Why I Don't Build Anything in Starbound

While I find most of the Ideas posted here quite awesome, I disagree with the need for incentive, I like to build for the sake of building and while I have a minimal setup on the ship while I'm out traveling, as soon as all my chests aboard are filled up I return home to continue building on my city and mother-tree on the new peaceful floran home-world.
I never needed a incentive for the gameplay, building is a big part of the gameplay, about half or more of the game is building with all the stuff you find, if you don't bother with it because you don't get anything for it, it's like stopping to play you're favorite shooter because you have unlocked all the guns. The game itself is the goal^^

 

I see what you're saying however I disagree slightly. If any aspect of a game takes up "half or more" of it than there should plenty incentive to partake in it. Take for example the shooter. If a prominent part of the game is unlocking all the guns, then most of the rest of the game should connect or be related to what happens when you collect guns, why you should collect guns and the reward for collecting guns.

Let's look at minecraft which is similar. In minecraft, players are encouraged to build to survive the night, have a place to store items, set a respawn point, get food from a local source, etc. There is no reward for these actions (besides achievements) however the incentive is the "punishment" (I use that term lightly) for not doing these actions. I.E. I decide not to build a house in minecraft. 1. I have no place of shelter which I can easily find and remember by location. This means I am completely open to attack from all sides and I must watch my back. This also means I don't have any place to store items I don't need currently should my inventory fill up. 2. More importantly, Should I choose to do the "main quest" of the game, I will find more difficulty than if I had chosen to build a house/shelter. (The main quest of the game being mining so you can go to the nether, defeat that boss, then return to overworld to go to the end to defeat the enderdragon.)

In relation to Starbound, I think there needs to be some sort of incentive for setting a home planet such as maybe if there are alliances or organizations that are hostile to your character and constantly are tracking him/her down. Supposing they could find your ship easily but not your home planet, your home planet could be a place of more permanent storage. It could also be a relay point for you and a group of friends who are on the run. That's not the best example but you see where I'm going. Basically I think the incentive to build should be not the reward but the risk you take for not building, although if they came up with something different that could work too. I just don't think adding building into the game because it's trending or because it's just another cool feature is good design. Somehow building should fit in with everything else in the game whether it be major or minor. At some point, all things must come together.

Sorry for the long post and if I didn't make much sense. I tried to word it as best I could with what I was trying to get across to you.

 

I just recently bought the game (on Christmas Eve) and here are my thoughts:

I come from Terraria, of course. The starter world is what I use as my homeworld for now. The biggest reason for that, is the collection of plant fiber and meat. It is the easiest place for me to collect both of these resources. I do understand that the vines do not grow back (correct me if I'm wrong) and the tier 1 planets provide meat in a never ending supply since the mobs respawn. So, I guess mostly I use the starter planet as a means to keep my meat supply high. I also like to have a farm for another source of food. I also realize that Chucklefish has us have the ability to make farms for a reason, and I believe they are going to be adding more systems into the game that will require the need of said farm, either for food means or for means to keep npc's alive but this is just speculation.

So yeah, because I've only gotten to Gamma Sector my starter world is basically where I build a home. I take the crafting stations with me when I leave, and build extras for the homeworld home that I know I'd need there. I'd like to be able to have colonies on the planets I have visited though, not manage them (maybe have a hired npc or rescued npc manage it) but I'd like to be able to leave something meaningful behind and come back to visit it. I usually always have a safe structure when I visit a planet, I even place my Avian flag there to denote that I've been there. I would like a list of planets I've visited in the interface, with saved spawn points so I can easily warp to a location (maybe add a warp beacon placed inside a structure). I'd like to have npc's living there that do their normal npc thing.

I'm getting off topic. The jist is, I want to build but I want it to be in a meaningful way. As it stands, I'm visiting other planets for gear and resources, but not leaving any sort of lasting mark to that planet other than leaving my flag and a shelter.

EDIT: I cannot leave my post without mentioning what Rugmonkey posted above me. His idea is something I really like. I think it's a great idea.

 

What about something more than just a "home planet" button.
What about a list of planets instead, or cordinates, that you can add to a list and revisit easier.
that way you would remember more planets that you might have built stuff on.

 

Something to recognize here is that Starbound is a sandbox game; there are all kinds of different ways to play it, and no one option is any more or less valid than any other.

...so, I don't really see a problem with people doing the nomadic live-off-the-ship thing.

That said, I do like your suggestions, but I'd say implement them in a way that doesn't cripple the nomadic playstyle, cuz if people want to play that way, they should be able to.


A good solution, ontop of your suggestions, could be to include more ship types. I see our current ships as basically transportation shuttles, and you're right that it doesn't make sense to have a smelting furnace on what is basically a space-dingey. ...if you want to be able to do more in the ship, I'd say get a bigger ship! I'm thinking at least three classes of spacecraft should be available:

Shuttle (Current starter ship) - Good for getting from one planet to another, but not a whole lot else. Room for one NPC passenger.

Cruiser - A good four-times the size of the shuttle, this is basically a mobile-home in space. It could support one of each of the crafting objects (table/metalwork station/furnace), and still have a decent amount of space for storage and decoration. Room for four NPC passengers. Uses 25% more fuel than the shuttle.

Mothership - A city in the stars! Approximately the size of one of the dungeons in game (though obviously in a more 'spacey' shape), this beast can handle as many crafting objects as you can throw at it, as well as any other objects that would logically require power, such as the pixel compressor. It would have plenty of space for, and be able to grow hydroponic vegetables. Room for 20 NPC passengers, possibly with a required minimum for things like the hydroponics to function (they'd be your crew). Uses 50% more fuel than the shuttle.



...it would also be nice to be able to make a better furnace, as the stone furnace looks a tad out of place next to the robotic crafting table and sci-fi-metal-work-station... and it doesn't really make sense to put a stone furnace on ANY spacecraft.


ANYWHO, that would provide the motivation to have a planetary base of operations for those who don't want to bother sinking what should probably be a TON of resources into bigger and better spacecraft; but still leave room for folks who WANT to live out of their ship.

 

I would want more than this. If we're gonna have a sandbox, we should have more than a few preset ships. We should be able to make our own. We should be able to buy or make construction drones to create new areas of the ship. We should be able to create our own unique vessel rather than picking from some presets.

 

I would prefer more renewable resources to anchor you on a planet. In Terraria I built many farms for various things. Adding more depth to the resource system would be a great reason to build a "laboratory" to work from in your chosen base of operations. For example artificially manufacturing Uranium via end-game processes. Electricity would fuel the process (I like the electricity idea.) The electric generator may be restricted from being placed on your ship because of "interference."

 

I really like the nomad style as well, and I think when the new update comes I'll do that for awhile. I actually like it, and it forces you to make the best use of the space provided.

I do like making homes, but right now there just isn't any need to, especially since you have a ship already. About the passenger/crew thing, is this something we're going to be seeing in later iterations or is this just suggestion? I remember reading about what might be coming into the game but I'm pretty daft, forgot it all, and now I just don't know how to search properly, lol!

Anyway, yeah bigger ships would be great!

 

Just a suggestion.

 

I really like all of the suggestions brought here by Vhax and everyone who has posted after. They all seem like they could fit in the game. If I read correctly, the gist of what we want is:

1. A revisit option. The revisit option allows you to quickly select any planet you've tagged by putting a flag on the surface (Possible option for the flag to be removed by someone who's tracking you which triggers a distress signal from that planet or a notification telling you the flag has been moved?) . It also allows you to go back to the last planet, solar system or sector you visited most recently (with 3 options, 1 for each). It would be neat as well if when you select a planet, there is a "weblog" or "journal" screen which shows up and tells you the planets name, coordinates and a picture of the planet. From there, you would be allowed to type any notes about the planet that you want for quick reference.

2. Incentive to play how we play. This being a sandbox game about giving players choice, we could use a reason to be mobile or grounded. Some kind of incentive which says "you can either be nomadic or stationary. One isn't better than the other, but there are benefits that one has that the other doesn't. Each will have their similar and unique obstacles. Neither will be easy, the choice is yours." Something like that basically tells the player that their way of playing the game is correct, regardless of what they choose. That's what this game needs. More specifically, why when I have the option to travel the universe, did I decide to settle on this dusty planet? Or, why when I could just find solace on a safe remote planet somewhere and help rebuild the lost civilization that once thrived did I choose to put myself in constant danger by traveling from solar system to solar system with no guarantee of safety. Am I running or searching? Alternatively if I'm on the planet, am I hiding or making myself known. These questions should be answered by the incentive. Bonus points if you can include all four as possibilities.

3. Ship Customization. Give us preset ship plans, which we can build, then customize. A larger ship that can store many items but takes up more fuel, or a smaller podlike ship strictly for personal travel. 5-7 preset sizes should do (xxs, xs, s, m, l, xl, xxl). Also when building the ship, the ability to completely customize how it looks entirely, or have the game random build from a preset group of ship structures. Ships should also have specializations such as combat, espionage, trade, etc. Going with the nomadic or stationary lifestyle, the player should be allowed to dock a ship on a planet. While docked, the shiphome can either be completely customized or the game will load from preset shiphomes depending on the size. Docking should be semi permanent. If you really need to undock the ship from the planet, then you must fill the fuel capacity to a certain point or you might have to build a launch station or something as "punishment".Players can build multiple ships should they choose to do so but it shouldn't be easy. Building ships must be done from a previous ship and if you have multiple ships in multiple areas, all ships should have the potential of being raided, boarded, destroyed or hijacked. If you have a shiphome and the planet that it's on is terraformed, the shiphome should be impacted. It too will have the possibility of being destroyed, raided or hijacked and launched. Ships should be the ultimate complement to our playstyle.

4. Better resource economy. Planets need to specialize in certain resources. Those specialized resources should be either renewable or of abundance. Going with idea 1, it would be up to the player to find out which resource it is, and mark that down in their "journal". Going with idea 2, maybe you're given a quest to bring 5,000 fuel to a fleet commander. Then you have the option of raiding other ships and taking their fuel (if possible) or going from planet to planet trying to find fuel. Going with idea 3, maybe if the ship specializes in resource collection it can scan each planet and tell you which resource is most abundant. If you dock that ship on the planet then maybe it should send out robots to search the surface for the resource. Alternatively if there is another resource you need maybe the ship could artificially manufacture it from resources it auto collects on the planet.

If I left anything out, let me know. Otherwise my suggestion to seancruz is that this list or something like it be added to the bottom of his post to clarify. If you decide to add it, please give credit to all those involved in the idea process.

Again I really like the ideas put together here and I think this thread needs more support.

 

Why should I build a base?

Because I can.

 

DEBATE OVER. WE CAN ALL GO HOME.

 

I just spent two hours building a subway in a game that's about space exploration. AND NOBODY CAN STOP ME.

 

good for you.

meanwhile in minecraft somewhere.

Tom: "Frank....i just don't get it. Why are you griefing."

Frank: "SHUTUP TOM. BECAUSE I CAN."

I'm not trying to say your argument is invalid, but for others including myself, "because i can" isn't a good reason. Not only that but you kinda argued against yourself in the context of this thread. Notice how you said the game is about space exploration yet your building a subway. If there was some sort of incentive to settle on a planet, then building a subway would have some use thus ruining your argument that things should be in the game just because.

 

I LOVE the idea of constructing some type of power source. Energy source supplies "X" amount of energy in an area... "stations" use "X" amount ... lights and so forth. A step further furnace requires no power but is much slower. Creating a powered furnace works much faster.

I do think this power source should still be able to be placed on the ship for those who really don't like to build anything and have no desire for that aspect of the game.

Also upgrades to power source should increase the amount and the range.

I agree FORCING someone to do something is less ideal, however, incentive is much better. If it were set up so you could only place 1 "station" at a time. You don't HAVE do to find a home if you don't mind picking up and placing all the time. Not only that, I don't see how building a home or base or whatever would be "confined to one route". By that standard you already are confined to one route. You have to get a beacon to get to beta sector... then you have to get a robot to get to next sector and so on and so forth. This thread is about incentive... feeling good about doing something that you actually WANT to do. Not feeling about about doing something that you WANT to do. That's all.

 

Heads up, Nalano... you're getting pretty hungry =[.

griefing =[.

 

I love when games add "Tiers" to tech!

 

I offered a suggestion that coincides with this thread. It's about giving machines a requirement to have power cells which can be created through a hydroplant.

http://community.playstarbound.com/index.php?threads/water-needs-a-use.62148/

 

I really agree with Nalano's argument. I'm a *huge* proponent of base building. I actually quit for a bit when my server's universe seed got messed up and I lost my world. Not my character or my ship, but I lost my base. , and that was it for me. I think people should build bases for the beauty of it. For the things you can accomplish with the game's building system. If you want to live a nomadic life, sure, go ahead, but I will secretly pity you for not having that creative spark that drives one to build.

 

So, I went ahead and built a ship that I feel would be on scale with what I was trying to describe here:



THAT would be a space-nomad's vehicle of choice. What'cha think?