Fossils are the remains of long dead creatures scattered throughout Starbounds universe. They’re extremely valuable, very rare and very difficult to dig up. You’ll need special tools to clear the dirt and unearth a fossil. Removing the wrong piece of dirt could cause the fossil to crumble into dust. Successfully removed fossils can be placed as trophies, some have very special properties and perhaps some of these long dead creatures can even be revived.[1]
Small Fossils fit into small fossil display cases. Each display case requires one fossil piece to be completed. Once completed the fossil will be displayed inside and the display case will be gated with a velvet rope.
Amber
Fossil:
Amber
"Amber has more catalogued variations than any other ancient artefact."
Ammonite
Fossil:
Ammonite
"Ammonites are widely recognised fossils, with variations appearing on most life-sustaining planets."
Egg
Fossil:
Egg Fossil
"The egg of an ancient creature, frozen in time before it ever truly lived."
Fern
Fossil:
Fern Fossil
"Fossilised fern leaves are evidence that a planet sustained organic life hundreds of millennia ago."
Fish
Fossil:
Fish Fossil
"One of many million species of fish in the universe. Little has changed about fish anatomy over the millennia."
Footprint
Fossil:
Footprint Fossil
"The size of this footprint indicates it was probably made by an adult male of the species."
Mysterious Alien
Fossil:
Mysterious Alien Skull
"The skull of an unidentified life-form, estimated to have lived widely throughout the universe."
Penguin
Fossil:
Penguin Fossil
"The fossilised remains of a Penguin."
Sabertooth
Fossil:
Sabertooth Skull
"Sabertooth are widely recognised fossils, easily identifiable by their elongated canine teeth."
Trilobite
Fossil:
Trilobite
"Triolbites are one of the more well preserved fossil groups thanks to their exoskeleton."
Medium Fossils[]
Medium Fossils are of ancient humanoids, they fit into medium fossil display cases. Each display case requires three fossil pieces to be completed. Once completed the fossil will be displayed inside and the display case will be gated with a velvet rope.
Alpaca
Pieces:
Alpaca Skull
Alpaca Torso
Alpaca Legs
"The dense, hard bones of a long deceased Alpaca."
Apex
Pieces:
Apex Skull Fossil
Apex Torso
Apex Legs
"The fossilised remains of an Apex. Note the powerful teeth and pronounced brow ridges."
Avian
Pieces:
Avian Skull Fossil
Avian Torso
Avian Legs
"Features of interest in this fossilised Avian are the hollow bones and the short flexible beak."
Avioscale
Pieces:
Avioscale Skull
Avioscale Torso
Avioscale Legs
"The fossilised remains of this Avioscale boasts oversized eye sockets and a prominent beak."
Floran
Pieces:
Floran Skull Fossil
Floran Torso
Floran Legs
"The plant based Floran have bones infused with lignin, giving a wood-like appearance."
Frogg
Pieces:
Frogg Skull
Frogg Torso
Frogg Legs
"An excellent example of a fossilised Frogg."
Glitch
Pieces:
Glitch Head
Glitch Torso
Glitch Legs
"The Glitch chassis is easily fossilised. But the internal wiring and systems are rarely preserved."
Human
Pieces:
Human Skull Fossil
Human Torso
Human Legs
"The dominant species on the planet known as Earth, humans have gone through various stages of evolution."
Hylotl
Pieces:
Hylotl Skull Fossil
Hylotl Torso
Hylotl Legs
"This fossilised Hylotl skeleton shows early signs of adaptation to aquatic life."
Unidentified
Pieces:
Unidentified Skull
Unidentified Torso
Unidentified Legs
"A creature which has perplexed many scientists, its origin and age cannot be determined."
Large Fossils[]
Large Fossils are of ancient monsters, they fit into large fossil display cases. Each display case requires five fossil pieces to be completed. Once completed the fossil will be displayed inside and the display case will be gated with a velvet rope.
Ixodoom
Pieces:
Ixodoom Skull
Ixodoom Torso
Ixodoom Spine
Ixodoom Hips
Ixodoom Stinger
"This arthropod's thick exoskeleton has helped it survive for millions of years."
Ophidaunt
Pieces:
Ophidaunt Skull
Ophidaunt Torso
Ophidaunt Upper Tail
Ophidaunt Mid Tail
Ophidaunt Lower Tail
"This distant ancestor of the Snaunt used to hunt in oceans instead of on land."
T-Rex
Pieces:
T-Rex Skull
T-Rex Torso
T-Rex Legs
T-Rex Upper Tail
T-Rex Lower Tail
"A dinosaur once native to Earth, spread across the stars by overeager scientists."
Early Development[]
Early fossil sprites mockup
GeorgeV originally posted on the Official Forums with some of his ideas for how Fossils could be implemented in game. It appears he was responsible for the original propasals for fossils as a feature.
FOSSILS! Fossils have been in many Starbound mocks we've shared. But sadly they've been pushed back to a non-priority. They would add so much character to worlds. They'd tie into a lot of systems. I drew the penguins and really love 'em. But gimmie fossils!
Basically, theoretically (seriously this system is 0% built, just some art is done for it) you would use a tool to carefully extract fossils from the ground. There would be a lot of fossil types. Some really rare, others really common. They'd do a variety of things like add to the atmosphere, be used in crafting on all sorts of things like perhaps armor. They might help you obtain dna for a T-Rex pet. They might help you summon a boss. They could do a variety of things.
All these are my ideas and I don't know if they'd stick (they're off the top of my head, these ideas are NOT confirmations of anything). We'd have to see what we could do. But I can't be the only one as a kid who dreamed about finding a T-Rex fossil in the ground![2]
Basic Fossil Brush
Advanced Fossil Brush
Master Fossil Brush
Ixodoom Skull
Ixodoom Torso
Ixodoom Spine
Ixodoom Hips
Ixodoom Stinger
Ophidaunt Skull
Ophidaunt Torso
Ophidaunt Upper Tail
Ophidaunt Mid Tail
Ophidaunt Lower Tail
T-Rex Skull
T-Rex Torso
T-Rex Legs
T-Rex Upper Tail
T-Rex Lower Tail
