Starbound Change Character Appearance Mod Work May 2026

Here’s a comprehensive guide to understanding how character appearance change mods work in Starbound, including the most popular mods, installation steps, and how they function under the hood.

The Vanilla Limitation

Chucklefish, the developer, never implemented an official appearance change mechanic. While you can easily change your clothes and vanity armor at any time, your character’s base visual data (species, skin/fur color, hair style/color, body type) is saved as immutable metadata in your player file. Without a mod, changing these requires manually editing your game files or starting a brand new character.

What Can You Actually Change?

With a reliable appearance mod, you can edit nearly everything:

| Feature | Vanilla | Modded | |--------|---------|--------| | Hairstyle & Color | ❌ | ✅ | | Skin/Fur/Glow Color | ❌ | ✅ | | Eye Shape & Color | ❌ | ✅ | | Body Type (male/female) | ❌ | ✅ (most mods) | | Species (e.g., Human → Novakid) | ❌ | ⚠️ (some mods, but risky) | | Character Name | ❌ | ✅ (via separate mods) | starbound change character appearance mod work

Important warning: Changing your species can break quest flags (e.g., the Apex storyline may not recognize your new race). Most appearance mods disable species switching to prevent save corruption. If a mod allows it, back up your player file first.

Installing Mods on Steam Deck / Linux

Starbound mods work identically on Steam Deck because the game runs through Proton. However, the directory path differs:

/home/deck/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/Starbound/storage/

Use Desktop Mode to drop .pak files into the mods folder. The Character Creation NPC mod works perfectly on Deck’s 800p screen. Use Desktop Mode to drop

Step 3: Create a character.json File

• Inside your mod folder, create a new file called character.json
• Add the following content to the file:

  "model": "customcharacter.model",
  "textures": [
    "customcharacter.texture1",
    "customcharacter.texture2"
  ],
  "animations": [
    "customcharacter.animation1",
    "customcharacter.animation2"
  ]

This file defines the character's appearance. You will need to replace the model, textures, and animations fields with your own custom assets.

6. Conclusion

Starbound appearance-change mods work by either:

• Safe method – Lua script with admin commands to override protected player functions.
• Risky method – Direct binary editing of .player files.

For most users, an item- or station-based Lua mod is recommended, provided it explicitly states compatibility with the current game version (v1.4.4 as of this report’s writing). note your exact look coordinates (e.g.

Note: Always back up the storage/player folder before using any appearance-modifying mod. Some mods disable Steam achievements while active.

How to Make a "Change Character Appearance" Mod for Starbound (Guide)

This guide explains how to create a Starbound mod that lets players change their character’s appearance (race, gender/skin layers, hair, colors, facial features) without starting a new character. It assumes Starbound v1.x and basic familiarity with JSON, Lua, and the Starbound mod folder layout.

The Top Mods That Let You Change Character Appearance (And How They Work)

Not all appearance mods are created equal. Some completely overwrite the character creator, while others inject new UI elements. Here are the only three mods you need to know about.

What About Multiplayer? Does It Work on Servers?

This is where things get tricky. Changing character appearance via mods on a dedicated server depends entirely on server-side configuration.

• Server-side mods required: If the server has disabled mods that alter player data, your appearance change will only be visible locally. Other players will see your old look until the server reboots.
• How to check: Ask the admin if the "Character Creation NPC" or "SBP" is installed on the server itself. Without it, any changes you make will revert upon re-login.
• Workaround for vanilla servers: Join a server, note your exact look coordinates (e.g., "Floran, body type 2, hair ID 17, color #B84A2C"), then edit your .player file manually using a hex editor (advanced—not recommended for casuals).