Release notes

Improved

• Every difficulty is easier. The whole ladder moved down two steps, so Standard now plays like the old Cruise.
• Learn shows your session progress as a progress track and a stepper, so it no longer looks like a row of buttons.

Fixed

• Levels 4-5 and 4-6 and the boss levels no longer send words faster than their target pace. Bosses now take their bolts and armour into account when they send escorts.

New

• Twenty-three new songs. Every sector now has three of its own, so neighbouring levels sound different. Learn, Endless and Daily have songs of their own too, Endless changes song from run to run, and Daily from day to day.

Improved

• The Learn screen is simpler. One card shows what you have selected, with a single play button named for what it plays. Today's practice is one tap away, and every lesson is still open on the map below. Your daily goal, finger guide and typing speed checks now live in Stats.
• A mine's blast reaches twice as far.
• Missing a word no longer drops you out of the first combo level once you have reached it, and that level now starts after 3 clean words instead of 5. The music keeps its bass layer, and scores run higher for the same play.

Fixed

• The first bars of a song no longer play with the bass, arpeggio or lead missing.

Fixed

• On the first-launch keyboard layout screen, clicking a layout with the mouse now picks it, and clicking it again continues.
• Sci-fi ship weapon words such as missile, torpedo and blaster are back in the word lists.

New

• A Credits page in Help, with the notices for the word lists, fonts and engine we build on.

Improved

• We went through every word list and took out obscure, British-spelled and unsuitable words, so what you type is friendlier and more familiar.
• The hardest word sets are rebuilt from hand-picked lists, so even the long words are ones you will recognize.

New

• Endless and Daily bring every enemy. All seven kinds now show up. In Endless they arrive as you climb, and in Daily each day picks its own three.
• Daily is now a timed run. You get 150 seconds, and faster typing earns a higher score.

Improved

• More time to type in the campaign. Enemies approach 25% slower at every difficulty. The same number of them come, you just have longer on each word.
• Endless and Daily keep the screen busy. New enemies arrive quickly when you clear the field, so there are fewer empty moments.
• The web version loads faster. It downloads about half as much as before.

Fixed

• Web updates no longer serve stale files, so you get the latest version right away.

New

• Five new enemies arrive across sectors 2 to 5 and stay for every sector after.
• Splitter breaks into two Darts when you type it down.
• Mine blasts every enemy near it when you type it.
• Lancer takes aim, then dashes at your ship.
• Carrier launches Darts and carries two-word phrases.
• Weaver sways from side to side as it comes in.

Improved

• Sector 5 number words are shorter and easier to read.
• The whole campaign is retuned around how people really type numbers, symbols and capitals.
• Sector 6 on Hard can now be beaten at about 150 WPM.
• Stats now include your campaign history from before v0.4.0, added once.

Fixed

• Boss fights no longer crowd the screen with more enemies than usual.
• The Lancer warning now stays on screen.

New

• Sector bosses. The last level of each of the six sectors ends in a boss fight. Every boss has its own look and its own sounds. Type the words on its armour to break it apart, then type the sentence in its core. It fires single letters at you, so shoot them down before they land.
• What's New screen. Read these notes in the game, from the version number on the title or from Help.
• Support and Privacy links on Help.

Improved

• Everything you play now counts toward Stats and the weak-key drill: the campaign, Endless, Daily and Calibrate.
• Sector names on the star map are easier to read.
• The title menu fits every window size, so Quit is always on screen.

New

• Stats screen. See your strengths and weaknesses for each keyboard layout, a heatmap of every key, and a trend chart of your progress. A DRILL button starts practice on your weakest keys.
• Help screen. Explains each mode and the basics, from the title and the pause menu.
• Mouse support on the star map and Learn screen. Hover and click to pick a level or lesson.
• Every sector has its own colour, on the star map and in the sky of its levels.
• Downloads for Mac and Windows. The Mac app is signed and notarized.

Improved

• Music starts faster and the game no longer stutters while it loads, on the web and on desktop.
• Sound comes back after you switch to another tab and return.
• Sharing the web game now shows a better link preview with our cover art.

Fixed

• Leftover enemies no longer show up behind the Endless and Daily results.

New

• Menu music. A calm theme plays on the title, layout, Learn and star map screens, and fades out when a level or lesson starts.
• A FINGERS setting lets you hide the finger guide in Learn lessons.
• The mouse cursor hides while you type and comes back when you move the mouse.

Improved

• Every results screen now ends with a MENU button back to the title, and menus group their choices more clearly.
• Progress and settings are saved more reliably in the web version.

Fixed

• The splash screen now fills the whole window at any shape, with no black bars.

Welcome to Keystar, a full-screen neon space typing game that teaches you to touch type. Enemies carry words: type a word to lock on and destroy it.

• Learn to touch type with guided lessons for QWERTY, Dvorak and Colemak, with a daily practice session and a goal you set yourself.
• Play the campaign across 36 levels. Every level is open from the start, and your stars and best scores are kept on your device.
• Go Endless, take on the Daily, or Calibrate to find your typing speed.
• Make it yours with text size, colour-blind-friendly palettes, a dyslexia-friendly font choice, reduced motion and separate music and effects volume.
• Plays on a keyboard or touch screen, with an on-screen keyboard when you have no hardware keyboard.