- Sept. Update and Devlog: Level Design, Better Portraits, and Dungeons in Space - 4 September 2026
Hello out there! I've been busy this month working on level, quest, and character design. I've also made a lot of art improvements, squashed some bugs, and wired in a few fun surprises too! Here's a look at some of the things I've been working on for the full game this month, and some funny bigger picture thoughts on level design:Level Design: Erioran SpaceMy main level and quest design work this month has been creating levels and quests for the Eriorans, a fierce race of bird-like aliens who use heat beams to overheat and destroy enemy ships. Here's what Eriorans look like:And here's a ground view from their homeworld, Erior:Erior was once a lush jungle world, but their climate slowly began to change. Erior became increasingly arid, and is now mostly desert. This drove the Eriorans to develop more advanced technology and explore nearby star systems looking for more hospitable climates.…
- August Update and Devlog: Ships, Crew, and Planetary Exploration - 3 August 2026
Hello out there! I've been very busy this month making lots and lots of new ships, adding new text-adventure-style planetary exploration events along with a new crew system, and making lots of improvements to the user interface. I also pushed a new demo build showing off some of the user interface progress and adding three planetary exploration events to the demo area. If you tried out the new demo build, let me know what you think over on the community thread!Now, here's a look at that I've been doing this month:"Shipmates Have Ye Shipped in That Ship?"The big project this month was using all the ship parts I made last month to make lots and lots of new ships! Check them out below ( with several variations of the starting ship, the falcon, included for scale):One thing I personally find very frustrating in space games is when the game doesn't allow you to fly many of the ships you inte…
- Demo v1.40 - 27 July 2026
Development has been speeding along behind the scenes over the last two months, and it's time for a new demo build!This build has a ton of improvements to existing systems, including some new demo content to show off some brand new planetary exploration events! Existing saves should work fine, although Lucius will pop up to ask you a few questions the first time you load an old save. If you want the full experience I'd strongly recommend re-starting the demo from the beginning to make sure you see all the new stuff!Highlights of the new features in this build:-- Added three new text-based planetary exploration events, allowing you to explore an enemy base, a research facility that was attacked by pirates, and a world with a hostile ammonia-based atmosphere.-- Added a crew system, so you can bring certain important characters along with you as crew. The player and each crew member have R…
- July Update and Devlog: Modules, Maps, and Tractor Beams - 2 July 2026
Hello out there! I've been very busy this month making lots and lots of new ship modules, improving the user interface, and adding a new loot collection mechanic. Before I jump into the devlog, I wanted to thank the many people who stopped by to play the demo and check out When the Stars Threw Down Their Spears during Next Fest. I hope you all enjoyed the demo, but even if you didn't (maybe especially if you didn't?) please stop by the community thread and leave some feedback on the demo! Now, here's a behind the scenes sneak peek at this month's development on the full game:Modules, Modules, ModulesThis month has mostly been about making more weapons, engines, and other equipment modules. I added dozens of modules including heat beams, a cutting laser, M.I.R.V. missiles, a cloaking device, a repair arm, and lots more! The total number of modules in the full game is now over 60, about a…
- June Update: Next Fest and Devlog on Fighters - 7 June 2026
Hello again! Steam Next Fest starts next week, the demo has stabilized, and I'm hard at work on the full game behind the scenes. I'm planning to do monthly dev logs moving forward so you all can see what I'm up to as I work towards finishing the full game!Next FestSteam Next Fest starts on June 15th, and this game is participating! Next Fest is a great opportunity to see cool demos of hundreds of upcoming games. If you haven't tried out the demo of When the Stars Threw Down Their Spears, Next Fest is a great time to see what the game has to offer. Devlog -- Capital Ships and FightersNow that the demo is in a more stable state, I've been busily working on features for the full game release. I've created 20 new modules for players to mount on their ships, including automated turrets, fighter bays, and asteroid throwers. I've also been building some larger ship frames to showcase the new m…
- Demo v1.29 - 11 May 2026
This build brings lots of improvements: the demo now allows players to remap keys and buttons, the HUD provides better information about ammunition and fuel in flight, controller responsiveness is improved, and the ship yard shows significantly more information when buying ships. I also squashed some bugs! Detailed changes:-- Added key and button remapping (under "Controls" on the pause menu)-- Improved controller handling by implementing alternative scaling method for analog sticks. Controls should be more responsive with a controller, keyboard controls should be unchanged.-- Added much more granular ammo/fuel display. The wireframe will now show approximately 25 different "steps" of ammo or fuel depletion instead of the previous 6 steps.-- Added significantly more information when purchasing ships in the ship yard interface-- Changed Afterburners so they now only fire while a key or b…
- Demo v1.26 - 4 May 2026
This demo build includes lots of art improvements and bugfixes, including a big improvement to the shipyard user interface, and smaller improvements to enemy logic and auto-zoom:-- Significant rework of the shipyard menu for salvaging new ships, which will now display significantly more information about the ships available to repair. -- New larger star and planet art to better maintain a uniform "pixel size"-- Numerous fixes to shields and circular UI elements to improve appearance -- Tweaked star and planet highlight appearance to make text more readable-- Improved auto-camera zoom to make zoom in smoother-- Tweaked minimap to make stars more visible when overlapping other minimap items-- Fixed issue where enemies and allies would sometimes fire when not fully facing their target-- Added a brief window of invulnerability to the escape pod to resolve issues where a large number of proj…
- Demo v1.24 - 27 April 2026
There's a new demo build that squashes a bunch of bugs, and also marks the premiere of some awesome new store art for the game!This build includes the following changes and fixes:-- Fixed issues with escape pod launch notifications and improved escape pod maneuverability-- Fixed a bug where the HUD would show incorrect information in unusual circumstances-- Fixed a quest progression bug that resulted in premature completion of certain quests-- Reduced asteroid collision damage to make asteroids less deadly-- Fixed enemy logic to avoid a corner case where enemies starting too close to an obstacle could fly in the wrong direction-- Added larger "broken module" art for ships slots larger than 1x1-- Fixed several minor graphical irregularities-- Fixed a dialog errors
- Demo Build v1.20 - 17 April 2026
This build includes many bug and dialog improvements, as well as an mprovement to the shipyard user interface.-- Added significantly more dialog with certain characters-- Added an additional small screen in the shipyard to show the number of modules currently in inventory when changing modules, as well as the price to fix salvaged modules (when relevant)-- Fixed a rare issue where changing which key fired a weapon in the ship yard would fail to work -- Changed default zoom in some levels to make it clearer what's going on (in the Samos system for example)-- Fixed bug where a specific ship engine might not render correctly-- Refined enemy AI to improve dodging behavior-- Fixed a rare bug where enemy ships could get stuck on obstacles-- Fixed an issue where the UI was showing incorrect buttons in some circumstances-- adjusted audio volume of ship yard sound effects to make them less obtru…
- Demo v1.18 - 11 April 2026
This build includes many significant improvements to the user interface, improves lots of game art, and fixes several bugs-- Added audio and visual feedback when a player attempts to fire a weapon that is out of ammunition or has been destroyed. -- Improved dialog scenes so the default scrolling is faster, and pressing the select key will instantly fill in the rest of the dialog-- Improved in flight hail messages so that they fill in immediately, and also wait for the player to press the interact button to dismiss them (shift on the keyboard or Y on a controller by default).-- Overhauled graphical appearance of in game UI screens, base backgrounds, and dialog backgrounds as well as several cut scene stills.-- Reworked aiming reticle to provide an aiming laser sight as well as snapping to targets to help give a better sense of where fired projectiles will go-- The "Repair" option in base…
- Demo v.1.13 - 3 April 2026
This build includes major changes to game difficulty and enemy AI, new player controls (including strafing and WASD controls), a graphical overhaul for space stations, as well as numerous bugfixes!-- Due to a bug, enemies could turn and move significantly faster than players; enemy AI is now fixed so that enemy ships use the same code paths as the player and have the same capabilities as the player in the same ship.-- Significant changes to early game balance (primarily making early game enemy ships less powerful)-- Added WASD keyboard controls in addition to the existing arrow keyboard controls. The new WASD controls will become the default controls, but the "old" controls will also still work for now. Controllers should be unaffected. Check out the control map on the pause menu to see the new control scheme!-- Added strafing (lateral movement) to allow more maneuverability options for…
- Demo v1.12 - 27 March 2026
Here's a new demo build that significantly improves ship handling, adds a handful of quality of life fixes, and fixes a bunch of other minor bugs!-- Improved responsiveness of all player ship controls to reduce "floatiness." Feedback wanted!-- Added a brief pause at the end of text scroll to avoid accidental dialog selection-- The shipyard now shows cash available at all times-- Ally ship balance tweaked on easier difficulties-- Fixed issue where shipyard arm would show incorrect module colors-- Pressing cancel now exits the module picker in the shipyard leaving the previous module in place-- Improved several ship art assets to increase contrast-- Fixed several edge cases that led to incorrect focusing in the shipyard-- Fixed several dialog typos, quest notifications, and other minor bugsIf you haven't been following the patch notes, there have also been several feature improvements sin…
- Demo v1.10 - 25 March 2026
Here's a new demo build that adds a quest log/journal and continues to improve Steam deck and game pad handling to make ship controls better when using game pads or a Steam deck. The build also fixes several bugs.--Added a quest log/journal to the pause menu under "Star Log"--Changed controller handling to make rotation stop sooner when the stick is centered--Further improved game pad handling to allow players to make small heading adjustments more easily--Tweaked escape pod to improve handling while still permitting the pod to outrun enemies--Fixed a rare shipyard crash when replacing an empty module with another empty module--Fixed bug with space dock physics in later levels --Improved weapon orientation handling--Miscellaneous typo and bug fixes
- Demo v1.08 - 23 March 2026
Here's a new demo build that improves Steam deck and game pad handling to make ship controls less "slippery" when using game pads or a Steam deck. The build also fixes several bugs. --Changed controller handling to make it harder to turn accidentally with control sticks--Tuned how quickly ships start to rotate when using a game pad to allow players to make small heading adjustments more easily--Other minor control tweaks--Additional shipyard graphical overhaul and user interface improvements--Fixed a crash when hailing a specific planet in the Aegina system--Fixed an unintended conversation tree ending in the Kupros system--Added a new ship explosion animation--Miscellaneous typo fixes in dialog
- Demo v1.04 - 20 March 2026
There's a new demo build out that fixes several bugs, and includes a graphical overhaul of the shipyard to make it more intuitive. --Fixed rare crash on scene change--Fixed quirk in enemy behavior that could prevent them from focusing correctly--Tweaked difficulty settings to make Gentle and Gentlest modes easier--Fixed a rare situation in which a ship could have no mass--Redesigned the ship yard to be more intuitive. Now specific module replacements are done by an animated servo arm instead of navigating screens. The basic process flow is similar, but it should be more obvious what's happening.--Updated tutorial text to be more helpful --Added optional additional help popups that explain mechanics in more detail--Fixed a monitor selection bug--Changed Options Menu to be accessible during play--Changed Options Menu and the Pause Menu to have a more consistent visual style.
- Demo v1.0 Launched! - 13 March 2026
When the Stars Threw Down Their Spears now has a full-featured demo where you can take on deadly pirates preying on a galaxy wracked by war! The demo is packed with fast-paced arcade-style combat, and has about two hours of gameplay. Have fun and let me know what you think over on the community hub!
