Vector Squared -- Community News! -- Issue #33

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Introduction
So it’s that time of the week again folks! Time for us to publish what we’ve been spending the last days lurking, researching, collecting, writing, drawing and reporting on. Oh, and references. Tons of them too.

Although, aside from the references, we’ve got a lot of interesting articles in store for you this week. A new gameplay feature, detailed summary of the daily updates, some Q&A info from Omni, and a breaking news flash from Molly herself about the recent DLC scare, and without further ado, we present Vector Squared Issue #33!


Content:

• Introduction
• Omni on Starbound Game Development
• Molly’s DLC Explaination
• Daily Update Weekly Summary
• Gameplay Feature
• Art Feature
• Science Trivia
• Suggestion Spotlight
• Weekly Puzzle
• Weekly Question
• Closing Comments

Omni on Starbound Game Development
OmnipotentEntity took some time to answer the community’s questions regarding beta recently. In his post, he answered 18 questions from the “Feedback for the developers” thread regarding the state of development.

The response was very forthcoming, and as Quenton stated, “That was better than a week's worth of updates.”, giving a massive insight as to how Starbound is progressing. Overall it’s still in heavy development, with many things that need polish to “bring the game to a shippable level of polish.” Despite that, however, many core mechanics have been completed, and beta may be fairly close, as the most recent rumours from the team say three tiers before beta release. Keep in mind the speculative nature of the statement, though.

Omni also stated feature creep was not a problem. “Our feature list hasn't really gotten much bigger.” He attributed the neglect of the supplementary materials -- Roadmap, lore, the trailer, and similar items -- to the focus on getting the beta release out as soon as they can.

Responses given by the community are very relieved. “We had been getting a lot of information but it was without context. We asked for context. We were thankfully given some context,” StormX said. Hopefully it answered your own questions as well!

Thanks to forum user Bloodcloud for bringing this to the light of day! For ease of viewing, see his thread. And further thanks to the developers for all their hard work.

~Nababoo


Molly on Starbound DLC
So for those who evaded the heart attack, PCgamer published an article on Starbound, and amongst it’s content was this sentence:

“-the Starbound team are already thinking about how to intergrate a DLC.”

And anyone who’s been on the forums for longer than a few hours should know that when this topic comes up, you dive behind the nearest object and cover your ears, preparing for the incoming explosion.

BUT IT WAS TAKEN OUT OF CONTEXT

Both Molly and Omni have posted about this (In the forums and Reddit respectively), and both stated the same, it was grossely taken out of context and warped. A Starbound DLC is not being planned, not even the slightest. Tiy himself came out and said this:

“Guys relax, if we ever do DLC it will be for a massively substantial change at a cost that justifies the work. But we have zero plans to do any right now anyway. DLC isn't a bad thing, remember expansion packs? Horribly priced, nickle and dime DLC is horrible. Chucklefish will never do that.”

So let that be the end of that. For more info, visit the links provided above, and for the sake of Poptops, do not start a comment war below, or in any of the topics linked to above. There have been enough topics on it already, and the mods are swinging those Lock-Hammers rather often.

- WackyWocky



How do we get out of this chicken$%!# pre-beta?

• 29th August - Game progression (including ore spawns and crafting unlocks) is the top priority, but work on biomes and optimization also continues.

~~"Welcome...TO MY LAIR!"

• 30th August - Mostly work on tier 2 (including items and progression), to a state where the tier is essentially playable from end to end. A process for creating steel has been looked into, as the real-life one is apparently quite complex. Server performance has been improved thanks to Bartwe, and work has been made on the navigator.
• 31st August - Surface biomes and tier 2 received finishing touches. Visual improvements were made to the ship, especially to aid new players to learn the proverbial ropes. Modifications are being made to the navigation system to improve the ability to navigate and set a home planet using the mechanic.

~~"Everything the sun touches is my kingdom…"

• 1st September - Tweaks were made to NPC behaviour and monster skills. Planning for additional bosses was made. Work has been done to make the opening minutes as friendly as possible for new players.

~~"Yeah, g’day ma-...I mean, er, squeak."

• 2nd September - Work was made on various content (including the savannah biome, first boss, flying mobs, new dungeons, etc.). GUI, movement code and AI was tweaked. New costumes were added. The game now remembers if its window was maximized when quit.

~~"The Aliens references are coming outta the walls! They’re coming outta the goddamn walls!"

• 3rd September - Work on dungeons and associated NPCs was made. More objects were added, including the addition of a new type of lights in the form of spotlights (which have a different effect to regular lights). Lava now harms the player and ignites them. Additional optimization and bugfixes were also made.

~~"I say we take off and nuke the Alien 3 references from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure."

By Jonesy



Monster Taming

One of the most famous and anticipated features of Starbound is the taming of mobs. Pulling a little on the strings of Pokemon with the taming, fighting and evolution, but with a heavy dose of games like Spore with the randomization, it’s bound to be good. But what do we actually know about it? Well, let’s have a closer look.



Taking a closer look at the inventory screen, we can see the pet slots right next to the tech slots we talked about last week. The pet slots work as the tech slots do. You can equip, un-equip and switch them out only on your ship, therefore requiring you to do some planning ahead before beaming down. Kind of sucks to beam down on a level 78 planet and get instantly ripped to shreds by something dubbed “Land Leeches” by the locals just because it turned out they were immune to your pets venom.



Traveling and exploring will allow you to encounter endless amounts of new monsters, all of which unique in their own way. Fun stuff such as different colors, shapes and sizes-

-to useful stuff such as speed, jumping height, damage, defence and special abilities. What kind of special abilities you say? Well, we’ve already seen monsters that fly, shoot fireballs and secrete acid/poison (Better house train them! Acid stains are impossible to get out of a carpet!), just to name a few.



On top of all this variety, monsters can actually evolve! It is yet unknown what benefits one gains from this, but it’s probably an all-around improvement of stats. Like more HP, defence, attack and speed, but maybe some monsters can only use their special ability when they’ve evolved a few times?



Nonetheless, until more information is released we can only guess, and, per usual, ALL information and features currently presented are prone to changes/removal/self-detonation as the game has yet to reach Beta.

Until next time!

- WackyWocky


Art Feature
So here we are again, eager to drool and dream over some amazing eye-candy-esque concept art are we now? Well then, you better grab a bucket for all that drool, because what I’m about to show you will blow your mind. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the two works of art from yours truly, daemonstar.



Yeah, see, I told you. Now go empty your bucket before the next one.



Mhm.

This is what happens when an amazing talent such as daemonstar’s meets an amazing concept like Starbound. Magic happens, that’s what.

Keep up the good work deamonstar, and everyone, make sure to watch his thread here!

- WackyWocky


Science Trivia
Faster than light travel

FTL travel is very important to games like Starbound, because of it’s “exploring the universe” themes. There are many theories as to how FTL travel could be made a reality. Here are a few, but remember that these are just theoretical:

Time Dilation: Without overly explaining the subject, the passage of time is variable depending on many factors. Which means that a spaceship could potentially travel hundreds/thousands of light years, with hundreds/thousands of years passing on earth, but only dozens passing on the spaceship.

The more velocity something has, the slower time moves for it, and the faster time moves for the rest of the universe.The more velocity something has, the slower an outside observer sees a clock on it go. The more velocity something has, the faster it sees a clock on an outside observer go.

The more something is affected by gravity, the slower time moves for it, and the faster time moves for the rest of the universe. The more gravity something has, the slower an outside observer sees a clock on it go. The more gravity something has, the faster it sees a clock on an outside observer go.

Although incredible amounts of velocity and/or gravity would be required to dilate time much.

Worm Holes: These are theoretical “shortcuts” through spacetime. They are connections between two areas of spacetime caused by the warping of spacetime. There are many theories and it depends on which model of physics is used.

Wormholes do not allow one to move faster than the speed of light. It is akin to walking through a secret door in a maze, instead of running through it. You never actually move faster than light, because if a beam of light was shot through the wormhole with you, it would always go through first.


~harnackam



So for those of you seeking to explore, fight, roleplay and raid, Starbound is right up your alley, but what if you want to build? Not a house, something greater. Something monumental. Something that will be known throughout the Galaxy as the greatest architectural feat ever accomplished. Oh, and you want to finish before lunch. So, about an hour or two.

Impossible you say? Not with The Construction Mech, by Ikaeru!



A huge, hulking monstrosity of your standard Gravity Gun, this mech provides everything the over-enthusiastic builder could want. Using the pixel grid to mark off a shape you want to build with, and what materials, you can quickly build large and tedious structures in small amounts of time.

Worried about balance? Don’t be. The Mech would be an expensive and late-game investment, as you have to gather all resources beforehand. All it does is shorten the amount of clicking required to place said resources.

All in all, a well planned, useful, balanced and unique suggestion which would make a great addition to any builder. Hopefully someone will mod this, as I personally will be needing it for my 13 km tall Titanium statue of me.

- WackyWocky



For the first time in a couple months, here’s a weekly puzzle! This week, I have a puzzle called Cross-Section. In this puzzle you are performing a dissection on a live shapeshifting alien thing with a complex digestion system. You must navigate the alien’s tubes and find the fastest way from one end to the other. REMEMBER: Don’t post your solution in this thread! Submit your answer in a conversation to MahBucket. The first person to submit a correct answer will be able to submit a puzzle of their own to be featured in next week’s issue. Without further ado, here is the puzzle!



- MahBucket



Best answer from last week’s question “What kind of Tech would you add to the game?”:
- "The Tribute Signal" - When your character dies a group of space penguins beams down and they all play sad music. - Miuub

This week’s question:
“What is the freakiest, scariest, deadliest monster you could add to Starbound?”
Be creative and detailed on what it does (How it kills you)! The best answer will be showcased in next week’s issue!


Closing Comments

• For those of you wondering, we will be bringing back weekly comics. We’ve sent out notices to some of the forums comic artists in hopes of getting someone to participate. If you know of one, or are one yourself, feel free to PM!
• Still working on the whole transferring from Google Doc to forums thingie, so expect errors in fonts and links.
• Welcome to our new writers Finsol, LazerEagle1 & Katzeus! You'll be seeing some of their work in the next issue!
• Thanks for reading!

Edits

• Fixed broken link in the "Previous Issues" section

Contributors
WackyWocky - Space Banana
Jonesy - Master of the Obscure Pop-Culture Reference
harnackam - The Puzzled Mind
nababoo - The Pig of Doom
Shardival - Ink Mage
Strife - The Scriptor
MahBucket - The Unidentified Object
Finsol - The Space Cadet



Previous Issues:
Issue #1 [] Issue #2 [] Issue #3 [] Issue #4 [] Issue #5 [] Issue #6 [] Issue #7 [] Issue #8 [] Issue #9 [] Issue #10 [] Issue #11 [] Issue # 12 [] Issue #13 [] Issue #14 [] Issue #15 [] Issue #16 [] Issue #17 [] Issue #18 [] Issue #19 [] Issue #20 [] Issue #21 [] Issue #22 [] Issue #23 [] Issue #24 [] Issue #25 [] Issue #26 []Issue #27 [] Issue #28 [] Issue #29 [] Issue #30 [] Issue #31 [] Issue #32

Blue’s Fanmade Newspaper Archive

 

Wow I had no clue about all of this and that concept art is beyond words.

 

You Sir, are one devilishly fast reader! :whistle:

 

Sorry I skimmed thru because I was listening to the news I will fully reread it, but that construction stuff was news to me looks awesome.

Edit: Reread it loved the aliens reference used for pre - beta, also love the construction mech suggestion would be better if it had a unique design, ftl seems like a bad idea if brought into reality because if you travel some where and come back to earth you will find humans have turned into weird creatures far beyond you mentaly or another species took over, worm holes seem the only reasonable way.

 

Lots less formatting errors. You're getting better at this game, Wocky!

Also, you might want to add the Science Trivia Banner. Moar pictures the better, hm?

 

Good stuff! I certainly learned some stuff I didn't know before

 

Agreed on the aliens 3 dislike, butchered the franchise in my opinion just like the colonial marines game lol

 

Another 5 star issue.

 

Isn't "yours truly" used to refer to oneself.
So when you say, "this art is by your's truly, daemonstar" that means daemonstar is saying it.

 

Excellent issue!

 

God those artworks for the Glitch and the Floran are just...god...

 

that would be a xenomorph, first a xenomorph egg launches a facehugger at you if you come any where near it.


then the facehugger attaches itself to your face and strangles you until you pass out, then it shoves a long proboscis down your throat and lays a egg of a xenomorph in you.



then after the facehugger detaches itself a few days later a xenomorph larva explodes out of your chest if you don't have it surgically removed.

SCARY ENOUGH FOR YOU!?

 

Awesome Art Feature. Very nice overall, though!

 

-“What is the freakiest, scariest, deadliest monster you could add to Starbound?”-

it gives a lot of "freaky" monsters out there. but freaky and DEADLY could be something which comes out in the dark.

SO i would say this "monster" should come out really in the dark(so nighttime). In "Dont Starve" as sample, the whole "darkness" is your enemey. IF the night comes, all turn dark(black) and you cant see sh*t. if you dont was fast enough to light a torch or make a camping fire (or kind of) you will ~slowly~ get killed by a "monster" (or something) in the dark.
The reaction from the guy you play in the game is kind of that:
"Its getting dark" "i cant see anything" *deadly, scary noices; first warning* "W-What was that??" *more now louder fuckin scary noices; Second and last warning* "W-W-W-Whos there!??" *a VERY f*ckin loud freaky deadly noice, loud hit sound; Player gets hit out of nowhere, losing 20%~ of health* "ARGG! Somthing hit me!*" *after a short wile of waiting again a very deadly, loud and more brutal noice, loud hit noice; Player gets hit again out of nowhere, losing this time more that 50%~ of health* "Arggg!! that HURTS! somebody help me!" *this time and LAST time A very scary deep freaky and loud deadly sound plays, very loud deadly sound plays; Player gets insteed-death. You only hear this one very loud and freaky noices and some other noices sounds like "eating and bitting" into somthing and WHAT they eat...we could think now....still you cant see what it was...*

* rember you cant see anything.

I guess this is -for me- one of the scariest parts in a game. You know you are totally helpless and you cant do anything, even you have good ammor, weapons and what not but you cant see your enemy and you will slowly hurt and the pain get you into the death. I guess something "like" this whould be for me the scariest "monster". You know its outside and you know you -CANT- do anything against it. Maybe something like whould be cool for Starbound too, if you dont own a flashlight or kind of and if you walk to far away from home without light.

I would respectly call it simple "The shadow".

 

Lurker - A trap monster
The monster has two fight stages
a) Trap Stage
b) GRapple Stage
It random spawns in natural caves. First stage depends on noticing him. It appears as a thin barely noticable rope that hangs from the ceiling. Should player touch it he has a second to react and shoot/cut or he is yanked inside lurkers lair/body (jump scare)
Second stage takes place inside the lurker's lair/body (A small meaty cave) The player is tied by the rope with only one hand free and has to free himself or kill the lurker which appears as a toothed mouth in the wall that slowly drags the player inside. Should the player fail to kill the lurker he is messily eaten.

 

"Chomp-Nath" - Disguises it-self as a cave. When close to the cave a hand comes out of the ground to chase you into the cave then... CHOMP! You are dead, not big suprise

 

Scary monster? How about this:
Ground Burster

Only spawns in Florian or Avian dungeons, only hostile at night:
It has a thick, three segment, carapace body, three spiked legs on each side of the bottom segment, two scythed claws on the end of its two arms which are at the middle segment, and is topped off by a preying mantis like head that has two, red poisoned fangs/mandibles. The Ground Burster tends to coil into an "S" when it walks around, the head at the top of the "S" and the legs on the bottom of the "S". It leaves a trail of pretty lights that give off a nice effect. These lights are eggs it laid while it was out of it's burrow during the day. It lays eggs around it's home, which is a moist burrow in the dungeon's walls or ground, and is covered with a disgusting cellulose web which has bricks and stone that it had dug up while making the burrow to disguise the entrance. The Ground Burster has "roots" that grow from it's back, and burrow into the surrounding ground. These are very vibration sensitive, and can sense when an adventure is walking above it. When it strikes, it bursts through the floor, and latches it's poisoned fangs into the victim's body. (It can strike anywhere on the body, but usually aims for the legs.) The poison is a fast acting one that works like tetanus, within five seconds, your joints seize, and are unable to move. It slowly drags the victim into it's burrow, and covers them thoroughly and completely with a disgusting, fast hardening resin that formulates in it's mouth. The resin slowly degenerates the human mind, and transforms the victim's cells into Ground Burster cells, and effectively transforms the victim into one of them, killing the victim's previous life and memories. When the newly transformed Ground Burster is strong enough, it will eat its way out of the resin cocoon, and climb out of the burrow to make its own.
(Note: Ground Bursters only need sunlight to produce food. That is why they go outside their protective burrow during the day.)

 

Great article as always, VS. I simply can't stop staring at the Floran and Glitch art though. Friggin amazing!!! Keep it up.