Captain's (Developer) Log #3
Good afternoon, Commander!
In today's log, we want to share our evolving plans for the Starforged Legacy Demo, including its temporary closure on March 14th as we move from recruitment to refinement. We also want to give you an early look at two major features making their way into the game: Narrative Encounters—where your choices could have lasting consequences—and Ship Customization! Let's get into the details.
The Demo Is Leaving (Temporarily)
Following Steam Next Fest, we received an enormous amount of incredible feedback on the demo. We've seen over 3,500 new pilots take to the stars, pushing our total wishlist over 5,000 and rapidly approaching 6,000!
With this in mind, we'd like to begin addressing said feedback as soon as possible, primarily regarding the 'New Player Experience'. Here are some of the major pain points we've identified, and what we're doing to fix them:
Player Feedback | Our Response |
|---|---|
Ship controls feel unintuitive, especially for players coming from other survivors-games who expected screen-relative movement (press 'D', player moves right). Others felt the ship was slow to respond to turning inputs. | We're adding an alternative movement scheme as a settings toggle. You'll be able to choose between the current ship-relative controls (space sim style) and a new screen-relative mode where your ship moves in the direction you press and auto-rotates to match. We're also tuning ship responsiveness so every ship class feels tight to control from the moment you start flying. |
Button mapping didn't follow standard conventions, creating friction across the entire experience for controller players. | We're working on updating gamepad controls to better follow platform conventions. We're a small team on a tight schedule, but this is a priority, and we're going to do our best to get it done. |
Enemy behavior didn't sell the fantasy of commanding a warship in deep space. Combat worked mechanically, but close-range enemies felt more like a zombie horde than a space battle. | We're reworking close-range enemy behavior so combat reads and feels like a space battle. We want every enemy encounter to reinforce the fantasy of piloting a warship, not just surviving a swarm. |
Players wanted more story, more meaningful choices, and a reason to keep coming back between runs. | Narrative encounters are a new feature we've been developing behind the scenes that, unfortunately, wasn't ready in time for the demo. See below for more details! |
Players died without realizing they were in danger. There wasn't enough feedback when taking damage, and the transition from 'I'm fine' to 'I'm dead' happened too fast. | We've improved player damage audio, added more distinct visual indicators for hull damage versus shield damage, and added a low-health screen indicator, so you always know when your ship is in trouble. You should always be able to feel the difference between a scratch and a crisis. |
Newer players struggled to understand what pickups do, how upgrades work, and what they should be paying attention to early on. | This is our top priority during the demo hiatus. We're rethinking how the game communicates its systems in the opening minutes and taking a close look at what the first few minutes look like, especially when you play for the very first time. The goal is for every player to understand the build system well enough to start making interesting choices in their first run. |
Difficulty could spike unexpectedly, with enemies scaling faster than intended, creating frustrating, unfair spikes. | We've overhauled how enemy difficulty scales. Previously, difficulty increased while you were on a map, which meant slower players were punished unfairly. Difficulty now increases based on how many nodes you've completed on the star map, with different node types contributing different amounts. This makes difficulty progression more predictable and puts you in control of the pace. |
Multiple players reported FPS drops in late-game combat, and some experienced crashes. | Performance optimization is a priority. We take this seriously and are actively working on it. |
Players wanted to see their current weapon stats and augments when picking upgrades. Without knowing what you already have, it's hard to make informed build decisions. | We're adding a 'Ship Info' screen that you can access whenever you need it. It will display all of your ship's components, their augments with full tooltips and stats, and any upgrades or enhancements you've collected. |
Players asked for text size options, colorblind support, and more flexible controls. | Accessibility improvements are on our roadmap. We want as many pilots as possible to be able to play, and we're working toward that goal. |
Players want more to work towards between runs. The current skill tree feels thin, and some players wanted more options to customize their starting loadout. | We're expanding the meta-progression system, and the skill tree is getting deeper. We'll also have twice as many ships and loadouts at launch, with more to come through updates after release. |
The current layout feels too linear. Players want more branching paths and meaningful choices on the star map. | We've restructured the Star Map to make the decisions more interesting. Major boss encounters now serve as clear convergence points in your journey, giving you a visible milestone to prepare for. Shops are no longer guaranteed at fixed intervals and instead appear naturally alongside other node types, making path selection a real strategic choice about what your build needs most. |
Overall, these issues were hurting our player retention and overall receptivity (first impressions are crucial), so rather than leaving a suboptimal demo active, we've decided to temporarily deactivate it, focus on creating a more polished experience for new pilots that incorporates major new features, and re-launch it close to our Early-Access launch date.
What does that mean for you?
The current Starforged Legacy Demo will close on March 14th, meaning you have one week left to complete expeditions and provide feedback.
The Demo will return! We plan to relaunch a more polished, feature-complete demo closer to our Early Access debut.
We may run focused, private beta tests via Steam to collect feedback on in-development features during this hiatus. If you want to help shape the new user experience and new features, be sure to join our official Discord!
We can't thank you enough for your feedback on Starforged so far, and although our demo may be going offline for now, we encourage you to stay updated on development by following us on socials!
Now, about those 'new features'...
On The Radar
Narrative Encounters
A returning feature that some testers may remember from early in Starforged's Alpha makes a comeback: Narrative Encounters. These will offer a glimpse into the (deceptively deep) lore we've built for the universe while also adding an element of risk, reward, and unpredictability to Starforged!
Pictured above is a very early, and very much in-progress implementation of narrative encounters.
Narrative encounters will appear as dedicated nodes on the Starmap, but can also occur randomly when warping into a new zone. Each scenario offers multiple outcomes and a level of risk associated with each decision (indicated by the colored dot next to each choice). Generally, higher risk means higher reward, but you, the pilot, will need to consider how much of your hull's integrity, salvaged cargo, or even system efficiency you're willing to risk.
The integration of narrative encounters into gameplay doesn't end there. Having specific augments or ship components (i.e., a Warp Drive) can alter the options available in some scenarios, allowing you to completely avoid danger or secure additional rewards!
Your choices are also interconnected. Be mindful of your decisions in your first encounter, as they might help (or haunt) you in future scenarios. The galaxy has a long memory.
Ship Customization
In our pursuit of rewarding pilots for their successful expeditions (beyond the luxury of living and fighting another day), we're exploring Ship Customization!
We're currently testing different color schemes and patterns to help distinguish unlockable loadouts. Whether these will remain as preset 'skins' or develop into unlockable finishes and patterns that you can mix and match is yet to be decided by R&D.
Ultimately, we want your ship to reflect your rank and journey among the stars. We’d love to hear your thoughts on this, as well as on the aforementioned Narrative Encounters!
Remember, this content is still in development and expected to change before release!
In Case You Missed It
Once again, we'd like to thank Juicebags for providing us with gameplay to showcase during Steam Next Fest—show some support by checking out their recent video on the Starforged Legacy Demo!
Additionally, we've received quite a bit of coverage from creators since our last devlog, and we encourage you to support them too!
If there are any notable videos or streams we've missed, or content creators who you think might enjoy a key to Starforged Legacy, please let us know!
Communication Systems Online
Receive incoming transmissions: news, announcements, devlogs, and deep-space disturbances, by following Second Shift Games on X (formerly Twitter), Bluesky, YouTube, Reddit, and TikTok, or by visiting our website: SecondShiftGames.com.
Join our community Discord to chat with the developers and fellow pilots, and give your feedback on the game!
Wishing you clear skies, Commander.
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