Does Starbound lack charm?

I really don't see how charm can be proven, it's a very subjective thing.

 

Ehhh, Meh.

 

Yeah, I think the loot in Starbound needs more structure. Almost none of the weapons that drop off inmates I ever use, I just destroy them and aside from that the only way to get good weapons is chests and mini-bosses. They should implement weapons that are static and not randomized, that way finding them would be rewarding. Especially combining weapons to make better ones like Night's Edge in Terraria, getting that weapon for the first time felt so good.


Also I'm seeing a lot of "Oh, well it's an unfinished game." comments in this thread. Not only did I already address that in my original post, but it's not a valid thing to say when threads like this are intended to help the developers improve their game. After all, when the game's out of beta they won't be making any drastic changes to it.

 

Admittedly the game does need work, but until a full release most criticisms are really null.

And peoples perspectives on charm are different.

For me, starbound has charm due to the exploration factor and the sandbox factor.
Don't forget the infinite possibilities in modding too.

Really? I hear quite a bit of content will be added post release.
At least that's what I remember reading.

 

Also this "beta" is mostly a late alpha

 

I personally think that the game does have a 'charm' but there is no obvious aim at the moment which is why people are losing interest.

 

It's got Penguin space banditos.
I'd say it's not lacking for charm.

 

No, I dont' think it lacks charm, what I think it lacks is personality.
I'm sorry but I can't quite put into words in full definition of what I mean by saying it lacks personality as I would just be using the same words to describe what I mean.

That doesn't mean that I don't like the game, it just means that I feel it lacks it's own personality.

 

You're having difficulty because words like charm and personality (or art) only have vague meanings that change depending on context and your own personal taste. Not to mention you're trying to define the lack of those concepts. If it's difficult to agree on what the words actually mean, trying to describe the absence of it only leads to empty phrases like "It doesn't have a je ne sais quoi".

Now if you tried to make the point that the game, at this point, lacks depth, you may have an easier time of it and the conversation might be able to get somewhere.

 

It lacks soul and spirit it lacks wibwams and bizbos.

 

Needs more mojo.

 

It's lacking quests and stuff.

 

yup because it's not done

 

For an unfinished game , in my opinion, it has tons of charm mainly since it is of-course set in space.

 

A lot of the charm for me comes from the lore its pretty good I want to know greenfinger's plan or overthrow the big ape perhaps even free the avian from their "God" its setting the stage and im hooked in to the point where im adding my own character's lore into the mix Its not lacking the personality or charm...its just like waiting for a really good movie to start.

 

Jean-Paul Sartre says you cannot have a lack of nothingness! It does not work like that!

 

Starbound is lacking stuff, yes, but charm is not one of them.

 

He's also the guy who said "Hell is other people." and something along the lines of how if you're lonely being alone then you're in bad company. Fifty years ago that made him a philosopher; today it would mark him as a potential serial killer (or frequent forum poster).

 

It lacks charm, other than the dialog each race gets, a few new mechanics, some of the music, the early game. Everything else is pretty generic or lacking at this stage.

I would say most charm it has atm is the ideas people have built about what it was going to be like or could be.

While saying actually what charm is may be hard to pin down, its not hard to see examples of it, such as the original tropico or the first dungeon keeper. I've never once played teamfortress two but it oozes charm. A lot of the most charming games to me seem to only take themselves semi-seriously and bring a bit of humor with them, and often its a bit dark humor like some of the things GlaDOS says in portal two. I think part of charm comes from being in love with what you are doing or creating, but also from being humble and a good story teller and listener.

Theres also a lot of charm in bringing new cultures and worlds to people, worlds where people like in Morrowind are taken to new places where they can be different than they are than at any other time. The more life experiences and people you know the easier that is, to make it believable.

In my personal opinion, if you have a show or book or game and every single thing is explained, a ton of charm is lost. Its fun to leave gaps (That do have logical reasons you know the answer to) for people to try and figure out or dream answers to or make fanart for. One game that had a bit of charm and again that bit of dark humor was planescape torment. Part of charm is how much someone can project themselves or desires/fantasies onto a character.

Even Terraria has its bits of dark humor like the voodoo doll bit, the scuba helm in the shark, some of the bosses in the moon waves.

 

There is some charm. When I first experienced the flying ship for the first time, hurtling through space, it definitely gave it personality; it feels like I'm genuinely traveling space in game, and makes the experience all the more satisfying. Finding locations can be pretty cool at times; and for a lot of people, there's still a bunch of things that haven't been discovered, and some things that have existed for a while, but are really rare. Expanding on these concepts will probably bring about some more charm.

Alternatively, leprechauns would suffice.