Stellar Stars - The Star of Records

Hey everyone, my name is David. If you know me from before, it is most probably because I also made Small Chronicles.

I would like to share about a new game for PC/Mac/Linux that I have just started working on since late 2014.



Search for the legendary Star of Records! Stellar Stars (formerly known as Starsss) is an arena-based roguelike shooter that sets you up on the ultimate star-chasing adventure. With Stellar Stars, you will be searching for the Star of Records while powerful enemies and bosses stand in your way.




Key Highlights
Ω Explore various procedurally generated stages each filled with unique enemies with wacky behaviors

Ω Level up character(s) and abilities from defeating enemies and collecting ability orbs

Ω Play character(s) differently each play-through from learning the various unique character growths

Ω Attempt to reach the legendary Stellar Skies, where the Star of Records is rumored to be at


Announcement Teaser!
And we have created a simple little teaser just for this!




* Please note that the game is still a work-in-progress so everything is subject to change. I will also be using this thread to post the latest game development updates for Starsss!

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Play The Game Now!
You can also play Stellar Stars now from the game's website!
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Live Streaming @ TwitchTV
The entire game development process is also streamed live on TwitchTV! You can also catch the live stream over at WhiteSponge's TwitchTV channel every Monday, Thursday and Saturday from 9pm to 11pm EST.
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Screenshots Time!









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WhiteSponge is on Twitter and Instagram! Follow WhiteSponge at

TWITTER:
http://twitter.com/WhiteSponge

INSTAGRAM:
http://instagram.com/whitespongestudio

As promised, there will be two new updates/builds every week! But what is today's update about? Say hello to the new ice world!

In the manner similar to the brick world, and as of today's new update (v0.071 Alpha), the ice world will receive a new visual background!




With this new visual background, the gameplay experience is now more immersive when you're playing in the ice world! Some enemies of the ice world have gotten a skin change to adjust to the change too!

In addition to the stages being procedurally generated, you will also get random views of the new environment for every new stage! And not to mention the blinking stars that are randomly placed in the skies!

And there's nothing more awesome than fighting the ice world boss in the new environment!




You can also check out the 1st progress update video for Stellar Stars! It will be 1 of the many to come for informing you of the game's development status!



So if you want to feel awesome and immerse yourself in this new ice world, grab Stellar Stars now!

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Stellar Stars - Development Blog Post #70
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With 2 new updates/builds every week, this means that sometimes you might get an early preview of new stages or characters! And that is what today's update/build will be about - the metal world!.




In today's update/build (v0.072 alpha), you will get preview access to the metal (3rd) world once you have defeated the boss of the ice world.




As it is still a work-in-progress, you will be able to notice the lack of a visual background in the metal world (it's on the way!). At the moment, there are only 3 different types of enemies that you will face in the metal world.




The 1st and most common is the metal drone - a brownish and old-looking robot that fires multiple bullets at once.




The 2nd enemy, the sentry bot, has the sole purpose of alerting nearby enemies to your presence. You can think of it as a mobile alarm.




And lastly, the laser drone can only be seen gliding across the bottom of platforms or the ceiling on the top.

However, a 4th enemy is already in the works so if you are interested in a sneak preview of it, watch the TwitchTV video below (now on YouTube)!



So if you're feeling a little cheeky, grab v0.072 Alpha now.

In today's update/build, something awesome has been added to the metal world - a new visual background! To find out what it looks like, read on!.

In the previous update, you have gotten an early preview of the metal world and how it plays like.

To make that gameplay experience even better, a new visual background has been added to create that immersive world!




With this new addition, you can clearly see the metal pipes, plates and even some of the artificial panels and computers! On top of that, sometimes you get to see a different part of it!




And there is nothing better than a video to tell you all about today's update/build!



So if you want to experience and feel the immersion of this new world, grab the game now!

After a 1-week hiatus (due to National Reservist), Stellar Stars is back with an all-new update! And this new build not only includes new background animations, it also introduces a new enemy - the Shield Drone!.




While the previous update added a new visual background for the metal world, today's update - v0.074a, adds animations to that!




The animations in the background make it come alive and create a more immersive gameplay experience!

And as mentioned above, today's update introduces a new enemy - the Shield Drone! As the name implies, the sole purpose of the Shield Drone is to defend against attacks, in particular yours.




And to top that off, it also has the ability to protect other nearby enemies if it senses that they are under your attack!




And there is definitely nothing better than a video to showcase the new v0.074a!



The new immersive metal world and the new Shield Drone awaits your challenge!

Instead of what we usually do, which is talking about a new update/build, today's blog post will purely be showing off the art of Stellar Stars, in particular the enemies you will encounter.

A new update/build will also be coming soon once we have added a new enemy to the metal world! But without further a due, enjoy!

As promised, we are back to releasing 2 new updates/builds per week! And today there are some important gameplay changes that makes Stellar Stars more action-packed! Let's say hi to the new Electric Bomber too!.




With today's update/build, which is v0.075 Alpha, there are quite a number of gameplay changes that needs to be highlighted. Let's start with the most important, and perhaps the change that has the greatest impact of all.

Wave - The New Basic Attack
The ability that you always start the game with, Wave, is now considered as your basic attack! This means that you no longer need to use mana for it! So spam away!




Abilities Are Now Spells
The more powerful abilities, such as fireball, impulse and heavy wave, are now spells! This means that you will still need to use mana for them. On the other hand, the good news is that now you can use your basic attack along with the spells!




Enemies Are Now More Intelligent/Aggressive
With the new basic attack that you can literally spam, it is necessary to balance the gameplay in Stellar Stars. Therefore, enemies have been made to be more intelligent!

For example, let's take a look at the green virus. This is what used to happen when you attack it from behind.




Now with this new update, watch what happens when you attack it from behind.




It changes direction and increases its speed to charge at you! Other enemies such as the brick head will also shoot bricks at you immediately upon being attacked!




The Electric Bomber

Another awesome addition to Stellar stars is the new Electric Bomber! This floating robot comes with a countdown timer!




As you can see, when the countdown reaches 0, the Electric Bomber releases electric charges randomly! If you get hit by any of these charges, you will get stunned!

Watch the new progress update video for v0.075 Alpha! It will definitely give you a clearer picture of the new gameplay changes and additions to Stellar Stars!



Experience v0.075 Alpha Now
If you want to experience the new gameplay changes and additions, give the new Stellar Stars a try now! And remember to feedback to us because your voice means the world to us. Cheers!

With today's update, we are introducing a redesign of the 1st world in Stellar Stars! While the previous version is filled with bricks and what not, this new version puts you in the new underground caverns!.



With the ice world and the metal world getting their respective environments, it is rather obvious that the starting world seems somewhat lacking as compared to them.





To make a better comparison, here is what the starting world looks like when the development of Stellar Stars first started.




And then there was the first appearance of the bricks!




However, the bricks on the left and right edges seemed rather redundant and they took up additional space too. So they were removed and it seemed to help create a bigger playing ground.




While it seemed minimalistic, it did not help in creating that immersive gameplay experience. Thus, a visual background was added.




With the background, it seemed to look better in the visual aspect. However, if you stare long enough, you might discover that the bricks don't really belong with what was going on in the background. And that brings up today's update - the Underground Caverns!




The underground caverns sets the story of Stellar Stars right from the beginning. The game does not have any animation or visuals that depict the story at the moment. However, try to guess why you are advancing from an underground environment to an ice wasteland, and after which to a place that seems like a factory filled with robots.

Don't underestimate the power of your imagination! But without further a due, play the new underground caverns here!

There is just 1 more thing though, and that is we now have a new Facebook Group! This new Facebook group will allow you to join in and chat with us directly, building a close-knitted community where we can chat about the games and secret stuff coming soon!



Come find us there! Cheers!

The camera strikes in today's Stellar Stars update! With this new version, the level of excitement that you can get from playing Stellar Stars will definitely go up!.

So what does the game actually play and feel like now? For starters, when you jump up now, the camera follows along by moving up and down smoothly!




And if you were to fall off from a platform, the camera will do the reverse by moving down and back up smoothly!




In addition to the new camera movements, there's also something else that's rather special.




When you level up now, the game will zoom in to where you are! This effect highlights the moment of your leveling up and makes it all the more precious.

And to see it all in action, check the new progress update video below!



So to experience it yourself, give the Stellar Stars demo a try! And don't forget that your voice means a lot to us, so any feedback is definitely welcomed! Cheers!

Today's update, v0.078 alpha is a rather small update.




It mainly consists of bug fixes so to find out what are some of the bugs that were fixed, read on.

Today's update includes quite a few bug fixes for both the demo and full version. Some of them are:

- Fixed a bug which caused similar character growths to show up more than once for choosing (when leveled up)

- Fixed a bug where enemies sometimes stay floating in mid-air after being defeated

To grab today's update, jump right here!

Crafting Stellar Stars has made it evident that it's still missing an important piece - storytelling! While the end goal is to search for the legendary Star of Records, there isn't anything at the start of the game to tell that story ~ And that's why it's crucial to do just that.




So now when you first start the game, instead of seeing the character selection screen immediately, this is what you will see.




This will eventually become the 1st scene of the story's animation (skippable), which will play whenever you start the game. However, as it is still a work-in-progress, it currently only shows the words "Press any key to continue" at the bottom of the scene.

If you were wondering, this 1st scene is indeed taking place inside someone's bedroom. It is definitely still missing quite a number of things, such as windows, tables and bookshelves.

It will also be in the form of an animation! So in the next few updates, you will be able to see the progress of it changing as it might take a while to finish it.

In addition, something mysterious and magical will happen in this bedroom. And it will bring you to the first world of Stellar Stars, the Underground Caverns!




And after your 1st play-through, either from getting defeated or from clearing the current playable worlds, you will start right back from the character selection screen.

And instead of a progress update, today you will be able to see my live reaction while playing Stellar Stars! Enjoy!

Hey there! I hope that you have been well! Today's update adds a few small things to the story cutscene at the beginning of the game! Oh and not to mention some bug fixes too!




To begin, let's take a look at the story cutscene in today's new update (v0.08 Alpha)!




A new wooden table filled with things such as a notebook, a microphone, an eraser and even a drawing tablet has been added! In addition to that, a clothes drawer and a book shelf have been added too!

But there is something more.




A small animation preview of the main character's dialogue has been added! And as you might have guessed, it is still a work-in-progress. So hopefully this will give you a rough idea of how the story cutscene will eventually look like.

And now, let's move onto the bug fixes! In today's update, a few quirky bugs have been fixed. For example, take a look at the GIF below.




If you think about it, it's rather funny how you can cause the boss to appear in the character selection screen! Luckily that has been fixed!

And instead of a progress update or live reaction, today it's gonna be something special! Watch how BiotreX plays an older version of Stellar Stars!



Lastly, you can grab the new v0.080 Alpha here now! Cheers!

It has been a while since any real gameplay changes have been made for Stellar Stars! However, today's new update will change just that!

To begin, the most important change will have to be that your basic attack now has a 2x firing rate! Compare the two GIF's below.






This simply means that you'll be shooting more projectiles, and that means more action! However, don't think that this will make fighting enemies easier!

To ensure that the gameplay is still balanced, enemies and bosses now have increased health! And along with your basic attack, spells now do more damage too!

In addition to changes made to your offensive attacks, there are now more enemies spawned in every stage! Multiple enemies can also spawn on the same platform!




Besides enemies, you will also notice that upgrades have been made to Big Teeth, first boss of Stellar Stars! On top of spawning minions, now it also shoots them right towards your direction!




Big Teeth now also shoots more spread projectiles in general so watch out for that too!




So what do you think of today's update? You can experience the gameplay changes now by grabbing v0.081 Alpha!

Last but not least, check out another short playthrough of Stellar Stars (previous version) by Mage Calagalaxius! Cheers!

As the post title's suggests, today's Stellar Stars update will allow you to stop slipping on ice! And as you might have expected, it comes in the form of a new character growth!.

If you have defeated Big Teeth, the 1st boss of Stellar Stars, then the Ice Wasteland shouldn't be new to you.




In addition to being the home of several powerful enemies, the Ice Wasteland consists of ice (Duh!) everywhere. And what happens when you run on ice? You slip easily!




While it's kinda cool to easily slide across a platform (as shown above), this makes it challenging to control your character as you attempt to move or jump about.




And that's where Spike Friction comes in. As the latest addition to the family of character growths, learning it will prevent you from slipping. This means that you will be able to run and jump similarly to when you're were in the Underground Caverns!




This also means that you'll have to decide whether you would want to have an easier time in the Ice Wasteland, or if you prefer to improve your character in other aspects. For example, instead of learning Spike Friction, you might feel that increasing your maximum mana (MP) will increase your survival rate.




And that's why it will be interesting to see how you'll choose to play and improve your character on each run. To experience the new growth, grab Stellar Stars now!

Lastly, to watch how Spike Friction works in action, watch the YouTube video below! Cheers!

Ever wondered how you can hug a wall? Wonder no more! Here's how you can do so in 3 simple steps with today's update!

Step 1 - Level Up (From defeating monsters)




Step 2 - Learn the new Arm Strength




Step 3 - Profit!




Go and hug a wall right now with the new Stellar Stars v0.083 Alpha!

You can also watch the 3 simple steps in action below! Cheers!

What will you do if you feel a presence close by? And that is what today's new update is about.




Today's update (v0.084 Alpha) brings about an important change to enemies that move by floating around. Yes I'm talking about the ghosts in the Underground Caverns and the frost wraiths from the Ice Wasteland.







While this type of enemy used to be able to become invincible by phasing out, today's update effectively put an end to that. Your basic attack or spells can now hit them at all times!




There is a catch though. So from losing their ability to phase out, they would have to gain some other ability to maintain that gameplay balance. And that's why they can now move through things like platforms and walls!




And if you think that this is just a simple change, think again.




With this new ability, it is that much easier for them to stalk and chase after you! This means that you will often get into situations where you will get surrounded by multiple ghosts or frost wraiths!

So what do you think of today's update? To experience it yourself, grab the updated playable demo now!

If you were to ask me,"What's so special about Stellar Stars?", you will definitely hear the term "Character Growths" ~ Character growths are a fun way for you to improve your characters when you level up! And today's update introduces a new character growth - Joker's Defense!.




With the word "Joker" in its name, you might wonder if it involves gambling. As a matter of fact, this new character growth involves gambling your health for a chance to damage nearby enemies. But is it worth it?

To decide if learning Joker's Defense is a good idea, take a look at what happens when you come into close contact with an enemy.




Now compare that with what happens when you have learnt Joker's Defense.




In addition to reflecting the damage, Joker's Defense knocks the enemy back! While it sounds like this could save you from eminent defeat, there is a catch.




The chances of it activating is not 100%. And that makes perfect sense. Imagine what could happen if Joker's Defense always activates! You could literally just run into enemies and kill them on the spot! Talk about gameplay imbalance!

And I am willing to bet that you won't be going on a ramming spree even with this new character growth! Think of Joker's Defense as something that might or might not save you in dire situations.

And so to experience being a Joker, grab the updated playable demo now!

What contributes to playing a game and having a great time while doing so? With Stellar Stars, the focus is on creating an awesome gameplay experience! With that said, how will today's new update take the first step towards that path?.




To begin, take a look at this screenshot of the character selection screen.




Now compare it with this new version.




It may not be obvious at first glance, but the font used in the character selection screen has been changed! With a new consistent font, the overall look and feel of the character selection screen is much better!

In addition to the character selection screen, the options screen has undergone the same makeover too!







And by popular demand, you can also now turn the screen shaking off (default is on)! This means that the screen will no longer shake when you attack enemies!

This is when screen shaking is on.



And this is when screen shaking is off.


While today's update only changed the character selection and options screen, the entire game will slowly phase towards using the same font design!

So what do you think of this 1st small step in creating that consistent gameplay experience? Expect more changes towards that direction!

To experience it for yourself, grab the updated playable demo now!

Enjoy and have fun! Cheers!

Today's update for Stellar Stars continues with the path of creating an awesome gameplay experience for you! And that includes even things like using a consistent font design throughout the game.

When you play the game for the first time, you might notice that the 1st stage is kind of empty. And that's because there is a small hands-on tutorial, which takes less than 30 seconds.

You will also notice that with this hands-on tutorial, you are essentially learning the game by doing stuff. And that's why you will see notifications like this.




Besides the hands-on tutorial, other notifications such as when you have unlocked a new character, or when you collect a new star, have all been changed to use the new font design!







And since Stellar Stars is going to be using this new font design everywhere, menus, which usually have more text on them, is a great place for that! Say hi to the new pause menu/screen!




So while today's update for Stellar Star doesn't amount to much in terms of game content, it is another important step in creating a better gameplay experience for you.

Therefore, to experience it yourself, grab the updated playable demo now! Cheers!

What happens when you die? Would you want to know the answer to that? However, death is not something that can be controlled. But in Stellar Stars, it is! Today's update takes a close up look at the new death animation!




Before sharing how the new death animation came to be, let's take a quick look at it first!



Did you enjoy it? The new death animation has a lot of things going on at the same time. But the first and most obvious is definitely the slowing down of time.

This is when time passes normally.



This is when time is slowed down.



For the death animation, the aim is to create that slow motion effect which you can definitely see in many action and sci-fi films. This makes that specific moment stand out easily from others.

You might also notice that the camera zooms in to where you are during the death animation. While this camera action seems straightforward, it actually consists of 2 parts.

The 1st part requires making the camera zoom in from where it is at (i.e center of screen).




The 2nd part involves moving the camera to your current location.




And when you combine and run these 2 at the same time, you get the animation effect of the camera zooming in to where you are at!




The last component of this new death animation comes in the form of 2 simple black bars. If you are wondering what black bars I am talking about, think back to the character selection screen.




Notice that there are two black areas on the top and bottom of the screen? The new death animation essentially reuses them and animates them for that dramatic (and cinematic) effect!




And when you combine everything above, you get the new death animation as shown in the YouTube video above! So what do you think? Do you feel that it will make dying in Stellar Stars more memorable?

Lastly, to experience it yourself, grab the updated and playable demo! Have fun!