A-Star Theft News

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[h3][/h3]

This update revamps the user interface for a much cleaner design, with better colors, animations, and text placement. Heists are now also more dynamic based on time of day, with civilians leaving during nighttime and guards being more suspicious.

I hope you enjoy the new update!

Changelog:

• Redesigned the User Interface
• Improved day and night cycle’s impact on heist behavior:
• Civilians now go home during night time
  
• Guards now lock down buildings during night time
  
• Added different symbols on locked doors to help with colorblindness
  
• Increased efficiency of Liquid Nitrogen on Heat Detectors
  
• Fixed civilians spotting players stealing in the dark
  
• Fixed C4 not damaging vehicle turrets
  
• Fixed cameras not detecting players cutting glass or taking jewelry
  
• Fixed guards not spotting players pickpocketing civilians
  
• Fixed some minor object placement issues in several missions
  
• Fixed game start-up animation not syncing with the music
  
• Attempted to fix an issue where an invisible enemy would prevent progress in Protection
  
• Attempted to fix an issue where Justice Fox’s dialog is sometimes unavailable in Protection
  

For questions or feedback, you can join the A-Star Theft discord server, or mail me at: [email protected]

Hello everyone, I hope you are having a lovely day!

Due to the recent Steam Stealth Fest, this past week has been the most successful one in the game's history.

I want to welcome all new players to the game, and say that I am very thankful that you have taken a chance on an indie game like mine!

I aim to release many more updates, making the game experience even better with time. Since the game's release, I have published over 30 updates and see no reason to stop any time soon. If you want, you can even check the beta tab in the Steam UI, and try out the first ever version published on Steam - the differences are... quite large :)

I also want to talk about potential for a new story in the game.
The current story is one that I am not particularly happy with. A few months before release, I had to force something into the game due to tester feedback, but I had no time to truly write what I wanted to write. The story I wanted to tell simply has not manifested properly in the game. While it does have some compelling moments, it is overall weaker than I want it to be.

Since then, I have analyzed every aspect of the story to find its deficiencies. I now believe that I have managed to properly connect every component, character arc, and reveal in a compelling and logical way. At least in theory, as this remastered story still only exists on paper, almost like a screenplay. It's hard to know how it will look in a game format, but it is there, and I will now start working on making it real.

Implementing a new story does have some challenges though, beyond just writing it: How do I handle old save files which are already halfway through the game? Will I keep the original story for a while, and only show the improved story in new save files? Perhaps I can write some form of a save compatibility transfer. Or maybe the story will be included in a fully remastered version of the game, with a way for existing players to upgrade without charge. I simply do not know at this time.

I hope that you can forgive any shortcomings in the story, and know that I am right there with you :)

With all of that said, I hope that you enjoy the game, if not for the story, for all the gameplay and exploration it provides!

If you have any questions or feedback, you are welcome to contact me or post on the forums. You can also join the A-Star Theft discord server

If you enjoy the game, consider leaving a review! It helps a lot!

[h3][/h3]

This update introduces the first dynamic weather effects in A-Star Theft. As always, feedback on the effect is very welcome, as I want them to become the best they can be. I have also implemented some ideas I have had for a long time regarding world interaction, and you can expect more interactive objects in the future.

I hope you enjoy the new update!

Changelog:

• Added rain effects
• Added ability to instantly open vault doors from inside a vault
  
• Added ability to destroy security bars and bank vaults with explosives
  
• Added ability to tamper with radiators to release gas
  
• Added knockback to some enemy gunfire
  
• Added new decoration
  
• Improved dialog window design
• Improved how different lighting conditions affect NPC vision
  
• Improved damage from being ran over by a police car
  
• Improved colors in several missions
  
• Improved toxic gas animation smoothness
  
• Greatly expanded Corner Store with new areas and options
• Fixed an issue where players could interact with safes through a vault door
  
• Fixed gang members spotting players in non-restricted areas in missions with civilians and other guards.
  
• Fixed a soft lock issue in Extrication
  
• Fixed a police car path in Armory
  
• Fixed small pixel art errors in the main menu character images
  
• Fixed or reduced police drones getting stuck inside of furniture
  
• Fixed inability to vault over pools
  
• Fixed making noise when weapons are drawn outside of restricted areas
  
• Fixed improper interaction distance with the gun locker in the safe house
  
• Fixed civilians who are supposed to turn not turning
  
• Fixed artifacts on translucent objects during camera shake
  
• Miscellaneous improvements
  

For questions or feedback, you can join the A-Star Theft discord server, or mail me at: [email protected]

If you enjoy the game, consider leaving a review! It helps a lot!

[h3][/h3]

This update further improves on many changes made in update 1.4, with many improvements and quality of life changes. I hope you have fun with this new update!

Changelog:

• Added the new character designs to the main menu
  
• Added sound effect for toxic gas damage
  
• Improved gamepad support
  
• Improved game feedback when stealth killing a guard
  
• Improved visual clarity of alarmed windows
  
• Improved clarity of explosion-proof walls: All explosion-proof walls are now two blocks thicc
  
• Improved heist completion screen compatibility with different display aspect ratios
  
• Improved clarity of Out-Of-Ammo indicator
  
• Improved connection clarity between door switches and their doors
  
• Improved decoration in Prologue
  
• Subtle graphical improvements to several story characters
  
• Subtle graphical improvements to several decorative objects
  
• Removed some unnecessary User Interface elements for interaction
  
• Fixed players' ability to move during certain story dialog
  
• Fixed ability to activate dialog and open the Heist Replay screen with one button press
  
• Fixed all characters accidentally becoming left-handed after the previous update
  
• Fixed a User Interface issue in the Change Appearance menu
  
• Fixed a User Interface issue when interacting with the Dresser in freeplay
  
• Fixed an issue where entering and then exiting the mission selection menu too quickly after exiting the equipment store in Freeplay would keep the menu open, but allow the player to move
  
• Fixed destroying a circuit box not deactivating electricity
  
• Fixed a rare crash in the equipment store
  
• Miscellaneous improvements
  

For questions or feedback, you can join the A-Star Theft discord server, or mail me at: [email protected]

A-Star Theft has been subject to many changes based on user feedback. This update is the culmination of months of playtesting and research. It brings vibrant new graphics, new mechanics, and heaps of usability improvements.

[h3]Major Features[/h3]

• Added ability to kick down doors
• Added more gore effects
• Complete redesign of most story characters
• Drastic graphical improvements
• Greatly improved interaction usability

[h3]Improvements[/h3]

• Added more unique decoration
  
• Added bloody footprints
  
• Added a new music track for Massive Bank
  
• Added more NPC dialog lines
  
• Added setting to toggle Hold To Sneak
  
• Added setting to toggle left- or right-handed player sprite
  
• Added decoration to Prologue
  
• Removed drilling mini game due to usability issues
  
• Increased player stamina
  
• Improved the screen effect rendering system
  
• Improved and unified NPC clothing system
  
• Improved the tutorial
  
• Improved night time lighting
  
• Improved stability of Final Raid mission
  
• Improved ease of use when cleaning body parts
  
• Improved ease of use when tying civilians
  
• Decreased civilian tying time
  
• Improved some timer clarity
  
• Improved restricted area graphics
  
• Improved stealth functionality
  
• Improved usability of vault drills
  
• Improved clarity of planting C4
  
• Slight improvements to User Interface
  
• Changed some throwables to come in packs
  
• Improved internal tools for faster future development
  
• Changed lighting engine pixel art considerations
  
• Tweaks for several missions
  
• Tweaked police spawn amount
  
• Tweaked difficulty for better balancing in both action and stealth
  
• Slightly increased cursor size
  
• Miscellaneous improvements
  

[h3]Fixes[/h3]

• Fixed pause screen not working for a moment after exiting the equipment store
  
• Fixed gamepad support for the new vault cracking minigame
  
• Fixed an incorrect gamepad button prompt for pickpocketing
  
• Fixed throwable animations in the safe house
  
• Fixed a rare crash with civilians interacting with story characters
  
• Fixed civilians spotting players stealing jewelry from any distance
  
• Fixed a settings issue with different aspect ratios
  
• Fixed Vanessa having a randomized design in Prologue
  
• Fixed crew AI sometimes repeatedly restarting lockpicking
  
• Fixed rare AI pathfinding issues with keycard doors
  
• Fixed safes displaying the wrong button prompt after rebinding key
  
• Attempted to fix a fullscreen boot issue
  

I hope you all enjoy these improvements!

For questions or feedback, you can join the A-Star Theft discord server, or mail me at: [email protected]