Nova Swarm Since Launch
Hi pilots,
Nova Swarm has changed a lot since launch. Thanks to your reviews, bug reports, screenshots, score chasing, and feedback, the game is already clearer, smoother, louder, and more fun to return to
Biggest changes
Since launch, the biggest changes are: a rebuilt cinematic hangar menu, clearer Sector Challenge starts, improved leaderboards and HUD readability, 81 Steam achievements, expanded Threat Codex art and coverage, sharper boss and powerup presentation, better audio options, and many quality of life fixes.
The First Days After Release
Nova Swarm went live on 9 June with the core idea intact: survive the sectors, beat the boss waves, unlock ships, climb the global leaderboard, and try again for one cleaner run.
Very quickly, launch turned into a real feedback sprint. The early notes pointed toward readability, run flow, menu clarity, boss pressure, Codex coverage, achievements, leaderboards, and performance feel. So that became the work.
Some updates were big and obvious. Others were small fixes that just made the game feel less annoying. Both mattered.
Run Flow, Sector Starts, And "One More Run"
Sector Start and Sector Challenge got a lot of attention after launch. Checkpoints now behave more reliably, records can persist through Steam Cloud, and “One more run” can bring you back to the same sector instead of making every retry feel like starting over.
The start-point selector is also clearer now, with checkpoint starts saved for later practice and cleaner rules around overrun rewards.
The Select Start Point screen now makes sector practice and checkpoint starts easier to understand.
A New Cinematic Hangar Menu
One of the most visible changes is the new Cinematic Hangar menu.
The main menu was rebuilt around the hangar idea: the ship, the swarm, the dock, the main actions, and the feeling that you are launching from an arcade cockpit instead of clicking through a flat list of buttons.
It took several rounds to get right. The final version keeps the important behavior, but makes the menu easier to read, easier to navigate, and cleaner around icons, tile text, top-right controls, and the Select Start Point overlay.
The rebuilt hangar menu gives the post-launch version of Nova Swarm a clearer front door.
Leaderboards, Score Chasing, And Steam Progress
The score chase is also clearer now. The score screens are cleaner, visual clutter has been reduced, and global, friends, and local leaderboard views are easier to read.
The HUD got the same kind of cleanup. Score, level, rank, and chase targets are now easier to scan while the screen is busy.
The Global Score Deck makes the score chase and leaderboard climb easier to read.
A Bigger Achievement List
Steam achievements expanded a lot after launch. The list now has 81 achievements, including a new legendary set for deep runs, high scores, no-hit play, boss clears, combos, danger dodges, Graze Break, and full-hangar mastery.
The idea is simple: give committed pilots more long-term goals, without making every goal easy or immediate.
Steam achievements and global progress are now a much bigger part of the post-launch chase.
Bosses, Powerups, And The Threat Codex
Bosses got more personality after launch, with stronger presentation, better death moments, and more Codex coverage. Boss support ships were also added, so bosses can now receive help from different support ships when they are in distress.
The Threat Codex grew too. Entries are easier to find and read, discovered intel is surfaced better, sector entries got unique signal art, and the Codex now feels more like an archive of the swarm instead of just a checklist.
Powerups also got a visual pass. The icons were refreshed so they are easier to recognize at a glance.
Run feedback, boss moments, sector presentation, and readability have all received post-launch polish.
Sharper Visuals, Cleaner Audio
Several updates focused on making the chaos easier to read. Late-run enemies and boss support ships were redrawn with darker hulls, sharper outlines, smaller cores, and cleaner neon accents. Sector Codex art was replaced with unique signal art, while menu icons, dock spacing, powerup visuals, and general gameplay presentation all got focused passes.
Audio also got sharper. Boss death voices now behave better, boss voices can be turned off in Settings, level-clear and combat voice moments have more variation, rare alien attack barks were added, and Overdrive soundtrack options are now selectable in Settings.
The goal is still arcade chaos. The work has been about making that chaos feel more intentional and easier to read.
Performance And Quality-Of-Life Fixes
A lot of post-launch work was less flashy, but still important.
Sector arrivals are smoother, enemy motion is less snappy, and long Codex and Achievements screens now have interactive scrollbars.
There were also fixes across focus loss, menu quit behavior, pause overlays, high-score chase values, Codex counts, leaderboard display, cloud saves, achievements, and Steam integration.
Fixes Are Part Of The Launch Story
The first days after release are never just about adding things. They are also about listening closely and fixing what gets in the way.
Some changes were there to make a menu easier to understand. Some were there to stop UI overlap. Some were there to make a boss tell read more fairly. Some were there to make Steam-facing progress clearer. Some were there because a screenshot made it obvious that something looked worse in real play than it did in isolation.
That is part of the process, and we are grateful for every clear note that helped point the work in the right direction.
Thank You
Nova Swarm is still being improved from real play, real feedback, and real problems found after launch. The last ten days have already changed the game a lot, and the plan is to keep improving it carefully without losing the arcade pressure that made the original launch exciting.
For the full details, check the patch notes and update history.
Thank you for playing Nova Swarm, for giving it a chance, and for helping Tiny Foundry make the cabinet louder, cleaner, stranger, and better.
More improvements are coming.
Tiny Foundry