It's nearly the end of 2024, and you might be wondering: when is the next chapter of Stardander ever going to release? Will the game ever be finished? What are the developers up to? We're here to explain all that and also show off some fun progress and new art!
The quick answers are:
Chapter 5 is currently being added to the game but it will not be ready before the end of 2024. We are hoping to release it by February.
The game WILL be finished! We don't have a confirmed full release date but we are aiming for fall 2025.
Why so slow?
This year, we had to come to terms with the fact that, financially at least, Stardander will never be successful. From a purely business perspective, the smart thing to do would be to drop Stardander altogether, and that was a pretty disheartening realization for us as game developers. Aground Zero - the other game we are working on - seems to have much more financial potential to keep us afloat as a small indie studio. However, we decided that we will definitely finish Stardander as well as Aground Zero. We are making Stardander for reasons beyond just money and we want to see the game to completion - for the few hundred players who are already playing the Early Access version - and ourselves as well. We can't pour all the time we'd like to into Stardander, but we will finish the race eventually.
With this decision, we've been taking it a little easier with Stardander development and we've also been more free with our design decisions, which may ultimately lead to a more fresh and unique game. It might never get wildly popular, but at least it will be really special to us and the few people who are aware of its existence.
Meanwhile, all the art pieces for the older versions of the characters have been completed, and we're really pleased with how they came out! This includes new base sprites for the main characters, revised expressions, many new outfit variations, and new poses. Here is a sneak peek at some of the older looks: We also recorded some footage of the art process of creating Freya's older cloak, which you can see in the video below.
If you know anyone who would enjoy Stardander, please share - the game is currently 20% off!
Thank you for your patience as we work hard to finish this very special game - and thank you for sharing this journey with us! Wishing you all the best as we near the end of 2024!
Soundtrack Release & Development Update
Happy summer, magical ones!
We have several exciting pieces of Stardander news to share today. Although we are not yet ready to release the next chapter of the game, development progress has been happening, and the Stardander original soundtrack is now complete and available!
Soundtrack Release
Chase Bethea composed an incredible, spellbinding original soundtrack for Stardander - a feat which took 3 years and countless hours of hard work, revisions, and thoughtful collaboration.
Chase took inspiration from folk and ethnic soundscapes to craft these tracks. He describes the music as “a sound world that boldly deviates from the listener's expectation. This video game soundtrack evokes the mood and tone of folk music blended with whimsical / fantasy and light electronic sounds. [...] with unexpected chords underpinning dense layers of dancing multi-ethnic melodic lines and busy percussion.”
For anyone who has already played the game - you already know how mesmerizing and truly special these music tracks are. But, if you need a refresher, just listen to a few of the previews which Chase has shared on his youtube channel:
Development on Chapter 5 has been slow but steady. The script for chapter 5 is now complete! Woohoo! It is currently the longest script of any of the chapters, currently sitting at over 43 thousand words (this could change with editing). Choices are starting to matter more at this point in the story, so there are more narrative branches - especially with your choice of romance route in this chapter. We’re excited about how the chapter 5 script came together - and we hope you will love getting back into Callie’s perspective now that she is older and really owning this “magic” thing.
Progress is being made on the final art pieces needed for chapters 5-7 as well. These include sprite changes and alternate outfits for the older versions of the main characters. The Stardander story spans seven years of time, and young people can change a lot in seven years! We absolutely wanted the character's visual appearance to reflect their unique journeys.
As a behind-the-scenes treat, here is a selection of outfit variation roughs for Callie (these are concepts and may not reflect the final design seen in-game). Which styles do you like best for her?
Thank you for your patience as we work hard to finish the second half of the game. We will be back again - hopefully soon - with a playable version of chapter 5!
Chapter 5 Delays and Progress
Happy 2024!
December has come and gone, and obviously Chapter 5 has not released like we originally had hoped. Late 2023 we got Covid (and unfortunately, it appears to be long Covid). Then Winter Break began, and for parents, that means much less work time. Furthermore, with much of our time and energy going towards preparing for Aground Zero's Early Access launch on January 18th, we ended up pretty far behind with Stardander.
However, we are still working on Stardander and we still plan to finish the game this year. Chapter 5 is about half done, and the final backgrounds are finished, plus Natalie has started art for the older character sprites (plus a variation for a special event in Chapter 5) you can see here:
I decided to delete the dates from our roadmap for now. While we do plan to finish Stardander this year, we keep missing deadlines and between that and the low sales numbers, it has been pretty demotivating. Once we're making more consistent progress, I might add target dates back to the roadmap.
I'm sorry for the bad news - but I hope you'll enjoy Chapter 5 when it is ready!
Update 0.1.89 - Beginning Edits
One piece of feedback we keep getting is that it takes a while to get to Stardander (where most of the story and excitement happens). While we want to introduce Callie and the world before she arrives there (and what is at stake for her), we decided it could be trimmed and re-arranged to be more exciting and move faster.
This update mostly effects the events before Callie arrives at Stardander, and this update also updates the demo.
In other news, while we're progressing on Chapter 5, it has been delayed a bit because of how busy we were in October. I updated the road map, and we're on track for a December 2023 release of Chapter 5. I hope you're excited, as this is going to be a major changing point in many ways, and a return to Callie's perspective for the first time!
Update 0.1.87 - Quality of Life improvements
Since launch, we've had a lot of feedback, and while this update might not add any content, it does improve and fix a lot of minor issues.
Changelog (effects both the demo and full version):
Saves list is now sorted by last saved (will only change order of new saves)
Enemies will now show a thinner arrow when using a ranged attack, and both the thin and normal arrow when doing a ranged and melee attack
Added a Harvest All button to the greenhouse
Witches who leave the castle or are unconscious no longer take exams or show up in the fall festival.
Improved study window readability
Clearing battles no longer casts 1 time interval
Harvesting crops is now always successful
Suggest now suggests who to study with
Restore now has a 15% loss of mana sent
Added a text speed option
Minor UI changes/improvements
We have more changes on the way (and we've already started the next chapter), but I figured I'd upload these fixes right away.
Let me know if you have feedback - we're always looking to improve Stardander!
Stardander Launch Stream
Stardander School for Witches launches in Early Access today at 2PM EDT! Join us in stream for chatting about game and hitting the big green launch button!
Stardander Q&A
In your own words, What is Stardander?
David: Stardander is a RPG/Visual Novel hybrid where you guide four witches through witch school - learning spells, gaining friends (and familiars), uncovering mysteries and defeating dangerous fae who want to exterminate the human menace.
Natalie: A lively, witchy, story-focused interactive adventure in a rich world. It lets you play as four young witches as they grow over seven years of their lives. It hits the notes of spooky, mysterious, and endearing all at once.
How long has Stardander been in development?
David: We’ve wanted to do a story-heavy witch game since the release of our previous visual novel, in 2017. But, it took a while to settle on what we wanted from the game (and we released another game, Aground, before we came back to Stardander), so development didn’t seriously begin until 2020.
Natalie: Longer than we expected! Stardander actually started off as a magic academy simulation where you play as the headmaster - then it briefly pivoted towards a battle-focused game, and then to a simple event-based design (a la Sort the Court). However, after making Stardander Revenant in one month for a game jam in September 2021 (which we won 2nd place in), we found the right formula - a balanced mix of visual novel, turn-based combat, trials, and RPG elements.
Who makes up the Stardander team?
David: The core team is me (programmer, gameplay designer, editor/sometimes writer), my wife Natalie (artist, story writer, art director), Chase Bethea (composer), and Laura Onderwater (background artist). We have several other collaborators who made additional art - such as illustrations, character designs, enemies and enemy animations.
When do you expect Stardander to be complete?
David: The first half of the game, Part One (Years 1-4), will be releasing on October 2nd 2023. We plan to release Part Two (Years 5-7) in Spring 2024.
Why include combat and other gameplay elements into a visual novel?
David: Personally, I love turn-based combat, and I feel like it meshes really well in visual novels, as there’s no time pressure - you have time to think or pause before making your move. While gameplay elements can distract from the story, they can also enhance the story, like one of my favorite visual novel series, Ace Attorney, where the trial system forces you to pay more attention to the story to present the right evidence. It shouldn’t surprise you that there’s a trial system in Stardander as well! But, for those who only care about the story, all gameplay elements can be skipped or ignored (there’s only gameplay penalties for gameplay elements, it never does a game over if you fail).
What makes your game unique?
David: The world is very unique - there’s a lot more worldbuilding than is immediately obvious when starting the game (and there’s already a lot to start). While the mechanics of stat building, trials, and yearly mysteries have certainly been done, the combination of them is unusual and they work together in interesting ways. Finally, the battle system is different from any turn based battle system I’ve tried - and I’ve tried a lot. It’s designed to let you experiment with all the different spells you’ve learned, very few of which are damage dealing - encouraging you to get creative!
Does the team come from a gaming background? What are the team’s favorite games to play themselves?
David: I play a huge variety of games, and my favorite is often changing based on my mood or what I’ve played recently. But I always enjoy Pokemon (and, in some ways better, Monster Sanctuary), Finding Paradise is the only one that’s actually made me cry from the story (although all the games in the To the Moon series are great), and I loved the out of the box puzzles of Baba is You.
Chase: I have an eclectic palette of gaming. I started playing games when I was six years old. Starting on my Grandmother's Intellivision and moving to GameBoy (some of my most beloved titles on there like Turok Battle of the Binosaurs, Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 2, Link's Awakening). Eventually, moving to the N64 and late to the game with Sega and playing on my Father’s PlayStation. I love a myriad amount of games from ICO, Lumines Plus and Shadow of Mordor to Eternal Ring, Beyond Oasis, Twisted Metal Small Brawl and Exit.
Natalie: The only games I played before meeting David were Chip’s Challenge and Zoombinis (the original!) on my hometown library computer! David and I were briefly hooked on Dofus (an MMO) in college - before quitting in favor of actually-getting-things-done-in-real-life. The games that stick with me always have strong storylines or characters; I greatly enjoyed the Dreamfall series and many of the Ace Attorney games.
Who is working on the music in Stardander?
Natalie: We are very lucky to have Chase Bethea working with us to create the soundscape for Stardander. Chase is an award-winning freelance Composer/Technical Music Designer who has been working in video games for over a decade. His tracks are textural, atmospheric and complex - and his use of dynamic and adaptive techniques keep the music fresh and vibrant.
What games inspired Stardander?
David: Long Live the Queen and Magical Diary were definitely inspirations - they both include stat building mixed with story (with Magical Diary even taking place at a witch school where you learn spells). The battle system was kind of inspired by Into the Breach - the systems are pretty different, but I remember having a flash of inspiration when playing the game. I loved how you were able to see what the enemies were planning next, and then have a chance to counter them with a wide variety of options almost like a puzzle. I used that enemy preparation, player action, enemy action style when designing the Stardander battle system.
About how long will it take to beat the full version of Stardander?
David: It depends a lot on your reading speed, and how many optional exploration scenes and battles you choose to do, but approximately 10-20 hours.
Will there be multiple endings?
David: Kind of. The core seven year story and mysteries are linear (with many optional scenes and minor choices), but there’s a major choice at the end that greatly affects the conclusion of the story. We’re also planning optional romance routes, which don’t change the main storyline but could count as multiple endings. There’s also one secret romance route that DOES greatly affect the main game ending.
How many characters do you play as?
David: There are four perspective characters - although anyone you befriend can fight with you in the battles, and they all have their own stats and spells. Natalie can introduce the characters better than me!
Natalie: In the first versions of Stardander, you played as Dare, the cat-headmaster-fae who runs the school. But early feedback from players told us that this perspective felt distant and less involved than we wanted. So we switched to a student perspective, but then realized there were more sides to the story than a single student character could really bring out. That’s how we ended up creating four unique and colorful main characters. They each have their strengths and weaknesses, challenges and quirks. We hope you love them as much as we do!
Stardander: School for Witches releasing October 2nd!
Let’s kick off the spooky season! Stardander School for Witches Part One is releasing on October 2nd 2023! Get ready for witches, mystery, fae battles, trials, contests and more!
Professor Dare, the cat headmaster of Stardander, has returned after a mysterious seven year absence. Protector Rea, leader of the Fae-Human alliance, is suspicious, and wants Callie, who knows nothing about magic, to spy on Dare now that the school is finally re-opened.
As a new student, you’ll be able to take classes, learn spells, and fight fae. But don’t forget to investigate the castle’s secrets and gather evidence for Rea, as you’re not just a student, but also a spy mixed up in dangerous intrigue and rivalry within the crumbling Fae-Human alliance.
Want to know a tad more about the setting of Stardander? Check out our new prologue!
Why Early Access?
Right now, we have finished and polished the first four in-game years - which gets you to a satisfying half-way point in the story. We’d like to get the game in front of players to see what they think and get feedback as we finish developing the last half. Already, the game is around 8 hours of play time. Anyone who owns the Early Access version will get ALL updates and future years for no additional cost (we have seven years total planned). See the Early Access section of our store page for more information.
Main Features Include:
Colorful Cast: Play as four complex main characters, each with their own reasons for learning magic.
The Power of Friendship: Become friends or frenemies with your fellow witches-in-training.
Optional Battle System: Recruit your friends to help you battle dangerous Fae in a unique turn-based battle system.
Magical Companions: Talk to and form pacts with Fae to gain familiars.
Progress Reports: Take classes, learn spells, and pass your exams. Use your power to cultivate magical plants and brew potions to enchant items.
Ready to enroll at a unique magic school? Wishlist and follow Stardander: School for Witches on Steam and get hyped for our release on October 2nd!
Still aren’t certain you want to attend? Try the demo - which is available on our store page now and includes the game’s first year.
Looking for more spooky witchy goodness? Try Stardander Revenant - a halloween-themed spinoff game that takes place 12 years before the start of Stardander: School for Witches.
There's been a lot of updates and improvements in the playtest, many of which affect the demo too, so I decided to post all of the playtest updates here!
Changelog:
Added a Prologue*
Added CGs*
Added Backgrounds
Improved world map
Added difficulty modes to battles
Added achievements
Added the ability to have friends help with studying and the greenhouse
Added school anthem*
Added a calendar of events
Added wands in hand (year 2+ only)*
Added knowledge tab in witch stats*
Adjusted stats/battles
Added chapter saves (work like autosaves, but give you a save you wont lose at the beginning of each chapter)
Added auto-advance to options*
Added a mana cost to change familiars in battle.
Minor adjustments and bugfixes
*Starred items are new in the Playtest as well.
In other news, we decided to try Early Access for Stardander - see the Early Access section of our steam store page for more information. This means that we'll be releasing years 1-4 as part one in early access this fall, so look forward for more information about that! And we'll continue to work on the years 5-7 during our time in Early Access - we are fully committed to finishing Stardander!
Prep for Visual Novel Fest - Update 0.1.76
The Visual Novel festival starts in a few days, and I wanted to update the demo with a lot of improvements for it. This update mostly focuses on QoL, but it has some additional art and music as well.
Changelog:
Added world map
Added difficulty modes
Added Apex's theme
Added boss music
Added a mana cost to change familiars in battle.
Adjusted buffs and battles
Minor tweaks/improvements
The biggest change here is difficulty modes - it'll ask you to set it in new saves, but you can change it outside battles (including in old saves) in the options menu. Normal mode is the current mode - which some players find too hard, and some too easy, so I feel like it's a good balance. If you thought it was too hard, try easy mode, and if you thought it was too easy, try hard mode (which can be tough even for me in some situations). I also added a 1-hit death mode - where witches die in a single unblocked hit. This excludes armapods, as you have to fight them before you have the spells and capabilities to really deal with 1 hit death. As long as you're well prepared, and don't try forests far beyond your witches level, this mode is beatable, but it's very tough and merciless towards mistakes.
