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A small bit of news regarding the 1.7 update for Starmaker Story.

Arvus posted at 5:49 P.M. UTC "good news, update will be out before I go to bed". He then followed up with: "bad news, I just woke up 6 hours ago". Please note that Arvus lives in Europe (I believe in Germany) so the update may not be released at a convenient time.

Assuming this is not a joke, we should be approaching the release of the long-awaited 1.7 update. It does not sound like more delays will be coming. 

Feel free to calculate exactly how long the average human can stay awake, but Arvus could easily just pull an all-nighter so there is no guarantee the update will come out before you go to bed for the night. The news I wanted to share was that it sounds like there will be no further delays.

Hang in there, and please be respectful if you visit the Discord.

I was misremembering something Dr.Muramasa (A mod) posted in February: "[It] has almost always released by [the] end of the week, latest date, Sundays, Mondays or wednesdays." I misremembered the full sentence as "Almost always released at the end of the week, like Sundays." That's on me, I'll remove the sentence about it generally releasing on Sundays. Sorry, thanks for the correction.

There has been no significant news on the 1.7 update in the last three days. If you would like to know the updates from before three days ago, I have made a post outlining them.

Thank you, Dr.Muramasa, that is a CRUCIAL distinction.

Two days remain, with virtually no changes to the voting percentages, despite doubling the number of votes.

Bumping this topic because it has left the front page and there has been an increase in questions about the update. According to the discord, There has been no additional information given about the 1.7 update release window The information in this post is still accurate. The release window for Starmaker Story 1.7 remains "In August".

Now, what I am about to say is purely speculation on my part and should be treated as such. I have no affiliation with Arvus Games: I am merely a lurker in the Discord. I do not believe the update will be release until the very end of the release window. Arvus very much operates in accordance with Parkinson's Law: "Work expands to fill the available time". Arvus has a passion for creating games and, when he has time before the next deadline, often finds additional content he would like to add, scenes he would want to polish, or teasers for next update he would like to plant. This means Arvus generally uploads Starmaker updates at the very end of the release window. I must stress, this is born from a passion for making games, and it looks like the 1.7 update will be a sizable one. Arvus is spending this extra time making the game even bigger and better. But this does mean Starmaker updates are rarely posted early.

Arvus has, to my knowledge, generally releases Starmaker updates on Sundays. If the Starmaker update is not released tomorrow, I expect it to be released on the 30th-31st. I must stress one last time, I have no affiliation with Arvus Games, this is merely my best guess as to when the 1.7 update will drop.

In the meantime, you can always visit mrdeadpool666's post on alternative games to play while waiting for the update.

Arvus has posted a poll on discord asking for NSFW gaming platform preferences. Here is a current transcript of the poll:

Do you play NSFW games on mobile devices?

• Yes, I only play on mobile. (27 votes, 3%)
• I play both desktop and mobile. (285 votes, 32%)
• No, I only play on desktop/notebook. (571 votes, 65%)

Total votes: 833 (Six days remaining)

The purpose of this poll is to gauge interest in a mobile port of Starmaker Story. Please note that if Arvus decides to move forward with a port, he says that he will not be doing it himself, but hiring a third party to develop the port. Arvus has expressed surprise over the amount of people answering "I play both desktop and mobile", stating that he was anticipating the number to be closer to 10% rather than 32%.

The poll can be found on Discord and will be available for another six days. If you have interest in a mobile port of Starmaker Story, I recommend logging on to Discord and voting.

Firstly: If you see someone linking to a new update, do not click the link. It is a virus. The newest update will be posted here on itch for free.

Secondly: I see a lot of people asking about the update. This is understandable, as Arvus has pushed back the deadline a few times recently. Arvus frequently posts updates in the discord, but that information rarely makes it to the itch page (Which is what I seek to remedy here). 

The 1.7 update was originally slated for the end of July, but has been pushed back little by little since then. The current release window for the 1.7 update is "In August". Do not ask Arvus for a more specific date, he will not give one (No, not even 'Will it be tonight?').

The delays can be frustrating, but Arvus has had a very regular update schedule for the last year. Anecdotally, the NSFW Indie Dev scene is plagued with month or even year-long delays with radio silence from the devs--all while those same devs make a significant amount of money from hopeful subscribers. Arvus is an exception to this rule and has handled updates and deadlines historically very well.

The delays started after the recent controversy surrounding itch.io. Uncertainty regarding one's livelihood is certain to tank one's productivity. This, combined with delaying the deadline multiple times has heavily reduced Arvus' productivity (Which he claims is currently at about 30% of his general abilities).

I have full faith that the update will come, though it may take longer than expected. I feel Arvus has easily earned some delays and, honestly, even a break.

Please be patient and consider joining the discord if you would like more frequent updates.

I agree, I would love more content with Anna during the 1-5 hearts. There is a wealth of post 5-heart content, but Starmaker is at it's best for me during that initial grind.

The good news is that Arvus has been implementing more content for the 1-5 grind! He introduced the Yoga events, weekends trips, and holidays, all of which have unique content based on progression and can be experienced relatively early! I am hoping for more content in this vein, rather than new side girls, but I think that is a rarer opinion.

Please note when suggesting new features for the game, there are only four more planned updates and then Arvus plans to develop other games. We should only expect updates 1.7, 1.8, 1.9, and 2.0. Arvus already has the meat of these updates planned in advanced as well, so something like an additional family member is outside the scope of development, but new scenes likely aren't.

I particularly like your idea of Anna trying to take her own photos without you. I think it has a lot of creative potential, with Anna appreciating your photographic talents once she sees how hard it is. I'd love to see it!

Game speed relies heavily on a few different factors.

Almost all early-game progression for Anna is tied to subscriber count. I was testing different gameplay paths and estimated completion times, and I found the skills you take make a GIANT difference. When I focused on the follower skill tree, it took me about three weeks to unlock the studio. When I took the subscriber path, it took me BARELY one week.

The other main factor is side content. Once you get the car keys, the world opens up. Some sidequests do virtually nothing for progressing the story with Anna (Sam's sidequest, game store sidequest), while others rocket you forward (Mario and Sword Training + Gold Katana).

If you want to increase your progression speed, I'd recommend doing Mario's weekly tasks, using that money to buy the Gold Katana, grind the sword minigame, and invest all that money into camera equipment.

I'd say give the game one more hour with that strategy and you can probably progress Anna to max hearts, depending on how far you are already.

Firstly: If you see someone linking to a new update, do not click the link. The newest update will be posted here on itch for free.

Secondly: I see a lot of people asking about the update. This is understandable, as Arvus has pushed back the deadline a few times recently. Arvus frequently posts updates in the discord, but that information rarely makes it to the itch page (Which is what I seek to remedy here). 

The 1.7 update was originally slated for the end of July, but has been pushed back little by little since then. The current release window for the 1.7 update is "In August". Do not ask Arvus for a more specific date, he will not give one (No, not even 'Will it be tonight?').

The delays can be frustrating, but Arvus has had a very regular update schedule for the last year. Anecdotally, the NSFW Indie Dev scene is plagued with month or even year-long delays with radio silence from the devs--all while those same devs make a significant amount of money in the meantime. Arvus is an exception to this rule and has handled updates and deadlines historically very well.

The delays started after the recent controversy surrounding itch.io. Uncertainty regarding one's livelihood is certain to tank one's productivity. This, combined with delaying the deadline multiple times has heavily reduced Arvus' productivity (Which he claims is currently at about 30% of his general abilities).

I have full faith that the update will come, though it may take longer than expected. I feel Arvus has easily earned some delays and, honestly, even a break.

Please be patient and consider joining the discord if you would like more frequent updates.

According to Arvus's "Planned Features and Content" post: "Roundscape Eclipse is our main project, but every month we're not releasing a Roundscape Eclipse Patch, we'll be releasing some Starmaker Story Content in return." I've also heard it said in the forums somewhere that Arvus releases a new game on the last Sunday of the month, which roughly lines up with Arvus's release schedule. That being said, the updates have been slightly later than planned recently (totally understandable, game design is hard and these updates are free).

Arvus last posted an update to Starmaker Story on October 5th (That was the update for September). Then, they updated Roundscape Eclipse on October 28th (The update for October). Now, we are waiting on an update for November. I don't know if an update has been posted elsewhere and I haven't seen it or if Arvus is running behind schedule, but an update should be coming soon unless Arvus says otherwise.