The uneven charm of Starfield

Almost immediately, Starfield felt fragmented to me. Navigating the UI was a chore, and every move I made inevitably required awkward loading screens. Most of all, the entire experience felt obscured. Starfield is overstuffed with things to do, but most of the time it feels like you’re going against the grain. For me, the biggest appeal of Skyrim was the effortless flow of its open world. Anything I did felt in line with everything else in the game.

And that’s what was most jarring about Starfield – it lacked direction or even a sense that what I was doing was right (it can still feel this way). There are an endless amount of great quests, things to build, places to make sense of, and general paths of exploration. Bethesda clearly swung wide with this game, and at many points during my time with the game so far I was overwhelmed by possibility. But it also feels very uneven and, above all, feels like a whole that’s very systems driven. Right down to its exploration, each of these major aspects can feel very siloed off.

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How to best manage input lag on Xbox Series X|S

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The best ways to lower input lag:

  • Always choose Game Mode on your TV (other modes can have more than 1/10 of a second of input lag)
  • If you’ve been having spikes of input lag that seem strange, switch to a wired controller
  • Microsoft optimized the official wireless controller for latency, but it can still be prone to interference
  • Choose Performance Mode over Quality Mode (30 FPS has double the input latency of 60 FPS)

I’ve had the Xbox Series X for about two years, and in that time it’s been mostly smooth sailing when it comes to input latency. There’s been a little weirdness at times (I’ll get to that below), but for the most part, responsiveness has come down to:

  • The display I’m using
  • The type of controller I’m using
  • The game I’m playing

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Starfield 1.7.33 Update: and so it starts

starfield new atlantis constellation walkway

It’s incredible the state Starfield launched in when you stack it up against both prior Bethesda releases and games launches like Cyberpunk 2077. Things just work for the most part. Sure, I’ve seen my fair share of floating rocks (geodes?) and wonkiness with AI, but nothing game busting. And look, there’s over 1000 planets so it’s probably going to take a little time to full iron out the procedural generation.

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Xbox Developer Direct: things on the up for 2023?

xbox developer direct 2023

Some quick notes from the Developer Direct:

  • Release date for Forza Motorsport reboot isn’t concrete beyond “2023”, but the gameplay looked phenomenal
  • Hi-Fi rush was dropped after the Developer Direct, and looks like the perfect addition to the Xbox library
  • Things look business as usual for Elder Scrolls Online – a new expansion is due in the summer
  • Redfall gameplay looked similar to what we’ve seen, and its gotten a release date of 5/2/23
  • Minecraft Legends, releasing 4/3/23, looks like it has the potential to have a real hook with some of the details of its strategy focused gameplay still up in the air
  • An IGN interview with Phil Spencer on 1/27/23 evokes a sense of modest optimism for Xbox’s output for 2023 (well worth a read)

The Xbox Developer Direct came and went a couple of days ago, and I have to say, it was refreshing. There weren’t any bombshells. Some information is still left up in the air (Forza Motorsport when?). But overall, it was nice to see a show that got right to it, and I’m hoping Xbox can continue the format on a semi-regular basis.

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