Starground News

[h3]Starground v0.10.2 is now here! This update adds in a couple new nice to haves, along with a ton of QOL changes, additions, and fixes to some old bugs.[/h3]



[h2]Editable Terrain[/h2]


Stargrounders are now able to modify and move terrain tiles around on Veridan! Once unlocking the Terrain Manipulation research, players can access the new shovel tool to break tiles. You can also place them back down from the building menu, and buy more in the space hub from the Snail.

This will allow players to build out their island for ideal factory layouts, and convert resource nodes from and to oil.


[h2]Commands[/h2]


Commands are finally here in Starground! While they don't mean much for regular play, it allows for a type of "creative mode" world, or changing things to spice up gameplay. Enabling commands will disable achievements that will eventually be added in the future.

[h3]All the commands available are:[/h3]

• /tp - teleport to a location
  
• /give - gives an item and/or quantity
  
• /kill - kills the player
  
• /time - sets the current day time
  
• /noclip - enables/disables noclip
  
• /movespeed - changes player movespeed
  
• /zoomlimit - enables/disables the zoom limit
  
• /miningspeed - changes player mining speed
  
• /rain - start/stop rain
  
• /create - creates a scene that exists within the game files (be careful spawning on some kinds of scenes!)
  
• /help - gives a list of commands
  

Custom commands can also be added via modding (check the modding repo for more details)


[h2]Resource Clustering[/h2]


Resources now spawn in a new way. Instead of being randomly placed around, they spawn in clusters. This means collectors and thumpers are much better when placed in resource-dense locations, and voids between clusters are left free of resources. These are perfect places to build your factory without decreasing your resource production.

Resource positions and types are now also linked to the world seed. This means they will always be the same kind of resource, and spawn in the same location every time you load a game, or use the same seed.

These changes aim to make early game much easier to sustain (especially with fuel), and to make end-game designs more interesting, since clustering requires more thought-process instead of the "place collectors everywhere" approach.

[h3]As always, let me know on the Steam forums, or on Discord if you run into any new issues. Enjoy![/h3]



[h2]Additions[/h2]

• Added the ability to go through old chat messages with up and down arrow keys
  
• Added commands
  
• Added the tp command
  
• Added the noclip command
  
• Added the rain command
  
• Added the kill command
  
• Added the give command
  
• Added the movespeed command
  
• Added the miningspeed command
  
• Added the create command
  
• Added the help command
  
• Added the time command
  
• Added editable terrain
  
• Added the shovel tool
  
• Added land tile items
  
• Added the ability to rotate airlocks and storage interfaces to place them vertically
  
• Added the ability to purchase land tiles from the snail in the Space Hub
  
• Added a new resource clustering algorithm to make resources spawn in denser patches (and leave empty voids) instead of randomly or in a grid
  
• Added the terrain manipulation research
  
• Added the ability to clear a second keybind by rightclicking it
  
• Added the new Sedna's Gift track to Tyria (thank you ace!)
  
• Added a world options menu to configure world settings on creation, or in-game (found in the options menu)
  
• Added the ability to add a modifier to a keybind
  
• Added infinite research for thumper speed
  
• Added smooth mining mode for controller
  
• Added a crosshair for controller
  
• Added unbinded keys to toggle smooth mining mode and hit first object
  

[h2]Changes[/h2]

• Increased the size of the back button icon for the chat on controller
  
• Made it so that the hotbar no longer overlaps on the chatbox on large ui scales, now that the chatbox size is dynamic
  
• Made it so V2 tesla coils placed in the water have a water sprite
  
• Decreased the cost of Better Automation and Clean Energy researches
  
• Made it so the "Consumes" and "Generates" tags are now colored, and removed the negative sign
  
• Made it so that training dummies now save their face and sync it on multiplayer
  
• Made optimizations to game loading order, which will help with multiplayer connection issues
  
• Made it so rain splash particles fade in and out
  
• Reworked the controls menu to convert from physical to regular keycodes, make controller binds more obvious and intuitive, and better convert from inputs to icons and text
  
• Made changes to the minimap to better represent shorelines and update dynamically with terrain changes
  
• Changed the minimap colors to increase contrast and readability for those with red/green colorblindness (in the future, we'll likely have colorblindness modes and/or customizable colors)
  
• Made it so the chat line edit now displays the binded key
  
• Updated the translation sheet
  

[h2]Fixes[/h2]

• Fixed an issue where beach balls flipped their orientation depending on the direction they are hit
  
• Fixed an issue where beach balls rotated way too much
  
• Fixed an issue where non-power using buildings would cause the power tooltip to play
  
• Fixed an issue where tutorial tooltips were not translated
  
• Fixed an issue where ui scale was unchangeable on controller
  
• Fixed an issue where resources could sometimes drop multiple times at low FPSs, or with extremely fast mining speed
  
• Fixed an issue where skateboards could start to multiply your speed up to infinity, softlocking the player and teleporting them to NaNland (NaN coordinates)
  
• Fixed an issue where rotating a building could cause offset issues with 3x2 buildings like the grinder and refinery
  
• Fixed an issue where the "Created In" popup on items showed multiple of the same building
  
• Fixed an issue where treadmills still worked underwater
  
• Fixed an issue where the metal tile sound effect would transfer to veridian
  
• Fixed an issue where movers could access the wrong index, causing crashes on load and during play
  
• Fixed an issue where kickflips didn't sync on multiplayer
  
• Fixed an issue where the amounts of lost items on death would overlap the pause menu
  
• Fixed an issue where trees and rocks didn't drop their player-specific secondary items
  
• Fixed an issue where rain splash particles didn't work for clients on multiplayer
  
• Fixed an issue where tesla coils would not react to water changes, causing issues on load and allowing people to illegally connect tesla coils
  
• Fixed an issue where the hotbar selection ability on controller crashed the game
  
• Increased the initial thumper speed from 10 to 12 seconds
  

[h2]Modding[/h2]

• Added the CanPlaceShore and BannedRegions tags to buildings
  
• Added a function to ModAPI to add commands
  
• Added the set_time function to ModAPI
  
• Added the set_rain function to ModAPI
  
• Added the add_command function to ModAPI
  
• Organized and better documented the ModAPI script
  
• Added the input_type_changed signal to Global
  
• Added the language_changed signal to Global
  
• Added the get_input_icon_path() function to Global (returns an icon for a given InputEvent)
  

This small hotfix introduces some more fixes to the game.

One issue that some people have been experiencing is severe lagspikes from the spider enemies and Spore in the second dungeon level. It's been tricky to debug, since behavior changes from editor to .zip, but hopefully these issues have finally been addressed.

If any of you still experience this issue, or any others, let me know on the discussion forums, or on Discord. Thanks!

[h2]Fixes[/h2]

• Fixed an issue where the tooltips tutorial did not play for new saves
  
• Hopefully finally fixed an issue related to lagspikes caused by mini-diadematuses spawning in the second dungeon (the spider guys), and mushrooms spawned by Spore
  
• Fixed an issue where resource room nodes didn't appear for quite some time when generating
  

[h3]Hey everyone, bit of a different kind of post today. We've been hard at work coming up with plans for what major updates are next for Starground, and have put them all into a roadmap![/h3]



[h3]Dates are approximate, so some updates may come earlier or later. Alongside the major updates, a couple of smaller features ideally will be thrown in, including a space hub overhaul, april fools update, pollution, Steam workshop, and adding seasons into the game.

For a bit more of a detailed rundown:[/h3]

[h3]0.11 - "Brewconomics Cropdate" (Q1 2025)[/h3]
This update would be focused on a few main things, including farming, potions, and economy. Players will be able to farm new crops, and either feed those to domesticated animals, sell them on the market, or make potions out of them. This will make automation feel a bit more "fair" since you will be able to get coins without having to go dungeoning.

[h3]0.12 - "This Hex Update" (Q2 2025)[/h3]
This update will be focused on NPCs and interactions with them. With a karma system, players can talk to NPCs, and start to build up relationships with them. This will tie into a lot of systems in the game, like discounts at shops or other bonuses in the game. Once you build up enough karma, you can take on NPCs as your selected companion, who will follow and help you.

[h3]0.13 - "Finders Keepers" (Q3 2025)[/h3]
This update will be all about exploring and dungeoning, with a couple of new mechanics making their introduction. The first will be spaceships that you can pilot to the furthest reaches of the solar system. Questing will be added in full force, with main story questlines, and new dungeons to run through. It will also include story-focused exploration zones, which will be fun for all those people who enjoy story and narrative.

[h3]0.14 - "Quantumation Update" (Q4 2025)[/h3]
This update will focus on the top tier of automation technology. It will mark the introduction of quantum technology, solar system megastructures, and other high-tier gadgets and gizmos that will make life easier on automation planets.

[h3]1.0 - "Juan Pointo" (Q4 2025?)[/h3]
This will be the full release update! It will mainly focus on QOL, optimization, and polishing. However it'll also mark the introduction of the game's final boss, and the conclusion to the storyline.

[h3]This roadmap is a good summary of our plans, but isn't the end all for updates. We'll likely continue to flesh things out after release, or squeeze more content in-between these. Let us know if there's things on this you think are missing.

Thanks![/h3]

[h2]Follow Along[/h2]
Want to follow the development of Starground more closely? Please consider joining the official Discord, or tuning into regular devstreams held over on Twitch.




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This quick hotfix for Starground fixes some different bugs that were introduced from v0.10.1.

[h2]Fixes[/h2]

• Fixed an issue where the skateboard would play a sound at infinite volume when swinging your weapon (kind of really funny, but also scary)
  
• Fixed an issue where collectors and oil rigs did not link to resources on game load
  
• Fixed an issue where the present had an edit name box and could crash the game
  
• Fixed depth sorting issues with area indicators on Tyria
  
• Fixed an issue where the water overlay did not disappear when changing the option
  
• Fixed an issue where resources spawned in pressurized zones on Tyria
  

[h3]Starground v0.10.1 is here! While this was originally intended to be a smaller update, it slowly progressed into having a bit more substance.[/h3]



[h2]Resource Generation[/h2]
One major change is how resources are created in the game. Before, resources were created, and eventually destroyed after their lifespan ran out. However constantly creating new ones could cause lag spikes. With the new system, resources are created once, and never again. This does a couple of things:

• Eliminates all lag spikes for any map size
  
• Removes the need to despawn resources
  
• Makes it easier for bees to mine smarter
  
• Reducing the number of multiplayer spawner and synchronizer packets
  
• Making it so resources no longer need to be saved and loaded like other buildings
  

While this can add on a few seconds to load times, it makes actually playing buttery smooth.

[h2]Christmas Decorations[/h2]

Christmas decorations are here just in time for the holidays! Decorate your base with some jolly buildings, or do some sick tricks with the skateboard.

[h2]New Research and Recipes[/h2]

Research has seen some minor changes. The resource processing research has been created, and takes some recipes and items from the new Tyria research. It also includes a new recipe for the foundry to convert wood into coal.




[h2]Additions[/h2]

• Added red backgrounds to item slots that either don't have a required item, or have an incorrect item
  
• Added info to items about where they are crafted
  
• Added the ability to hover over placeholder items and get their info
  
• Added the rubber ducky
  
• Added skateboards
  
• Added a parent class for bounceable objects
  
• Added a parent class for vehicles
  
• Added christmas trees
  
• Added cookies
  
• Added candy canes
  
• Added present decorations
  
• Added the Resource Processing research
  
• Added the wood refining research
  
• Added the snowman decoration
  
• Added the "Toys" research
  
• Added an option to change the top left health bar transparency
  

[h2]Changes[/h2]

• Changed the day indicator to include the word "Day" to avoid confusion
  
• Changed "Steam" in the multiplayer popup to "Steam™" to prevent the key from being translated
  
• Made it so boats on Tyria don't have water in the sprite or emit trails
  
• Made it so players automatically dismount their vehicle when using the starlauncher
  
• Made it so bees are smarter when mining (they will always target a different resource instead of one that's actively being mined)
  
• Changed and improved the loading sequence, so that buildings are created after the world generation
  
• Made it so that the joining game screen will always appear for both clients and hosts
  
• Increased the default resource cap from 256 to 384 (adjusted for map size still of course)
  
• Made it so beach balls float away when underwater
  
• Made it so that resources in dungeon resource rooms now respawn
  
• Changed Pinhoo's name in the credits
  
• Decreased the cost of 10 steel in solar panels to 5
  
• Moved the recipe for slag processing, depleted uranium, and nuclear waste reprocessing into the resource processing research
  
• Moved the beach ball into the toys research
  
• Made it so research buttons turn green when the research is complete
  
• Updated the translation sheet
  

[h2]Fixes[/h2]

• Fixed an issue where electric furnaces did not consume power
  
• Fixed an issue where diadematuses spawn in the first dungeon
  
• Fixed an issue where all of the debug info was the same number
  
• Fixed an issue where fuel amount was not synced on multiplayer for recipe buildings
  
• Fixed an issue where ovens did not have a description
  
• Fixed an issue where players were on the minimap when in other regions
  
• Fixed improper calculations with minimap drawing, correcting multiple issues
  
• Fixed an issue where the maximum pressure pump size was actually 499 instead of 500
  
• Fixed an issue where you could not exit boats on Tyria
  
• Fixed depth issues with Tyria ruins
  
• Fixed an issue where traveling to another location while in a vehicle could crash the game
  
• Fixed an issue where Spore didn't have poison resistance and killed himself because of it
  
• Fixed an issue where extremely large navigation regions caused lag on the second dungeon level when Mini-Diadematuses spawned, or moonshrooms from Spore
  
• Fixed an issue where purifier buildings didn't have a description key
  
• Fixed an issue where you couldn't select the bottom-most recipe on controller (thanks juliobass87!)
  
• Fixed an issue where planets were unable to be selected properly on controller (thanks juliobass87!)
  
• Fixed an issue where underground conveyors could not directly add items into a splitter (thanks ghimki5!)
  
• Fixed an issue where movers would instantly transport items, and would visually appear to duplicate them (thanks Ryūjin!)
  
• Fixed a crash that can occur when loading a very old save with the old toolbar format
  
• Fixed an issue where terrain was sometimes incorrectly set back to water in the center of the map (thanks PhoenixRising!)
  

[h2]Optimizations[/h2]

• Improved performance of autotiling on Tyria
  
• Reduced the game's file size by 40mb by converting the nature ambience to an .ogg
  
• Massively improved the performance of resource node spawning, eliminating lagspikes and improving various other parts of the game
  

[h2]Modding[/h2]

• Moved multiple functions and variables from Global into ModAPI for use in modding
  
• Created the Vehicle and Bounceable abstract classes
  

Changes made in this update could potentially cause some issues with older mods. If you are a mod developer and have mods that took advantage of the functions in Global, now would be a good time to update that.