happy (almost) ONE YEAR anniversary! development progress, and stuff

it's not the full release? arrest these devs for treason NOW

On December 23, 2024, the demo for TERRENUS [ starlit reverie ] was released! Now, approximately one year later, and... uh... it's... not done yet....... sorry............... but don't worry! For the sake of transparency, I've decided to write this post to keep you all up to speed, and to assure everyone that yes, this is not an abandoned prototype, we're working on it, it's looking really cool and great and sick, WE PROMISE!!! CROSS OUR FINGERS. LOTS OF SNEAK PEEKS.

So, let's get into it!

how big IS this game gonna be?

TL;DR not that big

While concepts and sketches for a 5-stage/3-stage version exist, [ starlit reverie ] was always planned to be a one-stage game from the beginning. The game will only feature one level, with an estimated playtime of 8-10 minutes per run and 60-120 minutes for full completion (heavily depends on your experience with the genre). This singular level does include multiple "sections" seamlessly(?) connected together, so if you squint, it can feel like multiple smaller stages combined into one...?

Bullet hell shoot-em-ups, and just shoot-em-ups in general, form a genre that relies primarily on replayability, and this game is no exception. This game is pretty damn hard, even on lower difficulties, and while we've tried our best to balance the game (and its tutorial) to be accessible to even beginner players, it'll still take a lot of practice! Still, we hope that the exciting pace, aesthetics, and general gamefeel will keep you coming back for more. It's a short but very dense game!

how much have you gotten done?

TL;DR a lot, but not far enough for release just yet

We've gotten a HUGE CHUNK of the game's second half done (the demo includes the first half). However, with how comprehensive things are looking, and how much more is left... it's more like the demo is a third of the full game, really...?

Compared to the first half/third/whatever, the latter section of the game is very intensive, in more ways than one. More complex patterns, more complicated graphics, more cool effects, more gameplay gimmicks, more bullets... I really want this game to leave a lasting impression, regardless of how good you are at it. And after you've had the first part/demo content as an appetizer, the rest is going to blow you away - or that's what we hope to accomplish!

There's also the fact that aside from the new content itself, the existing content still could do with a lot of polish; in particular, the tutorial and the lower difficulties (Casual & Original) need plenty of fine-tuning to be accessible for beginner-intermediate players while still providing something fun (or at least not boring) for expert players. Plus, there's balancing the players, reworking some graphics, and a bunch of small changes that really add up...

It can be a bit boring hearing me go on and on about this, so here's a list of things we have gotten done:

• Hero number three! Our mysterious third playable character is more or less finished, both graphics and weapons/mechanics-wise. They'll be very fun to play as, and provide a unique experience, we hope!
• Writing! Yes, this game has a story! Wow! Who woulda thought! By clearing the game, you'd get access to achievements, character profiles, and ending cutscenes, which should provide a lot of context and lore behind why these lil guys are blowing up the moon. The demo already has a prologue story bundled into it, if you'd like to read a sneak peek of what the full game will include!
• New and super cool artwork! A large portion of the art in the game has been redrawn and/or polished - in particular, new character portraits for our playable heroes are finished! They're looking great! 
• Stage section for "latter half"! Enemies? Bullets? Gimmicks? Who knows!
• Two additional super-difficult super-interesting bullet attacks, one of which you get a little preview of right above! There's one more attack left which will provide to be an explosive finale, though it's taken longer than the other two combined and still not finished...
• And a bunch of little quality-of-life things that would be too long to list here........ 

what's left?

TL;DR A lot, but the end is in sight

Here's a (not-comprehensive-but-still-abundant) list of things we need to do before the game is ready for a proper release.

• Rebalancing difficulties! The most complex and abstract task of all. We'll have to balance the difficulties to create a more proper difficulty curve, balance the patterns to maintain a consistent flow without causing too much of a difficulty spike (or dip), balance the players so they all feel great to play... Our small team of playtesters has been extremely helpful in making it work, but we plan to bring in a few more trusted friends as the game comes close to completion.
• The final pattern! Yes, this deserves its own section. There's very little I can talk about regarding it, but I hope it will make you go, "wow that was such an epic boss fight and game, time to play it again 500 times"... I really hope....
• Implementing the writing! Specifically, programming/illustrating the ending cutscenes as well as profiles. The text is all done, but I still need to find a way to fit it all properly into the game. It's less "difficult programming" and more "boring programming", like the kind of brain-melting paperwork no one likes but still needs to get done... We'll make it work, though!
• Finishing up the graphical upgrades/new artworks! In particular, there's a few backgrounds and sprites in the game that I'm not happy with and/or am using placeholders/royalty-free graphics that may not fully represent my vision. It's not going to be too much work, hopefully? (famous last words LMAO)
• Playtesting and re-balancing! The current development build of the game (December 2025) has a lot of new content compared to the last private testing build (February 2025). I predict that once it's been playtested, there'd be a bunch more tasks to take on... However, we can do it!!! I feel confident!!!
• Reworking the tutorial! The demo's tutorial is fine and dandy, but it's very... minimally fitting for the game's mechanics? It's not very high-priority, but along the way I'd like to polish it up, rework the flow, make it so players can advance through it more naturally. It's definitely one of the more tacked-on features currently.

how long will it be? what's taking so long?

TL;DR i'm a broke uni student

As much as I would love to forgo all my life responsibilities and work on the game 24/7... that's just really not possible for me. Recently, I announced my graduation with a Bachelor's Degree to my friends and followers; and while that may seem like I'm free and can do what I want more, it's actually the opposite; now that I've graduated, I have even more responsibilities I can't ignore, such as a job, additional job-hunting, and even additional study for work/certificate reasons. 

While I have a wonderful group of friends and acquaintances who have been playtesting and helping me out with the game, most of the work is still currently being done by one person. 2025 was a very busy year, and I only got time to work on [ starlit reverie ] actively for like... 2-3 months? Even then I was still busy with other stuff, haha.

I don't want this to be just a sob story with no positive updates, though. In fact, writing this devlog has been a really wonderful thing! The game may be developing slowly, but the end is in sight, my vision is being fulfilled, and I've changed a lot as a game developer and person throughout the way. I want to share this optimism I have with you, so that you can trust me, and we can make this a real, awesome, cool thing! It's a long journey ahead, but I'm happy with what we've accomplished.

Thank you so, so much for reading this, and for your continued support! Look forward to the game's release soon! There won't be a solid date until the game is 100% ready and we're fully confident, but it definitely won't take forever.

- Kevin