Vector Squared -- Starbound Community News, Issue #16

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Greetings, and welcome to the sixteenth issue of Vector Squared! There’s plenty of cheer to be had this time, with a huge amount of new information regarding Starbound coming out.

Last week, topics such as the new Glitch lore, the Alliance of Small Clans, and the recent forum renovation. This time, we come back with more information about Starbound’s soundtrack, several interesting (very) screenshots, the first Starbound easter eggs, and some dialogue on the use of ink.

Prepare yourselves, and dive into yet another issue of Vector Squared!

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Table of Contents

• Starbound’s Soundtrack
• Fun With Electricity
• Glitch Building Screenshots
• Character Creator Update
• Customize Your News Feed
• Massive Information Dump by Tiy on the IRC
• Easter Egg Hunt
• Chucklefish Blowfish’s Name
• Ink Currency -- Debate
• Science Trivia
• Closing Comments

Starbound’s Soundtrack
As the drums of war echo in the distance, a brave Avian berserker leaps into the fight, craving for blood, blades at hand...

As an endearing melody rocks the wooden boat, its passenger, a young Floran traveller, explores the far distant corners of the ocean, hoping to find new lands...

As an inspiring piano tune fills the laboratory, a dedicated Apex scientist studies new ways to upgrade his spacecraft into a faster version...

Basically, my fellow forum-goers, music is, and if it isn’t, it should be, always a part of our lives. Music is something that steers, inspires and represents us, peaking when legendary feats are accomplished, somehow bestowing upon those moments even more awesomeness. And Starbound is no exception.

Composer Curtis Schweitzer has produced several tunes that will be making an appearance into Starbound. You may check the current song list right here, which is merely part of the game’s soundtrack, as a matter of fact. That’s right - Seems like further tunes will be added in at a later point. Such list may also be accessed through the Starbound’s homepage, by selecting the option entitled ‘Soundtrack’ at the top.

The songs have a fantastic vibe and are really able to set a very nice mood. Most of them are quite serene and, boldly put, beautiful. It’ll simply be amazing and a pleasure to play the game while listening to this music. Some of the tunes may even be able to summon some feelings of nostalgia by bringing forth memories of certain older games, Unreal being one that springs to my mind.

If you’d like to engage in conversation about the current soundtrack, pay Breather’s topic a visit. Have fun.

~Keeper


Fun With Electricity
Starbound portrays to a wide range of people and personalities. There will be exploration for the adventurous. Battles for the blood-thirsty. Building for the creative. It’s all there.

“But,” You, the mad scientist may ask: “what about me? What’s in it for me?”

Well my grey-haired madman bent on corrupting life and twisting the very fabric of reality to your needs, you’re in luck! It seems that Doctor Sven has somewhat the same ideology. (As if his Twitter name @WorldOfSven didn’t make it obvious enough.)

Sven recently posted a picture of his diabolical lab stating that he was curious if the “Test Subjects” would make it through. In the picture we can see multiple electrical traps which most likely would prove a very fatal end for anyone unfortunate enough to be in Sven’s “Test Subject” category.

Ungodly evil aside, this picture provides some valuable information. How are these electrical currents powered? Even more begging of an answer, how are they controlled?
At the bottom-right of the picture we can see something resembling a control room, Computer and “DO NOT ENTER” sign included.

We already know of the possibility to program computers in-game to perform simple tasks such as controlling lighting, or doors, so a simple trap like this should be of no issue. Then again, what if you wish for something a little bit more intricate? Motion Sensors? Moving Platforms? Rising Water/Lava Levels? Hostile Creature Release System? Mmmm.....huh, oh sorry. Got a little carried away.

What about you guys? If you could make any trap, what kind would it be and what purpose would it serve?

-- WackyWocky


Glitch Building Screenshots
An ancient, stolid tower stands in the glowing night. As well-decorated as it is, there seems to be much to be desired -- perhaps it’s the winter frost outside, or the lack of any homely furniture. Anyhow, the Glitch fits right into the scene.

Forum user Forever has shared several images of a tower in the wilderness, inhabited by what seems like a helmet-wearing female Glitch. It gives further testament to the awesome graphics of Starbound -- snow falling, smooth lighting, and creative furniture. It certainly gives a Skyrim vibe as well.

As for some observations, there’s some strange articles of furniture located throughout -- two rubber duckys, what seems like a genie lamp, and two varieties of torches: one with a metal frame, and one with a wooden base. Another very interesting thing to note is the banners. They seem to be in a certain pattern, leading one to believe that there will probably be more colors and patterns, along with larger/smaller fabric-pieces. The final thing that caught my eye was the stacks of books -- they appear to be randomized, with different appearances, patterns, and colors.

This serves only to show off Starbound and fuel our hungry diets some more. And feel free to speculate further -- discussion and dialogue is always good.

~Nababoo


Character Creator Update
Didn’t quite think the online Character Creator had enough shiny features in it? Well, tramsan is up to some more shenanigans as he adds additional features to the infernal device. Some of the larger additions are more clothing shades, option counters, and poses.

Now you can see what your character looks like as it prays (pose 34) for the release date of Starbound. Or maybe you’ve always wanted to see a Glitch sitting down (6) on the job? Perhaps your character is practicing some sexy dance moves with a subtle hip thrust (4)? An Avian being ninja (7)? Yeah, that’s what mine is doing.

Quite a lot of interesting things can be done with these new features, including some basic animation when you string together a series of poses. Go ahead, have a try, and don’t forget to thank tramsan for his work!

--Strife


Customize Your News Feed
Fortunately, for those of you who use the What’s New? feature of the forum, there is now a way to customize what appears in that feed. If you’re tired of seeing threads and posts from certain sections, just click on your name at the top-right corner of the screen and click on “What’s New?”. From here, you can select any number of sections to omit from your news feed. How convenient!



--Strife


Massive Information Dump by Tiy on the IRC
Forum user plaYer2k posted a full log of Tiy getting a little chatty on the IRC. Tiy dropped a lot of information covering everything from dyes, to in game 3-D printing, ores and converting them to ink, armor tiers, and tons of other information.

Personally, I am most excited about the ammo revelations. Guns will not use ammo, instead they will all use “energy”. This applies to all gun types from plasma to ballistic. This also affects the armor that a player uses. If you are going to be a gunslinger, you need energy boosting armor. As Tiy said, this means you are going to have to build around how you want to play

~Slaticus


Easter Egg Hunt
In a recent IRC chat with Tiy, he revealed that the character creator had some... interesting gimmicks to come with it. Six easter eggs, to be more exact (as for some personal speculation, there may be one for every race). In the thread regarding this, plaYer2k is organizing an effort to find all of the easter eggs present.

As of this publication, only one of the six easter eggs has been discovered. By typing “IFoundAGlitch” into the name bar. After that, another slider appears, only this time with helmets. It gives a bit more options for those who want a Viking-esque vibe in their characters as well. This shows how easter eggs will work further on, so get cranking, fellow Starbounders! You got the template ahead of you.

Now, as for in-game easter eggs...

~Nababoo


Chucklefish Blowfish’s Name
Our fellow forum user and Vector Squared writer Strife has created an amusing and interesting topic several days ago. You know the blowfish on Chucklefish’s logo?



It would seem that our orange spiky “mascot” still lacks a name! With that, Strife’s brought us a thread where you may pop by and throw a couple of suggestions around of what you think that the blowfish should be called.

A few ideas that have already seemed to caught some members’ attention are “Chuckle the fish” by DNAY!; “Chuck Le Fish” by Alanzer-DNA; “David Blowie” by natelovesyou; and “Timmy Prickles” - a.k.a. - “Mr. Prickles” by Sokina.

Go ahead and join the fun. Just mind the spikes...

~Keeper


Ink Currency -- Debate
Forum user Echo has started up a debate regarding the use of ink as an in-game currency. The question was started off by a little quip from Tiy, stating that there may be a use of ink in 3-D printers, possibly for some sort of crafting mechanism. After that, two forum members began debating on the validity of ink in use as a currency. Speculation was put forth as to whether it were to replace pixels.

All in all, it serves as an extremely interesting topic to talk about -- can it be used? Would it be possible for them to coexist? Is ink even a viable resource for bartering and trade? Go and discuss the matter. Perhaps it may even become part of the game, in the end. You never know!

~Nababoo


Science Trivia
The Fourth State of Matter - Plasma
In school, students are taught the differences between the three phases of matter - gas, liquid, and solid. Some teachers may briefly mention the existence of a fourth, but it usually isn’t something relevant for your next test.

Plasma is formed when the atoms or molecules in a gas are heated to the point where its number of electrons are changed in value. This process also creates both negatively and positively charged particles, making plasma extremely responsive to electromagnetic fields.

Interestly enough, while this fourth state of matter is not widely taught, it is the most prevalent form of common matter in existence! Some common examples of plasma would be neon signs, fluorescent lamps, lightning, and stars. In fact, even space itself is comprised mostly of plasma due to the solar wind of stars.

Plasma has many uses and functions due to its ability to vary is temperature, magnetization, ionization, and other variables. Two more common uses for controlled plasma are lighting are fusion energy.

--Strife


Question of the Week
Q: Who would win in a fight between Tiy and Notch?
A: Describe the fight!


Closing Comments

• Thanks to blind sniper for that little graphic up there.

Staff
Nababoo -- Manager/Writer
Keeper -- Wordsmith
Strife -- ???
Active Link -- Scientific Consultant
Slaticus -- Author from the Shadows
WackyWocky -- Space Artist

Credits
blind sniper -- Banner
blind sniper -- Penguin Tiy

Previous Issues:
Issue #1 [] Issue #2 [] Issue #3 [] Issue #4 [] Issue #5 [] Issue #6 [] Issue #7 [] Issue #8 [] Issue #9 [] Issue #10 [] Issue #11 [] Issue # 12 [] Issue #13 [] Issue #14 [] Issue #15

 

You forgot the anchors.

Also, Tiy would obviously win.

 

What font?

 

There's nothing wrong with it here

I'll likely be screwing around around with those for a bit, so apologies in advance.

Garneac has now killed me

 

It's probably your iPad messing up somewhere...

 

Great issue!

 

It's definitely just you.

 

But what about the fifth? Bose-Einstein condensates? Aside from being the most fun to say it is incredibly hard to get, forming only a few point degrees above 0 degrees kelvin. As far as I understand it, it is the point where matter starts functioning as a single body, instead of a trillion little tiny ones. It also slows down light to the speed of a moderately slow car.
See more here

Tiy would win, 2D is harder to hit than 3D, and he has laser pistols, as opposed to bows and swords.

 

It seems to be different for me too, Tahoma instead of Calibri. But previous issues have also been Tahoma... (Not that I care )

Huh, weird. Mine is definitely Calibri. Maybe a browser thing? (Still don't care )

 

The default font is Tahoma, if I see correctly.

Naw, man. Quark-gluon plasma is the way to go.

 

Another issue in the books.

 

My vote goes to Tiy, for Starbound, although I'm still waiting for more info on Notch's new games.

So how far away are we from creating plasma weapons akin to Warhammer 40K's plasma guns?

 

Great job guys! Nice, fat issue this time!

 

Tiy by default, since he actually cares about his game and the future of it rather than abandoning it for someone else to take over so that they can add pointless, useless additions to an already buggy game instead of repairing what's needed first, as well as not listen to the community.

No need to describe any fight after this.

 

There is a current battle between Tiy and Mollygos.

I am in charge of the bets.

Molly: 1p = 2p
Tiy: 1p = 900p

 

The ammount of informations we get each week is impressive.

 

Another great issue guys! Btw, fricking love that Tiy pinguin Blind Sniper made.

 

Quite possibly the best V² so far. Looking forward to more.​

Also my money is on Tiyuri​

 

And stickied, wow guys this was a pretty big issue.