Vector Squared -- Starbound Community News, Issue #17

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This time, we come in with quite a meaty issue -- plenty of new information for everyone here at these forums. Last week, Glitch lore, cooperation between clans, Starbound music, and some easter eggs. This time, we round ‘bout with celebration on the forum anniversary, a Mech contest, and some more lore, this time from the Avian side of the avenue.

So spread your wings, feel the sun on your face, and prepare to soar into the seventeenth issue of Vector Squared.

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Table of Contents

• Forum Anniversary
• Lore Docs and Avian History
• The Starbound Chronicle
• Mech Contest (Unofficial Competition)
• Terrain Generation Updates
• Suggestion Spotlight
• Science Trivia
• Question of the Week
• Vector Squared Weekly Comic Strip
• Closing Comments

Forum Anniversary

Let’s celebrate our very own forum’s one year anniversary! Ever since that fateful date of the twenty second, we have forged our community, all the while in hungry anticipation of the release date of Starbound. There’s been some recent newcomers as well, of the other Chucklefish games, but let’s accept them into our band of comrades and celebrate with them.

In preparation for this issue, I have interviewed Ordona, one of our forum admins, for some thoughts regarding the progress over the past year.

nababoo: Hello.
Ordona: Good evening.
nababoo: How do you feel now that the forums has has reached its one-year anniversary? Teary-eyed? Happy?
Ordona: I feel pretty happy about it. A lot of people have stayed here since the beginning, so I feel like that means something.
nababoo: Our own happy little troupe of Internet-ers.
nababoo: What are the ways you think the community changed since the beginning? How did it mature over time?
Ordona: Well, it definitely got bigger for one thing. For the longest time we'd see approximately 600-700 active forum users per day, and recently that's turned into over 2000.
How it's changed and matured is a bit difficult to put into words. I think that people have found (or created, I suppose) the way that they want the community to be, and that comes with it "maturing".
nababoo: Ah. Any changes in particular you want to point out?
Ordona: Nothing really specific comes to mind, but if I had to think of one thing, it'd probably be the profanity censor. We used to have it block out the obscurities, and then at one point that was changed to be a lot more strict, and then it was removed completely since that was the general feel of the community - "it's not an issue, so why have it?"
nababoo: That's certainly a step forward.
nababoo: Do you feel older and wiser now that you've gone through the past years' worth of experience?
Ordona: I'd say so. Being here for this past year gave me more experience working with a larger community, and it's definitely been informative.
nababoo: On that note, what do you think the community's next step forward is? What obstacles should we overcome, and what good behaviors should we encourage further?
Ordona: Probably preparing for the release of the game since that will bring an influx of new users, who will need to be initiate-- er, welcomed to the community. I think if everything continues as is, and fixing any problems we come across, we should be good.
Ordona: The community here is pretty great, and hopefully we can keep it like that.
nababoo: That's quite wonderful, and I agree with that as well -- the people here are quite hospitable.
Well, thank you for your time and your patience in answering all these questions. G’night.
Ordona: Night.

We also have a lovely note from the forum staff:

That’s certainly a charming bit of text they’ve shared with us. So now, let’s look back on our past achievements and think of what we did well -- and what we didn’t do well. By fixing up on our past mistakes, we can help to make the community a better place for everyone! Not necessarily a New Year’s-esque style reflection, but more of looking through albums of the past, and laughing, or crying about what happened.

Let’s make this another good year for Chucklefish

~Nababoo

Lore Docs and Avian History

Tiy tweeted a quite interesting message a few days ago. To quote the Man directly,

“ Tempted to show you guys one of the lore reference docs so you can see how deep the lore goes, but spoilers! What to do “

A lore document is an amazing source of information that allows you to learn more about the Starboundian Universe.Needless to say, plenty of people were hyped about such occurrence, as you may see in this topic right here, authored by myself. In that thread, people are able to share their opinions and read the ones of others about lore documents in general, as well as partake in the pool that is present in order to provide an overall idea of our fellow users’ desires.

So far, 263 people have voted. 149 users (56.7%) would indeed like to see one of these lore documents, even though they may contain some spoilers. 26 (9.9%) voters would not like such documents to be made publicly available prior to the game. Finally, 88 (33.5%) people have mixed feelings about the issue.

Starbound contributor demanrisu, also known as the Hatted Man who’s working on Starbound’s lore with Chucklefish, has been actively participating in the topic and we thank him for the knowledge he has been sharing. demanrisu revealed interesting pieces of intel, such as examples of lore sources that one may find in game, namely “Avian mining mission log”, “Glitch history book” and “Apex censored documents”.

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But things are only about to get better... Indeed, ladies and spobos, as you’re probably aware of by now, a lore document, namely one about Avian history, has recently been shared in this month’s version of the Starbound Chronicle. (You may take a peek at the Chronicle right here, a topic conceived by forum user bludud101 with the purpose of displaying the issue.)

Anyways, the Avian lore pdf document may be found by clicking these magic words. There’s plenty of juicy data in there, such as the origins of Kluex, how the Avian homeworld, Avos, has developed, how a mysterious alien race has helped the Avian race evolve, Avian interactions with other races, among many other aspects. The information there is displayed in a timeline fashion and is quite accessible and easy to follow. Go ahead and take a look at the seven glorious pages and let Starbound flow through you.

It’s fantastic to know that the lore is indeed quite deep and that just provides a more immersive experience. Big thanks to everyone in Starbound’s developing team who’s made all of this possible. The people appreciate it!

By: Keeper

The Starbound Chronicle

The Starbound Chronicle has delivered on its promises! The new issue of March releases information, mainly regarding the game and some new gameplay content, along with a bit of formatting and plenty of nice pictures.

They introduce a variety of new content, all of which can be seen here, in a forum-based version. Some of the articles in Vector are based off of information in the Chronicle, but contrary to some fears, neither will snuff the other out -- rather, they’ll complement each other in terms of information-feeding, with Vector focusing more on the community as we near release, and our counterpart presenting the gameplay side of things more.

Wish the second issue of the Chronicle well! If you haven't signed up for these newsletters, feel free to register.

~Nababoo

Mech Contest (Unofficial Competition)

Forum user Camz has the pleasure to announce his most recent contest (link at the bottom of this article) and the theme is: Mechs! That’s right, from murderous gargantuan machines to peaceful resource-gathering ones - The Mech Contest covers it all!

Anybody can partake in this competition and your entry can be done in any style: pixel art, doodle, sketch, whatever tickles your fancy. You merely have to produce a mech that you believe is capable of sweeping all others under the rug. Bear in mind that there may only be one entry per user and you may edit your submission as you please up until the closing date.

The contest will be closing on the 15th of March 2013, about when judging will commence, so there is still some time to get cracking.

Moreover, the prizes are worthy of note - The victorious user will be claiming a £15 Steam voucher; Second place will be earning a £10 Steam voucher; Finally, third spot will bring home a £5 Steam voucher. Very nice rewards here! Good motivation.

Well, anyways, to submit your entry, do so in this topic, which is the official contest location where you may find more info about the matter. You may use this secondary thread to talk about the competition, should you have any comments or questions.

In addition, Vector Squared would like to mention that Camz actually intends on hosting a contest once a month, every time with a different theme. And, of course, more steam vouchers will be ready for the taking should you emerge victorious! It’s a fantastic thing that Camz is doing here, as it keeps us entertained from the current lack of Starbound.

Good luck and get mechin’!

By: Keeper

Terrain Generation Updates

Tiy recently posted a few pictures of new terrain features that he was implementing to “Make terrain more interesting.”



These additions to the terrain generation engine are purely visual and provide no real purpose other than making the world a little less bland. Structures like Stalagmites and small overhangs are all we’ve seen so far.



These features have caused some speculation seeing as it seems even Tiy is focusing more of details now, hinting towards that the game is reaching a finished state.
Nonetheless, there is no way to know for sure, so for the moment let’s just sit back and enjoy the beautiful scenery we’ve been given.

Oh, and in a side note, that blue creature is freaky. He wants our souls...

- WackyWocky

Suggestion Spotlight

Gravity is quite annoying, but can be rather fun. Especially if you get to do all sorts of weird things with it. Imagine various gravity-based obstacles to trap nosey people that are poking around in places they shouldn’t. Or maybe even simple grav-lift like automated factory lines. Perhaps a fun-filled, sickness-inducing, gravity-bending maze or puzzle is to your liking. All this and more is possible with Patrick’s idea: blocks with modified gravity fields. Mosey on over to his thread for interesting conversation regarding such a lovely idea.

--Strife

Science Trivia

It’s You, but not You

Cloning, it’s kind of a big deal. A lot of people think it’s really cool, and a lot of people think it’s a crime against humanity; there’s probably some overlap in there too. There are actually many different types of cloning, and some creatures on this beautiful planet naturally clone themselves to reproduce. This form of cloning is more commonly referred to as asexual reproduction. Bacteria and other single celled organisms are the most basic example of asexual creatures. There are also multi-cellular organisms which reproduce asexually, there are many ways this can happen but the most common ones you’ll probably encounter are fragmentation, budding, and spore formation. I won’t talk about spore formation here, because it’s really complicated and I could easily give it its own article.

Fragmentation is really simple: you cut off a piece of the original organism (which it grows back) and the piece grows into a duplicate of the original. All starfish reproduce this way; if you cut off one arm that one arm will grow back all of the others. Some species of starfish actually split into a bunch of individual arms that grow into new starfish when they reach a certain age or environmental conditions. Other creatures that fragment are annelids, molds, lichens, and chorals to name a few. It’s possible that for some animal species fragmentation is a survival mechanism adapted to also function for reproduction.

Budding has a pretty strong sci-fi vibe. In reproduction through budding the new organism starts out as a growth on the original that eventually falls off, or otherwise detaches, and voila a new organism. This one is more common in small organisms like some yeasts; there are also a few chorals and sponges. Some root vegetables also reproduce this way, like potatoes. Potatoes have “eyes” (spots) on them that each has the potential to bud a new potato.

Artificial cloning, this is what has people arguing. The process is called Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT) and it’s a little long, but straightforward. First, you need to secure a nucleus from the creature you want to clone. Now get an egg cell from a female of the same species and remove its nucleus. Take the first nucleus and insert it into the egg cell. You have two options here, try to grow the creature in the lab in an artificial womb or put the egg into the uterus of a surrogate mother. If you choose lab grown you’ll have to deal with a constant risk over the entire period of growth. If you choose to use a surrogate mother you have to hope the mother’s body accepts the egg, but once it’s in you just have to treat the surrogate like any other pregnant member of its species.

There is another way to clone, that’s well… different. It’s actually a way to clone a person before they’re born. If you can force the cells into two identical groups, preferably at the 6- to 8- cell stage. This is literally forcing the growth of identical twins. This can be done by removing the egg from the mother, fertilizing it, forcing the split, and then putting the two cell groups back into the mother. Also, naturally occurring identical twins fall under the classification of clones.

All forms of artificial cloning have very low success rates, most likely due to the fragility of the eggs and nuclei. One of the proposed causes of the low survivability of clones is because of mitochondria, which have its own DNA. It is possible to use an egg from a different species, the problem being that like the regular genome the mitochondrial DNA differs from species to species. This disparity in mitochondrial DNA could hinder the functioning of a clone’s cells and lead to an early death.

Fun Fact: Organisms inherit mitochondrial DNA from only the mother. Kind of ironic since the only two organelles in sperm are the nucleus and mitochondria

Questions, comments, concerns? Post them and I’ll answer them. And if you have any suggestions or ideas for future topics feel free to post those as well.

Blind Sniper suggested this way back in issue #11. Sorry it took so long.

~Active Link

Question of the Week

Q: What are some achievements you want to note from the past year?
A: Post, and reminisce. Possibly enter a good discussion with others, like old men

Vector Squared Weekly Comic Strip

We are now looking for an artist who can carry on a weekly comic strip for us! If you’re interested in this position, and have the dedication to do this every week, please contact one of the staff members for more information regarding this.

Closing Comments

• Yet another great issue of Vector Squared. Please note, if you have anything you feel is newsworthy, please tell us so we can deliberate on the matter. This includes ideas for more weekly news sections!

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

Credits
blind sniper -- Banner
Ordona -- Interview

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 [] Issue #16

 

-cries at the loss of sexy cursor-

 

Oh, crap. Forgot to put in the Question of the Week

 

You also forgot to use anchors >:|

 

Comin' right up, chef.

EDIT: *fiddles*

 

Umm i think your anchors are broken nababoo or you can see the code for it.. great job on the article, i like the little bit for the forum's birthday

 

Not for me, they look perfect!

 

really? i see the [/anchor for some of them...

 

Screenshots, my favorite.
*likes*

For the Question:

I'd like to point out the profit numbers for the number of naked mannequins we sold for the Hat Contest. We made a pretty penny off that.

 

IndentedYou should add goto links leading back to the table of contents, like I did in the re-work of issue 16.
IndentedSomething as simple as this

Code:

[RIGHT][goto=toc]Return to ToC[/goto][/RIGHT]
 
(You'd also have to set an anchor at the beginning, like so:
 
[anchor=toc]Table of Contents[/anchor])

Indentedso when a reader finishes a section they can go back to the table of contents and choose from there where to go. (Unless said reader's just having a go at the entire thing, which makes anchors moot.)
IndentedAnd yeah, there are two instances where [/anchor] is showing, "Mech Contest" and "Suggestion Spotlight."

 

*ponders this for a while * Ya know... I think it might just be customizable.

 

Also "Previous Issues."

 

Argh! Gah! What in the name of the forgotten lords is that hideous creature?! That is one monster of the week I'd gladly miss out on. I'm going to have to eradicate that race if I ever see it in the game. Makes the creature in the screenshot looks much more tolerable.

That aside, the screenshots looks great! Gives us more! The weapon Tiy is holding looks pretty cool too. This issue is making me feel rather hyped up for Stabound again. Keep up the great work!

 

WackyWocky is right about that animal.

 

I'm THINKING about doing the comic strip...

Of course, if I were to do it, I would have to use game sprites, because I'm terrible at drawing humanoids.

 

In 12 months shall we be discussing the immineant finihsing and realise of the game i used to post a lot but lost interest to a degree and now jus tlurk mighjt start posting once tyi gets the game actually out. Still love the chronicle its good short term information. That said i want to start taking bets on weather rebirth or starbound will be out first

 

Something like Legend of Maxx would be fine as well

We're mainly looking for dedication and content. It needn't use extreme art skills, if you get my point.

 

isn't wanderlust already out?
also the game will definteley not take another yeah

 

Well, I have experience with comicing, (Got a Hedgewars comic series, that has over 70 comics in it)

I'll see if I can put something together this weekend, and if I do, I'll be sure to PM you.