Starbound 101 - a Beginner's Guide

Introduction

I've put together some starting guidelines and useful tips for new Starbound players.

Whether you're a Terraria, Minecraft or Edge of Space veteran, or just starting in this genre (crafting/survival/exploration sandbox), you're bound to have something new to learn in order to enjoy Starbound, as the UI and some gameplay systems are considerably different.

If you see any wrong information here, feel free to speak up (as I'm a Starbound newbie myself). And if you have a tip yourself, make sure to comment as well, it will be added.

Feedback and suggestions are greatly appreciated



Check those Spoiler Tags!!! They are hiding the juicy images!!!


Character Creation

The first step in Starbound is making a character. You will choose a race, a gender and customize your apperance.

Choosing a specific race will have an impact on what you can eat, for instance (Apex can eat bananas!!).
At the time of this writing, no other trait like that is known (like being able to use specific weapons, or being treated differently by NPCs/villages).




Starship

You will start the game in your starship. You will use it to fly to other planets and explore.
Controls: Use "E" to interact with objects in Starbound. Shift+click automatically sends items to your inventory (if they're in chests) or sends them to a crafting station or chest (if they're on your inventory)
PS.: As of now, there's no way to rebind keys.

1. The first panel on the wall is a Storage Container. Check it to get some starting supplies (like seeds).
2. The second is the 3D Printer and Tech Management menu (more about these in their specific sections).
3. The third is the Fuel Tank of your ship. You need fuel to travel to other planets. The amount depends on how far the planet is. Unrefired Wood (= 1 Fuel unit) and Coal (= 2 Fuel units) can both power your ship.

• To the far left is the Teleporter, is is used to descend to the planet below.
• To the far right is the Starship Control Panel, which is where you choose to which planet/system you wanna travel.

Controls: Left clicking on a planet will ZOOM IN near it, showing if it has any surrounding planets or moons where you can land as well. Right clicking will ZOOM OUT, allowing you to see Solar Systems and Constellations.

Pro tip: Quite a few people have been using the ship as a mobile base, by putting all crafting stations and storage chests in it. The Iron Anvil can be put on top of some other crafting stations (like the Furnace), to save space. Chests and a Bed can be put on the top of the ship, with Wodden Platforms.


First Planet

1. The first thing you wanna do is down a TREE. Select your Matter Manipulator (with either the number shortcut or the Mouse Wheel) and start hitting it close to its base. The manipulator is very slow, and it will take a while, but it's the last time you're going to use it to destroy trees! Also, one tree will do for now!
2. The second thing is collecting STONE, also with your Matter Manipulator. Make sure you are hitting 4 stone blocks for efficiency's sake. 20 stone blocks will do for now! (that's 5 stacks)

PS:. some people have reported starting in planets with very few or even no trees (such as "desert" or "arid" biome planets). This makes starting the game a lot harder. If this chance stays in the game and isn't changed by the devs, you can either create a new character or explore the surface of the planet in search of trees.

• Planets have a THREAT LEVEL, which determine the level of enemies that will spawn during the day in said planet. Copper Armor will allow you to explore Planets from Levels 1-3, Iron Armor (the name is race specific) is useful from Levels 4-7 and Silver Armor is recommended for Levels 8-11.
• DISCLAIMER: ^ this is my opinion, based on my own personal experience. Take it with a grain of salt.

One important (!!!) thing I have noticed which differs greatly from similar games (and I could be wrong, so bear with me) is that mining Coal/Copper that is mixed on a Sand block is much faster than mining the same Coal/Copper that is mixed on Magmarock (a much harder block, close to a planet's core). So keep in mind the type of block the ore is "meshed" together when mining!

Crafting

• After collecting those (one tree worth of Wood, 20 Stone blocks) you want to create a Crafting Table.
• Use "C" to open up the Crafting Menu. Hover over an item to see its crafting cost and what materials you have.
• Place the Crafting Table on the ground (check if it wasn't sent to your inventory), use "E" on it, and proceed to make a Stone Axe and a Stone Pickaxe (the first will down trees in a couple seconds, and the second will mine up to 3 blocks, faster than the Manipulator)

Choose how many items you wanna craft in the box, to the bottom right (it's best to use backspace and type the number of items that you want to craft, instead of clicking the ]> arrow - if you want to know how many you can craft type 999 and it will automatically adjust to the max)

Important items to craft during the early stages include a Crafting Table, a Furnace, an Iron Anvil, a Bed, a Yarn Spinner, Copper Armor, Wooden Platforms (I'd say at least 50 for early-game spelunking) and a Cooking Table (to use the harvested items from a Farm). Not all at once, but as you progress and when you have the materials.

• With better tools, you must gather Plant Fibers asap (shown in the picture above). These will be used to make a Hunting Bow.
• As time passes, your character will feel hungry. You can feed either using meat obtained from enemies (by last hitting them with the Hunting Bow), their Raw Meat will have to be cooked in a Campfire (made with a Torch and more Wood)

In the meanwhile, collect any Wood,Copper or Iron that you come across.
You need more Stone as well, but about 100 is more than enough for now.
Extra Plant Fibers will be turned into Bandages (heals 3 bars of HP over 3 seconds) when you have a Yarn Spinner.


Farming

You can use a Stone Hoe to get the soil ready for farming. It will auto-swing. Once the soil is ready, just place the seeds. Note that some seeds take more than 1 tile of space. They will grow over time.

Things will grow over time, but in some cases (like with Wheat) you will need a Cooking Table in order to turn the items into useful consumables. Be careful as some types of foods are poisonous to most races but one (like Bananas, which only Apex can eat).

Basic Combat

Against "charging" enemies, it's better to hit them while backstepping. If you're standing or moving forward, sometimes the knockback isn't enough to stop their attack and you will get hit. In general it's best to fight defensively and by reacting (unlike in Terraria/Minecraft, in which you move "forward" while attacking).

When in high ground with a Melee Weapon, and with no room to maneuver, you can "crouch" (hold S) while attacking, it reduces your hitbox and makes your attack go slightly below its normal height.

When being attacked by multiple opponents (after the early-game), do not panic! Try to gain some distance from them while selecting a placeable block and make a wall between you and them asap!
>> Remember you usually can't outrun (unless you have the Dash Tech) or outjump the enemies!

Enemies who spawn at night are usually 1-2 levels above the "Normal level" of the world.


Exploring

There's two fundamental ways to explore a planet.
Digging downwards _OR_ exploring the planet's surface.

• Digging downwards is at first done by just digging in a straight line, and then once you start reaching big open caves (deeper underground) it is done by progressing slowly, as fall damage is deadly.recommended once you have some blocks to work (Dirt and Wood Platforms)

Controls: when you want to interact (place/gather) a single block, instead of the usual 2 x 2 or 3 x 3, hold down Shift. Be careful (!) when jumping gaps while holding it, as it will make you "walk" instead of "run", and make your jump considerably shorter.

Exploring the underground is recommended once you have a considerable amount of Torches, a Copper Pickaxe, some Dirt or similar (to use as defense against enemies and platforms), Wooden Platforms and Bandages, as you will constantly encounter enemies and will probably take some damage. Keep an eye out for CHESTS!!! They're particularly small in Starbound, so it's very easy to miss these.
I also advise doing it before exploring and getting a lot of pixels. Because if you die, the penalty is harsh (currently 20% of your pixels).
The deeper you dig, the beter are your chances of finding big stacks of better ore (Iron/Silver on Threat 1-4 planets, Silver/Gold on Threat 6+ planets).

Pro tip: Be careful when digging Fine Sand and Gravel, as big stacks of these will slowly collapse when the "bottom" of said stack is disturbed. This is a great way to check a huge area for ores (as they will instantly fall down with the Sand/Gravel).

• You won't die if a ton of Sand or Gravel fall on top of you. You will only get "stuck" underneath it and will have to dig your way out.

• Exploring the surface will usually allow you to find Dungeons, Villages or random events/people/places (an altar, a house, a group of raiders). Exploring the surface is recommended for when you want to get as much Wood as possible (to fuel your spaceship) and Pixels (as killing monsters and NPCs will give you a lot of pixels).

Before attacking NPCs (guards, soldiers) wait to see if they're hostile. Sometimes you can freely walk through a village or a house without having to fight a much stronger NPC.


Spelunking

Spelunking is exploring caves, digging to the underground. There are some useful "techniques" that can help you explore a lot easier.

Digging through Cobblestone is a lot more time consuming than digging through Sand or Dirt. Try to find the path of least resistance when going deeper.

Some people dig a 3-tile wide shaft straight downwards. You can use Platforms on this (usually one every 6-8 tiles is enough for you to jump all the way back) if you need to go back up for any reason.

Part of this has already been covered in the Exploring Section.

Similar Threads/Guides (!)

BloodyTrailZ massive compendium
Kid Childs' getting started

 

Random Helpful Tips

• Right Clicking an item stack will divide it by half (much like Minecraft).

• Digging all the way down will get you to the "core" of the planet, full of lava.

• The + and - symbols on the Star Map aren't "clickable", instead they represent how your Left Mouse Button is used for Zooming in,and Right Mouse Button is used for Zooming Out.

• To eat Food, simply equip it and "use" it (by left clicking with the mouse). If it is in your inventory, left click it once, bring it to the screen and left click it again.

• You can repair a Pickaxe with its respective ore. For instance, right clicking a damaged Copper Pickaxe while holding Copper Ore will restore some of its durability. Same goes for Silver, Gold, etc.

• Ctrl can be used to extend your view in the direction of the cursor. Very handy in caves and with a Flashlight.

• Moon Type planets tend to drop temperature very quickly (carry a Campfire all the time), but contain a lot of ores, with no trees. Forest Type planets are the standard. Arid and Desert Type planets usually are richer in ore, but have are scarce in Wood/Fibers.

• When you meet Snow and Slush underground, do not progress without a Campfire (you can craft one by hand if you have some Wood). If your temperature drops too low, your screen will start becoming white.

• Do NOT swim in Green Liquid. This is poison and can kill you really quick.

(^ some of these have been borrowed from @Kid Childs very helpful thread! go leave a like there naow!)

• After the Platinum Tier of gear comes Titanium - which is found in the Gamma sector (levels 20-30). You can get there after building the Starmap Upgrade MK3 (on the Robotic Work Bench). (by moomoogomoo)

• You can use the Background Walls to drain water by mining the background (right click). They can also contain ores. (by metalim)

• When going into a Town, if you have a Weapon drawn the Guard NPCs will warn you 2-3 times, then attack to kill. (by Gnomechompski)

• Despite that ^ you can open chests and all containers and pickup everything in town and NPCs will not react (be mindful this could change as the beta progresses).

• If you have the Dash Tech, you can use it right before touching the ground (or 5-10 tiles above it) to negate all fall damage. It can also be used multiple times in the same Jump, meaning you can zig-zag back and forth, or cover a long distance in a short time.
• >> Watch out when making small adjustments to your landing position though (after a jump), 2 seemingly innofensive "presses" of the letter A or D too quickly can make you fall to your death instead.

 

Changelog

- Put most images in spoiler tags to improve readability.
- Changed "Scavenger" Armor to "Iron" Armor (as these are racial specific).
- Added the Spelunking section at the end.
- Added some new comments to the Combat section.




Fun Facts

Tyi has said in the past that races will have a specific Race Armor that will allow them to gain particular traits when the whole set is equipped.

• Apex: Increases run speed and jumping height.
• Avian: Allows the player to glide.
• Floran: Sunlight is converted into Energy
• Glitch: Increases mining speed
• Human: Extra Inventory space
• Hylotl: Allows the player to breathe underwater and swim faster.

I will hijack my own post to keep a changelog here (and keep the old content in "quotes").

 

I would add that when going in a town, if you have your weapon equiped, the guards will warn you 2-3 times, then attack to kill.

 

Oh man, this is a very good beginner's guide, I didn't know about the vines being chopped with an axe to get fibers or that holding shift changes block placement, thank you.

 

Would you mind putting this on steam? If not can I have your permission to copy this onto steam.

 

yay, thanks for the info on the hunting bow to get meat, I was only on the 3rd quest to cook meat over the campfire, and had been hacking away with my sword and wondering what I was doing wrong.

 

Feel free to post it on Steam. If you can, mention me and link the thread

 

Great guide! I was expecting something a lot simpler at this stage but learned a few things myself!

 

In case anyone missed Tyi's post, but still found this thread while looking for a beginner's guide. Here are the changes planned for the next patch (should be tonight).

He also tweeted that tonight's patch should not affect character saves \o/ woohoo!!!!

 

Don't worry. Ill do that.

Ill work on it tomorrow. If you have a steam name ill list you as one of the authors.

 

yay, thanks for the info on the hunting bow to get meat, I was only on the 3rd quest to cook meat over the campfire, and had been hacking away with my sword and wondering what I was doing wrong.

 

Ok so does this mean the chests are reusable for storage?

 

They are Bludragon. Fill your ship with those

You can break (gather) them with the Pickaxe, the Axe or the Matter Manipulator. Those are the ones I tried at least. Haven't tried the Stone Hoe or another tool.

 

oh yay! \o/
time to go find chests

 

Forgot to tell you one thing.

From what I noticed, you can break chests without looting them. And I think you lose the loot (haven't checked the one time I screwed up). So always remember to check the chest before trying to "gather" it!!!



Edit: a screenshot of my ship

 

Hah, i just saw this thread.... I too spent the day writing a text based compendium of mechancs/tips & tricks/new players guide

But yours is much prettier :/ mine is just all formatted text haha

 

I didn't see your thread before didn't mean to take over or anything. I'm actually seeing a lot of good tips there right now and thinking of a way to put them here.

It's just a different premise really. I added screenshots because new players usually love those (I know I do when I'm learning a game), it's easier to relate. But yours is very complete as well.

Also this might seem like a ton of work, but having being a moderator before, editing texts and working on stuff like this is second nature to me. I've done it while playing...

 

Haha it's all good, the more coverage and available guides there, the more people will learn about and enjoy the game

It's not a competition to help people out haha, we are all doing good work

 

ALso: scavenger armor is only for humans....the iron armor is a RACIAL armor set, for flora it's Sprout's armor