Despite the innovative system inherited from the previous work, the lack of content and completion is noticeable.
‘Starfield’ play scene
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(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Joo-hwan = The mark left by Bethesda Game Studio in the history of Western role-playing games (RPGs) since the 2000s is enormous.
‘The Elder Scrolls’ 4 and 5, and ‘Fallout’ 3 and 4, which Bethesda created by translating classic game intellectual property (IP) from the late 1990s into a 3D environment, were named Game of the Year (Game of the Year) at several international award ceremonies. Year·GOTY) awards were swept.
The unique elements of Bethesda-style RPGs, such as freely moving around a large, realistic map from a first-person perspective and interacting with lively characters, have created numerous fans.
Bethesda’s science fiction RPG ‘Starfield’, which brought the success formula proven in previous works to the space stage, has been receiving more mixed reviews and harsher reviews from fans than any other work since its release on the 6th.
Exploring planets in ‘Starfield’
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◇ Is size everything in an open world? What matters is the density of experience
In terms of ‘size’, Starfield is larger than any other open world game that has come out recently.
There are over 1,000 planets on which you can land in over 100 star systems, and the size of each planet implemented in the game is the same as that of a game previously released by Bethesda.
The production team is said to have used a ‘procedural generation’ technique, which randomly generates terrain according to an algorithm, to create such a massive world.
The problem is that the vast majority of planets created this way feel ‘soulless.’
Except for a few cities and quest locations designed by the production team, the experiences players can have on automatically generated planets are obvious.
All you have to do is turn on the scanner and find and collect unusual resources and creatures, or explore automatically generated dungeons that look like you’ve seen them on other planets.
Because each randomly generated location is placed without considering the player’s movement or organic relationships, the player must walk anywhere from a few hundred meters to several kilometers without any vehicle.
In particular, the takeoff and landing process of the spaceship, which is the most important part of games set in space, is carried out automatically with a short video at the touch of a button, harming the player’s sense of immersion.
This is in contrast to the ‘Legend of Zelda’ open world series and Bethesda’s previous games, which made exploration itself fun by placing various devices to attract the player’s interest even while moving from one place to another.
What is important in open world game design is not simply the large map, but the layout that shows how well the interior is filled.
Space battle in ‘Starfield’
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◇ Insufficient AI and bugs that ruin immersion… It’s also disappointing that Korean translation is not supported.
Although there are flaws in the fundamental design of the open world, insufficient details are also an element that detracts from the gameplay experience.
The artificial intelligence (AI) of NPCs (non-playable characters) appears to have regressed compared to ‘Fallout 4’, the previous game with a similar style.
Enemies often do not react even when the player points a gun in front of them during battle and often look at the distant mountains, and allies frequently cannot find their way and end up walking in place toward the wall.
Insufficient optimization was also on the chopping block. Even on high-performance PCs, the screen often stutters when entering a large city, and even on Microsoft’s flagship console game console, the Xbox Series X, the frame rate is limited to 30 frames.
However, this is an element that can be improved as players’ system specifications increase over time and optimization patches are implemented.
Although it has improved compared to the previous work, the awkward animation of the characters and the lifeless facial expressions still reduce immersion.
It was an experience that once again reminded me that not only technical innovation but also details are important in creating a masterpiece game.
The ‘non-Korean language support’, which goes directly against today’s trend of many triple A games from other global game companies supporting the Korean language, also contributes to the negative evaluation in Korea.
Of course, a Korean patch using AI translation technology was released less than a day after the game was released, but it is a world away from official support.
Battle of ‘Starfield’
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◇ The potential is still great… Will after-sales support/modes be the answer?
Despite its numerous shortcomings, Starfield is still an irreplaceable RPG. There are also many elements that the Korean gaming industry, which has recently been targeting the overseas console market, can refer to.
The deep story lines and attractive worldview settings shown in the RPGs Bethesda has released so far have not rusted in Starfield. Players can belong to various groups, go on quests, and sometimes take sides to write their own stories.
The settlement construction system shown in Fallout 4 has been returned with some simplification but only the strengths, and the experience of creating your own ship by attaching and removing parts such as engines and cabins one by one was an innovation that is difficult to find in any game.
This gameplay experience is expected to be further expanded through future DLC (downloadable content).
You should also keep in mind the possibility that the overall game can be improved through mods. Mods are creative content that allows users to modify the game, modify the system, or add new elements that did not exist before. Bethesda’s games are famous for being friendly to all creators.
Part of the role of filling in the missing content and details of ‘Starfield’ is ultimately shared by the gamer community around the world.
Assembling the spaceship of ‘Starfield’
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2023/09/09 11:00 Sent
