Greetings, and welcome to the thirteenth (cue triskaidekaphobia) issue of Vector Squared. Last time, we covered some pretty interesting information about Starbound, topics such as the release of Treasure Adventure World and the introduction of badges. In this number, we come around with information on the recent Winter Contest, an effort at creating a Starbound series, and the victory Starbound has achieved in the “Most Anticipated Games” poll, among other subjects. So, fasten your seatbelts, get ready, and blast off into this issue’s coverage!

Table of Contents

Winter Contest -- Results Revealed!

Winter Contest -- Interview

Starbound Series in Need of Help

Off-topic LIterature Section?

Fan Art and Normal Art Not Very Different

February Wallpaper

Indie Game Mag’s Most Anticipated Game of 2013

Suggestion Spotlight

Fanfic Review with Merc

Science Trivia

Question of the Week

Closing Comments

Winter Contest -- Results Revealed!

Last week, the winter contest results were released, and due to time constraints, a proper article was not able to be constructed in time for the release date. We apologize for that inconvenience. We’ll try to be more prompt next time

Well, for the actual article. The contest itself was a great success, with 74 entries. That’s quite a bit for a small contest like this! So 74 poems, stories, and pieces of art, pixelated and traditional, along with the all-important song category. That’s plenty of content to keep you occupied for the next few weeks, so keep that in mind if you find yourself with nothing to do at the computer. Drop a comment or two on the creator’s profile telling them how much you loved it as well, along with a possible critique. It makes for a very nice reward after working so hard on the entry.

Mkay, some statistics to kick the next portion of the article off: There were 13 songs, 11 pieces of pixel art, 10 “arts”, 19 stories, and 21 poems. Quite intriguing, as it shows some interesting patterns. The largest category was poems, quickly followed by stories. The songs, art, and pixel art were all hovering around the same number. Perhaps the community found it more easier to write a poem, or a short story. Nevertheless, all the entries showed a fantastic amount of effort put into them. I congratulate you all again for entering!

This is one of the smaller contests, as can be observed from the relatively small amount of entries. According to the staff, the smaller contests are interludes between the larger contests. So that means we’ll have both, whichever one you prefer. How fun.

Well, the part you’ve all been waiting for, I’m sure. The winners. Well, here we go.

Pixel Art

Pigrocket Solstice Customs The winner of this category was, with the entry of-- a hallway featuring the presumed traditions of all the races we have so far. It’s quite a charming graphic, showing off all the wintry feelings at its finest.

Starbound Santa Barlov Monkiss Its runner-up was-- this time a santa that has penguins instead of elves to carry out all of its monstrous deeds, like breaking and entering in most residences in the galaxy. It was made by, who certainly seems to have some self-critiques regarding the work. Despite that, it’s a nice piece.

Digital Art

12 Midnight, Greenwich Time Cyan the Red The winner in this category was, by forum user. It’s a 15-panel comic, with a very unique art style to boot -- a gooey-looking brush, for lack of better words. All of the panels are excellently drawn, featuring the celebration of New Year’s even in places far outside our solar system’s reaches -- after the destruction of Earth. Despite its morbid undertone, it makes for an interesting piece of art!

Christmas Tree Planet 6 Samszysm The runner-up was, drawn by, featuring a tough candy-cane-munching hero who is fending off a horde of candy cane trees (strange coincidence, no?). It’s bright and spunky, combined with some interesting brush work. Take a look at it

Short Story

Brother Lame’s This category was somewhat... contested. The original winner was blind sniper’s Winter Customs Over the Galaxy, but due to some controversy, a “Holiday Spirit” badge was given instead, andThe Hunting of Santa Claws took the official first place for that category.

The Hunting of Santa Claws (besides having an interesting play on the actual title) is the story of the “santa-monster” twist of the Christmas myth we all know and love, only within the Starbound theme. It’s an action-packed tale of monsters and death -- certainly worth checking out for sure for those seeking a thrilling experience.

Mercenary Lord Grounded Faith The runner-up was by, creating his “” entry -- the story of a Grounded’s experience with some otherwordly beings. I can’t go into much depth without spoiling much, but the general feeling it leaves you is stellar; the nice warm kind of satisfaction one usually gets from a good short story.

Poem

The Night Before Starbound BioApple Sweeping this category was, by. It’s a fun little piece, really, showing off, in painful poetic form, all the little habits we’ve lowered ourselves to while waiting for the release of Starbound. Like so:

When what, to my wondering eyes should appear,

But a miniature livestream, and a button: "WATCH HERE." Click to expand...

Heh... well, anyways, take a look at this wondrous piece of art and revel in its awesomeness.

A Flawless Christmas Sham The runner-up was, by resident spoony bard. Featuring breathtaking scenery and visualization, it’s truly a Starbound epic for ages to come. Along the way, it has a whole collection of nods to our community lore, like poptops and “Guns of all sizes”. Need I say more?

Song

Fairytale of Distant Skies SpaceNarwhal’s took this category by storm --parody of Fairytale of New York was quite an impressive work of music. He even sung it himself, and despite a few out-of-tune sections, it made it infinitely more engaging. Combined with the distinctive rhythm of the actual lyrics, it makes for a nice companion-music for anything you could choose to combine it with!

Starbound Tribute Coming in second place was Keeper's . Sung to the beat of Tenacious D - Tribute, it’s a hilarious piece of music. Quite a few times, I dropped all my responsibilities to watch the video, over and over. Combined with the charming pictures and the reworked lyrics, you shouldn’t need another hook to enjoy this piece.

Another interesting thing to mention was Winter Customs Over the Galaxy . It had originally won the Short Story section, but it didn’t exactly fit in. Here I quote moderator Sokina

[quote}

...didn't quite fit into the short story category as well as it could've. Despite that, the entry was all kinds of awesome and still deserved to win in some capacity, so we've awarded blind sniper the Holiday Spirit badge.

[/quote]

So there you have it folks. However, it’s a marvellous work of art, anyways, with some interesting anecdotes combined with even more community lore (or is it speculation?).

So that’s our coverage of this contest! The judging sure took a long time, but it seemed to have ended up very nicely. Thank the judges, entrants, and staff, for making this possible. So now, I guess we’ll all be waiting for the next contest to be coming to our doorstep

~Nababoo

Winter Contest -- Interview

Soup We also interviewed forum memberon general feelings regarding the Winter Contest. (The interview below has been edited for public viewing)

nababoo: So. Interview time.

Soup: Yes, go ahead.

nababoo: What was the general impression you had of the Winter Contest?

Soup: You know, I just realized I don't think I've seen results for that contest yet. Have they been released?

nababoo: Yes, in fact they have: http://community.playstarbound.com/...zaakuh-extravaganza-the-results-are-in.14365/ Yes, in fact they have:

Soup: Ah, very nice.

Soup: In any case, I feel like the contest went pretty smoothly, like the hat contest before it. I wasn't around when the monster contest was held.

nababoo: Neither was I, unfortunately.

nababoo: Well, anyways, what did you think of the entries? Nice, excellent, stupendous, etc.

Soup: I didn't enter this one though, I'm not at all a creative person.

nababoo: Well, what did you perceive of them?.

Soup: There are some very talented people on the Starbound forums. In both of the contests I've seen some fantastic entries.

Soup: I'm always amazed at how much work some of the people put into these things as well

nababoo: That's certainly very true. Do you plan on entering any contests?

Soup: Well, as I said I'm not very creative. I did try my hand at the hat contest though since I could do something simple.

Soup: If there's another contest in the future that doesn't require too much artistic skill to enter, I probably will.

nababoo: It's the simple things that usually win It's the simple things that usually win

nababoo: Like that cardboard box.

Soup: Yeah, that one's pretty amusing.

nababoo: So, how did you like the first "small contest" in forum history, as compared to larger ones?

Soup: was this considered a small contest?

nababoo: Yeah, rounding off at around 75 entries, as compared to the 300 entry or so ones of the Hat Contest.

Soup: Yes, I think that ties back in with what I was saying, this contest was a lot more difficult creatively than the hat contest. But at the same time, I think it gives the more artistic people more freedom with their creations, and we see a lot more interesting entries because of it

nababoo: It promotes creativity?

Soup: I believe so, especially since there were several options about what type of entry to make this time, so artists, writers, and musicians could all enter.

nababoo: Oh, yes, most definitely so.

Soup: In future contests, I think it would be good to keep a variety between this small more creative type and the more open type like the hat contest, to make sure that everybody can participate.

nababoo: That's some very nice thoughts you have.

Soup: All right, I'll make sure I read your thread when it's ready.

nababoo: Wonderful. See you then.

Thank you for all those interesting thoughts!

Interview conducted by Nababoo.

Starbound Series in Need of Help

Noc topic Forum userhas created athis week where he exposes his desire to create a Starbound series with other community members willing to take part in the activity. Such project would consist in several episodes linked together by a continuous storyline, which is currently being development. The episodes would then be aired for the community to see, trustfully to provide a decent amount of entertainment, as well as gather some feedback.

The idea is that such project would mostly be shot in Starbound itself, hopefully with proper voice acting and editing. Due to that, Noc states his wishes in finding people willing to join the team to fill roles such as the one of actors, voice actors, builders, editors, among others.

The team is currently being assembled and the project is being discussed more attentively via Skype. If you are interested, pay the thread a visit, where you may find more detailed information about the whole thing (including an application form), and give Noc a shout.

~Keeper

Off-Topic Literature Section?

off-topic literature section Recently, Keeper has raised the issue of a possible. While the staff has yet to post comments and thoughts regarding this topic, the community response has been overwhelmingly positive, with 20 votes for and only one against. The thoughts seem to be along the lines of “Why not?” And that’s certainly true -- there is currently an off-topic art section, so there’s really no reason as to why not we shouldn’t make it. Also, as pointed out, it wouldn’t take too much effort, either. But of course, there may be reasons why or why not, and we’ll have to wait for the staff to step forward and say something regarding the matter before we jump to any conclusions.

~Nababoo

Fan Art and Normal Art Not Very Different

pigrocket rather interesting observation Winter Contest Pixel-erhas pointed out a-- many threads in the Fan Art section would fit better in the Off-Topic Art section. This is mainly a shout-out to keep that section free of off-topic items and keep it for what it was originally intended for -- expressing one’s enjoyment of Starbound through the joy of painting and art.

~Nababoo

February Wallpaper

fetalstar official Guest Wallpaper for February playstarbound’s homepage Announced by, guest wallpapers seem to have returned this month. As such, themay be seen at

Suika Ibuki The wallpaper was produced by forum user. The image is a fantastic depiction of a Hylotl, a Floran and a Robot, wielding three different melee weapons and standing their ground on a small clearing, ready to take on several approaching enemies.

More interestingly, as fetalstar pointed out, is that the wallpaper provides a pretty solid idea of those different races’ cultures, namely: Hylotl - Asian Theme ; Floran - Tribal Theme ; Robot - Medieval Theme.

Here it is:

full-sized image Can you name all of the approaching enemies? (You might want thefor that)

And who will emerge victorious from the certain-to-be battle?

his deviantART page Finally, if you’d like to see more of Suika’s works, feel free to drop byand take a look around.

~Keeper

Indie Game Mag’s Most Anticipated Game of 2013

Hurrah for all the Starbound folk! We’ve recently won the “Most Anticipated Game of 2013” category, with a whopping 46% vote towards the selection of “Starbound”. It makes one wonder if the results were skewed by that announcement some time back then, recruiting all of us as an army of slaves...

We’ve won by a vast majority; revel in the victory, and watch as new members trickle in. How wonderful to see how far Starbound has gone since its inception roughly this time last year. Let’s hope that this will continue on, and that the game will serve its expectations!

~Nababoo

Suggestion Spotlight

Both suns shining brightly, flowers creating a captivating aroma, various creatures living out life in happy peace. While enjoying the natural beauty, you finish up the final touches on your new dream home, pixelated blood and sweat going into each block.

Suddenly, grey clouds form to block out the sun. Beasts of horror appear from seemingly nowhere and slowly march towards your house, stomping on the flowers and killing any creatures along its way. You try your best to stop them, but all you do is slow down the inevitable destruction of your home.

Mary Sue Dead Planets . Basically, the game should have random events and happenings that negatively affect the player and while may be slowed down, cannot ultimately be stopped. From legions of monsters to stars going nova, any adventure in Starbound should be filled with unpredictable danger - or so says Mary Sue. This is only one scenario that Starbounderwishes was possible in her suggestion of. Basically, the game should have random events and happenings that negatively affect the player and while may be slowed down, cannot ultimately be stopped. From legions of monsters to stars going nova, any adventure in Starbound should be filled with unpredictable danger - or so says Mary Sue.

Quite an unusual suggestion, no doubt. I’m sure quite a lot of players would be ecstatic to see such an interesting level of danger presented in the game, but perhaps have it optional as part of an advanced difficulty setting so that more casual players can relax without having to worry about the entire universe trying to kill them.

So please, visit the thread and comment. Add your feedback and let’s see what the community can do to build on the idea.

--Strife

SCORES

Science Trivia

Round and Round

Contrary to popular belief, the planets and asteroid belt do no actually orbit the sun. Everything in the solar system, including the sun, actually orbits the solar system’s center of mass. The center of mass is like the average location for mass. For example, if you have two bodies and one has twice the mass as the other, the center of mass of the two bodies, as a system, will be at the point in between the two that is twice as far from the one with less mass than the one with more.

While finding the center of mass for a system with as many bodies of mass as the solar system is wildly more complicated, it operates under the same concept. The only reason it seems like the planets and other celestial bodies of the solar system orbit the sun is because the sun has so much more mass than the rest of the solar system that it pulls the center of mass really close to its own center. And if we didn’t have Jupiter, being the star reject that it is, the center of mass of the solar system would be so close to the Sun’s center that you could say the Sun’s center is the solar system’s center of mass.

The same rules apply to all other star systems, including those with multiple stars. In the case of a system with two stars of relatively equal mass, their orbit of the system’s center of mass can make it look like they are orbiting each other. And in the case when one star is significantly more massive than the other, the smaller star can appear to orbit the larger star like a planet.

Questions, comments, concerns? I’ll gladly answer them all. And if you’ve got any suggestions or ideas for future topics feel free to post those as well.

Question of the Week

Q: Do you prefer larger contests over smaller contests?

A: Answer in the thread. We aren’t psychics (yet).

Closing Comments

Well, thank you to all of the supporters who have been around. As we’re nearing Valentine’s, we thought it’d be appropriate to share the love!

Staff

Keeper -- Wordsmith

Mercenary Lord -- Lector Ficta

Active Link -- Scientific Consultant

Slaticus -- Author from the Shadows

Credits

blind sniper -- Banner

Soup -- Interview