Sophstar

Released: Feb 18, 2022
Platforms
Last updated: 17 Sep 2026, 08:42 GMT

Updates & announcements

20 posts

17 Aug 2026Developer post
Version 1.13
We corrected a bug where dying during the True Last Boss could remove 2 lives instead of 1. Trully sorry about that, it was added when we updated the game recently to use the new Gamemaker version (And thus adding the new bullet and video options) Should be okay now. This should
18 Jun 2026Developer post
1.12B
As the user who discovered this bug put it: "can't have a new update without causing more issues." A bug introduced in the latest update could cause the game to crash during Stage 6. This issue has now been fixed. The problem was caused by the migration to a newer version of Game
17 Jun 2026Developer post
Sophstar V1.12
After nearly 3 years, we're back with a new update for Sophstar! What's new in version 1.12? NEW TRAINING MODE Training Mode has been revamped. You can now select different sections of each stage to practice, instead of only starting from the beginning of a stage or from boss enc
29 Aug 2023Developer post
1.11 Update
We've updated Sophstar to Version 1.11 Changes to this version: Fixed bug with level 5 background Fixed wrong frame animation showing when ship enters screen after losing a life Fixed bug with bonus pickups not awarding the right amount of points on Advanced score mode Added "non
We've updated Sophstar to Version 1.11
Changes to this version:

Fixed bug with level 5 background
Fixed wrong frame animation showing when ship enters screen after losing a life
Fixed bug with bonus pickups not awarding the right amount of points on Advanced score mode
Added "nonsense" video filter
If you find any problems with this version please let us know!
Original post
10 May 2023Developer post
Rollback to previous version
Hello everyone! We had a small update a few weeks ago, it was a very small change, but we had 2 reports of the game randomly crashing after that update which seems to be related to the update. So we're rolling back to the previous version which we know it was working properly and
04 May 2023Developer post
1.10 Update
We updated Sophstar to V1.10 It's using a newer Steam SDK, which may make the game run with less problems when using Linux (Including Steam Deck) We also corrected a small bug where the incorrect frame animation would be used when the ship is re-entering the screen after explodin
31 Aug 2022Developer post
Version Update: 1.09
We updated the game to version 1.09 It just fixes a bug with the Score Attack mode, where sometimes when playing on the ORIGINAL Scoring Mode would make the Bonus Item not give the player any points. Hope it didn't hurt many people hiscores. Anyway, if you have any trouble with t
18 Jul 2022Developer post
Version 1.08
We've updated the game to version 1.08. We just fixed two small bugs: Focus / Half speed movement didn't work while Nina's drone ship was deployed. Banana Bytes logo animation during intro would speed up and loop if you hold left arrow key. Keep having fun with the game, everyone
We've updated the game to version 1.08.
We just fixed two small bugs:

Focus / Half speed movement didn't work while Nina's drone ship was deployed.
Banana Bytes logo animation during intro would speed up and loop if you hold left arrow key.
Keep having fun with the game, everyone!
Original post
29 Mar 2022Developer post
Update 1.07
We've updated the game to 1.07 version. This was just some minor bug-fixes which apparently no one had noticed.... * Unlockables were being unlocked automatically before the condition to unlock then were met. If you get stuff unlocked before the right time, congratulations, consi
16 Mar 2022Developer post
1.06 Update
We've updated Sophstar to version 1.06. Now there's a Training Mode! You can practice any levels you've beaten before, without worrying about running out of lives! (You always have 98 lives on Training Mode :D ) Unfortunately there was no way to get the progress you already had,
01 Mar 2022Developer post
1.05C Update
The 1.05C update went very silent, but we guessed some people may be wondered why it exists. We actually jumped from A to C version, because some corrections were done so quickly we didn't even upload them to Steam. We fixed a bug with the game crashing in Level 5 cutscene, which
The 1.05C update went very silent, but we guessed some people may be wondered why it exists.
We actually jumped from A to C version, because some corrections were done so quickly we didn't even upload them to Steam.

We fixed a bug with the game crashing in Level 5 cutscene, which begun to happen with 1.05 version (It stayed on the game for less than 8 hours :D )
We made some minor optimizations so the game ran with using less GPU resources. The game is insanely light as it is, but we had a couple of reports of stuttering mainly when using a recording/streaming program like OBS Studio and we hope this is gone by now.
We optimized the C64 and "Famines" filters so they don't slowdown the game on older machines.
We made a few changes regarding the Linux version (still beta-testing, but it's coming up!)
That's it, We are sure most people wouldn't even have noticed those small changes :)
Original post
27 Feb 2022Developer post
1.05 Update
We've updated the game to version 1.05. We've added a few more filters, now you can play with C64, MSX1, NES and other palette. We also made a major overhaul on the way the game writes Japanese texts and revised all the dialogs on this language. We are still doing another revisio
27 Feb 2022Developer post
1.04 Update
Our programmer was updating the Scanline filter so it looked better when playing on higher resolutions... and he was having so much fun that he decided to add a lot of new filters. And they are all unlocked from the get-go! He says he still wants to add an MSX Palette filter beca
Our programmer was updating the Scanline filter so it looked better when playing on higher resolutions... and he was having so much fun that he decided to add a lot of new filters. And they are all unlocked from the get-go!
He says he still wants to add an MSX Palette filter because it's the computer he grew up with and learned how to code ... let's see if he will find time to do this :)
Other changes:

Corrected a bug that prevented the game to upload scores on Endless Mode - Hard Difficulty
Added an option to make the enemy bullets "pulsate", as we've been told this would make the game easier for colorblind people
We are *still* working on the Japanese translation patch, so keep an eye on it ! - We want to thank our japanese translator, Luiza Fernandes, for the tireless work.
And our friend Sho Akutsu who pointed out the problems with the Japanese text and is helping us a lot with it. We will add his name to the Special Thanks section of the credits on next update, but we wanted to thank him right away, as his help is being immensely valuable.
Original post
23 Feb 2022Developer post
1.03D Update
Okay, we lied, but just a little bit. We've said that the C version would be the last one in this branch but... here's version 1.03D! Some filters made the options screen unreadable, it was almost impossible to go back to the options screen to turn them off if you had activated o
Okay, we lied, but just a little bit. We've said that the C version would be the last one in this branch but... here's version 1.03D!
Some filters made the options screen unreadable, it was almost impossible to go back to the options screen to turn them off if you had activated one of them. Now these filters are only activated within the game. If there is still a filter that makes the options screen difficult to read, or if you find any other bugs, you already know, let us know at:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/1410440/discussions/0/3182359786942498541/
Other changes:

Changed the Warning sound, music and add some effects when you activate Hyper Mode. (What? You haven't activated it yet? Well, it's a secret :) )
Added an "Auto" border option, which changes the border depending on the in-game state and the ship you are playing.
Changed the font for the name in highscores when the name is too big to fit the screen or contains foreign or special characters.
Fixed a bug where the "Silver Head" boss would not fire its bullet patterns correctly in Timed Challenge mode
Changed the boss graphics for the first stage to make it more obvious where his safe areas are.
Fixed the wrong level 1 boss hitbox that allowed the player to stay alive on top of it when it shouldn't .
Fixed a bug where part of the background continued to scroll with the game paused in level 5.
Fixed the position of some background assets on level 7. Pretty sure no one noticed but our programmer did and it was driving his crazy!
We continue to work to improve the Japanese translation of the game. We'll have news about it soon!
Hope you all are enjoying Sophstar!
Original post
23 Feb 2022Developer post
1.03C Update
We've updated the game to version 1.03C Unless someone finds a critical bug, this is the last update on the 1.03 branch. The main change was to fix the TATE mode to no longer deform pixels at any resolution. We also fixed the centering of the screen on TATE (People who had to mov
We've updated the game to version 1.03C
Unless someone finds a critical bug, this is the last update on the 1.03 branch.
The main change was to fix the TATE mode to no longer deform pixels at any resolution. We also fixed the centering of the screen on TATE (People who had to move the screen before will have to move it again... sorry about that!). I think it's working correctly on most resolutions, but if there's something wrong in any resolution, let me know. let me know! The most important thing as to make the pixels look correct on any resolution and this is now working properly.
Other changes:

Added option to change or turn off enemy hit sound.
Added option to change how the enemy flashes when they take damage or turn it off completely.
Added "Quick Restart" to the continue screen. Hold both fire buttons and the game immediately restarts with the same ship (but you don't unlock extra continues or upload high scores online doing this)
Fixed a bug that caused the game to crash in the tutorial if the player pressed Backspace.
Fixed a bug that caused "difficulty level" to appear in the results during Timed mode without actually having this option.
Fixed bug in options screen which sometimeswouldn't accept ENTER as confirmation.
If you encounter problems with this version, please report it to us in the topic below:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/1410440/discussions/0/3182359786942498541/
We have already received feedback from Japanese players informing the Japanese text is not very readable and has problems with the layout and lacking of spacing. We are working to fix this and hope to have a better Japanese version of the game as soon as possible!
Original post
21 Feb 2022Developer post
Update 1.03B
We've updated the game to version 1.03B Changes made: Added option to turn off the right analog stick Warning screen if you start the game without Steam connection and that you won't be able to upload hiscores Fixed a bug that caused controller vibration to stay on even when the
We've updated the game to version 1.03B
Changes made:

Added option to turn off the right analog stick
Warning screen if you start the game without Steam connection and that you won't be able to upload hiscores
Fixed a bug that caused controller vibration to stay on even when the player turned it off in the options screen
It is no longer necessary to have the Steam Overlay turned on to upload hiscores
If you find any problems with this version, please report us in the topic below:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/1410440/discussions/0/3182359786942498541/
We know there are still some minor issues with the display in Tate mode, and we're working to resolve them! We are also working on adding some accessibility options for colorblind players and players with increased sensitivity to light effects.
Original post
20 Feb 2022Developer post
1.03A Update
We found a bug on the endless mode that made the game easier than it was supposed to be on this mode.... and we made this an extra mode! As many people were already having lots of fun with this mode the way it was, we kept it this way (and we fixed the long periods with no incomi
We found a bug on the endless mode that made the game easier than it was supposed to be on this mode.... and we made this an extra mode! As many people were already having lots of fun with this mode the way it was, we kept it this way (and we fixed the long periods with no incoming enemies), and we've "added" the original planned mode.
Now endless mode has 2 difficulty levels, Hard (the one planned originally) and Easy (the way it was up until now). Play the one you find more fun, each one has its own leaderboards (online and offline)
We also made these changes:

New borders were updated.
Screen position when in full screen was fixed, it should be centered in most if not all resolutions by now (If it isn't on your screen, let us know! - but you can fix it yourself on the video options)
Changes in the results screen on arcade mode, now showing level reached and number of continues used.
Cadet school result screen now shows what level was played.
Bug-fixed when Nina collected a power up when her clone was on screen.
Changing the size of the window now keeps the windon inside the display if the window is bigger than the display. Please note this may deform the pixels, so avoid playing it this way and use a correct window size.
Corrected the window size so now it display at the correctly 16:9 ratio when in yoko mode.
Please note this version has an "a" on its name, because we have more changes planned for this version, but our programmer needed some sleep (He's been working a lot these last 2 days!), we know there are still some fixing to be done, mainly with the display and how the screen is being shown on tate mode. We're trying to add proper support for most screen resolutions, but for now you can change the screen using the Zoom and Screen Position options (Which we want to make a little better too).
Thanks for the support and we hope you're enjoying the game! If you find any problems or bug, please repoprt at:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/1410440/discussions/0/3182359786942498541/
Original post
19 Feb 2022Developer post
New Borders options!
We just updated the game with lots of new border options! Most of them now fit the whole screen on every resolution. Update your version and choose your favourite one!
19 Feb 2022Developer post
Version 1.02
We've updated the game to 1.02 version. In response to requests, we've made a change to Reyka's shooting mechanics. Most players won't notice, but who play for score will probably like it, as her shot is now capable of destroying more than one enemy at a time by shooting at close
We've updated the game to 1.02 version.
In response to requests, we've made a change to Reyka's shooting mechanics. Most players won't notice, but [Pro Players/i] who play for score will probably like it, as her shot is now capable of destroying more than one enemy at a time by shooting at close range.
We also made a number of bug fixes that were found by players:

Crash when entering video options screen on some computers
Unable to save progress in Cadet School
Missing borders when in Windowed mode
Random crash when using Nina's secondary weapon
Numbers appearing randomly in the middle of the screen in Infinite mode
"Ghost" enemies appearing in infinite mode
Crash when Nina's drone grabs a Charge
Text going beyond the limits of dialog boxes
Next 50 and Previous 50 on Online Highscore tables not changing correctly
Stage 4 boss shadow not appearing or dissapearing randomly
If you find any other issues in the game, run over to the community forum and let us know in the fixed bug thread:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/1410440/discussions/0/3182359786942498541/
Thank you guys so much for all the support and help in making the game better and better!
https://steamcommunity.com/app/1410440/discussions/0/3182359786942498541/
Original post
18 Feb 2022Developer post
Sophstar launch!
The game is ready! We hope you all enjoy the game! We are giving a launch discount up until Feb 25th! And to everyone who followed us up until here, our deepest gratitude. Now it's time to fire up those high-scores and play until you unfold the whole story of Soph!