Once Upon a Galaxy News

[p] NEW Galaxy Pass for September! Let's meet our new Captain and check out the sweet alt arts![/p][hr][/hr][h2]Premium Rewards[/h2][h3](Level 1) New Captain: Hannibal![/h3][p]The rocks shake as he treads across the mountains. Pebbles turn into a rockslide beneath the stampede of animals in his wake. Lift your trunks, for Hannibal has arrived on the Premium Galaxy Pass September 1st![/p][p][/p][p]After 6 of your Animals are KO’d give each of your slots +1/+1. Then improve this ability by +1/+1.[/p][hr][/hr][h3](Level 30) Singing in the Snow alternate art![/h3][p]
Stage lights are on, snow is falling and Mr. Lamppost’s dance number is on full blast! Time to be the star of the show with the ‘Singing in the Snow’ alternate art for Mr. Lamppost, available at level 30 of the September Premium Galaxy Pass.[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][h3](Level 50) Pool Party Hannibal alternate art![/h3][p]Summer may be winding to a close but there is still time for one last pool party! Splash down with Pool Party Hannibal at level 50 of the September Premium Galaxy Pass![/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][h3](Level 1) This Month’s Free Galaxy Pass Captain: Zagreus![/h3][p]Zagreus is tired of waiting! It’s his turn on the Free Galaxy Pass! On September 1st, watch as he unlocks for all players to showcase how losing a fight can be the best thing that could have happened for your run![/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][h3](Level 40) Lightburglar alternate art![/h3][p][/p][p]Once a thief, always a thief. Zeus is bringing down the punishment in this shocking new alt art ‘Lightburglar’ for Lightning Thief. Available for free at level 40 of the September Free Galaxy Pass![/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p] That's all for now! May your Animals be plentiful, may your pool parties rock and may your bottle be ever full of Pumpkin Spice Latte.[/p]

[h2]In-Game Store[/h2][p]With September rolling in, we’ve got to say goodbye to some amazing skins in the store. Leonardo di Skippi, Wicked Vengeance Hades and Princess Miyazaki will be leaving the In-Game Store on September 1st. Pick them up before they leave![/p][p][/p][p]Maximus harnesses the power of the cosmos in this amazing new ‘Lightning Tiger Hoo’ skin![/p][p][/p][p]Some fan favorite skins are making their return to the shop this month, ‘You Shall Not Pass’ and ‘Big Bad Piggie’ ![/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][h2]Bug Fixes and Other Changes[/h2][p][/p]

• [p]Improved optimization to allow for complex late-game scenarios better and abort complex battles less often.[/p]
• [p]In Async mode, when the game abandons a complex fight mid-combat (like when you have a lot of hunt triggers), we now count it as a battle win for the active player. This will allow games to reach a conclusion.[/p]
• [p]When viewing the locked Galaxy Pass captain during Captain Select, you can now see and zoom in on the Captain to read their abilities.[/p]
• [p]Type Tags now show in shop while playing Chief Evil Officer (Villains), King Arthur (Heroes), Boy Who Cried Werewolf (Animal) and Hannibal (Animal).[/p]
• [p]Type tags will be hidden during battle and fix visual bugs when switching between multiple tags each action during shop phase.[/p]

[p][/p][h3]Jack Sparrow Bug Fix[/h3][p][/p][p]We are also fixing an inconsistency we found with Jack Sparrow where it would sometimes be +1 additional hunt trigger and other times it would be 2x hunt triggers.[/p][p]Generally, we lean towards +1 additional trigger when we use the term “Double” and this is how Hunter’s Horn works. We have fixed these inconsistencies by making Jack always be +1 additional hunt trigger.[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][h2]Candylar: The Sweet Set[/h2][p]Here is a little bonus sneak peak of the first Galaxy expansion filled with tons of new cards and fun.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Candylar: The Sweet Set drops on all platforms in October![/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p]That's all for now! May your Animals be plentiful, may your pool parties rock and may your bottle be ever full of Pumpkin Spice Latte.[/p][p]Come let us know what you think of the patch changes in the Discord, on Twitter, Bluesky, Reddit and Instagram or come join our weekly Dev Twitch Streams on Tuesdays at 2pm EST.[/p][p][/p][p]We would also love to hear your thoughts in a review on Steam, Android and in the Apple App Store. Leaving those reviews is a huge help to an indie company like ours and helps us make our millions of dreams come true.[/p]

[p]What an insane first half of August for Once Upon a Galaxy. Thousands of new players flooding in every week and y’alls reviews, comments, support and all the streams and content have been truly loved by our small team. With the fire fully stoked beneath us, we are scorching through the summer with some big big updates to come soon. For now, we’ve got some balance changes, new music and an elephant enters the room. Let’s dig in.[/p][hr][/hr][h2]Music[/h2][p][/p][p]With the Steam release, we have gotten a ton of feedback about the lack of music in the client. We have a lot of grand plans and ideas for Music and SFX that will take time to get fully commissioned and implemented.[/p][p][/p][p]For now, we have licensed some wonderful placeholder music from Fesliyan Studios who made the main screen music you may have heard already.[/p][hr][/hr][h2]Card Changes[/h2][p][/p][p]Overall, we are really happy with our overall balance. That said, there are always a few outliers on both ends and we are looking to bring some of those back into line.[/p][p][/p][h3]Major Changes[/h3]

• [p]Wind Up Toy now gains +2 attack when attacked (was +1)[/p]
• [p]Mortakon’s Quest now needs to see 50 total stats summoned (was 30)[/p]
• [p]Tsarmina now buffs +4/+4 when it’s supported hunts (was +3/+3) ; Also now requires only 4 hunts for her quest (was 6)[/p]
• [p]Dragonmother no longer gives +5 attack on transform[/p]
• [p]Pisces now increases fae buffs by +3/+3 (was +2/+2)[/p]
• [p]Flying Monkey is now a 2/2 (was a 3/2)[/p]
• [p]Ninja-in-Training is no longer a Toy (was a Toy Animal Hero, now Animal Hero)[/p]
• [p]Combustible Dragon now has Treasure Hoard 3 (was 2)[/p]
• [p]Buried Treasure now gives Treasure Hoard 2 (was 3)[/p]
• [p]Pirate Prince now gives 1 random common treasure (was 2)[/p]
• [p]Weird Beard and Tiamat’s Claw can no longer give Secret Rare treasures (unless your captain is Artemis[/p]

[h3]Minor Changes[/h3]

• [p]Earth Stone triggers at start of turn, not start of battle (text already reflected this but now the effect matches)[/p]
• [p]Sinbad now triggers on Midas Touch (was always the intention but it now works)[/p]
• [p]Greed and Dragon’s Crown now have helper text.[/p]
• [p]Fixed Ace of Hearts Golden text to reflect actual effect (it gives 2 bonus shops not 1)[/p]

[hr][/hr][h2]Quality of Life Changes, Bug Fixes, Various Improvements[/h2][p][/p]

• [p]Added a “down for maintenance” mode to limit impact of future outages[/p]

• [p]Opponents' boards will no longer disappear after you lose a fight (this was a bug)[/p]
• [p]Melody’s Lute no longer triggers itself (also a bug)[/p]
• [p]Zeus now shows multiplier and highlights on spells when active[/p]
• [p]Added Music and Sound volume sliders[/p]
• [p]Fixed a bug where you’d get a blank screen while reconnecting during Captain Select of a Live Lobby[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][h2]Please Review Us![/h2][p]The Steam launch has been an absolute resounding success for Once Upon a Galaxy so far. For those of you who have already left a review, it has made all the difference as it tells Steam that people love our game and encourages them to show us to new players.[/p][p]Those who have not gotten around to reviewing us, please do so on all platforms you consume our game on. It goes a long way to keeping our momentum going.[/p][hr][/hr][p]Come let us know what you think of the patch changes in the Discord, on Twitter, Bluesky, Reddit and Instagram or come join our weekly Dev Twitch Streams on Tuesdays at 2pm EST and be sure to leave us a review on Steam, Android and in the Apple App Store![/p]

[p][/p][hr][/hr][p]At Once Upon a Galaxy, we believe that art is more than pixels on a screen—it’s heart, it’s story, and it’s a shared vision brought to life through human creativity.[/p][p]In an age where AI-generated images are faster and cheaper than ever, it can be tempting to automate the creative process. But we’ve made a conscious choice to stand by human artists.[/p][p]Why? Because the spark that brings our galaxy to life, all the whimsy, the emotion, the charm can’t be generated. It must be crafted.[/p][p]And there’s no better example of that than our new favorite card art: Bedtime for Barky by Ekaterina Lusupova.[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][h2]From Dream to Drawing Board[/h2][p]When we reached out to our wonderful artist, Ekaterina Lusupova, we knew she’d bring something magical to the table. Here’s the prompt we sent her:[/p]

[p]This is the cutest little werewolf you ever did see! It is bedtime, he has his PJs on, his nightcap and is tucked snug into bed. He is holding tight his stuffed animal sheep, who he always sleeps with. He looks sleepy but very content.[/p]

[p]It was a short and sweet concept — just a few lines — but Ekaterina instantly understood the tone we were going for: cozy, charming, and full of character. What she delivered absolutely melted our team’s hearts.[/p][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][hr][/hr][h2]Why It Matters[/h2][p]In a game like Once Upon a Galaxy, where fairy tales meet space fantasy, the tone is everything. We rely on our art not just to make things look good, but to make them feel right. Every card, every background, every silly creature or joke has a purpose and we need artists who understand that, who feel it with us.[/p][p]Supporting real artists is also a way of investing in our broader creative community. When we commission a piece, we’re not just buying art, we’re building relationships, supporting livelihoods, and making a game that we can be proud to have people play.[/p]

[p]Hey everyone — we're excited to finally share a roadmap of what we're working on and all the incredible features coming soon to Galaxy! This is your sneak peek into what's coming up.[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][h2]On Deck[/h2][p]These are actively in development and launching #Soon™[/p][p][/p][h3]Highlights[/h3][p]Monthly Tournaments[/p][p]Compete for prizes and earn your way toward seasonal championships — and eventually, Worlds![/p][p]Live Lobbies (Ranked Matchmaking)[/p][p]As much as we love async, we know there's nothing quite like crushing live opponents. This mode features turn timers and real-time matchmaking for players who want that head-to-head rush.[/p][p]Set 2 Release[/p][p]Tons of exciting new cards and synergies to play with — trust us, it's sweet.[/p][hr][/hr][h2]In the Wings[/h2][p]Planned and scoped — but still in the oven a bit longer[/p][p][/p][h3]Highlights[/h3][p]Audio, Music & SFX v1[/p][p]Now that Steam is live, we want to give sound the love it deserves. It'll be full of personality, polish, and Galaxy soul.[/p][p]Upgraded VFX Pass[/p][p]"You like (poison) apples? How bout dem (poison) apples!" — We've got plenty more beautiful hand-drawn VFX where that came from.[/p][p]Deckbuilder v2[/p][p]The v1 deckbuilder did its job for alpha, but its not up to Galaxy standards. We're rebuilding it from the ground up for a smoother, smarter experience.[/p][p]Competitive Enhancements[/p][p]Legendary players rejoice! We're exploring the best way to show detailed lobby/captain/stats info without overwhelming new players — it's all about the right balance.[/p][hr][/hr][h2]On the Horizon[/h2][p]These are further down the road, once we're a bit closer to full release[/p][p][/p][h3]Highlights[/h3][p]Quarterly New Set Releases[/p][p]As we ramp up, we're aiming for a full schedule of 3–4 exciting new sets per year.[/p][p]"Save and Come Back" Support[/p][p]We love how async works in Galaxy, but sometimes you want to switch apps or pick up a run later. It's a pretty heavy lift — but it's on the list.[/p][p]Achievements & Player Quests[/p][p]Long-term goals, creative missions, and new ways to express mastery — we're just getting started.[/p][hr][/hr][p]We've got tons of exciting updates ahead, and we can't wait to hear what you think. Got ideas? Feedback? Bring it. And as always, we'll see you in the stars.[/p][p]—The Galaxy Dev Team[/p]