Additional Planet Templates

Here is a list of planet templates that I think could work for Starbound besides the Terran and Desert ones we've seen already. If I call the game Starfarer by mistake I blame the countless hours I dumped into that so I apologize in advance.



Ice Planet:

A planet covered by a thick ice sheet over most of the planet. The ice sheet may be of water, ammonia, or other forms of ice. Ice worlds are generally single biome and require sufficient infrastructure in order to function on the planet. Plant and Animal life on these planets is minimal but it can exist but will be radically different from those found on Terran Planets. These planets are easily mined, but less abundant than Volcanic planets. They however are more easily inhabited then Volcanic planets. They cannot support non-ice world tolerant life without special bio-domes and therefore are difficult to terraform on a mass scale.

Volcanic Planet:

A planet that is in a period of massive geological activity. Much of the planet's surface is still molten, but there are still cooled plates where structures can be constructed. Life on this planet is highly adapted for regular exposure to molten rock. These planets are readily mined for resources, either from the cooled crust or condensed from magma and lava pools that populate the planet. One of the most difficult planets to successfully colonize. Volcanic Planets are easily terraformed on the dry crusts of the planet due to the high fertility of the cooled unplundered crust.

Planetoid:

A dwarf planet that much resembles a very round asteroid. However unlike Ice and Volcanic planets they are very easily inhabited due to the lack of factors such as lava and ice. They still do require sufficient infrastructure as they are not large enough to support an atmosphere. One advantage of these planetoids is the fact that it is frequently hit by small asteroids that will deposit more resources onto the planetoid, but could potentially damage colonies on it. They are easy to mine and are filled with mineral wealth, but they are quite small compared to other planets. It is possible for these to be connected to a larger parent planet which gives some benefits. Life on these planets is build for the vacuum of space and usually are very minimalistic, however they may be home to horrific extra-planetary creatures. It is possible to terraform Planetoids, however the level that can be done is little due to the limited atmosphere holding capability of such a small celestial body. It is possible, but very rare that it will instead of being a dead rock in space will be a Terran or Desert planet, but of much smaller scale.

Asteroid:

A large asteroid that can revolve around a celestial object, usually a planet or star. However they are usually found hurtling through space at relativistic speeds while under the influence of neighboring planets. They are full of mineral wealth and it's wholly possible to completely mine out the asteroid and effectively leave it a floating space-station with some asteroid chunks attached to it. This is the only way a space station can be started, as all need some kind of a base to which to build off of. Asteroids are devoid of life that is not otherwise brought to it. It is not possible to terraform an asteroid due to not being able to sustain an atmosphere.
Variations:

• Micro-Planetoid: A very small planetoids that lacks the rounding of their bigger cousins.
• Asteroid Field: A collection of smaller asteroids that can be connected, but are much smaller than a single full asteroid.
• Asteroid Belt: Similar to asteroid field, but more densely packed and only found around full-sized worlds. They look like the rings of Saturn. They are more dangerous as they can move.
• Space Junk (Space Graveyard): Hulks of broken or destroyed ships that might have valuable salvage and can aid in the colonization efforts. They are the rarest variation.

Water Planet:

A planet that's surface consists almost entirely of water, ammonia, or other liquids. It is hard to colonize due to the pressure of the water as most space-craft are build to withstand decompression rather than compression. Therefore they require specially designed ships to even deliver colonists to the bottom of the world-wide ocean. However, there is a chance that small islands might spawn on the island to which it allows easier colonization. Life is abundant in Water Worlds, however it is almost all water-based. Few amphibians exist due to the lack of dry land in which to make use of such an ability. Water worlds are usually abundant in non-mineral wealth.

Gas Giant:

A planet with a very large atmosphere that is corrosive and damaging to most ships. It require a very specialized ship to penetrate to the solid core below. These planets are however abundant with Planetoids and Asteroids which might be a better option for colonization. However, these planets are the most abundant planets in terms of raw resources but are the hardest overall to colonize due to the high gravity, dense corrosive atmosphere, and other hazards. Creatures exist and they almost universally fly or are capable of flight. They are also incredibly resilient due to the pressures of the atmosphere. It is not possible to terraform this planet, but it is possible to create terra-domes once outside of the planet's corrosive gas layer. This however requires support beams from the solid core however as they would otherwise crash into the planet due to it's gravity.

Super Organism:

A creature of such size and scale that it is in effect a giant planet. Such a strange creature can be colonized, but is slightly more difficult than an asteroid or planetoid due to it being a living creature that can retaliate. It also plays host to all sorts of strange life that lives off of it. The creature periodically consumes resources that can be harvested if the creature is not killed by the colonization process. It is possible to kill it of course by damaging it's internal organs. There is good and bad results of this. Good results of killing it gives a lot of rare resources from the organs and prevents the creature from attacking settlements. On the other hand it will no longer eat resources that you can easily harvest and will not regrow damaged blocks and can slowly disintegrate. Disintegration can be negated by the inclusion of powerful life-support systems to compensate for the destroyed critical organs. Super Organisms can come in all shapes and sizes, but are generally a vacuum but they can sometimes contain an atmosphere or masquerade as a planet.

Sentient Planet:

A creature of such size and scale that if dwarfs even Super Organisms. They are literal planets that are living and are capable of thought, communication, and most importantly expression. They are readily terraformed, but are easily angered by strip-mining so caution is advised. These planets can be communicated with if a special communication structure is created. However, the demands of the planet are not always what you want to hear, as they might want you gone immediately. It is possible to kill a Sentient Planet just like a super-organism, but much harder and must be done on a larger scale. These planets usually look like Terran planets, but with changes that become apparent when angered. They are abundant with life, some living directly off of the sentient planet rather than on it's 'skin' which can tip colonists to the existence of the sentience below.

Destroyed Planet:

A planet that was destroyed by some kind of super-weapon. The super-weapon on the planet is long way from ever being operational again. However, finding a the super-weapon can yield extremely valuable technology. Planets like these are shattered hulks, being like a giant connected cluster of asteroids. These planets are very dangerous as the creature that survived such a calamity are incredibly dangerous. In addition the planet is frequently stricken by asteroids that can easily obliterate a colony. Destroyed Planets exhibit a very strange and powerful gravitonic pull, and if a ship is caught in it cannot escape unless it is built to withstand it's powerful gravity.

Sky World:

A very rare kind of world, the world itself is surrounding a very dense core. However, there is no consistent landmass, they are instead in the form of asteroid-like Terran/Desert micro-planetoids in mass abundance. They have a very resource-rich core at the bottom, and standard-Terran biomes above. However, they have arguable the largest variations between biomes as they can support dozens if not hundreds of different kinds of biomes due to their separation. However, life on these planets favors flight so flying creatures are abundant, usually flying between different bodies.

Construct:

A very rare kind of world, a giant construct the size of a planetoid. They are giant metal machines that roam the galaxy. They can range from passive to very dangerous based on what they spawn with. They can easily be colonized, however if it is capable of using built-in defenses it can make colonization near-impossible. They are one of the most abundant planets technologically, but also one of the hardest due to being like a Sentient planet but technologically driven. Theses planets are usually a giant factory controlled by an AI that may or may not be cooperative. Most constructs do not require colonization as the infrastructure exists already. However the construct might have other ideas about you trying to live inside itself.

Flux-Planet:

A planet that is Terran or Desert, but is in a state of flux in which a secondary hostile world exists in the same space. It is possible to end up in this world which is uncolonizable but explorable. It is also very dangerous. Colonies on the correct side might be attached by the creatures from the dark half of the planet. It is like a Terran planet in all other situations but trans-dimensional portals appear and disappear over the planet which can cause issues to colonists.

Sustenance World:

A strange rare planet that is made of edible resources. They are thought to be made by an ancient but no-longer existent species which made these to sustain planets without the means to produce their own food. They are planetoid size and usually revolve around large planets such as Gas Giants. Creatures have easily taken a liking to such a planet and cover the landscape, making it dangerous due to the high density of potentially hostile creatures.

Faerie World:

A strange Terran world that has a natural magic essence that permeates the atmosphere. Because of this strange creatures and beings exist on these worlds, capable of bending the laws of reality at whim. On these worlds, the laws of physics are a funny joke you tell your friends for a cheap laugh. They can make magical items of power, which is the only kind of planet that can accomplish this feat.

Corrupt World:

A corrupt, evil version of the Faerie world that has a tainted magic essence. Unlike the Faerie is is much less hospitable and much more chaotic. It is very hostile and hard to explore, much less colonize. Magical items can be made on this planet with terrible terrible powers if you can survive long enough to get that far.

Toon World:

A strange, whimsical version of the Faerie world that similarly has a magical essence. However it has effects similar to those found in old slapstick cartoons. This however makes the world very light hearted, but also dangerous to non-toons as while they might have the ability to bounce-back from a giant mallet, you on the other-hand would become a find mush on the ground.

Hollow Planet:

A strange Terran/Desert world that lacks a solid core, if you dig down too far you simply fall till you hit the bottom of the other side of the planet. Life on this planet has adapted to this circumstance and don't usually dig, instead most have secondary-flight abilities but not as the main way of travel.

Life Tree Planetoid:

A strange Terran world that is built from a super tree-like plant in which everything resides in or on. It always has a large atmosphere. It is attached to a core of the planet that is full of mineral wealth. The Life Tree is valuable due to it's vast fauna and incredible ease of colonization.

Space City:

A colony that is in space, it is easily colonized as it has all of the needs for a carbon-based life-form like yourself. However the inhabitants might not be friendly which lowers it's colonizability unless diplomacy or heavy weaponry can be obtained. They are usually asteroid or planetoid-sized, but built for people rather than a Construct which is more or less a flying factory or warmachine.

Abnormality:

A Planet that has become divorced from reality and has literally become a galactic abnormality. It is a strange planet that obeys no laws of physics and actively breaks them. The landscape constantly changes making direct colonization inadvisable. They always however have a colonizable satellite (Asteroid, Planetoid, etc.) They are the most dangerous world because of this, it's possible to meet all sorts of extra-dimensional baddies or mere deaths due to being teleported into a wall or pool of lava. These planets randomly change between other planets and act in a very erratic way, gravity changes constantly as do other things.

Chaos Nebula:

A Nebula that envelopes several worlds. Worlds that are enveloped look like hellish and chaotic versions of the usual planet, they are overrun by daemons and are nearly impossible to colonize. Instead it's preferably to launch a protected space station into it as a staging ground. These worlds are quite simply where hell exists, in all it's terrible forms. Ranging from fiery, to fleshy, to dark, and worse. In the center of the Nebula is a rift in reality that leads to the Eldritch Dimension. The nebula can move, and it does so slowly. It can envelop new worlds or expel old ones which will become Dead Planets. Certain planets are immune to the effects of it, Sentient Planets, Super-Organisms, Space Cities, Constructs, Corrupt World, Abnormality Worlds, Flux Planets and Sustenance Planets. These planets will still suffer demonic attacks if not protected.

Dead Planet:

A planet that has been killed by a Chaos Nebula, it only has straggling demons and most useful materials have disappeared. It's possible to find them, or left-over chaos relics and is considerably more safe than a Nebula World. It will always resemble a regular world, but destroyed and barren with traces of the chaotic taint that used to rule the planet.

Give me your opinions or suggest new planets or alterations to my existing ideas. Also you could suggest what could exist on these planets and help flesh them out to aid the development team should they choose any of these planets.

 

these are all great, wondering if the creator of fu is taking notes?