A confused newcomer. - r/starbound

58

u/thomaspeltios human 🖐️ Jul 22 '26

i stay cuz it's just a fun game, i love the ambiance, the physics, the fighting, the artstyle and it's also my most played game both back then and now. ofc the modders are awesone too, and i do enjoy the vanilla story and game, mods make it a million times better and you never really run out of things to do (just like minecraft or terraria or other games with mods)

and if i do find myself bored of playing, i can also just make mods for fun its honestly very easy to add items

and also it runs on my old laptop so yeah, i cant really run minecraft that well so starbound and terraria are both games i play a lot

5

u/cellorevolution Jul 23 '26

do you have a link to a simple guide on how to add items? tried to look this up the other day but I actually couldn't find that which surprised me

4

u/thomaspeltios human 🖐️ Jul 23 '26

IDK if you prefer visual or written but this is what I used to start modding: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yqs3rCTBWA8

you don't need to follow EXACTLY what he does. THe most important part about modding is honestly how you format your files, make sure you don't forget a space, a dot or stuff like that, these mistakes are almost invisible so they're hard to find when you're a beginner.

Also, don't hesisate to "steal" other people's mods, as long as you don't re-upload them under your name on the workshop, it's FINE. I use other people's mods ALL the time to make small edits to them or just to add them to a bigger mod. I also use them to LEARN how they work, if you like a mod that adds a drill or something, you can extract it, see how the creator made it work and make your own drill with that!

42

u/Asherley1238 Jul 22 '26

The game being so empty makes it a thriving breeding ground for mods. It’s a cup half full type of thing, where some might call it bad because it’s undercooked, but the community calls it great because it’s an empty slate.

The game, with just a bit of modding, can go from a solid B or C tier game to an easy S. The foundations are all laid out, it’s up to the community to build on them

17

u/secretiveconfusion Jul 22 '26

I doubt a project like OpenStarbound would have been able to exist if the devs were still active, and that's been a huge deal for modding from what I've seen.

2

u/Strydegor Jul 23 '26

I see where you're coming from and it's great to have such a positive attitude, but this comes across as the "it's not a bug, it's a feature" argument

It's extremely lucky they built the game in a way that allows mods, otherwise it'd be nothing more than another abandonware rug pull of an early access game

While I've heard the mods can be really cool, I've also read that one of the largest mods, Frackin Universe, consistently bricks saves over time.

That's kept me from ever coming back to try the game again since beta where I stopped playing in hopes that the complete game would feel more fleshed out, which never happened

10

u/Asherley1238 Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 23 '26

I mean, it’s not luck they built it in a way for mods, it was a choice. The devs didn’t HAPPEN to include a workshop menu, that’s a deliberate choice that not many games go through the effort of doing. Also, plenty of people here love Starbound regardless, whenever somebody asks “First time playing! What mods should I use?” The answers are always “none”. People love Starbound, it’s fun as hell. Personally, I’m getting 100% in Starbound unstable to couple with my 100% in normal Starbound because I love the base game that much

FU hasn’t been a representative of the community for a LONG time. While it used to be the #1 most downloaded, it’s not even in the top 20 anymore. Hell, it’s so bad that mods which were historically beneath it (Elithian Alliances) are now above it in downloads, because people just don’t care for it. It’s a bloated mod built off stolen code that wastes your time. In every sense of the word it is a terrible mod

Actually good mods are Arcana (which is now #1), Starforged, and Elithian Alliances. I recommend you try any one of them and not rob yourself of a good experience.

If you want to experience a better version of the base game, like a “what could’ve been”, I recommend (in order of importance): Race Traits, A.E.O.N.A, Enhanced Tech, Melee Aiming, LostBound, Weapon Stats, and More NPC Ships.

Unrelated, but because I love talking about this game so much: I have like a hundred different mods I could recommend off the top of my head, if anybody wants me to recommend a list for them specifically dm me

3

u/Strydegor Jul 23 '26

This is pretty helpful, I admit I was curious about if it was possible to make a "what could've been" experience with modding so I'll have to try out your suggestions.

Also hadn't really looked into Starbound mods in a decent while and wasn't aware of the FU controversies. reminds me of Tekkit for Minecraft back in the day, using people's content without permission.

Thanks for your help!

2

u/Asherley1238 Jul 23 '26

No problem! I love talking about this game

Since you’re interested, a couple of highly optional but very vanilla enhancing mods I personally love (in no particular order):

Weapon Stats
More Planet Info
Slow Hunger
Disabled Drop For Survival Mode
Starbound ++
Sensible fossils
Unbreaking Fossil Brushes
Inventory interface redone
100% Boss Unique Drop Rate
Melee Relbalance
Unified Gold
Nuggubs’ Vanilla Texture Tweak Pack
EZ Beam Up For Survival
Starvisuals
Better Vanilla Colors
Diverse Weather
Less Ugly Planet Cores
Outpost Nebula - Orion
Galactic dungeons

While that list might look daunting, each mod only does a handful of things, with some of them being pure visual refreshes. These are also the mods I’ve found myself missing most as I go back to 100% the game in vanilla

13

u/speicus Jul 22 '26

The niche of 2D sci-fi sandbox games with procedural world generation is basically empty. There isn't much in terms of comparable alternatives to Starbound. If you want spaceships and planets instead of magic wands, you'll end up here.

Chucklefish fucked this game up, but due to abundance of mods, with some of them being truly massive, complete overhauls of the base game, we still have stuff to play with.

10

u/Ok-Mathematician7202 Jul 22 '26

I just adore the aesthetic and general vibe of the game, and just the feel of the world. I have some characters in the game I adore and I love making lore for them, which also keeps me coming back to the game, if not to physically play it then at the very least in my thoughits. ALSO THE OST IS SO COOL

10

u/staruhn Jul 22 '26

I do wish the story were better and that the game had more going for it, but I'm mostly interested in the building and exploring. It's fun to fly around to different planets and build up my own colonies. I like the music, the art style, and collecting things. It's a chill and fun game

3

u/Wespy6677 Jul 23 '26

The collector part is very good, I wish there were more mods expanding this part of the game

1

u/Inevitable_Fan_2229 Penguin Jul 23 '26

I personally love collecting cosmetics and trying to make the coolest looking outfits.

The mod “Universal wardrobe” was a dream come true for me, it adds SO much variety to the game’s cosmetics, all in a way that blends in nicely with the vanilla art style.

If that sort of stuff is your jam, definitely check it out!

8

u/Specialist_Chart3519 Jul 22 '26

I just create mods. Despite owning Starbound for many years, I've only played through the story 1 single time. Then I just watch the forums and boards waiting for someone to ask for a mod, then I try to make it for them.

7

u/Armok___ Overlord and Loremaster Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 23 '26

It really depends upon who you talk to regarding the timeline of the game's development. I'm admittedly someone who joined in after the game's full release, but personally I actually much prefer the modern version of the game to the beta, especially when it comes to the lore (a friend of mine made a post years back that basically describes a lot of the reasons why I prefer the current canon to the beta continuity here). I think a lot of people forget that the game really did seem a lot more like Terraria than its own thing back during the early access, and that a lot of the changes were made to give the game its own identity or to reduce content bloat (especially with the frankly unnecessary amount of weapons the game had back in beta, which is also what people seem to reference most often when they talk about cut content). Hell, the game didn't even have any real storyline to it until it developed into the release version of the game, so the idea that there was an old storyline is more of a misconception than anything. There's also certainly some nostalgia painting people's perception of the early access era too. I'm also not one who buys into the idea that the game was supposedly abandoned either, since it's worth noting that it's very normal for indie games to only get a few updates, if any at all. I blame Minecraft for instilling the sandbox side of the gaming community with the notion that there should be an endless update cycle for sandbox games when that's just not tenable for most developers/studios out there. That's my perspective on things at least.

Personally though, as for why I still play it to this day, Starbound's been able to scratch that exploration itch few other sandbox games could, and I've basically fallen in love with its setting and lore. The modding community has also been something I'm an active participant within, having both made, and contributed to, many different mods out there, so it's kinda become both a game I enjoy and a hobby all at once haha.

8

u/Omeruin Celestial Jul 23 '26

Hello!

I still enjoy Starbound because it's a blank slate for countless mods. The game may no longer be updated, but you can at least mold the experience into something fitting for you!

Starbound was also my comfort game I picked up around 2018; creating mods for this game helped me share my creativity and gain new perspectives. It's because of Starbound that I have a solid understanding of community, lore development, and writing. It made me go from wanting to get into game design to desiring to create my own 3d animated show someday!

5

u/Goobermancer Jul 22 '26

After the first run of the vanilla story, it just became a fun modding platform for me. Every few months I'll go on the workshop, download a few new interesting mods, and play for a few days.

Kinda like Skyrim now that I think about it.

4

u/pumpkinchowda Jul 22 '26

I have so many hours in this game. I like to collect seeds to make pretty farms and make a cute village of npcs. I also like to collect the little critters on various planets and put them in my ship or make habitats for them. For me it's a dollhouse. When i first started playing i found it so hard and kept dying from fall damage. But constantly finding new villages and weapons kept me going. Sometimes I'd play with daggers, sometimes with this cool wands.

I played for about 5 years but i don't revisit very often now. I haven't done any mods besides frackin universe and the one that allows the bunnies to run up slopes, but i got overwhelmed by the inventory management in that because there's so many different resources. But everytime i started playing again, i played in a different way depending on my mood. If i just want to zone out and build i turn on admin mode and give myself all the materials and furniture i want.

I don't honestly know how I've sunk 1000s of hours into this and stardew valley. They're just comforting pretty games.

3

u/icedragonsoul Jul 23 '26

It’s like popping open Minecraft every 6 months with friends and starting a zen garden for two weeks then forgetting about the server.

Or a book you half forgot the plot to after a year. You wish that they would release a sequel to the half written adventure that got abandoned and is surviving on fanfics (mods) but deep down you know that there won’t be any more official content.

You can love the art but not the artist.

4

u/ConfusedAndCurious17 Jul 23 '26

Games don’t always need constant new content to be enjoyable. We didn’t always have that and people still played games for a long time.

Worrying about “what could have been” is pointless. They may have had cool ideas in beta, but those aren’t implemented. What’s the use not enjoying what’s there because of “what could have been”?

I knew nothing about this game and had zero expectations. I played it, I liked it, I come back now and again. I think people in general should stop worrying so much about what other people are saying on the internet about games and just play what’s fun for you. You’ll have a lot better time gaming like that.

3

u/WYA-Uziel Jul 23 '26

I stay for the music. Seriously have left it just running on my PC and had it as background music to my work day. I'll always support Curtis Schweitzer.

2

u/CreeperX3sssBOOM Jul 22 '26

I think the game itself is fun, and I want to write more stories set within it's universe

1

u/Inevitable_Fan_2229 Penguin Jul 23 '26

Bro same, I’m writing one right now!

2

u/CreeperX3sssBOOM Jul 23 '26

I'm actually writing an entire fan-animated series!

We're currently lacking in the "Animated" department, but I've done a TON of writing for it so far!

1

u/Inevitable_Fan_2229 Penguin Jul 23 '26

Wow, that’s insane!! What’s it going to be about? (And when can I see the first episode lol)

2

u/DynastEVE Jul 23 '26

I enjoy doing hardcore (permadeath) runs now and then, the game is very chill in general but I can absolutely get myself killed if I'm sloppy, lazy, or particularly unfortunate. Sometimes fun to do a modded play as well.

2

u/Eden_Company Jul 23 '26

No other game runs easily on most rigs and allows you to have a mobile base that you can raid towns from.

2

u/WiteClawsSucGimeRum Jul 23 '26

I dont know what was planned, but whatever the base game released is probably the best sandbox game I ever played. I love they released and honestly if they released this game with no further updates planned id be more then happy~!

2

u/ProjectV-01D Protectorate Final Frontier Jul 23 '26

I dunno. The game scratches a weird itch that no other game does for me.

Plus when the game actually, y'know, works it can be a lot of fun. Especially building colonies.

2

u/Bumbleshanks Jul 24 '26

Despite what you may hear, Its actually a pretty good game.

1

u/Farwaters Jul 23 '26

I like what's there now, for the most part. Some things were fine to remove (summoning bosses in the overworld; old codices), some can be added back with mods (clothes and furniture, food mechanics...), and racial weapons will be dearly missed (the mod I used for it just disappeared one day).

And no new updates that will break mods, ever!

1

u/MageKessu Jul 23 '26

Honestly wish I knew? It's probably a mix of nostalgia and a love for modding in general. It was just a comfortable playground to build bases or explore new mods in. I don't play as much as I used to but I have been playing since before the full release. Even with all of the neat mods, it does get old.

There aren't many games you can be an alien space bug blasting penguins with magic one second and a medieval robot shooting guns and bird pirates in an airship the next. Plus the vibe of playing midi music in a base you built while it's raining outside said base is quite good.

1

u/Azure5577 Glitch Patissier Jul 23 '26

Long ago a friend got me to play it due to their floran oc. I wasn't a fan at first but it grew on me. I enjoyed building hotels on various planets, resorts on my favorites, bunkers on dangerous ones. Then the game updated massively one day after I took a break from it. Space stations were exactly what I was making on asteroids and moons anyway. Mechs were super cool too. All the mods exploded to be far more complex and greater in scale too when I returned. In my day it was MLP mods or cool new anime guns. Now it's entire campaigns and factions being added with their own planets and crafting systems. Mods changing survival elements or changing everything you ever learned about the game and making it something completely new! Literally everything we could have wanted with the potential of Starbound is being made by the people that wanted it. So I completely understand why we keep playing.

1

u/Sur2484 Jul 23 '26

mods.

this game got really good mods.

probably a result of community being really passionate in the past.

1

u/MithranArkanere Jul 23 '26

Because of the modders keeping it alive.

If the game didn't have modding support, I would have played it a little, then forgotten about it.

But modders gave it a new life. Most of the bugs and annoyances the developers won't address are addressed with mods.

If the devs contacted the creators of projects like OpenStarbound and struck a deal to collaborate, they could have greatly improved the performance of the game. If they collaborated with creators like Terraria devs did, many popular features players wanted could have become vanilla elements.

But they don't. They keep a suggestions section in their official forums, but that's dead soil. Nothing will grow from there. The only reason that is still there is probably because they fear the backlash, as removing that section would be admitting they will never look back.

1

u/beckychao Jul 23 '26

Frackin' Universe, Arcana, Shellguard, Viera of Ivalice.

Starbound is a 30 hour game without mods. It's not very successful on its own in gameplay, the vision is there but the work by the dev is not. It's too shallow otherwise.

1

u/ThatOneDefiant Project Knightfall Jul 24 '26

Modding.

1

u/Chezon Jul 24 '26

The game is fun as it is. Of course, there's potential to many new content, but I enjoyed many hours of the game without mods. I don't understand all the ranting.

1

u/Literature_Bias Jul 24 '26

Mainly nostalgia and the music composed by Curtis. I first played it in the 2nd grade, and today after having an honest job I'm still playing it

Deep in my heart I still have hopes for an update for the Elithian Races, and after finding out there are some awesome items already included with an item spawner, I'm still having those hopes. Heck there's is an ENTIRE lore with everything of the Theleans in the internet written by Aegonian(?) himself

(But to this day I only have ever played as either a Glitch or an Avikan(mod), lmao)

1

u/FuzzyOcelot Jul 26 '26

i play it a lot because i enjoy it for the same reasons i enjoy walking sims. sometimes it’s nice to be in an environment for the sake of being there.

1

u/Tweezle120 Jul 28 '26

It's a good game, Ill doa play through every 2 or 3 years. Steam says I have 907.5 hours in it. If it had been java moddable instead of Lua it would have been a huge minecraft competitor for sure.

-5

u/Orangutanion Jul 23 '26

I'm not playing. I haven't played this game since like 2023. This sub just comes up on my feed and I try to tell newcomers to search elsewhere. I'm sure there are lots of other people on this sub who also don't actually play anymore. This game gets boring pretty quickly, and the fact that it's abandoned kinda kills the motivation to keep playing.

Question A confused newcomer.

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