Starsand Island is finally out of early access, and that shift comes with changes. If you’ve been playing from the beginning like me, then some of these changes might go unnoticed. However, there are two changes that are quite big and anticipated.
The team at Seed Sparkle Lab have said that they’ll be continuing to improve and work on Starsand Island despite it being fully released. So if you’re still finding bugs or issues, then you definitely want to report them so the team can address it to create a better experience for all players.
Starsand Island Adds Multiplayer
Multiplayer is the biggest change, and it can make the game feel completely different. For me, it means I have to keep checking in on my friends to make sure they aren’t planning something that’s going to end up being a bad idea. You can enter into a multiplayer game using the Multiplayer option that’s now available in your phone.
The host system lets you set a password so only the players you give it to can join you. Additionally, there are new multiplayer shops that use a currency you only receive through playing with others. You earn points to spend in the store by simply playing in multiplayer, and you can find the shop in your phone.
Relationship Updates
The other big change is for the dating system. You can now see relationship stories, which are basically the heart events you’d unlock in Stardew Valley. When you reach a certain heart level with an islander, you can see the relationship story for it.
You can also unlock new activities with islanders, such as planning picnics. This feature still isn’t quite as fleshed out as I’d like to see, but I’m glad that it’s getting some attention, considering it’s felt like one of the weaker points throughout early access.
Smaller Changes in Starsand Island
Beyond the addition of multiplayer and relationship stories, the changes in 1.0 are largely fixing bugs and making quality of life adjustments.
While I would have liked to see Starsand Island spend more time in early access so that it could receive larger updates for more content before being released, I think it’s in a decent state for its 1.0 update. It still has that unfinished feeling to it, but this is also a genre that does well with continuous updates and DLC additions, so I hope that the Seed Sparkle Lab team has plans beyond fixes for Starsand Island’s future.
