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The Stories Podcast

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Yes, Andreas — a Starbound dedicated server does store player files on the server, but with some important nuances.

🗂️ Where Player Data Is Stored

When players connect to a Starbound dedicated server:

  • Character data (inventory, ship, etc.) stays client-side — on the player’s own machine.
  • World data (planets, structures, etc.) is stored server-side — in the server’s storage/universe folder.
  • Server logs and configuration are stored in storage/starbound_server.log and starbound_server.config.

So while the server hosts the universe and tracks what happens in it, player characters are not stored on the server by default.

🛠️ Can You Force Player Data to Be Server-Side?

Not natively. Starbound doesn’t support centralized character storage like Minecraft does. However, here are a few workarounds:

1. Use Shared Characters

You can manually copy player .player files from clients to the server and vice versa, but this is clunky and not officially supported.

2. Mods or Custom Scripts

Some community tools or mods may offer partial solutions, like syncing characters or enforcing server-side rules. You can explore tools like:

  • PenGUIn GUI — for managing servers
  • Gorigo’s automation scripts on GitHub

🔐 Why This Design?

Starbound was built with a hybrid multiplayer model:

  • Players bring their own characters into any universe.
  • Servers host the universe, not the identity.

This makes it easy to jump between servers, but harder to enforce server-side progression.

Would you like help setting up a modded server or exploring ways to restrict or validate player characters server-side?

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