Musings on the State of Starbound

So, I recently started playing Starbound again after not playing it for a long time, and decided to throw out my impressions of the latest build. On the whole, I'm pleased with the progress that's been made, though there are some minor things that could use tweaking. To be more specific:

• The unique monsters are neat, but their spawn rates seem too high. I'm not seeing any of the normal procedural ones.
• Why is food worth a hundred times more than rocket fuel?
• The new weapon mechanics are cool.
• The new vehicles are cooler.
• 95% of system names are not system names. "Pyrocia Ridge" and "Regulus Rift" are names for hills and holes, not stars.
• Have grass/shrub/vine growth been implemented? I know this was in the development roadmap at one point, but I haven't seen any evidence that it's out yet. And that makes me really neurotic about damage to the surface of my planets.
• Planet and teleporter bookmarks are a godsend.
• It seems every system has an airless planet and a gate. This is obviously to keep the player from getting stranded or lost, but it also makes the universe feel a lot more samey. Instead, why not have an immutable teleporter bookmark that appears when you first go to the outpost?
• I like the outpost, but the way it's introduced feels contrived. I really feel like it should have a specific location within the universe, and you should initially have to find it in your ship, rather than just using dues ex teleporter to zap there instantly. Ditto for missions.
• Mollygos's avatar needs to be an in-game character, somehow. Maybe she's in the outpost making blog posts?

 

Vine's seem to respawn, when it comes to grass it can be planted (you can get "grass seeds" at the outpost).

 

you do know how big the universe is, right? Haven't just one location in the whole of the universe would mean you not finding the outpost... ever. That would be a 1 in a quadrillion chance. Also not every one would want to explore outward from a central point; the same point, ever time. Now with each character the starting point is random to a degree, which could cause a lot of problems to that sort of system. They did try from unique starting from same planetary system, and people are split between that and the random way.

So that is a touchy matter to do with such a gigantic universe to work with. Lot of things to consider when thinking in volume or shear amount.

 

Notice: I did not say it had to be a static position. It would be perfectly fine to, say, make it appear at a fixed offset from your starting system. Or more rigorously, reserve a subset of coordinates for static content (multiples of 317 or something), and put the outpost at the closest.

 

Well with what you wrote made it sound like only 1 in the universe; which is immense. Technically even doing it that way would mean static. Since the game goes from 1 cosmic seed. Static in that sense that it would always be in the same place, even if theoretically multiple.

I'd imagine it would be a tricky thing to do. Things being procedural as they are. Static content would truly only be feasibly possible in how they had the universe setup before. Which was 1 place all characters made would start from. However since each character ravages the planet below... Resources get strained more and more. Static content is something that is rather complex to add to a variable universe. so the content itself has to be variable as well, or work with the fact it is variable.

There would be no guarantee people would realize the outpost is nearby system as that itself would be tricky to script, especially since the stars are variable positions. Granted it could be said in a quest, but then the first quest would have to be changed... A lot. Or rather the part leading up to the first mission.

I wouldn't mind it being only gentle stars in the beginning be only the outpost link. Since they are starter systems and not so hostile. After that point it could be randomized between the other systems, but always have a defined fallback. Like all stars must have at least an outpost or a moon or both. Except being the gentile star. All the rest would be randomized or proceduralized in a manner of speaking.

The reason behind the system in the first place is to ensure that people do not get stranded with no way to venture out. So mechanically designed decision, over a logical one.

Yes it could be done either way, but quite a few would find it no fun if they eventually have to start over due to a trivial matter. As fuel can only be bought or sucked up. The biological ones at the moment are not currently distributed in the game. The ore fuel.

Besides that the plans for the top universe they have in mind to have mix n match between stars at top tier; which is not implemented yet. Makes me wonder how they are going to do that exactly, but that is another story. Right now is many a start with grade levels; with possible lower and higher tier planets. Which is nice to see that. However the decision to go mechanic over logic in my opinion was a sound one, since not many want to get stuck.

Ocarina of Time I stare at you viciously.

Regardless, it is a matter of balance gameplay to ensure things continue to move on, and it is up to the player whether they want to stop playing rather than being forced to stop playing... So balance is a tricky thing to sort through.

(Note: I mentioned that zelda game due to actually getting stuck. If you didn't do certain things in a certain order within a degree, you could not progress. I just happen to be one to accomplish just that. And the reason I used that as an example.)