Vlog - Starbound isn't dead

This was another video inspired by some posts on r/starbound lamenting the supposed death of Starbound. The reality is... It's far from dead. Yeah, it's true that the game's developers, Chucklefish, haven't released any updates for it since 2019. It's even possible that no one at Chucklefish is currently working on Starbound. BUT... The community's been carrying the game on its back for years. There are a few multiplayer servers that are still surprisingly active, with decent player counts. The modding scene remains crazy active, with usually a few new mods released per day. Places like the Starbound subreddit and Discord server remain pretty active. Weirdos like me keep making content about the game - videos, fanart, and so on. Even discounting the community, Starbound is, first and foremost, a single player game. It's not a live service. Not an alpha or a beta, and not in early access (even if Starbound was better in those days). Not something like Minecraft that gets perpetually updated. It's... a finished product. A complete game, for better or worse, one with a multiplayer element. I'm sure Chucklefish sees it that way. I know I said much of this in the video, but screw it.

What I didn't say in the video was this: The biggest flaw with Starbound is a complete lack of direction, made even worse by the unpaid labor and worker exploitation issues that came to light in 2019 and the lead dev, Tiy, being absolutely incompetent. Much of what made Starbound so good in its early access days (race-specific traits and gear, interesting lore, etc.) got jettisoned with 1.0 and subsequent updates, replaced by... a terrible story mode and a boatload of padding, among other things. Seriously, I think I've messed with things like the fossil minigame and the bounty hunter stuff ONCE. Like, EVER.

Despite everything I said here and in the video, I'm still a Starbound fan... one who knows how much a mess its development was, how much of a mess the game itself is, and how much the community is keeping it alive.

[zamboozle]

Part of the reason Starbound's modding community is so active is because the game itself is incredibly easy to mod, which is something that absolutely works in its favor

[CesarARodriguez]

Starbound, despite it's issues, is a beautiful and charming game, and I never get tired of it

[AngelboyVR]

hey, man, glad to see active starbound channels still enjoying this masterpiece of a game, discovering your channel is a relief in a way.
i personally havent touched Starbound since way before Co vid, and completely forgot about it.
i would imagine getting back to it, there might be tons of surprises awaiting me which i have never seen before, including modding.
now that i have lots more friends i also have the benefit of playing in larger friends groups online, if singleplayer bores me.

i approve of your fanart content including the more explicit type ^w^ and im curious to say the least.

wishing you and the entire fanbase continuous massive amounts of fun

[AceTheOcarinaMaker]

Don't forget the whole Summer Sale Soda fiasco! Even if it was for a exploit, the highest player numbers since it's 1.0 launch brought it into the spotlight and got new players to take a look. Some who bought it just for the exploit even stuck around since, well you can't return it with dozen of hours in it idle farming. Might as well give it a go if you got the time.

[fungianura]

that's a comforting video for a starbound fan. i've been playing since 2016 and still one of my favorite games. i got back to it after about 2 year without playing and i just fell in love again and i'm currently on a modded playthrought where my goal is to colonize a lot of planets and make a whole city inside a satelite station. i'm truly happy to see that there still people like you who still active on the community!

[Alchunbor]

Frackin Universe mod is like the calamity mod for Terraria. It adds a whole bunch new stuff to the game, adding new enemies, weapons, armor, and more. And lastly, this mod is regularly updated.

[CaptainSouthbird]

4:57 Thanks for the mention! And yes, they are also fairly "Captain Southbird" videos, haha! Also worth noting there's also more general Starbound play videos (still being a bit character driven) further back with emphasis on Frackin Universe and Trouble Waters for example.

[risingoblivion]

I do love Starbound, I may not like playing the game to much without mods. But the Universe of the game is what I enjoy. I enjoy being a nova kid going around looting everything I can and explore. It’s to the point where I made a dnd game with Starbound in it, and wanna create a animation story one day in the future. I do wish the game was better. But as long as the community keeps it alive, that’s fine with me

[SolsSoul]

I do not when I dropped the game, but it has been years
I have so many fond memories with this game, playing with friends I no longer have any contact with, drawing my characters despite having no artistic talent back then

This video has convinced me to play again, thank you!


Florans for the win!

[jordirapper]

I just love how many systems the game has. You have a ship that you can build to your liking and add crew members to that you can customize as well. You have tons of weapons and guns and armors and cosmetics. Many instruments to collect, monsters to capture, transportation methods and trophies. You can farm, fish, savage, explore, do lab work, use a mech in space, trade, build towns and join a faction.

[MaverickTheRogue]

I played until it just felt repetitive af, and that took me years; having my character explored most the galaxy... Loved it very much, but it always felt like a flawed game with lot of potential unexploited. Thanks for the memories

[TomorrowBillis]

Starbound is like Tf2, they both have very few updates and the only part of the game left is the community.

[jacket]

I just recently got Starbound and despite not being able to play it with anyone I still love the game

[armok]

Honestly nice to see someone else pointing out that the game is still very much alive and kicking, a game being 'alive' isn't about active development but rather an active community, and Starbound still has that in spades. I'll admit that I personally disagree with the notion the game was 'better' in early access, or that the video you linked is essential viewing (in part due to some erroneous statements like how mods supposedly can't add in new mechanics, even thought they very much can and do so). Still, I can appreciate this video for debunking how this wonderful game is supposedly 'dead'.

[Starcat]

Starbound is simply a game that makes me happy! I have been playing it since the Beta hit Steam. My "Bucket List" includes getting a copy from GOG so I can have my Steam Mods saves and my Nexus Mods saves without the two clashing.

[bjay]

It's my birthday and I just had the thought to search my childhood game, glad to see it still having a number of active content creator and for almost 5years of playing it cracked I'm gonna but it

[nightflyer]

Recently been getting back in the mood to do another run in SB been about 2 years. Really enjoying your vids getting me pumped back up.

[hyenatown]

1.5 will happen one day. Hoo boy, will it be a wakeup call for 4-year-old mods being broken.

[davidjellofox]

As a member of the Varmints I thank you for mentioning our content at or around 5:09 mark

[ihiminen]

its a shame that Chuclefish abandoned Starbound