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Miscellaneous

Want free SU scratch & sniff stickers? Of course you do.



Completely free! More info/order form here:
<removed due to spam. pm me!>

I'll post a real game update sometime soon.

Miscellaneous

SU ported to SNES



Just kidding. But it would be kind of neat.

I'm having a lot of fun with my new LED TV. In the realm of SU, however, I'm still planning out much of the (large) changes that are in the distant horizon. A re-release of every chapter is looking very feasible.

I started out this project with no real direction. Thankfully I think some people put up with it because of the gameplay, but that can only take me so far. I'll update you guys as things go along.

*Whirls off to beta test Oathguard*

Miscellaneous

SU v7.0.5b is up

I'm gonna start posting here when there are game updates; if any of you have an old version of the game just download the newest copy and overwrite your old exe to update.

click here for a list of changes. Take note I finished the mine cart minigame early so that's live as well. It turned out all right; there are a few quirks that take getting used to but if you're lazy and just wanna try the minigame theres a save file right here that ought to work. (I think?)

Thanks for reading.

Miscellaneous

Love and game updates are in the air

Two quick updates:

1.) My QA side got the best of me. I'm using a bug tracker for my project. As always, feel free to send bugs and feature suggestions my way by any means (RMN, email, forums, etc.) or even post them directly in the tracker (registration not required), as that's where they will eventually end up anyway.

http://www.starlessumbra.com/bugs/

2.) Dedicated to those who constantly tell me I shouldn't be doing all these stupidly absurd workarounds in RM2k3, I've posted a new video of a gameplay enhancement to the mine cart minigame.

Miscellaneous

It's been a while since I've posted an update, so I'm updating you.

It's been over something like a half a year since my last blog post and I keep telling myself I'll get to posting a blog but for some reason or another I never get around to it. Well, here it is. Updates!

As some of you know this project is getting a little old. Many of the ideas I had years ago I decided scrap. I've also introduced new elements to the storyline that don't sit as well as I'd like. As a result, the storyline hasn't fully matured.

The good news is I've finally sat down and ironed out all the changes that need to be made to the current game as well as in detail how it will end.

The next few releases will be just that--revisions of older content. For example, early on there is a mine cart minigame. I designed that to be tile-based, back in 2005. Now that it's a new year I'm implementing it using a variant of the engine used for the WOLF platformer minigame, meaning it will instead be pixel-based. In regards to the storyline, I will be removing characters that aren't that important and implementing the backstories of those that are. I will be adding more cohesion and eliminating some of the unnecessary mystery as well.

This means chapter eight isn't coming for a bit. Even though the mapping and puzzles for it are done, I don't see a point in releasing new content when I'm not content with what's already released.

So until then, I've decided this is all going to be one giant beta. This is a work-in-progress that has matured quite a bit in its time (if you've played this back when it was Dragon Heart), but I feel there is still more to go.

What's good though is that I've gotten a lot of great feedback, and I will be regularly releasing updates every few weeks with any fixes, suggestions, or ideas that come my way. If you want to follow the development process, there's always this blog, facebook, twitter, or the website too.

In other news, I've hit over five thousand downloads on SU.com from Dec '08 to now (over a third of which are routed from here) and for that I just want to give a very sincere thank you.

Miscellaneous

a release date for ch7

Starless Umbra

Chapter Seven:
Bleak Remembrance

September 1, 2010.

Because I like setting deadlines for myself, and I have a lot more to show you guys. You can expect:

-Plenty of new content to explore. Ch 7 should add about 2-3 hours of gameplay, putting the total gameplay time somewhere around 12-16 hours, I'd imagine.
-Plenty of revised content. You know, working out storyline kinks, removing unintentional sexual innuendos from dialogue, that sort of thing.
-More minigames and puzzles--all of which are randomly generated so they will be different each playthrough.
-Character development, questions answered, and hopefully a more congruent storyline.

Will saves be compatible?
Sure will! Of course, certain features might not work properly, such as the "game completed" indicator, but if you have a save file from ch5 and up, it *should* work, provided you saved in an area that was unchanged from your version to the newest.

I better download ch6 from your website and get caught up!
Woah there! I suggest you wait until ch7 is done. Not only will this release include all prior releases, but there will be plenty of bugfixes and new cutscenes for you to enjoy.

Will I still be able to skip battles?
Of course, just press right when selecting a difficulty to open the option to disable in-game battles.

How many more releases will there be?
There will be a total of nine chapters, a prologue, and an epilogue. That means, three more releases (not including 7) and I will be done with the main continent. Then, I will be releasing SU10--or SUX--which will feature a revamped battle system (cbs), original character portraits, 100% custom music, that sort of thing.

Thank you for your interest in this project. If you have any other questions, please ask.

(if you want to read more, look at this update I posted on the website)

Miscellaneous

Hiatus drought over

Sorry for the conceited one-liner that I had here before. I was kind of rushed and I didn't know people here were following this. :)

Anyway, after about four to five months of letting school take over, I'm glad to say my undergraduate studies are just about complete and I'm really excited for what's to come in the future of both my personal and professional life. I'll be moved out and starting my new job on the first of next month, where I'll be a QA engineer by day and a game developer by night.

Thanks for following this. Greater things are to come.

Miscellaneous

SUv6.06 is up!

You'll need to download this if you intend to play through with no-battles mode (press right while selecting a difficulty). I made the mistake of not testing it after I implemented it and as a result a few things were skipped. This should be the last fix though.

I'm nearly done with 6.xx revisions, I hope. I've been focusing hard on 7.00 of course. There's just a ton of re-working that needs to be done. I'm going to be challenging myself and pushing to do greater things in the near-future with this project, so a lot of effort is going into making sure everything I have right now is acceptable before I make that jump.

If you have any special requests or questions let me know. :)

Until next time, have a great weekend!

--dhm

Miscellaneous

Boosted productivity, and a pic of my new netbook



I just wanted to show my new production machine in action, though you might have seen this already if you're following SU on twitter. It's the HP Mini and I was finally able to workaround resolution issues so that gives me two to three hours a day I get to spend testing and editing on my way to/from work.

Specifically, I've added footprints and and finishing up another minigame. In addition, 6.06 is more or less done. I'll update it once I nail everything and figure out any other issues. This should hopefully be my last revision before my next major release. That's all and thanks for reading.

Miscellaneous

I've been quiet, but screenshots are in order soon

I've done a lot of stuff, and for some reason I feel like showing it off just a bit. A lot of my screenshots are old and I want them to accurately portray what you get ingame. (more minigames? :P)

Also, expect a download update soon. 6.05 is pretty busted. All in all there's a lot of content I want to add to it, which will balance much with what I add in my next release. As a whole, chapter seven is going to fulfilling in a sense that it will fix a lot of old stuff and add even more new goodies, content, and a pretty nifty ending. (And it will be ready by the end of the year I hope)

I'm always looking for suggestions for optional dialogue (the majority of it comes from people telling me they want more random interaction between character x and y about z, so feel free to do the same, even if x=lynia, y=reene, and z=boobies)

Other than that, things are going well. I've got a very addicting minigame in the works now... and for better or for worse I only have about two free hours a day during the week so I don't get terribly burnt out over it.

--dhm