Starbound has been one of my favorite games of all time, so I’m happy to say that I have the latest Starbound source code, last commit August 7th, 2019. I will not be explaining how I got these files. It is the actual source, not just a decompilation, and as such includes build scripts, unused stuff, old migration code, comments, a stored test player, etc.

Source Screenshots

The source has minimal comments, and the structure is reasonable. I found the code easy to read and understand, but perhaps that’s because I’ve been modding Starbound for years now and am familiar with its behavior.

Languages Breakdown (GitHub)

StarEnvironmentPainter.cpp

StarMixer.cpp (audio related)

StarTools.cpp

Building

And of course, we can build it. I compiled this version without Steam API or the Discord rich presence API, but those are easily included.

Funny Developer Comments

Here’s a look at some of the best (in my opinion) developer comments in the source. This is not intended to be a mockery, far from it, I’m ecstatic I can take a peek into the minds of the developers. Enjoy.

Example: Simple Re-implementation of Vapor Trail and Sitting Toolbar Usage

At some point during development, Chucklefish had the idea to add a vapor trail when the player was falling fast. I could’ve sworn I saw a post on their news about it back when the game was in beta, but I can’t find it now. Anyway, we can add a small snippet to restore it, as an example of further engine work Starbound can benefit from.

// Vapor trail
if (m_movementController->velocity()[1] < -50) {
  m_vaporTrailTimer += WorldTimestep;
  if (m_vaporTrailTimer > 1)
      m_humanoid->setVaporTrail(true);
  }else{
  m_vaporTrailTimer = 0;
  m_humanoid->setVaporTrail(false);
}

By adding this snippet, we can see what it was roughly meant to look like.

---

We can also modify Player restrictions such as

bool Player::canUseTool() const {
  return !isDead() && !isTeleporting() && !m_techController->toolUsageSuppressed() && m_state != State::Lounge;
}

to just

return !isDead() && !isTeleporting() && !m_techController->toolUsageSuppressed();

Allowing us to use our inventory while sitting down

Further Thoughts

Future work on the engine can lead to further modding capabilities and engine optimizations. There are many potential client side performance improvements that could be made without touching any network code. This would maintain compatibility with the vanilla client. The netcode could be updated as well, but this would break compatibility once major changes were made. If both (or more) parties are willing to use a modified client, any theoretical modification could be made. The possibilities are endless.

As of 2024, there now exists a few Starbound open source community projects with the aim of enhancing the base game’s experience. : )

---

It helps me if you share this post

Published 2023-05-27 04:55:45