- Steam Playtest Begins! - 19 September 2026
The Steam playtest has started! If you signed up for access (either at SEGE or via my website) you should have received an email containing your key. If not, reach out to me and I’ll get you squared away. Over the next several days, we’ll be working to set up the Discord sever to dispense Steam keys as well.There have been significant changes since the web demo. The upgrade system has been completely redesigned and re-balanced, to provide a more dynamic and varied experience. The movement system has also seen some improvements, to provide better mobility and a more interesting upgrade path.Although new enemy types will be coming soon, the existing saucers have also been reworked to be more aggressive and threatening. Careful attention has been paid to the difficulty slider, and it now provides a much wider spectrum of intensity.One of the biggest changes this week was the removal of the…
- Steam Playtest Next Week - 11 September 2026
I’ll be holding off just one more week before beginning the Steam playtest. Several factors reduced my available work hours this week, and I really want to make sure that the Steam version doesn’t just look better than the web demo, but that it feels and plays better too!I’ve been tuning the new upgrade system, and I remain very excited for you to try it out! I’m also planning to implement a number of little quality-of-life features and minor cosmetic improvements in the UI. The overall experience should feel a bit more polished than what has come before.Steam keys for the playtest will be sent out to the email list first. If you signed up at SEGE, you should already be on the list, and you should have received a previous email about the Discord, and a more recent email announcing the release of the web demo. If you haven’t received any emails about Super Space Crystals, you can sign up…
- Grading Up Again - 4 September 2026
Everything is on track to start the Steam playtest next week! Meanwhile, I’ve turned my attention to what is, in my opinion, one of the game’s weakest points: the upgrade system. For those who started following the game more recently, I’d like to offer a quick recap of how this system developed, and then some reflections on its current failings, and a glimpse of what’s ahead.How we got hereThe first version, initially tested last December, simply allowed the player to buff a single stat, chosen from 2 random options (which was expanded to 3 random options in January). This system provided a sense of basic progression, but it wasn’t particularly interesting.The next iteration, introduced in May, allowed an upgrade to be picked from 3 randomly selected upgrade trees, with each tree containing multiple tiers which could be unlocked. This system was in the demo that was shown at SEGE in Jul…
- The playable web demo is here! - 28 August 2026
I'm delighted to announce that a demo of Super Space Crystals is now playable in your web browser at:https://benjiflaming.itch.io/super-space-crystals-alphaMuch thanks to everybody on the game's Discord server who helped with testing and improving this demo! There have been a lot of changes over the past week:Crystal spawners have been updated to keep up with fast-moving players in the late gameOrbs move toward the player with greater speedTwo of the speed upgrades now buff the Orb Magnet stat, to prevent speed-heavy builds making it too difficult to collect orbsSaucer shots no longer spin so wildly when they deflect off player shots or other objectsSaucers glow visibly as they obtain a targeting lock and prepare to fire at the playerThe color of the red saucers has been changed to orange, to help make them visually distinct from the color of their shotsSound effects have been added to…
- Thanks for all the input! - 21 August 2026
There have already been many new features and improvements based on the initial feedback and conversations from the Discord-exclusive preview demo.Thanks to everybody who has tried it out! Here's a recap of what's new since that initial release a week ago:Each successive "generation" of broken cube fragments glows brighter than the previous one, and releases more Magic Woo-Woo orbs when brokenSaucers are generally brighter and easier to see (they had accidentally become a bit darker due to an optimization a few weeks ago)Saucers fire more often and more dynamically (still scaling with difficulty setting)Red and green saucers have been switched (red ones are faster, fire more often, and yield more loot)Shields recharge fasterYou can turbo boost in whatever direction your controls indicate - including backwards!An experimental version of turbo boost was tried out for a few days, with beha…
- Demo Preview is available on Discord - 15 August 2026
It's been a long road, but I'm finally ready to share a preview demo with the Super Space Crystals community on Discord!The week has been entirely focused on preparing for this release. Here's a quick rundown of what has been done:Unused music files have been removed, for smaller download sizes.Unused sound effects are no longer being synthesized, for faster start-up times.All difficulty settings now have names and descriptions, to make it clearer what to expect from each.Choosing the "New Game" option from the main menu now brings up a dedicated dialog where you can quickly choose difficulty, and toggle tutorial messages, according to your preferences.Pressing the W key while the Ctrl is being held (e.g. to go forward while moving down) no longer closes the browser tab in the web build.The web build also includes a workaround for a longstanding mouse input bug in Firefox.Gameplay in th…
- Death by SpaghettiOs - 8 August 2026
Looks like you’re not the only one getting new stuff. The maintenance crews in The Fraternal Brotherhood of Evil Magic Space Robots have been retrofitting their entire fleet of flying saucers with deadly new ring lasers. The ‘bots have also upgraded their targeting systems, so they’ll be significantly more accurate now - although still nothing you can’t handle, I’m sure.Speaking of accuracy, your auto-fired shots and your manually-fired shots are now tracked separately, so you can get a more accurate impression of how you well you were aiming. The manually-fired shots are a different color now too, and they have slightly different physics properties than the auto-fired shots.As a matter of fact, all of your shots are heavier than they were before, so they pack a lot more punch. You’ll be able to push the crystals around a bit even if your first few shots don’t shatter them.In related ne…
- You're Approved! - 31 July 2026
I have wonderful news - after being delayed by bureaucratic ineptitude for many years, your application to join The Elite Order of Magic Space Wizards has finally been processed and approved! You’ll never have to fly another harvesting drone again! From now on, you’ll be able to optikinetically project yourself directly into enemy space, and wreak magical havoc without fear of damaging or losing your expensive equipment!On the practical side, this also means your vision will no longer be obstructed by your drone’s frame, so you’ll have an easier time seeing everything around you.Each time you collect enough Magic Woo-Woo, you’ll be able to upgrade your enchantment without having to wait for the end of a mission - which is a Good Thing(TM) because your missions will be much longer now.Upgrading the UpgradesIn response to feedback, observation, and conversations at and after SEGE, I’ve al…
- Coming Soon to a Website Near You... - 24 July 2026
I’m pleased to report that I’ve succeeded in running the game inside a web browser. This is the first step toward releasing a demo/alpha test on itch.io - which is slated to happen sometime in August (with Steam playtesting to follow in September).At the moment, the visuals of the browser-based version are slightly downgraded, but I’ll be working to bring them back into line with the standalone version of the game. Additionally, there a number of optimizations that I’d like to make, in order to ensure that everybody who tries the demo has the smoothest experience possible.A variety of gameplay refinements and tweaks are also planned for the demo. Be sure to join the Discord if you’d like to follow the development more closely. :)
- I Have a Good Feeling About This.... - 22 July 2026
Thanks so much to everybody who stopped by the Super Space Crystals booth at SouthEast Game Exchange over the weekend! I was truly unprepared for the warmth of reception which the game received, and I was deeply moved when it was selected for the event’s Best Game Feel award!My profound gratitude also goes out to Jaymes, for spending 40 hours in the car with me to make this possible, for gathering feedback so I could continue to improve the demo (the git repository shows over 40 commits across 3 branches during the convention), and for stepping unexpectedly and adeptly into the role of Community Ambassador for this project!The path forward has become much clearer, and I’ll be getting back to work now, in the emboldened hope that I am building something which may, one day, bring joy and beauty into many lives.
