- STEAMDECK Compatibility - Unofficial but working brilliantly I am proud to say! - 5 December 2025
Now runs on STEAMDECK!I've purchased a Steam Deck OLED from Valve and have optimized the game to run on the handheld. Performance is brilliant on the High quality setting and can also be bumped up to Ultra for even higher shadow resolutions. I've played the game through to completion in handheld mode and the performance was brilliant. Although this isn't yet officially Steam Deck verified by Valve I have no hesitation as the developer recommending my game as a great experience on the flagship handheld.Play tips added on level loads I've added play tips that now appear when moving away from the main menu into gameplay. These will hopefully help players realise the strategies available to them and will inspire new strategies and tactics when battling the enemy.
- New On Ship UI Button Prompts Added - 27 November 2025
On Ship Button Prompts AddedThe game doesn't have a tutorial and although button prompts exist around the edges of the play field it isn't obvious what is expected of new players. To counter this I have now added 3 button prompts which will appear next to the players controlled ship to help players make appropriate choices and progress easier through the initial minutes of the game.Players can decide to turn these prompts off in the settings menu and each player can have different prompts active depending on their familiarity with the game.Hopefully this will help to ease in new players to this very deep shmup.I am personally still enjoying Astro Fighters and I am currently busy working towards delivering the sequel in March next year. Happy to report we are still on track.This update has also made its way to the demo version of the game.ThanksPaul
- Ship Shroud Colour Changing - UI Update - 26 November 2025
Ship Shroud Colour ChangeFor easier visibility players can change the colour of their ship shroud to make it easy to spot their ship in the on screen mayhem. This is especially useful when playing couch co-op with a friend as you can both set your shroud to your colour of choice.I've added ship models to the settings menu screen to give an indication as to how the ship shroud will look in game.
- Fire Direction Animated Indicators Added To Player Ship - 19 November 2025
Fire Direction IndicatorsAnimated fire direction indicators were added to the sequel which is still in active development. I've retrospectively added them to this game because it is a very usefull visual indicator to which direction your ship is set to fire in.Reward Sound Stacking Issue FixedIt has been reported that when picking up multiple reward medals at the same time the audio stacks and the noise is way to loud. I have addressed this issue in code and the reward sound effect will no longer stack.
- UI bug fixed on menu screens - 13 November 2025
UI Bug FixedI have been made aware by a streamer that a bug exists where the menu system becomes unresponsive when using keyboard and mouse inputs. Code has been added to better manage the Unity Event System and this seems to have resolved the reported issue.
- Keyboard and Mouse Support Added - 7 November 2025
Keyboard and Mouse Controls AddedI've added Keyboard and Mouse support to the game and i'm pleased to report the following controls are now available for Player One exclusively.W, A, S, D - MovementE - Spread ShotQ - BombShift - Slow TimeSpace Bar - Level Up ShipLeft Mouse - Fire ButtonRight Mouse - Fire Direction SwitchingENTER - Menu confirmationsThe game will detect if you are using a gamepad or keyboard during play and will react accordingly.The DEMO version of the game will be updated tomorrow.NOTE: for 2 players you will still need 2 x controllers, the game was not coded to handle a keyboard and mouse control scheme and fixing this issue would require a full controls re-write unfortunately.
- Fire Direction Switching - now added to Astro Fighters - 6 August 2025
Fire Direction Switching AddedThe latest major update to Astro Fighters brings the game changing ability to switch fire directions to players. If an enemy is behind your fighter you can now quickly toggle the fire direction to target them immediately.This new additional mechanic provides more opportunity to hit back at the alien invaders.This mechanic is working so well in the upcoming sequel that I just had to retro fit it into the current game!New Improved Pause Menu AddedThe pause menu now includes a controller guide as well as some useful tips for how to best approach the game and utilise the mechanics you have at your disposal. The gameplay is quite deep and it is easy to forget about Bullet Grazing, deploying Bombs and blasting your Special Spread Shot that demolishes even the enemy fire. This new pause screen will give your memory a jog and will hopefully help keep you alive long…
- Update Version 3.3 - Background changes for Level 1 and Level 2 - 6 August 2025
Backgrounds Changed The 1st level looked very dull and has now been changed out to something that looks much better. I've had feedback that level 2's background was making it difficult for some players to see enemies and pickups (yellowish gold rock background), this has now been changed to a black and white varient. The detail remains but the colour has been removed. Gauntlet Mode Bug Fix While making the sequel I noticed that Unity had created a sphere collider for one of my enemy objects. This was causing issues (encountered when 2 of the same enemy type overlap) and the collider has been removed. This bug if encountered would have stopped the player from progressing to the next wave of enemies. Now fixed. These updates have also been applied to the Astro Fighters DEMO. Big Update Coming Soon The next big update for this version of Astro Fighters will be the ability to shoot in the d…
- Version 3.2 - General UI Tweaks - 21 June 2025
Tweaking the UI Nothing too exciting, just some general UI tweaks made here and there. Upcoming Update The next update will be a new enemy type added to the games Gauntlet Mode which will feature in the sequels campain. I'm still working on the sequel, taking my time and only working on it when i'm feeling creative so the project isn't being rushed or forced. More details to come soon!
- Versions 3.1 - UI Scale Updates - 18 June 2025
UI Scale Updates I have applied the UI scale settings to the highscore displayed in game (not on main menu). I have also reduced the scale size of the end level notifications to accomodate the larger UI stats scale options.
- Version 3.0 - UI scale options for STEAM DECK - 16 June 2025
Player UI Scale Options Added I've received feedback from someone testing on Steam Deck that the player stats were a little small. In the Settings menu you can now pick between 4 different UI sizes for the player stats display. Thanks Paul
- Version 2.9 - Explosion Size Selection Added - 11 June 2025
Explosion Size Choices I've added a drop down on the settings menu so the player can decide the size of the explosions for themselves. Selecting "Large" will render explosions at the size I originally decided on when developing the game. Selecting "Small" will render the explosions at half the size and "Medium" will be half way between Small and Large. The default option will be set to "Small" which complies with the previous update. I just thought it would be nice to have the option to alter this within the menu, some people might like the bigger bangs ;-)
- Version 2.8 - Explosions Fixed - 10 June 2025
Explosion Size and Spawn Position Fixes I have received feed back from youtube "IoriBranford" that the explosions are too big and interupt the visibility of enemy bullets and the player ship. As a result of this feed back i've reduced the explosion sizes by half and also spawned them 1 x unit below the destroyed enemies. This means that everything else on screen should be rendered above the explosions. Big should out to IoriBranford. Go visit them channel on youtube, link below. https://www.youtube.com/@IoriBranford
- Version 2.7 Update - Controls updated - 7 June 2025
D-Pad is now supported for both players I've added D-Pad support for player movements and also updated the UI selection sounds as these were reportedly muted and not fitting of the game. Special Thanks Acknowlegement Thanks to Jordan / Guren for their honest feedback on the game. Link to their great youtube video "Why I love space shmups" below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8CEEBYHwPI&t=78s
- Version 2.6 - New effects added and UI hide adjustment in game - 30 May 2025
New Effects Added New effects have been added for when the player levels up, uses a special shot or deploys a smart bomb. Also as part of this recent update i've modified the player detection of the UI (scores etc) which will make the UI move out of the players way a little earlier. Astro Fighters 2 is COMING SOON! I am busy working on a sequel for the game and will share more information very soon. If you enjoyed Astro Fighters please post a review of the game, it really does help promote the game on steam and shows your support giving me more encouragement to keep adding to the game and its sequel. Thanks for playing! Paul
- Version 2.6 - New effects added and UI hide adjustment in game - 30 May 2025
New Effects Added New effects have been added for when the player levels up, uses a special shot or deploys a smart bomb. Also as part of this recent update i've modified the player detection of the UI (scores etc) which will make the UI move out of the players way a little earlier. Astro Fighters 2 is COMING SOON! I am busy working on a sequel for the game and will share more information very soon. If you enjoyed Astro Fighters please post a review of the game, it really does help promote the game on steam and shows your support giving me more encouragement to keep adding to the game and its sequel. Thanks for playing! Paul
- Version 2.5 - New enemies added to Gauntlet Mode - 25 May 2025
New Enemies Added 2 new enemies have been added to the Gauntlet Mode that will feature in the sequel which is currently in development. Sound Effect added for menu selections Small sound effect added for menu selections
- New enemy added to Gauntlet Mode - 23 May 2025
Gauntlet Mode - New Enemy Added A new enemy which will feature in the sequel to this game has been added to Gauntlet Mode. This new enemy will attempt to get directly behind the player to launch a volley of bullets and will be accompanied by other enemies. Only players of the highest skill level in Gauntlet Mode will encounter this new enemy. I hope you are all still enjoying the game and pressing for new high scores. I am currently working on the sequel to the game and hope to share more information on my progress soon. Thanks for playing Astro Fighters! Paul
- Tweaks to Gauntlet Mode - 18 May 2025
Gauntlet Mode Pacing Tweak I've tweaked the random enemy generation so the pacing of difficulty increases faster. I've played the mode a lot and the early few minutes felt like there were no surprises coming. All changed now though and the game mode feels fresh to me after playing it for about 5 hours. A good sign I would like to think. Hope those of you good enough to unlock this mode enjoy giving it a try. Remember there are enemy types in this mode not found in the main campaign.
- New enemy added to Gauntlet Mode - 17 May 2025
Gauntlet Mode - New Enemy Added A new enemy which will feature in the sequel to this game has been added to Gauntlet Mode. This new enemy will fire multiple bursts of bullets across the play field and will be accompanied by other enemies. Only players of the highest skill level in Gauntlet Mode will encounter this new enemy. I hope you are all still enjoying the game and pressing for new high scores. I am currently working on the sequel to the game and hope to share more information on my progress soon. Thanks for playing Astro Fighters! Paul
