Infinite Stars - The Visual Novel News

[p]Happy last February Friday![/p][p]I hope you’re having a good one, but if you’re not, I’m about to make your day a tiny bit better.[/p][p]The new content for Infinite Stars is available for Patrons! You’re now able to continue hunting for the Semashar with 117 new choices across 39K words of story.[/p][p]We’ve got intrigue.[/p][p]We’ve got horror and suspense.[/p][p]Angst. So much angst.[/p][p]We’ve got tender LI scenes.[/p][p]We’ve got some suggestive talk.[/p][p]There’s humour and sorrow.[/p][p]You’ll see techy HUD Maps.[/p][p]There are more Cephilusk Twins with a dash of body horror.[/p][p]For the first time ever, we’ve got \[redacted for spoilers] and \[redacted for spoilers]. (You’ll know what this is when you see it.)[/p][p]There are several new hat-tip easter eggs to other influential science-fiction stories that inspired us.[/p][p]We’ve even got a mini puzzle.[/p][p]We’ve tried a ton of new things this time around, and while I was nervous at first, the Beta tester feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. (While we’re on the topic of Beta testers, they all deserve a solid headnod. Their feedback was instrumental in turning a good release into a great one. We were able to add 38 distinct improvements out of the 50ish identified could-be-betters. It’s far from perfect, but it’s definitely a very different experience from what was Beta tested.)[/p][p]The release is currently only available to Patrons, and we’re aiming to make it publicly available to everyone closer to the end of March 2026. Windows|Mac|Linux build for Ensigns+ Tiers, or get the Android build for Commander+ Tiers. OBSCURA is recommended for an 18+ audience. Content warnings for the game are but are not limited to: human trafficking, harsh language and profanity, terminal illness, manipulative and abusive relationships, themes of religion and religious abuse in a fictional faith, forced non-sexual BDSM practices, drug and alcohol use (consensual and forced), non-explicit sexual content, blood and gore, violence and torture, character death, and abrupt and jarring visuals.[/p][p]Get Obscura on Steam

[p]Happy Friday![/p][p]Production has been ramping up nicely, and I feel like I'm settling back into my old productive routine! If all goes well, we might have the new playable intrigue scene ready by next week this time. If we miss that date, it will definitely be ready before the end of the month.[/p][p]You might have seen the lore post on \[redacted],* which leads us to you and your crew travelling the galaxy. (It's not the smoothest transition, but I've been writing for hours, so work with me.) The first gate that you'll be able to travel to on the current galaxy map will lead to Sol, where it all started. It's also a place that I've been world-building for several years, so I'm quite excited to share all of that with you. (To manage expectations, this is still a while off, and your Mah'Abeu will have to resolve the current crisis first. (Or maybe not? Maybe we'll allow your Mah'Abeu to turn tail and run home, consequences be damned.)) I'll start sharing more lore entries and dev insights about what's been happening back at home soon. The first of these is the design concepts for Sol fashion, specifically Lunar fashion. (Keep an eye out for our Mars and Earth fashion posts that will arrive a little later.)[/p][p]Thanks to everyone who has been voting (and commenting) on the polls, keep it up! It motivates us to work harder! More to follow![/p][p]Be safe, be kind, and rest well over the weekend! *Fun lore tidbit, the H1 protocol is also referred to as the "(H)umans (1)st" protocol, used when something is low-key classified and not meant to be shared freely with other species for various reasons. Another example is the diplomatic brief on how to interact with the Cephilusk. It doesn't contain anything secret, but freely sharing the diplomatic brief could cause diplomatic friction between Humans and Cephilusk.[/p][p]Most of our designations, number sequences, names and Mushkaraq words in the game aren't just pulled from a hat. They have an actual meaning behind them![/p]

[p]Happy Friday![/p][p]We're now solidly in the first stretch of the 'end of the year rush' with most of my business meetings asking me 'So what are your plans for next year?' and some of the stores around here have already started putting their Christmas decorations up for sale.[/p][p]We also had our annual Brickfair last weekend, the largest Lego expo in South Africa and probably Africa as a whole. (I'll post some pictures on the devlife channel in Discord of my favourite builds!)[/p][p]We've started prepping for rAge, the South African gaming expo, in early December. ICON was a great safe practice run to see what works and what doesn't, so we're excited to put out theories to the test. (As a side note, we've also reached out to ComicCon in the US for next year. It's a long shot, but maybe I'll get to meet some more of you! I would love for it to work out!)[/p][p]Enough about the boring stuff, and over to why you are actually here! Infinite Stars![/p][p]We keep making progress on the next batch of story content, and as I've mentioned, we also started working on some smaller side stories. All the questions about 'what are your plans for next year' also made me think about what our plans are for Infinite Stars. I have a ton of ideas, but I'll want your input to validate them instead of rushing off in a direction I think everyone wants, so expect several polls soon. The first of these many polls will be the content releases. Right now, we aim to release 2-4 bigger story updates each year, but I can't help wondering if we should focus on more minor, monthly updates with side stories, extra intimate scenes, and regular slice-of-life content while we work on the main story in the background. I'd love to do the same with the larger story content, but sometimes it isn't possible. (Like right now, the next batch of story content will take place off-ship, and we need to get it to a point where the player returns to the ship before we can release it, so you aren't stuck mid-story with nothing to do until the story continues. If you're back at the ship, you can always continue exploring the intimate scenes and other side-story content.)[/p][p]Let me know what you prefer in the poll![/p][p](Oh, the Andreas and very NSFW Raymond pinup is also available!

[p]Happy Friday![/p][p]Crazy hectic week, work-related, with sooo many missed deadlines, but you can only do what you can do in a week.[/p][p]I still managed to sneak away to write here and there. I mentioned last time that we are starting to implement these self-contained story arcs, and have come to the realisation that we'll need more random crew members to tell these stories.[/p][p]We're going to be opening up their designs to you, the community. You'll be designing the character briefs, their looks, body types, mannerisms, outfits, all of it. We are looking at starting with 10 new crew members. The intent isn't for these characters to become LI's, but if it were to happen in a natural way, we wouldn't rule it out.[/p][p]So, with that out of the way, if this sounds like fun, fill in this little request, and we'll include you! This invite is open to all fans of Infinite Stars, regardless of your Patron status.[/p][p]We've also continued planning for the next batch of Thalassaphilia content, which we want to release for the Spooktober game jam. We're super excited for this![/p][p]That's it from me. I hope you all have a fantastic weekend! Be safe, be kind.[/p]

Happy Friday, everyone!

It's a great one because today is launch day!

We've been working very hard on this one, and we're sorry it took a bit longer than usual. But I'm happy to say we're in good shape for the next upcoming release.

Some highlights that you can look forward to in the newly released content (minor spoilers ahead):

• If you and Matthias have been making eyes at each other, you can share a very tight, uncomfortable ride in a small elevator. You won't be able to help but 'accidentally' rub up against Matthias and fluster him.
  
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• If you want to get a little closer to the enigmatic and usually inappropriate Andreas, you can do so while on a chaotic shopping spree for some exotic substances.
  
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• If you just want to spend some slice-of-life time with Veera and Khalil, you can meet some new friends and pay homage to some loved ones. (You are loved and missed, and now you are forever immortalised little sweetpea.)
  
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• If you have a thing for the strong Captain types, you'll have the opportunity to make some suggestive comments and take some mildly inappropriate actions.
  
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• You get to meet some new alien species. Some of them are icky and gross (and yet also sexy, according to feedback? \o/)
  
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• A new sexual orientation system that allows you to pick who you want to be able to flirt with.
  
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• A new rival system (very new and not fully fleshed out yet.)
  
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• A new status message on the main menu will show you how much of all the available content you have experienced. (It's impossible to hit 100% right now due to some seasonal content.)
  
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• All the regular 'new' stuff: new music, new backgrounds, new characters, new portraits, etc.
  

We also added some niche scenes that most of you will probably never see. The conditions for these to trigger are stringent, but they hit the spot just right if/when you do see them.

Now that this release is done, we'll probably take a break for a day or two and then jump back into things. Our attention will shift to working on and releasing Project Syndicate in May while still working on Infinite Stars on the sidelines:

• Bugfixing and polishing existing content.
  
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• Adding some more intimate scenes for patrons.
  
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• Adding some more cutesy ,non-intimate scenes.
  
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• Expanding on the friendship and rival system.
  
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• Finalising and adding the new outfit system.
  
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• Finishing the next (halfway? done) content.
  

Enough of my ramblings. You can find the latest public build on itchio or Steam, and the latest Patreon Build is available >>>here<<<

Those of you who have been around for a while know that we love doing cross-promotions during releases, and this release is no different. We have something special thanks to Esh from Steamberry Studio, the creator of When Stars Collide!

When Stars Collide is a fantastic sci-fi visual novel, (inspired by Star Trek, Firefly and Star Gate) and Esh is an even fantastickler(er?) human. You should definitely check out her project and consider supporting her on Patreon if you like what you see.

Your Mah'Abeu can also roleplay to your heart's content as Ari and Esher from When Stars Collide.

Have a fantastic weekend, be kind to others and stay safe!