Void "magic"

So with the recent release of destiny, I've noted that the "space magic" the warlock class has is pretty cool in its own senses. I feel like that would translate greatly over into starbound and would love to see someone attempt it or anything really! I do not mean copy it exactly but put a nice personal touch to it so it fits better. Just my 2 cents!

 

Id like to see psionic abilities like telekinetic attacks or the like but i think for the most part techs and the manipulator fill the wizard niche well enough, if you want magic then just reskin the psistaffs to look like spellbooks or something when they're done.

 

I think "space magic" can essentially be synonymous to "super advanced sci-fi technology".

As already said, some of the techs (and the matter manipulator) could fill this void. Nonetheless I could see a "giant matter magnet"esque item which pushes/pulls enemies with great speeds being a distinct possibility within the Starbound universe (or universes! Haha!).

So I can definitely see the potential of such an elaboration on already established concepts

 

What about technological gauntlets that shoot magic? I think it'd be as fitting as any technological broomstick blasting bolts at bumbling foes.

And there IS an utter lack of arm-based weapons in the game. I'm still unable to punch spacesharks in this game!

 

Agreed, if it's implemented it shouldn't be too supernatural, just basic stuff like telekinesis.

 

Many an advanced technology created by an ancient race? It shouldn't be too detailed considering we have little to no explanation on how everything else works

 

dunno if this was made before this was announced buuuuuuuuut. It's already being implemented in the form of "psi staves" , presumably as per warhammer 40k or starbound, the "magic"equivalent shall be psi powers

 

Yeah. I won't lie. I did not like the idea of Magic being in the game. But I don't mind The Force.

The Force is okay. It's not Magic. It's The Force.

 

on the subject of magic being psi powers, I think it's almost a requirement to have at least one psi powered "Sorcerer glitch" and or psi focused sorcerer outfit for them

 

PSI powers are often seen as a more modernized or 'rational' substitute for magic. It does help that the source of PSI powers, the brain, is said to be enhanced in several Manipulator armor sets.

BUT one couldn't simply have PSI powers, given the item-based nature of the game. The powers would hafta be from items, no doubt. A bent spoon-like staff that fires Earthbound-esque PSI graphics at enemies, perhaps?

 

well again, psi staves are already a concept being toyed around with in the game (theirs a single one you can play with now in-game, though it doesn't have any effects) so presumably thats whats used for the most part (bent spoons could be a singular example of one though), lore wise i have no idea if psionic powers have any particular methods of being imparted in the starbound universe, though presumably their might be less exclusivity then say, starcraft, since its something you could gear your character towards. in terraria theirs the ever-present "mana stars" you craft to increase your mana pool. While its somewhat doubtful considering the nature of the current game, it would be kinda cool to have some methods of "awakening" you're characters power similarly.

 

'Awakening' your character's power right now basically amounts to getting better gear with a higher energy pool, WHICH is basically the Manipulator gear.

Also, another thing; magic is hinted at by the The Bone Dragon codex, stating that the hooded cultists claim to possess 'dark, necromatic magic. Not any real confirmation, but I feel it worth noting.

 

Well Magic is often simply something we don't understand... unless you're a wizard. Then it's REAL magic. I do like the idea of "super sci-fi explanations" for what seems like magic, but not in the traditional sense of the force (not bashing the S-wars) where the scientific explanation seems to be more of an excuse.

tl;dr
With the right amount of visual representation and techno-babble, almost all magic can look like science

I like the idea of a big heavy gun that took years to develop (according to lore) and is extremely sensitive and expensive tech, only for it to shoot a fireball; the first or second spell you learn as a mage in any MMO. But maybe more bad-assy with like massive recoil and cool visual and sound effects. Or something we pretty much have today, a gun that can shoot an arc of lightning and ruin your day. This is the good stuff.

The "bad" magic, while not inherently bad on it's own just in this game's theme, is the Hairy Potter magic. Specifically where you can make huge effects and changes to the outside world using only a stick. A butt-load of machinery that isn't explained, but looks like it could, makes you feel like it really is possible, just not yet. Whereas a skinny nerd holding a twig (seriously not bashing Hairy Potter, it just looks that way i promise) can literally blow up a city or something just by pointing at it seems ridiculous to me, at least that's not what is envisioned for this game.

Uncommon "magic" already exists in the game and even real life (sort of). Faster than light travel is used in Starbound to go places. You already know this. Can any of this explain it? Even if someone can, can the majority of us do it as we can explain something like a lighter? We've all heard about the idea of "cavemen thinking the guy with a lighter is a fire god" or something similar, but if we could simply explain that the gas coming out of the cylinder is ignited by a spark made byt he metal bits or whatever makes the flame, then they wouldn't think of you nearly as highly other than maybe you're holding more interesting information. Back to the FTL travel thingy, we don't call it magic because the idea has been fantasized since space travel fantasy. We call it warp drive, jumping, FTL, light-speed, you name it, and it's always explained with a big "warp drive" or "light speed engine" of which we know nothing about. The reason we believe it is because we claim that it's science mumbo-jumbo. some depictions of warp-drive looks like something simply disappears into thin air, or thin space I guess, but teleportation is magic right? Nope, also sci-fi as depicted in Star Trek and stuff. Games like Mass Effect, as much as I love Mass Effect, does it in a way I don't really like. "It" being the idea of the micro chips and tech planted in the brain unlocks "hidden potential" that "all creatures have already". Now don't get me wrong, this is also bad-ass, the only reason I don't like it is strictly difference of opinion is "what's cooler".

But this way of thinking isn't limited to sci-fi in the traditional way, either. I like to think about things like "magic crystals" as an exceptionally radioactive chemical or substance that culminates, radiates, or changes seemingly-unlimited energy either at a massive scale dependent of size of the crystal piece or complexity of it's structure, the origins of which have yet to be discovered, but the uses are many. The idea of creating a simple leather glove with small metal parts holding a red crystal shard facing away from you, can be ignited either with a small surge of electricity, or contact from a different "elemental" crystal to cause a reaction that emits a pulse of intense heat (a fire ball) either through a catalyst crystal, a lens looking in a certain direction, or other form of "gun barrel". Simply swapping the "elemental" crystal with a different one will change the type of reaction, or in a video game, damage type. Different lenses change the output. For example a singular yet thick lens results in a precise and long-range/powerful "attack", multiple smaller lenses could create a shotgun effect, a wide lens that just blankets everything in front of the device, etc. But why stop at weapons? The Avians already have their glowing red gems that seem to be levitating on their own so why not make some crystals with their own gravitational fields, or gravity-nullifying fields or something? Anti-grav crystals could be used to make cool vehicles or even put artificial gravity in space stations rather than the traditional unexplained "gravity generators" many games seem to adopt (even though apparently NASA has already figured out anti gravity apparently). This stuff sounds a lot closer to undiscovered science than plain old magic to me, but that's just my perspective.

With the right amount of visual representation and techno-babble, almost all magic can look like science (Gonna copy this part to be the tl;dr sentence!). I mean just look at the advancement of computer technology. Back when computers were still new, dudes had to load literal tons, or at least thousands of pounds, of tech onto airplanes in order to share with other governments, scientists, or whatever, all containing less than the amount of information than a god damned flash drive we can put in our pocket and then plug in and share to a thousand different places at once in less than a second. That sounds pretty magical to me, but then again, we all know this already. If you told this to someone even a hundred years ago they'd be all "I think you need to see a doctor, because that's insane."

So in conclusion of my book-sized post that only like 4 people will ever read to the end, I think there is a LOT of wiggle-room when it comes to using cool tech without it looking like magic. Actually when I think about it, the techs found in the current stable version of Starbound look pretty magical on their own, being simply an invisible "piece of technology" hidden somewhere on your person even if you're naked... and where's the energy storage? If it's small enough to not be seen at all, what if you have enough of whatever holds said energy to be seen? Could you have unlimited energy in this case? Will this ever be explained at all, or is the energy tank idea simply unfinished? These are just a few of the questions that popped into my noggin whilst sitting here makign clickity-clackity sounds for like 45 minutes ranting about stuff that doesn't even matter. Oh well, time to spell-check. Butts.

 

I don't know if it's too late to be posting on this idea, but I just have a couple things to say about the matter. (I really like this idea though.)

I feel like special powers or "The Force" would be a great implementation if done through the use new techs instead of regular items.

Also, Starbound, with it's current abilities you get through the current techs, feels like The Matrix, and that's not a bad thing.

so yeah, space powers would be hype as hell

 

i would like Gloves or Staffs that act like magic, shooting fireballs, freezerays, making Explosions were you want, but eat a lots of your energy, you call it magic? i would call it advanced Science

 

The problem with the Force from Starwars is they created it first then tried to invent a way to make it "not magic" afterwards. But if it's done via tech like m9 said, it might still look a bit magical, but with the right kind of visual effects it could work. Starbound's tech, as far as I know, is designed to be almost like an augment to your armor or body just with much less hassle (rather than actually editing/tinkering with in-game items). The double jump could be as though you had little electro jet shoes. The gravity bubble makes me think of a gadget that could be attached to your belt or something. The mag rail tech could be like it's coming from the omni-tool or maybe a wrist thingy. The point is, you can explain it but you don't need to because visually it sorta makes sense. But if you were to raise your hand then someone just gets shot back for no reason, then it looks like magic to me. The monster's wind-pushing powers visually make a bit of sense... except for the VERY magical sound effect. The monster eye-lasers could TECHNICALLY be possible considering even though we've never seen anything like it happening in nature, we definitely don't know for certain that it's impossible. The Starbound team is standing at the edge of the line splitting up sci-fi and magical, but the only thing I don't like about it is I can't tell if they threw away the whole "no magic" thing or not! xD I don't really care anymore if there is or isn't magic but if there is it should be optional so people who like magic can enjoy it and those who don't like it can ignore it.

Also Maku they have science staffs and they look AMAZING!! xD But the glove idea is really cool too and I want it in the game!!