starwick - the whole loop finally runs

quick one. the vertical slice plays end to end now and for the first time it feels like the thing i pitched myself, not a pile of systems that happen to compile.

the loop

you’re a wick, a lil candle-soul who relights dying stars. the slice is one star. u drag across five dim points to trace the constellation, it catches, and the star reignites. motes spiral in, a core lights, a shockwave ring pushes out, ur companion reacts, the camera breathes. then the sky asks what u wanna do. let it rest or send it onward. u pick and the world shifts to match, warm gold if u send it on, colder dim if u rest it. ending plays, then it offers to begin again.

the bug that mattered

the choice screen looked done before it was. the constellation and companion both live in the world behind it and they were still listening. so a tap meant for “send it onward” also poked the companion, and a stray drag re-traced stars that were alr lit. the ui was a sheet of glass with holes in it. fix was boring and correct. one bit of state that says something modal is up, dialogue journal or a choice, and everything that reads input checks it first and shuts up. taps stopped leaking and the choice felt like a choice instead of a coincidence.

where it stands

trace, relight, choose, branch, two endings, restart, and the sky remembers the run. whats not there yet, its still a sky in front of u not a place u walk through. next is lifting the constellation into the world and building the first realm u can move around in. thats the jump from pretty to somewhere.