Hello everyone!

We’re Studio Hookshot, a small indie game team of about three members creating the Super Hook Girl series.

We’re excited to announce that the store page for “Super Hook Girl Ultra Challenge!!” is now live!
The game is still in development, so it’ll take a little more time to complete — but we hope you’ll look forward to it!

And if you’re interested, please consider adding it to your wishlist!

As was briefly mentioned in our Monthly Update, we’ve decided to push back the release of Winter Heat. Initially it was going to be released on 11/11, now it’ll be 12/12! This is largely due to the classic game dev issue of not foreseeing how long the development of a game will take, and even largelier due to Oomfie.

Developing the minigame (subgame?) took so long for the lead artist that not much progress was made in the main story art for a whole month, the programming of the Oomfie RPG also took some time that the other apps/minigames needed. In general just know that putting an RPG in Ren’py ain’t easy don’t try this at home!!!

But otherwise, a lot of progress has indeed been made for the other apps! Maps, Wittier, etc. It’s all coming along nicely. ヽ(*￣▽￣*)ノ

Now with the side content mostly completed it’s time to actually finish the main thing. Yes instead of the other way around, we work in mysterious ways (the reality is that the side content needed a lot of silly programming so some priority had to be put there).

But all this means is that you should look forward to all the cool stuff we have to show off in the game, see you on 12/12!

Over a year and a half of development, Astranded is officially live on Steam!

Shot down and stranded. Skywalker and his loyal drone, Wolly, are forced into a fight for survival after their ship is blasted from orbit by a mysterious craft. Crashing onto an uncharted world, they find themselves hunted and trapped on a planet patrolled by an unknown alien robotic force. With limited supplies and danger at every turn, survival is the only option.

This project has been a true labor of passion, and I’m beyond excited to finally share it with you. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who followed Astranded’s journey, offered feedback, and supported its development — your input has been invaluable in shaping the experience it’s become. Now that Astranded is out in the world, your continued feedback will help it grow into something even greater as the game evolves and expands beyond its first release.

This past month I've taken a significant break from programming on lake of darkness to celebrate my birthday, pick up more shifts at work, and dip my toes into work on a new game (news about this at some point).

When I returned to the project to begin working on the Halloween update, immediately I noticed that people were still experiencing old bugs I was sure I patched and none of the new content seemed to appear. I had a friend test it on their computer to come to the realization that the patches 1.2 and 1.21 were only available to me, the developer.

A failure in testing? Definitely. Consider it part of the risk of being a one person team I suppose. However on the bright side this Halloween patch is going to be much larger than anticipated as it will include all of the content intended to release patch 1.2.

Due to this bug and a few others there has been a minor delay in schedule for the release of this next patch, you can look forward to it later this week, likely around the 4th.

And happy belated Halloween.

Sincerely,

the dev

- fixed a critical issue on PSVR2 (and potentially other) headsets which froze the game on startup

- fixed some crates in the home base not being breakable

- fixed some softlock issues in arena mode

- curse of leaden feet now only deals its effect when actual damage is taken

- fixed arena breaking in subsequent lobby runs

- fixed starting an arena run when starting a normal run in multiplayer, after an arena run was played

The store page has been localized into all available languages.

If you notice any errors in your language, please let us know, and we'll fix them.

1. Illumination optimization .

2. Performance increase.

3. Translation correction in pt-pt and pt-br.

4. Softlock fix on red level.

5. Tapes fix on TV.

6. Dialogue correction of Jão and Duarte.

7. Increase lighting in some areas.

More small fixes and balancing!

• Fixed an issue where mouse pointer lost focus and didn't grab it back

• First floor now spawns 2 item rooms instead of 1

• Item rooms now have always at least 2 items to choose from

• Slightly higher HP drop rate

• The storm now damages you after 15 seconds, up from 5 seconds

• Reduced knockback of Helical Proboscis a bit

• Fixed a bug where Tetraploa removed one organelle on evolution

What's up guys, it's been a few months since the last time I posted an update on here, so I figured I'd take some time on this fine Sunday to share how development is going.

Keep in mind this is not a finished product and is in active development

ADDED

• Friendly AI teammates that follow the player, engage enemies, and provide cover

• Escort and defend mission logic where friendly units protect pilots or intel

• AI ambush and wave spawning systems tied to objectives

• AI voice-line manager with callouts, chatter, and responses

• AI suppressive fire and burst-fire behavior

• Weighted enemy spawn logic and adjustable spawn distances

• Patrol bands that wander, relocate near players, and auto-respawn after wipes

• AI optimization tiers (Near/Mid/Far/Off) that scale updates based on distance

• AI despawn safety if they get stuck or can’t move

FIXED

• AI rotation lag and pathing issues when following players

• AI incorrectly detecting or ignoring enemies and cover

• AI bullets not damaging targets

• AI continuing to shoot hidden or dead targets

• Duplicate AI spawning on helicopters or objectives

• AI idle jitter, animation desyncs, and “floating” on uneven terrain

• Client/server replication for AI firing, reloading, and behavior sync

• Perception and reaction delays during combat

ADDED

• Full objective chain system

• New mission types:

  • Downed Pilot (SAR) – includes triage, escort, defend, and evacuation stages

  • Intel Recovery – retrieve intel, defend, and call helicopter extraction

  • Secure Bridge, Hold the Line, Riverbed, and Burn House defend-style objectives

  • Artillery Objective – fire and defend static gun positions

• Director-based mission controller that manages spawns, timers, and LZs

• Moving encounter “bubble” for escort stages that updates spawn locations ahead of the player

• Extraction helicopter logic with approach, landing, dust FX, and departure

• LZ (Landing Zone) markers with smoke and overlap triggers

• Post-mission summary screen showing completed objectives and XP earned

• Weighted random objective selection for replay variety

• Mission playlist planning system that automatically queues next objectives

FIXED

• Objective completion radius, overlap triggers, and progression timing

• Replication issues causing desynced objectives between host and clients

• Incorrect wave spawns, flare FX, or defend zones not appearing

• Player interactions failing when multiple players tried to use the same objective

• Compass markers and UI indicators not updating properly

CHANGED

• Improved objective transitions

• Adjusted AI wave distances for level scale and balance

ADDED

• Mountable .50 Cal machine gun with rotation controls, camera switch, firing FX, tracers, and overheat effects

• Full mount/dismount interaction flow with replicated logic for all players

• 50 cal overheating system with smoke, cooldown visuals, and sounds

• Player-controlled patrol boat with multiple seats (driver, gunners, passengers)

• Boat wake system with dynamic V-shaped water ripples and speed-based scaling

• Engine audio component with smooth throttle response and layered idle/mid/high loops

FIXED

• Camera rotation, firing desync, and input loss after mounting

• Clients unable to dismount or still able to fire after leaving the gun

• Audio replication for mounted weapons and vehicles

• Incorrect recoil or rotation clamping on mounted turrets

• Wake artifacts and direction snapping in boat water FX

ADDED

• Bullet impact FX with dust, sparks, and debris

• Helicopter dust FX that react to ground distance

• Downed-state visual indicators (blood, vignette, heartbeat)

• Rain, wetness on clothing, and ambient weather layers

• Engine, gunfire, and environmental attenuation systems with realistic distance fade

• Reverb zones and ambience rings for jungle soundscapes

FIXED

• Sound attenuation, timing, and concurrency mismatches

• Helicopter FX not visible to clients

• Visual clipping or looping issues on smoke and dust particles

• Incorrect light bloom, glow, and post-process exposure

• Audio desync between host and clients during extractions or flyovers

• Over-bright main menu material and bloom artifacts

ADDED

• RPGs react to water and now trigger water explosion FX

• Ammo refill crates with limited uses and cooldowns.

FIXED

• Bullet collision detection and damage replication

• Negative ammo count bug

• Reload desync and magazine updates across network

• Incorrect weapon holding animations (e.g., M60 hand placement)

• Explosion FX scale, attenuation, and hit rotation alignment

CHANGED

• Simplified recoil for more natural look in first and third person

• Reworked weapon replication for minimal bandwidth usage

• Added cooldown smoothing and predictable overheating curve

ADDED

• Idle head and torso rotation for more lifelike third-person stance

• Downed state, revive UI, and medpack interaction

FIXED

• Sprinting, aiming, and prone transitions

• First-person camera misalignment and FOV issues

• Aiming offsets after mounting/dismounting

• Camera manager desyncs when clients accessed mounted guns

• Input lock issues after cutscenes or transitions

CHANGED

• Rebalanced recoil, sensitivity, and camera smoothing

• Refined fade transitions for cinematic events

ADDED

• In-game Settings Menu (graphics, performance, and audio sliders)

• Class and weapon selection system with replication in lobby

• Updated loading screen system

• Startup video intro and main menu scene with rain and ambient FX

• Post-game scoreboard and XP tally

• Compass and distance indicators with smoothed fade edges

• Improved on-screen interact widgets and radial progress rings

FIXED

• Compass rotation errors and rounding issues

• Loading screen overlays blocking input or not disappearing

• Lobby to game transitions not updating controller state

• Audio and visual elements failing to load in main menu

• Weapon choice not persisting across sessions

CHANGED

• Rebuilt main menu visuals (cloudy, rainy aesthetic)

• Simplified UI replication flow and fade transitions

ADDED

• Full AI optimization system with distance-based updates and despawn logic

• Spawn jitter system to prevent CPU hitches when spawning large groups

• Deferred spawn initialization to reduce load spikes

• Tiered tick rate throttling for AI pathing and movement

FIXED

• Memory pressure from heavy foliage and overlapping sound volumes

• Helicopter replication and dust particle spam

• Long-standing GPU bottlenecks from shadow and Nanite passes

CHANGED

• Adjusted grass density and culling volumes for better framerate

• Dropped Lumen detail and GI quality for more stable performance

• Optimized shader compilation and PSO caching for packaged builds

FIXED

• Timing and sync issues for intros and extractions

• Camera fades and player input conflicts during cinematic transitions

• Audio desyncs on intro and extraction flyovers

Overall I'm pretty happy with where we're at. I have spent an ungodly amount of time optimizing certain aspects of the game after every single packaged build after running insights to identify bottlenecks and it's taking longer than I expected. BUT optimization is really important to me so I'm really doing my best to make sure it runs well. I have hit benchmark fps on multiple builds but there are always little problem that poke their head out.

There is a lot of tightening up I want to do and major systems I need to implement still (primarily progression, experience unlocks etc), but the core gameplay loop feels really good. I've tested and played it unbelievable amounts of hours online and it's been a pretty fun experience, although every time we test, I discover a new thing I need to work on. I feel like that's probably how this will go lol.

As a small team (literally myself, my older brother, and my younger brother who creates 3D assets), we've come a long way and I'm really proud of the project in its current state. I can't wait until the day I get to actually play with you guys on here!

One day at a time :)

Don't forget, I post in the discord weekly with updates if you're really interested in what I'm doing or have questions or ideas you want to share. I love chatting with ya'll and it's always cool to hear other perspectives. Hit the discord link that's attached to our page and say what's up!

Either way, I'll keep you guys in the loop!