View source for Game Announcement

[[Stars Reach]] was announced on June 28, 2024 - nearly 5 years after the initial unveiling of the company. The announcement happened via a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjstnAJ2KwU game trailer], accompanied by a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UzWbHa0bCY Q&A video] and another video on the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoJUeNgTWBs design vision].

Reception was mainly positive, especially among fans of Raph and his previous games but there also was significant criticism about the unpolished pre-alpha graphics and the colorful, stylized art-style. Comments along the lines of "this looks like a mobile game for little kids" were not uncommon. 

[[Playable Worlds|The developers]] have said that the game is still very early pre-alpha, and that the graphics are work in progress. Shaders, animations, post processing, etc. are all still due for multiple improvements and overhauls - possibly including Global Illumination. But the stylized, colorful look is intentional and here to stay. They are ultimately aiming for a visual style somewhere between [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Zelda:_Breath_of_the_Wild Breath of the Wild] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genshin%20Impact Genshin Impact].

=Pre-Announcement ARG Puzzle=

The game announcement was hyped up by a ten day countdown of revealing questions posted on social media. The questions themselves do tell you something about the kind of game that '''Stars Reach''' does aim to be - but each image also contained a bar of black and white boxes, which - if combined in the right order - revealed a pixelated version of the game logo with two hands reaching for a star.

Despite getting pretty close, the early community was not able to solve the puzzle in time for the game announcement.

===Facebook===

* 10 What if... you could actually invent new things in an MMO?
* 9 What if... there was a way to discover secrets in an MMO -- and no easy wiki holding all the answers?
* 8 What if... it rained, creating puddles that froze overnight?
* 7 What if... bad weather meant traveling through the mud?
* 6 What if... there were places with lower gravity?
* 5 What if... you could write quests and make contracts for one another?
* 4 What if... you could chop down forests and grow them back?
* 3 What if... you could shout "You shall not pass!" and collapse a rock bridge?
* 3 What if... strawberries were sometimes in season?
* 2 What if... the creatures in the world actually had feelings you could see?
* 2 What if... icy cliffs were actually treacherously slippery?
* 1 What if... you could choose to make a new life for yourself on a new planet?
* 1 What if... you could pick your style of combat in an MMO?

===Instagram===

* 10 What if... MMOs actually had fulfilled the dreams we once had for them?
* 9 What if... exploring actually mattered (to you and others) in an MMO?
* 8 What if... walking through the grass carved a trail if you did it often enough?
* 7 What if... the season actually mattered?
* 6 What if... you could search and discover entirely new planets?
* 5 What if... you had to decipher ancient languages?
* 4 What if... sometimes the monsters invaded ''you''?
* 3 What if... monsters didn't respawn in the same place always?
* 3 What if... you could build a city?
* 2 What if... you could actually get snowed in at a tavern, like in the fantasy novels?
* 2 What if... you could run your own tavern in an MMO?
* 1 What if... you could have fun in an MMO in a five minute session?
* 1 What if... you missed your target and accidentally burned down the forest?

===X (Twitter)===

* 10 What if... you could easily change your mind about who your character is?
* 9 What if... you could be admired and famous in an MMO for more than just your character level or raid skills?
* 8 What if... the game also rewarded you for playing peacefully?
* 7 What if... an MMO let you reshape the landscape?
* 6 What if... you and your friends could govern an entire planet in your MMO?
* 5 What if... even the devs didn't know what was hidden out there in the worlds?
* 4 What if... you could actually irrigate your farm?
* 4 What if... there were ways for everyone in an MMO to have their own house?
* 3 What if... you could be swept away by the current of a raging river?
* 3 What if... you could freeze the poison gas midair and watch it form a puddle?
* 2 What if... it mattered if you accidentally drove a creature extinct?
* 2 What if... you could collapse a cliff onto your enemies?
* 1 What if... you could build a space station?
* 1 What if... you could live your life on a space station or a starship and just visit planets when you wanted?

=References=