Starbound has released its first major update since December. There’s so much new stuff going on, Chucklefish recommends that you basically start over with new characters.
Actually, there really is a worry about old characters being unable to access all the new content. For the moment, the launcher will rename your data, and the dev is working on tools to import and convert your files to approximate what you had as close as possible.
Bear in mind that the game is still in Early Access, so drastic changes like this were inevitable. You can probably anticipate changes like this to happen again until the game is finally ready for official release.
There really is too much new stuff to summarize here, but here are some highlights:
· Sectors have been removed, so all stars are part of the same map.
· Added rare Barren and Asteroid worlds with no monsters for large scale building.
· Fuel costs for travel have been reworked. Moving between planets within a system is now free, while jumps to other systems require fuel in proportion to the distance traveled.
· The universe now has a civilized hub containing shops, quests, and other services. This is where players will find quests, missions, and ship upgrades which allow them to advance through the game.
· Techs are now split into head, body, legs and suit slots, so you can equip up to four at once!
· Pickaxes and drills are more powerful, but have lowered durability and cannot be repaired, making them a consumable alternative to the Matter Manipulator.
Starbound is also currently 25 % off at Steam, and will be so for another day.
