Ian found some things to like in arcadey space RPG Star Control: Origins (opens in new tab), particularly in the combat, but said its galaxy felt empty and forced you to grind. Perhaps the new world editor and mod support, added this week, will let creative players bring out the best in it while getting rid off the boring bits.
The world editor, which looks fairly intuitive, will let players add star systems, characters, ships and weapons, as well as tweak the rules of the game, such as the way gravity works. The "Adventure Studio" is where you'll write your own quests and stories. You'll be able to upload your creations in both to the Steam Workshop, where you can browse all the mods made so far.
To get the community started, developer Stardock has added two mods of its own: Bounty Hunter, which asks players to track down the galaxy's most wanted criminals, and The Galactic Zoo, a mod that tasks you with collecting specific animals on your travels. It has also released a modding guide (opens in new tab) full of tips, tricks and tutorials.
The new tools arrive for free in the Multiverse DLC. Stardock have also released an update, 1.1, that makes changes to the base game, rebalancing the economy by making late-game items more expensive—but also more useful. Aliens now have new weapons, and Stardock has tweaked the appearance of some leaders to make them look more formidable.
You can read the full patch notes for 1.1 here (opens in new tab).
