Star Birds News

[p][/p][p][/p][h2]Public Beta Patch Notes 0.2.1[/h2][p][/p][p]☀️ Fixes & Improvements Based on Community Feedback[/p][h3][/h3][p][/p][h3]Improvements:[/h3]

• [p]Added notification dot to Rewards button in main menu, ingame menu and on victory screen that is enabled when there are unspent Perk points and Perks that haven't been purchased.[/p]
• [p]☀️ The Resource Supply tooltip now also displays the required rate to maintain 3 stars once 3 stars have been reached.[/p]
• [p]Improved transition in tentacle animation.[/p]
• [p]☀️ The Plateau Ramp now displays its actual size while being previewed.[/p]
• [p]☀️ Improved Plateau Ramp width calculation to be more consistent on different plateau setups.[/p]
• [p]Added VFX for Volt Shrooms connected to an energy network.[/p]
• [p]☀️ All locally (offline) achieved Steam achievements are now unlocked when starting the game.[/p]
• [p]Added animations for plants and other new buildings.[/p]
• [p]Adding fertilizer to Yumberry Bush, Dew Shroom and Wire Vine now increases their production speed by x4 instead of x2.[/p]
• [p]Hovering over Wiggler now displays its info in the bottom-right corner.[/p]

[p]
[/p][h3]Bugfixes:[/h3]

• [p]☀️ Fixed a bug causing the Rover to get stuck at the Plant Pot building.[/p]
• [p]Fixed seedling and plant colors sometimes not being initialized correctly.[/p]
• [p]☀️ Removed the solar panel upgrade perk from the perk shop, as Solar Panels can no longer be upgraded.[/p]
• [p]☀️ Fixed errors in asteroid generation that could leave asteroids stuck in an “Out of Reach” state, preventing them from being claimed.[/p]
• [p]☀️ Fixed Plateau Ramps sometimes not being deletable despite having no pipes or paths placed on them.[/p]
• [p]☀️ Fixed the Level Generator considering crafting recipes that had not yet been unlocked, which could result in generated levels containing goal resources without a way to craft them.[/p]
• [p]☀️ Sector 08: Fixed the Bakery being stuck in a “Not Researchable” state before the Bio Lab is researched.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Thank you to everyone who has already taken part in the Beta Test for the “Flora & Fauna” Update. If you haven't: You can still jump in and share your feedback with us. Just go to your Steam Library, right click on Star Birds and in the Properties > Betas Menu, select the beta branch from the drop-down options.[/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]As 2025 comes to a close, we want to take a moment to look back at an incredible year for our small indie studio. From big milestones to small everyday joys, here’s a seasonal recap of everything that happened at Toukana this year![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]🌸 Spring: Star Birds Playtest & Dorfromantik Mobile[/h3][p]Spring was all about creation, iteration, and early hands-on testing.[/p]

• [p]We ran playtests for Star Birds and used the feedback to refine the demo build.[/p]
• [p]Our team built lots of new buildings for the game, bringing its cozy sci-fi charm to life.[/p]
• [p]We hosted our first content-creator streams on YouTube and Twitch, showing Star Birds to wider audiences.[/p]
• [p]Development for the mobile edition of Dorfromantik officially began![/p]
• [p]And behind the scenes, we made major progress on Light Luggage, the travel-size Dorfromantik board-game version.[/p][p][/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][h3]☀️ Summer: Star Birds Demo & Dorfromantik on Consoles[/h3][p]Summer turned into a whirlwind of excursions and events.[/p]

• [p]We launched the Star Birds Demo on Steam and loved seeing your reactions.[/p]
• [p]As a team, we took a trip to Munich to visit our friends at Kurzgesagt.[/p]
• [p]We showcased Star Birds at gamescom in Cologne with our own booth.[/p]
• [p]A very good companion joined the team: our new office dog![/p]
• [p]Light Luggage shipped out to board-game stores.[/p]
• [p]The Dorfromantik soundtrack released on vinyl, a dream come true for us.[/p]
• [p]And last but not least: Dorfromantik came to consoles, letting even more players relax and build their dream villages.[/p][p][/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][h3]🍂 Autumn: Star Birds Early Access & Dorfromantik Light Luggage[/h3][p]Autumn was packed with launches, but there was also a lot to celebrate in the team.[/p]

• [p]Star Birds officially entered Early Access. A huge milestone for the team.[/p]
• [p]We welcomed Nele, our new art intern, who now supports Luca in our visual department.[/p]
• [p]We celebrated Toukana’s 5th birthday with friends and family here in Berlin.[/p]
• [p]Dorfromantik: Light Luggage hit retail and we presented it at the SPIEL fair in Essen.[/p]
• [p]And yes… we started planning big Dorfromantik things for 2026. We’ll share more when the time is right![/p][p][/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][h3]❄️ Winter: Star Birds Update, Teaching & Cozy Office[/h3][p]The first half of winter has already been packed with wonderfully wholesome tasks.[/p]

• [p]We released the first major Star Birds content update: “Flora & Fauna.”[/p]
• [p]We began teaching Game Design at HTW Berlin, our former university. A full-circle moment for us.[/p]
• [p]And our office got a warm, cozy makeover to make the darker months a little brighter.[/p][p][/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][h3]💛 Thank You! And Onward to 2026![/h3][p]2025, you were an absolute blast.[/p][p]Now we’re taking a few calm days to rest, recharge, and enjoy the time “between the years.” Thank you to everyone who journeyed with Toukana throughout 2025. Your support, feedback, and enthusiasm mean the world to us.[/p][p]2026 is going to be big. Really big.
We have:[/p]

• [p]more Star Birds content, new star systems, and preparations for the full release[/p]
• [p]new Dorfromantik plans across PC, mobile, and board games.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Stay tuned & stay cozy. [/p][p]Here’s to a wholesome 2026! [/p][p]Your Toukana Team 🧡[/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]

[p][/p][p][/p][h2]Public Beta Patch Notes 0.2[/h2][p][/p][p]☀️ Fixes & Improvements Based on Community Feedback[/p][h3]
New Content:[/h3]

• [p]Added sectors 08, 09, and 10.[/p]
• [p]Introduced a new star system: Paradeira.[/p]
• [p]Added a new star, new color palette, and new asteroid shapes for Paradeira.[/p]
• [p]Added 7 new buildings.[/p]
• [p]Added 15 new resources.[/p]
• [p]Added 3 new alien plants.[/p]
• [p]Added 9 new achievements (local only while in beta).[/p]
• [p]Added a new cutscene.[/p]
• [p]Added alien tentacles (“Wigglers”) and an alien eye.[/p]

[h3]Free Play Mode[/h3]

• [p]Added the first iteration of a Free Play Mode / level generator.[/p]

[h3]Improvements:[/h3]

• [p]☀️ Sector 02: Landing pad dialogue no longer progresses when placing the landing pad on the wrong asteroid.[/p]
• [p]☀️ The upgrade button now displays a lock icon as long as the perk required to upgrade the building further is not unlocked.[/p]
• [p]Non-purchasable buildings (such as Volt Shroom or Strangelet Detector) are now previewed in the building inventory before they are obtained.[/p]
• [p]When discovering a plant for the first time, a “Plant Discovered” effect now spawns.[/p]
• [p]Added a system for obtaining Strange Points via Module Quest progression in Sectors 08–10 and in generated sectors.[/p]
• [p]☀️ The Melter building now only respawns ice it actually melted when deleted.[/p]
• [p]☀️ The target framerate setting is now disabled when VSync is enabled.[/p]
• [p]Added missing building LODs in the Map view.[/p]
• [p]Improved distribution of resources across asteroids.[/p]
• [p]The Wiki no longer opens when left-clicking a building inventory button; it now only opens via right-click.[/p]
• [p]Save files are now compressed and have a much smaller file size.[/p]
• [p]Removed solar panel upgrades for balancing reasons.[/p]

[h3]Bugfixes:[/h3]

• [p]☀️ Fixed asteroids being generated without resources.[/p]
• [p]Fixed the Small Explosive unlock being available in Level 04 by mistake.[/p]
• [p]☀️ Fixed Map ambient sound not being affected by the volume slider.[/p]
• [p]Fixed asteroid plateaus being counted as connected despite being separated by a gap.[/p]
• [p]☀️ Fixed several issues that could cause holes to appear in the asteroid surface.[/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]

[p][/p][p][/p][p]The Beta Test for our Flora & Fauna Content Update is starting today! Be among the first to explore an all-new star system, weeks before the update goes officially live. Play the Beta now and give feedback![/p][p]The beta includes a Free Playing Mode and three brand-new levels set in Star System 3, offering fresh challenges and new discoveries to explore. Compared to Ravsicle, the star system Paradeira is a far more life-affirming place. Volt Shrooms grow on asteroid surfaces as powerful energy sources. And in the craters meant for construction, eerie tentacles emerge.[/p][p][/p][h3]What’s New in the Flora & Fauna Update (Beta Test Version)[/h3][p]• Farewell, Ravsicle! | Away with the wool socks — move on to Star System 3! From cold and frosty to lush and green.[/p][p]• Advanced Star Travel | New starship construction quests! Paradeira has unique conditions and requires its own solutions to travel onwards.[/p][p]• Alien Plants | Explore the home of the Volt Shrooms. You might even grow a plant of your own! Put your gardening skills to the test, using seeds, plant pots, and fertilizer.[/p][p]• New Buildings | Forge, Bakery, Bio Lab, and many more![/p][p]• Unexpected Inhabitants | Tentacles are emerging from the craters scattered across the asteroids. What they want is unclear — but as always, when in doubt, there’s only one reliable solution: good food![/p][p]• Basic Level Generator | Generate levels of your own in free playing mode![/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]How to Access the Beta on Steam[/h3]

1. [p]Open Steam[/p]
2. [p]Navigate to Star Birds in your Library[/p]
3. [p]Click Properties[/p]
4. [p]Go to the Betas tab[/p]
5. [p]Select the Beta Test in the drop-down menu[/p][p][/p]

[p][/p][p]The Beta will then download automatically.[/p][p]Please note: The Beta Test build is available in English. The full Flora & Fauna Update coming in early 2026 will then be released in all supported Star Birds languages.[/p][p][/p][h3]What Is a Beta Version?[/h3][p]A beta version is an work-in-progress build of a game that is released before the official launch of an update or feature. Players can already jump in, explore new content early, and most importantly, give feedback. This helps the us as developers identify bugs, adjust balancing, and refine the overall experience before the final release.[/p][p][/p][h3]Who Can Join?[/h3][p]We decided to make access available to everyone who owns the Star Birds Early Access version. No special key or sign-up is required. If you’ve purchased Star Birds, you can join the beta immediately.[/p][p][/p][p]Have fun with the Beta! We’re really looking forward to your feedback. Wishing you a few peaceful days between the years, just right for a short escape into the depths of space. 💫[/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]

[p][/p][p][/p][p]As the year winds down, we know December is all about gifts, cozy moments, and finding games that feel just right for the season. To share a little warmth with our community, we arranged something special: throughout December, you can get Star Birds with a ⭐ 20% holiday discount ⭐ .[/p][p][/p][h3]Winter Season, Cozy Season[/h3][p]In our current Early Access version, you can already travel to a frosty star system where the Star Birds are busy crafting wool socks to keep their beaks warm. What could pair better with a snug evening and a cup of tea?[/p][p][/p][p]Think of the discount as a small thank-you from our teams to you, whether you want to surprise someone you care about or treat yourself to some peaceful days drifting through space.[/p][p][/p][h3]New Levels Soon![/h3][p]And before we wrap up: in just a few days, we’ll be opening the gates to the Beta Test of our upcoming content update, "Flora & Fauna". You’ll be able to explore three new levels ahead of their official launch in early 2026.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Wishing you a cozy and relaxing holiday season among the stars! 🌟[/p][p][/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]