Durability

I'm assuming that durability won't be for energy tools, like a mining laser would use your battery power rather then durability. While anything that you actually physically hit the walls with to break through them, will have durability. Just an assumption but yeah, I think that's how it'll end up.

 

A new blog post, and it still doesn't quite clarify if it applies to only common materials or even rare, high-end tools made from rare and high tier materials. Starting to become more than a little concerning. I mean, why leave such a detail out multiple times he has explained it?

 

I'll say this; If Tiy stated somewhere that durability only affects low-tier tools then I missed it. The daily update I just saw simply stated that "only tools have durability", which implies _all_ tools, no matter the tier.

He also specifically stated that it required ore to repair. No mention made of any renewable / grow-able resource. I don't care how great a quantity that resource comes in. If it's still a limited resource then it's semi-annoying to have to use it for endless upkeep.

There may be more to this than what we're seeing. I'll freely admit it. But, at this particular moment it sure looks like the more annoying part of durability is in.

 

lol Tiy said hoes have durability and deteriorate with use

 

I guess we'll have to wait and see... I'm a bit dubious myself, but I'll reserve judgement until we know a bit more I guess.

 

Well he didn't say anything about that on the Update today, so I would assume that it's not true. You would think that he would mention it if it was...

 

That is much better!

 

I'm a fan of realism mods, and so I'd prefer this type of durability on all items. With hunger, temperature and limited resources I think the game would be a great test of survival. The journey outweighs instant gratification in my mind.

 

Oh yes, just read through the latest update before logging into the forums. Nice to see some clarification for those who need it, though.

On to the aforementioned system: I love it. I really, really do. It just makes more sense than most other durability systems out there. Now, I can't say that I've ever went prospecting in a cave for gold or silver, nor have I ever felled a tree, but I imagine that when your tools start to wear and tear, they probably don't just pop apart and break into a million pieces. Blades go blunt after a while of them being used.

Off topic:

I'd love to watch your friend play Dwarf Fortress.

 

yeah this feature is good enhances the realism and difficulty

 

Ima just quote myself and hope this doesn't change.

 

Ok little confused about the new update. Earlier, Tiy stated this:

Then today he states:

If it supposedly only affects the "common tools", how does it make basic ores useful throughout the entire game? The basic metals will only be used for tools for the first ~10% of the game. This new update leads me to believe that every tool will now have durability. Which I can't say I'm excited about.


But it does look like my earlier fears of needing to track down old ores is unnecessary:

So I guess I'll be able to use Mithril to sharpen my copper pick... I'm hoping that I don't end up doing that by accident.

 

I suppose higher geared tools will not be made of common ores, but rather, use common ores as a fuel source. But that's just a speculation.

 

It sounds as if you have the ideal setup in terms of durability. One of the things I don't like about games such as minecraft is that a lot of the items break, often relatively quickly (one of the reasons why I've never worn a full set of diamond armor and rarely carry diamond tools in survival mode). Its nice not having to worry about replacing all your armor and weapons and I love that you don't lose your tools once the durability runs out.

 

This thread already exists. shhh.... I hear mods about...

 

This precisely, I think the current idea for Starbound is spectacular.
To take the two games most often compared to SB....
In Minecraft we had tools that broke if you sneezed on them made out of materials that occurred pretty rarely and in pretty dangerous areas in the environment, this made using these tools slightly annoying as you could often consume the tool prior to finding more than 130% of the materials used to make it, this tanked the desire of most players to use these tools resulting in stockpiling of those rare resources without using them. And wealth without application might as well be a pile of dirt.
In Terraria we had no durability and nothing to discourage simply "speedrunning" the world, so to speak. This combined with more or less linear tool upgrades significantly shortened replayability and took any.... 'feeling' out of mining, as after a while the only purpose digging even served was to find tremendously rare objects or reach areas easier.

In Starbound however, it appears we have a nice compromise between the two. Allow me to present a new perspective to the naysayers.
what if durability isn't just murderous "your tool breaks in 40 uses" drain on your resources?
what if higher level tools actually take so long to break your inventory is more likely to fill up mandating a return to your ship rather than your tool break mandating a return to your ship?
what if this repair mechanic is actually nice as it, combined with the long-ago mentioned idea of turning earlier ores in Pixels, makes continued gathering of these resources useful?

I understand the value in looking at things from the negative angle first sometimes, but it seems to me as if people have heard the word "durability" and immediately thrown how it interacts with other game systems, Tiy's reasons for adding it, and anything else out the window to go "NOOOOO DURABILITY IS TERRIBLE AND RUINS GAMES FOREVER", you know what I mean?

 

Usually, a speed run IS a replay of a game. Have to first learn how it all works, you know. I think a lot of people tend to forget that. I suppose someone could spend hours watching someone else's videos on how a game works before they start. But, if someone is that dedicated to doing speed runs (which I doubt) then I am not sure how durability will fit into the equation, anyway.

Can't speak for others, but this particular naysayer is coming from experience. I've played both Minecraft and Terraria since their early incarnations. Minecraft is heavy handed on durability, Terraria simply doesn't have it.

When I saw a statement from Tiy, stating that he wanted to have durability in Starbound, it was only then that I realized just why I've put so many more hours into Terraria than I have in Minecraft. I have very much looked at this whole durability thing from both sides.

In Minecraft, I am like others.. I have never worn a suit of diamond armor. Half the time, I run around with 3-4 stone picks despite the great quantities of iron ore the game gives you until I've got several stacks of iron sitting in a chest. Now, I know that's kind of stupid. But, it doesn't stop me. It's one of those small, persistent, nagging kind of things to constantly make and break iron picks when the resource is limited. Great quantities, sure, but limited still. It annoys the living hell out of me when I play with friends and they freely use up all the diamonds, then complain that they don't have any. I can facepalm all day and it won't resolve the situation.

In Terraria, I have my freedom. If I want to dig a Hellivator, I do. If I want to explore my way to the Underworld first, then dig a Hellivator later, I do (how I've always done it). I can play with friends and not worry about who uses what. I can and have built large castles out of copper bricks and copper back walls. I run around doing whatever I want, however I want, whenever I want to. I can do it with friends without being annoyed because I have one particular friend who splurges and overuses a resource. I have a Godly Silver Pickaxe that I have passed down from character to character. Nothing breaks or wears down, so why not? Play the game however you want to. Do it as many times as you want to.

So, yes, I have seen both sides of the durability equation. I can safely say that I am coming from somewhere with this. I do not want durability.

Oh, and I usually don't care for mods. Mods have that tendency to fall behind the game version. I don't like using old game versions.

 

This might go over better if it was called tool ammo. That seems to be the idea of the idea. Tools like picks and axes have a set number of uses until you have to reload them. It also helps that they can be reloaded by the very material your harvesting.

 

Strangest of all, is two - three picks and its by-passable anyway with ship repair.
Maybe it'll make more sense when we get our hands on the beta and see how it works hands on?

 

This is cool can't wait