Vector Squared -- Starbound Community News, Issue #4

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Intro
Welcome, fellow Starbounders, to another edition of Vector Squared! Last issue, we covered crafting possibilities, mass anticipation, the start of the huge Hat Contest, and all sorts of nifty topics, like art, corporation politics, suggestions, and science. This time around, we have the aquatic race, robot trees, racial armor bonuses, a private Beta release, more hats, more politics, a fan-fiction review, and even more suggestions and science! The list of things to discuss just keeps growing and growing.

So strap yourselves in, and take a ride through Issue #4!

Hylotls (Aquatic Race) and Mechanical Trees



Moderator Ghostar has shared with the community this very interesting image which sheds some light on the Aquatic race’s appearance and clothing, as well as gives us a peek at what appears to be mechanical trees.

In addition, in some recent news, according to a recent character creation and gameplay video , the name of the Aquatic species appears to be Hylotls, as can be seen 24 minutes and 40 seconds into the clip. Several aspects of character creation for this race, namely the selection of fins and clothing, are also demonstrated, starting at around the already mentioned time.
(At 263, the Hylotls menu is switched to Robots character creation instead)

In the image above, the Aquatic creature’s main skin colour seems to be light green and a secondary brownish-yellow pigmentation appears to be present on the chin, neck and upper chest regions. This pattern can be seen in certain reptiles and amphibians, such as the animal in this image . The gender of our fellow Aquatic being is not 100% clear. However, using Human anatomy as a reference, the slightly prominent breasts and lower back curve might suggest that we are looking at a female.

Furthermore, the individual appears to be wearing a jacket and a skirt – or, like several forum members have suggested, could it be an Asian-inspired outfit, a kimono of some kind? Will the Aquatic race have an Asian-inspired culture or is it simply a coincidence that this particular garment resembles a Japanese outfit to some? This idea of Hylotls having a culture based on Oriental aspects seems to be backed up by certain clothes and hairstyles located in the video shared a couple of paragraphs above, around the 25th minute as well. Moreover, a light purple/pink part around the back of the humanoid’s head is present and it is actually a part of the creature’s own constitution - Fins - as can be seen in 25:10 of said clip.

In terms of mechanical trees, very nicely done metal-like details can be seen along the trunks and branches in the picture above. It can also be concluded that they are not restricted to exist on pure mechanical planets only (assuming that those even exist), as regular vegetation can be seen in the vicinity. So, what are these metallic trees? Are they regular trees that possess a metallic version of bark? Or are they machines designed to act and behave similarly to plantlife? Can they be chopped down with a common hatchet? What type of material will they provide?

Many questions start to take form and we keep on waiting patiently for Starbound. Thank you for sharing the progress and keep up the good work.

Written by Keeper
Sources: Water Race Image
47 Minute Livestream
Twitch TV/Tiyuri


Racial Armor Bonuses
Our fellow forum user Strife has shared here some recently acquired information regarding the different perks granted by racial armors, initially showed by Tiy in the IRC chatroom. It would seem that, so far, the bonuses are as follows:

Avian Armor Bonus - Allows the player to glide
Apex Armor Bonus - Allows the player to jump higher, perhaps run faster.
Human Armor Bonus - Allows the player to carry more items. However, this might be changed.
Robot Armor Bonus - Allows the player to mine faster.
Floran Armor Bonus - Converts sunlight into extra energy.
Hylotl Armor Bonus - Allows the player to breathe underwater / swim faster.

This confirms that it shall be the racial armors granting different perks upon the players and not the species themselves. At the start of the game, the player will only be able to craft his/her own races’ armor, though blueprints for other species’ outfits may be acquired later on. Furthermore, it appears that these bonuses will only be active once the player is wearing the complete set, though it’s not guaranteed at this stage. A big thanks to Strife for sharing this information with the community!
Written by Keeper
Source

Beta Released
But unfortunately, it’s not for the public. A private Beta was announced several days ago by Tiy himself, on the IRC. As stated before, to be a part of this Beta is highly difficult, and requires a personal invitation from the developers. It’s likely that the most active and productive forum members have a better chance of being invited, so brush up your art, brainstorm an idea (or ten), write a fanfiction, or just be a general boon to the forum.

The Thread

This also gives a sign as to how far the progress of the game has gone -- it already has enough for a playable beta. Pretty good stuff, one would say. Hopefully nothing is leaked, and the integrity of the game kept as it progresses throughout its development process.


Create-a-Hat Contest
The hat contest is in full swing, as of this issue. With around fourteen pages of entries, and the whole community is in preparation for the judging -- and the great entries that will undoubtedly litter the electronic halls of the Starbound Forum. It’s important to note that the judges will judge the entries based upon these two factors -- how easy it is to implement (less work ) and how creative and generally awesome your hat entry is. The posts, made by OmnipotentEntity, are located here for more clarification.

We also asked forum user Spike for his thoughts regarding this topic.

The Hat Contest -- have you submitted an entry? If so, how do you feel about it?
Unfortunately, I was not as well versed in forms of pixel art as one would care for; as of right now, I have yet the courage and the tenacity to carry out such a daunting task as to submit my very own entry in order to solidify my permanent place in the history of starbound; oh, and in case you have a hard time reading that, let me put that in layman's terms: I wasn't sure about how good I can draw pixelated hats, so I didn't submit one just yet.

How do you feel about all the other entries out there? Good? Bad? Curious?
In the beginning, I was rather intrigued; I was led to the contest via my friend's art entry, and after I have rated his entry accordingly, I was hooked; hats, hat's everywhere, hats of all shapes and sizes, hats made from all sorts of materials, be it dead, inorganic, living, still living, immaterial, and even the mundane. There was more hats than I could ever care to look at! However, as I browsed through pages after pages of hats, the endless sea of pixelated variations of hats and their excellent lores that followed, I began to realize that, well, there were more hats than I could ever care to look at. Pixelated items can only pique my interest for so long; after browsing for an insane night, I have... grew bored of the variations. The big, the small, the mobile, the deadly... they have all became mundane, and, in a way... plain. If I could put my feelings into a metaphor, I would describe viewing these hats as to drinking crisp, cool refreshing water after three days of being stranded in a dry, barren desert: Before I got any taste of the water, my desire for it would outrank my dreams of eating an endless feasts of the best delights in the universe; the first gulp would prove to be refreshing and rejuvenating to no end, but as I drank more and more, I began to realize that there was really no taste to it all along... I would have also developed a serious need to use the lavatory, but I feel we're getting off topic.

What aspects of the hat entries do you appreciate most? The art? Well-crafted lore?
I was more than surprised to see the array of pixel manipulation from the contest entrees. From sharks, to TV hats, to copy-right-infringing masks, to living slimes, the possibilities are endless; however, good lore is far and few in between. People have a dislike to writing massive amounts of words at a time, and they would often choose to draw, and not to write. I definitely loved some of the lore, but I absolutely hates the "Hey guys this is my hat it is collected from ultra mysterious star crystals in a fallen empire this is extremely rare and extremely powerful piece of awesome that can destroy any foe" sort of lore; they lack depth and texture in all respect, and I simply have no time to read through all the two-sentence, overpowered, no flaw lore these people comes up with.

And finally, what do you think the contest says about the progress of the community? How is it affecting the community?
Ever since Terraria fell, I have made my home here at Starbound. I have seen the community change from a measly 3,000 members to the 10,000 member army that I saw today. As of right now, there are already more entries to the hat contest than all of the entries in the monster-monster contest, which could be due to hats being easier to make than a whole, complex monster, but I'd like to think that this is a great indicator to the forum's overall activity; the members are not too much more active than before, but we've definitely seen some major improvements to the forum's activity as of late. While it is true that certain people have chose to leave starbound over the course of a year, there are much more people that decided to join, and remain active here in starbound. The increase in contest entries attests to the increase in active members, and I believe that people are actually becoming more dedicated to the forum due to the amazing contests that are being held. I have no illusions; starbound isn't going to be the next minecraft in terms of popularity. However, starbound definitely have a lot of potentials to be had, and I believe that the active members of starbound will remain loyal to the game, and I am confident that we shall still see updates to the game years after its initial release. Who knows? Maybe... it'll outlive even Minecraft.

Before you go any further, it might be good to review the rules one last time, in case you missed something in your mad rush to post it. With all that aside, let’s move onto the entry features.

Entry #1:
The Paper Bag of Low Esteem, made by forum user Dispersion, is the epitome of simplicity in this competition. The concept itself was simple as well -- it’s just a paper hat, used to lower one’s self-esteem. It still has a level of class, though. I mean, what else can cover your face and make you feel worse? That’s right, no other entry. They’re all boring cool stuff that blows up planets (or whatever).


Entry #2:
The Crown of Stars, created by forum user bbbg, has some of the more in-depth lore encountered among the halls of entries. Detailing the creation of the hat -- forged from the technological prowess of the Apex, this hat made a nasty vengeance upon its perpetrator. Anyways, this hat, or crown, as one may call it, is based upon the idea of mini-planets floating around a person’s head. Strange... but what entry isn’t?


Entry #3:
The Steampunk Hat is an excellent candidate for the victory. Crafted by fellow forum user DevastoR, this hat (more like war machine) comes with a load of features, which is the reason it was featured. Let’s count them off. First, a flashlight. Then a spyglass (but for what purpose?). After that, a baton-type weapon, the automatic shocker. And finally, it has a vintage cannon, that uses anything as its ammo. Pretty interesting, one may say. But, everything has a picture and graphic to accompany it, all of the highest quality. I tip my hat to you, sir.


Entry #4:
Finally, for our last feature, we showcase a highly creative hat idea -- the Boxman’s Bodacity. This is in quite a different animal than most other entries. First off, it focuses not on high-tech gadgetry (lookin’ at you, Entry #3), but instead shows the trusty and reliable ways of ol’ fashioned cardboard. The accompanying text is also quite funny as well -- “polka dot boxers not included.”



These were just to showcase the entries that demonstrated the qualities mentioned. There’s way more cool things out there, that we highly recommend you read ‘em. You may get a good laugh, or a life lesson.



Scientia Est Vox

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Welcome to The Starbound Fan-Fiction Review. I’m Mercenary Lord , your host for the day, night, or next one to fifteen minutes, depending on your reading speed. Here at the SFFR (pronounced SEFF-er), the objective is simple. Read Starbound Fan Fiction, rate, and review it fairly. Each edition of Vector Squared, I’ll be checking out a different Fic.

I’ll be reviewing each and every Piece I read by five categories:
Grammar - Does the story flow well? Are words used correctly? Are my eyes bleeding?
Punctuation and Spelling (Abbreviated as PAS) - Are words spelled correctly? Are commas used correctly?
Intrigue - How well does the story hold my interest? Do I want to keep reading?
Characters -Do I connect with the characters? Feel their happiness, their pain?
Lasting Effect- Would I recommend this to others? Will the story linger in my mind?
These five will be added up and averaged. I will also be rating each chapter or part separately, and averaging that. I’ll average the two averages, and that’ll be the final score, rounded to the tenth place. No, I am not joking. Moving on.***
Our very first review will be for the story titled ‘SCIENTIA EST VOX’, written by…Scientia. Let’s dive right in. The story starts with an unnamed Scout droid being jettisoned into a mysterious planet’s atmosphere. Complications arise, and the Android crash-lands on the planet, malfunctioning and ‘abandoned’ . It meets a Floran girl, who is sort of, and sort of not its friend. Since the story isn’t really that far in, as of yet, I’ll stop there with the synopsis, and move on to the review.

The grammar was pretty good, but there were sections where problems with the writing arose. Multiple sections. Not deal-breaking, but I couldn’t get into the story as much as I would have liked. The grammar was above average, and passable.

Spelling and Punctuation were a little bit less refined. I spotted many, many instances where a comma or period was needed. Every time I came upon a place where I thought there should be a pause, and saw no comma, it threw me off. PAS was Good enough that I could read it, but extremely disorienting.

The intrigue factor here could be attributed to the punctuation and grammar mishaps, but I also feel that it might just be the current state of things. The story feels…rushed. There’s hardly any time for actual development. I guess the Android gained ‘feelings’ far faster than I expected. It stood out to me, and kind of ruined my suspension of disbelief. I really lost focus as time went on.

The characters were a little bit unrealistic, too. I know, I know- unrealism is perfectly fine. That’s true, but I felt that the Floran girl (called Tel, by the way) was far less inTelligent than she should be. As I said before, Scientia, the Android, started feeling things faster that I would have expected, faster than a synthetic being should. I did feel connections, just not very many.

And finally, lasting effect. I can’t say I’ll remember this story very much. I had to re-read it many times to remember enough to write this. I do remember the character names, the basic plot thus far, and a few other things, though, so it isn’t too bad.

***​

That wraps up the review. This is NOT a bad story, and I would recommend it to others, but it just…has room for so much more. See below for all of the scores in a nice, neat list.

PARTS
1: Omitted.
2: 7/10
3: 7/10
4: 6.5/10
5: 7/10
6: 7/10
Average: 7.1/10

CATEGORIES
Grammar: 7/10
PAS: 7/10
Intrigue: 5.5/10
Characters: 6.5/10
Lasting Effect: 5.5/10
Average: 6.3/10

FINAL AVERAGE: 6.6/10

Corporation Politics
Nothing really drastic this week. The Corporation Politics meeting, mentioned in the previous issues, has slowed down, according to our corporate informant. New CEO’s may add a bit of spice and invigorate conversation. Don’t give up on it yet!

In other news, THE CROPS Corporation has been founded by CovertOddity. They apparently farm from other dimensions... well, what else can one expect. Meanwhile, the other Corporations are thriving and selling products like mad. How many days is it until they blow something up? Let’s start counting...

Science Trivia
That Guy was a bit busy this week, so have this picture of the subatomic particles and their families instead:


Q&A
Q: Which Hat Contest entry do you believe should win the competition?
A: Feel free to share your opinions right here. May the best Hatter win!

Closing Comments

• Mercenary Lord got the bright idea of an intro that summarizes the issue -- cheers for him. He’s also a new member of the staff, as the literary expert. Welcome him
• Well, fourth issue. We’ve sure gone a ways since the first one. Going from one staff member to six, along with more contributors. Four weeks of community news coverage, by the hardworking members of the staff.
• We’re also moving our weekly publishing day one day forward -- this way, it fits into the team members’ schedules much better, and allows for more polish and nice-things.

Staff:
Nababoo -- Manager/Writer
Keeper -- Wordsmith
That Guy -- Scientific Consultant
Galactic Mindswipe -- Typer of Corporate Truth
WoxandWarf -- Artisan of the Arcane
Mercenary Lord -- Lector Ficta

Credits:
Spike -- Interview
Mercenary Lord -- Banner

Previous Issues:
Issue #1
Issue #2
Issue #3

 

I tip my hat to you.

 

Don't forget the other team members

 

Hi.

 

Another good read, as always! Keep up the good work!

 

I think I should win. But other than that, I think I fear Dragonith's hat the most. Then Suika's, then the face leach, then the sensorysquid, little girl with a leaf hat and the steampunk hat.

 

Fantastic work! I look forward to these quite a bit!

 

Glad to know we're becoming a staple of the community

 

More awesome news

 

Frankly, entering that hat contest is probably the stupidest thing I've ever done. I've been looking at other entries, and they're amazing. Creative, smart, animated, art to say it shortly. I've really pitched in over my head here!
Anyhow, it will be fun none the less and I trust the judges to choose an entry that deserves it.

 

Ahhh this fantastic, can't wait for issue #5.
Good job all you Vector Squared staff members and good luck.

 

Lots of them made me chuckle.

Yeah, they're very good. So much creativity in this community!

 

I've been waiting for this!

 

Nice job!
But...where do you get the patience to write all of this?!?

 

He doesn't write all of it. Us Staff give him a boost. But yeah, it's crazy.

 

The community makes me happy, so I like to give back

But at the expense of delaying all of my other obligations

 

Hey, actually I think now I'd like to help with this. Maybe I could write a few articles and draw up a few graphics, feel free to contact me via PM or IRC.

By the way, I missed issue 3.

 

I'm shooting you a PM.

And Issue #3 can be found near the bottom link of the OP, under "Credits."

 

Nice work on the new banner .
Also another great issue keep up the good work.