Starbound Leaving Early Access

Yes, the headline is correct, the game that has been in Early Access longer than DayZ is finally being released to v1.0!

Starbound is a game that sees you repairing and improving your spaceship by visiting various planets across the galaxy. With a 2D side-on view, it's basically a science fiction Terraria, with different races and, as of 1.0, a proper storyline.

If you've had the game a while, then you may be aware that they have wiped characters in the past. Unfortunately, due to the weight of the changes to 1.0, there will be a final wipe for its release. However, the price will not increase in case you were worried about that.

You can find the transcript of the Q&A livestream here, thanks to /u/TanzNukeTerror, but here are some of the pressing questions:

"What's the state of servers?"
With 1.0, you can join friends through Steam, or through their IP if you don't have Steam. Dedicated servers are still available.

"What about workshop support?"
We're working on Workshop support right now, for 1.0. It looks like it's going to be there. It depends on whether or not we'll be able to get it ready by the release date.

"What are the difficulty changes?"
There are three options for difficulty
Casual: Takes out hunger, you no longer /need/ to eat. No item-drop on death, only a percentage of your pixels.
Survival: The intended way to play Starbound. Has hunger. When you die, you drop your items, which stick around forever.
Hardcore: Hunger and permadeath. Not recommended for first-time players.

"What is the level at which mods interact with the game, and how flexible is the system?"
We can't open up absolutely everything to the modding API, but more than ever.
One of the biggest systems is the new activeItem system. You'll be able to create really unique things in lua if you have some coding knowledge.
If you don't have programming knowledge, you can still create unique weaponry, furniture, armor, and everything else with just some configuration changes and art.

"Can we play through the story on multiplayer?"
Yes. Of course. You can play through the entire story in multiplayer. That's how we intend, really. The one exception is the Protectorate [intro] mission, but after that, you can play through the entire story in multiplayer.
Our recommended way to play Starbound is with 1-4 people, but you can play with as many as you'd like.

"When is 1.0 coming out?"
22nd of July 2016 (Steam, GoG, the Humble store)

That's right, Starbound will finally leave Early Access on 22nd July. So be ready, and get hyped for a game five years in development.