I was taking a break from the game when I decided to write this, which was when I found out about the stable build update. After that, I noticed that I was no longer able to play the nightly build. So, I switched to the stable build. I found the answer to the issue I had in the forums; "Nightly is going to be broken until stable is released. It's our staging branch and we're doing some layout changes."

I also read that some people were having some issues after the update, but Chucklefish was working quickly to get that issue resolved. After I switched to the stable version and the game updated, I decided to see if that issue was resolved or, in other words, if I was having the same issue. To my surprise, I did not have an issue with it. The launcher worked without issue, which it did not do with the nightly build, and it also showed that the game was updated to "Upbeat Giraffe" (the name of the latest build).

My point is, that I was surprised because I found my character there on the stable build that I was using on the nightly build. I remember Chucklefish saying something about trying to make it so that the "unstable" build characters would transfer to the stable build, once it was completed. So, I am grateful that they got that to work. I was able to continue using my character and my universe without any issue.

I might delete my character and universe and start fresh with the new stable update. I'm not sure how that nightly build will differ from the new stable version, but I imagine there is little to no difference. Obviously, as I stated above, the only difference I can see now from the two is that the stable build is definitely stable.

I may continue to make notes here in the comments as I think of things I left out in my post. One thing I wanted to mention is that the Matter Manipulator can now be upgraded multiple times. One upgrade will allow you to use it with liquid. This new feature is really handy, because at one point you're going to need to collect oil. Your ship's AI will further upgrade your MM, but that will require further materials.

Tech upgrades are available as well, as I mentioned. One of those is a boat. Another part of the tech upgrades is called "suit." You can get upgrades that will allow your character to breathe underwater or on planets that have little or no oxygen. There is also cold, heat, and radiation protection suits. These are now tech upgrades and no longer require you to craft and equip accessories.

The need to eat is temporarily no longer necessary. However, there are many new crafting/cooking recipes and plenty of things that can be used in a farm. Instead of replenishing hunger, food now gives various buffs. Harvesting crops will not only provide seeds and food, but also plant fiber. There are many other types of plants that will also provide plant fiber, especially vines that you will find in caves.

You can now also craft a bug catching net, which you will need as one of the first Outpost NPC quests will be to give the NPC a bug.

These things that I've mentioned are just a fraction of what has been changed or added in the game. Please see the link I provided at the top of my post for more information. I've pretty much only covered the things that I have noticed in my play through.

Pickaxes can no longer be repaired. There doesn't seem to be a good reason to make them anyway, since the Matter Manipulator can mine ore and provides some light. It also can reach places that are farther away from the character.

As I mentioned, there are now only two types of fuel for your ship. However, fuel is only necessary to reach a different star system. Travelling within your local star system requires no fuel at all. As for the Core Fragments, you will only need 20 and it seems you will never use them again.

As I mentioned, the Matter Manipulator can be upgraded to collect liquid. In order to create Steel, you will need to collect Oil on a desert planet with your upgraded MM. Initially, to upgrade your MM, you will need refined ore such as Silver.

I deleted my old character and universe and started a new game as a Novakid and I like it. The guns seem to be powerful. I still use a melee weapon as some are more powerful than the gun. Previously, I pretty much only created Avian characters and used only melee weapons. After my latest play through of the nightly build, I realized that ranged weapons can be so much more effective. You don't have to worry about ammunition as they use your energy instead. However, they will drain your energy, which will replenish quickly if you stop using your weapon for a few seconds. If you use too much of your energy, it will be depleted and you will hear a sound telling you that. You will not be able to use your energy until it refills, which you will also know because of a sound.

I am very happy with Starbound now. I was disappointed at first because I was just running around collecting ore to obtain higher-tiered armor and weapons, fighting some bosses along the way. Other than that, I felt like there was no other purpose to exploring the universe. Once I finally obtained the highest tiered weapons and armor, there was no longer a reason for me to explore or to play. That has changed thanks to the multiple quests given to you throughout the game by the NPCs at the Outpost. I'm happy to report that Starbound is a much better game than it was before this new update.

Oh my goodness! I just completed the first mission without cheating! They apparently nerfed the boss and made it's energy beam attack slower. I didn't even use my shield, but I kept healing myself after getting hit. I'm so glad they made that mission doable without cheats. This makes me very happy!

Awesome! I haven't played multiplayer in Starbound. Thank you very much for replying to my post. Are you enjoying the new update? I'm seriously loving it, the game is so much better now and it's wonderful!

Oh, I didn't have a problem with Dreadwing. For that, I was using a rocket launcher I found on the lunar base (first boss area). I didn't find any when I did the mission on the stable version, though. In the nightly build, I found rocket launchers and grenade launchers, which were very helpful in defeating the "infected miners." The good thing about them is that they can't jump, so they're easy to take out from a distance, some where they cannot get to.

I don't think the Floran "party" mission gave me much trouble either. However, the second boss that the penguin sends you to, the weapons test mission, was more difficult and I used the /admin command to beat that. I haven't made it to those missions yet in the stable release, so I'll see how it goes.

You're welcome and thank you for reading! I know my post was long and my commented additions are, too, but I guess that's just how I do it. Hahaha. I think this new update is exciting and there is so much that is new. That and the fact that I've spent some time with it recently has given me plenty to say about it.

I really hope you and others get back into the game and check it out. I think you will be delighted and have a much more enjoyable experience with the game now. I think this new update is very big, much like the much anticipated update coming to Terraria.

With that, I'd also like for us to discuss a bit about our experiences with both games and how differently (if so) we play them. For me, when I start playing Terraria, I start building a huge house for me and NPCs, then I start exploring. With Starbound, I don't build at all. I put everything I make (such as crafting tables, bed, etc.) on my ship. I'm wondering if you and others play these games the same way.

Yeah, that would suck, Travis. However, if you built something on a planet, you could set it as your home planet, I think that's done using the starmap. Then, whenever you went to your teleporter, you could select "beam to home." There are now moons that contain no creatures whatsoever, so they are perfect for building something and not having to worry about being interrupted by monsters. There is also a new tech which reverses gravity, making building much easier.

However, I came across an issue that I have not yet researched. When taking metal crates from my home planet to use on my ship as storage containers, I accidentally grabbed some pieces of the structure when are slanted in one direction. These pieces are made to look like wooden structural supports. Unfortunately, it seems that they slant in only one direction and I could not put the piece back as it was because I couldn't reverse the direction of the slant.. These pieces look like this: / and \

There is now also a Paint Tool, which can be unlocked via the ship's AI. In order to craft paint, you will need a Robotic Crafting Table and at least 15 pedals of the color you want. I didn't experiment with this on the nightly build, but I intended to paint the internal sections of my ship blue. I plan to do that as soon as I'm able to make a Robotic Crafting Table. I already have 15 blue pedals to do this with.

There is also an animation on the first link I provided in this post that shows improvements to turrets. Check out the link for more info.

Thank you all for the comments! Hardeyez, thank you for covering some of the things I didn't mention. I have not yet tried out the staves. I also remember the fact that they said they are going to add a teleport list.

One thing I wanted to mention, also, was that when upgrading your ship, you will notice the new parts of your ship are blocked off by "hazard" blocks. These can be taken away with the Matter Manipulator.

Yes, Tim, I highly recommend that everyone jumps in the game. The game is much different now and definitely worth playing. You have a good point that it is still a work in progress, but it's great to check out the amazing progress they've already made. I'm looking forward to seeing what a completed 1.0 version looks like.

I just defeated Dreadwing, though I'm kind of ashamed at how I did it. I noticed I could kill off the little penguins easily enough with my upgraded Novakid weapon (a gun). I also noticed that if I went far enough to the right and just a little bit, I could barely see Dreadwing's ship, but he couldn't see me. So, I kept shooting at it from afar. That is how I finished the mission in the stable build. When I played the mission with the nightly build, I had rocket launchers and didn't even die. That was definitely not the case this time. So, I took advantage of an obvious flaw.

While I've realized how beneficial ranged weapons are, I've found a minor annoyance with them. Sometimes vegetation gets in the way and instead of shooting a monster, I shoot a shrub or something instead.

Hardeyez, have you tried a Novakid yet? I think they're pretty cool.

Oh! I just noticed something today! You know how when you click "Play" in Steam, the Starbound Lancher loads and you can select "Launch Starbound" or "Launch Starbound (OpenGL)?" Well now there's a new option, "Launch Starbound (64-bit OpenGL experimental)." I've been using the new option today and I haven't run into any problems with it.

Ok, I found out how to use the Paint Tool. You don't need anything other than the tool itself. Select the tool and right click to switch colors. Then aim it and click the left mouse button to paint the background of whatever you want. I painted my ship's internal walls blue. I remember some crafting recipe in the nightly build that used pedals, but I couldn't find it on the stable build.

Oh man, that "Mysterious Party" mission was tough this time! It's probably because I didn't have a rocket launcher. I did find a nice two-handed melee weapon, but I was also using a nice two-handed crossbow I found elsewhere. The crossbow was better than crafting the next gun for my Novakid, so I didn't craft that.

It's cool that I'm playing the stable build after playing nightly because I know some things the NPCs are going to ask for later. So, when I found these things, I was able to collect them ahead of time.

As I mentioned in a different post (by Jon), I was hoping for new music. I think my wish was granted. The missions seem to have new music and it's pretty cool. I had said I was tired of the music, but I'm not feeling that way now.

I'm surprised I finally beat the "Weapons Test" mission. This was one mission that I used the /admin command to complete when I played the nightly build. This was a tough mission. I think having a high armor rating is important, but blocking with a shield is pretty much necessary. This mission made me learn how to block with a shield, which isn't as simple as it sounds. When you block with a shield, you don't take damage, your shield does. That makes sense, but your shield can only take so much damage before it will not protect you. If it takes too much damage, it will need to "recharge," although it doesn't have to fully recharge before providing protection. You can, however, negate this damage by timing the block perfectly by raising your shield right before you get hit. Since I found a two-handed shotgun that does over 700 points of damage, I was not able to block and attack at the same time. I did, however, have my shotgun as my leftt-click and my shield as a right-click. So, instead I was only able to hold the shield when I was holding another item, which in my case was a Medical Kit. In order to craft a Medical Kit, you will need at least one Bandage and one Bio Sample. Bio Samples can be obtained from certain plants. If you are in a Radioactive star system and find yourself on a "lush" or forest planet, you will be able to find Bio Samples by breaking plants, either with your MM, melee, or ranged weapons.

Tim, I've never played multiplayer Starbound. I can hardly imagine it, because the universe is so big. Obviously, with the boss fights, I can see how helpful it could be though.

It'd be cool if Cheerful Ghost had some kind of access to game servers, so that we could set them up for games we want to play together.

*This comment may contain spoilers*
I'm finished with Starbound. I have completed every quest and have upgraded my ship to it's maximum limit. There are only a few "Missions" or boss fights. I believe there were more previously, but most of them have been removed. Hopefully, Chucklefish will add them back later.

One of the things that took me so long to do was one of the quests where you have to find an Avian Airship and take a Treasure Map from it. I had never seen one of them before, but you'll notice them on a planet by the anchor that sits on the planet's surface. Then you'll have to find a way to get up to the ship. I made some platforms with various materials I had (like dirt).

One of the upgrades to the ship required Plutonium, which I hadn't encountered in the new update. The reason is because I did not explore moons or asteroids. The good thing about moons, I learned, is that not only do they contain Plutonium, but they also contain Erchius Liquid. So, if you want free fuel for your ship and have your MM upgraded to collect liquid, go visit a moon.

Another quest took some time to figure out. The NPC gives you a blueprint for a kennel, which requires red dye, which you can't make. However, once you "learn" the blueprint, you can access the 3D printer from your ship AI and "print" the kennel.

Anyway, you probably don't want to know too many spoilers. All that said, the latest update is still a great improvement to the game. It's still in beta and it took a year for them to get this update out. We can only imagine what might later be added to the game and when it might finally reach version 1.0.