When comparing Terasology vs Starmade, the Slant community recommends Terasology for most people. In the question“What are the best voxel-based games for the PC?” Terasology is ranked 9th while Starmade is ranked 11th. The most important reason people chose Terasology is:
Java is well documented.
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Well written in Java
Java is well documented.
Pro Nice looking
Shaders, bloom, film grain and other effects can be enabled.
Pro Free sandbox alternative
The game is inspired by other titles like Minecraft and Dwarf Fortress.
Pro Fully moddable
In the game you can create a mod and submit it as a module. You can select multiple modules when you make a new world.
Pro Extremely modular
The engine allows mix-and-match of features that you need.
Pro Active community
The community is very active in the development of the game, they participate regularly to Google Summer of Code and Google Code In.
Pro Can be Minecraft competitor
An open source alternative, fully customizable; easy mod support based on module pieces.
Pro Infinite possibilities
With its highly advanced build tools and universe sized maps. You can build and do just about anything you could want!
Cons
Con Buggy
Con Unstable
Con Slow
Con Steep learning curve to master
With all of those possibilities, the learning curve gets progressively more difficult as you start getting into advanced logic devices and weaponry. But some might find that to be a good thing.