The developer behind Starbound (a game considered to be the spiritual successor to Terraria ), Chucklefish, released its upcoming plans for its adventure game over the weekend, detailing that the current progression of the game will change in light of a new design structure, and that the beginning of the game has changed as a result of this.
One of the changes will be the removal of Starbound’s different universe sectors. Instead of only three sectors, the final game will now have one which the majority of the game takes place in, one that will be a PvP sector, and the other being a creative sector where players can go to build shiz without the worry of any dangers.
What’s more, in terms of the game’s progression, players, instead of progressing sector by sector, now have to upgrade their tech in order to get any further in the game. Players will now have to up their tech in order to access otherwise inaccessible planets due to certain hazards, like a planet with no breathable atmosphere for your chosen character. Starbound’s progression wil l now be “less linear and more akin to the kind of progression you find in modern metroidvanias.”
Furthermore, Starbound will have three main paths of progression that will branch later in the game: farming, adventuring and building. Chucklefish’s incentive behind this is so that players are able to progress in the game while still being able to do what they enjoy most in Starbound . These roles can later expand as players progress further into the game, like animal farming becoming an optional attribute to the farming progression tree.
Lastly, a new planet type will be added to the game: the outpost. Once players are able to get off their first planet at the beginning of their session, they will be able to check out a local outpost in their solar system. The outpost will be essentially a trading hub for the players, where they can trade goods and take on quests. The outpost itself is touted to be a safe haven populated by members of every in-game race. While at an outpost, players will be able to generate pixels (a form of Starbound’s in-game currency) by selling crops, taking on quests, selling what trophies they’ve found in dungeons and renting houses in their settlement.
Starbound is currently available on Steam’s Early Access for £11.99, or your regional equivalent.