Update #2: Missions
7 months ago
– Wed, Sep 03, 2025 at 05:02:54 AM
Hi there! To give a general status update, we're continuing to progress through finalizing a manuscript to start to send up to editing.
In this update, I want to discuss something more specific that's changing between Titan Edition (aka the one that's up on itch right now) and Titanic Eclipse: missions!
Titan Edition Missions
Titan Edition has missions work using a hexflower based mechanic: you pick a type of location and a goal, roll around on that to see various things that happen, and when you seem to have achieved that goal, the mission is over. This works really well if you've got the improv chops to fill in the blanks, but ultimately it felt a little thin.
Titanic Eclipse Missions
We experimented briefly with firmer ways to make this work by adding in more concrete goals, but it didn't feel like it added up to much and players didn't feel like they had a lot of control. So we changed our approach a third time.
Our current version has three major components:
Why is the mission taking place?
One aspect we didn't really dig into sufficiently in Titan Edition is the origin of a given mission. This is something we prioritized here: you now have a handful of options, from "homeship needs something", "mercenary work", "doing a favor for a faction", and so on. The important takeaways from this are what you'll get on a successful mission, but crucially, a failed one: the idea being that failed missions can happen and it's not the end of the world when they do.
What is the mission is comprised of?
Mission selection is the primary focus here compared to Titan Edition. In comparison to the more meandering hexflower, this one is more direct: hex selection is random, but always radiates outward from the center. Each mission type (combat, recon, diplomacy, etc) has a hexflower to itself.
For example: you'd always determine whether you'd start at A1 through A6 at random. But assuming you picked A2, you'd then determine if the next step is B2, B3, or B4 (the adjacent hexes that are the next level out) at random. And assuming you then went to B4, you'd end up at C5 or C6. This means that in total, any given mission type has 42 possible series of events.
But we haven't yet arrived back at where we started, which is...
Where is the mission?
The "where" exists in a somewhat similar format to the old hexflowers, but instead of providing actual tangible things happening in a mission, they provide details: mission events are the "what", this is the context of that "what" that gets rolled at the same time. Rolling on them is slightly different to the old version:
This keeps the spirit of the old version while giving players a little more chance to direct things: we have slightly more "peaceful" options to the top left and more "forceful" ones to the bottom left, so the way you approach a situation influences the kinds of things you'll see next.
Combine 6 locales with the mission generator and you can see how that creates an enormous variety of missions.
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Next time we'll talk about factions, signature features, and how those relations are changing.
Talk to you soon,
Binary & Charlotte
Post-Campaign Update #1: Backerkit is now available! Work progresses on revisions!
10 months ago
– Thu, Jun 12, 2025 at 11:04:46 AM
Hi there! The biggest update is that our backerkit is now available. If you backed Celestial Bodies, you hopefully got an email about this a few seconds before posting this! If not, you can go to https://celestialbodies.backerkit.com/ to lock in your order. If you DIDN'T back it, you can go to that same link and hit up our pre-order store!
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In the meantime, we've also been working the game itself, starting with updating the Titan Edition content. We're making changes to a few things that we hadn't really had the time to properly address in the lead-up to the crowdfund campaign:
- Overhauling shields to avoid tracking separate capacities (and changing various other parts to account for this and support this change).
- Adding extra features to two of the base frame traits to make them more versatile and promote more kinds of builds.
- Changing existing faction builds to make them more diverse by tweaking Frames used and introducing a few of the construction-based parts and to make them make sense with how shields will work.
- Adding some higher-complexity parts to structures with a lot of prerequisites to incentivize building more complex structures and round out a few underserved niches.
There's a bit more to do on that last front, after which we start moving onto making the new stuff!
Talk to you soon,
Binary & Charlotte
Sticker stretch goal has been hit! And a new one is revealed...
about 1 year ago
– Mon, Mar 31, 2025 at 03:30:16 PM
Hi there! We've smashed through the first stretch goal: everyone at the MEDIUM, HEAVY, or ULTRA tier will get stickers of the 8 base frames!
And as for the first secret stretch goal...
We've enlisted the illustrious Snow (of .dungeon, Songbirds, My Body Is A Cage, and many more) to write a 5th zine! If this stretch goal is met, once it's available, it'll be available to anyone who has any version of Celestial Bodies for free.
Thanks to everyone who's backed so far! We once again look forward to making this incredible game.
Binary and Charlotte
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While you're here, check out these from friends:
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Hit the Road, Jack! is by Kyle Tam - one of the people we enlisted for a supplement zine! In it, one or two players play out a chase between Jack be Nimble (the one being chased) and Jack be Quick (their pursuer). As you do so, through a series of card prompts, you develop a better sense of who each Jack is and how they deal with things.
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Plushie Shrimp Bags Cute, unique and SHRIMPY plushie bags! Designed and brought to life by Candlehearts (Charlotte's friend!), these shrimp bags come in three flavors: Big tempura shrimp, big raw shrimp, and a small tempura clutch. The large bags include a custom rice and seaweed inner fabric, plenty of pockets for organization, and a stash pocket in the tail! All are made of soft minky or sherpa material with an adjustable strap. Each bag comes with a soy sauce keychain! Plus if you like keychains, check out the add-on accessories and stretch goals~
We're funded!
about 1 year ago
– Tue, Mar 18, 2025 at 05:51:16 AM
Hi there! In a surprise to us, we funded last Friday! Thank you so much!
We're coming right up on our first stretch goal: everyone who pledges to a physical tier (MEDIUM, HEAVY, ULTRA) will get those stickers too!
(We'll also reveal the first one of those secret stretch goals. So look forward to that.)
So thanks so much to everyone for your faith in this project! We look forward to making this incredible game.
Binary and Charlotte
