Starbound vs. Terraria: Why It Isn't a Sequel

So lately I have been spotting a lot of people saying things that eventually tie into something like this... "Starbound is the sequel to Terraria". Now, this is just what I think and my opinion. I'm going to try to clear this up. So, What does Starbound have that Terraria doesn't?​

• Endless planets to visit
• Accessible vehicles
• The game has a sci-fi/futuristic theme
• The entire universe is playable in SP and MP
• All new character models
• 3 playable races (including humans)
• Realistic movement and physics
• Quests that return rewards

and much more you could read about here​

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Starbound does have a similar look to Terraria, but that does not mean they are linked to each other. Lets take a look into the features of Terraria, shall we.​

• One single world (includes several different biomes)​
• Ability to travel by foot, flight, or accelerated speed​
• The game has a magic/medieval theme​
• You could only play MP by creating a server​
• Humans are the only playable race​
• Players have to get their kicks by fighting bosses and exploring territory they already have before​

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Feel free to add onto these lists, there is much more to be said. ​

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They say it's a sequel because they're stupid , they only see that both games have the same graphics and are from the same genre and say "Oh look, Terraria 2".This because they can't spend 10 min to search for information about a game.

 

I think the biggest reason people say they are similar is because of the initial aesthetic impression.

- both have a 2-D sidescroller play style
- both have simplistic but pretty graphics
- both are sandbox games

Those three things are the first things people will notice about the games. In fact I would go broader and say that is the first thing people notice about any game: Genre, graphics, play style.

Only after people have done a bit of extra reading will they be able to notice the differences that you mentioned. I don't see this slight confusion as a problem, just an opportunity for the community to reach out and spread the news about what gets us excited about Starbound.

 

I agree, they should definitely research the game and what more it has to offer.

 

I don't think it's all that bad. Terraria was a great game, and both games share some similarities : both are 2-D sandbox games, and despite the different art style
the games look somewhat similiar too. First thing you notice when you are comparing screenshots : Worlds seem to be made out of blocks, similiar in both size and
shape to those in Terraria, take for an example the pic with tiy and the others at the beach - the sand blocks, the wooden planks the dock is made from - looking at
this pic almost feels nostalgic to me. But despite the first impression, fact is that Starbound is not a Terraria 2.0. 1st, Starbound is so much more. If Tiy can make all
those wonderful things on the feature list reality, then theres no doubt that Starbound will kick Terraria's butt, becoming what Terraria should have become. Remember
all those things in the "Moving forward" Trend? Starbound got them all. Terraria will never get them. But thats just the start. I mean just look at the feature list, thats
simply insane. 2nd, Starbound will most likely focus more on fighting and adventuring than building. Comparing Terraria to Minecraft, we see that Terraria was way
more action orientated, while Minecraft focues more on building and survival. I think that Starbound will be what Terraria is to Minecraft. Less building, less digging,
more shooting. But thats not a bad thing, its just another direction they are heading for. In the end, its not dumbing down, its not removing content when compared
to Terraria. Its actually quite the opposite. Comparing Starbound to Terraria is not a bad thing, as long as people do not delude themselfs. I could see some guys
who will rage about some things that were in Terraria but not in Starbound, and thats a bad thing. Its not a sequel, its like a spiritual sucessor that takes the genre
to a whole new level. The whole Terraria 2.0 thing does not only do Starbound injustice, its also annoying if people bring problems to Starbound that belong to
Terraria, for an example "Its the new game from the guy who made terraria! Im so pissed off that there are no more updates that i will boycott that game and
talk ill stuff about it on youtube!" I mean seriously, guys? Its Tiys game, its his heart that he put into this project! Just because Tiy worked on Terraria once doesnt
mean that all his projects should be haunted by its shadow in the future, right? Stop living in the past. Look into the future. We had the whole affair once, you know,
Terraria and Minecraft, remember? Let's not start it all again. Just because two games are similiar doesnt mean they are the same.

 

it's this thread AGAIN although you really can't say this too much.

 

I never thought Starbound was a sequel to Terraria, because well, it isn't.​

Starbound is a MUCH larger game, whilst Terraria is still a sandbox game, it does not match the amount of features that Starbound has.​

More features doesn't necessarily mean that Starbound is better, it's like saying "Quantity over Quality". However, Starbound has both quality AND quantity, the amount of work that the Staff has put into this game is amazing, and Starbound already looks like it's going to be a blast, and they aren't even finished with it!​

Honestly, I can't wait for Starbound, and for those who think that Starbound is a Terraria sequel, they need to research the large list of different things between the two games.​

 

Starbound and Terraria are both VERY, VERY different games. The only similarities are that they're both sandbox, 2D sidescroller action games. If I went by logic like that all the time I could say Sonic the Hedgehog is a "Sequel Character" to Mario. I think people just call it a sequel because Tiy used to be working on Terraria and Starbound already seemed quite related to Terraria. That, and people DID actually think Starbound WAS a sequel to Terraria and Redigit had something to do with it at first.

 

Mind=Blown

Anyways, i dont think they are similar at all, except for aethestics and fact that you Place and Mine blocks.
About the creating server thing, i dont seem to understand what you mean.

 

Starbound was never related to Terraria. Because they are both 2D, have sort of the same graphics and are both sandbox games doesn't mean that it's the "same" game.
The only thing which they are related to each others is that Tiyuri worked on both games, but that's it. Both games have total different features and themes.

 

in starbound you will still need to create a server, both creating a new "save" or using a existing one

actually, the blocks on starbound are a little bigger compared to terraria (like 30x 30 pixels in starbound and 20x20 pixels in terraria), and the background walls on terraria were bigger than normal block, in starbound the background walls are the same size as the blocks

the size of the characters in starbound are also a little bigger than terraria's, giving more space for details on the cloths and other

 

With all due respect, I do see how some players could draw comparisons between the two. The graphical styles (including the HUD itself, to an extent) are remarkably similar, and it takes a few pages from Terraria's book in that the game seems to also draw some inspiration from the Minecraft formula. Blocks can be taken and placed, certain areas are dark and require a light source to see successfully, from the water video, and mechanisms in Starbound seem to bear significant resemblance to those of Terraria.

Obviously, the game adds so much more to the formula, but a person casually viewing a video or screenshot might not be able to see that at first. And thus, they make the assumption that Starbound is somehow related to Terraria. I actually kind of consider Starbound Terraria's spiritual successor. That is, not directly related to the latter game in any way, shape, or form, but it takes the elements that made Terraria fun and lovingly expands upon them, thus making a new, brilliant (but still standalone) game.

 

My brother says that Starbound should be an update for Terraria. That's ridiculous.

 

thats stupid and nonsensical on so many level, both metaphorical and technical...

 

Hate to be the devil's advocate here, but what's wrong with thinking that way? It's an obvious reaction considering it is being created by one of the developers and it has the same concept. Why do you think many people think it?

Sure, the developers may want it to be unique, to not seem like a Terraria-esque game, but you as the community acting this way seems kind of selfish. I'd say you let them think what they want, and keep your "That's stupid" comments to yourself. I don't believe thats the kind of community the developers want.

That said, I'm not against the idea that Starbound shouldn't be a "Terraria Sequel" What I disagree with is that some [not all] people bash people's opinions for thinking this way.

 

In the main post it said there are 3 playable races. I only know of the regular Humans, and the Avians. Anyone care to shed some light on the 3rd for me?

 

Pretty sure it's the Apes!

 

There is the ape race, from one of the screenshots. Personally I'm not sure whether it's a playable race, or an exclusive race [like, just for devs or something]. I'm also not sure what the name is.

 

OOOH! thanks for telling me that. Now i can read the posts with peace.

 

To be fair, the fastest way to explain the game is to say to someone "It's kind of like Terraria 2" but you then have to immediately follow it up with "But here's why it's so different than Terraria: " and explain all of the points you covered. It's not unfair to say it's NOTHING like a sequel, because in a lot of ways it looks and plays similar to Terraria, but it definitely isn't the same game, no mistake. When explaining the game to somebody new, I often say it's like a sequel to Terraria, but I quickly explain it's by a new set of developers, and it is not actually related to Terraria, it just looks like it.

You are right though that there are many key differences, but it's obvious there is a lot of inspiration taken from Terraria, and the fact that Tiy is on the development team means a lot of the features and functionality of Starbound will be based on (not identical to!) Terraria, so somebody describing Starbound as a sequel to Terraria isn't... Correct, but they're not that far off to be fair. It's definitely not a sequel by definition, but it is fair to call it "LIKE a sequel".