Starfield's opening is slow says Phil Spencer, will take a few hours to reach "epic scale"

I like the sound of this because I'm always a bit worried about being overwhelmed right from the start from games like this with seemingly so much to see and do plus the learning curve just getting the hang of things.

Anyway, how about you?

Any thoughts?

The Story.

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https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/gaming/starfield-s-opening-is-slow-says-phil-spencer-will-take-a-few-hours-to-reach-epic-scale/ar-AA1fIAZP?ocid=entnewsntp&pc=U531&cvid=5347c76580b74abf8671476db4860e26&ei=7

Starfield's opening is slow says Phil Spencer, will take a few hours to reach "epic scale"

Story by Demi Williams •1h

Xbox boss Phil Spencer has said players will need to play the first few hours of Starfield before it "blows up in terms of its epic scale."

Starfield is only two weeks away and as Bethesda gears up for the launch of perhaps its most anticipated game of all time, there's still a lot players don't know about the upcoming sci-fi RPG.

The spacefaring adventure game will be massive in scale, with reportedly over 1,000 planets to explore in an open galaxy, with free space travel, character customization, and a tailored experience based on the players' choices.

We already know it will be a grand game - the biggest Bethesda has ever made - but according to Phil Spencer, the beginning of the game can be a little slow and players should expect the action to hit after a few hours of playtime.

"It's a big game, and I'll be the first to admit the first three to four hours are a little bit hunt-and-peck, figure out 'what am I actually doing?' Then you get onto sidequests or something, and the game just blows up in terms of its epic scale," said Spencer in an interview with IGN at Gamescom 2023.

Starfield is set to launch on September 6 for Xbox Series X|S and PC, but early access will start on September 1 for those who purchased the Premium or Constellation editions of the game.

It was announced last week that the game had officially gone gold, so users can preload the game right now ahead of its official release. This also applies to those who have pre-ordered the game digitally or are planning to play it via Xbox Game Pass.

To get ready for the launch, here's everything you need to know about Starfield - including story and setting, trailers, gameplay features, and more.

It'll be slow until the good mods start rolling in.

I hope and assume so, based on what I've seen.

I would temper grand "exploration" expectations, though.

Sounds good to me. If it's a slow burn build up, I know I'll be getting my money's worth.

Sounds good to me. As long as it's not hours of tutorial instead of hours of narrative and epic scale buildup, could leave an impact.

@SecretPolice: I don't have an issue with this - a lot of games ease you into things.

I can't fucking wait!

So what Phil is saying is that at first it runs at 12 fps, then after a few hours it will run at 30fps? i guess that is better then 12fps for the whole game.

Did you pre-order Starfield?

Yep for the PC . I figure i need a break from Baulders gate 3

Smart man.....you are gonna OWN the galaxy!

Makes sense given the scale and scope of the game.

One of the (many) mistakes they made with Fallout 4 was not explaining all of the game mechanics. I found out a lot of mechanics over the years from watching others play it on twitch.

Same with Skyrim

👩‍🚀🚀🪐✨💫.

My spaceship will look like a pair of tits

Like every game now. Even EDF 5 opens with a cinematic walking mission.

Seems pretty normal, most RPG's take a few hours to build up.

Start small as a recruit..... but will eventually reach the stars

Any game of that length is slow to start.

It would be faster to reach "epic scale" if game is 60fps

Doesn’t bother me at all. So hyped for this game. 😁

god bless my series s.

rip september 6, 2023

lol

I was told by certain users that you can determine if a game is good within the first couple hours. Sounds like Phil Spen is doing some preemptive damage control.

Sounds like cows are salty.

You know what, at this point I would like anyone at Microsoft other than Phil to start talking. Is there a such thing as being too seen and heard from all the time? I think I'm at that point with Phil. I'm sure he's a nice guy but damn. Microsoft gonna be trotting him out like Weekend At Bernies 20 years from now. This also kind of reminds me.. does Sony even have a (Dorky he's just like us) PR guy anymore? And also does Nintendo? Or is this just a Microsoft thing now?

I mean, he's not wrong.

He is wrong. Phil wasn’t doing damage control.

Fine with me, I was thinking of rolling a "space bard" anyway, so my game should hopefully be a bit slower paced anyway as I'd like to talk, bribe, and deal my way through stuff as much as possible.

A game having a slow start is not an indicator of quality, good or bad.

However if you experience the whole gameplay loop of a game in a couple hours and it's not fun, chances are it won't be fun by 20 hours or 40.

So the whole "you can determine if a game is good within the first couple hours" is being used out of context in this regard.

@uitravioience: I agree. Phil needs to be seen not heard, or just do dodgy shit in the background like Jim Ryan and then when caught say who me lol.

When it comes to gaming events such as the current one, well turn up shake people's hands, be curtious, and most importantly be quiet, he needs to realise that this isn't about him, it's about the games.

Let their devs present their games and then move onto the next event. It's pretty simple.

I think it’s great that someone in Phil’s position is out front and doing all the talking and stuff that he does. It’s a breath of fresh air to be honest.

Also just because something is “slow” to ramp things up does not mean that it is bad. A slow paced start up with world building and character building stuff can be pretty enjoyable in my opinion. Can give the fast paced stuff later on more meaning and gravitas.

Watched a bit of the leak and it looks good. Probably gonna grab the primo for the early access.

@Archangel3371: Quick question, who is he head of Nintendo's gaming division?

@last_lap: Not terribly good with Japanese names but I’d probably heard of him if someone mention him.

lol 😂

@Archangel3371: I don't know who it is either, but he's doing his job and that's all we need from them. I mean look at most of the threads created in the last couple of days, mostly about Phil.

No one has mentioned that Sony hasn't shown up to show any games, it's all about Phil, and his interview has already created controversy.

@last_lap: Ok? That really does nothing to change my opinion though. I enjoy someone like Phil out there doing all that he does. Like I said I find it refreshing. 🤷‍♂️

Edit: Also never said that I didn’t know who it was for Nintendo. Would very likely recognize the name if I saw it. I’m just not terribly good with Japanese names.

@last_lap: exactly. Like damn bro,take a back seat for once please. Im surprised Phil's name isnt in the opening credits right after the directors name.

@Archangel3371: Strange that you like these guys to talk but can't remember some of their names.

Did you read Phils entire interview or just pick up bits and pieces from it here?

@last_lap: What’s strange about that? Again, I’m not terribly good with Japanese names but if they were out there more talking a bunch then I would obviously be able to remember them much more easily. That’s kind of an obvious one there.

I took a look at the whole interview. I typically do read and/or watch the entirety of his interviews whenever I can.

For Sony's case, the news is just PlayStation Portal which is a hit or a miss to most gamers. And Spider-Man 2 is really the only heavyweight PS5 title this year that's been getting more buzz as the days goes by. Phil's present here isn't all that much to look at but Starfield is.

What buzz would that be? I haven't seen anyone mention Spiderman in ages on here.

By Phil talking all he has done is taken away all the attention off of Sony's no show, and he's even taking away the hype for Starfield a bit. All that anyone wants to talk about post gamescom is what Spencer has said. the guy needs to learn to be quiet and let the games take their rightful place.

Slow paced movie game with no gameplay confirmed. Last Lap, Litchie, GHost etc will not enjoy this at all. (confirmed)

@mrbojangles25: Hey! Slow starts and world building are only a bad thing if its made by Sony. Only GOW, TLOU, GoT etc deserve hate for starting off slow!

That's the way it should be. Good news.

Slow starts to a 12 hour movie-game, not so good.

Slow start to a 12 year game, all good!! lol :P

Pete Hines can't even put a number on how long Starfield takes to complete: 'I'm at 150-160 hours on my current playthrough and I haven't even come close'

"If I'm being honest, there's really not an amount of time that I'm comfortable enough [to say], 'Now you've played enough to get what this game is,'" Hines said. "I'm at 150-160 hours on my current playthrough and I haven't even come close. There is so much stuff that I have intentionally not done."

https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/gaming/pete-hines-can-t-even-put-a-number-on-how-long-starfield-takes-to-complete-i-m-at-150-160-hours-on-my-current-playthrough-and-i-haven-t-even-come-close/ar-AA1fJLCB?ocid=entnewsntp&pc=U531&cvid=858c7e126b2a4f5996e68b34084bc545&ei=18

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The bang for the buck is off the charts. :D