this launch version of the game is clearly a shell of what it once was, as stated by Todd himself, and easily seen in game - there are numerous systems that have been clearly removed or dumb down, theres evidence with in-game items having affixes that have no use in the game anymore, space combat is decent but neutered, ship building is fun but pointless, mostly cosmetic, planetary outposts are pointless and not worth the effort, the perk system is the worst game mechanic ever and is literally tied into everything in the game - you'll find yourself playing midway through the game and ask yourself why cant i do this, why isnt this working, chances are you didnt know you had to take a perk to do it, the loading screens are annoying at first, but then you realize its the entire game, most of your time will be fast traveling from point to point with multiple load screens between the action, theres no point to flying from a to b (nor could you if you wanted to), literally just fast travel away, because its not a hassle and theres no benefit of doing anything otherwise

it took me literally eight/nine years to finish the skyrim campaign, not because it was difficult or i got bored, i literally played it for those years between all other games in my library; rerolling characters, coming at things in new directions, playing new builds - my most fun was a no fast travel playthrough where i literally walked or rode everywhere, no fast travelling at all, thats the time where i had the most immersive fun pulling in some amazing mods from chesko and others and thats the time i decided to finally finish the story, it was an amazing immersive experience, something that doesnt at all feel similar in starfield... i have 229hours played, just started ng3 and have zero interest to continue

ultimately its a huge disappointment and im not sure if its oldrim devs/designers retiring out or just the fire being lost in their eyes, it makes me sad that the old guard of game companies and their amazing titles might be ending, it does bring me hope that some newer/expanding companies like larian are really stepping up

awesome game, even better modding community, this classic keeps me occupied for hours, even to this day