Ophiucus Progress
So I know I said I was done with the UI but not quite. See, we hit a bit of a snag. The prototype features two areas, the Hedge Maze and the Library, that are big and quite samey. There’s only so much you can do with a hedge maze and big shelves of books before all the rooms look the same and your BG artist snaps.
The solution was the maze-navigator minigame, which I am currently working on. The above screenshot is a debug maze, it’s not the final layout. It supports revealing areas as you move and is dynamically built from a tileset, though the maze layouts are handmade. The basic idea is that rather than looking at the same wall of green fifteen times as you navigate the maze, you instead use this overhead view. You will be able to find points of interest and secrets, fight enemies, and find items as you go.
As this is a prototype, when it goes live we’ll be looking for feedback. I hope this works as a way to handle this kind of samey-maze design, which is necessary in a game like this (eventually you have to have areas that aren’t that visually distinct! Making every hedge maze room unique costs money!). Hell maybe this will be the favourite part and we’ll redesign the rest of the game to have more.
Upcoming Book Releases!
The next ToS release is this very quick summer release, primarily driven by Xandra. It has pooltoy TF and is quite short (~4000 words) but has three full-size images and a cover. All proceeds will go to Xandra for this one. It’s just awaiting editing.
After that, back to our regular release schedule.
Other Things
It’s coming along. Okay time for Fan Art!
Fan Art!
Incredible piece by Dias. Source: (https://www.deviantart.com/justinkombat888/art/A-Curious-Ally-1356369591) Commissioned by JustinKombat888.
By Alice. The Mei Doll was made in MSPaint which is wild.
By Xandra.
Also by Xandra: It’s Shark Week! Or was. Whatever.
Both by Xandra of our lovely resident shark, Star Burgess. You know I think her sharp teeth might pop her as a pooltoy but let’s not dwell on that.
Too Many Links
Where to find us:
Our Patreon and Subscribestar are great places to support development! You can also get cool bonus stuff like concept art and early releases of Pandemonium!
If you want extra pictures of cats, you can follow us on Bluesky.
And there’s always Our Discord. You can shout at Salty *in person*.
We also have a Wiki! We’d appreciate it greatly if people keep it maintained for us. :3
Bottled Starlight Games:
Runes of Pandemonium, the big adventure TF RPG, always free on Steam and Itch.io.
Witch Hunter Izana, a battle-TF RPG. Available on Steam or Itch.io.
Witches of Ravenbrook, a battle-TF dungeon-crawler. The prototype is out now and free on Itch.io.
WoR Kickstarter page (260% funded! Thanks a lot!)
String Tyrant, a survival horror game, is on Steam and Itch.io.
Upcoming Prototype for Project Ophiucus! Link will be added when it’s out.
Other Bottled Starlight Stuff
Salty writes a book series, with audiobooks and illustrations, called Tales of Strings.
Want a free introduction to the series? Check out The First Joust on Itch.io or Wechange.me.
Instruments is out now on Itch.io.
Passed Hand is now on Itch.io!
Spiderweb Theory is now on Itch.io!
Urban Explorers is now on Itch.io!
Knights of Justice: Varsity Vixens is now on Itch.io!
Knights of Justice: Crush Depth is now on Itch.io!
Knights of Justice: Three Short Steps is now on Itch.io!
Knights of Justice: Knighttime is now on Itch.io!
Knights of Justice: Sticks and Straws is now on Itch.io!
Knights of Justice: Strings Are Attached is now on Itch.io!
Knights of Justice: Only Shadows for Comfort VN Prototype on Itch.io!
Guise of the Goddess is now on Itch.io!
Knights of Justice: Actirangers, Come Forth is now on Itch.io! It’s free!
Knights of Justice: Bound by Love and Grace is now on Itch.io!
Knights of Justice: Solace of Orange is now on Itch.io!
Knights of Justice: High Lord of Dust is now on Itch.io!
Knights of Justice: Twin Jade Eyes is now on Itch.io!
Tense Wire is now on Itch.io!
Knights of Justice: Their Base Material is now on Itch.io!
All of the ToS books can also be found on Wechange.me!
We have some ridiculous merch on Redbubble and Teepublic if you want to be the center of conversation (derogatory / celebratory).
Pandemonium Development 