Starbound

When I first played Starbound like...what, two years ago I think, I was impressed by what it was at the time. It was a strong Terraria-esque game with a sci-fi twist, giving you your own starship and everything you need to dig deep into numerous planets with different biomes on each one and build just about anything your heart desires.

I'm always in a strange place with these sorts of games. I see them, they look colorful and fun and I can do whatever I want, but because of that nebulousness and lack of actual direction, I rapidly lose my interest because I inevitably hit a point of 'Well I've hit the bottom. What else is there to do?' The lack of any sort of answer after that point makes me quickly stop playing.

BUT, back then, the game wasn't in a complete state, and for what it was, it was fine. It wouldn't retain my interest, but I had fun while it lasted. I recall thinking to myself that I would look forward to where the game goes, but as things usually go, I haven't touched the game since then, not even out of curiosity.

Then, I got an advertisement thingy popping up on Steam saying that Starbound has finally reached version 1.0. As in, the final version of it that properly encapsulates what the creator had intended all along. I quickly went and checked it out because, yeah, I have fond memories of Starbound. I'll take a peek.

The creator of Starbound is a visionary and I love him for it.

The first and biggest change, the one that will keep me hooked and coming back, is the fact that the game now has a legitimate storyline. Nothing really half-assed either, this storyline covers the idea of eldritch gods and ancient horrors, and you somehow have to find a way to deal with the situation. Obviously there's far more to it than that, but I don't want to spoil anything.

The simple inclusion of a storyline changes the core aspect of why you're doing anything in the game, and that single change keeps me going. Instead of digging and building things just because, I'm doing those things because they help me progress, often in very significant ways. I don't feel like I'm spinning my wheels and not really getting much of anything done. Every single thing helps you get more money, build new things, and dig deeper into planets without putting all of your stuff at risk.

You even have a big reason to build homes all over the place: colonization. You can do it on almost any planet. All you need is the materials to build some kind of domicile, a colony deed, a light source and maybe some other furnishings, and suddenly someone will move in and they will periodically give you stuff when you stop in to say hello. Your tenants will even give you side-quests, and fulfilling them can get you a lot of good stuff, from ores to money to modules to upgrade your Matter Manipulator, or tech cards to unlock and upgrade your dash, double jump and sphere form a-la Samus Aran from Metroid.

Some of your colonists can wind up becoming a member of your crew, though I believe when that becomes a possibility is random, or if you complete a certain number of quests from them. I assume they all make a difference too, since I have both a janitor and a mechanic, and sometimes when I return to the ship the mechanic's expanded how much FTL fuel my ship can store. The janitor...well, maybe he keeps the place tidy? I dunno. Another advantage of crew members is that you can have them come with you planetside, and they'll fight off monsters and even raiders that might come after your goodies. Then can die, but I'd rather lose one of them than die alone while halfway to some planet's core.

The Matter Manipulator has been given its due as well, compared to how trivial it was back when I first played Starbound. Back then, the Matter Manipulator was almost instantly rendered useless by primitive tools like pickaxes. Now, the Matter Manipulator has a dedicated section on your toolbar, has four different functions, and all of its functions can be upgraded with modules you can find in chests or receive as rewards for quests. It can act as a super-powered flashlight, scan objects for input on their purpose, it has a wire mode that I don't fully understand the purpose of yet, and it can even change the colors of things as well as digging, chopping down trees, you get the idea. It's called the Matter Manipulator for a reason.

I still have a lot to see, and I know that. There are different types of planets and solar systems you can travel to, and they all have more difficult enemies and more rough terrain to navigate. There are seven or eight different races to choose from when you create your character, and each race is represented in different ways in-game. I've seen small Floran settlements and done stuff for them to get some free shiz, I've raided ancient Avian tombs being guarded by a religious sect of their people that worship Kleux (Kluex?), their great and one true bird-god-person, and I haven't even encountered the Glitch or the other races yet!

I look forward to seeing more, because seeing more means I'm making progress. If any of you out there played Starbound back then and gave up on it, I suggest taking another look. You might just be pleasantly surprised.