itch.io

Both versions are identical - the only difference is that Itch allows me to include the .p8 files as standalone downloads too. If you're interested in looking at the code then Itch is better, but other than that you can use whichever platform is best for ya~

After you get through the stacked springboxes and landed on the block at the bottom of the screen, you telejump to the red switch and then use its springbox to jump over the spikes to the center area. Once you get the berry using the spring directly below it, land to the right of the teleport circle's center orb. Then do two teleports as quick as you can to go left and then land back on the right on the low platform :)

Yep! Some very clever players have gone even lower with their feather counts, but I wanted to make sure folks could skip a feather or two if they were having trouble getting to one :)

Hi there! The floating is by default a hold input when you're in the air, with Z or C on keyboard (same as jump). You can change the settings on the options menu on the main title screen, so that you just have to tap the button to activate/deactivate float if you'd like. 

You can also flip the inputs so that jump and float are on X/V, and slide/groundpound are on Z/C on that same menu. If you're still running into issues, I'd try disabling the Jump Buffers option on the menu if it's on - that option prevents float from activating if you're holding a down input. Hope that helps!

If you're stuck on the first jump between spikes, you have to barely touch the jump button for a few frames to avoid hitting your head. On the second bit, you want to jump onto the red block - then jump left around the spikes to hit the switch!

Heya, thanks for the feedback and glad you're enjoying the game overall! I'll make a note about the cart names, that's an edge case of sorts I'd not heard about yet. There should be a 1.2 update in April with a few QoL/polish tweaks if things go according to plan, and I can take a look at changing it then once I make sure it won't mess up anything for existing save data (it shouldn't afaik but I'll get some due diligience in here before making the change.) If you get a chance, feel free to shoot me a pic of it running on a Steam Deck - I've not seen that yet and I'm really enjoying seeing folks play Astra on handhelds in general~

With the springs I've heard this a couple of times, but it mostly comes down to the functionality just being different than in some other 2D platformers (and similar to a different set). The game is only concerned with your state as of when you touch the spring, not what you're inputting; if your big bounces from spring plummets are getting negated you might just need to time the plummet slightly earlier so there's no risk of the plummet input being the same frame as the spring contact. I totally get that it can feel like a weird learning curve but it definitely has a good flow once you get there! ✨

Heya, it took me longer than I wanted but I finally got to dive into this! I really enjoyed the box mechanic and you introduced it well, the first level with doors in particular gave me one of those satisfying small Aha Moments :) 

The two things I'd request/suggest would be Switch Pro Controller support, and some combination of alternate/custom palettes or a higher contrast mode to help make the interactive items a little more visually distinct from ambient background elements.

Well done overall, looking forward to watching this as it grows!

I don't think a multicart game can be combined into a single p8.png, but you may need to check with other folks that do setup for their handhelds to get that confirmed - it's not something I've tried to do in the past, my projects besides Astra have all been single-cart. If you drop all the p8s into a single folder they should recognize each other when run to load between them and for save data, but I don't know whether that works with some/all handheld devices' systems.

Done and done!

P8 carts and RasPi have now been added!

P8 and RasPi are now available, but glad you were able to sort it out so it's convenient on desktop too ✨

RasPi and P8 carts are live now with the 1.1 update, enjoy!

RasPi and P8 carts have been added with the 1.1 update that just went live!

Sorry about that! I've gone ahead and added the release date announcement trailer to the post.

To celebrate the release of Astra And The New Constellation, the game will be 20% off for its first week! Join Astra on her journey across the galaxy, and have fun ✨

Feel free to let me know if you have any feedback about the game, or questions about stuff like larger-form multicart Pico-8 project!

Using both springs on the left half of the screen is important here! Let me know if you need a more specific hint.

For the upper path you mean? There is very lenient coyote time, where you can jump for a number of frames after running off the edge of a platform. This is a very good spot to make use of that :) And if you're playing in browser it might be worth downloading, it should run a little smoother and make the tricky jumps feel more fair.

Glad you enjoyed, and thanks for playing! And that's a pretty good time on the Assist Mode run too. You should check out the speedrun leaderboard, people have now beaten the game with even fewer feathers :D

I believe the intended functionality is that berries you've collected should be saved/remembered on Continue, but uncollected berries should still be in the map. I'll check for myself when I can to confirm if it's working correctly, both in my mod and the original game.

If you own Pico-8, you can access the original game through the Splore feature. From there you can then run games from the BBS and save local copies to edit.

Hey there, sorry about the softlock! There are a couple spots where this is possible and I'd like to come back to make some small edits in the near future.

I'd highly recommend checking out the original game, To A Starling. This is just a map hack for Peteksi's game; they did all the coding and art, I've just done some remixing. But I agree, the pixels are great and they used the alternative palette really effectively!

Howdy! The next room after that first screenshot requires good use of coyote time (where you can jump after leaving a platform) for the last bit. The first jump through the spike tunnel is just frustratingly precise.

Hiya! For the third room, you're looking to teleport as soon as you bounce on each springblock. That'll send you upwards from the green orb, letting you drift back down to activate the others until you can get past them. If you haven't, I'd recommend trying the original game to get a feel for the mechanics in their original usages :) And downloading can help as well, as sometimes playing in browser can cause some sluggish responsiveness for controls. 

Good luck!

Hey there, sorry that happened! There may be an option to run it anyway and I think I've seen this happen with other Pico-8 games, but totally understandable if the system warningis too much of a deterrent.

That is definitely always a good feeling!

This is off to a great start! The slippery physics may deter some players but that's just a matter of preference. There are a few rough spots for me: the hitboxes on the swinging blades feel a bit extreme, the walljump could maybe use a few extra grace frames, and and I personally don't like when holding the jump button gives you another jump everytime you land instead of requiring a fresh press. I think that last one, in combo with variable jump height, made for a few frustrating spots like the disappearing platform level, where it was easy to accidentally hold the jump a few frames too long and get a short hop that doomed you to death.

Despite the critiques it was definitely fun to play. I found a couple of teleport bugs (which I was excited about, tbh); one when jumping into the side of a moving platform, and the other when standing next to a sliding tunnel and pressing (towards tunnel wall -> down -> away from tunnel wall).

Excited to see more!

Thanks!

Cleanly executed, and a really interesting and concise game! I wonder if other variants, like letting players draft their opening cards (maybe with some of the original cards swapped out for cards with higher/lower perceived possibility value), would work as a way to mitigate the initial random draw factor?

Download options are available here on the game's page :)

This is one of my favorite GBS projects up to this point. Oozes with personality and just really hits all the right notes stylistically!

Even as someone who doesn't feel super proficient at this type of game, this was a *super* satisfying experience! Really excited to see more added and how far you take it.

From a QoL perspective, it'd be great if a quick-restart button is included in future updates. Some levels' deathplanes feel a bit farther out than others, so letting players expedite restarts would help reduce frustration on the harder levels. Also, in at least one case I got a Clear and Blowout at the same time/within a few frames of one another, but the Blowout took priority and I had to redo the level. A grace period during the Blowout would prevent this, but you might/might not want that anyway as part of balancing some levels.

Palette fits the art style really well, and good utilization of screen space without feeling claustrophobic. Well done!

Ahh yeah, one of the things that didn't get cleaned up in the final hours. And thanks! Looking forward to doing a polish-over soon to fixstuff like that, give the rooms unique art assets, make the room transitions a little easier to follow, and a few other things.

Really satisfying gameplay/feel of movement! Enjoyed it enough to immediately start doing additional playthroughs to think about fastest strategies and optimizing the boss fight :D