I've noticed from both playing Terraria and analyzing screenshots from the Starbound development that running through buildings can be a hassle. If someone has a building placed, anyone running through the area is forced to either run through the building, dig under it, or scale it. Scaling requires the right kind of equipment and could become even more problematic depending on the architectural innovation of the community. Digging around is destructive to possible underground construction, not to mention time consuming. Running through the building is generally the easiest method but could technically be considered a form of trespassing. It could also force you through an architectural maze, intended or otherwise. All of this when all you want to do is run past the building to escape the pursuit of the guards you've somehow offended. My suggestion is for a semi-limited foreground. This would allow for easier town navigation without having to break and enter every home or jump over the cash register or bar to get to the back exit. It would also allow for another layer of "wall" to be placed in the foreground to be seen from the outside. Buildings would have more design possibilities and be able to offer some form of privacy for Glitch consummation or Avians as they mount their perch in the restroom. Windows would still be possible. Once you enter the building, it should all become visible again, except maybe the bathroom or whatever room the architect might choose requires privacy. The foreground could still have some form of obstruction if desired such as fences or gates. Or traps. I think this design implementation would promote immersion as well as increased player design possibility. I do understand that it might be difficult to design on your part but due to my lack of knowledge of your game engine, and of programming in general, I don't know how possible it would be, especially with the current rush to get the game released. It could be a possible patch further along. Thank you for your time and sorry for the wall of text. -Johnathan (ZaelusX)
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Ya there isn't going to be any foreground work because of the headaches it would cause. Though you do bring up a point about moving through towns. I think that is just going to have to be a thing you build around though. Maybe put your houses on stilts?
I feel where you are coming from. If you compare Starbound to side-scrolling RPGs games e.g. early 2-D Legend of Zelda or Final Fantasy games, you can immediately think of the very common pattern of "go left and right to scroll by buildings, press up to enter the building and change the background." Unfortunately, I don't think this fits well in Starbound, for the following reason: Starbound has a core mechanic based on its genre, which ultimately is mining and building using 2d blocks) and a bunch of supporting mechanics (e.g. villages and NPCs). It's fine to have supporting mechanics, but you absolutely cannot have supporting mechanics overrule core mechanics. Otherwise, you go into scope creep and undermine what makes your game unique in the first place. Having multiple levels of foreground, and allowing context switching between foregrounds, will unfortunately do that just - interfere with the primary mining/building mechanic and make it more complex to implement for devs and play for players. At some point, we need to accept that Starbound cannot be every single type of game, and accept Starbound for what it is.
you could create an underpass through the whole city with similar blocks with lamps and all. It would be a simple solution and it would fit in so it wouldn't break immersion
I'd really like this in the game tho... Like you can't exactly have a "hidden" base in a 2D side scroller if everyone can see into your so called "hidden" base :'( I'd actually like to hide my base in plain sight yet no one can see it... like just once :'( Hope they can change their minds about not including the foreground into the game because having foreground in a game like this would me amazing
Really doubt it's possible, since the core mechannics have not been implemented to support it at all.
You'd have to be good to do that I still think that the one thing that alot of 2D side scrollers are missing is the foreground. It's fun either way tho
Question of adding foreground have been asked 3 or 4 times during the game development, and Chucklefish oficially announced they are not going to add it. There is difference between altering something and totally remaking it. Adding foreground would mean totally remaking the engine to add one additional layer, making it less stable, and adding whole load of bughunting. Surely someone that have as much free time as the whole team spent to develop the engine could do it. But i really doubt someone would.
As said, if one is going to make a mod for it you'd have to be GOOD at it. Think about the way I said it
Yeah, yeah if someone want to build Empire state building all by himself he have to be GOOD at it as well. >_>
