# Stilllight · V1 design

Galax Games · iPhone · 1.0

A small star gathers Light in a quiet universe. Six companions find their own orbits; eight forgotten constellations become lasting marks in the sky. Growth is visible company, a fuller score and new ways to begin. Short observations describe the world without instructing the player how to feel.

## The loop

Tap the star or Gather Light. Welcome Pebble after 20 taps, then choose between stronger touches, companion production and constellation connections. Companions gather while the app is closed. The first constellation costs about 420 Light across four points; each point adds a lasting 3.5% Light bonus. Completion brings 8 Stardrops and an original observation.

Tend is the sky and immediate goal. Grow holds six companion families, purchases of one or ten, and four Light upgrades. Sky contains the constellation map and Beginnings: Reflection, three Insight studies and Renewal. Settings and the optional shop are separate sheets.

A drifting light appears after 75 foreground seconds and waits indefinitely. Gathering it gives the larger of 12 ordinary taps or one minute of production, with the current temporary multiplier. Every third drift introduces two minutes of 1.5× resonance. Resonant Heart makes every 12th tap worth 5×; further levels shorten this to every fourth tap. There is no timing window. Orbit Memory introduces automatic tending, including offline.

## Two beginnings

Reflection requires 150,000 earned Light in the current cycle, regardless of spending. Reward is floor(3 × sqrt(cycle Light / 150,000)) Insight, at least 3. Each earned Insight gives +8% Light until Renewal. Spending Insight does not reduce that bonus. Studies improve taps, companions or offline gathering. Reflection also gives 2 Stardrops.

Reflection resets current Light, cycle earnings, companions, Light upgrades, tap count and temporary boosts. It retains Insight and studies, every constellation point, Renewal growth, Stardrops, colours, purchases, settings and lifetime records. Drift progress and video cooldowns remain.

Renewal requires four completed constellations and 80 Insight earned since the previous Renewal. Later thresholds grow by 1.65 per accumulated Renewal growth. Reward is 1 + floor(log2(earned Insight / threshold)). Each growth adds 60% permanent Light and 10 Stardrops. Renewal starts with five Pebbles and grants automatic tending in every future cycle. It releases all Insight and studies as well as Reflection's resets; constellation connections and permanent purchases stay.

Both reset sheets state the exact current reward, requirements, what starts again and what remains. Confirmation is explicit. Keeping the current sky is always allowed.

## A welcoming return

Offline gathering uses actual elapsed time and integrates temporary boost expiry. The base cap is eight hours, expandable through play to eighteen hours, or twenty-four with Open Sanctuary. Longer absence never removes existing resources. A saved time watermark prevents duplicate claims after clock rollback. A clear return sheet describes credited earnings and the cap. No streaks, daily penalties, notifications, accounts or social systems.

## Presentation

Original faceted petal star, six celestial sprites, indigo nebula and forgotten arches. Warm cream text, gold feedback, restrained bloom and slow orbits. Dusk remains dark; Night is dimmer. Device mode follows system appearance. Reduced Motion stops decorative movement and simplifies prestige; haptics and music/effects are independently optional. Core controls have VoiceOver labels and text scales with Dynamic Type.

The original score uses a title theme and three synchronised gameplay stems. Constellation restoration introduces Company; Reflection introduces Remembering. Music follows the silent switch, mixes with other audio and pauses in the background. See AUDIO.md.

## Scope boundaries

No cloud sync or account recovery; progress and consumable currency live on this device. Eligible permanent purchases restore through Apple. No random paid rewards, subscription, forced advert or timed sales. English writing, portrait iPhone UI and iOS 17 or later. App Store availability is separate from completion of the local build and tests.