Starbound is finally out of Early Access, after more than two years in the developmental section of Valve’s digital marketplace, and millions of gamers are struggling to make heads or tails of the new and (mostly improved) content introduced in Starbound v1.0.
Now that the launch build has been out for about a week, we’ve rounded up some tips for those new to Starbound or struggling to acclimate to some of the changes Chucklefish introduced in the latest version. Most of these tips will only be useful to new players, or those who’ve spent a long time away from the game, but longtime Starbound fans might find a few tidbits of information they didn’t already know.
We’ll continue to add to the list as we spend more time with the game, especially as Starbound continues to evolve in the months following launch. And, as always, if you’ve got additional tips to share with the Starbound community, feel free to leave them down in the comments section!
Starbound Building Tips
Hold Shift To Place 1x1 Blocks
Placing blocks in Starbound is pretty self-explanatory. But not everyone realizes that Starbound lets you place single blocks of your chosen material in addition to the two-by-two squares placed by default. Just hold the shift button the next time you’re building and enjoy your newfound freedom to create.
Right-Click To Remove Background Tiles
We’re not sure the game ever actually communicates this, but players can harvest “background” tiles by holding the right mouse button (instead of left) while the Matter Manipulator is equipped.
Steal, Don’t Destroy
It’s important to know what you can (and can’t) get away with pilfering whenever you find a new village. Sure, it might be tempting to steal pretty much everything that isn’t nailed down, but doing so is going to destroy your reputation with the local populace. From what we can tell, players can safely take anything they find in a container, like treasure chests or refrigerators, but NPCs will get mad if you use your matter manipulator to take the container itself. Or a couch. Or bricks. Or pretty much anything that wasn’t already in storage.
Use Flags To Set Warp Points
The flags you can build in Starbound aren’t just there for decorative purposes. Placing a flag on a planet sets that location as the primary warp destination when departing your ship. Our advice is to keep a few ready and waiting, in storage near the teleporter on your ship, so you can grab one before each trip to a new location.
Use Teleporters To Establish Transportation Network
Once you’ve visited a teleporter, you can return to that same location from any other teleporter in the game. Building additional teleporters isn’t cheap but the potential to create massive travel networks provides more than enough incentive. You can purchase additional teleporters from a shop at the Outpost, near the NPC who builds/sells tech items.
Bring Platforms And Ropes When Digging Mines
Even if you’re not one of those players who prefers to dig straight down to the core, climbing back out of the mine you’ve excavated can prove to be more difficult than originally expected. Make sure you bring climbing gear, preferably a large stack of rope and/or wood platforms, to ensure you can get back out of any hole you dig during your travels.
Starbound Combat Tips
Kiting Is Key
Touch damage is back in Starbound and it’s a real pain in the ass. Some will still prefer to take an aggressive approach to combat but we recommend kiting your enemies whenever possible. Keep them at distance,
Always Check Your Weapon Skill
Anytime you find a new weapon, that seems like a viable replacement for your current gear, take a minute to try out the associated weapon skill. We’ve tossed countless weapons because the skill they bestowed wasn’t as useful as the one attached to our current sword/spear/axe/etc
Starbound Exploration Tips
Buy Gas At The Outpost
Sure, the cheapest way to get more fuel is to mine for it on the various moons spread throughout Starbound. But the fastest method, by a long shot, is just to buy fuel from the gas station on the outskirts of the Outpost. Plus, you don't have to get chased around by that weird ghost thing.
Some Creatures Aren’t Aggressive
After spending a few minutes with Starbound, it’s easy to assume that any non-sentient species you encounter will be out for blood. Thankfully, that isn’t the case. Anytime you encounter a new species, wait a few seconds to see if it readies an attack before charging in with your weapon. It’s hard enough to stay alive in the launch build of Starbound. No need to pick unnecessary fights.
Colonize Everything
There are a variety of reasons why you’d want to colonize a planet. For starters, interstellar exploration is kind of the entire purpose of the game and who wants to explore all of these amazing new planets without staking their claim to a few?
More importantly, colonists can eventually fill a variety of roles. Some may occasionally have quests for you while others could choose to join your ship’s crew. You might even get lucky and summon a NPC who can help you locate their race’s ancient artifact.
Starbound Resource Tips
Use Spears To Hunt
Killing animals with spears increases the chances your kill will drop meat. Obviously, there are plenty of other sources of food. But this could come in handy if/when you find yourself stranded on a planet with a climate that makes farming difficult (or impossible). The knowledge could also save your life if you get hungry while deep underground.
Cook Your Food ASAP
Once you start farming, leave crops on the vine until you need them because food spoils in Starbound. When you do collect food, either from your own crops or the surface of whatever planet you’re exploring, be sure to cook it (at a campfire or cooking station) as soon as possible.
Mine Asteroid Belts
You won’t find many better places to mine for ore than the various asteroid fields spread across the galaxy. You’ll even find Tungsten, the metal needed to craft tier 2 armor, which never spawns on your starter planet. Find the asteroid belt closest to your current location and stop by anytime you need some extra metal. Just watch your step. If you fall to your death, there’s an above average chance you’ll fall off the screen and won’t get an opportunity to reclaim your lost items.
You Can’t Build Pickaxes Anymore
One of the most common questions we’ve seen online, since Starbound 1.0 debuted last week, are questions about how to build, find and/or repair pickaxes. Unfortunately, the popular digging tools have been nerfed to hell and back in the launch build of Starbound. For starters, players can’t build them anymore. They can only be looted. To make matters worse, pickaxes can’t be repaired anymore, either. So don’t waste the few you manage to recover.
Clone Your Healing Water
Some players are reporting a surprisingly easy means of replicating healing water in Starbound. When you find yourself running low, dig a small pond, fill it most of the way with regular H2O and then dump in the remnants of your healing water stash. Voila! Your stock is replenished!
Other Starbound Tips
Starvation waits for no man (or woman). Letting your hunger meter deplete can have disastrous consequences for your inventory -- if you aren’t playing on casual -- and its important to know you can still starve to death while exploring menus, talking to NPCs or even in the middle of a cutscene.
The loot you lose after dying will eventually disappear but it’s not tied to your death state like we’ve seen in many games. Don’t panic if you die on the way back to your body. Just craft some bandages or salves and start making the trek again. We’ve already recovered loot from the dreaded double-death scenario on several occasions. Once it
Structures can be used for protection from weather effects even when you aren't inside them. Stand behind tall structures, if it’s not safe to go inside, to avoid acid rain and other harmful weather effects.
Speaking with certain members of an alien race can also help advance the progress meter when trying to gather information on that race’s hidden artifact. It’s not much but it might be enough to save you a trip to another planet.
Press “X” to toggle between your primary and secondary toolbars
Be sure to check back with iDigitalTimes.com and follow Scott on Twitter for more Starbound news throughout 2016 and however long Chucklefish supports Starbound in the months ahead.
