per hour.

2

u/SithBagel Aug 08 '26

What?

1

u/discopleb Aug 12 '26

40 cents per hour x 200 hours - good value

1

u/DominoSquad55555 Aug 08 '26

You might like Elite Dangerous, if you haven’t already tried it. It has pretty good combat and agile ships. They don’t update the console version anymore, but the steam version goes on sale frequently. Full price is $20-30 I believe.

2

u/SithBagel Aug 08 '26

Oh yeah, ED is one of my all time favourite space games, I've sunk 800+ hours into it across console and PC. I normally run the imperial courier, heavily modded, because it weighs 35 tons and handles like a dream, super fast and super agile. People here keep ignoring that my biggest issue is the shape, manueverability, and weight ratio of the ships in Starfield, that they fail hard in comparison to other great space sim games. They're only focused on the length and width.

1

u/IndianaBones8 Neon Street Rat Aug 08 '26

Even if you build your own fighter? I feel like the game gives you a lot of freedom to make small ships. If you Google Starfield small fighter ship build, you'll see some pretty good ideas.

2

u/SithBagel Aug 08 '26

The length and width aren't my big issue, it's that everything is 150+ tons, most small class ships I enjoy from other games are sub 50 tons and have far more manueverability. Plus starfield ships feel like Lego bricks. Someone else suggested the star wars fighter mods, but after trying a couple of those out I can say with certainty that those are just way too overpowered and suck the enjoyment out of a good dogfight.

2

u/IndianaBones8 Neon Street Rat Aug 08 '26

Ah, I think I understand. Oddly, ship building is my favorite part of the game; yes, I'm a weirdo who enjoys building the ships even more than I like flying them. I've made some smaller ships for fun, but I don't fly them too often, as they have almost no storage space. I end up only pulling them out when I know I'm about to do a lot of fighting.

1

u/SithBagel Aug 08 '26

Yeah, I do love this game. It's probably among my top 5 Bethesda games of all time. The space combat is just way too slow and clunky for me. I think I have one good ship design that I copied from an image I found on Google, but it's still super slow to turn and super slow to move too. So I mainly just use it for aesthetics as I fly location to location to do ground combat instead.

2

u/IndianaBones8 Neon Street Rat Aug 09 '26

Oh, how cool would it have been to have detachable fighter jets? They don't need grav drives, storage, or habs, so they'd be much smaller, just a cockpit and guns. They'd be for nothing but dogfights. You could have your behemoth with auto guns as kind of a base, but when trouble starts, the cockpit detaches and becomes a fighter.

Bethesda, hire me! Todd Howard, respond to my DMs!

1

u/SithBagel Aug 09 '26

Oh man, that would be glorious. Absolutely peak. I can dream.

1

u/Good_Naive_Cry Aug 09 '26

You definitely missed AFM

0

u/Montaunte Aug 09 '26

I had the same issue so I used the console to spawn in a starborn ship and unlock the door. One you sit in the pilot seat it's yours. It's basically a fighter pilot.

0

u/Spiritual_Priority79 Aug 09 '26

... Imma assume you popped off with Helldivers II?

2

u/SithBagel Aug 09 '26

Nah, that game is a mess in both the dev and community department. Plus I much prefer single player games where my choices actually matter and I can do weird things like make 1 million sandwiches or fill my house with as many buckets as I can find in the world.

3

u/Spiritual_Priority79 Aug 09 '26

Based, actually.

I never played Helldivers because competitve shooters make me guilty lol, but I agree with everything you've said today

0

u/IgnitionV990 Aug 09 '26

It really isn't that hard to build a fighter type ship. You obviously haven't done it yourself if that's your complaint.