Hello, Chroma Engineers!
The stabilization effort continues thanks to all your reports and feedback!
I truly thank you for reporting your findings and sending your suggestions!
This time there are some quality of life improvements, balance and many many bugs fixed!
Also, a feedback suggested the following:
ragebait
add a single stray pixel somewhere in the game.
While the idea is novel, I have instead added a hidden pixel in the game and if you find it, you will get an achievement :)
Patch Notes - Version 1.9.3
GLOBAL
Fixed Bug: Added extra Steam launch safeguards for cases where the game window could start at 0 FPS until fullscreen or resize woke the display.
Fixed Bug: Added web launch guards so the splash screen cannot trap Itch.io players in a repeat loop.
Fixed Bug: Star Chart, Fractured Void, and Home World map buffers now refresh automatically to prevent long-session white pixel artifacts from stale graphics textures.
Fixed Bug: The Null Store upgrade list scrollbar can now be dragged without a scroll wheel.
Fixed Bug: Feedback window scrolling and dragging now stays inside the feedback form instead of zooming or panning the view behind it.
Fixed Bug: Home World reset is no longer available after Stage 5 is complete, preventing later-stage saves from re-entering Stage 5 systems.
Added: The Codex now has a Mark Available Read button to clear unread notifications for currently available logs at once.
NULL / VOID HUNT
Fixed Bug: Saving now keeps the offline timer synced in memory, preventing confusing Null Essence jumps after autosaves, tabbing out, or returning to the game.
Fixed Bug: Stage 8 players now earn offline Null Essence in every phase.
Fixed Bug: Stage 9 Null Essence Storage now correctly increases the offline Null Essence cap.
Fixed Bug: Leaving Warp Speed on no longer blocks normal offline Null Essence, unless Stage 9 Act 3 is actively using Warp Speed for its offline simulation.
Fixed Bug: Stage 9 players now earn normal offline Null Essence again after Act 3 is complete, or while Act 3 is in EMP recovery.
Fixed Bug: Alt-tabbing repeatedly no longer misaligns the offline timer before the next autosave.
Fixed Bug: Expand Null Storage can now still be upgraded after the Silent Realm monument increases your effective storage above 100k.
Fixed Bug: Resonant Threshold now correctly appears in the Void Hunt Upgrades modal.
Added: Successful Void Hunt runs that overflow Null Essence storage can now route excess into one of up to three affordable permanent Null/Void Hunt upgrades instead of wasting it.
Added: Void Hunt now remembers the highest level reached and lets future fresh runs start at unlocked 5-level depth checkpoints using a compact depth selector.
Improved: Void Hunt trap quick-info now labels chaos exposure as CHS instead of EXP to avoid confusion with level progress.
STAGE 1
Fixed Bug: Production rate text now still shows partial mixer output and input drain when a tank has some resource, but less than the mixer would spend in a full second. Net rate text also appears consistently for production-only or drain-only tanks.
STAGE 3
Fixed Bug: The same monument can no longer be constructed more than once.
Improved: The Fractured Void build menu now scrolls faster and more responsively.
Improved: Hidden constellation fragments in the Fractured Void now emit faint colored pulses, making exploration goals easier to understand.
Improved: Genesis Forge Pristine Light recipes now show the missing resources when a craft cannot be made.
STAGE 4
Improved: Realm Assaults now let you select, build, target, and adjust the view while paused, making battlefield planning less overwhelming.
Fixed Bug: Auto-Forge can now be toggled directly from the Realms panel even when no realm is selected, keeping it accessible after later stages hide the production panel.
STAGE 5
Fixed Bug: Home World pending reports now keep the same report title in normal and low-performance rendering, preventing the label from flickering between two names.
Fixed Bug: The Override Console hotkey now works reliably while narrative response menus are open or text input focus is active.
Fixed Bug: Scrolling inside Home World reports no longer scrolls or zooms the map behind the report window.
Added: A General setting can show unlocked Override choices directly as a fourth Home World report response, while locked Override choices remain hidden.
Balance: Reduced the cost to breach the Home World by 60%, from 50B to 20B Pristine Light.
Balance: Stage 5 radial siege cost scaling now caps before the center, reducing the Prime Citadel time wall while keeping core stronghold costs meaningful.
STAGE 7
Fixed Bug: Terminal upgrade costs and Mnemosyne reserves now respect the Scientific Notation setting.
Enhancement: Realm connection prompts now let you use logs, logs search, logs sort, clear, and help logs without counting them as failed security answers.
Added: The Terminal now supports files, files sort, and files search as clearer aliases for browsing extracted signal logs.
Improved: The Terminal Help Codex now explains the main ways to speed up Terminal progression, including system upgrades, parallel decryption, and Realm connection bonuses.
Added: New system upgrade, achievement_sync, converts unlocked achievements into +0.5% decryption speed each.
Fixed Bug: The Sunken Depths and Choral Harmony Star Chart constellations now better match their Realm operation layouts.
Fixed Bug: Home World and Override history logs now appear in the Stats Codex after being read, instead of only making the Codex notification flash.
Fixed Bug: Auto-Scan now follows the same signal requirements as scan signals, so it can no longer reveal Realms before the Fractured Void is fully decrypted.
STAGE 8
Fixed Bug: Collision Chamber success upgrades now display their real +0.5% per level value and can be upgraded to the correct max level.
Fixed Bug: Stage 8+ Light is now actually treated as infinite when spent, matching the infinite Light display.
Fixed Bug: Collision Chamber UI now follows the selected Visual Theme instead of staying green.
Balance: Collision Chamber Success upgrade costs are now capped at 500M Origin Essence per level.
Improved: Origin Essence progress text in the Collision Chamber now stays readable as the bar fills.
STAGE 9
Improved: Act 3 now explains that reaching 0% Core integrity purges perimeter structures and starts EMP recovery, but does not reset Stage 9.
Improved: Added a Architecture Help Codex section with Act 1, Act 2, and Act 3 entries that unlock as each act is reached.
ACHIEVEMENTS
Added: A tiny hidden discovery now unlocks a secret lore entry and achievement.
Fixed Bug: Purifying the final Stage 4 realm with Pristine Infusion now correctly unlocks the Directive Override achievement. Existing completed saves will receive it retroactively on load.
Thank you again for all the feedback, bug reports, and patience while I continue improving Project Chromata.
Join the Discord to share your progress, report issues, and help shape the next updates!