I love a bit of mystery in sci-fi, so my suggestion is that there should be occasional unexplained happenings in Starbound. Some of the resulting mysteries can be solved, others will remain unexplained. NOTE: People have been contributing quite a few ideas to these lists, so they are quite long. Minor Oddities These events are very small and not particularly important, and some might actually pass unnoticed. Most of these events will never be explained at all. An abandoned suit of armour and a weapon are found at the entrance to a building or cave, sometimes with a piece of miscellaneous equipment as well. There is no sign of violence, or the gear's original owner. There is a malfunctioning screen on the wall which displays only static and corrupt data. As the player passes it, the words "Who are you?" flash up on the screen for a split second, then the static resumes. The screen never responds in this way again. The player passes a reflective surface, but casts no reflection. When they pass that surface again, their reflection is back. If there are multiple players passing, only one reflection disappears. One piece of equipment in a structure looks completely out of place, as if made by an entirely different species. The structure the player is visiting is completely undamaged, except for one console, which has been smashed to pieces. One door in an underground complex is locked. Forcing it open reveals nothing out of the ordinary. If the player simply leaves it locked and returns later, it is unlocked. One of the animal cages in a lab appears to have been bent open from the inside. In a high-tech complex, you find a cryogenic storage chamber. It cannot be opened and there is no window to see inside. If you leave and return later, the chamber is open and there is no sign of the occupant. - based on an idea by Shifter In a dark area, the darkness appears to move. Shining a light into it reveals nothing. - contribution by Shifter In an ancient alien ruin, one of the carvings in the wall looks exactly like your character, complete with your current equipment. An equipped depth meter, metal detector or other scanning device goes crazy for a moment, displaying impossible readings for an instant before returning to normal. - contribution by Matthijsieboy While inside a medieval-style building, you pass several unoccupied suits of armour. As you do, one of them briefly scratches at its helmet, as if scratching an itch. - contribution by Shifter On the seabed, you find a garden gnome, stood upright as if deliberately placed. On the bridge of a large starship, a pair of furry dice are hanging near the helm. A normally passive mob attacks you on sight. It doesn't inflict any damage, but it doesn't give up until killed. - contribution by Towwl You find an oddly-coloured torch underground. If you try to take it, it teleports a short distance away with a childish giggle. - contribution by Towwl. Around Halowe'en, you encounter a jack-o-lantern. If you approach it, it sneezes and vanishes. - contribution by TheAwesomeAvian Bigger Mysteries These occurances are much more likely to get the player's attention. It is more likely that the player will find some kind of explanation for these events, but a complete explanation is still unlikely. The player finds the wreck of a one-man spacecraft on the surface of an undeveloped planet. One of the structures in a town or city appears long-abandoned and in decay. None of the local citizens seems to think there is anything unusual about this. A manned starport appears to have no spacecraft. Located in an impact crater is a strange obelisk with unidentifiable markings on it. Buried underground is part of an advanced structure, but there are no other structures anywhere on the planet. A robot attacks the player on a completely undeveloped planet. In the remains of a ruined city, silhouttes of people can be seen. They do not respond if spoken to, but never attack. If you attack them, they silently recoil, as if in pain, then fade away to nothingness. An animal drops electronic components when killed. An exact copy of your character is seen moving through a shadowy area, barely visible. Shining a light on it causes it to immediately disappear. - based on a contribution by Manilian. For no obvious reason, your torch starts to flicker. On one occasion when this happens, a zombified version of your character appears in the beam for a split second, vanishing the instant the light flickers off. - contribution from Shifter In a very dark area, a huge, jet black monster rushes towards you. Your attacks have no effect, but the instant before the creature reaches you, it vanishes. - contribution by Kristopher You encounter an evil-looking NPC who does nothing but stand and stare at you, watching your every move. If you speak to him, he does not respond. If you attack him, he takes no damage and doesn't even flinch. If you leave and return later, he is gone, but may reappear on other worlds. - contribution by Kristopher. You enter a seemingly deserted town or city, but it appears well maintained. Every time you leave and return, there are changes, as if people are living normally there whenever you are absent. - contribution by Axelthegreat9 As you are passing through a patch of brightly-coloured flowers, they suddenly fade. - contribution by Mianso After passing by a large, ancient tree, you return to find it torn down. Examining the stump reveals claw marks. - contribution by Epicsoulman While you are digging, you encounter a fossilized dinosaur which appears to be holding a placard painted with the words "End nuclear testing now!" After arriving on a new planet, small, harmless vermin, such as rats or mice, start following you. The longer you ignore them, the more of them gather. If you kill them, it isn't long before more take their place. - contribution by Phyrex On a ruined world pocked with craters, you encounter a completely undamaged section of landscape with normal life in it, including a small, low-tech community which appears quite content. They do not appear to recall any kind of apocalypse. - contribution by Towwl Major Wierdness These events are seriously bizarre and may even serve as the beginning of a side quest. Explaining these events is difficult, but rewarding. Returning to a developed planet after a brief visit, you find that all of the cities have disappeared. On one particular planet, wounded animals that escape your attacks return later, bigger and tougher than before. After investigating a meteor impact site and finding nothing of value, you return to find the meteor and the crater gone. Every time you kill an animal on one particular developed planet, you find one less citizen in town when you return. You encounter a large group of creatures that appear motionless and catatonic. They do not respond if you attack them, and you can kill them easily. After defeating a boss which has devastated the landscape, the boss fades away, leaving no trace of a body. All signs of combat disappear, and the landscape is restored to its original state (dropped items remain). You visit a large, heavily populated city. None of the locals has anything interesting to say. When you enter a large structure, it appears old, decayed and deserted. When you go outside again, there is no-one in sight and the entire city looks long-abandoned. On a fairly quiet planet, you encounter a farmer with a scythe. He seems odd, but not threatening. On a lifeless planet, which is dark and sinister in appearance, you encounter a dark obelisk carved with his likeness and the words "The Grim Reaper claims all". - contribution by Centor111 After passing near an unidentified anomaly, your character's shadow starts to move of its own accord. If you turn to look at it, it returns to normal. If you face away from it for long enough, it gets up and runs away. - contribution by Shifter You enter a large forest, but encounter no animal life. At the heart of the forest there is a tombstone on which is inscribed the words "I will return". - contribution by Qazxcwe A young, dark-eyed girl says that there is something scary in her house. When you enter the house, there are bones everywhere and frightened messages scratched into the walls ("God help us" "Save us" "Run") and a picture of a family, including the young girl, except her eyes are red. When you return to speak to her, you find only a notched and dented cleaver. - based on a contribution by Shifter Close examination reveals that an entire race of seemingly normal beings are not what they appear to be. - contribution by Tctoocold A brightly glowing orb appears underground or in a dark swamp. It follows you around for some time. If it touches you, you are teleported to a planet you have never been to. - contribution by Gako You arrive on a ruined world, which appears to have once been civilised. There is a single NPC here, somewhat ragged, who only occasionally responds when spoken to. When he does respond, he is completely incoherent. - contribution by Ner When you visit a small village, all the people in the village will say is "Meh." When you leave the village and return, there are no people, only sheep. Any thoughts on this idea are welcome. The above list is now closed to contributions, due to the massive flow of ideas and the now huge size of the lists. If you still want to post your own ideas for strange events, feel free. I will give likes to ideas I think would fit.
Well.. It would be kinda hard to code and stuff, but it would make the game creepy. And that would be quite an achievement for a 2-D sidescroller. Unless it's something popping out of nothingness and killing you while screaming, I'm all in for some weird stuff. World's a strange place after all.
i like the side-quest idea. like the people that fade away when you attack them, then you would find an occult scientist in the space-station. you tell him your story and maybe he asks you to gather some samples of ectoplasma or something.
<The scientist hands you a device resembling a small box with a striped, yellow trapdoor in the top> "Just throw this under one of them and push the footplate. Oh, and you might need a good proton beam."
Sounds great but add 1 thing a random creepy man somewhere on every planet (he is dressed like a casual farmer) but when you talk to him he says one of 3 things "this place aint for tourists" than fades leaving a minor health restoring object, when you are strong enough "YOU DIE TRAITOR" (guess what happens next.finally "this place used to be full of life *sigh" than the land nearby flattens and 1 populated farm and house appears and he fades away. Also on a spooky planet there would be a obelisk of him and writing that says "the grim reaper claims all.........." (and no man on the planet) creepy enough? Imagine running into him in a deep cave?
~~Edit~~ Added. I don't think this man should appear on every planet, but maybe there should be a chance of him turning up on any planet with sufficient life. Anyway, since this is seriously strange and could potentially lead to a side quest, I added it under Major Weirdness.
Guess what, I was thinking about it, too! And I was like "Wait, stranges and unusuals in Starbound?" And then, it turns out to be something even better.
This is epic. Since i like shadows and shape-shifting so much i couldn't help but post this strange event. Hopefully you can make something out of it: As a player is simply walking once, his shadow behind him begins to stir and rise. If he turns around, it disappears momentarily. But as soon as the player turns away again, the shadow starts rising. When the shadow manages to get up it runs away faster than you can chase it. Later it could start a quest on that planet(for example you find the town you visited earlier destroyed, your name written in blood on the walls or simply you find the shadow standing next to your spaceship/home and you have to fight it).
Yay! Now i'll go and dance a merry jig. Just first i'll watch some tutorials on youtube on how to dance it. But seriously, thanks, it's nice to see something added to a greater cause, gives me a fuzzy feeling
yea , Wait better! what if a planet that is in ruins he showed up (cue for player to wet self and quit game before it can save) i would be scared to find him in a war zone / where something forgot to cover there mouth
