Heartstone Update 1.4.5 & Announcing Project 87
Dec 16, 2025
Good evening, friends!
As mentioned in the update post for Heartstone 1.4, I am here to give more information about the upcoming update. I also want to announce the start of an exciting new project!
Heartstone Caverns Update 1.4.5
The final update for the year is shorter but crucial in setting the stage for the next part of development. There is now a change to the crystal caverns area which blocks further entry until a quest condition is satisfied.
More sound effects have been added throughout the world as well. The sounds are still new and will likely be changed throughout updates.
The main quest will be added in segments throughout 2026. There will be expansions into new areas south of Dragonsmarsh, leading to a large city area.
Players can save their progress and it will persist when new areas and quests get added, so you can come back when new updates are released to continue along.
I have already planned out the flow of the main story and have settled on this way forward for a while now, it is just a matter of implementing the full story and new areas. I am going to reassess the scope of how big I want the rest of the game to be, as (discussed later), I am wanting to move onto some other projects soon. I think this game will always remain free to play in browsers, so I don’t expect a Steam release or anything more official. Of course, this is open to change in the future!
I will give details around the start of January about the next areas to be added and the next phase of the story. I’ll just say: Lizardfolk!
Announcing pre-production of “Project 87”
Creating 3d systems is insane work, so l've been looking into ways to add something 3d to my portfolio without reinventing the wheel. I like doing engine work and making my own systems, but some things remain constant.
Having played Half-Life 2 and Portal 1 + 2 recently, the Source engine is calling to me. It’s older, but it can be amazingly optimized for Linux systems. (Side note: I’ve been using Fedora KDE for around two months now, and it has been one of the best tech choices I made all year!)
I'm going to start learning how to create content inside the Source engine, with the eventual end goal of making a mod for something Half-Life/Portal related to add to my portfolio.
This could be new character skins, new models, new maps, etc. I will have to think about the scope further as I learn more about the Source engine. But this means that Project 87 is not one specific game, but almost an anthology of sorts.
Also, it is named Project 87 due to the fact I want it to be themed around the late 1980’s. I think starting with a targeted theme and time period in mind will help prevent overscoping.
I think my starting point will be with Portal 2, and to use some of the 70’s/80’s Aperture assets to create some basic testing chambers. Development will be tracked here as more progress is made.
Anywho, I won't say more because I don't want my future projects to turn into vaporware. The 2d project I was/am making in Godot was a great lesson in overscoping and committing too much at the start. (I still want that demo to be released since I think the goblin quest is cute albeit buggy. And it was where I found a lot of joy in making systems and became proud of my programmed creations.)
I want to scope well and these projects take a long while. But it's been 9 months creating my text RPG and I'm dreaming of seeing reactive visuals/3d physics.
Overall
It was a wonderful year of learning, and 2026 is shaping up to be something really special! I’ll continue to be around tinkering with systems and planning out the next update for the Heartstone Caverns.
Happy holidays and have a happy new year! I hope to see you back in January!
Peace and Love to all, (except Big Orange and his well-used MRI machine)
Connor | YodaInTheAttic
P.S: I know there is no download links on the game pages for Chrono-Wing and Cosmic Collector despite the description saying there is. I've been needing to fix that and host external download links. I'll put it near the top of my to-do list! I finally got around to fixing the social links on this site, so we have progress lol.