That's right, you can now play the game in 2K and 4K resolutions!
I also fixed some minor bugs that you all have reported. Thanks for the detailed bug reports, everyone!
If you have any questions, bug reports, or feedback, please let me know either on the Steam community forum or Discord!
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Version 20240919.1 of Starstruck: Hands of Time is now live on Steam.
Changes:
Enabled support for resolutions up to 4K (please note that some visible banding and frame drops may currently occur at higher resolutions, depending on your PC)
Fixed a bug that soft-locked the game if you checked a mailbox while mail is being delivered
Fixed a bug that could soft-lock the game if certain custom mapping settings were used
Fixed a bug that prevented some achievements related to high scores from being granted
Fixed a bug that granted a certain achievement erroneously if you failed the last song
Fixed a bug that could show a notification icon on the desktop when it shouldn't appear
Fixed a bug that could cause a certain screen transition to never complete if a character is using their guitar
Fixed a visual bug that happened if you failed to dodge certain attacks in the rhythm gameplay
Fixed some typos
Thanks + Reviews + Future + Shirt #2!
Hi Stars Truckers!
Thank you all so much being part of Starstruck's release yesterday.
Thank you to all of you for playing Starstruck, telling your friends about it, and writing reviews on Steam!!
My heart felt really warm because of all of you who are giving my weird video game a chance.
Starstruck is still on sale for 10% off, so please buy it and play it if you haven't already. I promise it's a wild ride that you won't regret buying!
Reviews
Great news! Starstruck's already received some positive critical reviews! They're a tiny bit spoiler-y, but if you're not sure if Starstruck is the game for you, check them out!
I'm currently working on implementing your feedback into the game. Fortunately, there only seem to be minor bugs, but I'm currently working on fixing them and will upload a new build to Steam this week! If you have any bugs to report or suggestions, please post them in the Steam community forum or on the Discord server.
Another T-Shirt?!
"Did you ever want to be an artist?"
Well, you’ll be one small step closer with this Starstruck: Hands of Time official tee designed by ropesnek!
Yes, a new official Starstruck t-shirt is now available in sizes from S-4XL! I really love this design and was super fortunate that ropesnek wanted to create a shirt for the game!!
I'm already wearing mine all the time and really love it.
Get yours here! 👉 https://store.starstruckgame.com/products/heroes-of-20xx-t-shirt
Conclusion
Thanks everyone, for being part of this crazy game's launch.
Please play Starstruck and tell your friends about it!
Starstruck - OUT NOW!!!
Starstruck: Hands of Time is OUT NOW!!!
We did it, Truckers!
Starstruck: Hands of Time is OUT NOW!!
The game is on sale for 10% off for the launch, so please take advantage of it.
Enjoy!
(And please tell your friends.)
-Max
Launch Discount, Steam Deck, and T-Shirts!
Hi Stars Truckers!
We're just 7 days away from the release date, September 16!
Testers seemed to enjoy the game a lot. I'm looking forward to seeing what you all think when the game releases!
A few announcements:
10% Launch Discount
Starstruck will be on sale for 10% off when it launches!
So if you buy the game when it releases, not only will you help support the launch, but you'll also save some money!
By the way, the standard price of the game will be $20 in USD and ¥2,300 in JPY.
Fully Playable on Steam Deck
Starstruck is fully playable on Steam Deck! It plays fantastically on the system. I have tested it extensively on the Steam Deck, as have many testers.
So if you're looking for a new game to play on your Deck, here it is!
Limited T-Shirt Run
A limited run of official Starstruck t-shirts is now available!
Get yours here 👉 https://store.starstruckgame.com/products/ouroboros-tee-sticker-set
Available in 2 colors: black or tan
A very limited number of each color available
Medium size only (see page for size details)
Each shirt comes with 2 stickers!
High-quality 100% cotton
Shipping only available to the United States
Well, that's all for now. I hope you enjoy the game when it comes out in 7 days!
If you have any friends who are into this type of game, please tell them about it!
Big news: I'll be exhibiting Starstruck at BitSummit in Kyoto from 7/19 - 7/21! If you're in Kyoto, please stop by and say hello!
To celebrate this, I've also just released a major update to the demo.
If you haven't played the demo yet, now's the perfect time! Or, have any friends who haven't played it? Now's the perfect time to recommend it to them! Your progress in the demo will also carry over to the full game also, by the way.
Some of the highlights of this huge update include:
All-new charts by GH/CH charter Chezy
Four new difficulty levels
A new playable song
Two new localizations (Latin American Spanish and Simplified Chinese)
New rhythm UI
And much more!
Full changes list:
Added localizations for Simplified Chinese and Spanish (Latin America)
New, remade-from-scratch charts for the rhythm gameplay by Chezy
Added a new song to play as Dawn while she's in jail
👋 Hello everyone! I have some great news about Starstruck!
But first, let's start off with some art:
New Key Art
You might have seen it already on the store page, but this is Starstruck's new key art. What do you think? I think it conveys the spirit of the game pretty well.
All of the art was created by hand by our new friend Luo Rui, who is an incredible illustrator:
Progress Update
Good news! Starstruck's gameplay and programming are now fully complete!
The ending is all implemented, and I've even managed to optimize the whole game so it all runs smoothly on the Steam Deck!
Here are the only things left to do before the game can release:
Proofreading/editing the script (in progress - being done by bleep)
Translating the script into all 6 other languages (not started yet)
Remaking the rhythm gameplay charts (in progress - being done by Chezy, a renowned Clone Hero charter)
We're almost there! In fact, I even have the trailer ready to go for when I drop the release date. This isn't the release date drop, though, so I can't show the trailer yet.
I've played through the game a bunch of times now, and I think it's pretty good. Can't wait for you to play it too!
A very creative interpretation of The Captain, by Synaptic Abyss (Tumblr, Cohost)
Development Status Update
In the last update, I talked about how I started working on the ending. So, how's that been going?
Well, the ending is 50% done! And the final song is currently underway by Andrew Allanson, the lead composer of the game! I've already seen the lyrics he wrote for it, and I'm really really happy with them - they truly bring everything together in a beautiful way!
Great progress is being made. I feel good about finishing the game this year, and then releasing it next year.
I feel a great urgency to finish the game and release it as soon as possible. In part because, as I test it, I'm starting to think it will turn out even better than I expected, so I want to get it out into the world. See you in the next update. I hope to bring you more exciting news then!
Hello Stars Truckers! Hope your 2023 is going well. This is going to be a big year for Starstruck, so let's get right into the development status update!
A preview of the art sent on the newsletter! If you missed it, you can still get it (and four other exclusive four-panel comics) emailed to you instantly when you join the newsletter.
Development Status Update
At the time of the last update, I was polishing everything in the game up until the ending. So now five months later, where are things?
Well, I'm happy to say the game is now about 95% polished for everything up until the ending! In addition, I've started working on the ending, which I'll be fully diving into working on next week. This is a big step forward and I can hardly believe it myself.
Here's some of what's been achieved recently (that I can show you without spoiling things):
Improved rhythm UI! Not only does it look better, but the stem on each note is now centered so timing is easier.
Upgraded text/font system! This not only makes text across all languages appear crisper, but also enables Chinese language support.
Improved physics! Buildings explode better, characters can be thrown around, and the physics is "wackier" in general.
There's many more things I implemented as well, such as Steam Deck compatibility and adding some new complex events to the story. Overall, I'd say the game is on its way to becoming more of a finished product.
Thanks for reading and keeping up with my game. I'm working really hard on it every day. I think it's going to be a special game. See you in the next update, where hopefully I'll be able to give more big news about the game getting closer to completion!
PS: As a side project, I helped in the English localization of a previously Chinese-only RPG Maker game called "Have a Nice Dream". It went somewhat viral in China in 2021, and now it's available in English! Oh yeah, and it's free!
If you're into short and thought-provoking RPG Maker games, you can get the game here:
Hello Stars Truckers! Recently, a few people have asked me about the status of the game. Then I realized... even though I write updates every few months on the game's newsletter, I haven't posted an update on Steam on a while! So here's today's newsletter update, re-posted here on Steam!
A preview of the exclusive 4-panel comic sent on the newsletter! If you missed it, you can still get it (and the three other comics) emailed to you instantly when you join the newsletter.
Development Status Update
In the last email, I mentioned that I had the game playable in a barebones way up until the ending. So four months later, how has development been going?
It's been going well! The game is now about 70% polished for everything up until the ending!
I keep saying I "polished" the game, but what does that mean? Here's one example: the buildings in town now look different after you destroy them as the Captain. It would be a shame if the final game didn't work like this, right? Along with stuff like this and improving/expanding many of the cutscenes, I've also been adding new content and a whole bunch of secrets where it felt right. A first draft of the main dialogue is now in the game, too.
Next development update should be an exciting one, since (hopefully) I'll be able to say things are polished to satisfaction and that I've started working on the ending.
Thanks for reading. See you in the next email update in a few months!
