- Dev Snapshot: 3D Camera & UI Transition - 19 September 2026
The tactical camera has been transitioned from a flat 2D viewport to a dynamic 3D system. The previous 3D preview has now been finalized. The camera tilts to open up a better view of the ships, allowing for a much cleaner presentation of weapon impacts and improving overall combat immersion.In conjunction with this change, the standard interface elements have also been converted into 3D.What's NextWork has begun on overhauling the battle control UI. This upcoming update will focus on tactical quality-of-life improvements and streamlined control mechanics to allow for tighter, more precise fleet management during chaotic real-time engagements.Additionally, it is planned to rework the missile physics to eliminate erratic flight paths, ensuring that their navigation is reliable since every single hit counts.This change has not been rolled out yet and is currently being prepared as a combin…
- HIRED STARS - The Tactical Clarity & Refinement Update - 4 September 2026
Enhancing Strategic Depth, Fleet Mobility, and Visual IntelligenceThe universe becomes sharper and more intuitive with this update. This update has been deployed to both the main game and the demo, updating them to Version 0.13.🔄 Fleet Mobility & Restriction ChangesAffinity Feature Removed: The affinity system has been entirely removed from the game. This mechanic unintentionally forced players to keep captains in the same vessels for too long. Deassigning and swapping captains between different ships is now much more viable and strategic.Hard Stop Enforcement: Ships that exceed a captain's leadership value or have invalid configurations (such as too many elite weapons) will no longer suffer a combat handicap during battle. Instead, a strict "hard stop" now prevents these misconfigured ships from being deployed on missions entirely.New "Best Armament" Trait: To replace the old affinity…
- HIRED STARS - The Grand Audio Overhaul & Universe Evolution - 25 July 2026
A Universe Reborn: Voices, Vision, and Complete ControlThe journey continues, Captains! This massive update brings the universe to life like never beyond, fulfilling major milestones and setting up the engine for a long, powerful future.Thank you all for your ongoing support.🔊 Major Cinematic & Audio OverhaulsProfessional Captain Voices: All 4 Captains have been fully voiced by real-life voice actors, breathing true personality into your crew.Dynamic Battle Comments: The character comment system was completely reworked; Captains will now react dynamically when selected or given orders during intense battles. More will come.Music Rebalancing: All music files have been completely rebalanced and toned down to ensure they are never disruptive. Default music volume is now set to a comfortable 40%.🎮 System & Engine RefactoringNext-Gen Input System: The entire input system has been completel…
- HIRED STARS - Major Voice Casting & Core Engine Refactoring - 19 April 2026
Evolution of the Core: Systems, Voices, and PersonalizationFirst and foremost, thank you to everyone for your support and belief in this project. I am doing my absolute best to ensure the final experience exceeds your expectations.This update represents an exhaustive overhaul of the game's backbone. While the focus wasn't on "new gameplay" loops, I’ve touched nearly every corner of the engine to improve and prepare for the future.⚠️ CRITICAL: CLEAN REINSTALL REQUIREDDue to the significant changes in directory structures and asset naming, Steam may not detect all file updates correctly. This can lead to missing sounds or corrupted content.To ensure the update functions as intended, please UNINSTALL the game and then REINSTALL it again. I apologize for this inconvenience, but it is the only way to guarantee all new systems align correctly.⚠️ IMPORTANT: SAVE GAME COMPATIBILITYDue to a majo…
- HIRED STARS - Update & The Voice of the Empire - 13 March 2026
Strategic Navigation & Training OverhaulThis update focuses on refining the strategic flow, expanding player agency in the sandbox, and delivering a significant leap in audio immersion.Intelligence & Trade ClarityStrategic Scouting & Readability: Stars outside current range now display available goods as a "?" to emphasize scouting, while trade quantities within range feature larger text for faster identification.Enhanced Tooltips: The trading scene has received a UI polish with improved tooltips to streamline the procurement process.Campaign & Sandbox FlexibilityNew Game Parameters: Commanders can now customize their experience. The "Emperor’s Rage" (Doom Fleet) and Ambitions can be disabled for a pure, uninterrupted sandbox experience.Tactical Onboarding: The tutorial no longer triggers by default. Instead, a strategic hint appears upon the first entry to the star map. Auto-tutorial r…
- HIRED STARS - Rogue Shop Overhaul & Quality of Life Improvements - 4 March 2026
Rogue Shop OverhaulThe Rogue Shop has been refined to provide a more immersive and tactical meta-progression experience. This update focuses on clarity, expanded lore, and an optimized flow for managing post-run rewards.Expanded Roster: 6 new items have been added, bringing the total to 12. Additionally, all existing items have been completely overhauled.Lore & Guidance: A new integrated tooltip system explains the "Earn, Unlock, and Activate" loop. All 12 starting modifiers—including the Centurion, Harbinger, and Tacoma—now feature immersive flavor text for deeper tactical context.Refined Legacy Coin Integration: The relationship between performance and procurement is more transparent. Legacy Coins awarded at the conclusion of a campaign now directly reflect survival time and mission success.Data Rework: The Rogue Shop tech base has been optimized to support future content expansion. T…
- HIRED STARS - Alpha Update - 27 February 2026
The first Alpha improvements are here! Thank you for the early feedback; it has been incredibly helpful in identifying these initial priority fixes.Fixes & AdjustmentsUI Fix: Fixed the background in the Captains Details view. It was previously not displaying or appeared damaged; it now shows properly.Audio Balancing: Adjusted the combat Alert Warning (Beeping). The sound is now much quieter overall and has been silenced for the majority of the countdown—it will now only trigger for the final 3 seconds instead of 7.Rogue Shop Fix: Fixed several items that were broken due to the recent weapons and ship rebalance.File System & ModdingAsset Cleanup: Performed a resorting and cleanup of assets, including renaming for better organization.Documentation: Added new documentation files to the assets list to assist with the game's DSL and modding features.AI Voices DiscussionThe AI Voices are now…
- HIRED STARS - Available in Early Access - 26 February 2026
The journey starts now. HIRED STARS is available in Early Access! I’ve reached the point where I’ve become blind to my own mistakes after working on this project for so many years, so I need your help to polish this into something great. Please be gentle with your feedback while I find my footing!Alpha StatusThe game is currently in Alpha. Expect plenty of Hot Fixes as the build is stabilized during these early days.The Modding SandboxWant to tweak the gear? The files for the whole game are set up as a total playground for modders — dive especially into the /Weapons folder and start experimenting. You can find everything here:Browse Local Files -> STARS_Data/StreamingAssetsThe game features its own DSL (domain-specific language) for scripting talk events and encounters. You can create your own captain traits, weapons, ships, fighters, and even more — scripting even allows you to write y…
- Demo Update - Missiles & Tactical Advices - 24 February 2026
The demo has been updated!All weapon systems have been renamed to ensure better clarity and consistency across the arsenal.Manual fire is now possible! A small ring has been added next to the weapon icons; clicking it during combat allows for direct control of the battery.Significant balancing changes have been made to the ARAMIS missile systems:Accuracy & Variety: Missiles are now more precise and come in different types, including Normal and Swarm variants.ARAMIS (Normal): Reduced the number of missiles fired and decreased projectile lifetime by 10%.ARAMIS (Burst): Projectile lifetime has been reduced by 50% to prevent over-saturation.ARAMIS (Elite): Now fires in sequences of 4-6-8 missiles, supplemented by sprays of normal missiles.The "Jump In" mechanic has been streamlined: Selection and confirmation of ship placement are now handled via the Left Mouse Button. The Right Mouse Butto…
- Demo Update - Patch & Scenario Updates - 14 November 2025
The demo has been updated!Update of the runtime environment (Unity) to version 6.0 due to security issues, performance and feature updates.Projectiles (rockets and cannons) no longer emit shock waves when they hit their target. This caused other incoming projectiles to be pushed away, which in turn made combat more difficult. Shock waves will continue to be emitted when a projectile is shot down in mid-flight.Projectiles (especially missiles) had a bug where they would occasionally be diverted too much immediately after being fired.New ships have been added to the demo, a corvette and a gunboat. These have been built into the scenarios and can be shot down.A link to a YouTube video has been added as a tutorial and proof that the scenarios can be completed!Other minor updates and bug fixes.Scenario adjustments:Scenario A: "ABERRANT IMPERIUAL FREIGHTER" The enemies will flee after a while…
- Doom Counter - 17 October 2025
The Emperors' hate is without limits, and so is his desire to hunt down your mercenary fleet and destroy it.But politically, this is critical. An Emperor who deals with insignificant mercenaries—what kind of impression does that make?But over time, the strength of our mercenaries increases, and if you become increasingly aggressive toward the Imperial cargo convoys or ally yourself with other factions, then the situation becomes increasingly critical.The Imperial Hunting Fleet is following and getting closer and closer! The final battle is inevitable!The Imperial Hunting Fleet should not be underestimated. A battleship and a space fighter carrier, accompanied by cruisers and destroyers, pose a considerable threat.
- Progress And Current Status - 24 August 2025
Hired Stars is currently in development. A lot has been achieved, tested extensively, and further improved. I would like to share my motivation, some special moments, and the milestone I am currently working on.MotivationI am a single developer. One who has seen many games and simply misses some things terribly. There's the depth! I want to be able to lose myself in a game. I want to experience it. That's what gives me joy. For a developer, that can be fatal. You can quickly get lost in details that no one cares about and that don't bring any joy! In recent years (the first version dates from November 24, 2018), I have gone through many changes, which brings us to the next point. Current StatusI showed the game to some very good friends and got a lot of feedback. As a result, some features will be expanded, some changed, and the game will require a LOT of explanations! In addition, some…
