An infinite universe isn't helping Starbound

Ever since the giraffe updates this game seems to be just getting progressively more boring with each update, ok the colony thing seems kinda neat but still... There really just isn't much interesting stuff to do outside of the missions and even those are rather bland and uninteresting. From what I have seen so far and judging from what the future has to hold it just seems like the sandbox universe isn't adding anything to the game. The universe has nothing to do with anything it is just there; Other than supplying you with new equipment it serves no purpose. It is just a huge waste of space and it is preventing the devs from incorporating anything of real interest into the universe like the story *cough* outpost *cough*. Starbound would be better off if the universe was no more than a hundred systems or so that is still more space than the players will ever need or use and they can incorporate lore landmarks into the universe. This change would help everything from progression to making exploration interesting. If this is done the story and missions can be given actual locations and be spread over the universe to give the player a real adventure to be had. As for progression it would be more conducive to allowing for more ways to get higher tier equipment so the player can spend their time hunting unique dungeons for unique artifacts that only appear once in the universe or attacking strongholds that are built by npcs and pop up every now and then. That would be awesome. That would be fun. That is the kind of game Starbound should be and easily could be; A game of endless adventure with a story that has actual locations in the universe that you have to go to in your ship. This one change could enhance the game in so many ways.

 

I think it would be nice if outposts didn't have a shield generator. I would like it if I could expand the little meteor and build my colony on it.

For story, maybe designing a specific solar system for story driven advancement. Kinda like the outpost, but for the whole solar system. The planets will be stricter in use of procedural generated for these special places. They are carefully crafted by the devs to be sort of cities that have stuff to do.

So currently we have planets made up of layers upon layers of dirt, snow, and other blocks. Why not have a planet for the special system to be like a single or few layer space station of some sort with buildings dedicated to certain things like storage, quests, cooking, and sleeping.

 

I've asked about being able to define custom star systems (IE define their coordinates, assign custom planets to specific orbitals, etc) and limit the universe size with hard limits. Tiy said its possible, and likely easy to do, but it serves no function in their plans, and if at all, would be a post 1.0 addition.

 

If it is possible and easy to do, then they should try and implement it before 1.0 is released, as otherwise it'll stay on the back-burner until it's forgotten.

 

That would detract time from more important things relating to the actual finishing of the game, so no, they shouldn't put must priority on it.

 

That depends on how long it would take and by how many people. If it would take several people a week or two, then yeah, skip it for now. If however, it would take one person a few hours to get the idea implemented and issues tweaked, then they have no reason not to.

 

Yeah, just fuck all the other things they have to do to finish the game. This one feature that is utterly useless to them is more important.


I want the feature and all, but Id prefer they work on the game instead. It matters more.

 

I don't know what the devs have planned exactly but making the story be part of the universe where you actually need to fly your ship and get into orbit is definitely much more interesting than having it be in these extra dimensional places that have no relation to the universe. The currently lacks any sense of adventure. The game needs a finite universe with locations that that make it relevant to the story. All the lore and the missions lack relation and doesn't feel like it has any real meaning. The game also lacks any feeling of progression other than you getting better equipment and a bigger ship. I know part of this is because the game not finished, but it doesn't seem to be progressing in that direction or any direction what so ever.

 

Theres allways things that are "possible and easy to do" if they add all of them the game would never be finished (a few hours of work times infinity). Why should this one get preferential treatment over the rest of them?

 

That would be nice And if it is only the homeplanet of each race like Avos or Earth. Well the last one... will be implement for sure, but fix systems for each homeworld in a universe would be nice and realistic, with a higher presence of the race at the surrounding systems. A little like pixel piracy... only better, including quests and so on. Sounds fun ^^

Edit: The "Realms" could be variable for each universe too, but... the main thing is: it is a good idea. Infinity universe or not.

 

Thing that really bothers me the most is how empty the universe feels. The different races are supposed to be space fairing, but there is nothing anywhere in the universe that even suggests that anyone is actually capable of space travel beyond the fact that you see the different races on various planets. From what I can tell there isn't any intention of populating space.

On that note the change I'm suggesting is small but would greatly effect the game, if done properly, in a positive way and it isn't tangent to the main development of the game.

 

I disagree with the OP on one reason.... Multiplayer.
And it is space, I should be able to disappear on some remote system if I want to, and not be easily found. If the systems where so much smaller, that wouldn't be possible.

So no. The universe size is not the problem.

 

I second all of this post. Personally the universe isn't a problem and the addition of all the new micro-dungeons just make exploration even more enjoyable to me.

Also, please recall the game is still in development. This is NOT the final shape of gameplay.
In fact, at the last AMA("Asks me anything") Tyuri did on Reddit here is stuff that has been confirmed for later in the future:

-Procedurally generated quests in NPC villages and players colonies. NPCs will be able to send you on missions that, in time, will see relationships or rivalry even develop between various NPCs in a single village.

-Likely more dungeons/microdungeons to be generated.

-A larger main quest to be based on the original plans of the game, starting with the destruction of Earth which the player(a member of a newly founded "Terrene Protectorate"). This missions will also se the player exploring not only the universe but, like the original plans for the game, search and rescue Terrene Protectorate survivors that will be recruited as part of the player's crew. I wouldn't be surprised if this could later tie into modification to the colony system where, either as a replacement or addition to the current system, such recruited NPCs could be dumped on a player's colony to live there or instead act as ship crew to the player.
Already confirmed for the colony system will be a more formalized system of ownership and factions where individual colonies will be owned by specific players, the colonists thus being linked to that particular player and able to show cooperation or hostility to other players based on their relationship with them.
A lot more lore landmarks will make it into the game afaik both in the procedural generation system, but also more missions in the type of the Erchius mining facility.

And I am seriously forgetting a lot of the confirmed new features coming up or reconfirmed past features from their original plan.

But really they're doing this development in phases.

We got the basic framework to working colonies finally.
Now it's already confirmed we'll be getting a lot of changes to combat, weapons -and- monsters coming up next. After will be a vehicles and other mechanisms update, and later updates will be focusing on the lore and main quests to give more an adventure feel to the game.

So personally I'm just glad to let them do their things and let the game actually happen as it should, rather than see them forcefully developping needless temporary features just so folks not happy with the current state can have "something to play with", which ultimately would just take away from the time that could be spent developping more critical component for the finalized version of the game.

I'm glad for the current status and direction of nightly and stable update because it feels like they finally are heading in the direction this game originally hinted at taking, rather than losing time developping sideway temporary features to give "folks things to do" because some folks are complaining and ultimately quadrupling the time it will take for the -real- Starbound to appear.

 

I wouldn't mind some more hand-crafted content. It's higher quality than procedural general as long as it doesn't replace procedural generation. I think both have their place in a game.

I agree with you OP that the game did seem to get worse with the giraffe updates at least up to spirited giraffe. Spirited giraffe was awwwwwwwful in my opinion. Pleased giraffe added some cool things for us to play around with though. Hopefully more good to come

 

You've entirely misunderstood what I'm getting at. Changing the universe from infinite to finite would allow for the story to actually take place in the universe. That is the main point, this was never about not having things to do. The simple fact is the story universe and the game universe are two very different places that don't overlap, hence all the missions and outpost being in extra dimensional locations. If you read the title it says an infinite universe is a bad idea, not a gigantic universe is a bad idea nor I'm bored add more stuff to do.

 

Except, given the way the Outpost is generated, your "colony" on the Outpost will disappear every time you visit the Outpost.

 

I'm not sure. I'll just say what I always and what others have said.

I agree that infinite universe is not helping Starbound.

Truth be told, most of my characters don't even leave their initial star chart area unless I'm adding mods that need new systems generated to view new content (and that's been rare, as I either start a universe with a mod, or I do not typically).

However, Starbound should be a game of infinite possibility - and it isn't, yet. You still get a general idea of what you're going to find at each and every sun you visit. You're rarely (if ever) surprised by any particular star or planet. I want to travel to a new star system and be surprised or amazed way more often than I am. I want to see beautiful things I could have never dreamed in the vast infinite space we're provided. That's just not what Starbound is like at the moment.

You sort of get that your first run through the game. You sort of get that when they add new or update old biomes, but it's something I wish was just perpetuated endlessly.

I was reading that end-game generation will have stars with randomly chosen (sometimes multi-biomed) planets of the highest difficulty and I'm in no rush to have that implemented right now, but it does sound much more akin to what I'd hope from the game. Right now, in Beta, everything in this "infinity" is just a tad too predictable.

 

It may read hard, but i think: infinite possibilty in a game that is designed with finite possibiltys is never possible ^^"

----> At some points, you will see the same things, and do the same things. It is just a question how long it takes

Thats just math: set theory

But i know what you mean ^^

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But i want say: the things that Eegxeta wrote are possible even in a infinate universe. I see not the point why it should be not possible.

 

Oh, you can build at Outpost zones...


I'll let you all figure out how, heh. (Not my build, belongs to a friend of mine.)

(And I continue to not see how slapping two random Biomes you've already seen who-knows-how-many-times together on a planet is somehow any kind of meaningfully "better" variety, rather than just slapdash.)

 

And why cannot the story take place in an infinite world instead of a finite one? We already see how portals can be in multiple locations, yet go to the same area... why not with the story as well?
The "story" universe and the actual one can be one and the same. That's the point!

And like I said, it would severely hamper the multiplayer experience. So, still NO.