So, since I got the game, I've been only playing in single player a lot, but I did try some public multiplayer server, just to see how it works, before I decided to look for a server where I would play for the most part. So, anyway, I joined this public server, the moment I connected, some guy invited me to the party, and then teleported to my ship, opened my storage, and stole my tier3 crafted hat and left. I don't mind the hat, since I'm in tier4 now, but this made me kinda hesitant to play multiplayer. Other than this, I've got questions about some other things, some that came up only when I started browsing the forum to see what's happening, and how to start playing here. I have a lot of questions, so it didn't seem like a good idea to just PM one person, and dump all of it on him, and have him answering questions for me whole day, so I'll just ask questions that bother me the most here, and hopefully you guys will know how to answer. Since that guy stole my hat, I've been wondering, how else can other people affect the stuff that I own, and stuff that I make, and since it seems that every server is different, with different mods and stuff. Here are my questions, they are various, some are about game in general, some are about this server. 1. Can people steal my stuff? If yes, how can I prevent it? 2. Can people break the things that I build? If yes, how do I stop them? 3. As I've read the forums, I've seen a word "wipe" thrown a lot lately. If I build something huge somewhere, when the wipe occurs, will this structure that I made be completely deleted? Will my items be deleted after a wipe? When and why are you wiping? 4. Recently, I got this wiring thing that seems to add triggers and switches to certain things. Is it possible somehow, with this function to setup sort of a whitelist for chests, doors...etc (Make it so that only people you select can open/close that certain door/chest), and I mean with the actual game mechanics, not like writing a list on the forum as IC for IC access. 5. This public server I tried, the first planet I spawned on was completely indestructible, you couldn't mine, you couldn't cut trees, or destroy anything. Is it possible to do something like this for your own structure, as a player? 6. When new versions of the game come out, does it affect a server in any way (wipe and stuff like that)? If so, should I even bother building something big (By "big" i mean something that's so big that it's just not worth, or even normal, creating if you know that it will be deleted). Also, if this is the case, is there any way to preserve your creation by talking to someone with authority on the server, to sort of, transfer planet your structure is build on, even through a wipe? (Reasoning for not wanting something to be deleted ever, and reason why I'm asking about starting a faction) Since the main thing about my character is that he is a leader of this organization that's trying to stop MiniKnog. I even thought of a way for players in this faction to be able to raise in ranks through normal gameplay, rather than roleplaying for it, it's sort of a constant system/quest. With ranks, they gain access to deeper, more secretive floors in the faction's underground city, that's going all the way down to the planet's core. I simply couldn't stand something that I would dig all the way down to the core of a planet and build underground, to just be deleted one day, after working hard on it. 7. As a new player on this server, can I start a faction? 8 What's the best way to go on about starting a faction? Do I just open an IC/OCC thread on the forum? Since the story of my character is that faction is already in existence, it's not what it used to be, but it's just 4 people that survived the purge from the MiniKnog. So now they just came to some planet, they're trying to rebuild, and recruit members to help them fight the MiniKnog. That's it for the questions. If you have any other advice for playing on this server (how to have most fun with it, and still do what you want to do...etc) I would appreciate it. I got the access to the server yesterday, and It's been almost one full day, and I still haven't started playing, because I had all these questions to be cleared up, and I wanted to fit my faction in with others, and find the best way to start it, and also not mess up someone else' fun. So anyway, thanks in advance. I just can't wait to start role-playing this faction I've created and playing on this server in general, if I find most of things to my liking.
Rule number 1 of playing on a public server: Back everything up before joining. Rule number 2: don't accept any invites Rule number 3: you will get hacked items wether you like it or not Rule number 4: most public servers reset the entire universe periodically. There is literally no point to it other than to dick around and get free stuff I will now answer your questions as best I can. 1. Yeah. By being prudent you can defend against it. Make back ups often, don't party people you don't know, and don't stash anything planet side. Simple stuff. 2. Yes, and by making sure you let colony leaders know what time you built your stuff at. I try to keep a time log so that if anything ever happens, we just roll back to a safe time. There has been talk about block protection. 3. Character wipes are gone. So long as you keep your stuff on your ship, there is no chance of loss. Universe wipe can't be helped, planets gotta be wiped to make way for new biomes. I have rebuilt 6 times now. With a group, it doesnt take long. 4. Wiretool is still broken as all hell right now. General consensus is, only simple stuff until its fixed. 5. Not right now, that was block protection or serious lag. 6. When a new update that doesn't wipe the universe comes out, the server updates and you can't access until versions match. That's it. 7. Yes, anyone anywhere can start a faction. Wether it takes off and people actually join it is another thing entirely. 8. Easy as that. My faction started with building a bunker and inviting people to help/live there. Now you got the entire United Systems Faction running around. There is a guide for newbies here http://community.playstarboundrp.com/threads/a-newbies-guide-to-playstarboundrp.894/ . I recommend reading it and adding any insight you may have to it. As for personal tips, be patient and be conscientious. You're a new face, and people like to plan rps. If you try to force your way in, you'll be seen as interruptive and nosey. Just get involved naturally, and you should be all right.
An extra little tid-bit for question 1: If you really do need to party up with someone, keep your most valuable items on your person. Seriously. I've been through allowing a suspicious someone to join a party with me. They proceeded to take all my stuff and then left the server, never to return.
Thank you very much, that was so fast. I'll look through the newbie guide right now, and probably start playing then. Just for the future, one more thing. Do you know if there's any news, for the upcoming versions of the game, where planets won't be wiped or if there's any word about that being a game mechanic in the future, or if there's maybe a mod being made for this, for the server-side modding? Really, it's just the building and having to rebuild every time that's turning me off SO MUCH. I know that it would be faster later, when I get people to rebuild with me, but still, clearing up the earth all the way down to the core, and then building all the way down is rather hard and long process. I even get tired of just going down to the core for materials, let alone doing something like this. So, for now, it will just be a small underground base, but I really want to build down to the core one day, if I'm ever able to build something that wouldn't be deleted. So, I'm really hoping that it will be possible one day. Also, how do I make a backup? Do I need to copy some files, and what are they?
You need to backup player files so you can always replace them if anything happens. E.G: Corruption, someone steals something without permission, etc! You go to your main starbound folder and it'll be the folder named "player". They are named with random UUID strings, and you can use -this- recoloring tool to figure out which character is which thanks to it showing you a name.
Its worthy to mention with the new upcoming patch ( not a wipe) we can save major world hubs by backing them up and should be able to reapply them to the wipe patch without issues, the dev stated so in the patch notes.
That's great news. Wait, so, can I build now without fear of my structure being deleted, or does that come only after next patch is applied and works for future patches after that one?