Living in a homogeneous but well-dressed universe that hates you.

Right now, Starbound is a game with superficial diversity that seems disconnected from actual gameplay. Personally, I think this sucks, because there's so much potential here. But fortunately we're still in beta, so there's still time to change/fix things. Here are the worst pain points as of "Offended Koala."

1. Politically correct ore distribution. Right now, every biome seems to have the same ores (though the placement patterns vary slightly). Because hunting for ore is SUCH an important part of the game, the homogeneous ore profiles trivialize the exploration process. "Skill" in games isn't just about button-mashing prowess. It's also about learning how the world works and using that knowledge to make "skillful" decisions. Here are examples of how the world could make sense:

!! Randomization would still allow for "atypical" planets that buck the normal pattern!!

-- Snow worlds have abundant precious metals in their third and lower layers, but the first two layers are practically devoid of useful resources and feature large, dangerous creatures.
-- Jungles are rich in fuel ores and guarded temples, and tend to have fast, aggressive creatures that prefer poison.
-- Grasslands often have wild fields of plantables (wheat, carrots, etc), and large, non-aggressive creatures that drop extra meat. They have little in the way of precious metals, but are rich in weapon metals in their deeper layers.


2. Melee weapons with horizontal attacks in a largely vertical world. This is just cruel, and it makes a lot of the melee attack types pointless. Right now, the best melee weapons are almost always 2 handed swords or hammers, simply because they have the best attack area. Spears are particularly bad, since they are almost useless in a universe of steep cliffs and monsters that are all descended from kangaroos. Why can I only attack directly in front of me? Why can't I attack up and at an angle or below me (with the same arc and reach)? In other words, when I attack with a spear, it makes sense that it's a line attack. But why doesn't the line travel toward my cursor like a gun attack does?

3. Bland creature behavior/attacks undermines the diversity of appearances. At the end of the day, the whole creature randomization thing doesn't matter if it's only skin deep. I rarely even notice the creature bodies anymore, since they're largely interchangeable. There are only 3 or 4 actual (non boss) creatures in the game. And why are the mini-bosses so much more powerful than the actual bosses?

4. The only paying jobs are Miner*, Hunter*, and Pillager*. Setting aside the larger issue that the pixel system is dubious at best, why can't I earn pixels from other activities? Why can't I sell artifacts I steal from tombs, sell weapons/armor I've stolen or made, sell creatures I've captured/trained, sell crops or food I've grown, or sell homes I've built on alien planets?

* Mining: Pixels from ore at the refinery
* Hunting: Pixels from monster kills
* Pillaging: Pixels from breakables in the tunnels or bases.

 

Totally agree with this.

 

You. Make a lot of good points.

1. Totally agree. All planets end up being the same farm. No need to visit any other planets when I can go to a desert, undermine sand, and have all the ore fall on top of me.

2. God yes. Having to double jump to get to a bird, or flop around with this body slamming rabbit monsters is such a pain. Need more control over my weapons.

3. Definitely. Each monster is only different by their 1 or two special attacks. Need more physical and combat diversity. Size. Attack strength. Movement speed. Attitude.

4. Definitely. Space exploration needs more reward than just finding furniture. I think pixels are wayyyypto easy to get with mining. And need to be about selling items to get people exploring more.

 

I would say that the game is in early beta but i'm sure you know that.

But in all seriousness you have some points there that needs fixing

 

I would say that the game is in early beta but i'm sure you know that.

But in all seriousness you have some points there that needs fixing

 

Just letting you know that I wholeheartedly agree you.

 

I have to agree with you on No. 2. Nothing annoys me more than getting a powerful weapon but not being able to use it effectively because of it's swing arc being extremely limited.

No. 1 has been suggested before, I thought it was a good idea when I first encountered and do hope that it gets implemented at a later stage.

I has assumed that No. 3 and No. 4 would get implemented at a later stage, maybe not the degree to people might like or wish for.

 

Complete randomization sounds good on paper, but in execution it makes everything bland. Like Syndrome said, if everyone's super, no one is.

 

Aye, I would just like to bring attention to these sorts of issues which I too see.

To the naysayers: Yes, it's beta, which means it's subject to change, and incomplete. However, as beta testers, it's our job to make posts like this, to say what we like and dislike, to give direction. If we don't share our opinions and experiences we're not doing our job.

 

Aye, I would just like to bring attention to these sorts of issues which I too see.

To the naysayers: Yes, it's beta, which means it's subject to change, and incomplete. However, as beta testers, it's our job to make posts like this, to say what we like and dislike, to give direction. If we don't share our opinions and experiences we're not doing our job.

 

I just wanted to let you know that I agree with most of your ideas and, don't quote me on this, but I think Chucklefish already has plans to fix problem #2.

I think I recall Omnipotent working on that problem during a livestream a couple of days ago.

 

So I will agree that some randomization would be cool and helpful for planets.
As far as weapons go they are already making progress on putting in attack directions. I watched omnipotententity try to get it working on stream the other day for something like 4 hours. Once they have swing variations in that problem should (mostly) go away.

Creatures are a wip already seeing work in diversification and creativity as was hit on directly I believe by latest patch. as for jobs being limited .......well.
I hate to say it buuuuuuut this is beta and they have barely begun to put in most of the features they have planned/in the works. that I would say will expand immensely with a little more time.

We are only what.....less than two weeks into beta release. that's a huge part of why you see so much potential and yet not much reality yet. they haven't had time to implement it.

Ofcourse I would say post opinions. It is indeed our job so to speak to do so. Start a big list and try to keep it at front of cool things we can do for money. I know that from what I have heard shops and similar things are on their way. I like the idea of selling real-estate too. That could be a super big hit for those of us who have the builder bug.

 

On point 1, ooooh yes, I'd also love to see a 'slider' for geological activity, worlds with high activity are prone to volcanic eruptions, earth quakes. BUT, as a result, also have ores much closer to surface.

Point 2, Yes yes yes yes. The controlls atm feel very restrictave.

Point 3, totally agree also there seem to be some odd mixes. "so those skull-faced turtles Puke blood, and bubbles."

4, oh so agreed with knowing tiers are beta only, the pixel dependency is the biggest drawback atm.