- My newest game, Dragon Detective, is out now! - 21 August 2025
Hello, friends! My newest game, Dragon Detective, is out now on Steam and Nintendo Switch! I decided to take it easy this time, making a more straightforward mystery adventure game instead of a bonkers RPG or 100 hour strategy game. Something light and refreshing; a new horizon for me.Check it out now during the launch period discount, or try out the demo if you're so inclined - your progress will carry over into the full game!Thanks for stopping by after all these years. ːrikː
- Announcing my newest game, Dragon Detective! - 18 April 2025
Greetings, Commander! I'm still at it! My next game is titled Dragon Detective: A Friend from the Shadows, and the store page is finally live! It's a detective mystery visual novel set in a fantasy Victorian-era world populated by talking animals of all kinds. Check it out and give it a wishlist if it sounds like your thing. Click the thing below to check it out. Dragon Detective Steam Store Page
- Version 1.05 + Steam Strategy Fest! - 28 August 2023
Happy end of summer! In celebration of ELS being a part of Steam Strategy Fest, I've updated the game to version 1.05 and added a few fixes and a tweaked difficulty option. Details to follow! Changes in 1.05 Revamped difficulty settings for Hard and Expert modes. Note that Challenge battles are unaffected. Even more typos fixed. Lots of typos. So many typos. Fixed some visual effects that would improperly jump around during a reaction attack. Fixed an issue where multiple reactions could continue to trigger after the original attacker was defeated. Fixed a graphical issue when using Snap Shot with a thrown weapon. Sped up the enemy Data Disruption skill. New difficulty changes for Hard and Expert modes! I've been streaming ELS and offering up some developer commentary to celebrate the console releases, and I've noticed that I've more or less been steamrolling through the game even on Ex…
- End-of-May Update - 25 May 2023
Hello! The game's finally going through console certification as we speak, so I thought I'd bring over some tweaks and fixes in the meantime. Here's a brief list of what's changed: The skill Noxious Strike now has a proper throwing animation when used with missile weapons. The "Technician" NPC class has had its weapon kit and skills revamped to be a mobile, aggressive ranged attacker. Slightly reduced the melee skill growth of the Bloodthrob class. Fixed an issue where clicking/choosing a target during an attack animation could make the target info box appear. The engineer's Dampening effect now correctly diminishes magical healing such as Quick Pickup. Increased mobility of enemy gravbenders. Fixed an issue where activating Melee Counter with a dynamo weapon equipped in the main hand would cause the shooting animation to play. No more laser fists, sorry. Improved enemy AI in several wa…
- End-of-April Patch - 27 April 2023
Just a quick update with some small fixes of things I've noticed while wrapping up the testing on the console ports. I should be submitting those for final QA next month, with a release this summer. Exciting! Here's today's updates in the meantime: Fix the skill Wave Disruption to correctly apply the RES values in the description. Small tweaks to the lighting in the late game and on some maps. Adjusted positioning of some skill particle effects. Added some small optimizations that may improve performance and AI processing time. "Oath Broken" should no longer trigger if an entity (such as a drone) is defeated.
- Update Notes for April 16, 2023 - 16 April 2023
Time for a little spring cleaning, so to speak. Here's what's changed: Fixed several small inconsistencies when using gamepad navigation. AI units are more likely to defend if they are at low health or are otherwise a "squishy" class. Fixed an issue where the taunt effect applied from the Thundering Howl skill was immediately fading. Thundering Howl is no longer flagged as magic, or as a "melee" skill. Slightly boosted the "damage" inflicted by the enemy reaction skill Data Denial, meaning it should no longer miss almost every time. The duration of the confusion effect from Data Denial has been reduced from 3 turns to 2. The engagement "Just Chill" has had its base level corrected from 3 to 13. Fixed an issue where using an AOE attack against many targets could result in no Tension gain. The "!" mark for a Unique skill being usable should no longer appear if the current unit has Disable…
- April Update! - 7 April 2023
Hello! I have been preoccupied with the console versions, recovery from a hack, and a much-needed vacation, and I recently (as in, today) became aware of some glitches that the last Unity upgrade might have introduced in the previous update. I have hopefully solved them all with today's update, but please don't be afraid to post or message me if you notice anything that looks wrong - I don't bite! Here's what I've addressed today: Fixed the trajectory of thrown projectiles to appear less erratic. Fixed an issue where the play time clock could incorrectly count up at a faster rate than intended. The Engineer class will now correctly begin with the Construct Barrier skill. This is not retroactive, but the skill has been changed to cost 0 Mastery so it can be acquired anytime as intended. Fixed a render issue with the commander records screen. Fixed an issue where visiting characters would…
- [UPDATE: RESOLVED] Discord Hacked! Beware! - 13 March 2023
UPDATE: I've regained control of things. However, quite a lot of damage was done to the old server and my account, so I've decided to scrap it and start fresh. If you were an old community member and wish to join the new server, reach out to me here or on Twitter. --- So, turns out, I'm not too bright sometimes, and the Sungazer Software discord community has been compromised. If you're a member, bail out now. I'll post a link to the new server when the dust settles. And if you received a message from me (Space Lizard) on Discord, disregard it!
- Announcement: A New Demo is On the Way! - 30 January 2023
The ELS Battle Demo was originally put together for Steam Next Fest last fall, and it's fallen pretty far behind as far as updates, tweaks, and performance improvements. Needless to say, the old Battle Demo is going away this week and is being replaced with a proper demo version! This new demo will start you off at the beginning of the main game and let you experience the first few weeks of content and the story from either starting faction. In addition, new players will be able to carry their saved demo progress into the full game! Because of the substantial change to the package, the new demo version will be a bit larger in size. Be sure to uninstall the existing Battle Demo if you do not wish to download the replacement files. I'm doing a bit more testing and whatnot, but expect the new demo sometime this week. Thanks!
- Update Notes for January 26 - 26 January 2023
Quite a lot of small fixes today as I shake out and refactor things in anticipation of the console ports. Here's a brief list! Changed dialog/cutscene handling to hopefully perform better on lower-end systems. Changed a few graphical settings to help improve performance on lower-end hardware. Increased the tension granted for area-of-effect heals. Fixed an issue where allied characters could act out of order during the opening tutorial battles. Fixed several inconsistencies with gamepad tabbing on the interface. Fixed an issue where UI feedback sounds could become improperly pitched in battle. Fixed an issue where target reaction warnings could be shown improperly. Fixed an issue where portraits could cover up the Attack Preview window when UI scale was set to maximum. Fixed an issue where UI elements could improperly appear on screen at the start of battle when UI scale was set to maxi…
- Quick Update for Jan 11th - 11 January 2023
Small update for today: -Fixed an issue with tabbing on the title screen gamepad popup. -Fixed an issue with tabbing on the battle deployment screen. -Fixed an issue where the ability setup screen was failing to display a character's complete list of reaction skills.
- Update Notes for January 9th - 9 January 2023
Today's update is both a minor change and a monumental amount of work behind the scenes. So it goes! Patch notes version 1.023: Gameplay: -Implemented an alternate control scheme for gamepads! You can enable this by choosing the "Control Pad Style" from the Options screen. It defaults to "Hotkey," which keeps the old style (navigating with the analog stick and using the d-pad for menu shortcuts). Changing it to Nav lets you use the d-pad to navigate many menus, and to move the cursor around tile by tile in battle. The analog stick is still available in this mode for direct cursor control. This method will be the default for the future console versions, so please report any issues! UI: -Added a glowing trail to the pointer to help with visibility, especially when snapping the cursor around with the gamepad. This can be disabled in the Options screen. -Moved the "show classes" checkbox on…
- Patch Notes, Version 1.021 - 30 December 2022
A small update to push out a few convenient features and fixes while I continue the gamepad revamp. Here are the changes: UI: -Added a glow effect to the pointer to improve visibility. -Added a new filter to the crafting screen to only show equipped items. Battle: -Status and cosmetic effects should now scale with character size, including very large or small custom characters. -Fixed an issue where Gag Reflex was failing to trigger against certain skills. -Increased the regen effect on the bulwark armor to 15%.
- Update Notes for Version 1.02 - 22 December 2022
A couple of small requested features are live today. Happy holidays! Bug Fixes: -Fixed an issue where the purple tough drekoran custom character sprite had the wrong body. Battle UI: -There is now an option to change the size of the battle UI. Adjust with the "Battle UI Size" setting on the Options screen. Character Creation: -You can now generate a code based off a character's appearance! This code can be shared via copy/pasting to quickly import appearance settings into another save file, or to share your custom character settings with someone else. Name, bio, and mvp data is not shared with the code, but has been made easy to access so it can be copy/pasted as well. Custom portraits must be shared externally. Game progress such as level, stats, equipment, etc is not shared.
- Update: Version 1.014 - 8 December 2022
Scenario: Fixed a bugged dialog encounter with Sicious in the Path of Cooperation. Battle: It is now possible to cancel the defending state before ending a turn. Improved the accuracy of several area-of-effect attacks so they remain more viable late-game. The 'Shatter Icebound' effect has been increased to +20% damage per level.
- Version 1.013 is now live! - 7 December 2022
Another day, another update! This one has several balance tweaks and quality of life changes here and there, plus a few buffs to certain classes to reinforce their roles and make them more viable in the late-game. Here's a full list. New features: You can now enter a quote for a custom character to deliver when they're declared MVP of a battle! This can be customized by clicking the "Bio & Quote" button on the character creation screen. Battle: The full stat panel for a target will no longer close when switching targets. Instead, it will refresh to show the stats of the new target. Healing bonus from magic skill ("Magical" abilities) is now correctly affected by effects such as magic dampening. Relaxed the limit on the number of deployed summonable entities that can exist on the battlefield at one time. Combined damage from Pain effects now caps at 99 HP damage per turn. Modified the fo…
- Update Notes for Version 1.012 - 5 December 2022
UI: There is now a message log which can be used to view the current conversation during cutscenes while dialog is paused. It can be accessed/closed by middle-clicking, pressing the 5 key, or clicking in the left stick on a gamepad. It can be scrolled using the mouse scroll wheel, or the left and right bumpers on a gamepad. Battle: The skill Pin Down has the correct AP cost again. Addressed an issue where passive HP increases would sometimes not apply in battle. Addressed an issue where the AI was sometimes targeting itself with damaging AOE skills. Addressed an issue where some tactician skills would be improperly flagged as non-usable.
- ELS Path Notes - Version 1.01 - 3 December 2022
A big thanks to everyone who's tried out the game so far! I am usually pretty diligent about updates and I love your feedback, so I appreciate your patience while the dust settles. Before I continue, be sure to take a look at this fan-created Quick Start guide for lots of hints and tips on playing! Here's what's new in today's update: Battle: -Added a fix to reduce the AI's thinking time on Normal and lower difficulties. -Reformulated turn order to hopefully help curb very fast characters from getting excessive turns. -There is a more pronounced wait time bonus when ending turn with AP left over now. -Adjusted the speed of some effects like Area of Denial to help prevent them from fading too quickly. Equipment: -Adjusted the damage and accuracy of the Wide barrel Sidearm to make it a bit more powerful. Scenario: -Shrunk the map size of the tutorial battle by a couple of rows.
- Eden's Last Sunrise - NOW AVAILABLE! - 2 December 2022
After five-ish long years of development, I'm happy to announce that Eden's Last Sunrise is finally available on the Steam store! This has been the longest, most ambitious game project I have ever (or will ever) taken on, and it feels surreal to finally see it completed. I almost gave up twice during development, so I am eternally grateful to my supporters and community for giving me the support and confidence needed to see it through to the end. Now that it's done, I am at last ready to sleep for a thousand years. So, what comes next? Well, first, a brief break. I'll pop in from time to time to gather feedback and bug reports through the rest of the year, so I can tighten up any loose ends that escaped into the wild. (It's just me against the entire codebase, mind you). After that, depending on how things go, I'll probably work on additional platforms and console ports next. I've also…
- The ELS Battle Demo is Live! - 21 September 2022
At long last, the demo for Eden's Last Sunrise is now available for download! This is a small sample of the game unconnected from the main story that shows some of the main cast, several playable classes, and a chance to try out the custom character creator. Thank you for following my li'l project, and I hope you have fun. Feel free to post questions, bugs, or show off your custom characters. I'd love to see them! Some tips to get you started: You can click on a unit's portrait (either yourself or the current target) to get a breakdown on all their stats. Similarly, on the full stats screen, you can click on the next to abilities and effects to get a list on what they all do. Unique skills use Tension, which is the glowing green bar with the % marker. Units gain Tension for doing things in battle, for taking damage, and for dodging attacks. The little shield icons designate cover in tha…
