Starstruck: Hands of Time News

👋 Hello everyone! I have some great news about Starstruck!

But first, let's start off with some art:




You might have seen it already on the store page, but this is Starstruck's new key art. What do you think? I think it conveys the spirit of the game pretty well.

All of the art was created by hand by our new friend Luo Rui, who is an incredible illustrator:





Good news! Starstruck's gameplay and programming are now fully complete!

The ending is all implemented, and I've even managed to optimize the whole game so it all runs smoothly on the Steam Deck!

Here are the only things left to do before the game can release:

• Proofreading/editing the script (in progress - being done by bleep)
  
• Translating the script into all 6 other languages (not started yet)
  
• Remaking the rhythm gameplay charts (in progress - being done by Chezy, a renowned Clone Hero charter)
  

We're almost there! In fact, I even have the trailer ready to go for when I drop the release date. This isn't the release date drop, though, so I can't show the trailer yet.

I've played through the game a bunch of times now, and I think it's pretty good. Can't wait for you to play it too!

-Max



https://store.steampowered.com/app/1054950/Starstruck_Hands_of_Time/

Hello Stars Truckers! How's your summer going? Time for another update... but first, some Starstruck fanart!


by @pedro_vstheworld


A very creative interpretation of The Captain, by Synaptic Abyss (Tumblr, Cohost)

Development Status Update


In the last update, I talked about how I started working on the ending. So, how's that been going?

Well, the ending is 50% done! And the final song is currently underway by Andrew Allanson, the lead composer of the game! I've already seen the lyrics he wrote for it, and I'm really really happy with them - they truly bring everything together in a beautiful way!

Great progress is being made. I feel good about finishing the game this year, and then releasing it next year.

I feel a great urgency to finish the game and release it as soon as possible. In part because, as I test it, I'm starting to think it will turn out even better than I expected, so I want to get it out into the world. See you in the next update. I hope to bring you more exciting news then!

-Max

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1054950/Starstruck_Hands_of_Time/

PS: Did you know that Andrew's game YIIK is getting a wildly huge update, called "YIIK I.V"? I got to play it early, and here's my review:



Want to see what I mean?

Check out the trailer here: https://twitter.com/AckkStudios/status/1609240593854615557


https://store.steampowered.com/app/459080/YIIK_A_Postmodern_RPG/

Hello Stars Truckers! Hope your 2023 is going well. This is going to be a big year for Starstruck, so let's get right into the development status update!

A preview of the art sent on the newsletter! If you missed it, you can still get it (and four other exclusive four-panel comics) emailed to you instantly when you join the newsletter.

Development Status Update

At the time of the last update, I was polishing everything in the game up until the ending. So now five months later, where are things?

Well, I'm happy to say the game is now about 95% polished for everything up until the ending! In addition, I've started working on the ending, which I'll be fully diving into working on next week. This is a big step forward and I can hardly believe it myself.

Here's some of what's been achieved recently (that I can show you without spoiling things):



Improved rhythm UI! Not only does it look better, but the stem on each note is now centered so timing is easier.



Upgraded text/font system! This not only makes text across all languages appear crisper, but also enables Chinese language support.



Improved physics! Buildings explode better, characters can be thrown around, and the physics is "wackier" in general.

There's many more things I implemented as well, such as Steam Deck compatibility and adding some new complex events to the story. Overall, I'd say the game is on its way to becoming more of a finished product.

Thanks for reading and keeping up with my game. I'm working really hard on it every day. I think it's going to be a special game. See you in the next update, where hopefully I'll be able to give more big news about the game getting closer to completion!

-Max

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1054950/Starstruck_Hands_of_Time/



PS: As a side project, I helped in the English localization of a previously Chinese-only RPG Maker game called "Have a Nice Dream". It went somewhat viral in China in 2021, and now it's available in English! Oh yeah, and it's free!

If you're into short and thought-provoking RPG Maker games, you can get the game here:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1625080/_/

Hello Stars Truckers! Recently, a few people have asked me about the status of the game. Then I realized... even though I write updates every few months on the game's newsletter, I haven't posted an update on Steam on a while! So here's today's newsletter update, re-posted here on Steam!

A preview of the exclusive 4-panel comic sent on the newsletter! If you missed it, you can still get it (and the three other comics) emailed to you instantly when you join the newsletter.

Development Status Update

In the last email, I mentioned that I had the game playable in a barebones way up until the ending. So four months later, how has development been going?

It's been going well! The game is now about 70% polished for everything up until the ending!



I keep saying I "polished" the game, but what does that mean? Here's one example: the buildings in town now look different after you destroy them as the Captain. It would be a shame if the final game didn't work like this, right? Along with stuff like this and improving/expanding many of the cutscenes, I've also been adding new content and a whole bunch of secrets where it felt right. A first draft of the main dialogue is now in the game, too.

Next development update should be an exciting one, since (hopefully) I'll be able to say things are polished to satisfaction and that I've started working on the ending.

Thanks for reading. See you in the next email update in a few months!

-Max

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1054950/Starstruck_Hands_of_Time/

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1054950/


[h2]January 20-24, 2022[/h2]


[h3]Starting January 20, click here to visit the event on Steam![/h3]

Starstruck was accepted into The Big Adventure Event, a Steam showcase of indie games in the adventure genre taking place on January 20-24!

During the event, you can play free demos on Steam, watch livestreams, participate in community events, and that kind of thing. If you're looking to discover some new games in the adventure genre, I recommend checking the event out.

The event will take place from January 20 to 24. See you then!

(Also, development on Starstruck is going well! Now I'm going back to working on the game.)