Economy Rebalance

One huge aspect of the game which should focus on balancing is the Economy.
I know there is a big grumbling on the death penalty [Which I personally find silly] but right now there is an over abundance of pixels.
Pixels are incredibly easy to find and gather. There really is no incentive or need to hoard.

The 3D printer is dangerous Pixel trap which I personally believe is going to damage the later parts of the game if not done correctly.

Basics requirements of a Good Economy.
1. Controlled Income
2. Goods
3. Exclusive Goods and Services

Controlled Income
One of the biggest problems is how easy it is to earn pixels. You can earn thousands of pixels in a matter of minutes by just digging down into the planet. What makes matters worse is the refinery which you could use to sell unneeded environmental blocks for pixels. Another words a situation has been created to create an extremely easy access to money, and just making you loose a concentration of pixels on death is more of a quick fix patch.

What is needed is a new death penalty and an alternative source of income.
The basic concept of starbound is exploration, but right now there really is no reason to return to where you explored.
By making finding villages more useful you have solved a huge issue with one of the core fundamentals of the game.

Have villages offer dynamic quests based on a "Time" system. Quests refresh after so many days and distance traveled factor in the amount of time passes. Where a new quests may appear randomly within 1 - 2 weeks [better the reward the longer the refresh time]
The quests could be something simple as Bring 10 pieces of uncooked meat and 20 carroots. [Hence giving Farming and hunting more purpose] to something as drastic as eliminate all gaurds in "X" prision on planet "x"

Goods
The game is in Beta and right now.
But as a future plan by adding Beast Drops which are dependent on body type and attack type. You create a veritable market for new goods. Which would require you to go scouring planets for looking for a particular beast. For example a lightning attack beast drops a Lightning Chard - which is valuable to the robots. While a body slam beasts drop Adrenal glands which are useful to Ape race. Etc.

By making goods more useful to certain merchants - it gives a purpose for players to hunt things down besides just for aesthetic value in their base.

Exclusive goods and Services:
Right now the player can craft almost everything and upgrade almost everything him or her self. This really makes it a bit stream lined in approach and removes a method of making colonized planets useful, and dropping the need for exploration.
By creating a framework which allows "Specialized" upgrades available only through NPC's - it makes it so players will want to return to a planet to percue an upgrade to their armour or weapons.
Or even to craft a specific item an NPC can craft.

By allowing the player to do everything - this makes it so the player have no need to go back to any planet, or even bother exploring planets to look for people to exploit. It also adds no value to the NPC planet as they simply will destroy it and kill all life on it.
By giving the NPC's more use then moving art work - now players have a reason then ever to go back to the planet they found.

3D Printer
Right now I think 3D printer is borderline abusive. Expensive costs aren't really the way to go.
By removing the refinery and making the 3D printer a more of a raw material black hole. You create a new alternative.
Allow players to drop raw items into an "Atomizer". This will allow the 3D printer to craft items based on the goods its supplied. This essentially creates an infinite one way storage and an easy way to craft. So people can use their limited storage for created goods and raw materials can be placed in the 3D printer. Keep the pixel costs for creating an item, but allow the 3D printer to be a infinite one way storage for raw materials.

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I personally think if such changes are implemented people now have a better reason to do quests. Feel like farming and food have more of a purpose, and now have a desire to return to a planet.