iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

fiGames / Stellar Fury @figames.bsky.social · 23/05/2026

I got a pointer on the Espgaluda stage 5 boss having a similar pattern. One thing about mine is you can't dmg the boss when being forced to the top... just feels bad. better if being forced to the top was less risky but with some skill you could stay below and keep applying dmg... risk = reward.

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fiGames / Stellar Fury @figames.bsky.social · 23/05/2026

This is an *old pattern* from maybe 2022 or 2023 I was proud of it then but now I feel it's prescriptive and breaks the flow. Doesn't exercise the core gameplay. It's actively "unfun" to dodge thru. Gonna have to take my medicine and remove this. #shmups #stg #gamedev

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fiGames / Stellar Fury @figames.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

Reworked the 1up item drop visual. It's glowing and gold now... way more enticing. It now drop down instead of bouncing around the screen - creating more pressure to grab it. Also now grants a very small amount of iframes on collection #shmups #stg #gamedev #indiegame #arcade

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fiGames / Stellar Fury @figames.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

this guy won't even appear on easy mode.

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fiGames / Stellar Fury @figames.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Working on the 4b true boss. Also remove the "point containers" that drop medals from all bosses and have them drop from enemies that pop in. This forces the player to be at a certain point to get it. They also give 0.5 seconds of iframes now. #shmups #stg #gamedev #indiegame #arcade #retrogaming

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fiGames / Stellar Fury @figames.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

4b boss - probably the easier variant... too few bullets for this late in the game but I like the patterns. Will need to figure out how to ratchet it up. #shmups #stg #gamedev #indiegame #retrogaming #arcade

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fiGames / Stellar Fury @figames.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

I'll get to releasing this sometime this century I swear...

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fiGames / Stellar Fury @figames.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

I originally put in the hp percentage in based on feedback ppl trying to keep stuff alive for score reasons and wanted to know how close something was to dying... but I found it tickles those neurons for sure....

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fiGames / Stellar Fury @figames.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

Wrapped up the 4b level revamp. The original design of the level was 3+ years old and a rough draft at that. I've improved in shmups and shmup design a lot since then. #stg #shmups #indiegame #gamedev #arcade #retrogaming

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fiGames / Stellar Fury @figames.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

Nearing the end of level 7/4b revamp. The hard line bullet patterns tend to restrict flow and limit design options. They can feel "unfun" to dodge. I've purged most from the design, but decided to keep this one. #shmups #stg #gamdev #retrogaming #arcade #indiegame

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fiGames / Stellar Fury @figames.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

Thank you for your kind words! Been working on this thing for ages... and I do take occasional breaks as life requires... Trying to make every bit of it polished start to finish.

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fiGames / Stellar Fury @figames.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

Easier version can be handled with run of the mill bullet streaming.. adding the bullets on the side give the pattern a bit more spice...

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fiGames / Stellar Fury @figames.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

Remembered I needed to make an easy version variant so the the current one became the easy version and I made the regular version harder. also check out the highly illegal dodge at the 6 second mark 😆 #shmups #stg #gamedev #indiegame #bullethell #retrogames #arcade

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fiGames / Stellar Fury @figames.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

Sorry you got that bug... honestly I think the default in Caravan should be to not show a prompt at all... it should be quick. I haven't gotten around to it, but at some point I'll put in a quick restart button so you can just slam that shit.

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fiGames / Stellar Fury @figames.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

In actual play, high rank only can be maintained if you are sealing enemies and destroying them at close range. I do try to make sure routing is still feasible though like this... even though in a practical playthru all these spawns aren't likely to occur.

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fiGames / Stellar Fury @figames.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

Slowly increasing the density and viciousness of level 4b. #shmups #stg #arcade #retro #indiegame

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fiGames / Stellar Fury @figames.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

Takes hours making encounters dense... I've spent several on this ~15 second section. Still not in love with it yet. You have to make sure that it feels fun and the patterns are readable. Not just the individual patterns - but the ones that emerge from multiple enemies #shmups #stg #retro #arcade

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fiGames / Stellar Fury @figames.bsky.social · 07/01/2026

my solution is to take line patterns and break them up (i.e. a dashed line) to allow more dodging opportunities. For higher HP enemies, stagger their spawn times to create a nice flow. Multiple large high HP enemies at the same time I find to be too much of a slog.

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fiGames / Stellar Fury @figames.bsky.social · 07/01/2026

BK @stellarfury · 23s Typically I find a few things result in "unfun" encounters. *Bullet lines that block off movement too much *Spawning multiple higher HP enemies at the same time.

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fiGames / Stellar Fury @figames.bsky.social · 07/01/2026

Made another update to the demo -some bug fixes but mostly work on level 2a. Found a lot of encounters felt "choppy". Check out the updated demo on #itchio #shmups #stg #gamedev #retro #arcade #indiegame

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fiGames / Stellar Fury @figames.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

Forgot how vicious I made it... here's a failed run video upload: youtube.com/watch?v=TcoX... in addition to regular scoring, it has a time bonus that is Time Remaining * 50,000 * Average Rank

youtube.com

Stellar Fury - Failed Run 1/6/2026 - Caravan Mode

YouTube video by fiGames / Stellar Fury

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fiGames / Stellar Fury @figames.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

Just did a quick patch that fixed a number of bugs - including the broken caravan mode. Reminder Stellar fury demo contains a full caravan mode. This will be free forever. Encourage everyone to go try it out. #shmups #stg #arcade

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fiGames / Stellar Fury @figames.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

New Year, new demo. Updated public demo of Stellar Fury is available on the #itchio page #shmups #stg #gamedev #indiegame #NewYear2026

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fiGames / Stellar Fury @figames.bsky.social · 13/10/2025

Can't believe it took me this long to figure it out. Massive bullet visibility boost by simply having the entire bullet (and glow) sit on black instead of transparent. Better contrast against the bg. #shmups #stg #gamedev #indiegame

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fiGames / Stellar Fury @figames.bsky.social · 10/10/2025

Clearing shmups does require you to clear your head of all the bullsh*t

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fiGames / Stellar Fury @figames.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

Interesting feeling route. Gotta do this little dance on the edge of a knife. The midboss will timeout and if you don't get enough dmg you won't kill it otherwise. Easier to dodge going to the far edge but you won't dmg it there. #shmups #stg #gamedev #indiegame

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fiGames / Stellar Fury @figames.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

Feel like this guys needs one or two more moves... but maybe not. idk. #shmups #stg

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fiGames / Stellar Fury @figames.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

If you haven't seen The Hidden Fortress' latest vid. It hits hard - go take a listen! youtube.com/watch?v=S0JO... #shmups #stg

youtube.com

The Shmup Sanctuary

YouTube video by The Hidden Fortress

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fiGames / Stellar Fury @figames.bsky.social · 18/09/2025

First section of level 4 in #Eschatos can suck it. Seriously most troublesome part of the game I've encountered. Very route heavy. Also, uploaded a new video about my experiences with Eschatos. Made it to Level 6 (starting with 2 extends at level 4) #shmups #stg

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Reposted by fiGames / Stellar Fury

ZOE Begone! Out now on PC and consoles! @retchyyy.bsky.social · 17/09/2025

ZOE Begone! is OUT NOW on PC and consoles! 🥳🥳🥳

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fiGames / Stellar Fury @figames.bsky.social · 17/09/2025

Adding some randomized shots on top of a predicable pattern is a good way to spice it up. It's delicate though...

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fiGames / Stellar Fury @figames.bsky.social · 17/09/2025

These might be patterns sufficiently scary for the level 4a secret boss. #shmup #stg #gamedev

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fiGames / Stellar Fury @figames.bsky.social · 14/09/2025

Added section indicators (both popup and in the side panel hud). Should make it easier if you want to jump over to practice a section (and actually know what section you want to practice). My time with Eschatos reminded me that I wanted to do this. #shmups #stg #gamedev

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fiGames / Stellar Fury @figames.bsky.social · 07/09/2025

But the frothing demand for this new "tea" increases and now when tea lovers talk about tea, everyone just pictures a grubby cup of coffee.

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fiGames / Stellar Fury @figames.bsky.social · 07/09/2025

I'm going to go start a new tea house that offers this new elevated and revolutionized tea with the bean from the coffea plant.". These tea lovers give is new "tea" a sample and say "wait, isn't this just a grubby cup of coffee?"

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fiGames / Stellar Fury @figames.bsky.social · 07/09/2025

Tea lovers exclaim, "Hey! That's tea at all!" and ask "There are lots of fine tea here to sample would you like to try some?" and this person says "No thanks, I don't like flavor or experience that those teas provide.

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fiGames / Stellar Fury @figames.bsky.social · 07/09/2025

Everything is fine in the world of tea lovers until one day someone enters the tea house and says that they are going to make a new, better tea from the bean of the coffea plant.

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fiGames / Stellar Fury @figames.bsky.social · 07/09/2025

Some people really like tea. There are tea houses they can go to to sample different flavors and varieties of tea. People have their own tools for preparing and consuming tea. Brewing tea has a particular process and everyone has their own techniques. #Shmups #stg

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