- Weekly Update #129: Items Submenu - 1 October 2025
Hey all! Selecting 'Items' from the Action Wheel will bring you to this new menu, allowing you to inspect the unit's inventory, use consumable items such as crystals or potions, and switch equipped weapons or armor with equipment held in the inventory. It's built to be compact and efficient, much like the skills submenu.With this update, we'll now be taking a break from weekly updates for the next month. We'll be working hard through October to cut down on our backlog of critical tasks, like I explained last week, and should have some awesome new stuff to show off when we come back. Look forward to our grand return on November 5th!
- Weekly Update #128: Colour Customization - 24 September 2025
Hey all! Are you tired of the colour blue? Wish you could customize the colours of Crystal Horizons to your liking? Well, now you can! We've set up a new settings page to handle colour customization. You'll be able to set the colour used for each unit team in the game, as well as a colour for the overall user interface. Simply navigate to the settings page and select which colours you would like from a preset list.Not everything is hooked up to the new system yet, but you can expect that almost everything will be affected by the colour you set. Of course, you can always just leave the colours at their default value, which would be my recommendation, but in my opinion it's better to have too many choices as opposed to too few. I've provided a couple of screenshots showcasing how the colours are applied so you can get an idea of how it would look.Now, I've got one quick announcement to sh…
- Weekly Update #127: Base Classes and Advanced Classes - 17 September 2025
Hey all! Today I want to briefly talk about class progression, and how certain classes are accessed over the course of the game. While we do allow you to change a unit's class very freely, the list of classes that a unit has access to will start smaller and expand over time as you gain more ranks in different classes.Essentially, we have a distinction between 'base' classes, which any unit can switch to at any time, and 'advanced' classes, which require experience in certain classes, or other special requirements to be met. Don't be misled by the names we've given them; advanced classes aren't necessarily stronger than base classes. Every one of our classes are designed to be competitive throughout the duration of the game. Advanced classes, however, often have more complex or specialized kits, which can make them stronger in certain situations.Most of the planned base classes have been…
- Weekly Update #126: Beach Day? - 10 September 2025
Hey all! Just a little teaser image today; maybe some of you will recognize it from somewhere? It almost makes me wish we had some kind of fishing minigame in Crystal Horizons. Almost.
- Weekly Update #125: The Action Wheel - 3 September 2025
Hey all! As I briefly mentioned last week, I've also been looking into replacing the top level of the action menu, where actions such as Move, Attack, Skills and End Turn are found. While it's still a work in progress, here's a look at how that's shaping up!We're temporarily using some vaguely relevant status icons until we finish designing the final icons for this menu, so some of them might seem like odd choices, but rest assured that we'll be swapping them out with icons that better fit the menu. Look forward to seeing more of it once we have it done!
- Weekly Update #124: Skill Selection and Target Preview - 27 August 2025
Hey all! Here's a first look at a new menu I've been working on. I've been doing a ton of research recently and have a bunch of new ideas for how to improve some aspects of Crystal Horizons, primarily focusing on the UI. Recently, I've been trying to improve the Action Menus, which are a little bit important seeing as they are your primary point of interaction in the game.Since the very beginning of the project, we've been using a design that involves small vertical menus that kind of fold out from the bottom right of the screen, pushing older submenus further left as you navigate through them. While there are some upsides to a layout like this, I constantly felt restricted when trying to convey information to the player. There's only so much space for information, and I cannot stress how important it is that a player has access to as much valuable information as possible as efficiently…
- Weekly Update #123: New VFX Teaser - 20 August 2025
Hey all! I was hoping to have the new VFX integrated properly by this update, but it's been a bit more difficult than I expected. So, while I can't yet show it off quite to the level I had planned, I have prepared a little teaser to tide people over. Maybe it will be working soon?
- Weekly Update #122: Deploy Menu Additions - 13 August 2025
Hey all! Lots of behind-the-scenes work done this week, so here's something small for the update while we keep chugging along. I've been looking into where we have a lot of empty space around the UI while planning out what assets we need and where we can use them. Here, on the Deploy Units menu, we now use some of that empty space to display a little bit of detailed information about the unit you are hovering.I liked how you could still see the map with the original empty space, so by using this layout we can still see some of the map behind the character art. I think it's a nice little improvement, but I might make some adjustments or additions when I have more time to work on it. That's all for this week!
- Weekly Update #121: The Unit Circle - 6 August 2025
Hey all! This week, I'd like to share with you the first iteration of an addition I've wanted to implement for ages now. This is still an early draft version, like a proof-of-concept, but I have some cool ideas for how to improve it in the future. Introducing, the Unit Circle! Well, I'm calling it the Unit Circle, but it's not exactly a complete circle? I'm not really sure if that's the best name for it.Anyway, if that name rings a bell then I'm shocked, but we initially mentioned 'Unit Circle' many updates ago. In that previous update, I shared with you all a look at some of our game settings. Among other items in the Visibility Settings submenu, we had options for the Unit Circle and the Unit Circle Intensity. As you can now see, the Unit Circle is a helpful guide to show which team a unit is on and which direction they are facing. It can help when looking at some of the more ambiguou…
- Weekly Update #120: Signs of Snow - 30 July 2025
Hey all! While we're working on upgrading our VFX systems for attacks and spells, I've also started playing around with map-based particle systems, such as for weather. Here we have a quick screenshot of the Snowy Coast map with some actual snow falling. It's just a static image today, but you'll be able to get a better look at it in the VFX update video which is coming soon. Look forward to it!
- Weekly Update #119: Status Border Adjustments - 23 July 2025
Hey all! Here's a quick look at some design changes we're trying out for status icons. First, we have a before-and-after comparison with the Ruptured icon (from Thief), where we've changed the background and background accent to be gradients rather than flat colors. It's a simple change, but a pretty impactful one in my opinion.BeforeAfterThe other change I want to highlight is the adjustment of the border used for the icons. As part of our goal to diversify our collection of UI assets, we spent some time identifying what works and doesn't work across Crystal Horizons so we can figure out where best to focus our efforts. In line with our findings, we're trying out a silver border for the icons to better match the rest of the UI.We've also slightly increased the size of the icons on the Unit Info Panel to better make use of the space and allow the details to display slightly better. Here…
- Weekly Update #118: Progress Report - Part 2 - 16 July 2025
Hey all! We're working through a lot of the things we talked about in last week's progress update, and while we are making progress I don't have anything from that ready in time for this week's update. I was hoping to have the updated status icons ready, but I'm not quite satisfied with their current iteration. While I keep working on getting those prepared, I thought it might be a good idea to do a kind of 'part 2' for the progress report, this time focusing on some areas of development that don't get talked about much here.While most of our updates revolve around the battle scene, as that's where most of our development time is spent right now, we do have some temporary layouts for other out-of-battle menus. These have been drafted using whatever assets we have around right now, and are primarily for our own personal reference until we get to working directly on them. As such, they're…
- Weekly Update #117: Progress Report - Mid 2025 - 9 July 2025
Hey all! It's been a little while since our last big progress report, so I think now is a good time to share where we're at and what our priorities are for the next stage of development.To start with, here's a quick recap of what we've been up to since our last progress update:All main UI pieces (menus, windows, etc.) for the battle scene have had their layout updated and all but the Glossary are completely functionalOur eight beta classes have all their basic (non unique/skill) attack animations either completed or drafted and displaying in gameAdditional revealed classes have class icons and base sprites either completed or drafted, but not attack animationsWe've made some more battle maps, one of which we're showing off soon in another update after revealing it three weeks agoThere's probably more, but those are the main things we've done recently. There's a few things that I've left…
- Weekly Update #116: Glossary V2 - First Look - 2 July 2025
Hey all! We've made some pretty notable progress on updating the Glossary, the massive repository of information that can be accessed at any time. The screenshots I'll be sharing this week have been taken while the Glossary is in a state of 'not quite working right now', so while the layout is done it doesn't quite connect to the battle scene just yet. That will be the next step after making any further adjustments to overall layout, and then we'll get to add nice animations for opening, closing and navigating the Glossary.The first major change from the old Glossary is the introduction of a new landing screen. Previously, the glossary would open straight into a contents view which you would be able to scroll up and down through, but now we start on a simpler page with eight options to choose from. Most glossary entries will be sorted into the first five categories: Guide, Classes, Tile…
- Weekly Update #115: Berserker Icons - Part 1 - 25 June 2025
Hey all! Short update this week; I'll just be sharing our progress on some of the status icons for the Berserker class. Of the five unique statuses this class has, there are two that we have in a state that I would consider shareable. These two are still very likely to change as the other icons are completed. But for now, please take a look at the status icons for Savagery and Shredded!Savagery, the icon with two axes, is a status that allows the Berserker to make a second, weaker attack after performing a basic attack while Raging. Shredded, the icon with an axe hitting a shield (which I hope is coming through well in this admittedly busy icon) is a stacking defense debuff applied under certain conditions. We'll share the other three icons, along with these two updated icons, in a few weeks. Until then, thanks for tuning in!
- Weekly Update #114: Market Street - Before - 18 June 2025
Hey all! I've got something interesting for you this week: A work-in-progress of another battle map! We've got some new tiles and scenery assets, such as the cobblestone road and market stalls, but still have a whole lot left to do on this one. Now, you may be asking, why show off something so clearly unfinished? To that, I would say that nothing we show off in our weekly updates is really finished.Of course, this map is more unfinished than most. My reasoning for sharing it in this state (apart from sparing you all from another update about UI and menus) is so we can have a really cool before and after to look back on later. Some of the things we're aiming to achieve with this map might be a bit ambitious compared to our previous maps, so I'm hoping the comparison will be something really amazing.We'll be working on bringing this map closer to completion and maybe making some further l…
- Weekly Update #113: Templar and ??? Class Icons - 11 June 2025
Hey all! We're close to wrapping up our work on class icons for the immediate future, so allow me to share with you two new ones this week. First, we have the icon for the Templar class! This icon may be somewhat reminiscent of the Lumimancer icon in terms of colors, which helps to tie the classes together both in-universe and in gameplay. As a reminder, in order for your unit to access the Templar class, a certain rank must first be attained on both the Lumimancer and Knight classes.Our second class is one we're not fully revealing today, but I am willing to drop a few details ahead of their full reveal. This class functions similarly to the Enchanter and Occultist, being a melee-focused mage hybrid class. Wielding the spear as their sole weapon type, and with access to water and ice magic, this class is capable of handling almost anything. Between its high mobility and evasion, access…
- Weekly Update #112: Archer Status Icons - 4 June 2025
Hey all! This week, allow me to show you the class-specific status icons for the Archer! These include Aiming, a status that increases attack range, and the various Elemental Quiver statuses. These are Fire Attuned, Ice Attuned, Lightning Attuned and Light Attuned. Only one of these statuses can be active at a time, augmenting the Archer's basic attacks and skills. Through some developer magic, however, I've managed to display them all side by side for the purposes of this update. With these icons now completed, the only remaining core class that still needs status icons is Berserker. After that, we might start drafting icons for classes like Occultist, Bulwark and Templar, or go and improve some of the older icons on classes like Thief. Look forward to seeing more in the future!
- Weekly Update #111: Bulwark Class Preview - 28 May 2025
Hey all! Here's another look at the Bulwark class along with it's class icon! Similar to Knight, Bulwark is an extremely defensive class, and has exclusive access to the Dual Shields weapon type. As we don't have the portrait ready, I've set up a temporary method to display a sprite instead of portrait for classes that haven't had theirs added yet. We likely won't have this class playable in any major capacity for a good while, but we've been working on art assets such as sprites and icons for future classes while working through other areas of development for our eight primary classes. I'll keep you posted on how things are going on that front once we have a meaningful update to share. Until next week, thanks for tuning in!
- Weekly Update #110: Tile Effect Icons - 21 May 2025
Hey all! Allow me to introduce a new addition to the Tile Panel in the top left; we now have custom icons for unique Tile Effects! Here we have Guard Aura, the passive defense buff granted by Knights, and Sanctified, a lingering healing effect placed by the Lumimancer's Sanctuary spell. While they are done in the same style as our status effect icons, they have a different shape to help them stay distinguishable. There isn't really a limit to how many unique tile effects can be affecting a single tile at once, so I thought some icons would help break up the text and make it easier to recognize what's going on when lots of effects are in play. Originally, we did consider having visual effects on the tiles themselves, but that would add far too much visual clutter. As such, only active Tile Elements, like Burning and Steam, will have persistent visual effects. This way, players should be…
