NOVASHARD

Updates

Every change to the game and the website, newest first. Updates are also posted in the Discord #changelog channel.

5 October 2026

The jump chip is back, and a tidier log window update

Game on desktop · Game on mobile · Website

New

  • Jump chip. Buy it in the website Shop under CPUs: 20 jumps for 100,000 credits. Press the jump button in Robots + Extras and after a 3-second countdown you jump straight back to your company's x-1 station. It works anywhere except Galaxy Gates, and not within 10 seconds of a fight.
  • Website Updates page. Every update is now listed on the website too, newest first. Find it in the footer.

Changes

  • The Log and Quests window now tucks away to the side. Minimise it and it slides off to the right edge, leaving a small LOG tab. Click the tab to bring it back.
  • Extras that didn't do anything are gone. The drone repair and aim CPUs have been removed from hangars and new pilots' kits, so every button in Robots + Extras now works.

Stacked Alpha Gates, a new log window and proper announcements update

Website · Game on desktop · Game on mobile

New

  • Alpha Gates stack. Keep spinning while your gate is on the map: the Materializer builds one more gate that waits for you. When your current gate is completed or lost, the waiting one takes its place straight away. You can hold one gate on the map and one waiting.
  • A brand-new Log and Quests window. Cleaner design, colour-coded rewards, a real scrollbar and mouse-wheel scrolling. Quests now show as cards with a progress bar for every goal. Drag it anywhere, shrink it to a slim bar, or make it taller.
  • Announcements in the middle of the screen, like the original. Galaxy Gate countdowns (10 down to 1), wave starts, gate rewards and server restart countdowns (minutes, then the last 10 seconds) now appear in red at the top middle of the screen.
  • Level ups are back to how they should be. A big "LEVEL UP!" announcement and the classic "Congratulations!" box open the moment you level up.
  • Repair button. When your ship is destroyed you now get the classic "Ship destroyed" window. Press Repair to return to your home station with full hull and shield.

Fixes

  • Red alerts now say what actually happened, instead of always showing a raw-material message.

Ships and skins in your Hangar update

Website · Game on desktop · Game on mobile

New

  • Website Your Hangar now has a Ship and a Skin choice. If you own more than one ship, pick which one to fly (log out of the game first). Skins change your Goliath's look, and other pilots see it straight away.
  • Four Goliath skins exist: MMO red, EIC blue, VRU green and Gold. Watch for ways to earn them.

Fixes

  • Other pilots' ships and Streuners now show exactly where they really are, so "out of range" matches what you see.

Quest log, titles page and Galaxy Gates that pick up where you left off update

Game on desktop · Website

New

  • Website Titles page: see every title you've earned and choose which one shows above your ship. Find it in your pilot menu.
  • Website Show or hide quests in game: on the Quests page, choose which quests the in-game Quests tab shows.
  • Desktop The in-game Log / Quests window now wraps long lines and has scroll buttons, so quest progress is never cut off.
  • Galaxy Gates now continue exactly where you left them. If you log out, disconnect or the server restarts mid-wave, you come back to the same wave with the same aliens still to beat.

Fixes

  • Website Your credits and uridium at the top of the site now stay up to date while you play.
  • Website The Hall of Fame and your home page show the original DarkOrbit rank icons.
  • Website Tidier Quests page (no gaps) and the top bar no longer cuts off "Hall of Fame".

4 October 2026

Touch controls for phones and a tidier log window update

Game on mobile · Game on desktop

NovaShard is now much easier to play on a phone or tablet, and the Log and Quests window can be tucked away or enlarged on every device.

New

  • Mobile A joystick in the bottom left: hold it and your ship flies that way, let go and it stops.
  • Mobile Big buttons for Laser attack, Rocket, Jump, Repair, Insta-shield (ISH), Smart bomb (SMB) and switching between configuration 1 and 2. They're see-through, so you can still see the action behind them.
  • Mobile A full-screen button, where your browser supports it.
  • Mobile The game asks you to turn your phone sideways: it plays in landscape.
  • The Log / Quests window has minimise and enlarge buttons, like the chat. Minimise shrinks it to just its tabs, and enlarge shows about twice as many lines. It remembers your choice.

Changes

  • The game now runs in high graphics quality by default.

Known issues

  • Mobile On wide phone screens the game still has bars on each side, which is where the controls sit.
  • Mobile Full screen isn't available in iPhone Safari.

Portal jumps and safe zones fixed hotfix

Everywhere

Thanks for the reports, pilots! Two fixes for flying between maps:

Fixes

  • Jumping into 4-4 from 4-1, 4-2, 4-3, 1-5, 2-5 or 3-5 now drops you at the matching portal, ready to jump straight back. It used to leave you somewhere in the middle of the map. Jumping from 1-7 to 1-8 lands at the right portal too.
  • Aliens no longer keep shooting you once you reach the safe zone around your own company's portals and stations. Stop firing and they leave you alone within a few seconds, and they no longer sit at the portal waiting for you to come back. You can't shelter in the zone while still shooting aliens from it.

NovaShard is now playable on mobile! update

Game on mobile · Game on desktop

📱 Take the fight anywhere. NovaShard now has proper touch controls, so you can fly, fight and loot from your phone or tablet. Same server, same pilot and same progress as on your PC: log in on the website, start the game and turn your phone sideways.

New on mobile

  • Mobile Joystick: hold it in the bottom left and your ship flies that way. Let go to stop.
  • Mobile Combat buttons: Laser attack, Rocket, Jump, Repair, Insta-shield (ISH) and Smart bomb (SMB), plus switching between configuration 1 and 2. They're see-through, so you can still see the action behind them.
  • Mobile Tap an alien or a ship to target it, just like on desktop.
  • Mobile A full-screen button, on browsers that support it.
  • Mobile A reminder to turn your phone sideways: NovaShard plays in landscape.

New everywhere

  • The Log / Quests window now has minimise and enlarge buttons, like the chat, and remembers your choice.
  • The game now runs in high graphics quality by default.

Fixes

  • Smart bombs can no longer be set off from the safe zone around your own station and portals.
  • Mobile Tapping an alien no longer drops you out of full screen.

Known issues

  • Mobile Full screen isn't available in iPhone Safari.
  • Mobile On wide phone screens the game has bars at the sides, and the controls sit there.
  • Mobile Typing in chat on a phone is still fiddly. Improvements are on the way.
  • Tried it on your phone? Tell us how it feels in #suggestions or #bug-reports. See you in space, pilots! 🚀

Mobile controls fixed and a new thumb-friendly layout hotfix

Game on mobile

Thanks for testing on your phones! The touch controls are fixed, and the buttons have a new layout built around your right thumb.

Fixes

  • Mobile The joystick and buttons stopped responding after you tapped an alien. They now keep working however much you tap the game.
  • Mobile The joystick no longer picks an alien by accident when one is in your way. It always just flies you there.
  • Mobile Cfg 1 and Cfg 2 now always switch your configuration.

Changes

  • Mobile New layout: a big Laser Attack button sits in the bottom-right corner, right under your thumb. Cfg 1 and Cfg 2 are right next to it, with Rocket, Jump, ISH, SMB and Repair in an arc around them.

Mobile flight controls hotfix hotfix

Game on mobile

Thanks for reporting the mobile-control problem so quickly. Phones now load the correct

control-enabled game client immediately after an update.

Fixes

  • Mobile The joystick and Laser Attack work after reopening or refreshing the game.
  • Mobile Cfg 1, Cfg 2 and Jump no longer move the ship instead of performing their action.

Mobile combat and collection improvements update

Game on mobile

Thanks to Orochi for testing the new controls on a real phone and sharing detailed feedback.

New

  • Mobile Use the directional target pad above the joystick to select a visible alien.
  • Mobile Collect flies to the nearest visible cargo or bonus box.
  • Mobile Ammo and Rockets are two compact cycle controls, replacing manual Repair without changing the separate Laser Attack or Rocket fire buttons.

Fixes

  • Mobile Alien chase movement is synchronised with its server position to prevent sudden speed surges.
  • Mobile This synchronisation also prevents an alien from looking close while its combat position is still out of range.

Combat fixes and the classic extras hotkeys hotfix

Game on desktop · Game on mobile

Thanks for the reports, pilots! This update fixes a couple of annoying combat bugs and brings back two classic hotkeys.

New

  • Desktop 7 fires your Smart Bomb and 8 activates your Insta-Shield, just like in the original game.

Fixes

  • Attacking an alien no longer sometimes does nothing. Stopping and starting your attack quickly, or switching to another alien, used to leave you "attacking" without firing, so the alien looked invulnerable.
  • Aliens chasing you no longer zip across the screen at crazy speed when you fly away from them. They now follow you smoothly at their normal speed.

Smoother aliens, fairer safe zones and one title per pilot hotfix

Game on desktop · Game on mobile

Thanks for all the reports, pilots! This update fixes how aliens move and fight, and tidies up the title hunt.

Fixes

  • Aliens now move smoothly at their real speed. They no longer lag behind and then suddenly speed up, and an alien that looks in range on your screen really is in range.
  • In the safe zone around your own company's portals and station, only the alien you are shooting can fire back. Every other alien leaves you alone and stops following you there, so no more crowds waiting for you at the portal.
  • Switching between SAB and other laser ammo while attacking now shows the new lasers straight away.
  • Minimap dots for aliens now follow them live.

Changes

  • Circling works again: an alien is more likely to miss you while you fly, and most likely when you circle it.
  • One title per pilot: taking a new hunt title sends the one you held back to a random alien for someone else to hunt.

No more alien crowds following you around hotfix

Everywhere

Fixes

  • Passive aliens (Streuner, Mordon, Lordakium, Kristallon) no longer start following you just because you flew past them. They only react once you shoot them, as in the original game. Before, a crowd of them could build up behind a pilot and bunch into one easy stack.
  • Aliens chasing you now spread out around you instead of piling up on one spot.

3 October 2026

Galaxy Gates work like the original again hotfix

Game on desktop · Game on mobile

Thanks to everyone who flew the Alpha Gate today and told us how it felt. Earlier today, alien types piled on top of each other and there was no way out between waves. That's fixed.

Changes

  • The Alpha Gate has 10 waves again, one alien type per wave.
  • Each wave starts with a 10-second countdown on screen, then arrives in 4 groups about 10 seconds apart, whether or not you've destroyed the previous group.
  • Destroy every alien in the wave and two portals open: one to the next wave, one back home. Your progress is kept per wave.

Fixes

  • Different alien types no longer arrive in the same wave.

Everything in NovaShard so far update

Game on desktop · Game on mobile · Website

Welcome to the NovaShard changelog! From now on, every update that changes the game, the website or how you play gets a post here. To start, here's everything that's been built so far.

Flying in your browser

  • The classic 2009 space MMO, rebuilt to run in Chrome, Edge and Firefox on desktop. Nothing to install: start the game from the website.
  • Three companies to choose from: MMO, EIC and VRU, each with its own home sector (x-1 to x-8 maps), plus the battle maps 4-1 to 4-4 and the dangerous 4-5.
  • Every planned server restart gets an in-game countdown. Everything is saved, and you can log straight back in.

A level playing field

  • Every new pilot starts with a Full Elite Goliath: 8 Iris drones, LF-3 lasers, top shields and engines, a repair robot, auto-rocket launcher, smart bomb, insta-shield and drone repair.
  • Two ready-made configurations: speed and shield. Rearrange both in the website Hangar.
  • Starter ammunition to fight straight away: 100,000 x1, 50,000 x2, 100,000 x3, 50,000 SAB and thousands of rockets. Buy more in the Shop.
  • Completely free. There is nothing to buy with real money.

Aliens and maps

  • Every classic alien, from Streuners on your home map to Kristallons and Cubikons on the upper maps, plus Boss and Uber versions.
  • New pilots can fly to the battle maps from level 1, and to the enemy companies' x-3 and x-4 from level 2.
  • Higher maps drop more uridium from bonus boxes.
  • When a map gets crowded, extra aliens arrive so there's enough to go round.

Progress

  • Missions: a 24-mission story chain from level 1 to 16.
  • Quests: four level quests for every level, three daily quests and two weekly quests, all matched to your level. Rewards arrive instantly, even mid-flight.
  • Mastery: ten long challenges from level 20, each with its own title.
  • Ranks: 20 ranks, from Basic Space Pilot to General, decided within your company.
  • Titles: 18 hunt titles start on aliens around the galaxy. Destroy the carrier and the title is yours, until someone takes it from you.
  • Hall of Fame: pilots by top user points, experience, honour, level, ships and aliens destroyed, plus the clan and company rankings.

Galaxy Gates

  • Build the Alpha Gate from 34 parts in the Materializer. Every spin pays out something, including x4 ammunition, which you can't buy.
  • 40 waves of aliens, each announced with an on-screen countdown. Waves keep coming whether or not you've cleared the last one. You have 3 lives, and your progress is kept if you log out.

Events

  • Skirmish: company vs company battles on Saturdays at 20:00 UTC, when they're running. Sign up on the website.

The website

  • Register, create your pilot, then manage everything from one place: Hangar, Shop, Quests, Galaxy Gates, Skirmish, Hall of Fame, Inbox and Support.
  • Private Support tickets, including chat-mute appeals, with replies in your Inbox.
  • Rename your pilot once every 30 days.

Fair play

  • Bots and automation aren't allowed, and they're detected. Rules: https://www.novashard.net/terms
  • Bonus box rewards are reduced after a very large number of boxes in 24 hours, to keep the economy fair.

Recent fixes

  • Long chat messages now scroll instead of running off the edge of the chat box.
  • Other pilots now visibly turn to face whatever they're shooting.
  • Aliens no longer lose their title while being attacked.
  • Fixed static red dots on the minimap and pilots who were invisible after respawning on their home map.
  • Registration now tells you exactly what your password is missing (12+ characters, A-Z, a-z, 0-9 and a symbol).

Known issues

  • The game isn't playable on phones or tablets, though the website works on them.
  • Clans can't be created or joined yet.
  • Thanks for flying with us, and for every bug report so far. See you in space, pilots!