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Clara Gale ✈️ NS 0.4.1 out now!

@claradoth.bsky.social
1.2K followers 143 following 485 posts

Game dev making the arcade flight game Nova Squadron in my spare time. Opinions are my own, nothing here is related to my day job. She/her -- 🇬🇧|🇯🇵 OK You can play the Nova Squadron alpha demo on Steam! store.steampowered.com/app/1826830/…

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Reposted by Clara Gale ✈️ NS 0.4.1 out now!
GREETINGS! @greetings-wort.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
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Reposted by Clara Gale ✈️ NS 0.4.1 out now!
nevrender @nevrender.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
The Vespers. Illustration for the Armored Core VI zine project RECORDS//ANALYSIS (@armoredcorezine.bsky.social)
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Clara Gale ✈️ NS 0.4.1 out now! @claradoth.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
The fade to black after the cutscene at the start of each #NovaSquadron mission is kind of a buzzkill. So I'm getting rid of it.* #gamedev #indiedev #screenshotsaturday *(heavily WIP and the Editor gave me frame stutters at the worst possible times)
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TeraMechanica @teramechanica.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Fixed the missile scaling by popular request, also did some other visual refinements
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Tara Voelker @tarav.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Well, I finally took my own advice about building accessibility in from the beginning. Rebind Studios is officially underway. I’m excited to help teams solve hard accessibility and production problems and, eventually, to make some games of our own. www.rebindstudios.com
rebindstudios.com
Rebind Studios – More Ways to Play
Rebind Studios helps game developers, publishers, and platforms create more accessible player experiences.
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Simon S. Andersen @snakepixel.art · 21/09/2026
Anyway! #pixelart #ドット絵
A pixel-art scene from Street Fighter 3 Third Strike with Lottie the calico cat fighting the character Ruy. She's already cleared the first round with a no-hit perfect. Good job.
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Reposted by Clara Gale ✈️ NS 0.4.1 out now!
robin @crowwmonarch.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Take notes on this one, Geoff is actually the most important character in the lore trust me I would never lie on the internet
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Clara Gale ✈️ NS 0.4.1 out now! @claradoth.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
More #NovaSquadron cutscene work, now with some help from Geoff (???) #gamedev #indiedev #screenshotsaturday
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Freya Holmér @freya.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Pontus is very shy but after hanging out and talking to him for a few minutes (at his preferred 5 meter distance) he suddenly started kneading 🧡
Pontus, a shy, orange long haired tabby cat! he's kneading the ground. one of his eyes has lots of little brown spots, it's neat
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Reposted by Clara Gale ✈️ NS 0.4.1 out now!
Casey Explosion @caseyexplosion.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Hey folks, I want to give another shout-out to Torment Hexus, because I found a copy in my inbox, and I flat out cannot accept right now because I am so beyond swamped at the moment, I don't think I've ever been busier, but I have played the demo and it's incredibly neat so check it out.
store.steampowered.com
Torment Hexus on Steam
Technofascist cyberpunk CEOs must die! Charge spells with the match-3 grid, then cast them on your enemies in turn-based tactical roguelike combat. Climb the tower, kill the boss, and maybe make the w...
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Clara Gale ✈️ NS 0.4.1 out now! @claradoth.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
I'm finally replacing the crappy placeholder cutscene system I rushed in for #NovaSquadron 0.1.0 5 years ago. I take my job very seriously. #gamedev #indiedev #screenshotsaturday
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Sani @sanikkat.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Added a small detail that i think adds a lot to aircraft movement. Shader based wing wobble. I'm surprised AC8 doesn't do this with how easy it is to do....
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Reposted by Clara Gale ✈️ NS 0.4.1 out now!
Sani @sanikkat.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Finally fixed my render distance issues and updated my volumetric clouds to be even better. It's not perfect, But I think this looks better than before. In particular i really like the shot from where I'm descending and I switch to the over wing cinematic view. It's the best my game has looked.
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atelier @arainydancer.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
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Clara Gale ✈️ NS 0.4.1 out now! @claradoth.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
any suggestions for what music this guy’s listening to? I’m thinking Ievan Polkka (yes the Miku version)
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Why485 @why485.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
They shoot now!
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Clara Gale ✈️ NS 0.4.1 out now! @claradoth.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Cross-posting a trend from over on the Other Website: my software and my art! #gamedev #indiedev #pixelartㅤㅤ
The template everyone in the quote chain was using, of a sketched figure gesturing at Blender and saying "I'm using Blender."

Except it actually says "I'm using many things", because we've got:
- Unity for the game itself
- Blender for all 3D modelling and animation
- Clip Studio for UI work
- Aseprite for the character pixel art
- Material Maker for building procedural texturesA staged screenshot I took of a couple of Callisto Lunar Enterprise (CLE) fighter jets dogfighting with the player's Phoenix Mark II in a vast sea of clouds, the sun directly in front of the camera.
Aside from the lack of ground, your other hint that this ain't taking place on Earth is the moon Callisto peeking in from behind the clouds.Another staged screenshot, this time in the middle of the night. The camera's focused on the moon Ganymede, wreathed in a green-purple aurora.Three of NS's pixel-art portraits -
Meline, Nova 4 "Snapshot", an android with short pink hair and a blue LED screen for a face. She's wearing her flight suit off one shoulder (revealing part of her white polymer exoskeleton) and grinning like a dumbass. This is because she's a dumbass.

Aina, AWACS "Storm Chaser", a woman in a big fluffy bomber jacket with her long green hair tied into a ponytail. Her pointy ears are covered in piercings, and she's wearing winged eyeliner and purple lipstick that matches her eyes.

Commander Özdemir, "Öz" to...basically everyone, a middle-aged man standing rather stiffly in a pressed white military uniform. One of his eyes is a fairly old-fashioned cybernetic replacement; the other one looks moderately fed-up. His handlebar moustache is magnificent.
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Amalgam @amalgamdev.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Oh she's my favorite
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Clara Gale ✈️ NS 0.4.1 out now! @claradoth.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Introducing Meline, another of your wingmen in #NovaSquadron! She's from the free city of Olympus Mons and obsessed with its fashion culture, so do NOT get her talking about clothes or she'll never stop. Or do. I mean, there's dialogue options for a reason. #gamedev #indiedev #screenshotsaturday
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Clara Gale ✈️ NS 0.4.1 out now! @claradoth.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Just for clarity, if I ever stop posting for 2 months, it’s because I’ve been secretly invited to work on a game I couldn’t resist like, I dunno, the Mega Drive port of Aggressors Zero: The Prequel That Takes Place After the Main Game: Remastered: Uncut: Director’s Cut
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Anton @antonhand.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
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Why485 @why485.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
How much I like something, and how good I think something is, are two unrelated and orthogonal axes.
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Clara Gale ✈️ NS 0.4.1 out now! @claradoth.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
the what
The layer list in Aseprite, the software I use for all the pixel art in Nova Squadron. My open layers are:
- Hair
- Face
- Clothes
- Exoskeleton???
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Reposted by Clara Gale ✈️ NS 0.4.1 out now!
Martin Rosner @hotpaper.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
wizard: you only ever wanna go on a quest if it's about saving the queen thousands of bees in a suit of armor: yeah
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Shawn🐶 @puppiesandanime.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
FFT upscale fanart. Original sprites included for reference.
Isometric Sprites of Final Fantasy Tactics Characters. From left to right; Mustadio, Gafgarion, Agrias and Cidolfus. Below them is the original sprite that they are based off. All of the sprites are placed onto a subtle grey isometric grid background.
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Clara Gale ✈️ NS 0.4.1 out now! @claradoth.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Portraits in #NovaSquadron 's briefings, debriefings and dessert chats are now animated! (ssshhh don't look at Storm Chaser overlapping the UI, nothing to see here) #gamedev #indiedev #screenshotsaturday
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Casey Explosion @caseyexplosion.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Okay, after all the new cycles about GTA6 I've been trying to avoid commenting on, I've watched the latest trailers and I kinda feel I have to say something, so I've been collecting some thoughts while out walking about the state of gaming generally. This might be a long thread so bare with me.
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Seerlight @seerlight.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Kingdom Hearts When you walk away... 🥲 #Kingdomhearts #kh4
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Reposted by Clara Gale ✈️ NS 0.4.1 out now!
Why485 @why485.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Finished CICADAMATA. 100% lived up the hype. I don't know how many more different ways I can say this, but it is so goddamned cool. Watch the trailer, if it looks interesting, give it a go. It's as good as it looks. It's the price of a sandwich and I would gladly have paid more than double.
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Clara Gale ✈️ NS 0.4.1 out now! @claradoth.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Another one crossed off the bucket list: I wrote a pixel art animation system from scratch and now Storm Chaser can do this! ... #NovaSquadron is still a game where you fly a plane and shoot lasers on Jupiter I swear #gamedev #indiedev #screenshotsaturday
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FlyAwayNow @flyawaynow.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
More people should give Nova Squadron a try when its V.5 comes out for a demo, Clara does a lot of really cool gameplay forward things advised by the loop of her missions and you'll find that NS is probably one of the most consistent feeling of the Acelikes even at this stage
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Clara Gale ✈️ NS 0.4.1 out now! @claradoth.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
my favourite part of the last #NovaSquadron Screenshot Saturday was this surprisingly clean jump down the mag-railway to get from one furball to another #gamedev #indiedev
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Clara Gale ✈️ NS 0.4.1 out now! @claradoth.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
You might be wondering why it's taking us so long to put 0.5.0 together... Well, I scaled the patch preview text down to 25% size, and I STILL had to cut a bunch out to fit it all on one screen. #NovaSquadron receives its biggest update EVER this December! #gamedev #indiedev
0.5.0 - The Ice Cream Update. Coming 12/2026.
- Work with your allies to fill the Air Superiority Gauge
- Higher unit density (more stuff to shoot! More missiles in the distance!)
- Each wingman's score is tracked separately - optimize their loadouts
- Shorter, leaner runs - Sceptre Squadron show up on mission 3, not 4
- Select a region once every 3 missions, instead of every mission
- Each region now has unique visuals, bonuses and penalties
- Missions have different difficulty ratings and rewards
- Both the Valkyrie and Phoenix are more manoeuvrable by default
- Enter low orbit to fly with reduced drag
- Re-enter the atmosphere to go very, very, very fast (and be on fire)
- More interesting tutorial opening cutscene
- Smoother, slicker tutorial flow
- Complete render pipeline replacement
- Rebuilt cloud, sky and aurora system
- Leave the atmosphere! Look at Jupiter's moons!
- Bullet, laser and missile upgrades
- New explosion system
- Fully overhauled cutscenes
- Send messages to your fellow pilots and officers
- Buy them ice cream (?????)
- Earn Favors you can equip during runs for an extra boost
- Two playable characters: Fenrir and Perigee
- Different dialogue and romance(?!) options for both characters
- yes we have straight, gay and bi options
- Replaced Starting Parts with Favors
- No Part limit - hold as many as you can find in each run!
- Prototype Upgrades are now visible from the start (no pick-1-of-3)
- Upgrade Menu hexes are now grouped by type
- Full font replacement
- Buttons go all fizzy when you hover over them
- Reworked main menu, New Run menu, and Mission Select menu
- New Debriefing Screen with score and earning breakdowns
- Chat log in the Pause Menu for when you miss dialogue!
- Ultrawide screen support
- New BGM for Dogfight and Naval Escort (now with 2 guitar solos)
- Dynamic BGM for the new tutorial
- Smooth synthwave for while you're eating ice cream
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Anton @antonhand.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
It has been 0 days since I had to politely tell another random employee of an arms company to please not send me proprietary information because I've gotten something -slightly- wrong in our game. Love the enthusiasm but please, if it's not public information, I cannot use it.
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Why485 @why485.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Was thinking the other day after playing Ace Combat 6 how there are so many good games out there, both new and old, and that you could never realistically run out of great games. Here's what I've been playing, or played, recently that prompted that.
Ace Combat 6
Diesel Railcar Simulator
Nuclear Option
Nophenia
Battlefield 6 (somewhat of a guilty pleasure, but it has dramatically improved recently)
Star Fox 64
Exo Rally Championship
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Clara Gale ✈️ NS 0.4.1 out now! @claradoth.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
The army-wide score bar in #NovaSquadron 's Dogfight/Naval Battle that fills itself up even if the player doesn't do anything? Gone. Introducing my Evil Plans: the Air Superiority bar. Which lets me turn missions into the biggest, dumbest furballs ever. #gamedev #indiedev #screenshotsaturday
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Rami Ismail (رامي) @ramiismail.com · 14/08/2026
Rogue Eclipse is an incredible, fast-pased, tightly controlled space combat game based on Arabesque futurism. If that sounds like your jam, give it a go, blow up giant spaceships, leave a review!
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Mcdoogleh - ROGUE ECLIPSE OFFICIALLY OUT NOW!!! @mcdoogleh.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
ROGUE ECLIPSE OFFICIALLY OUT NOW!! 🕹 Tight Flight Controls 💥 Merciless Armadas to Blast Through 👾 Epic Boss Fights to Overcome 🚀 A Roguelike Campaign ☪ An Arabesque Futurism inspired Cosmos Hope ya'll enjoy our launch trailer! bit.ly/4bRLumD 🥳😎🚀💥💥💥 #gaming #indiegames #gamedev
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Clara Gale ✈️ NS 0.4.1 out now! @claradoth.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
ok yeah you’re gonna like the next Screenshot Saturday a lot quick disclaimer though: it’s literally only the first mission of the game, the Big Dogfight Moment is mission 6, all relations to places named “Bering Strait” or “Comona Base” are accidental
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Clara Gale ✈️ NS 0.4.1 out now! @claradoth.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Laying the groundwork for my Evil Plans with some minor #NovaSquadron changes: - each plane's score is now tracked separately (you'll still get paid for all of them!) - infrastructure is now highlighted as targets - mission completion progress bar?! #gamedev #indiedev #screenshotsaturday
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Clara Gale ✈️ NS 0.4.1 out now! @claradoth.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
ok so you’re not gonna believe this but you unlock that later in the game
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robin @crowwmonarch.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
i'm up to some shenanigans again
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Subsapient 💀 @subsapient.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
ooh, strawberry scope creep is my favorite!
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Clara Gale ✈️ NS 0.4.1 out now! @claradoth.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
Someone told me games need "unique selling points" or something, so screw it Fighter jet game where you send your squadron and supporting officers ice cream #gamedev #indiedev #screenshotsaturday #NovaSquadron
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Gabriel Solon @gabrielsolon.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Orchestral DnB like arrangement we're testing out for Supermaneuver. #gamedevelopment #acecombat #indiedev
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Clara Gale ✈️ NS 0.4.1 out now! @claradoth.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
No Screenshot Saturday today sadly, I took the week off (both from NS and my day job) to do some “market research”. I return with plans and schemes.
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Sani @sanikkat.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
assorted screenshots
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Sani @sanikkat.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
was working on improving my sky and a side effect is that if you zoom out you can see the whole earth, which is fucking sick. This probably more than likely will never be ever visible ingame, but its influence is absolutely necessary.
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mackerel sky @mackerelskydev.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
Happy #screenshotsaturday! I've been working on improvements to the aircraft AI to make them more responsive to incoming missiles. It's still a work in progress but I'm pretty happy with how challenging they've become. #indiedev #gamedev
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robin @crowwmonarch.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
Giving me this power was in fact a mistake
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