Starbound players, this is the development news that we've all been waiting for: Starbound will finally be getting it's big 1.0 update!
A plethora of gameplay improvements, content expansions, and overhaul mechanics come with the final version 1.0 and here are some of the new features developers back at Chucklefish Games have been working on.
Story Content
Developers have been calling this release the "story update" and this holds true as the complete story arc of Starbound has now been finalized. Quests have been integrated smoothly along with gameplay progression so as to keep the lore of the game unified. Communication with NPCs, dialogue prompts, and side quests, among many others, have been revamped to stay true to the overall background of the game.
This doesn't mean that the game's sandbox feature will be compromised. Players still get to choose their own path in game progression to complete the quests and story arc. Quests can be approached in a variety of ways, depending on the player's style.
A New Style Of Multiplayer
Previous complex setups to allow multiplayer options will now be simplified. Developers have announced that they are still looking into improving this feature, which has always been "a bit technical to get off of the ground." The aim is to use available options in Steam to further tweak multiplayer options. Two kinds of multiplayer gameplay are currently in the works: a "drop-in drop-out" system that allows players in singleplayer mode to invite their friends over and is limited to a maximum of four; and the existing dedicated servers that will continue to use the game's "server/client model." The developers hope to remove the complex processes involved that require players to undergo a number of steps before establishing multiplayer contact.
Polish, Performance And Optimization
The overall look and feel of the game will be polished to allow optimal player experience. Current game mechanics will be enhanced such as: "code, sound, graphics, design." Performance and stability will also be improved upon regarding server side and client side issues. Frame rates on the client side and update rates on the server side will be significantly boosted for smoother performance. The developers write that "[they] will be pushing a release candidate of Starbound to unstable some time before 1.0 whilst [they] continue to polish for the final release."
As always, players can track the progress of the game before the final release date, which is yet to be confirmed, on the developer's website. Chucklefish Games will continually work on the game's internal system and other features they plan to release will be posted on Chucklefish Forums, like they have always done in the past two years.
Their previous update on the game's combat system can be viewed below:
