Chucklefish, the development studio behind the fantastic Starbound, have released a list of what will players be able to find on a planet near them soon. In a pretty exhaustive list, Chucklefish write about character progression and Starbound's end game.

Progression in Starbound will come to rely more heavily on Pixels, the in-game currency, which will allow you to explore through different planet tiers up to tier ten. After tier ten you will be in the end game, which will be built around PVP in Sector X. So there's a good reason to farm up enough material to make insane weapons and armour.

"The PVP in this sector is entirely optional, players choose whether or not to attack each other or work together. Monsters, quests and events will be strong enough to be challenging even with the best tools in the game. And in game events, invasions and so on will keep the experience fresh."

The good news is that players will be able to earn Pixels in a greater variety of ways that is currently available. This is where Starbound could become something much more interesting that it already is.

"In the finished game you’ll be able to earn pixels in a multitude of different ways, essentially allowing you to play through the game the way you want to play. If you’d like to become an intergalactic farmer, growing and selling crops, keeping livestock and so on. The farming feature will be fleshed out enough for that to be your means of pixel gathering. On the other hand, if you prefer to be an adventurer, taking quests and gaining pixels as rewards. That route is just as good. Perhaps you prefer to be a builder, charging npcs rent based on the quality of the homes they inhabit. A pirate, robbing towns and ransacking villages. A tomb raider, gathering rare artifacts."

It's starting to sound massively more RPG-esq even before getting to Director Mode, which will allow one admin (or more) to play as a kind of D&D Dungeon Master. Directors will be able to spawn NPC's, blocks, items, and monsters, as well as communicate with the players. Can you imagine some of the crazy roleplaying that will be popping up when Director Mode arrives?

For the full post you can check the Starbound website where there is a stack more information including plans for online modes, future updates, and the future of Chucklefish.