When comparing Rune Classic vs Starbound, the Slant community recommends Starbound for most people. In the question“What are the best LAN party PC games?” Starbound is ranked 41st while Rune Classic is ranked 121st. The most important reason people chose Starbound is:
Starbound allows the player to go at their own pace while completing the tutorials. By the end of the tutorials the player will have the skills and equipment to succeed in the game and have fun doing it.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Terrific melee multiplayer
You can cut off arms and heads and use them as weapons.
Pro Complexity makes the game challenging and interesting
Each weapon plays uniquely - some are better at quick jabs and some are better at broad strokes. You can completely change up combat by switching up weapons, which means there is a lot more to learn.
Pro Informative and well paced tutorials
Starbound allows the player to go at their own pace while completing the tutorials. By the end of the tutorials the player will have the skills and equipment to succeed in the game and have fun doing it.
Pro Incredibly deep gameplay
The exploration, crafting and combat are all both very polished and deep in terms of what you can do, especially compared to other games in the genre. This makes the sandbox very fun to play in as you're never really stuck doing the same thing over and over.
Pro Boss levels
For what is a procedurally generated game, Starbound offers boss levels that once beaten unlock new sectors of space to explore.
Cons
Con Poor single player
The single-player is more of a tutorial for multiplayer than a full campaign.
Con First few hours can be boring
Initially the player needs to amass enough coal to fuel their ship, which is a bit of a grind.