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Vector Squared -- Starbound Community News, Issue #27

Discussion in 'Starbound Discussion' started by nababoo, May 14, 2013.

  1. [​IMG]

    Ah, yet another week has gone by, but with it, another Vector Squared! So welcome once more to the small corner of cyberspace we call our own: Issue 27. The previous week was a crazy one indeed where we covered our half-annual anniversary, Starbound’s million dollar pre-order, and a variety of insanity that followed Tiy announcing just about all the things. Well, Starbounders, buckle in, as this week is no different; we’ve got more updates you can shoot down with a young Novakid’s peashooter!


    Table of Contents
    An Update on What They’ve Been Working On
    A recent announcement from Tiy has shown us some interesting new features the devs are working on. They are as follows:
    • Finished all non-generated craftable armors, of which there are 60 sets (excluding clothing and costumes). These can apparently be dyed as well.
    • Planets in the same system are now visible in the sky.
    [​IMG]

    • Blocking with shields has been added. Holding up a shield will increase defence when attacked, but this costs energy and also stops it from regenerating while blocking.
    • A new frozen ocean biome has been added, containing deep water and ice islands.
    • Further improvements to Glitch castles.
    • Improvements to space travel, specifically the animation and feel.
    • Added new weapons.
    • Added new NPC behaviour.
    • Fixed some netcode issues.
    • Produced some new tracks for the soundtrack.
    • Much, much more!
    Tiy also addressed the issue surrounding roadmap updates, mentioning that the team has been focused on working on the game. He also stated that they would try to update the roadmap at least once a month.

    The announcement makes for some interesting reading. Also be sure to check out some of the screenshots posted there. It’s nice to have updates on what they’re up to.

    By Jonesy


    ...And Another Update on What They’ve Been Working On
    And as if that first update wasn’t enough, Tiy has released a second one. Let’s see what’s on offer this time:
    • Further improvements to blocking, including bugfixes and use in multiplayer.
    • New NPC attacks.
    • More information on the crafting menu regarding the item being crafted. A search function for blueprints has also been made (with Tiy mentioning its importance considering the amount of items in the game).
    • Work on the art for ocean environments, and making ocean diving “a lot more interesting.”
    • More costumes, as well as plans to include “regular” clothing for people to mirror themselves.
    • Kyren is working on a change to deep world storage, and will be moving on to combat-related coding.
    • Improvements to the UI, including a message system and a command to check hunger level.
    • A bug surfaced that makes items appear off-center in their icon. Tiy blames Bartwe.
    • Well, that should just about wrap things up for now. Be sure to tune in next time in case there’s another update.
    By Jonesy


    ...And Yet ANOTHER Update on What They’ve Been Working On!
    Ok, you know the drill. The following appeared in Tiy’s third announcement in just as many days:
    • Changes to crafting, including a new layout for each new time of item in the menu. It was apparently “quite a bit of work” as a result of the number of different kinds of items.
    • New recipes added to the game, of which there are a lot considering the 1300 or so items.
    • Bartwe is working on a system to search and sort items in order to manage the number of items. It will be below the schematics list.
    • Kyren is continuing her technical work.
    • Omni has completed the user interface for the logbook, though it has not yet been fully configured.
    • Someone drew Tiy a lovely mural of a forest using the paint tool.
    Well, let’s see if there are any more updates on the way, shall we?

    By Jonesy


    The Updates Continue; Crafting Requirements and Armor Progress
    Following the recent trend of progress updates, a brand new one, or rather two minor ones, have been posted on the Starbound homepage. These two updates contain information on the in-game crafting system, and a sneak-peek of of how the games armor with be displayed and named.
    • The ingredients required to craft items using the crafting interface will be displayed when you place your cursor over the desired product.
    • There are now over 240 different armor descriptions implemented.
    • Armor, when viewed as an item in your inventory, will be displayed upon a mannequin for visual purposes.
    • Armor and warmth ratings, as well as descriptions of particular armors special statistics, will be displayed along with the visual representation of the armor itself.
    • There is now a search bar along with a filter system in place for the crafting interface. There will eventually be a categorization system as well.
    • The book-reading interface is finished, although no screenshots were given.
    • Glitch castle generation is finished, and the developers are moving on to polish off Avian tombs.
    • Campfires are crafted from five pieces of unrefined wood and a single torch.
    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]


    By~ a random shadow ninja


    xWild WarPig’s Gold Tier Giveaway
    Forum user xWild WarPig has set up several days ago an unofficial contest entitled Gold Tier Giveaway. The competition thread has been stickied in the General Discussion section, actually, and you may find it right here.

    xWild WarPig has asked the competitors to produce a fan fiction story based on his female Floran character called Maple Leve. Apparently, users are free to create the tale they desire, though WarPig has been kind enough to provide a set of rules that participants must follow. Moreover, he’s also put forth the five “ingredients” he believes a great story should have, namely Orientation, Crisis, Escalation, Discovery and Change.

    The contest may sound simple at first, but it actually requires a good set of writing skills and imagination. It’s been fairly successful so far, with several users already having submitted their entries. Finally, the competition comes to an end on the 6th of June, so you still have enough time to join the challenge. Even if you do not intend on partaking in the contest, you may always pay the topic a visit in order to read a couple of stories produced by Starbound’s very own fan community.

    Good luck to all participants!

    By: Keeper


    Chucklefish Family Grows
    Adding to the growing catalogue of games, Chucklefish welcomes yet another contender to it’s ranks: Risk of Rain! Expertly crafted by hopoo and Pastuleio, this action platformer follows the exploits of a lone survivor who struggles to survive in the wake of a crashed space-train that was transporting some very strange cargo.

    Many elements of this game is randomly generated - including the monster spawns - so content remains interesting no matter how many times you’ve tried to survive the onslaught that is thrown against you.

    With ten characters to choose from and a hundred unique items to discover, the way you survive really is your choice - but don’t dawdle; enemies get harder the longer you survive!

    Story unfolds through the catalogued items, powerups, and monsters you encounter in your travels, so be sure to explore far and often to discover all interesting tidbits Risk of Rain has to offer. But don’t take my word for it, join the discussion! You can even try out the free demo (believe me, it’s well worth it) to hold yourself over until the game comes out.

    -Strife


    The Monster of the Week -- Competition
    As you may know, the Friday Monster has garnered quite a lot of fame throughout the forums. Every Friday, one of Starbound’s developers releases one of the monsters that the monster generator spits out. It’s been quite an interesting series of pictures, and none can say that more than R3MI, organizer of the “The Monster Of The Week Fan Art Thread- Post your napkin doodles here!” thread.


    [​IMG]

    In it, users contribute a piece of fan-art for the weekly monster, with various interpretations arising -- all of them entertaining or intriguing in some way. R3MI has decided to hold a small competition: “congratulations on the devs noticing their awesome artwork”. He has also asked us to publish the results of the contest, as shall be seen here.

    The winners are (in no particular order):

    Starbiscuit2
    [​IMG]
    A scary, two-headed monster-jester... thing. Yeah.

    Cloudpiercer2
    [​IMG]
    Cute, cuddly, and knowing Starbound, probably deadly.

    lazorllama1
    [​IMG]
    Ear food...? Or perhaps it’s just <insertotherstuff>.

    Veran
    [​IMG]
    A nice creature, swimming about in its habitat. It even has water and trees -- how charming.

    Congratulations to the authors of these works. Also, don't’ forget to thank R3MI for all his work regarding the contest, and for maintaining the forum of creativity through his thread.

    ~Nababoo


    [​IMG]
    Welcome back to this week’s Art Feature and boy, do I have a treat for you! We’re going to be reviewing not one picture, not two pictures, but a whole gallery! Coming to us from forum-member Ram is a large gallery of various cartoonish characters. Mostly Glitch in origin.

    Such as this adorable girl(?) enjoying the warmth of a campfire...uhm...can she feel warmth? Can she actually “enjoy” it?
    [​IMG]
    “Of course I can, I just calibrated my sensors! I’m picking up a warmth level of 7.8 which according to my database is “enjoyable” and “warm”. Engage Program:/Smile.JPG/!”

    Or this skilled Mechanic posing with a three meter wrench![​IMG]
    “I like big bolts and I can not lie. You other brobots can not deny~~”

    That’s only a select few from the many variations of our always favorite digital race, but Glitch aren't the only thing Ram draws. Here we have an Avian with a ghostly sword, titled “Akavir the Blademaster”. This picture is a lot more serious and realistic than the cartoonish Glitch. Proving that Ram obviously has multiple styles up his sleeve!

    [​IMG]

    I suggest you all pass by his gallery and give it watch. He definitely has some skill to show off, and hey, one can always need a cute Glitch to brighten the day.

    [​IMG]
    “Why are you so small Wrench? Whyyyyyyyy?!”

    - WackyWocky


    [​IMG]
    Gravity

    Gravity is the force that forms planets, stars, solar systems, galaxies, and nebulas. It does this by attracting the respective parts of each together. It is a natural phenomenon in which objects with mass are attracted to other objects with mass. The attraction lessens when the objects are farther apart. Gravity is proportional with mass. It is the reason why when someone on earth drops an object it falls down. It falls down, towards the center of the earth, because the earth has an immense amount of mass which means that the object is pulled towards the earth by the earth’s gravity. Matter is any substance that has rest mass.

    The universe originally did not originally have complex elements such as chlorine, oxygen, silicon, and gold. In the beginning there was an unimaginable amount of energy expanding spherically from a central point. Through processes that will not be explained here this energy formed innumerable quantities of hydrogen. By gravity these hydrogen atoms were attracted to each other. They came together forming large spheres of hydrogen, with increasing pressures, and temperatures. Once the pressure and temperatures at the core were high enough, that is temperatures over ten million kelvin, hydrogen fusion starts to form helium atoms. These reactions provide enough energy to counteract the force of gravity. Some of those helium and hydrogen atoms may then fuse into all the other elements. In essence gravity forms stars mostly out of hydrogen, then fusion reactions at the star's core form all the other elements. Which means that without gravity and stars none of us would even exist. (Not even the novakid.)

    When a star finishes its fuel supply of hydrogen it either collapses into a black hole, explodes into a supernova, or becomes a neutron star. (There are other possibilities that again won’t be discussed here.) Black holes are enormous amounts of matter pulled into a small area by the force of gravity. They absorb the matter and energy around them because of their great gravity. By doing this they gain even more mass and have even more gravity. This causes a vicious cycle of increasing amounts of matter, mass and gravity. This gravity is so strong that, within a certain range, even electromagnetic radiation cannot escape. (An explanation of how electromagnetic radiation is affected by gravity is too long to put here.) A supernova is when a star expels its outer layers energetically. This happens when the star's nuclear fusion suddenly becomes unable counteract the force of gravity on the core, causing a collapse. The collapse releases some of the gravitational potential energy causing the outer layers of the star to be shot out resulting in a supernova.

    ~harnackam



    [​IMG]

    ~ReverseShadow


    It's All Fun and Games
    Q: What is your favorite new feature of the week?
    A: Post in the thread.


    Get from green square to blue square and cover all tiles of the maze. The dark pink tiles warp you to the bright pink tiles with the same colour in the center.
    Puzzle.png

    soluton.png


    Closing Comments
    • We've started to accept contributions from MahBucket for the new "It's All Fun and Games" section.
    Staff
    Nababoo -- Lord Bacon McHam Von Porkchop Meatstein
    Strife -- ???
    Keeper -- Wordsmith
    WackyWocky -- Space Banana
    ReverseShadow -- Comic L0lcats
    shardival -- Legend of the Brush
    Jonesy -- He Never Asked For This.
    harnackam -- Science Consultant
    MahBucket -- Master of the Jigsaw

    Credits


    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 [] Issue #17 [] Issue #18 [] Issue #19 [] Issue #20 [] Issue #22 [] Issue #23 [] Issue #24 [] Issue #25 [] Issue #26

    Blue’s Fanmade Newspaper Archive
     
  2. This Looks Awesome! I'm already Pre-Liking before read because I know it's awesome! :alien:
    EDIT: Love the Glitch Campfire Drawn :love:

    Surely the favorite one this week... the Daily Updates, the light at the end of the tunnel.
     
    R3MI, Jonesy and nababoo like this.
  3. Kenwei2

    Kenwei2 Cosmic Narwhal

    My favorite feature of the week is the daily updates! :D
     
    Jonesy, Vesuvia and nababoo like this.
  4. Ameb

    Ameb Subatomic Cosmonaut

    Nice job chaps! Im just missing some spoilers.
     
  5. Alluvian_Est-Endrati

    Alluvian_Est-Endrati Existential Complex

    Always good to see another of these roll in.:geek:
     
    nababoo likes this.
  6. Kage Tempest

    Kage Tempest Pangalactic Porcupine

    Great article.
     
    Jonesy and nababoo like this.
  7. MahBucket

    MahBucket Cosmic Narwhal

    Enjoy the puzzle guys! :D
    EDIT: I personally like the "It's All Fun and Games" section the best.
    [​IMG]
     
    nababoo likes this.
  8. Serenity

    Serenity The Waste of Time

    This is very well done reminds me of the old fan magazines but in forum form.
     
    Jonesy and nababoo like this.
  9. MrMas35

    MrMas35 Scruffy Nerf-Herder

    All that fan art....it makes me want starbound....even more!!!
     
    nababoo likes this.
  10. Sgt. Sprocket

    Sgt. Sprocket Parsec Taste Tester

    Too lazy to do the maze, maybe later.
    But great issue. :up:

    Oh, and for the question:
    My favorite feature is the new crafting screen. It's soooo much more organized than Terraria that I might actually be physically attracted to it.
     
    Jonesy and nababoo like this.
  11. Alluvian_Est-Endrati

    Alluvian_Est-Endrati Existential Complex

    Monster evolution by far. Prior to seeing that my answer would have been the frozen ocean biome I think.
     
    Keeper likes this.
  12. Casm

    Casm Scruffy Nerf-Herder

    I like the part where there was another update on what the devs were working on. :p
     
    Jonesy likes this.
  13. Jonesy

    Jonesy Sarif's Attack Kangaroo Forum Moderator

    They just kept on coming. :rofl:
     
  14. R3MI

    R3MI Phantasmal Quasar

    Another amazing issue :) My favourite part was also the daily updates, makes you feel like they're really trying to give us the game without actually giving it :p Congrats to the winners of the contest and I look forward to some more puzzles Bucket ;)
     
    Jonesy likes this.
  15. MahBucket

    MahBucket Cosmic Narwhal

    :love: I can guarantee you will enjoy next weeks puzzle. It's one of my favorites.
     
  16. Awesomized

    Awesomized Oxygen Tank

    MAH WRENCH IS TOO BIG. MAH WRENCH, IS TOOO BIIIG.

    I'm a Glitch

     
    Jonesy likes this.
  17. Jonesy

    Jonesy Sarif's Attack Kangaroo Forum Moderator

    I can hear something in the video. It sounds like birds, traffic and a vacuum cleaner in the background, and I'm not sure if that's all actually part of the video.
     
  18. Awesomized

    Awesomized Oxygen Tank

    It was a part of a mini-movie, and it was supposed to be bad.
     
    Jonesy likes this.
  19. WackyWocky

    WackyWocky Pangalactic Porcupine

    I too like big bolts. :whistle:
     
  20. conno12p

    conno12p Aquatic Astronaut

    I'm not sure the title makes sense, a vector is a group of quantities not a single thing...
     

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