Starbound's Vault update adds procedural dungeons, procedural bosses

Starbound has just received a whopping update that adds Ancient Vaults, which, as you may have guessed, are chock-full of Ancient Loot, Ancient Bosses, and Ancient Stuff You Can Use To Terraform Planets To Your Liking. To access the crafting-sandbox game's procedurally assembled dungeons, you first have to finish the main storyline, and then chat with a "mysterious" trader at the Outpost, who will send you on a quest to activate the Ancient Gateways "found floating in some systems". You can see one above, and while it's definitely not a stargate, it totally is a stargate, and that's pretty cool.

Wait, what was that about terraforming? Well, after you've explored the aforementioned vaults and defeated the equally procedural vault guardians, you'll probably have acquired one or more of the ancient devices contained therein—devices that will allow you to "transform regions or whole planets into entirely different biomes".

Terraformers "can be used to expand a region across a planet’s surface, replacing natural blocks, objects and plant life, and eventually changing the type of the planet itself", while Microformers are "consumable single-use terraformers which provide even more region types to add to your worlds".

Exciting stuff. Bug fixes, festive items and other tweaks round out the enormo-patch, and if you want the nitty gritty you'll find the full patch notes here.

Tom Sykes

Tom loves exploring in games, whether it’s going the wrong way in a platformer or burgling an apartment in Deus Ex. His favourite game worlds—Stalker, Dark Souls, Thief—have an atmosphere you could wallop with a blackjack. He enjoys horror, adventure, puzzle games and RPGs, and played the Japanese version of Final Fantasy VIII with a translated script he printed off from the internet. Tom has been writing about free games for PC Gamer since 2012. If he were packing for a desert island, he’d take his giant Columbo boxset and a laptop stuffed with PuzzleScript games.

Latest in Adventure
An image of a corpse with the text "You've been re-educated."
I played the lost videogame sequel to 1984, and came away more nostalgic than ever for gaming's awkward adolescence in 1999
Rosella encounters a satyr in a forest in King's Quest 4
Eagle-eyed streamer spots that Roberta Williams' portrait in King's Quest 4 is based on her author photo on the back of the game box: 'I never noticed it before.'
Myst puzzle game
'You’ve been asking, and we’ve been listening': Myst remake adds a whole new world to the classic adventure, one originally introduced in another overhaul from 25 years ago
The character takes a test in a school room.
Expelled! review
Max, protagonist of Life is Strange and Life is Strange: Double Exposure, stares with trepidation at something off-screen with her friend.
Life is Strange: Double Exposure reportedly a 'large loss' for Square Enix, says analyst, who adds: 'The company's IP fundamentally varies too much between good and bad'
Inside
Limbo and Inside studio demands compensation from co-founder Dino Patti for alleged 'unauthorized use of Playdead's trademarks and copyrighted works'
Latest in News
Shadow of Mordor's beloved nemesis system exists because the publisher threw a tantrum about second-hand sales
Silent Hill f transmission trailer screenshots
Silent Hill f is not messing around – now it's been banned in Australia
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 22: A view of Google Headquarters in Mountain View, California, United States on August 22, 2024.
'Google must divest the Chrome browser:' DOJ renews call for Google to sell Chrome, and Android could be next
Victory screen of Big Rigs showing infamous "You're Winner" message under a three-handle gold trophy
One of the worst games ever made is coming to Steam, but we won't know how cruel this joke is until we see the price tag
Sci-fi character from Dune
Dune: Awakening promises us a breath of fresh air, skipping early access for a full launch with no monthly subscription in May
Baldur's Gate 3 Karlach concept art
'The dream of the tech industry is to sell off your company at an overinflated price and retire,' says actor behind Baldur's Gate 3's Karlach, 'And I feel that's being done with game studios right now'