I like to think the lava moves the crystals around. Terry says that's "unscientific." Don't listen to Terry. ——Donny Vermillion Hey everyone, this is Zodiac GameLab.
In this update1
Full notes
Full Crystal Ascend update
Read the full published notes in a cleaner layout. The original post stays linked below.
What changed
0 fixes6 additions1 change0 removals
Gameplay
UI and audio
addedIn the last episode, I got the crystal to float up successfully and added a simple movement effect. But obviously, a plain circular motion just doesn’t look good. Steam post image
changedThe first problem to solve was: what exactly drives the crystal’s movement? Thinking about this, the voice line “I like to think the lava moves the crystals around...” from StarCraft 2’s co‑op mode suddenly echoed in my mind.
addedIn this cavern filled with aetherial energy, the crystals are carried by the aether currents, moving slowly along the direction of the aether flow. Because the density of aether is uneven, the flow direction fluctuates a bit, so I added some dive‑and‑rise perturbations to the crystal’s trajectory.
addedWhen the crystal enters its orbit, I also added a water ripple effect. Now it looks much livelier. Steam post image
addedThis won’t be the final version—there are still plenty of effects to add, but I’ll stop here for now.
addedAbout this GameA simple incremental game where you nurture crystal elementals by destroying floating crystals and harvesting aether. Upgrade the skill tree, unlock new abilities to gather resources faster, and build your ultimate crystal companions.
Crystal Ascend changes
addedIn the last episode, I got the crystal to float up successfully and added a simple movement effect. But obviously, a plain circular motion just doesn’t look good. Steam post image
changedThe first problem to solve was: what exactly drives the crystal’s movement? Thinking about this, the voice line “I like to think the lava moves the crystals around...” from StarCraft 2’s co‑op mode suddenly echoed in my mind.
addedIn this cavern filled with aetherial energy, the crystals are carried by the aether currents, moving slowly along the direction of the aether flow. Because the density of aether is uneven, the flow direction fluctuates a bit, so I added some dive‑and‑rise perturbations to the crystal’s trajectory.
addedWhen the crystal enters its orbit, I also added a water ripple effect. Now it looks much livelier. Steam post image
addedThis won’t be the final version—there are still plenty of effects to add, but I’ll stop here for now.
I like to think the lava moves the crystals around. Terry says that's "unscientific." Don't listen to Terry.
——Donny Vermillion
Hey everyone, this is Zodiac GameLab. The incremental game Crystal Ascend has made some progress!
In the last episode, I got the crystal to float up successfully and added a simple movement effect. But obviously, a plain circular motion just doesn’t look good. Steam post image
The first problem to solve was: what exactly drives the crystal’s movement? Thinking about this, the voice line “I like to think the lava moves the crystals around...” from StarCraft 2’s co‑op mode suddenly echoed in my mind.
In this cavern filled with aetherial energy, the crystals are carried by the aether currents, moving slowly along the direction of the aether flow. Because the density of aether is uneven, the flow direction fluctuates a bit, so I added some dive‑and‑rise perturbations to the crystal’s trajectory.
When the crystal enters its orbit, I also added a water ripple effect. Now it looks much livelier. Steam post image
This won’t be the final version—there are still plenty of effects to add, but I’ll stop here for now.
About this Game
A simple incremental game where you nurture crystal elementals by destroying floating crystals and harvesting aether. Upgrade the skill tree, unlock new abilities to gather resources faster, and build your ultimate crystal companions.
