Octopus Overlords

Grifman wrote: ↑Tue Nov 21, 2023 9:00 pm Hah, I can’t resist myself, I have already started modding Starfield.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2023 12:55 pm And to repeat my earlier warning: If a Starfield mod includes a .esp or .esm file, stay far, far away. Until the mod tools are released, there is no way to make these stable. They're hacked together by using the other games' systems, but there's no way to correctly set things like headers. Even a minor tweak (like a cool one I saw that gives you more landing cinematics) are likely to permanently corrupt your saves. But as long as they don't use .esp or .esm files, you're fine.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Short explanation of why some are safe and others are not, for those who care:

Spoiler:

Bethesda has all of their files in archives (.ba2 files.) The way Bethesda game/mods work is this: when you load an area, it collects all of the sounds, models, and textures from the .ba2 archives. If there are any loose files with the same name (like "HatTexture.dds") in the folders, it then loads those, overriding the ones in the archive.

So, if you install a mod that changes a UC cap into a Make Earth Great Again cap, the mod will place a file called "HatTexture.dds" into the /data/textures directory. When you launch the game, it first sees you have the cap, and loads the "HatTexture.dds" from Bethesda's own archive. It then checks the /data/textures director, sees another file called "HatTexture.dds", and uses that one instead. That's it. The fact that you have the cap is in your save file - the textures for the cap are not. Delete the mod, and it will load the file from the archive, not see anything in the /data/textures directory, and just display the default cap.

This is how mods that replace sounds, textures, models, and interfaces (which are just .swf - Shockwave Flash - files.) You can replace them and remove them all day. You can go convert the infamous ass banjo image to a .dds file, name it "adtrident02_color.dds", and place it in /data/textures/setdressing/advertisements, and you'll see an ass banjo on the billboards around New Atlantis. That's all there is to it.

Other mods work by changing settings in the .ini files (which are loaded when you launch - change them back, and it loads the default values), by entering console commands to tell the engine to do things that its already designed to do (often as a .bat file run through the in-game console), or by hooking into the .exe and tweaking the engine itself (this is how the Achievement Enabler works.) Again, very few are going to change anything that affects your saves (there is only one mod that I avoided out of caution this way - one that lets you give outposts and ships longer names - it's probably safe, but I can't be sure.)

There is another way to mod - the system that they originally called 'plugins.' This is instructions to the game to change what is loaded, or to load something new. Adding a new structure or item, adding a quest, changing what's in a box, changing how containers work (like making them infinite, or by linking all player storage to share contents), that sort of thing. These are the things that are done with the editor or via a tool called xEdit (FO4Edit, SSEEdit, etc.), and results in a .esp (Elder Scrolls Plugin) or .esm (Elder Scrolls Master) file. They are new or altered instructions to the game itself, and, unlike changes to the engine, interface, or textures, those changes are generally included in your save file.

The tools for doing this safely do not exist yet.

Mods with these cannot sneak up on you. Any mod that uses those files will include instructions on adding the name of the .esp/.esm file to your .ini files, since the 'addons' menu doesn't exist yet (which is where you'd normally activate them.)

And again, any mod I recommend here is going to be a simple replacer, ini tweak, SFSE utility, etc. that should be safe.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Tue Oct 03, 2023 8:40 pm No. No, no, no, and also fuck no. Do not install this mod, or any other mod that uses an .esp file (or an .esm), until after either the official mod tools or a stable version of xEdit has been released. And if there is a YouTuber suggesting these mods, I'd stay just as far away from his videos - he doesn't know what the hell he's talking about. Go watch Gopher instead.

If you installed it, I'd recommend switching to a save from before you did so. As of right now, modders cannot correctly set the headers in .esp/.esm files, as there is no way to do so, and no information on how to figure out how to do so. That means that the headers are almost certainly wrong, and that, in turn, means that that there is now bad data in your save. In the past games, the has - almost always - resulted in corrupted saves. In fact, since the tools aren't released, it means that other modders can't even look at the file to see if it's what's causing problems. The more reliable mod recommendation channels do exactly that - they examine the mod to make it safe before they recommend it.

And yes, corrupted saves will usually load and play normally.

For a while. Maybe.

Then, in 10 hours, or 30 hours, you'll be crashing, or things will start to go wrong, and you'll have no idea why. Or you may just suddenly find out you can't load your saves anymore.

Modding in Starfield is extremely limited right now, and will continue to be so until sometime next year. Don't try to bypass that with mods that take shortcuts, or you're taking a huge chance.

Grifman wrote: ↑Tue Nov 21, 2023 11:53 pm Hmm, I knew that .esp files were bad and were avoiding them, but not .esm. I saw a number of these and thought people were using .esm to avoid the .esp problem. I'll have to reconsider some mods then. Thanks for the heads up.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Tue Nov 21, 2023 9:14 pm I was running with ~25 or 30.

Unagi wrote: ↑Wed Nov 22, 2023 11:38 am

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Tue Nov 21, 2023 9:14 pm I was running with ~25 or 30.

I apologize ahead of time, as I'm sure you will totally slam this question.

Any chance all the bugs you experienced had anything to do with you loading 25-30 mods on a brand-new game? I know you 'know what you are doing", and I'm sure a good number of the bugs you experienced were 'native', but I have to wonder.

The only mod I loaded was the one that let me keep getting Achievements even if you have run a console command. I ran a console command to get over a quest bug at one point.

Vasco always spawned halfway through my deck.
Sara often floated out through the wall and off of the ship.
I had one NPC that was permanently hanging out on my ship and wouldn't leave, despite the quest associated with her being finished.
Sara got stuck in 'radio voice' mode, with whatever filter they use for voice comms being active in face-to-face conversations.
Environmental protection effectively didn't exist (it drained instantly.)
NPCs kept shooting at each other through bulletproof windows.
I was attacked (and repeatedly hit) through a wall by an enemy inside a building.
Enemies embedding themselves in ceilings.
I fell through the deck of my ship and ended up on a different deck.
A couple of NPCs vibrated during conversations.
Ship techs charged me for repairs, but didn't perform said repairs.

And then there's the generic jank (just weird microbugs, physics oddities, design decisions that apparently were never really thought through - like every NPC staring at you with bug-eyes if you were anywhere near them, or features being implemented incorrectly, like the sharpening that caused all textures to be unnecessarily blurry.)

Hey everyone, first, we read all the feedback here and greatly appreciate it and all the time and thought you put into the game. This small update was to mostly address the “pet-asteroid" so many asked about following our last larger update, and we wanted to get that out before the holiday.

We’ve been hard at work on many of the issues you’ve posted, and expect an update early next year that will include a large number of “in-progress” quest fixes as well as FSR3 and XeSS. Though we fixed several quest issues from occurring, in-progress quest fixes are much harder to fix and we’ve built a new system to correct those without you having to roll back your save.

We’re also hard at work on many of new features you asked for, from city maps, to mod support, to all new ways of traveling (stay tuned!). These will be rolling out with a regular cadence of fixes and updates we expect to have roughly every six weeks. If something can be done in a smaller hotfix in between (like the asteroid), and we feel it’s safe, we’ll get one of those out as well. Safe is the key here. We do take a lot of time to test even the smallest change in a game this large and dynamic.

Hope this information helps. If there are items you want more info on, or issues to make us aware of, keep posting here or our official Discord. Thanks again for all your support of us and the game.

Addressed an issue that would cause space matter to become stuck to player's ship during space travel. Loading a save will now remove the space clingon. Please note: This fix should address any space matter being stuck in your travels, but not in instances where player ships have New Atlantis attached. A fix for that will be released in a later update.

Spoiler:

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Tue Dec 12, 2023 6:46 pm If Vasco was inside my ship, he was embedded in the floor at the top of the entrance ladder, halfway between decks. He was there 100% of the time. Sarah, on the other hand, often went outside via the wall. The NPC trapped in the cargo hold who griped at me for not finishing her quest (despite me finishing it and her failing to leave), however, was always safe.

Grifman wrote: ↑Fri Dec 15, 2023 2:27 am Hah, just shot a spacer's jetpack on an extremely low gravity world, and it exploded and he almost went into orbit. He got so high I could not seem him with the naked eye, I had to pull out my sniper rifle and even then I could barely see his body. Took him about 5 minutes to hit the ground. Best combat moment yet!

But we’re not just here to say goodbye to 2023. We’ve been hard at work on everything coming to Starfield in 2024. While we’re not ready to go into all the details just yet, here’s a glimpse at some of the things we’re cooking up.
First, we’re targeting updates roughly every six weeks starting in February. These updates will include everything from quality-of-life improvements to content and feature updates. Join our Steam Beta branch to be the first to try these updates as they begin rolling out.

We've been reading all your feedback and are excited to start launching these new features. We'll be adding new ways to travel and you’ll now be able to access city maps while exploring the major cities. For those of you who love ship building, we'll also be expanding on ship customization with ship decorations, new ship building options, and more.
We're also excited to be adding all new Gameplay options. With these new settings you'll be able to alter your gameplay to allow for an easier or more challenging experience that will expand beyond our normal "Difficulty" setting. These will allow you to easily customize carry capacity, cargo access distance, ship damage, vendor credits, how you suffer afflictions, new survival mechanics, and more.

Next, official mod support will be coming to Starfield with the launch of Creations. Beginning early next year, Starfield will be getting its own exporter and you’ll have access to a new Creation Kit. Modding has always been an enormous part of our games, with incredible community-made content constantly bringing fresh new experiences. With the scale and systems in Starfield, we can’t wait to see what you come up with!

And lastly, the team is hard at work on the development of Shattered Space, our first major expansion coming next year. You’ll have new story content, new locations, new gear, and much more. We can’t wait to share more with you next year.

Unagi wrote: ↑Wed Dec 20, 2023 4:59 pm Sounds good, I'm officially just a total fanboy at this point.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Thu Dec 21, 2023 5:28 pm But in what world is it a finalist for Steam's GOTY award for "Most Innovative Gameplay?" Of all of the Starfield's strengths, it was not, in any way, shape, or form, innovative.

Kurth wrote: ↑Tue Jan 16, 2024 1:19 pm Something happened last night and now I’m thinking maybe I’m not as close to the end game as I thought.

Spoiler:

I just met the Starborn. Also, those fuckers killed off my romantic partner, Andreja. WTF is up with that???

Hyena wrote: ↑Tue Jan 16, 2024 1:55 pm

Kurth wrote: ↑Tue Jan 16, 2024 1:19 pm Something happened last night and now I’m thinking maybe I’m not as close to the end game as I thought.

Spoiler:

I just met the Starborn. Also, those fuckers killed off my romantic partner, Andreja. WTF is up with that???

Yeah, you got a while to go. But I think it's worth it. I really, really enjoyed this game. I only ran into a couple of minor bugs that were easily fixed with a simple search, and I'm gonna go back to it to try the game plus stuff.

Kurth wrote: ↑Tue Jan 16, 2024 1:19 pm Something happened last night and now I’m thinking maybe I’m not as close to the end game as I thought.

Spoiler:

I just met the Starborn. Also, those fuckers killed off my romantic partner, Andreja. WTF is up with that???

coopasonic wrote: ↑Fri Jan 19, 2024 3:57 pm If you haven't gotten to at least NG+8 have you really even completed it?