Basic Block Mechanics

Some basic tips for playing the game. Minimal spoilers

Basics

Blocks have different patterns of growth and qualities. These can be useful for travelling.
Slow-growing blocks will deteriorate slower. Faster growing ones will deteriorate faster.
When I say "deteriorate" I mean the blocks turn to open space in Starseed levels.

The Light blue blocks are an exception to this rule.

Block types have special icons from your inventory. Press spacebar to place one.
<-, ->, and down arrow keys to mine blocks

Examples:

Blocks

• Yellow/Tan & wavy: Quicksand blocks. Can't jump using these. Place them carefully. Use mostly to travel sideways. You will need to connect this with another block type at the same height to gain the ability to jump again. Moderate growth rate. Engulfing growth pattern (only grows 1 block high on flat surfaces). Tan square icon
  
  
• Pink: Hearts. Infinite tower, but slow-growing. Harvest to gain more blocks ("Starseed Treasure"). Pink heart icon
  
  
• Red: Press down on that one square to activate a bomb. Jump up or just stay on top so you don't get squished. Can be handy for travelling a ways upward. Takes awhile to deteriorate (mostly due to HUGE size). Destroys any starseeds within blast radius (blocks will not deteriorate there). Red dot icon
  
  
• Light Blue: 5 blocks total. Always places light blue block where you placed it, and also directly above, below, and to the left and right of placement. Automatically transforms those blocks to light blue if not already. Greatly interrupts and slows starseed growth. Light blue dot icon
  
  
• Medium Blue: Jump booster. Handy for travelling upward, especially when you goofed and didn't stand on the fast-growing orange blocks. Fast-growing. 1-block high Blue ^ icon
  
  
• Orange: Fast-growing blocks. At most 10 blocks high? Usually, they grow straight up, but sometimes, you can get them to grow sideways. Try mining the corner off a platform and placing one there! If you want them to grow upward, you should try standing on top though. You can't jump high enough to reach the top of an orange column. Orange blocks - orange ^ icon
  
  
• Green: Standard blocks. Fast-growing. Hearts are only harvestable in Starseed level (jump through black square). Can't place other blocks on these hearts; only on green area. Large mass of blocks. Green x icon
  
  
• Purple: Standard blocks. Slow growth. Sometimes, branching growth patterns (if nearby 1-3 spaces are unoccupied. Otherwise - cubic mass). Small mass of blocks. Purple x icon

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Combination blocks:
Any sand block with a blue jump booster will make this wavy sand block.... It has the effect of regular sand. Putting another blue block on top will result in yet ANOTHER wavy sand block. No idea what good this does. Unless you need to "dump" block types from your inventory by placing them in unneeded areas of the screen.

Other Useful Info

• Whenever you gain Starseed treasure, you will gain a random block type in your inventory. They go to the back of your inventory (not immediately available).
  
  
• Fall from too great a height and you will warp back to your permanent world
  
  
• If you're ever stuck at a point in the game, hold H until you are teleported to your permanent world. If you press H from there, you will be given an option to delete your save file, if you so desire.
  
  
• The number next to your inventory is the number of "jumps" you have left in starseed levels (where the room walls are dark)

FAQ

Please check the comments section for unanswered questions.
Starseed Pilgrim is a cryptic game, and it's been hard for everyone - myself included XD

Mission Statement

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-Catherine

[Mr. n]

For me, finding out in-game what the things did and how to use/counter them was invaluable. That might explain the scarcity of information regarding it - it is the journey that is most fun.

And the ending... you see the light.

I highly recommend reading http://www.electrondance.com/the-five-stages-of-starseed-pilgrim/ (NO SPOILERS, feel safe) and assessing yourself - which stage are you at? I've read it early enough in the game to remember it during progression and it was awesome.

[RexIvan]

@Guides for Games [Catherine] Thank you much for this guide. The info about even the most basic of functions of this game is far too sparse. Even the discussion board is absent of much info. Youtube seems to just have a bunch of people trying to figure out how to play. There was one other guide, however, that covered keys. I found it after I had commented here. But still, thank you for this guide.

@Mr. n Thank you much for your response. The lack of that bit of info was holding me back from the rest of the game.

[That Wun Wabbit]

@ Mr. n
thank you Mr. n
:D

@Rexlvan
what Mr. n said!

[Mr. n]

Keys in the dark world open doors. You need one for the regular exit (start point of the "infection") or three for a different exit...

[That Wun Wabbit]

I don't remember ;~:
It's best to check the discussion boards for this game. Or maybe youtube. This guide is rather outdated. And given I had a hard time understanding the game when I played it, I can't help much sorry

[RexIvan]

What do the keys in the dark world do, and how do I use them?

[Mr. n]

Dark green non-jump blocks are good to go down, especially combined with light blue or red blocks to offset the penalty. Blue blocks touched by the sand is actually a penalty, not a mechanism of dumping unwanted seeds.


If you want a non-spoilery non-spoiler which will make complete sense once you finish the game: http://www.electrondance.com/the-five-stages-of-starseed-pilgrim/

Cheers

[Mr. n]

Sometimes you will want to dump seeds. It is best done either in blocks that are still growing (and you are sure they are not going to grow out of them, i.e. do not dump an orange block inside a growing pink tower unless you want it growing left or right). Another method is to dump an unwanted seed into a block that you are going to prune/erase anyway. Last ditch method is to dump it anyware and erase the block once you can see the seed symbol inside.

Remember to bring some seeds/numbers to the black world, might save your run. Remember to bring as many seeds (30+) to triple locks, you will need them.

If you press space in the black world during a jump, you keep the momentum of the jump.

In both worlds the camera (and hence the actual gamefield) stays centred at the last spot you were standing on. You can die when jumping out of range (be wary of getting stuck on high towers when you go to the black world).

[Mr. n]

As for the goal of the game - it's mostly about the journey itself (and it is amazing!), even if you are tempted very hard, do not seek spoilers. Just a friendly advice.

If you want to be 100% sure where the orange blocks go, block other paths. Imagine a platform made with 3 non-orange blocks placed horizontally. If your next seed is orange, placing it in the left-most block will make it go left, right-most it will go right and a block that has both sides of it blocked will result in the orange tree going up. If you drop an orange seed in a solitary block, it is going either left or right, randomly.

[That Wun Wabbit]

okay so
1. I've been told you need to enter a 3-star icon area. but you need 3 keys to do anything in there. Spread the void to 3 one-star areas and a 3-star area. This can be done by careful planting and harvesting of pink blocks
2. I think it depends on if there's a block to the left or right of where you place your seed
3. Refer to 1. Also plant your leftover seeds at home to go to different platforms. There's something different about each world you can enter from different platforms and possibly differences between characters. Due to the vagueness of this game I haven't been able to get very far.
I will edit in how to get a block to grow a certain direction for future readers