Somnova Studios

This month's update is going to be rather short, as we don't have a lot to talk about that we haven't already. Fortunately, this doesn't mean that we haven't made good progress: approximately 84% of Act One's scenes have been converted over to our new code base, and we continue to power through the remaining scenes, CGs, and any other small tasks that need to be completed for the Steam release. We still don't have a release date yet, but we will keep you update to date as we get closer to completion. One thing we want to mention however is Adam W, our lead writer and sometimes programmer, wants to write a dedicated blog post explaining the script format we used for our new code-base, as well as the whole reformatting project in general to show what steps we took to convert Act One over to Steam. If you've ever been curious about what our methods look like, make sure to stay tuned for that! Finally: make sure to keep an eye out for an upcoming podcast ep...

As you may have guessed from our last post, we've been hard at work polishing Missing Stars: Act One for Steam. But what does that entail? Well, for starters, we have a few extra sprites we'd like to add: Renee Eva Renee and Eva got a few lines in some scenes, but didn't actually get any sprites associated with them, which caused some confusion. Because of time constraints we couldn't include everyone initially, so for the Steam version, we decided to give everyone a face. Internally, we keep track of side characters so that we can re-use them in other scenes, as opposed to making another one-off character that's never seen again. Eva will definitely get some more screentime, so get ready to see more of her! We have also taken the time to upgrade some of our preexisting sprites to add better shading and more accurate lineart. Likhos and the rest of the art team are working hard, and it shows! Sprites are one thing, but CGs are another thing entirely. CGs are...

For years, it was believed that there was a hard line between Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) within the field of psychology; if you had one you could not be diagnosed with the other. Recent evidence, however, has revealed the opposite. According to a 2017 study found in Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry , over half of people with ADHD have some comorbidity with one or more psychiatric issues [1]. Solid numbers remain elusive, but experts can extrapolate that the two are not as segregated as they were once believed.  So what are these disorders, and how are they both different to each other? How are they similar to each other? ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder commonly found in children that can continue into adulthood. This disorder affects many areas of the brain including (but not limited to) executive functions in the brain, impulse control, and attention span. ADHD is typically diagnosed when a child is in kindergarten or pres...

Hello everyone, and happy International Voice Day to everyone!  International Voice Day, while not being one of the better-known holidays, is an international day celebrating the human voice and the impact it has on our lives - and raises awareness of how it impacts those who lose it. There are, obviously, physiological problems that can cause loss of voice, but also neurological and psychological ones - and losing the main way we communicate is never an easy burden. To celebrate our voices and the importance in our lives, we decided to gather our voices and record something special for you - you might recognise the original from recent music culture. So, go forth, check out http://world-voice-day.org/ , spread awareness and maybe give Annaliese's route another shot to celebrate IVD! Click here to listen to our Wellerman Parody! A personal note from Astartus: Hey, everyone! I just wanted to use this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for the support you've given ...

GOTCHA! Well, sort of...That last part about Steam from our April Fools blogpost is actually true!  We've mentioned a few times that we've been working hard at improving the code behind our little visual novel, and this was one of the reasons why we wanted to do it. We want to present a polished title not only to another platform, but to you guys, our avid fans. Act One has been a tremendous success for us and because of that, we feel that we have to show off the best possible version of our story.  Don't worry, this version will also be free, as well as the eventual full release of Missing Stars.  The Steam version of Missing Stars: Act One will have a lot of new features, including:  More backgrounds! More CGs! Achievements! Accessibility Options!   ???????   ...Yes, we're excited about the last one. We're so excited that we can't tell you guys what it is just yet!  (But to give you a hint... no, it's not Katawa Shoujo -crossover content...