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[WhiteSponge]

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Stellar Stars - Development Blog Post #103
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In addition to a new patch for Stellar Stars today, I want to share about my thoughts and plans ahead for the game.




Stellar Stars has been in development for almost 10 months now. Believe it or not, I did not foresee that it will become the game that it is today. Back when I first started working on it, all I had in mind was to make a game, a game that would always provide you with a new gameplay experience every time you play it. And that meant procedurally generating the stages.




Having some experience in creating both RPGs (e.g Small Chronicles) and casual games, I wanted to take this next game (Stellar Stars) to the next level. I wanted to make it really challenging. This meant adding permanent death to the game.




And it also meant creating extremely overpowered bosses that not only have multiple attacks, but also the ability to spawn minions.







Combine that with the 4 playable characters, the character growths which can improve your character (e.g jumping ability), the spells and the huge variety of enemies, and you get Stellar Stars. Oh and did I forget to mention that multiplayer versus mode is being worked on right now?

While that is the direction set ahead for Stellar Stars, there are many considerations and fears that I run in my head constantly. For example, what happens if it doesn't get green-lit on the upcoming Steam Greenlight campaign? And what happens if the IndieGoGo campaign that I am currently planning for fails after 30 days?

Considering the fact that Stellar Stars has a lack of a huge following at the moment, that scenario is totally possible. While I am always posting stuff on multiple forums, websites and social media channels, I sometimes wonder if anyone is reading them.




Don't get me wrong. I love sharing about my thoughts and about the latest updates for Stellar Stars. But being able to hear your feedback and thoughts about the game is important to me too.

While the fears that I have are very real, it doesn't mean that I will stop doing what I am doing. In fact, it only serves to strengthen my resolve and determination to bring Stellar Stars to you. And that also means launching both the IndieGoGo and Steam Greenlight campaign.

IndieGoGo - Just Like Kickstarter But With More Options
Why do I say that IndieGoGo is similar to Kickstarter? In Kickstarter, you can only choose fixed funding as the only funding model for your projects. However, with IndieGoGo, you can choose both flexible or fixed funding as your funding model. Now if you are not familiar with the terms, allow me to explain.

Fixed Funding - If the funding goal that you have set is not met, you will not get funded.
Flexible Funding - Whatever funds you have raised will be received. You do not have to reach the funding goal.

If you have been following me on Twitter (or other social media channels), or if you have been watching me live on TwitchTV, you might have noticed that I always strive to be open and transparent. And I am fully committed to completing Stellar Stars and getting it to your doorsteps.

Having said that, I will be going with the Fixed Funding model for Stellar Stars.




Why am I going for the Fixed Funding model? Because I am putting in everything I have got into Stellar Stars. And I want you to join me on this journey.

Steam Greenlight - The Gateway To Steam
With Steam Greenlight, you are empowered with the ability to vote for Stellar Stars to be available on Steam.




If you are already on the platform, this will enable you to grab Stellar Stars from Steam. And if you have already brought Stellar Stars from here, from ItchIO or from Desura, you will also get a free Steam key when the game gets green-lit!

In addition to posting Stellar Stars onto Steam Greenlight, I will also be sharing updates on the campaign page twice per week. This ensures that you will always be kept up to date with what's going on with Stellar Stars.

So When?
To find out when the IndieGoGo and Steam Greenlight campaign will go live, follow me on Twitter!

Lastly, don't forget to experience today's game patch for Stellar Stars! Enjoy!

[WhiteSponge]

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Stellar Stars - Development Blog Post #104
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A few updates ago, I announced that I have started on adding the multiplayer versus mode for Stellar Stars ~ Let's then take a look at what has already been added and what today's new game patch adds for the game's multiplayer aspect.




To recall, you can already create your own user name for the multiplayer versus mode!




And in addition to that, you can now catch a sneak preview of what your player overview stats look like!




As everyone starts from Bronze-III, your league emblem will show just that. To the right of your league emblem, you will also notice your user name, the number of trophy cups you have and a small little image that represents the trophy cup.

Below that, you can also see the number of wins and losses you have. In Stellar Stars, each time you win a match, you gain some trophy cups from your opponent(s). And depending on the number of trophy cups you have, it is totally possible for you to rise up the ranks and move up to another league.




You might have also noticed that there is nothing on the left side of the screen. Isn't that weird?




In fact, something new will appear on the left side of the screen in the next game patch! So are you looking forward to what's coming next?

Remember to experience today's patch/update for yourself! Have fun and have a great day ahead!

[WhiteSponge]

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Stellar Stars - Development Blog Post #105
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I am really glad to bring you today's new game patch for Stellar Stars (still in alpha) as it introduces the new list of players, who are in the same league as you!.




To begin with, do you remember that in the previous patch, there was an empty space to the left of your multiplayer stats?




In today's patch, a new list of players have been added to display in that empty space! As everyone starts from the lowest league, Bronze-III, you will be able to see other players who are in Bronze-III as well.




And if you want to scroll the list, simply press your up and down arrow keys (d-pad for XBox One Controller).




If you do manage to scroll to the page where your ranking's at, you will notice that your name is on top of a blue image (instead of grey). This will help you differentiate your placement/ranking apart from everyone else.




There is something you should be aware of though. The number that indicates your ranking on the left is actually just the ranking for the current league. There are indeed many leagues above Bronze-III so do look forward to moving up to them!

So what do you think of today's new addition to Stellar Stars? Are you hyped and excited for the multiplayer?

Be sure to experience today's update yourself here! Cheers!

[WhiteSponge]

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Stellar Stars - Development Blog Post #106
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Do you remember when you're happily strolling down a park and a fly suddenly appears before your face? How did you feel about it? Well that is what today's patch and update is about - fixing a ton of bugs!.




I always like to start from things with the highest priority, and work my way down to stuff with the lowest priority. Having said that, there was a critical bug in the previous versions of Stellar Stars that caused the game to really lag.




In the previous versions, if you were playing the game for at least around 10 minutes, and if you were defeated in the Frozen Wasteland, the game will start to lag really bad when you restart on the next run.

This caused the game to eventually become unplayable after a while. I apologize if that happened to you while you were playing the game.

While the next bug that I would like to highlight isn't as serious as what was mentioned above, it still affects the gameplay of the game. In some situations, it could be a matter of life and death (in the game) too!




In Stellar Stars, when you use your basic attack or your spells, the recoil causes you to jump backwards and upwards for a split second. In that split second, jumping is not possible as you are still in mid-air (i.e not touching the ground).

However, that has also been fixed in today's patch as you can now attack and jump immediately after (as shown above)!

There is also another bug which I feel is rather important. While it doesn't always happen, it is possible that you could chance upon it and thus ruin your gameplay experience.

To understand what this next bug is about, I will have to jolt your memory. Do you remember the Impulse spell?




Impulse comes in the form of a bouncing ball that when exploded, pushes enemies (and you) away from the center of its blast radius. It is extremely handy when you are trying to defeat multiple enemies at once.

However, if you were left with 1 health (HP), and if you were accidentally hit by an Impulse, an error with the game's controls will occur, causing the game to become unplayable.

Luckily, this has been fixed in today's game patch as well! And it wouldn't be possible to do so if not for Anasasi! Thank you sir! Anasasi has been helping out with finding bugs in the game and compiling them in a list. So if you can, please thank him as he has spent a lot of time stress-testing the game and helping with finding bugs!

As there were other bugs that were fixed in today's patch, here is a short summarized list of them:
- Fixed a bug on the demo version where the menu item that links to the Stellar Stars' page is still visible after returning to the starting menu

- Fixed a bug where the boss death (exploding) animation sometimes plays more than once

- Fixed a bug where after entering a new stage, Ro sometimes faces left but his attacks flies towards the reverse direction (i.e right)

- Fixed the bug where if you want to skip the story intro, pressing your Escape (keyboard) / start button (game controller) immediately after selecting the story mode would cause the screen to go grey (thus forcing you to pressing your escape key / start button again to load the characters selection screen)

- Fixed the bug where your basic attack and spells were not reset back to level 1 when you i)are defeated, ii)return to the characters selection screen to restart

- Fixed a bug where quitting to the characters selection screen on the underground caverns boss stage, before the boss spawns, causes the boss to fall and appear on the characters selection screen

- Fixed a bug where quitting and pressing enter in quick succession before the characters selection screen even loads (i.e before the characters fall to the platform), causes all of the characters to appear in the next play's game scene

Lastly, remember to experience it for yourself! Enjoy and have a great weekend!

[WhiteSponge]

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Stellar Stars - Development Blog Post #107
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Do you remember when I first mentioned that you will be able to rise up the ranks to higher leagues in Stellar Stars? That also heavily depends on whether you have a good connection to the game servers! And that is what today's new game patch is about - getting you a low latency connection for the best multiplayer experience!

Firstly, do you remember seeing this when you first start up the game?




By selecting "Challenge VS", you will be brought to either the screen to create your user name, or to the multiplayer overview screen if you already own an user name.







In today's game patch, that changes. Instead of immediately bringing you to either of those 2 screens, a small popup will now appear beforehand.




This new popup shows you a list of server regions which you can choose from. For the best multiplayer experience, choose a region that is closest to you.




Doing so will ensure that you get the lowest latency/lag possible, while fighting against your friends or other players in the multiplayer matches.

While that is the main highlight of today's new patch, there is something else.

If you have noticed carefully, something has changed in the multiplayer overview!




There are now 2 new menu items mixed in there! Go ahead and try them out! To do so, press your C or J keys! Did anything happen? I hope not because they are still works-in-progress! However, pressing C will give you a preview of what's to come:




So what do you think of the progress going on for Stellar Stars' multiplayer experience? Remember that you can experience it yourself right now!

[WhiteSponge]

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Stellar Stars - Development Blog Post #108
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In addition to the progress of the multiplayer league/versus mode, today's new game patch introduces a revamped special skill - Beat's 5-hit combo!

In Stellar Stars, a crucial part of the multiplayer experience is to be able to enjoy the game with your friends. Be it in the free-for-all custom matches or the survival co-op mode (more about this in the future), playing with your friends brings the gameplay experience to another level.

And that is why in Stellar Stars, while it is still a work-in-progress, you will be able to create custom game rooms!




So what happens after you have entered a name for your game room? That is when you will be brought to the newly created game room! While the game room is still a work-in-progress, here are some sketches that will give you a rough idea of how it will eventually look like.










While there are many other ways of going about designing interfaces, I always go back to sketching. Sketching multiple versions for the same interface always help in choosing the one that fits the best. And it is always faster to change something in a sketch than say for example, in code.




So in today's patch, while you can now create a new game room, this is what you will see.




What? That's kind of empty! While it is the norm for games to only release new features after they are completed, Stellar Stars isn't your average game. That is also why 2 new game patches are released every week for Stellar Stars!

This makes it easier for you to check out preview versions of new features! And in turn, it's easier for you to provide feedback and suggestions to help improve the game too!

Therefore, as it is still a work-in-progress, you will only see your player information and the icon for your selected character (i.e Beat by default).

And in preparation for the multiplayer experience, Beat's special skill, the 5-hit combo has been revamped! Instead of teleporting to the nearest enemy,




Beat now dashes forward! And any enemy that is in the line of fire will be hit!




The reason behind this change is simple. In order to craft an awesome multiplayer experience, it is important to balance the characters. So if you think about it, you will definitely use your special skill against other players (and vice versa).

So what do you think of today's new patch? Experience it yourself and have fun!

[WhiteSponge]

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Stellar Stars - Development Blog Post #109
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Today's new game patch for Stellar Stars is out! And it gives you the power to create or join game rooms! Want to know how? Here are 3 super quick and simple steps to do just that!.

Step 1 - Set Up Photon Unity Networking

Without a doubt, I find Photon to be the most user-friendly engine for adding multiplayer to a game. So head over to https://www.photonengine.com/en/Account/Signup and create an account.




Once you have created your account, use the Photon dashboard and choose Realtime like so (you can choose others if your game is a strategy game for example).




At the newly loaded page, scroll down to the bottom where you can see the button which says "Create a new Realtime App". Click on it!







Fill in the name, description and the link to your game and you are good to go! Once you have created your new app, you can go back to the dashboard and check out the new addition to the list!




From there, grab the App ID that was created for your new Photon application (as shown in red above)!

Once you have done that, grab the Photon Unity Networking (PUN) from Unity's asset store!




After you have finished downloading it from the asset store, import it to your project in Unity.

And once you have imported it to your project in Unity, go to Window-> Photon Unity Networking -> Highlight Server Settings.




You will then see this appear on the inspector at the right.




While there are a number of fields here, focus on the field that says "AppID". Enter the app ID which you have gotten from creating your application on the Photon Engine dashboard.

Step 2 - Connect To Photon

To connect to the Photon network, you should always set a user name or ID for a player to differentiate him/her from other players. You can do so by writing:

Code:

PhotonNetwork.player.name = "playerUserNameHere";

And you also have to choose a region to connect to. The rule of thumb is always to connect to the nearest server for the smallest amount of lag.

Depending on your game, you could check to see your player's location, and connect to the nearest region. For Stellar Stars, I created a list of server regions which you can choose from. So really, it is up to you.




To connect to the Photon network,

Code:

PhotonNetwork.ConnectToRegion(CloudRegionCode.us,"1.0a");

In the example above, the game will connect to the US region with the game's version set at "1.0a". You can connect to the other regions (e.g eu,asia,jp,au) if you choose to do so. Setting the game version will help ensure that players will only play with other players who are using the same game version.

Once you have called the ConnectToRegion() method, the game should attempt to connect to the master server at the region which you have specified. Therefore, to know when you are connected, create the method:

Code:

void OnConnectedToMaster() {
    //you can do things like setting a boolean here to say that the game is now connected to the Photon Network
    ifConnectedToPhoton = true;
}

Once you are connected, Photon will call the OnConnectedToMaster() method. And that is where the next step comes in.

Step 3 - Creating/Joining Game Rooms!
To play with others in a multiplayer match, you will need to create game rooms for players to join. To do so,

Code:

PhotonNetwork.CreateRoom(roomName, new RoomOptions() { maxPlayers = 4 }, TypedLobby.Default);

As obvious as it is, roomName is the name of the room. The RoomOptions can be used to set custom room properties via RoomOptions.customRoomProperties if you want. For most situations, you would want to just limit the number of players in a room (as shown above).

Setting the TypedLobby as default makes it visible in the Default (I prefer to call it General) lobby. Not every game requires a lobby. And not all games would benefit from displaying a list of game rooms. So once again, this decision is up to you.

So once you have called the CreateRoom() method, Photon will attempt to create a room with the specified room name.

To know when the room has been created, add this:

Code:

void OnCreatedRoom() {
    Debug.Log("Created A New Game Room!");
}

Once Photon has created a new game room, the OnCreatedRoom() method will be called. Now if you were planning to display any UI for game rooms, that's where you can do so.

While creating a game room seems rather straightforward, it can sometimes fail. If you try to create a game room with a name that already exists, it will fail. So if you want to know when that happens, use this:

Code:

void OnPhotonCreateRoomFailed() {
    Debug.Log("Oh No! Creating room failed! Why?????");
}

To join an existing game room, do this:

Code:

PhotonNetwork.JoinRoom(roomName);

Using the name of a room, you can call Photon to find and help you join it. And to find out when you have joined the game room, add this:

Code:

void OnJoinedRoom() {
    Debug.Log("Just joined an existing game room!");
}

When you have successfully joined an existing room, Photon calls the <i>OnJoinedRoom()</i> method. So if you want to display a notification when that happens, that's where you can do it.

To make things easier for you, I have included the script (C#) which you can download and try out.

And that's how you can easily add multiplayer game rooms to your game! I hope that this simple guide was helpful to you. Do let me know what other things you wish to learn about!

Last but not least, remember to experience today's Stellar Stars' patch! Enjoy!

[WhiteSponge]

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Stellar Stars - Development Blog Post #110
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To begin with, today's new game patch for Stellar Stars adds the ability for you to chat with other players! And in the spirit of sharing, here are 3 simple steps that you can follow to easily add chat to your game!




Before beginning, I am going to assume that you are using Unity to create your game. If you're not, some steps might not apply to you. But without further a due, let's begin!

Step 1 - Set Up Photon Chat

In my perspective, Photon is currently the most user-friendly engine for adding multiplayer chat to a game. So head over to https://www.photonengine.com/en/Account/Signup and create an account.



Once you have created your account, use the Photon dashboard and choose Chat like so.




At the newly loaded page, scroll down to the bottom where you can see the button which says "Create a new Chat App". Click on it!







Fill in the name, description and the link to your game and you are good to go! Once you have created your new app, you can go back to the dashboard and check out the new addition to the list!




From there, grab the App ID that was created for your new Photon application (as shown in red above)!

Once you have done that, grab the Photon Unity Networking (PUN) from Unity's asset store!




After you have finished downloading it from the asset store, import it to your project in Unity. For adding chat using Photon, there is no need to specify the App ID in the Photon server settings menu. You will do it later when you call Photon to connect to the chat servers.

Step 2 - Connect To The Chat Servers

In order to use Photon Chat, make sure that you declare that you are using the library for it. You will also need to extend the IChatClientListener interface. So that will look something like this:

Code:

using ExitGames.Client.Photon.Chat;

public class GameChatClient : MonoBehaviour, IChatClientListener {

}

The IChatClientListener interface is necessary as it provides a number of methods that will be called in various situations. For example, knowing when you are connected to the chat servers will allow you to start subscribing to chat channels. Don't worry as I will go into more details about that later on.

To connect to the chat servers, you will first need to decide on a connection protocol (I'm using UDP). You will also have to create a ChatClient

Code:

ExitGames.Client.Photon.ConnectionProtocol connectProtocol = ExitGames.Client.Photon.ConnectionProtocol.Udp;
ChatClient chatClient = new ChatClient(this,connectionProtocol);

Next, you will need to choose a chat region. Choose the region that is nearest to have the best chatting experience.

Code:

chatClient.ChatRegion = "US";

For Photon Chat, there are only 3 regions to choose from. If you aren't from the States, you can either choose "EU" for Europe and "Asia" for anywhere else.

I would also recommend to give every player an unique identifier in chat. A user name might be helpful.

Code:

ExitGames.Client.Photon.Chat.AuthenticationValues authValues = new ExitGames.Client.Photon.Chat.AuthenticationValues();
authValues.UserId = "uniqueUserNameHere";
authValues.AuthType = ExitGames.Client.Photon.Chat.CustomAuthenticationType.None;

After you have set the connection protocol, the chat region and the user ID, it is time to finally connect to Photon Chat.

Using the App ID that you have gotten from creating your Photon Chat app above, call the Connect() method using the ChatClient.

Code:

chatClient.Connect("YourChatAppIDHere", "0.01",authValues);

You can pass in any version number or text in the Connect() method's 2nd parameter. But do remember that players can only chat with other players using the same version.

*IMPORTANT PLEASE NOTE*---------------------------------
This is extremely important! You will need to do this in order for Photon Chat to work! If you are using Unity, you should have an Update() method somewhere in your script. Place this in it.

Code:

void Update() {
    if (chatClient!=null) { chatClient.Service(); }
}

This is needed because if you do not call Service(), the ChatClient would not even connect to Photon Chat. I have spent many hours trying to figure out why it wasn't connecting. And I don't wish that for you.

Basically, by making the ChatClient call the Service() method continuously, it will maintain the chat connection. That allows you to receive new chat messages and to connect to Photon Chat.
-------------------------------------------------------------

To be notified when you are connected to Photon Chat, add this:

Code:

public void OnConnected() {
    chatClient.Subscribe(new string[] { "channelNameHere" }); //subscribe to chat channel once connected to server
}

Once you are connected, Photon Chat calls the OnConnected() method. So if you want to subscribe to any channels, that's where you can do so!

Step 3 - Sending/Receiving Messages

In order for players to chat with each other, you will need them to be subscribed to the same channel. By the way, this is how you can get notified of the subscription to a channel:

Code:

public void OnSubscribed(string[] channels, bool[] results) {
    Debug.Log("Subscribed to a new channel!");
}

Now, in order to send someone else a message, use this:

Code:

chatClient.PublishMessage("channelNameHere", "Enter Message To Send Here");

And if you want to see what new messages were received, add this:

Code:

public void OnGetMessages(string channelName, string[] senders, object[] messages) {
    
    int msgCount = messages.Length;
    for (int i = 0; i < msgCount; i++) { //go through each received msg
    
        string sender = senders[i];
        string msg = messages[i];
        Debug.Log(sender + ": " + msg); 
    }
}

The OnGetMessages() gets called whenever you receive a new message on any subscribed channel. You can easily find out who sent what message by doing a simple loop (as shown above).

Now that is 1 last thing to note - always disconnect from Photon Chat when you do not need it anymore.

Code:

void OnApplicationQuit() {
    if (chatClient != null) { chatClient.Disconnect(); }
}

So depending on your game, these 3 simple steps should help you add chat to it easily! And to make things easier for you, I have included a sample chat script for you to download and try out!

Lastly, remember to experience today's new chatty patch for Stellar Stars! Enjoy!

[WhiteSponge]

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Stellar Stars - Development Blog Post #111
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Today's game patch for Stellar Stars moves you a step closer to the multiplayer experience! And it does so by allowing you to choose the character for the multiplayer match!.




When you first create or join a multiplayer game room, this is what you will see.




While it is still a work-in-progress, you can already chat with the other players in the room!



And if you have noticed by now, you can now press [C] on your keyboard or the X button on your XBox One controller to choose your character! After you have chosen a character (out of the current 4), you will return to the game room.



Did you notice that the character icon next to your user name has changed? The other players in the game room will also be informed of the new character icon and vice versa!

While this seems like a small new addition, it is an important step. Imagine fighting against other players with the character that you have selected! Can't wait? Me too!

Experience today's new addition now! Have fun!

[WhiteSponge]

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Stellar Stars - Development Blog Post #112
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In today's new patch for Stellar Stars, the chat experience has been improved! In addition to the basic sending and receiving of messages, you can now do things like copying, pasting and editing what you're typing! Not to mention that there's a few important bug fixes too!.

When chatting was first added, all you could do was type in stuff that you wanted to send to the other players in the same game room.




However, it was missing the usual things that you would expect from a chat room. Things like editing, copying and pasting were missing. And that's why, with today's patch/update, you can now do things like easily pasting some copied text from outside of the game!




On top of that, you can now easily edit what you're typing!




With that, it should at least make the chatting experience better for you. Now let's move on to the bug fixes!




In Stellar Stars' multiplayer versus mode, you can choose your character to go with the match. However, many things can happen while you're doing so.

For example, you can still receive new chat messages while you're choosing a character.




With today's patch, new chat messages from other players will only be shown after you have returned to the game room. The same goes for when the other players change to another character.




So what's coming next after improving the chat experience? Look forward to the next update where you can choose the stage for the multiplayer match!

Lastly, experience today's new changes here!

[WhiteSponge]

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Stellar Stars - Development Blog Post #113
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To enjoy the multiplayer experience, it's important that you are empowered to change the world and match type (ranked/unranked) ~ And that's why in today's new patch for Stellar Stars, you can do exactly that!

For starters, this is what you used to see when you join an existing game room.




With today's update for Stellar Stars, something new appears on top!




A new banner that represents the selected world has been added! To change the selected world, simply press left or right when you're not in chatting mode.




There is something that you should note though. Only the 1st player has the ability to change the selected world. If you are the 2nd, 3rd or 4th player, this is what you will see instead.




This is to prevent the selected world from constantly being changed. And in my honest opinion, that will be rather chaotic.

In addition to changing the world for the match, you can now also set the match as ranked or unranked!




You will win/lose trophy cups in ranked matches. The multiplayer match will also always start with ranked as default. So if you prefer to have a friendly match with your friends, press R on your keyboard or use the Y button on your XBox One controller.

And in the manner similar to changing of the world, only the 1st player can set the match as ranked/unranked. The reason is simple. You would not want multiple players constantly changing the rules of the match. Think of the 1st player as the moderator of the match.

So what do you think of today's new additions? Let me know in the comments below or drop me a tweet!

Lastly, experience the new additions yourself and have fun! Cheers!

[WhiteSponge]

Telling A Story With A New Opening Sequence?

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Stellar Stars - Development Blog Post #114
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You have read the title, and it seems to indicate that there's a story here to share ~ And you are right! Today we will look at how we can tell a story through animation, lighting and some camera moving action.

Before today's patch for Stellar Stars, here is actually how the starting menu looks like.




As shown above, the old opening consists of a number of stars blinking and shining while you navigate through the 3 menu items. However, it doesn't give any perspective nor does it tell any story with just stars that are animating.

With today's new patch, that has changed.




The new opening starts off with a white blinding flash. This acts as a transition and creates that prelude to what's coming next. At the same time, you might have also noticed that the camera is slowly moving down.

While it is really a simple animation of slowly moving the camera down to where the characters are, it sets the tone for the story. With the 4 characters standing on top of the frozen wall, it tells us that they are somewhere high up, looking at the sky.

But why are the characters looking at the starry sky of shining stars? Are they looking for something? Or are they looking at something far away?




What about the frozen wall? Where are they at? Why don't we see any other signs of life?

Now did you notice that we are suddenly asking more questions? And that is because of this new opening sequence in Stellar Stars. And if you ask me, I definitely think that it is doing a great job of doing so.

So guess what? You can experience this yourself now.

[WhiteSponge]

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Stellar Stars - Development Blog Post #115
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While there is still a new game patch today for Stellar Stars, I would like to share about the play-testing session that went down today at the Games Solution Centre (GSC).




If this is your first time hearing about the Games Solution Centre (GSC), it's an initiative started by the Singapore government (Media Development Authority/MDA to be precise) to level up the local games industry.




In order to achieve that, GSC provides resources such as software, hardware and office space for local game studios. And sometimes it organizes events such as today's play-testing session!




Around 20 students came down to GSC today and participated in many play-testing sessions. And as you might have guessed, Stellar Stars was one of the games on the list.




It was a really good experience looking at so many students play the game at once. In fact, I really enjoyed myself conversing with the students and finding out what they liked/didn't liked about the game.




From observing how they played Stellar Stars, I realized that many things weren't as obvious as I thought they were. And as everyone is unique, it was really interesting seeing each of them play the game and reacting differently to it.




And to my surprise, some of them managed to defeat the 1st boss! I certainly didn't expect anyone to reach the Frozen Wastelands (2nd world). Do I need to make the 1st boss even tougher? *Evil grin*




Ultimately, I guess the most important thing here is that they enjoyed themselves. And judging from the number of stars on the submitted feedback forms, I would say that they did so.




From the chart above, around 6 students didn't give the game any stars. And from those that gave the game stars, it was either 4 or 5 stars. This means that the students who didn't like Stellar Stars, didn't really like it. On the other hand, this also means that the other students who liked the game really enjoyed playing it!

I also made a common observation that quite a number of the students were not used to using Z as the jumping key. This means that there's a need for some changes in the game's jumping controls.

In addition to that, the feedback form also included a fun question about their favorite character. Who do you think won the popularity contest?




And since Stellar Stars is currently in the phase of adding multiplayer, the students were also asked about it.




Almost all of the students gave an astounding Yes! to playing against their friends in a multiplayer match!

Now if you are reading this, and if you are interested in play-testing Stellar Stars (or other future WhiteSponge games), subscribe to the weekly email newsletter for future updates! Cheers!

[WhiteSponge]

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Stellar Stars - Development Blog Post #116
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A few days ago, an intense play-testing session consisting of 20 students went down ~ And as a result, a lot of feedback were gathered on how to improve Stellar Stars! Therefore, there's a few new gameplay changes in today's new patch!.

First and foremost, quite a few of the students were not used to using the Z key for jumping. Therefore, in today's new game patch, you can now also use your space bar or the up directional/arrow key for jumping!




Secondly, a lot of the students pointed out that Ro and Asuka's health points (HP) was crazily low (4 HP) to begin with. Therefore, to give players using Ro and Asuka a slightly better fighting chance, their starting health has now been raised to 5 HP!




In addition to the 2 changes above, you might also notice that the game seems to be smoother as compared to before. This is because the game's performance has been improved to have a better frame rate!




And moving on to Stellar Stars' multiplayer, there is a new loading screen!




This new loading animation appears when all of the players in a game room are ready (i.e set their status to ready!). So when that happens, the match count-down animation will start!




And once the count-down reaches 0, the game will show the new loading screen. And that is where the exciting stuff comes in. What exciting stuff? Well look forward to the next patch!

Don't forget to experience the gameplay changes and improvements here!

[WhiteSponge]

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Stellar Stars - Development Blog Post #117
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There's no stopping the excitement train for multiplayer! In today's new game patch for Stellar Stars, the procedurally generated stage is now synchronized for everyone in the match! But wait, there's something more...

To begin with, since the stages of Stellar Stars are procedurally generated, it will always be different. And that's why everyone in the match (all 4 players) needs to know what the stage looks like.




Therefore, in order for that to happen, one of the players will generate the stage and send that information to the other players. This animated GIF should help illustrate it better.




Once that happens, you will notice that your selected character will appear on a random spot on the stage. And if you try to move your character, other players will also be able to see your character moving! This is possible because the game constantly updates the server on where your character's at. So run about and jump around!




However, at the moment, it might be difficult for you to identify which character is yours. This is because of a simple reason - there's no user name being displayed above the characters! So watch out for the next patch when that is added to the game (should be pretty soon)!

Lastly, don't forget to experience today's new addition! Have fun!

[WhiteSponge]

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Stellar Stars - Development Blog Post #118
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There's an awesome gaming convention arriving soon on this coming 13th November and WhiteSponge is exhibiting! Say hi to GameStart Asia 2015!.

If you haven't heard about GameStart, it's Asia's premier gaming convention with the goal of bringing international gaming fun to Singapore and South East Asia!. Starting from this coming 13th November, WhiteSponge will be exhibiting on all 3 days till 15th November!.




Besides WhiteSponge, you can also expect to find other awesome local game studios exhibiting there!




And if you haven't been to Singapore, the upcoming GameStart convention will be held at the Suntec Convention Centre Halls 401 and 402. And to get to the Suntec Convention Centre, the Esplanade MRT station will be your best bet!




If you are planning to go to GameStart, do drop by the Games Solution Centre (GSC) area to find our booth! You will be able to find us when you see this banner of Stellar Stars!




In addition to enjoying the atmosphere of the convention and having a good time, you will also be able to grab our special Stellar Stars button metal-pin badges! More details on that coming soon!

So are you excited? Looking forward to seeing you this coming November 13th!

[WhiteSponge]

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Stellar Stars - Development Blog Post #119
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Hey there! We are glad to finally announce that Stellar Stars will be coming to both Steam Greenlight and IndieGoGo this coming December 1st!

After slightly more than a year of crafting the multiplayer online roguelite arena (MORA) that is Stellar Stars, we feel that it is ready for both Steam Greenlight and IndieGoGo. And it will go live in just under 28 days on December 1st!




And if you were wondering about why the two campaigns are going live on the same day, please allow me to explain. To begin with, Steam Greenlight serves as a gateway to Steam. And to get green-lit, you have to get enough Yes votes from everyone.




On the other hand, as a crowdfunding campaign, IndieGoGo gives you the opportunity to have your creativity or idea become a reality. More importantly, it does that in front of a huge crowd.




Now if you put them side by side, IndieGoGo compliments Steam Greenlight by essentially bringing a bigger crowd to it. And having Stellar Stars on Steam Greenlight definitely shows that we are serious about wanting the IndieGoGo campaign to succeed.

And while it is possible for us to choose the flexible funding option with IndieGoGo, it's not what we are about. We are about creating the best possible gameplay experience for you, regardless of the game's genre. And that's why we are going with the fixed funding path instead.




Therefore, we would like to invite you to join us on this journey, where we will be putting in everything we've got.

So don't forget December 1st, or 1.12.2015, because your awesome new journey with us will begin then.

[WhiteSponge]

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Stellar Stars - Development Blog Post #120
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Ever since the big announcement 3 days ago, things have been getting crazy. In addition to releasing 2 new game patches per week, the preparation for the upcoming Steam Greenlight and IndieGoGo campaigns has only just became more exciting.




To begin with, today's patch for Stellar Stars now allows you to respawn after being defeated! Here's what happens when an opponent player KOs you:




While 5 seconds doesn't seem like a long time, trust me when I say that it is. In a high pace and competitive multiplayer match, 5 seconds will seem like forever. On top of that, the time before you get to respawn is highly dependent on your level.

So if you get KO-ed when you are at level 2, it will take 6 seconds instead. Level 3? 7 seconds! You get the idea.

But what happens if you managed to defeat an opponent player? You get experience! And that will lead to...




Leveling up! Yes you can now level up in multiplayer matches! Awesome!

In addition to the awesome new stuff (as mentioned above), today's patch also includes a few new bug fixes and game changes. For example, opponent players now have their health bars properly displayed above their characters' heads!




Quitting from a multiplayer match will also exit you from the room and place you right back at the list of players (in your league).




Moving on, it's time to share more about the upcoming Steam Greenlight and IndieGoGo campaigns. As you might have noticed, the images on the WhiteSponge website changes everyday to count down the days till December 1st.




On top of that, with each passing day (till December 1st), more potential backer perks or rewards might be revealed. However, don't let that stop you from voicing out.

What backer perks or rewards would you like to see happen in the IndieGoGo campaign? Drop me an email at [email protected] or tweet at me via Twitter!

Lastly, have an awesome weekend and remember to check back every day because December 1st is coming! Cheers!

[WhiteSponge]

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Stellar Stars - Development Blog Post #121
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As you might have noticed, there are only 10 days till Stellar Stars goes live on Steam Greenlight and IndieGoGo! However, that doesn't meant that there won't be a new game patch today! So here's what has been changed or improved!.



Firstly, this new change or improvement is 1 of the more popular requests! Your jumping height will now depend on whether you're holding the jump button/key or just pressing it once lightly!




So if you want to jump higher, press and hold onto your jump button/key! If not, just press it once to jump the slightly lower height!

Besides the new dynamic jumping, minions now spawn on multiplayer matches!




They provide an additional source of experience so you can get to that level up faster than the other players! They also drop stars!




And that brings me to the next new addition to the game - you can now throw fireballs at your opponents in multiplayer matches!




The multiplayer arena is definitely heating up with all those fireballs flying around! However, this is just only the beginning! More spells will eventually make their way onto the multiplayer arena so watch out for that!

Moving on, and as mentioned above, there are only 10 days till Stellar Star goes live on Steam Greenlight and IndieGoGo on December 1st! The preparations are underway! Here's a sneak peek of what my pixelized avatar looks like!




More will be revealed as December 1st approaches! And don't forget to experience today's new patch! Cheers!

[WhiteSponge]

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Stellar Stars - Development Blog Post #122
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While we are only 4 days away to Stellar Stars' Steam Greenlight and IndieGoGo campaigns, there is a small little new patch for the game today!.




And today's patch includes a single new addition - the Victory animation!




You will get to see it if you succeed in capturing the victory star!




The victory star randomly appears during multiplayer matches. So when you see it appear, jump near it and hold down your attack button to start capturing it!




So to experience this awesome new animation, jump right over here!

Before signing off, there is just 1 more thing...

We will be launching Stellar Stars' Steam Greenlight and IndieGoGo campaigns live on TwitchTV!




So don't forget to join us this coming November 30th at 11pm (EST) while we count down to December 1st! Cheers!