Star Birds News

PATCH NOTES 0.1.2 - Autosave's Here!

[p][/p][p][/p][h2]Patch Notes[/h2][p][/p][p]☀️ Fixes & Improvements Based on Community Feedback[/p][p][/p][h3]Bugfixes:[/h3]

[p]☀️ Fixed an issue where the game would consume excessive memory and freeze when paused and left running for an extended period.[/p]
[p]☀️ Fixed a bug where quickly placing a launchpad while moving the mouse could cause the placement to fail while still subtracting tech points and credits. This could lead to softlocks and occurred more frequently on lower-FPS PCs and Steam Deck.[/p]
[p]☀️ Sector 03.1: Fixed ceramic not displaying a recipe in the wiki when playing this sector before Sector 04.[/p]
[p]☀️ Fixed audio clips cutting off prematurely when fast-forwarding game speed.[/p]
[p]☀️ Fixed custom key rebinds only initializing after opening the rebinding screen instead of loading automatically.[/p]
[p]Fixed the rebind button not reverting to its default label when starting a different rebind process, which effectively canceled the current one.[/p]
[p]☀️ Added a stick deadzone to prevent drifting on connected gamepads, which caused the asteroid to keep rotating.[/p]
[p]☀️ Fixed the "Edge Rotation Enabled" setting reverting to its default value after restarting the game.[/p]

[h3]Achievements:[/h3]

[p]☀️ Added a progress bar for most achievements — either counting down (e.g., for the Space Falcon challenge) or counting up.[/p]
[p]☀️ Disabled "Achievement Missed" notifications if the achievement has already been unlocked.[/p]
[p]Added a “missed” visual state (semi-transparent) to achievement badges.[/p]
[p]☀️ Sector 05: Improved consistency of Hard Melting remaining ice area calculation. (Note: Ice can still spawn under craters, preventing the achievement from triggering — check the progress bar to confirm.)[/p]

[h3]Other Improvements:[/h3]

[p]☀️ Implemented autosave at fixed intervals: the game now saves automatically when switching scenes if 3 minutes have passed, and after 6 minutes if staying in the same scene. This can be disabled in the settings menu.[/p]
[p]☀️ Added descriptions to most resource and building wiki entries.[/p]
[p]☀️ Improved performance when drawing very long rover paths.[/p]
[p]☀️ When syncing game data with Steam Cloud, the game no longer considers it a first launch on a new PC (which would play the prologue cutscene and restart Level 01) if save data already exists.[/p]
[p]☀️ Sector 01: Stats screen and score tooltip are now accessible before completing the sector.[/p]
[p]Sector 01: The Intro cutscene no longer plays every time when restarting the sector after completing it once.[/p]
[p]Sector 05: Removed inaccessible small craters from plateaus to avoid confusion.[/p]
[p]☀️ Rover no longer moves while the game is paused.[/p]
[p]☀️ Added a game resolution setting to the cutscene skip menu.[/p]
[p]☀️ When a Strangelet is excavated (last excavation quest fulfilled), it now disappears from the asteroid and the excavation hub performing the excavation is destroyed, making it clear that the hub is no longer active.[/p]
[p]Pause the cutscene playback while the cutscene skip menu is open.[/p]
[p]Added social buttons to the credits screen for kurzgesagt’s Bluesky and TikTok profiles.[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][p]The best place to give feedback is our Discord server. There, we are running a Smart Ticketing System: Leave feedback, vote up change requests and bug reports from other users, and help us to prioritize tasks in the further development of Star Birds. [/p][p][/p][p] 🙏Thank you so much everyone for the overwhelming response, all your feedback, comments and bug reports! This helps us a lot to prioritize and identify issues with the game. We're trying to address the most critical issues as soon as we can. Please be patient though, since we're a small team and might take a while to address specific issues you're experiencing!🙏 [/p]

The Birds Are Overwhelmed – We Even More

[p]We have a message from mission control: Star Birds has officially climbed to Overwhelmingly Positive on Steam! 🎉[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Overwhelmingly Positive! That means over 500 of you have already left a review – in fact, as of writing this article, it’s 620 reviews, and 95% of you like Star Birds.[/p][p]For us as a small indie team, this is absolutely overwhelming. We launched Star Birds into Early Access on September 10, 2025, hoping you’d enjoy our mix of logistics, puzzles, and space science fiction – but seeing this level of excitement blows us away.[/p][p]Thank you for taking the time to share your first impressions with existing and future players. And with us. We appreciate every single review! [/p][p][/p][h2]Community Voices[/h2][p]And with the community flocking together, here are some voices from the Steam review section:[/p][p][/p]

[p]"a Very big logistical nightmare it was awful and suffering 10/10"
– SlimmerSauce392[/p]

[p]"This is the early release version of the game but the bones are solid. If you're a fan of resource management games like Satisfactory or Oxygen Not Included but with a more chill vibe, this is your game"
– TheTwelfthDoctor[/p]

[p]"Fun, relaxing puzzle game based ~85-90% in science (they admit they threw things in for the fun of it despite accuracy). All in all fantastic quantity and quality of content for its price."
– Velrai[/p]

[p]"Really like this game, it is fun, looks cute and has a great progression with the chapters. Feels not too overwhelming or stressful and is well balanced. The main story/chapters are doable and the optional extra badges are more challenging. Can recommend it :)" [/p][p]– Bina[/p]

[p]"The Demo was already really nice[/p][p]The Early Access version is even better[/p][p]Such an complex, yet cozy game[/p][p]Looking forward for future updates[/p][p]10/10 Would recommend"[/p][p]– Seaeagle15[/p]

[p][/p][h2]Saying Thanks[/h2][p]We’ll be using the Early Access phase to keep developing Star Birds closely with you, our community. Several content updates are already planned, bringing new features, levels, and improvements on the road to full release.[/p][p]As a small token of our gratitude, we’ve prepared a few goodies for you – check out this post to see what we’ve put together! [/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]🪐 From the bottom of our hearts – thank you for making Star Birds possible! Writing a review is the best support you can give us right now. Thank you for testing & typing. [/p][p] [/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][h3]Download Star Birds & Join Our Newsletter[/h3][p]Star Birds is an indie project by Toukana Interactive and kurzgesagt. We are over the moon to have such an amazing community. You are the reason why this project exists. If you want to support us, download the game here on Steam, and tell your friends about it. If you would like to be the first to read content like this and are looking for more in-depth insights, we recommend our newsletter – sign up at toukana.com/starbirds.[/p]

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PATCH NOTES 0.1.1c - Steam Cloud Saves & In-Game goodies

[p][/p][p][/p][h2]Patch Notes[/h2][p][/p][p]☀️ Fixes & Improvements Based on Community Feedback[/p][p][/p][p]Small Patch Notes 0.1.1c[/p]

[p] Added Outbounds cross promo menu item (redeemable via code)[/p]
[p] Enabled Steam cloud save ☀️[/p]

[p]Note: Save games & game data are now synced via Steam cloud. However, the flag whether the game has started for the first time isn't synced at the moment. Meaning if you start the game for the first time on a different PC, it will trigger the prologue cutscene and restart level 1. When you switch back to menu, all your unlocks and Level progress should be there though. We will address this in the next patch 0.1.2.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]The best place to give feedback is our Discord server. There, we are running a Smart Ticketing System: Leave feedback, vote up change requests and bug reports from other users, and help us to prioritize tasks in the further development of Star Birds. [/p][p][/p][p] 🙏Thank you so much everyone for the overwhelming response, all your feedback, comments and bug reports! This helps us a lot to prioritize and identify issues with the game. We're trying to address the most critical issues as soon as we can. Please be patient though, since we're a small team and might take a while to address specific issues you're experiencing!🙏 [/p]

95% Positive - We Thank You with ✨In-Game Goodies✨

[p][/p][p][/p][p]In less than three days, 324 players have already left a review for Star Birds – and 95% of them are positive. That absolutely blows our minds. 💛[/p][p]For a small indie studio like ours, reviews mean a lot. They help Star Birds get discovered by players who might love it but haven’t heard of it yet. Your feedback directly helps us stay visible and keep making games we care about. As a thank-you for all the love and support, we’ve put together a few little surprises for you. We hope there’s something in here that will make you smile!

If you haven't left a review yet, you can help us immensely doing so and spreading the word 💯✅[/p][p][/p][h2]We Read It, We Patched It[/h2][p]But first of all, important to mention: We’re reading all of your feedback – every review, every comment, every bug report – and we’re working hard to address the most urgent issues as quickly as possible. Thanks to your reports, we discovered a few hiccups in the tutorial flow, resource balancing, and High Score tracking right after launch. [/p][p][/p][p]With patch 1.1.1 we hope we’ve fixed what could have been game-breaking. Thank you for letting us know so quickly!
Patch 1.1.1c added Cloud Saves!

[dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][h2]Grab the Captain's Mug[/h2][p]Back in June, many of you playing the demo had a lot of fun with the Captain’s Mug — so we thought: why not let you customize your command bridge even more? Over time, we’ll be adding a few new main menu items so you can make things feel extra cozy for your bird crew.[/p][p]And if you just woke up from your cryo-egg and are wondering, “What mug?” — click the little gift icon button in the top right corner of the main menu and enter the code -> getmug25 to help the crew to some coffee! ☕
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Unlock the Campervan Miniature from Outbound[/h2][p]At gamescom we met our new friends from Square Glade Games, the devs behind the highly aniticipated Outbound and we've teamed up to bring something realy cool to you!
Freshly flown in for the release, there’s now a special item for all indie lovers — drum roll, please! 🥁 — you can now unlock a minifigure of the iconic campervan from Outbound for your main menu. [/p][p]To get it, simply click on the button with the gift icon 🎁 to redeem, then enter the code "outbound" in and hit the checkmark button.[/p][p]Outbound is an open-world exploration and crafting game where you begin with an empty campervan and build it out into the home of your dreams—alone or with friends—scavenging, crafting, exploring, adapting to changing environments, and decorating as you go. The studio team of Square Glade Games puts a lot of love into modular building systems, exploration, and cozy customization. No wonder the birds are putting the Outbound van right on the dashboard!
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[h2][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]Timberborn Bundle Deal for Building Enthusiasts[/h2][p]In addition, we’re collaborating with Timberborn on a special Star Birds + Timberborn Steam bundle. [/p][p]If you’re still on the fence about picking up Star Birds and you love cozy building games, here’s your chance to save a little coin — and maybe spend it on your favorite tea or a pair of cozy autumn socks instead. Beavers and birds, two species building their own civilizations — what could be a better match?[/p][p]In Timberborn, you lead a colony of clever beavers in a post-apocalyptic world where humans are gone. You build dams, manage water, use vertical architecture, and terraform the land to help your beaver folk survive in changing conditions like droughts. Mechanistry, the indie studio behind Timberborn, is crafting complex, beautiful systems that feel alive. This game could be right up my alley if you like water simulation, 3D terrain, and thoughtful city building.
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[p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]Thank you to the Outbound and Timberborn teams for making these collaborations possible—and thank you, our Star Birds community, for flying with us. We hope these new additions bring a smile to your faces and more adventures to our much beloved bird crew.[/p][p]Again, if you haven’t yet, leave us a Steam Review! In return, we’ll send you lots of indie love. 💛[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][h3]Download Star Birds & Join Our Newsletter[/h3][p]Star Birds is an indie project by Toukana Interactive and kurzgesagt. We are over the moon to have such an amazing community. You are the reason why this project exists. If you want to support us, download the game here on Steam, and tell your friends about it. If you would like to be the first to read content like this and are looking for more in-depth insights, we recommend our newsletter – sign up at toukana.com/starbirds.[/p]
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PATCH NOTES 0.1.1 - For Tutorial Beginners & Highscore Hunters

[p][/p][p][/p][h2]Patch Notes[/h2][p][/p][p]☀️ Fixes & Improvements Based on Community Feedback[/p][p][/p][p]Bugfixes:[/p]

[p]☀️ Sector 01: Fixed last tutorial step not triggering (outro dialogue not starting) when connecting the refiner to a launch pad before connecting it to a water extractor[/p]
[p]☀️ Sector 03: Acid recipe now unlocks by default at the start of Level 03 to prevent module quests from stopping at station level 13 when level 14 is required for the Logistics achievement.[/p]
[p]☀️ Sector 05.1: Fixed High Score 05.1 condition incorrectly rewarding the Star Bird 05.1 achievement, which made High Score 05.1 unobtainable.[/p]
[p]☀️ Enter and Discover asteroid tooltips no longer render in front of the in-game menu, dialogues, or other UI elements.[/p]
[p]☀️ Hovering over buildings is no longer detected when the building is obscured by UI (e.g. bug reporting or in-game menu screens).[/p]
[p]☀️ Fixed music track skipping when alt + tabbing out of game while Run In Background is disabled.[/p]
[p]☀️ Fixed an issue where deleting a Receiver sometimes caused two interplanetary connection lines to be drawn on top of each other, making it seem like one was missing.[/p]
[p]Flying coin particles no longer freeze when opening the in-game menu.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Improvements:[/p]

[p]☀️ Sector 04: Added an additional trigger to unblock ice extractor research. Previously, it only became available after starting the first Strangelet excavation quest. It now also becomes researchable when starting any quest that requests water, methane or acid.[/p]
[p]Sector 04: The last excavation quest now grants +1 Strangelet, and there is a separate goal quest that rewards victory for obtaining 1 Strangelet.[/p]
[p]☀️ Sector 07: Hid the recipe requiring conductor & feather to make thread so players focus on the simpler feather-in-refiner recipe instead.[/p]
[p]Added tooltip to Edge Rotation Enabled setting in controls tab to make it clearer what it does: disabling the auto rotation of an asteroid while drawing paths or placing buildings (tooltip only in English and German for now).[/p]
[p]☀️ Fixed some typos in German translation.[/p]
[p]Version number now displays with a "v" prefix instead of "Version."[/p]
[p]Improved tooltip positioning in the in-game menu.[/p]
[p]Removed debug frame rates from the target frame rate dropdown.[/p]
[p]Added a small delay before the loading screen disappears when starting a game from the menu to prevent the menu flashing for a frame before the game begins.[/p]