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Bethesda are individually rebutting Starfield Steam reviewers, defending the loading breaks and “empty” worldsHouse of Skyrim quietly goes to war with detractors
House of Skyrim quietly goes to war with detractors
Image credit:Bethesda Game Studios
Image credit:Bethesda Game Studios
Bethesda’s heaping plateful of space-spaghettiStarfieldpresently rejoices in the status ofa Mixed Steam user review rating, with over 80,000 such reviews posted to date. Bethesda High Command are clearly displeased with this, and several unnamed but platform-verified developers have begun replying to and rebutting individual Steam reviewers, giving apparent priority to complaints about the game’s loading breaks during fast travel and when moving between maps.
“While there may be loading screens in between fast travelling, just consider the amount of data for the expansive gameplay that is procedurally generated to load flawlessly in under 3 seconds,” readsone such reply(thanks toEurogamerfor passing this on, and toJuiceheadfor the original spot). “We believe that shortcoming will not hinder our players from getting lost in the world we created.”
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Anotherdeveloper responsesets out to address “frustration with fast travel making the universe feel much smaller”, in what could almost be a reference to Alice B’sStarfield reviewheadline. (I’m sure we’re just flattering ourselves.)
“Given the immense size of Starfield, we felt it made more sense to be able to use your Grav Drive to jump to other solar systems,” it reads. “The option to fly freely among planets is still there, and you can travel from one planet to another and land without needing to open your map if you use your scanner.
“However, for an expedition like solar system traversal, jumping is necessary. Remember that fast travel also has its perks as you can do so quickly when trying to complete quests and will always be given visual of your ship launching and landing, thus being able to appreciate all the little details that make your customized ship look unique.”
This particular dev comment also reiterates Bethesda managing director Ashley Cheng’sargument prior to Starfield’s releasethat the game’s abundance of quest- and building-less planets is designed to create a sense of “overwhelming” vastness and make you “feel small”.
“We are sorry that you do not like landing on different planets and are finding many of them empty,” it reads. “The intention of Starfield’s exploration is to evoke a feeling of smallness in players and make you feel overwhelmed. You can continue to explore and find worlds that do have resources you need or hidden outposts to look through.”
This latter post also tries to defend the game’s NPCs against the accusation of being “dead-eyed” and “boring”, arguing that “to keep Starfield as dynamic as possible, NPCs are not fully scripted so weirdness can ensue sometimes. The goal is to make believable characters on the screen with realistic reactions to your character.” Last but not least, it urges the player in question to get off the critical path. “If you feel that things are getting boring, there is so much more to do than just the main mission!” In conclusion: “Never stop exploring!”
There arequitealotof these developer responses, some posted as recently asyesterday. Many are copy-and-pasted. I get the impression the customer service teams have basically been told to look busy. It isn’t making much difference to Starfield’s fortunes: at the time of writing, the game hasonce againfallen behind its indefatigable ancestorSkyrimin the daily Steam player charts. Many of the reviews Bethesda are trying to debate consist of a single sentence. One just reads “Midfield”.
It’s the first thing I did on the very first planet you visit during the intro - which I think is otherwise one of the least compelling intros I’ve ever sat through - and I found it transformative. No loot or quest markers to worry about: just the changing texture and sound of the procedural terrain underfoot, random pockets of wildlife I could study from afar, a range of porous rock formations and plenty of hills to climb, with nothing to see on the other side but another valleyful of dust and entropy.
What I am essentially saying is: perhaps the planetary exploration aspect of this game is more enjoyable if you play against type and treat it like a walking simulator? I think there’s a lot of artistry to the game’s setting that vanishes in practice because you’re not sufficiently encouraged toperceiveit, and no, I’m not just talking about taking photographs of especially glossy objects and obvious setpieces like planets orbiting overhead. Mind you, if an astral walking sim is what you’re after, you’re probably better off withOrchids to DuskorThe Anglerfish Project, to pick a few.
